Booking a magician for a corporate event?
How many guests can I entertain at an event?
This is a question should be asked more than I am as it is very important. There is no exact formula and it will vary depending on the format of the event and the specific timings.
Bad:
I’ve been booked for 45 tables during a 3 course meal, 1000 people during a drinks reception and 30 people for two hours
Good:
I’ve had the luxury of having 6 tables of people to entertain during a 4 course meal with coffee, a single table of 12 people and plenty of events with 60 – 100 guests.
If there are 100 people sitting at tables of 10, I know there are 10 separate groups. However, 100 people for a drinks reception could be made up of groups of 2s, 3s, 4s etc. so there could be any number of groups of people and that number is constantly shifting… as are the people. When people I have entertained split up and join groups of people I am yet to entertain, it’s called ‘contamination’. This is what makes walk around magic more difficult than table magic when it comes to entertaining everyone.
If you are thinking of having me entertain at your event (and I really think you should!) then I would highly recommend bringing other entertainment. The basic rule is this: one entertainer per 100 guests. Check out The Eventertainers section to see who I work with and highly recommend to bring in for larger events. There is some leeway on the numbers of guests per entertainer depending on the timings and format of your event. If suitable, The Mystery Zone easily allows me to entertain far more than 100 party guests.
So, work on having one entertainer per 100 guests. The more entertainment your event has, the better the atmosphere that is created. As a result, people will remember your event for a long time.
That’s the ‘too many people’ aspect of entertainment. In a later post, I’ll discuss the perils of having too few guests!