Although Paul Draper is a seasoned speaker to corporate groups with the occasional lecture for magicians here and there, this past January was his first nationwide magic lecture tour. The day following his lecture here in Houston, we sat down for a chat about his philosophy. We talked in a little more detail about some of the things discussed in the lecture
Just like he would for a corporate client, Paul customizes his lecture to the group and their unique needs. In our case when asked what we most wanted to learn, we requested more information on character development, marketing, how to keep a mentalism show from looking like a series of predictions, cold reading and more. He was more than capable of talking and teaching each of these topics. The problem with Paul (if there is any flaw in him at all) is that he has so much knowledge for such a young age that it's hard to decide which topic to focus on for a lecture. Plus, each group has different needs: one may like mentalism, another wants more knowledge on theatre, yet another wants card tricks, etc.
Along midway through his tour, Paul discovered (thanks to a tip from Stephen Bargatze) that he should begin his lecture with a short performance so those who have never seen him better understand his persona and performing style. Then the audience feels more comfortable in asking questions and interacting in a "give-and-take" lecture format. For more information on Paul, be sure to visit his website at http://PaulWDraper.com
As a follow-up to my conversation with Paul in early 2013, he did a video Q&A on March 1, 2014 for Full Circle Magic. This is a great chat with good questions and even better answers. I know you will enjoy this video compliments of Full Circle Magic. Be sure to check the schedule for upcoming live broadcasts with other successful professional magicians and mentalists. And please visit their Facebook page and request access to their closed group.
