The Ultimate Guide to Touring with a Magic Show

Ever Thought About Touring with a Magic Show? Be Prepared to Be Shocked by What We’ve Learned..

Have you ever dreamed of taking your magic show on the road? Touring can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but it also comes with its own unique set of challenges and surprises.

To give you an insider’s look, we caught up with The Glamourists Oliver Tabor, the creator of West End Magic, London’s longest-running theatre magic show, which has toured extensively across the UK.

Here, Oliver shares some invaluable insights from his years of experience in touring magic shows.

Initial Steps in Planning a Tour

1. What are the initial steps you take when planning a tour?

“I’m answering from my experience of being in a show with multiple acts and crew, so my best advice is to make sure you have a great team, as they will be the people you’ll be sharing a lot of time with. The other main step you need to take is to have a show that is ready to go, as you won’t necessarily have time or the opportunity to run in material that is at a decent level to be part of a slick touring show: you’ll be spending most of your time promoting when it’s up and running. Preparation is the key here: not just for the show itself, but the support of a solid team consisting of cast and crew who you can trust to help, guide and support the show. The most important thing of all to prepare yourself for touring is to love what you do, and I mean really love it! Touring can be a thankless exercise, especially as a producer, but it pays dividends in satisfaction.”

Choosing Locations and Venues

2. How do you choose the locations and venues for your shows?

“You need to be realistic about where your show will play the best. Everyone dreams of performing in the biggest theatres in the country, however, you need to be sure that you can sell tickets for these big spaces: plus you’ll need to design a show that will play well to these big audiences. Our show is currently suited to 200-500 seat venues. I have a person (the tour booker) selling the show to selected size venues and also chooses locations that aren’t too close to each other: you want to make sure that you’re not selling tickets to the same audience in two venues that are too close in proximity.”

Overcoming Logistical Challenges

3. What logistical challenges have you faced, and how did you overcome them?

“The main challenge we faced initially was to downsize the show. The original show finale included a large Fabergé egg illusion that packs down into six large flight cases, which could only be transported in a 7.5-ton lorry. The costs to hire a lorry, pay for the fuel, and transport the team were not cost-effective. Plus, over time you realize that every theatre is different in size backstage; therefore, the show had to be redesigned to not only be easily loaded into a range of different venues and tailored to the theatre but also be transported in one vehicle with the whole team. The other challenge is some of the journey times to the venues; having multiple drivers amongst your team helps with the traveling.”

Marketing and Promotion

4. How do you manage marketing and promotion for your tour?

“The marketing for any show can be a full-time job. It is the biggest, most expensive, and most time-consuming task you have. To save money you can either choose to do it all yourself or hire a PR company to do it for you. Since the show has been on tour, I’ve chosen the latter. PR agents have the contacts to get your press release and marketing information to the right people. This all comes down to your budget and how much you are willing to spend on your marketing. Obviously, the bigger your marketing budget, the further reach it will have. However, don’t think that you can ever stop plugging and promoting, even if you do hire a PR company, it’s the biggest job you have.”

Budgeting for a Tour

5. What are the key elements to include in your tour budget?

“Read above, lol! You really need to work out a suitable cost for each show, as you have many elements to pay for. This is before you’ve even stepped on stage for the first show, as it includes website design and hosting, poster and artwork design, marketing (see above again), travel, tour manager fee, accommodation, etc. Then you have to work out what you’ll pay your cast and crew and hope you have enough money left over to buy yourself a drink.”

Ensuring Consistency and Quality

6. How do you ensure consistency and quality of your performances across different venues?

“As mentioned in my reply to the first question, you need to have a show that is ready to go. It has to be slick, worked in and comfortable before setting on the road. The majority of the acts that I perform in the show have been honed over a few years and can be easily adapted to different sized venues.”

Advice for First-Time Touring Magicians

7. What advice would you give to magicians who are touring for the first time?

“Be adaptable, easy to work with, listen to your audiences and be a team player, especially with the crew and staff at each venue.”

Travel and Accommodation Arrangements

8. How do you handle travel and accommodation arrangements for your tour?

“The best investment I’ve made recently is to purchase a splitter van. It seats six people and has enough room in the back of the van, behind the seats, to contain the whole show. Our show has at least four people, a cage of doves, a 50” TV and stand, two large flight cases, three suitcases, multiple tables, cables, and suit bags. Therefore the whole show, including the cast and crew, travel in one vehicle saving on transport costs. At the beginning of each year, I spend a day booking accommodation for the upcoming tour at hotels and Airbnb. You can get some great rooms and deals, but you have to search to find the best offers.”

Engaging with Local Audiences

9. What strategies do you use to engage with local audiences in different regions?

“A great way to reach regional audiences is via local Facebook groups; you can post details of your show on various local pages that accept details of events in the local area.”

Balancing Tour Performances with Personal Life

10. How do you balance tour performances with maintaining your overall brand and personal life?

“Organising and running a tour is an all-consuming exercise. However, even though the tour is spread out over the majority of the year, it tends to be one or two nighters rather than 10 dates in a row. This gives me the time needed to not only concentrate on the promotion of the brand when not on the road, but look after my own endeavors: plus have the time to concentrate on my personal life. This has been mentioned before, but it is very important that you have a team that you get along with: they are your support network throughout the tour and you’ll be sharing a lot of time with them from working, traveling, eating meals together and spending any downtime with them.”

Touring with a magic show is no small feat, but with the right preparation, team, and strategies, it can be an incredibly rewarding journey. If you’re considering taking your show on the road, take these insights to heart and get ready for an unforgettable experience!

Ready to take your magic on the road? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!

Have any questions for Oliver or tips from your own tours? We’d love to hear from you!