Greater Boston are Magician Joe Ferranti  ferrantimagic.com 339-927-4710

Two, Three minutes...Maybe five!

I have a very short time to entertain a small group of people before I must move on to the next group. No time to spare, right? Right!

while others debate whether "Magic" is an art...or they want to make their audience feel the "awe" and experience wonder as if they were a child again. All lofty and worthy goals, but at my age and the type of Magic I perform, I have cut corners to simplify my work.

I have seen the magician who's work is art. (Names are not important.) But my name will never be considered for the title "artist" and that's O.K. because I will never deserve such a title.

I will never strive to bring you the feeling of child like wonder, as that's a tall order.

I will also not try to take you away from the problems of your day. There are better methods than that of a brief encounter with a Close Up Magician. If you want to send someone back to another time, the quickest way to arouse that feeling is with music. We've all had that moment when we hear an old song and we recall the joy or pain that is triggered, and attached to an emotion we weren't having a moment before.

If you need to get away from the daily grind, perhaps meditation, or Yoga, and,if you can afford it, a vacation to the ocean.

I will tell you, there are magicians who achieve all these things, but my experience tells me you will see this on a stage, where they have all your attention and the time to create their personal fantasy to take you...to who knows where.

I'm just saying, I can't do that in three minutes. My goal is simple, insure you have fun and are treated with respect. I want you to smile, perhaps laugh or scream. And finally, if I can get you to remember me, perhaps my name as well, but maybe I'm asking too much.

Ahhh, the life of the strolling magician, the court jester perhaps...in it as a choice. The rewards...try it out, I'm sure you'll be pleased.

Joe Ferranti

Walk Around/Strolling Magician in Massachusetts

Boston and Massachusetts Magician Joe Ferranti

   

  Joe Ferranti Close Up Magic  Boston and Massachusetts

                               www.ferrantimagic.com 339-927-4710

On most web sites, we all have a page for some photos...me too.
When my website first appeared, I had a bunch of little pictures, and if you wanted to see them, you had to "click" each picture to see it. (large)

It was a little "primitive." Hoping a potential client would perform manual labor to see a picture was risking losing their business. We've come a long way since then. See the picture at the top of the blog. (Big enough to see.)

My hope was to get the client to give me 45 seconds of their attention...still that may have been asking too much. It is a 45 second slide show, in which I tried to convey the "Joe Ferranti", magic experience" in a brief, but hopefully entertaining manner. Being a little nostalgic you can see my efforts below.
Best Wishes,
Joe Ferranti

                                Boston Massachusetts Close Up/Strolling Magician

Since this time I have added many individiual photos on my blogs, but I still enjoy the slide show.

From photos we bagan adding videos, please visit my YouTube Channel. You can choose from 50 videos from Birthday Videos, Weddings, The "Parlor" Magic/Comedy Show and Walk Around Magic.

Boston Mass. Magician Joe Ferranti 339-927-4710

www.ferrantimagic.com

Working for a small group of people, (5-10) is very different than working for 100 or more.

"Non working" magicians believe that close up strolling magic requires only "Three Tricks."

Although this may work most of the time. Someday... yes someday you will arrive at an event where the turn out is not what you expected. your three trick set is over in about 4 minutes, and you have 56 more minutes to provide entertainment. 

ADVICE:  Do not pay too much attention to people who are not working in the field they claim to understand. Remember, they are not working for a reason.

Always arrive prepared to "go deep." Meaning your repertoire has to go beyond those three tricks. Just as important, all your material must be as good or better as any opening material you might use.

(No filler material allowed.)

Even though, Close Up/Strolling Magicians appear to be "winging it..." The pro is well rehearsed and ready for whatever comes their way.

Update 2018...the Evolution

                                               www.ferrantimagic.com  339-927-4710
                                                        Boston, Ma. Magician

