Finding The Funny - Ryan Pilling (2024 Magician Edition)

A Magician's Guide to Ad-libs, Improvisation, and Audience Interaction.

Learn the techniques to creating inspired moments of comedy, and engaging your audience with the spark of spontaneity.

Including four stand-up magic routines, forged in the fires of improvisation, to turn a passive crowd into active participants.

Contents

• Part One: Performing with Presence
  • Choose To Improvise - How improvisation benefits your performance.
  • Nuts & Bolts of Improvisation - The three-step recipe for making it up.
  • Real World Improvisation - A look at how improvisation and ad-libs happen in real life performances.
  • Improvising Your Way Out of Problems - Being flexible, attentive, and quick on your feet to dodge trouble.
  • Writing Through Improvisation - Boost your creativity while planning and preparing your act.
  • Practicing Improvisation - How to develop your mental muscles for quick thinking.
  • How To Begin Improvising - Prepare to be unprepared.
  • Working With Audience Members - The chapter I am most proud of! This digs into the entire lifecycle of engaging with an audience from beginning to end to build rapport and increase engagement.
  • Live and Learn - One final word of encouragement.
• Part Two: Magic Made for the Moment
  • Energized Cards Across - My shows go better after this whole-audience ice-breaker get everyone physically engaged and participating in the fun.
    
  • Union Policy - Tracing the evolution of my Magician's Insurance Policy routine to ridiculous heights, through a major crash, and re-birth. Teaches a variety of ideas and techniques along the way.
    
  • How To Be a Magician In Trouble - Tips on acting in the moment of failure to make it believable.
    
  • V.I.Psychic - A V.I.P. guest becomes the mind-reader in this bespoke Psychometry routine. Ideal for corporate messaging, trade show, and sponsor featurettes.
  • Water You Want From Me? - A three cup monte that gets your audience hollering as you play the fool.

Includes online access to a Digital Appendix with supplemental downloads, videos, and potential updates.

NEW, Hardcover - 114 pages, 7 x 10 inches, printed cover, full-color throughout.