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"The only thing that keeps the audience in their seats is wondering what's going to happen next." - David Mamet
As you put your coins back in the purse, gather up the four Aces or take a prop out of your case, what happens between your effects? As magicians, we tend to spend a lot more time thinking about the effects themselves rather than the time between our effects, and yet these transitional moments are at least as important as the moments during an effect.
One reason is that it is precisely during this "in between time" that we run the greatest risk of losing the audience's focus. And without their focus, we have absolutely nothing. Nada. Zilch. Their attention is truly the lifeblood of the show.
Think about it this way. As crucial as it is for the performer to be keenly focused on his performance, the reality is that many magicians sometimes perform with their mind on autopilot and the show still goes fine. But if an audience is not sincerely interested in the show, there is no autopilot option. The show quickly grinds to a halt. Maintaining focus is absolutely essential, though it can be far from easy, especially in a noisy, distracting environment like a bar or a party.
People tend to be instinctively interested in the beginning of an effect. After all, the effect just started, it has novelty on its side and has not had any time to become dull. Audiences also tend to be interested in the culmination of an effect when the drama is at its peak. And as for the middle of an effect, so long as the routine is not overly long and the performer is adept at building tension and expectation, an audience will seldom disconnect halfway through. Which leaves the time in between your effects as the moments when people's focus is most likely to wander.
One of the best ways to reduce the chances of this happening is to maintain a narrative through-line. For example, if you have just finished an especially eerie effect, you can say, "Yeah, I know, pretty scary, but if you think that's weird, you won't believe this." It is an admittedly simple example, but with a brief comment it can be that easy to move from one effect to the next while keeping a strong sense of organic progression.
Note how such an approach is almost the exact opposite of saying the classic line, "For my next trick"- That phrase actually invites the audience to detach from the show by making an explicit reference to that fact that it is a show and you are "going through your paces." Once you have captured the attention and imagination of your audience, you must protect it all costs.
Routining is the key to maintaining a "there is only u
s, and there is only now" mentality. In other words, the effects you choose, the order you choose to perform them and how you guide the audience's focus from one effect to the next is an art within itself. And more often than not you would do well to strive for transitions that are as seamless as possible.
To combat the possibility of "audience disconnection," I often make a point of explicitly addressing them and "touching base" with them between effects. For example, having just finished a card effect, you could turn to one spectator and say, "I know what you're thinking. You wouldn't want to play cards with me, right? Actually, I gotta admit, I'm pretty good at finding the four Aces"- and there your are segueing into another effect.
Apart from using your script, there are many other ways to create an effective transition. Just as the final shock of a coin routine is beginning to dissipate, you could pick up one of the coins, give it a squeeze and change it into a sponge ball. This immediately creates fresh interest and neatly transports the audience into another routine.
However, keep in mind that the goal of routining is more ambitious than simply maintaining focus (as challenging as that can be.) Ultimately, you want to routine your effects so that there is a powerful build to your overall performance. Traditionally, the goal is to start strong, end stronger and have all the effects in between garner a range of powerful responses.
The length of your performance should profoundly influence your routining. When I only have three minutes at a table, and the audience is clearly "up for an exciting ride," I often try to pack as much devastating magic into those one hundred and eighty seconds as possible. Bam, bam, bam, bam! "Thanks and have a wonderful night." Exit.
However, sometimes I will approach a table and immediately get a sense that, though the people are open to experiencing some magic, they would like it a more leisurely pace. So I will take a little more time with each effect and strive for a poetic and gently playful feel. Still, I want to start strong, end strong and have the audience feel a definite building of drama.
Of course, given that you are striving for seamless transitions and a steady build, an audience does not experience the best performances as a collection of effects but rather one powerful effect. If asked, they could break the experience down into, "He did this, and then this happened, and then this" - but when they later say, "That guy was astounding," they are referring to the overall experience. They are not distinguishing between you, your effects and their experience.
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