Comedy and Music in a Stage Show

9 posts in this series

Reading Order

1 of 9 — 8 min read

I Was Not Them: How I Stopped Emulating High-Energy Comics and Found Deadpan

Trying to be a high-energy comedy performer was failing because it wasn't authentic to who I am. As a strategy consultant, my natural communication style is thoughtful and measured. Finding my own comedic voice -- dry, observational, self-aware -- was the breakthrough.

2 of 9 — 8 min read

Self-Deprecating vs. Self-Put-Down: One Endears, the Other Destroys

There is a razor-thin line between humor that makes an audience lean toward you and humor that makes them wonder why you were booked. I spent the first year of my performing life on the wrong side of that line.

3 of 9 — 8 min read

The Horse Joke Exists for One Reason: The Callback Sixty Minutes Later

The first time you tell the joke, it gets a smile. Maybe a chuckle. The real payoff comes forty-five minutes later, when you use one word from that joke and the entire room erupts. That is the callback, and it is one of the most powerful comedy tools in a performer's arsenal.

4 of 9 — 8 min read

Jokes, Lines, and Bits: Three Categories of Comedy in a Magic Show

I assumed that comedy in a magic show was one thing: you write funny stuff and you say it. Then I discovered that not all comedy operates the same way, and my reliance on only one category was flattening my entire show.

5 of 9 — 8 min read

A Laugh Before or After the Magic Is Fine -- Never at the Expense of Mystery

I was getting laughs. Good, reliable laughs. And then I realized that some of those laughs were costing me the one thing a magician has that no other performer can offer: the moment of genuine astonishment.

6 of 9 — 8 min read

From General Selections to Concert Quality: Three Stages of Music Development

My first show used royalty-free background music I found by searching 'magic show music' on the internet. My current show uses a curated soundtrack where every musical choice reinforces the emotional architecture of the performance. The journey between those two points taught me more about showmanship than any new effect ever could.

7 of 9 — 8 min read

Music at the Climax Saves You from Asking for Applause

The right music at the right moment tells the audience when to applaud without you ever having to ask. I learned this the hard way -- through a finale that consistently got tepid responses until a single musical cue transformed the reaction from polite to thunderous.

8 of 9 — 8 min read

When a Money Song During a Money Routine Becomes Corny: Subtle vs. Obvious Tie-Ins

The temptation to match music too literally to effects is almost irresistible -- and almost always wrong. I learned, painfully, that emotional resonance beats literal connection every time, and that the best musical choices are the ones where the audience cannot explain why the pairing works.

9 of 9 — 8 min read

Enter and Exit to the Same Song: Music Bookends That Frame Your Show

Entering and exiting to the same piece of music creates a sense of completion that the audience feels without consciously registering it. I discovered this principle in a book, tested it at a corporate keynote in Salzburg, and watched it transform a collection of effects into a unified experience.