How Interactive Can a Virtual Magic Show Be?
How Interactive Can a Virtual Magic Show Be?
When many people hear about magic shows, they think about a guy at a circus pulling rabbits out of a cool hat. While this caricature embodied magic shows for quite some time, this form of art has greatly evolved over the years, paving the way for virtual magic shows.
By nature, virtual magic shows have the power to reach far greater audiences than their in-person counterparts. In fact, with the rise of technology in our everyday lives, one could argue that the future is quite bright for any virtual magician.
With that in mind, one of the burning questions on people’s minds is: just how interactive can a virtual magic show really be? Thankfully, the possibilities are limitless. Today, most virtual magic shows are conducted on platforms like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Skype, or Zoom.
The Virtual Magician Has No Shortage of Options
Just as in-person magic tricks are all about keeping the audience engaged and performing stunts that confound the mind, so are virtual magic shows. With the following strategies, a virtual magician can make their next shows more interactive than many folks might imagine.
Controlled Chaos
We’re all familiar with the oohs and ahhs that come from audiences watching magic shows at a carnival or state fair. Though for virtual shows where people are tuning in from around the world, the virtual magician can increase interactivity by taking advantage of controlled chaos.
Unmuting viewers as you debut each trick so that everyone can hear their reactions is one strategy often used to boost engagement. In other cases, it’s not uncommon for virtual magicians to have tuned-in audiences unmute themselves, guess the upcoming big reveal, or even shout out their favorite magic stunt.
However you use controlled chaos, it’s a wonderful way to make a virtual magic show more interactive. It goes hand in hand with having the audience feel like they’re seeing the presentation in person and connecting with other viewers, regardless of where everyone is currently located.
Controlled chaos, when strategically used, also gives a virtual magician the power to overcome barriers that screens often impose.
Engage the Audience During Tricks
Every virtual magician can make their shows interactive by keeping their audiences physically engaged. This can be as simple as asking those who are tuned in to cover one eye, turn their heads in a certain direction at a key moment, or posing questions with prompts for viewers to either nod or shake their heads.
Believe it or not, this isn’t always meticulously planned out; some virtual magicians are hit with spur-of-the-moment ideas that go a long way toward making sure the audience is just as interactive as they would be in person. With time, picking up on this gets a lot easier.
No matter how you go about engaging the audience, it’s important to make sure they feel connected to you and invested in the magic show. In nearly any performance, a virtual magician can encourage their audience to interact by using humor, questions, and prompts as engagement boosters.
Work the Crowd
Virtual magicians who perform their sets, while also being able to see their audiences in real-time, have a significant opportunity for higher interaction levels. This can be easy to forget if you’re staring at a screen with faces (rather than a large crowd surrounding you), but remember … everyone on the screen is there to see your performance.
Working the crowd can be as simple as giving a viewer a shoutout, complimenting the shirt they’re wearing, or making a reference to their surroundings. In many ways, this isn’t all that different from how an in-person magician would operate while putting on a show.
Similarly to controlling chaos, working the crowd keeps the audience excited and eager for more. They won’t feel like they’re just staring at a screen. More importantly, there won’t be a sentiment of having lost any of the spark that’s traditionally associated with in-person magic shows.
The More Interactive, the Better
The most successful virtual magicians generally combine controlled chaos, audience engagement, and working the crowd. Making virtual magic shows interactive means being able to read the room and having each viewer feel like they’re only feet away, rather than thousands of miles apart.
At different points of a presentation, some strategies may be more effective than others. Asking the audience questions in the lead-up to a grand reveal could be a terrific way to build suspense and anticipation.
Likewise, throwing in a fun comment about the shirt someone’s wearing after the reveal (or right before a new trick comes) can also earn smiles. People who like magic shows also love the rapport of being seen by the magician behind the tricks. At the end of the day, each virtual magician has to feel things out and intuitively suss out how best to utilize interactive options.
During many virtual magic shows, the performer gauges the audience’s reactions, playing off them in real-time to keep everyone interested. While some general tips can make virtual magic shows more interactive, the most effective outcomes boil down to reading the room and getting a feel for the sweet spots.
Don’t Let the Screen Become a Barrier
An in-person magician who transitions to doing virtual magic shows may periodically struggle with the change of environment. Traditionally, magicians have performed their tricks in rooms surrounded by large crowds, able to hear everything that’s happening around them. Being in an empty space and staring at faces on screens can initially be quite jarring.
Thankfully, screens don’t have to be barriers to interactive magic shows or keeping an audience on its toes. In fact, a virtual magician can take advantage of camera positions, lighting, and other maneuvers to make their tricks even more effective and surprising.
In a world where so many people are glued to technology for all sorts of purposes, virtual magic shows are more than likely here to stay. Magicians who can make the transition, take advantage of interactive options, and use the virtual setup to their advantage will find many worthwhile opportunities ahead.