ReLearning Dice Stacking…

When I was younger I used to dice stack and was pretty good at it…but that was 20 years ago. I’ve played with it off and on over the last few decades, but never really worked too hard at in. I’m trying to keep up the skill, and not sure what I want to do with it, but I’d like to get past a bit of the basic skill I’ve retained.

This week at the AirBnB, I put my dice and cup in the kitchen and whenever I walk by it I have to practice!

dice stacking magic trick

I have a little three phase routine that I have to do. It’s four dice one at a time, then two pairs of two and finally all four dice at once. If I fail on any of the stacks I need to start over. This should help me get my skills back a little bit. Once I get those stacks consistent, I’m going to start working on some more exotic stacks.

-Louie

Plan Ahead…

One thing that’s important is to be prepared when you go to a gig. Recently I was performing at a fair and hanging out with a sound guy who is my friend at his stage. He was at the community stage and had an act that didn’t bring a converter to get the audio output from his phone to a 1/8 inch jack.

This act was a singer, and sang to a music on his phone, so his only “instrument” was his iPhone. He didn’t bring the adapter dongle to convert the lightning plug to something that the stage’s sound system can plug into. Converters to specific phones aren’t something standard that a sound company normally has. They have audio cables that end in a 1/8 inch audio jack.

This singer spent all of his tech time running around to try to find an adapter, and finally had a friend bring him one from home. He was so frazzled when he started, he had rough show. When your show hinges on a $20 adapter, you should have three of them. One in your glove box, one in trunk of your car and one in your pocket. Honestly, that person should be travelling with a DI box as well, that was there have zero issues when they arrive at the venue.

Looking at little things like carrying an adapter, or audio cord can make your life a lot easier, and shows go a lot more stress free!

Yes, I do understand that there are times and places where you shouldn’t expect to have to bring your own DI box, like in an equity theater, however you should also have noted that you need one on your tech sheet. I should say that I would never expect the venue to provide a phone adapter.

If you need it and it’s possible, bring it!
-Louie

FISM Flash and the Vanishing Birdcage

Sometimes I have ideas that I know I’ll never do and just aren’t practical, but I want to try them to see how they actually play out. What I wanted to do was add a FISM Flash to the vanishing birdcage. I recently acquired a FISM Flash in a box of used magic, so I was able to give it a try!

I think it does add something to the effect, however I don’t think what it adds makes it worth all of the extra wiring that’s around your body. It would be good for a short act, or a TV spot, but not as something I’d do in a full show.

I’m probably not the first person to try combining the FISM Flash and the Vanishing Birdcage, and I’m sure most people who have tried it came to the same conclusion, which is it’s just not that practical.
-Louie

Always Learning

Last week in the green room when Jeremy Schafer, who is a juggler and also an origami master asked me if I wanted to learn how to make an origami model. Of course I said yes, and I was already learning, I didn’t know that the origami you make is called “models”.

jeremy schafer origami

I was his test folder for an original origami model of his. Here’s his tutorial for how to make the Heptagonal Box with Lid and I make an appearance at the end

Whenever you have the opportunity to learn from someone who is an expert, do it!

-Louie

Clean Your Gear!

One of the things about working a lot is you see your gear a lot and how dirty your stuff gets sneaks up on you. I try to give all of my gear a good cleaning at the end of every run. One thing that I missed was my microphone windscreen. It’s probably been a month or so since I replaced it.

It’s pretty gross!

Then there’s my shoes, I wipe them down every day. Here’s them at the end of a 6 day fair run:

They get a good cleaning at the end of the run. If I didn’t give them a quick clean everyday, they would get crazy gross and the deep clean a the end of the week gets them ready for the next contract!

…so the moral of the story is clean everything, not just the show props!

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Dr Owl

This week Matt takes the week off and Louie does a solo interview with Dr Owl Jester! They meet up in a dressing room at the Evergreen State fair where they both were performing.

In this podcast we learn about what kind of doctor Dr. Owl Jester is and the interesting places that the doctoring has taken him. We chat about how how he got into performing and doing just about ever job possible at the moisture festival from security, to lights to performing onstage!

Here’s a Joke For You…

One of the things I hate is when people tell me they “have a joke that I can use in my act“, then proceed to tell the me the lamest, street joke. I always let them tell it to me, and laugh to be polite, but it’s never a good or original joke.

I recently had a musician working the same event as I was “give” me this joke:
You show a beer and say, “I’m going to make this beer disappear” then you drink the beer. It’s a stupid joke because everyone gets to the punchline before you can deliver, that and the payoff isn’t that good. I’m sure some hack comedy magicians will tell me they kill with that gag, and if they actually do, good for them.

ever filling glass magic trick

One of the reasons I always let the person tell me the joke is you never know what it will spark in your brain. The joke made me think of the old Ever Filling Glass. If you’re not familiar with this, it’s a glass that you drink from and then it’s full again.

Here’s a demo video of it I found:

If you pared that trick with joke, you might have something that has a magical pay out.

You show the glass and a handkerchief. Say “the beer will disappear” and cover it with the handkerchief. Pretend to drink the beer from under the handkerchief and then show the cup almost empty. You then recover the glass, say, “it’s going to reappear…now!” and whisk the handkerchief away to show it’s now full again!

I think this would also work with Mago Murphy’s Appearing Beer Trick, you’d just have to work it slightly differently, starting with the full beer and stealing the gimmick while you pretend to drink it.

I don’t think I’ll ever do this, but it’s an idea…

-Louie

Street Show Table…

Well, I think I’ve finally accepted that virtual shows aren’t really a part of my business any longer. Sure, I can see one or two occasionally popping up, but they are really in my rear view mirror. Before heading out on the road last week, I disassembled my virtual show table and it returned to its former life as my street show table.

street show buskers magic table

I still have all the parts and can easily rebuild it for virtual shows. One of the things that I really liked about the table was how high it was. The base was a speaker stand, and the table was about armpit height. The reason it was soo high was so that I could easily frame my face and the tabletop in the camera frame.

I’m a little sad to see the virtual show go, it was fun to do.

-Louie

Magic Promo Video Question

In a facebook magic group someone asked this question:

magic promo video question

The problem the person has is really a non-issue. Who really cares if a video editor knows how a trick works? They are someone you have hired to help you. It’s like having a topit sewn into your jacket, if the person doing the sewing knows you have a secret pocket, does it matter?

No it doesn’t.

Another when hiring someone to work on a video for you or for when you work on TV, let them know what to not record or what to be aware of. I was lucky my first local TV show that I was on, the director worked on one of Siegfried and Roy‘s videos and he asked me if there were any bad angles or things he should be aware of to not show. That taught me it’s better to be proactive and tell them what not to show than try to figure it out in the moment when you know the camera is in the wrong spot.

-Louie

Leo Smetser’s Shell Game Set

leo smetsers three shell game

A couple of weeks ago someone asked me what shell game set I used and why I preferred that set. My working set is Leo Smetser’s Three Shell Game Set.

There’s a lot that I like about his set, but the number on thing is that it’s so easy to carry in my pocket. The trick all fits into it’s metal case which doubles as the “shotglass” that’s used in most routines to double cover the pea.

Here’s a little video I made to tell you why I like this set:

For the pea, I don’t use Leo’s sponge peas. I use the Perfect Pea from School For Scoundrels. That’s by far my preferred pea to use with every set of shells.

-Louie