Magician Near Me: Etiquette and Looking After Your Performer
Magician Near Me: Etiquette and Looking After Your Performer
Hosts quietly wonder about this and rarely ask. Should you tip. Do they want feeding. Where are they supposed to put their coat. Is it rude to pay by invoice afterwards. Should you introduce them to anybody.
None of it is complicated and none of it is discussed anywhere. I'm Magical Katrina, an award winning magician and mentalist, and I want to answer the etiquette questions people have when they've booked among the magician near me options and want to do the right thing.
Tipping Is Not Expected
Let's deal with this first, since it's the question people most often wonder about. A performer has quoted a professional fee and agreed it in writing, and that fee is the arrangement. Nobody is waiting for a tip and nobody thinks less of you for not offering one.
If you were delighted and want to, it's received warmly and never expected, and it's considerably less valuable than the things further down this article. Anyone who implies a tip is standard is doing something unusual. Among things to worry about when hosting a magician near me, this is genuinely not one.
Food and Drink
The question hosts ask most often on the day. For a short booking, an hour or two, a performer has usually eaten and doesn't need anything beyond water.
For a longer engagement, particularly one spanning a meal, offering something is a kindness and appreciated. A performer working a four hour wedding will have arrived before your guests and will leave after them. You don't need to seat them at a table or provide the guest menu unless you'd like to, and something to eat somewhere quiet is genuinely thoughtful. Ask rather than assuming either way.
Somewhere to Leave Things
The small practical thing that helps most and costs nothing. A performer arrives with a coat, a case, and possibly a change of clothes, and needs somewhere those can sit safely that isn't the middle of your event.
Any room will do: an office, a cloakroom, a corner of a back room, a bedroom at a house party. It doesn't need to be a green room or anything resembling one. What matters is that it exists and is reasonably secure, and that somebody can point to it on arrival rather than the performer standing in a hallway holding a case while you find somewhere.
Pay Promptly
Worth stating plainly, since it's the thing performers care about most and clients least expect to hear. Settling the balance on the day or per your agreed terms is genuinely the most appreciated thing a client does.
Late payment is common in this industry and it affects self employed people considerably more than it affects a company. Nobody wants to chase a client they liked, and the awkwardness of doing so falls entirely on the person who already did the work. If your organization pays by invoice on thirty day terms, that's fine and worth saying at booking so nobody is surprised.
Tell Them When Things Change
The courtesy that most improves the event for everybody. Schedules move, dinner is called early, speeches overrun, and guest numbers shift.
A quick word means your performer adjusts rather than working to a plan that stopped being accurate an hour ago. It takes ten seconds and it's the difference between a performer who's ahead of your evening and one who's guessing. Among things a host can do for a magician near me on the night, keeping them informed is worth more than anything else on this list.
Introduce Them to Whoever Matters
Small and genuinely useful. Point out your venue contact, the event manager, or whoever is running the room, since a performer who knows who to ask about the schedule doesn't have to interrupt you.
At a wedding, introducing them to the photographer and the coordinator is worth doing, since those three people will be working around each other all evening and it goes considerably more smoothly when they've spoken. It takes a minute and it removes a set of small frictions you'd otherwise be resolving yourself.
Don't Ask for Extra Time on the Night
Worth understanding rather than treated as a rule. If your event is going well and you'd like the performer to stay longer, that's a compliment and entirely reasonable to ask.
What isn't reasonable is assuming it's included. They may have another booking, a flight, or a commitment, and a performer who says no is not being difficult. If you think you might want longer, mention the possibility at booking so it can be priced and planned, which is easier than negotiating at ten o'clock with your guests watching. Most performers will accommodate it happily when asked properly.
Let Them Do Their Job
Worth saying for hosts who want to be helpful. You don't need to gather guests, introduce the performer to the room, tell people what's about to happen, or manage where they go next.
A professional working a room reads it themselves and moves accordingly, and a host steering them usually makes it less effective rather than more. The best thing you can do during the performance is enjoy your own event. If something needs attention, they'll find you, which is considerably easier than you tracking them.
