Magician's Support Network

I listened to the voice mail again and laughed.

I listen to this particular voice mail every few months. It warms my heart and reminds me just how lucky I am to have Jim Kleefeld as a friend.

Magic can be a very lonely field. While I love it, I have always felt that magic, by its very nature, is quite solitary.

Think about it. To get good at performing, you have to select your tricks, practice them, rehearse your lines, and do the shows.

Other than that time spent in front of an audience, you must do all of it alone.

Unless you’re working with a performing partner, the sheer act of memorizing a script and polishing a routine must be done alone.

I mean, there are only so many times your long-suffering family will watch you as you polish a routine.

This solitary life is even more so when you’re a professional.

As a pro, you have to spend time driving to your gigs. Even in major metropolitan cities, I don’t know any professional who doesn’t drive at least three hours one way for a gig on a regular basis.

Me? I used to drive 6-7 hours per day. Most of my shows were and still are school shows. My hotbed of activity was in New Jersey and the immediate surrounding areas. For whatever reason, that area remains a wealth of opportunity for school show performers.

And I know magicians who travel nationally. Just yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing Jay Mattioli for The Professional Magician Podcast. He joined the interview from Iowa, where he was doing a run of state fair shows. Knowing Jay hails from Virginia, he’s spending a lot of time across the country away from his family.

Why do I mention all of this?

Merely to give you an idea of what to expect. If your goal is to become a professional magician full-time, you’ll need to spend a lot of time alone.

Even if you get lucky and do a four-wall deal (where you fully fund your show) and hit it big, you’re still going to be alone a lot. You may not have to travel as much as the rest of us but there will be those solitary activities you have to do, like practice, rehearsal, packing and unpacking shows, and even taxes.

My recommendation? Build a network of other pros you can call and talk to.

For one, the feedback on your shows will be invaluable. I’ve lost count of how many magicians I’ve seen who cast a blind eye to the negative reactions they are getting for a routine. I get it. I’ve lived in denial too.

I had a few routines that didn’t play well in my biggest money maker, my anti-bullying show, for years before I realized that I had to burn the show to the ground and build it back up.

Having friends in the magic world you can turn to for support and feedback makes the lonely life of a magician easier and more fun.

And while you can certainly alleviate some of that loneliness by bringing your family with you on trips, I wouldn’t recommend taking them to most of your gigs.

I have a friend in magic I’ve known since I was a teenager. Nice guy, great friend. But when he and I lived near one another, occasionally he would come to my gigs at my invitation.

Once he showed up with an entire entourage – one of his stepkids, another friend, and his wife all in tow. Since this was for a school, I was livid.

Not long after, I found that bringing a group to a show was standard operating procedure for him. He’d show up at birthday shows with at least two of his kids and often his wife.

He clearly did it for support. That’s not the kind of support I’m talking about.

Instead, I’m talking about those phone calls you can make when you’re stuck trying to crack a script for a routine and it just isn’t coming together. Or when you’ve had a bad gig and you just need to vent.

Or, and this is my favorite, when something wonderful and unexpected happens at a gig and you get to share it with a fellow performer because they “get it.”

Finally, there are times when you may just want to nerd out and talk about tricks you are thinking of buying. Those are some of my favorite times.

The most valuable? Talking business strategies.

I still remember the day I created the concept for a one-man murder mystery. I had been trying to craft the perfect single routine for a murder mystery simply as part of my regular corporate mentalism show.

The routine just wasn’t working. Finally, in a flash of inspiration, the idea hit me. I immediately called my friend Rodney. We spent the next two hours hashing it out over the phone.

Those kinds of phone calls make the life of a professional magician fun and enjoyable. Knowing you have people to call when you need them helps tremendously.

During the height of the pandemic, I’d call Jim Kleefeld every couple of weeks. Or he’d call me. We were kindred spirits in that we saw dozens, maybe hundreds, of magicians using YouTube as an outlet for their creativity.

Neither one of us was motivated enough to create free content to just give away. While I appreciate, respect, and admire those folks for continuing to do their part in the world of magic, Jim and I focused our efforts on where we could continue to earn money somehow in magic.

Please understand I am not disparaging those other magicians on YouTube. I only mention these conversations with Jim as an example of connecting with someone who shared a similar mindset during a very difficult time.

Sow and nurture those seeds of friendship now. Go into these relationships with the goal of helping your friends. In return, you’ll have someone you can talk to when you need feedback or just a sympathetic ear.

Oh, and that voicemail Jim Kleefeld left me?

A year or so before COVID, I had a gig in Kentucky, which is about an eight-hour drive for me. I wound up putting the wrong address into my GPS and arrived at the wrong destination. I had gone three hours off course and, at 11:00 pm, had to drive another three hours to get to my hotel just in time for about four hours of sleep before my first show the next morning.

I had mentioned this story to Jim in an email.

A few days later, Jim called and left this very detailed message where he outlined this new invention called a GPOS that could prevent me from getting lost. Jim delivered the entire two-minute message with an absolutely straight face.

It’s hysterical.

I also saved a voice mail from Tommy James where he just had to share the story of a little kid at a birthday show who screamed a four-letter word in surprise after one of Tommy’s tricks.

Cherish those memories.

P.S. By the way…whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways I can help you grow your magic business to book more shows at higher fees:


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Not sure how to move your magic business forward? I’ll analyze your complete magic business (website, market, competition, and more) and give you a complete game plan for getting your performing business to the next level. Find out how by clicking HERE.


4. Work with me privately.


Need help in multiple areas? I can help you with your website, direct mail, email, or other marketing strategies. I also offer consulting services for crafting magic routines or even entire shows. Want to find out more? Shoot me an email at cris@theprofessionalmagicianclubpro.com.

To find out more how I can help you book more shows at higher fees, click the button below to see my list of services.

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