Last month, on February 14th to be precise, my wife and I went to our local theatre to see a performance of love poetry (well, it was Valentine’s Day) which was presented by a trio of performance poets. The poems were selected carefully from the works of a number of poets ranging from Shakespeare right through to modern day writers.

After the 60 minute show we went through to the bar area and while we were having a drink there, the producer of the show came up to us and asked us if we would like to have a poem performed now at our table by one of the trio we had just seen. She then put a piece of paper down headed ‘Poem Menu’ and we were able to choose one of the three poems listed there.

A few moments later one of the cast appeared and after we’d had a chat for a few minutes with her, she then performed our chosen poem for us. It was a very novel and surprisingly moving experience to have something like this presented to us in such a personal way.

And it brought home to me in a way that I had never experienced before, what it must be like when a magician approaches a table to perform close up magic for a group.

With the poetry, the first thing that we felt was surprise that something like this could happen at our tableside. The idea of having someone speak poetry directly to and for us alone, was a concept that we hadn’t thought about before, and so it was immediately intriguing.

The same must hold true for many people who haven’t seen magic done up close before.

Next, we felt a slight embarrassment - what would it be like having poetry performed just for us in a crowded room?

With close up magic the same applies because a performance at your table in many ways draws attention to you as others look over to see what is going on.

The lady poet who performed for us did so in such a way that it felt very personal - she looked directly at us as she spoke so that we felt drawn into her performance in an intimate way.

Similarly it is important with close up to create a lot of eye contact, to involve people in your performance so that they feel that what they are experiencing is just for them and is therefore special.

Because the poet was sitting down with us, it gave us a chance to talk to her about the performance from earlier in the evening and to discuss what we had seen which made the whole experience have more depth and interest.

With close up magic people often like to chat to you, because they never get the chance to talk to a magician and it is fascinating for them even if it seems at times mundane to you as a performer.

So, don’t undervalue the personal touch - it’s what makes close up magic so special.