The Review Is Worth More Than the Tip
The genuinely useful thing, and the one that costs nothing. Performers are booked largely on recommendation and reviews, and two minutes of your time afterwards is worth considerably more to them than anything else you could offer.
If you were happy, say so publicly, and mention the specifics rather than only that it was great, since the details are what persuade the next client. And if you have colleagues or friends planning something, a recommendation is the single most valuable thing a client can provide. Among ways to look after a magician near me who did well by you, that's the one that matters.
If Something Wasn't Right
Worth including, since etiquette works both ways. If something disappointed you, say so directly rather than only in a review or not at all.
Most issues are fixable, either on the night or afterwards, and any professional would far rather hear it from you than read it publicly with no chance to respond. Saying it plainly isn't rude, and a performer who reacts badly to straightforward feedback is telling you something. Most will thank you for it and act on it.
Why Book Magical Katrina
If you'd like a performer who makes this straightforward, here's my case. I'm a member of the Magic Circle in London and the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood, I've earned multiple magic awards, and I've performed for clients including Formula 1, the Olympics, Porsche, and Prada, with appearances on Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Masters of Illusion. I arrive early, need very little, ask for nothing you haven't agreed, and will tell you plainly if something would work better differently. You shouldn't have to think about me at all on the night.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should we tip?
No, and nobody expects it. A performer has quoted a professional fee and agreed it in writing, and that's the arrangement. If you were delighted and want to, it's received warmly, and it's considerably less valuable than paying promptly or leaving a review. Anyone implying a tip is standard is doing something unusual.
Do we need to feed them?
For a short booking, no, and water is plenty. For a longer engagement spanning a meal, offering something is a genuine kindness, particularly for a performer working a four hour wedding who arrived before your guests and leaves after them. You needn't seat them at a table unless you'd like to, and asking beats assuming either way.
What do they actually need from us?
Somewhere to leave a coat and case that isn't the middle of your event, and somebody who can point to it on arrival. Any room will do, and it needn't resemble a green room. Beyond that, being told when the schedule changes and being introduced to your venue contact covers nearly everything.
Does payment timing matter?
More than clients expect, and it's the thing performers care about most. Settling on the day or per your agreed terms is genuinely the most appreciated thing a client does, since late payment affects self employed people considerably and nobody wants to chase a client they liked. If you pay by invoice on thirty day terms, say so at booking.
Should we tell them if the schedule changes?
Always, and it takes ten seconds. Dinner called early, speeches overrunning, or guest numbers shifting all change how a performer works, and a quick word means they adjust rather than following a plan that stopped being accurate an hour ago. It's the single most useful thing a host does on the night.
Can we ask them to stay longer?
You can ask, and don't assume it's included. They may have another booking, a flight, or a commitment, and a performer who declines isn't being difficult. If you think you might want longer, mention the possibility at booking so it can be priced and planned, which is easier than negotiating at ten o'clock in front of your guests.
What's the most useful thing we can do afterwards?
Leave a review mentioning specifics, and recommend them to anyone planning something. Performers are booked largely on recommendation, and two minutes of your time is worth considerably more than anything else you could offer. If something wasn't right, say so directly rather than only publicly, since most issues are fixable and professionals would rather hear it.
How do I book you, and what will you need?
Reach out with your date, venue, event type, and rough guest count. On the day I'll need somewhere to leave a coat and case, a moment to see the room, and to know if your timings shift. Nothing else, and I'd rather you enjoyed your own event than spent it looking after me.
Mostly, Just Tell Them Things
Looking after a performer well is considerably simpler than hosts imagine. No tip is expected, food matters only for long bookings, and the practical needs amount to somewhere to put a case. What genuinely helps is paying on time, telling them when your schedule moves, introducing them to whoever runs the room, and leaving a review afterwards if you were happy.
Do those and any magician near me will remember you as a good client, which matters more than you'd think when you want the same date next year.
Reach out with your event details, and I'll tell you exactly what I need, which is very little.