Amateur vs. Professional: What To Know When Booking a Denver Magician
The Difference Between Amateur and Professional Magicians: Why Hiring a Professional Magician in Denver Is Essential for Your Event
Let me walk you through a common scenario, you have just found someone on Google and their website has a few photos, a short bio, and a rate that seems reasonable. You go ahead and book them! When it comes time for the show, the beginning is awkward and a few tricks in, the show is pretty good but there is just something missing!
This is far less talked about than it should be. Should we settle for just okay or spend a little extra for fantastic, memorable, and impossible?
Denver, like most large cities, has no shortage of magicians. What it has a shortage of is magicians worth hiring for a corporate event, private party, wedding, or any occasion where the entertainment will be unique and more than a “trick.”
The Uncomfortable Truth About the Denver Magic Scene
This is the perspective of a magician from inside the community. These are observations compiled from years of watching Colorado magic.
There are dozens of working magicians in Colorado… each one performing in Denver, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Aurora, Castle Rock, and everywhere in between. Most of them are decent people who genuinely love magic. But loving magic and delivering a world-class performance are two very different things! What separates them isn’t raw talent, it’s typically the reps, investment, and an obsession with the full experience rather than the individual trick.
The most common problem myself and many of my colleagues have noticed is not bad magic tricks but rather borrowed magic routines. Routines lifted wholesale from other performers. Stock lines recycled from YouTube tutorials and handed down from generation to generation. Tricks that may look impressive are repeated in the same similar fashion as the other two options you were considering. This is an issue for one huge reason. In such a digital age many people have seen magic before, in fact you (yes you reading this) may very well be wanting to hire a magician because you saw just how much fun it can be! If a group of people acquainted with magic watch the same hack-lines, tricks, and presentations… it would simply be like watching “The Usual Suspects” or “Knives Out” again. There is no mystery, there is no surprise and because of this there is little to no entertainment.
In simple terms a string of strong tricks does not, in itself, make a superb performer. Anyone can learn a good trick. The hard part and the part most people skip, is building a complete show with its own voice, its own theme, and its own stories.
In this case, consider what makes your favorite comedian your favorite. Is it the fact that he is just plain funny? Possibly… but let’s dig beyond that. Why is he funny to YOU? The simple and most direct answer is because you can relate in some strange way. Whether this is direct relation of some kind or just relation of the human experience, you relate and connect the show to your own life. This turns into that feeling we all know after seeing a great show! The same concept directly relates to what makes a great magic show REALLY great.
What “Amateur” Actually Means
Amateur doesn’t inherently mean young, nor does it mean inexperienced. What it typically refers to is someone who does not make a living as a magician.
One of the greatest living magicians of our time, Dai Vernon, never worked as a professional magician but changed the art in countless ways. He regarded himself as a “hobbyist.” For amateur magicians, performing is typically a side income. Their availability is unreliable and in some cases their preparation is whatever they can fit around their main schedule.
The consequences are real:
Typically they will show up un-prepared and un-aware of each tiny detail which makes your event run. A professional magician asks questions about your event, your audience size, your venue layout… before the day of and typically before they decide if the event will even be the right fit.
As mentioned above they typically don’t have the number of reps to expect the unexpected. You can be a master of sleight of hand but know how to work an audience, these are separate skills. A magician performing 160 shows a year across Denver and the surrounding Colorado area has typically encountered every type of crowd, every difficult audience member, every venue curveball. A magician doing 15 shows a year has not. That gap shows up exactly when you need it not to either during a corporate gala, a cocktail hour, a milestone birthday, or a Bar or Bat Mitzvah where the energy needs to be read perfectly.
There is a specific kind of discomfort that comes from watching someone perform magic that doesn’t fit them, like a suit two sizes wrong or an apple wearing the peel of an orange. The trick might technically work, but the performance will feel stale, dead, or is most cases awkward. Energy spreads through rooms like a wave and it’s a always a big one! Whether that wave is awkward or confident and heart-filled depends solely on the person in front of your guests.
What to Actually Look For When Hiring a Magician in Denver
Price will always tell you something…
You can find a magician in Denver, Colorado for $150 to $500. At that range, you are hiring someone for whom this is not a living. It is just simple math that a magician cannot make a living on those rates alone. A professional magician performing full-time, year-round, carrying liability insurance, investing in original material, and building a real reputation in the Denver entertainment market cannot sustain that rate.
Higher pricing paired with strong evidence is usually never a red flag. They know their worth and showcase their worth!
Evidence of a real, working career-
Look for a performer who works consistently, not occasionally. A working professional magician has video/photos of actual live performances at real events. They have testimonials from corporate clients, wedding couples, and private party hosts. They have a track record that is public and verifiable. If their last review is from 2021 and their promo video looks like it was shot in a garage, that is important information to consider. A professional who charges $2500 should at first glance look like they are worth $2500.
Original style and a clear point of view-
Once again, the best magicians are not just doing tricks, they are doing their tricks, in their way, with their character. When you watch their video, you should feel like you are watching a specific person and are told a specific story. Comedy magician. Mentalist. Illusionist. Whatever the lane that they may brand in, it should be very clear to you and your audience who they are beyond those general categories. As a general rule I say if the performance could belong to anyone, it probably belongs to no one.
Credentials that come from outside their own website-
Another good way to tell if someone is the right fit is if they have T.V. credits, awards, or recognition from the magic community. When an independent panel has evaluated someone’s close-up magic, stage show, or walk-around performance and recognized it publicly, that narrows the field. You must be at a certain level to win magic competitions and most people who wish to gain these awards MUST create original material. It’s unlikely a combination of routines in itself will take home a prize.
A contract, a rider, and proof of insurance-
Corporate & Wedding Specific Professional magicians in Denver, at least the ones worth hiring for a corporate event or wedding reception carry liability insurance, use formal contracts, and have a performance rider. If the entertainer you are considering cannot produce any of these, that is important information about how seriously they take the job. And how seriously they will take yours.
Why This Matters More in Denver Than You Think
Denver as a city has steadily grown in population year after year. Because of this our event market has grown fast. Corporate headquarters in the Tech Center, wedding venues in the foothills and RiNo, private parties across Greenwood Village, Centennial, Parker, and Broomfield are now constantly in demand for premium entertainment.
From what I have witnessed, the amount of quality entertainment has not kept pace with this population demand.
That gap means the difference between a magician who fills time and one who defines the night is wider here than in larger, more competitive performance markets. This means it may be harder for you to find qualified entertainers unfortunately.
For what it’s worth: I myself have performed well over hundreds of shows across Denver, the Colorado Front Range, and nationally. Last year taking first place at Tannen’s Magic Walk-Around Competition, one of the most competitive close-up magic competitions for young entertainers in the country, and appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us with an original act. This is not a sales pitch it’s a bar to strive for, and a bar I hold myself accountable for raising each and every performance.
Best Wishes In Your Booking!
Liam Abner
Liam Abner is a professional magician and emcee based in Denver, Colorado. He performs at corporate events, private parties, weddings, birthday parties, bachelorette parties, and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs across Denver, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Littleton, Aurora, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Parker, Lakewood, and throughout the Rocky Mountain region.