How to become a Britain's Got Talent Magician? How to get on Britain's Got Talent as a magician?
How to become a Britain’s Got Talent Magician? is a common question that young English magicians pose to me.
In a world of social media and online talent shows, there’s never been a greater opportunity to make your mark on the world and get some exposure to millions of people. Many magicians have tried their hand and Britain’s Got Talent and many have been successful in recent years. Magicians on Britain’s got talent have done extremely well and there’s been a real resurgence in the art form, helped in part by the popularization of magic from tv magicians such as Dynamo, David Blaine and Penn and Teller and they’re associated TV shows where once magic was perceived as on call magic has now received a seal of approval from all of the judges on Britain’s Got talent and continue this golden era. As a result, many magicians have used it as a springboard to have their own theater shows to increase their fees and to secure many high-profile bookings.
So, the question remains, how do you become a magician on Britain’s Got Talent?
The First Thing You Need Is An Act!
Well, the first thing you need is an act. An act that’s different to those that have been before. Being a magician on Britain’s Got Talent is one thing, but being a successful magician on Britain’s Got Talent is something completely different. So, I suppose the more important question is how do you become a successful magician on Brit’s Got Talent? For that you need an act, which is commercial. It’s got to be fun and it’s got to appeal to not only the audience but also appeal to the judges.
It’s got to be something that reflects your personality and not something doesn’t come across as congruent with who you are though are different types of acts. You could be a comedy magician, an illusionist, a closeup magician. All of them have been given a space and a place on Britain’s got talent through the use of closeup cameras or theatrics. So, first you need to design an act and potentially more than one performance piece because if you get through one round, you may have multiple rounds. So, how do you get that first audition?
Well, you can attend the open auditions or you can go direct to the entertainment company. I’ve been approached a number of times to perform on Britain’s Got Talent, but each time I’ve turned them down for a couple of reasons which we’ll get to later.
Britain’s Got Talent certainly is a great springboard for those people wanting to become famous and to increase their profile however they do so at a risk. Again, we’ll come to that later. For now, you need to start with an act and a style for you. One of the other elements that the judges and indeed the TV show look for is a compelling backstory. Why do you do magic? Why do you want to win? And the more emotive the backstory and the more emotive the reason for you wanting to win, the more hearts you can tug on and the more likely people are likely to vote for you because it becomes less about the magic and more about the reason and the driving factors. Unfortunately, a lot of entertainers who appear on the show have constructed quite a remarkable backstory of how they or their family have overcome hardship to be where they are today. So, have a consideration because it’s a question you will certainly be asked and a question that you’ll need to be able to answer with some upon.
After Your Backstory and Act - What Do You Need Next To Become a BGT Magician?
So, you’ve got your backstory, you’ve got your act. What’s next? Well, it may be worth finding a consultant to help you shape your act and shape your performance. If you really want to be presented in the best light, it’s worth investing the time and the effort to fine tune it.
There are a couple of magic consultants who are employed full-Time by Britain’s Got talent. Russ Stevens, an illusionist himself, has been with the production team for many years and is supported by other magicians as well. You can also have independent consultants but may not be recognized as the official magic consultants for Britain’s Got Talent. Having an extra pair of eyes and insights really help shape your act or break it, not only the best it can be, but the best it can be for television. You may have no experience with blocking staging, working to cameras, and presenting an act for T.V.
You may have only ever had experience performing it in theaters, in clubs, in pubs or wedding venues. So, there are some of the considerations. The final consideration is time. Sure, you can go along to have an open audition, but you have to consider the length of time you’ll be waiting in the queue taking account of any delays.
And then if you progress throughout the series, often filming takes a full day and it’s not just you being there just to film one segment, it is, but there’s a lot of other considerations. So, you have to be prepared to put aside your other commitments.
And if you are a full-time professional magician, perhaps turn down other paid employment in the hope that securing time on TV or increase your profile enough to compensate for your loss of earnings. So, there’s some of the considerations on how you become a magician on British gun talent.
Now with this in mind, you may think to yourself, well, I just want to work with Russ Stevens. He’s the official magic consultant. He can help give me a leg up and yes, he does, but he can only take on so many acts per year. Often, he selects them himself and those who approach him have to prove that they’re willing to invest the time, the effort, and have a good act that he can leverage the most potential out of. So, perhaps the question you are asking yourself is why with all of this knowledge don’t you apply for Britain’s Got Talent?
