How to Be Funny in a Magic Show

Why be funny during your magic show?
The audience wants to enjoy themselves during a magic show. That's why they're sitting in those seats to begin with. They want to see the magic you're going to perform, sure, but above all else they want to relax and be entertained.

If your act is full of seriousness and intensity, the audience will get tired of it quickly. Sure, you'll want some of those intense tricks (like your closer, for instance), but most of your show should be upbeat and light hearted. If you can make your audience laugh as well, they'll enjoy themselves that much more.

How to be funny during your magic show.
The first rule to remember is to relax. Don't stress so much over possibly messing up tricks, and don't stress about if you're funny or not. If you're jittery, you'll come off as being uptight. There's no bigger buzz kill than someone who takes themselves too seriously. Just chill out, and breathe during a magic show.

Second, find your style. You need to find magic tricks that suit your personality, so it should be clear that you need to find means of comedy that fit you too. If you're a sarcastic individual, then being big and flamboyant probably isn't going to help you. Notice the huge gap in the comedic styles from Robin Williams to Janeane Garofalo. You need to find your personal style during your magic show and do what works best for you.

Know that timing is everything when using humor during a magic show. You have to time your tricks just right to get the most out of them, and you also need to time your jokes. If you crack a joke too late, the opportunity will have come and passed and it'll no longer be funny. If you do so too early, nobody will know what you're talking about. Practice your comedic timing along with your tricks.

You should also know your magic show audience. If they don't seem like they're having a good time, no matter how hard you try, maybe you're trying to hard. Or, maybe they just aren't in the mood for the particular magic show jokes you're telling. Don't keep cracking jokes on the same type of thing over and over if it's not getting a positive response. Go with the flow, figure out what your audience thinks is funny, and focus more on that. And every audience will be different. Your friends laugh at different things than your parents do. And even each of your parents find different things funny. You have to feel them out, and see what works.