I've only been at this game for a little over seven years, but early on I realized that there would be a constant evolution in performing and a slow one with material.
When working for the only people that count, the search for the latest and the greatest gets placed on the back burner. If you don't already have at least a handful of "Killer Material", you won't be working very long.
Two [tricks/effects] which have been with me, pretty much from the beginning are "51 Cards to Pocket" (David Williamson) and, "A Familiar Ring. (Paul Gertner) These two pieces are the focus in this blog.
First, there are many variations on 51 cards to pocket. I learned one from Matthew Dowden's DVDs,"Party Animal" This has served me well, and I only adjusted it within the last three months. You see, I ended the routine with a production of the card from my wallet. It always got great reactions, but I already have a few routines in my repertoire where a card is produced from my wallet. Suffice to say, it's not wise to use them all with the same crowd. So, I've owned the Omni Deck for a long time, and I never found the routine that seemed right for me, even though there are many to choose from.You know where this is going, of course. Instead of producing the deck, little by little from my pocket, I remove the Omni deck, with the selection on top. I have the spectator cover the "deck" and the cover card, which is the selection, and to my surprise,when I fished around inside the spectators hands and removed the selection, this got a big reaction, seriously...lots of applause. (I didn't see this coming, as to me, it appeared obvious the selection was on the top of the "deck". Not so! But wait! there's still more...and of course the spectator is unknowingly holding the "Omni Deck." See the reactions in the video
The other piece is Paul Gertner's brilliant routine. What can I say, it plays so well, you've got the emotional hook of a borrowed ring. (usually a man's wedding ring.) There's so much built in humor, and as most of us know, we are not comedians, but magic brings out a lot of laughter.
So what's the problem? Finding a ring to borrow...there is not always one available. I never use a woman's ring with any type of stone or diamond. I've heard the nightmare stories, and I won't be adding a story of my own.
So here's the thing with men and their rings...some men have put on a few pounds since their wedding, and that ring is not going to come off without a saw. Other men will Never! take their ring off...that's O.K. I get it, they see it as a minor betrayal to their wife. So as you can see, sometimes I had to leave the coins to the spectator's hands out of my repertoire, but I wanted to have one available.
One day, I was watching Craig Petty on YouTube, and he was performing a Three coin version for a crowd of people, and not only did the three coins "fly invisibly" to the spectator's hand(s) they proceeded to vanish one at a time with a finale of "The Flurry" (David Roth) with the production of a Jumbo Coin. (Craig produces a second Jumbo Coin, even larger than the first.)
Now, certain parts of this routine could be problematic, but Craig's brilliant structuring solves any problems that could arise...see the results in the video. I've been using this a lot...and every now and then, I perform something special for a couple who are willing to loan me a ring.

Roaming Magician Ma Mass Boston

 Every Now and Then...

I'm not looking for an award, but every now and then, you hear of, or get contacted to participate in a fundraiser. Usually there is money available for entertainment, and that's nice.
Sometimes the $$ just aren't there...and no award required. Especially when the job is just down the street.

Joe Ferranti  The Massachusetts Close Up Magician

www.ferrantimagic.com  339-927-4710

Listening to Lay People...A Magician's perspective.

                 Listening to lay people...one at a time.

                                   Massachusetts Magician www.ferrantimagic.com 339-927-4710

 I was out for a couple drinks with Lisa, at our local bar...the one where everybody knows your name.                                  

Steve, the bartender has seen me perform a couple tricks. (something I rarely do when out for pleasure) So, Steve asks me if I know a Chinese magician who was on P&T FU...incredibly good he tells me. “Must be Shin Lim”...”Yes!” he tells me how incredible he is, I totally agree, “That kid operates on a  totally different level…” Of course Steve asks if I know how he does it.

“I haven’t got a clue, like I said he’s something special.”

Steve tells me about another magician he saw on AGT who did a trick with coins and rose petals. “Oh yeah, that’s Will Tsai.”

Steve tells me he didn’t particularly care for the trick...this is the trick that blew away the judges, one of them responded that this was "real magic"...something like that.

I think most lay people would agree with the judges, but Steve sensed there was something more to Will’s presentation...something that assisted him with this “miracle.” I nodded my head...but didn’t get into it as I make every effort to not say anything negative about other magicians.

Our discussion got me to thinking about the judges on AGT. If you watch the show, you know there are many magicians who perform close up magic. Each and every one perform at the judges table. Not on the stage. Hmmm, this never crossed their minds, and it obviously didn’t impact their reaction. I do wonder why they didn’t question the distance issue.

 Which is why I listen to lay people…one at a time.

 BTW...I am aware that Eric Jones made his last performance on the stage, however all the judges were on stage with him, still qualifies for real close up.

Adult Birthday Magic...Wellesley Hills, Ma.

Adults love Magic at their birthday celebrations...every now and then they are concerned the Magic may be "Cheesy." Of course not, here's a recent review of a performance.

"If your looking for the perfect way to take your party to the next level, look no further. Joe was awesome. He was professional, funny and most importantly an amazing magician. Joe started off with special trick for the man of honor. He then worked the room amazing each guest as he went table to table. Joe communicated with me before the event to make sure everything went smoothly, he showed up on time, dressed professionally, and made sure to thank me before leaving. Great tricks, great jokes great guy. Thank you Joe! You made my friends 40th B'day party one to remember! -Jeff S, Nashua, NH 

Joe Ferranti Boston Mass.  Magician
www.ferrantimagic.com   339-927-4710
Best Magician Boston, Mass.