Well, there’s a few reasons. The first reason comes from a quote from on Jim Carey and he said he wishes that everybody would become which and famous because that doesn’t buy you happiness.
Watch Duncan's Close Up Britain's Got Talent Magician Magic Showreel Below:
Duncan - The Britain's Got Talent Magician
Many people when I perform at weddings and private events ask me the same thing, why didn’t you go on Britain’s Got Talent. They see it as a compliment to say you should be good enough to perform on that show. However, for me, I appreciate there’s a lot of time and investment going into appearing and whilst the production is far better than it was, you are still open to negative production quality which may not present your act in the best light. Ultimately, Britain’s Got Talent is an entertainment show. They don’t want all magicians in the final, nor do they want all singers. They want a range of acts to keep it exciting and to increase viewing numbers.
After all, it’s a business, whether it’s selling advertising or whether it’s promoting products. Either way, you need to be wary of the fact that even if your act is the best, it may not be the most successful based on other factors out of your control. The second reason is once you become famous, you can never not become famous. You have an increased spotlight on you. And I don’t want my personal or private life and intruding on. I’m happy with my own vision and direction for my own business and don’t desire the frame that people do. You only have to look at my Instagram page to see how little I post.
And that is perhaps to the detriment of my business. But I don’t measure success based on the number of people who like a post or know who I am. And based on the quality of my work, my reviews and my repeat bookings. The final consideration for appearing as a magician on Britain’s Got Talent comes down to corruption. Now it is an entertainment show and they understand they’re wanting to present an entertaining show. And I want share a couple of stories with you that have put me off performing as a magician on Britain’s Got Talent.
Watch Duncan Performing His Britain's Got Magician Talent Style Show Below:
The Dark Side Of Britain's Got Talent That No-One Talks About
Perhaps the first, well-known Britain’s Got Talent magician who was successful on Britain’s got talent outside of Jamie Raven and the military magician was Issy a 7-year-old girl. As I mentioned before, all magicians or all performers need a backstory. Hers was no different. She used to tell a story of how her granddad used to pull coins out from behind her ears. For everybody else, they buy into the story of an old man pulling coins from behind her ears. The reality is very different.
Her granddad is the one and the only official magic consultant to Britain’s Got Talent previously mentioned -Russ Stevens. Now, if I was to go on Britain’s talent, I wouldn’t take my ugly face with big ears. I’d find a cute boy or a girl, teach them how to do magic and then get far more by-in than that.
While Steven’s goes on to represent all of these acts, finding theater positions and taking a hefty cut from doing so as well. He is a businessman, first and foremost. Other considerations of corruption come from the Mind Reading Dog, which you may remember from a few years ago, this act was presented in full and subsequently published online.
It was refused by the Britain’s Got Talent team and then picked up 3 years later and used without the permission of the original act. Other areas of corruption include a ventriloquist who wanted to perform a ventriloquist mass routine on Simon Cowell and was told that Simon Cowell was happy to take part and was open, when it came to the act Simon Cowell was very uncomfortable and did want not to take part. He hadn’t been briefed at all and it was the act was made to look silly.
There are countless examples of this, but it’s not my position to say whether this is ethically correct or not. All I know is that BGT is an entertainment show and I’m a mere magician and a disposable magician for the might of a psycho and his production company. So, performing on Britain’s Got Talent can certainly increase your profile as a magician, a singer, dancer, or a variety act but he can equally harm your career as well.
So, pay close attention to what you need to do and also what you need to avoid and weigh up the risks with the benefits to see if it aligns with your goal and vision for your business and growth in your particular field.
So How Can Duncan Help in The Arena of Britain's Got Talent?
If you’re looking for a professional magician, digital magician or stage magician however, who doesn’t desire the spotlight and will in fact want to compliment your wedding day, your private party, or your event and look no further. Although Duncan has never been on Britain’s Got Talent, it doesn’t mean his magic is any less incredible. More so because he’s chosen not to indulge in that world.
To learn more about Duncan and to check his availability, you can connect with him online through his contact form on his contact page. We’ll call him directly and he’ll come back to you with availability, costs help on you to understand how he can best fit your event. He looks forward to hearing from you.
Equally, if you are interested in having a professional magician with over 15 years experience consulting for performers on their theatre shows, TV auditions or talent shows, then do not hesitate to get in touch to see how Duncan can help.
