The other day I had some free time in downtown Seattle, so I swung by the Market Magic Shop in the Pike Place Market. One of the cool hidden things at the Pike Place Market is that they have a giant Ask Alexander poster on public display in one of their less travelled hallways!
I picked up a couple of things at the magic shop, but while I was there I noticed t they had added Play-Duh to their spring snake selection!
I posted my routine for Play-Duh recently and I really love this prop! It’s in my summer library show and my routine is a hit! I’ve said it before, I wish I had thought of this idea!
Support brick and mortar magic shops, if you don’t , they will keep disappearing!
I love updating old things to make them modern and more relevant. A great example of this and something that I wish I thought of is Play-Duh. This is the old spring snake in a can, but instead of a peanut brittle or chip can, it’s a “Play-Doh” style can.
Simply putting a spring snake into Play-Doh can won’t work, the lid won’t reliably stay on. This has an adjusted lid to make it stay on.
I’ve been using this in my test shows for my summer library show and it’s a HIT!
The national theme for libraries this summer in the USA is Color Your World, so this fits right into the theme!
Here’s how I use it in my kid show:
Effect: Five container of Play-Doh are shown, each has a different colored lid. One is selected (purple). The other four are opened and they contain a ball of purple Play-Doh. When the selected one is opened, and two purple spring snake jumps out.
This is a really simple routine, all you need to do is to put purple Play-Doh in the four containers that aren’t purple. Two spring snakes go into the one with the purple lid and you’re all set.
All you need to do is force the purple one, I use Phil Smith’s Quinta Force, but the PATEO Force or Magician’s Choice force would also work.
It’s a fun routine, especially when you add in all the Bev Bergeron style bits of trying to put the spring snake back into the can and having them pop back out.
This isn’t a product that I put or make anything on, it’s just something that I think is really cool idea.
Magicians can learn a lot from taking tours. I did a whiskey tour when I was in Nashville and Jimmy the tour guide was a great example of what magicians can learn.
Jimmy had a great “character”, we all knew what he was about very quickly. He also had what was essentially a stand up comedy set that he did while he drove the bus. He told personal stories about the landmarks we were driving by and the history of the area. I think many magicians miss that, connecting with the performer.
I do think that magic is important and you have to have good magic, but connecting with the audience and letting them know who you are is a close second.
Many years ago I heard an interview with Jerry Seinfeld that had an interesting piece of advice. He said your job isn’t having fun onstage, you should be working! I agree, your first job is to work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at the same time.
Here’s how sweaty I am after a show:
I know it’s gross, but I busted my ass onstage! It was fun, but I worked
When I was in Nashville recently I saw a ton of bands whose names I can’t remember. One of the bands playing at a bar that I stopped in was this one:
Their name was one the screens behind them. This is something that’s easy for you to do with your show. Put your logo on to a flash drive and keep with with your show gear. Now anytime there’s a TV in your performing area, plug in the flash drive and pull up your logo.
Personally I think having your logo on a screen is more modern than having a sign on our table. It also adds a touch of “production” to your show. This is a super easy way to get them to remember your name!
I did a test show of my 2025 summer library show. My show is themed around colors, with an emphasis on the colors of the rainbow. Here’s my view of the show when set up:
The Milson Worth Silk Cabby is something that I put in the show for the color blue. The effect that happens is that “my grandma’s scarf” stretches from about 9 inches to 20 feet long while in my grandma’s scarf box. This prop is an outlier in the show as I don’t use magic prop looking things in the show.
After doing it in the show, it really doesn’t feel right as a prop in the show. I think I may just use a double walled bag. The bonus of that is that it will reduce bulk and weight that I need to move around. The downside is that I don’t get to use a fun, vintage magic prop in my show.
For me a test show about a month before the summer library season is really helpful to identify things that don’t work, or I don’t like in the show. Once the season starts, I don’t have a lot of time to build or find a new prop to replace something that isn’t playing how I hoped it would.
One thing I’m not against is doing a show for free, but there needs to be a reason. I’m not talking about shows for charity, but shows that are ticketed, but there’s no pay. I look at these as a chance for me to break in new material and I don’t do my A material, I do things that I’m working on. The only exception to this is if it’s a favor to a friend.
A little while ago a show producer posted a “casting call” in a performer’s group. Here’s the form you had to fill out to audition to perform for free:
First of all, if there’s an audition for a free show, I personally stay away from it. There’s zero reason to audition to not get paid, unless there’s some other form of compensation from the gig, like them providing high quality video/pics of the act.
Next they are asking for experienced performers to do this gig for no pay. The schedule of the shows taking place on Saturdays kills any opportunity to take paid gigs on that prime night for actual paid work.
The super crazy thing to me is that they want 7 rehearsal days…for a FREE show! Then another six days for the shows, for a total commitment of 13 days with zero compensation. The gig is selling tickets, but they aren’t even kicking in for gas or meals for the performers.
Say NO to predatory gigs like this.
This is worse than the charity gig that asks for show in trade for exposure. You can easily leverage those shows into something that’s a win-win. This show is taking advantage of people who need stage time.
Is getting to do an act that’s not even YOUR act worth it?
You’re filling someone else’s pocket with your art.
Recently I hit the road for a short three day run of out of town shows that were done by car. Then I flew out out of an airport a few hours from home to another gig on the other side of the country. That meant that I had to leave my car parked at the airport with a lot of my show gear in the car.
When I do this I lock all of my gear to the car. This isn’t going to stop someone that REALLY wants to steal it, but it will make it harder! If someone’s going to a quick “smash and grab”, then they’re not getting anything. I want to make them work to steal my stuff.
Once everything is locked to my car, I then cover everything with a black sheet.
The black sheet combined with the tint on the windows makes it hard to see anything in the trunk of my car. While this doesn’t make it 100% invisible, it does a really good job of hiding my gear and definitely gives me some peace of mind that I at least tried to deter people from breaking into my car.
Magician’s can learn soo much from watching a drag show or professional wrestling. Those two are very similar, every act has a “hook” and they play things BIG! Big gestures, big personalities and they take time to connect with everyone in the audience.
The host of this show did some crowd work and they were really quick on their feet with jokes based on what the audience was saying. This is a place where many magicians could learn something. Most magicians the moment the person from the audience gets a big laugh the magician shuts them down. In my opinion that’s the wrong approach, you should let that person shine! That’s also why people go to live shows, to see a unique show that no one else will ever see!
Go out and see a professional wrestling or drag show. Watch how big they play everything with gestures and how they engage a crowd. Watch how they look at the whole audience. There’s a lot to learn!
