Setting Up Your Magic Shows - Part 3

Step 3

You have created individual magic trick files for all of the effects in your performing repertoire. A customer calls you on the phone and books you to perform at their next event. When you are ready to design a show for a customer here's what to do:

Create a folder called "Customers."
Within the "Customers folder create a subfolder using the customer's name. I don't use a date with the folder because I expect to have several shows over many years in this folder. For example Barb Jones calls me up and books me to perform at her son's birthday party. I create a subfolder called "Barb Jones" in my "Customers" folder.
Create a word processing file (called a "show file") using the following naming format:

Customer-Month-Day-Year

In the above example, I might create a file called Barb Jones-01-15-2005.doc. This file would contain the show I performed for Barb Jones on January 11, 2005. This record is great to have when she rebooks you for a show. You have a permanent record of all of your shows.

The show file has the following format:

I. Details of the show including time and place.

II. Opening - including any music or other setups

III. Trick 1 - Trick Name

Items Needed to Perform Trick

Setup Notes

IV. Trick 2 - Trick Name

Items Needed to Perform Trick

Setup Notes

V. Trick 3 - Trick Name

Items Needed to Perform Trick

Setup Notes

VI. Trick 4 - Trick Name

Items Needed to Perform Trick

Setup Notes

VII. Closing - including any music or other setups

I create the show file by going back to my magic trick files and cutting and pasting the first three sections into the show file. Using the order suggested in Step 2 makes this faster. All of your hard work in the prior step makes this step really quick. What you end up with is a detailed checklist customized for each show.