Another Idea Becomes Reality…

There are magic tricks that I’ve always been fascinated by and wanted to do in my show. Over the years some of these tricks have been in a version of my show and having done them, I don’t need to do them again. There are other tricks that I keep revisiting, trying to find a … Continue reading “Another Idea Becomes Reality…”

There are magic tricks that I’ve always been fascinated by and wanted to do in my show. Over the years some of these tricks have been in a version of my show and having done them, I don’t need to do them again. There are other tricks that I keep revisiting, trying to find a way to make them work for me. One of those tricks is Coin in Ball of Yarn.


The basic effect is that a borrowed or marked item disappears and reappears inside of a ball of yarn. There are a lot of ways to do this effect, and a lot of ways to present it. Usually the method dictates whether the ball of yarn can be shown before the trick has started or not, which will affect how the trick is presented.


Years ago I was working on an Object in Ball of Yarn and wanted a fishing pole for the person to be able to reel in the yarn. Unfortunately commercially made fishing pole reels aren’t designed to handle yarn. A fly fishing reel almost works, but they are too small to hold a meaningful quantity of yarn. I hand built a contraption on a vintage hand drill that reeled in yarn, but was super heavy, hard to work (for someone in the audience) and ugly as heck.


About a month ago I started working on a new version of Object in Ball of Yarn and a friend of mine suggested that I use a fishing pole. I told him that they don’t work for yarn. He suggested I make one using old movie film reels. Then it hit me, I have a 3D Printer, why not just print it out and it will be exactly how I want it to be. Here’s what I printed out yesterday:

Magic trick fishing pole

It finished printing out last night and I tried it out this morning and I’m happy to report it works great! The nice thing is that the fishing pole is made from a “travel fishing pole”, so it collapses and easily fits in my luggage. Another prop that I have for this trick is bowl to hold the yarn, and this bowl has a fitting on it to screw into a mic stand. Between the fishing pole that collapses and not having to travel with a stand for the bowl, this is becoming a pack medium, play big routine!

Making the best…

A couple of days ago I wrote about seeing an amazing act perform under horrible conditions (you can read it here). Yesterday I was performing at a festival and I got to be a good act performing with not so idea conditions. I’m not one to complain, as I’m honestly grateful for any gig and … Continue reading “Making the best…”

A couple of days ago I wrote about seeing an amazing act perform under horrible conditions (you can read it here). Yesterday I was performing at a festival and I got to be a good act performing with not so idea conditions. I’m not one to complain, as I’m honestly grateful for any gig and do my best to make it work.


The gig yesterday had a raised stage, which is good. Unfortunately the stage was only about 6 inches high, so it didn’t offer the same visual advantage as a 12 or 18 inch stage would have.


The ground that the audience sat on sloped downward away from the stage, so any advantage from the short stage was quickly lost. The picture was taken with my camera held at eye level from about the 8th row. You’ll notice that you can only see one performer on the stage, in reality there were six people! They were a Taiko Drum act, a they have some very large props, however you’ll also notice you can’t see them in the picture.


The stage also had to metal poles that block sight lines and a barricade in front of the stage. The metal pole and barricade are more psychological barriers for the audience. However there were four giant pillars in the middle of the audience blocking the sight lines, which were actual barriers.


How do you make this work?

There are some things you can’t control, like the big pillars or the sloping ground. The first thing I did was move the barrier from in front of the stage. Now there’s one less thing between me and the audience. Then I did a lot of my standing on the stool that I keep in my car for situations like this. It makes the show much more visible. These two things made a huge difference in how the show was received.


You can complain about situations, or you can do you best to make them the best they can be!

Feedback…

Marketing a magic trick is something that’s a long road, if you want it to have staying power. It’s a short road if you are just doing a money grab. It seems that a lot of what’s put out is simply to get an idea onto the market before someone else does, and it’s not … Continue reading “Feedback…”

Marketing a magic trick is something that’s a long road, if you want it to have staying power. It’s a short road if you are just doing a money grab. It seems that a lot of what’s put out is simply to get an idea onto the market before someone else does, and it’s not a finished idea. Yes, there are things that are well thought out and have been used “in the trenches” for read audiences, but somehow those seem few and far between.


Right now I’m working on a project that’s a utility prop and I got it working for me and how I work. Then I sent some out to people who actually do the trick and apparently I’m the only one who used the trick the way that I do! Getting feedback from people while a huge pain in the butt, as I’ve had to do several major redesigns, will make this something that has much more staying power than in it’s original “final” form.


One of the things about how this project has evolved is something fairly simple has gotten a lot more complex to build. The nice thing about it being less simple, is that it’ll be harder to rip off by other people and there are a lot of small details in it now that really make it more unique than in its original form and a much more well thought out device.

Amazing Package!

Unique acts are something that I always love seeing. They can be good, bad, or whatever, if it’s something I’ve never seen before, I’m in! Earlier this week I performed with the Marshall Shore the Hip Historian. He does an act based on Arizona’s history, and it’s run like a game show. His show has … Continue reading “Amazing Package!”

Unique acts are something that I always love seeing. They can be good, bad, or whatever, if it’s something I’ve never seen before, I’m in! Earlier this week I performed with the Marshall Shore the Hip Historian. He does an act based on Arizona’s history, and it’s run like a game show.
His show has amazing “curb appeal”. The look of the show looks fun and exciting.

Let’s start with his costume. He wears boots with the Arizona flag on them, and his jacket also has the Arizona flag on the back of it. He’s looks like a cool version of Colonel Sanders. One of his props is a chicken bucket with his face in place of the Colonel’s face.


His show is a game show where people try to be the first to correctly answer Arizona trivia. I think this is something that could be expanded into a much bigger show. He could use some video elements, and different types of games, not just head to head trivia. This is something that would play really well in a hipster bar or black box theater. I also think this is something that if he packaged it right, he could get a ton of bookings in middle and high schools!

The Whole World Isn’t a Stage…

Variety shows are a blast to perform in, and whenever possible I try to be in them. Earlier this week I was in a show in Phoenix and got to work with a physical comedian, a hula hooper, a sideshow clown and a historian! What I love about these shows is how diverse the range … Continue reading “The Whole World Isn’t a Stage…”

Variety shows are a blast to perform in, and whenever possible I try to be in them. Earlier this week I was in a show in Phoenix and got to work with a physical comedian, a hula hooper, a sideshow clown and a historian! What I love about these shows is how diverse the range of skills the performers have.




One thing that I’m hyper aware of is when you’re not performing on a raised stage. Anything that happens below the armpit disappears for people beyond the second row. I’m aware of this because years ago when I used to do cups and balls in my show I noticed everyone that wasn’t in front having trouble seeing.


In the variety show the majority of the hula hooper’s first set was done with her on the floor, or lower to the ground. Her act was good, but not visible to the whole audience. Sure, artistically doing stuff on the floor makes sense, however moving it up higher in general will make it play better and bigger! This is why juggler’s build larger crowds than a magician, and usually end on something high up like a unicycle.


Great Act, Horrible Conditions…

A few weeks ago I went out to the LA County Fair to see Patrick McGuire perform. Patrick is an amazing juggler and performer. I’ve only worked with him indoors in theaters, so I was curious what his outdoor show looked like. Here’s a video he posted on Facebook: I saw him on a weekday … Continue reading “Great Act, Horrible Conditions…”

A few weeks ago I went out to the LA County Fair to see Patrick McGuire perform. Patrick is an amazing juggler and performer. I’ve only worked with him indoors in theaters, so I was curious what his outdoor show looked like.

Here’s a video he posted on Facebook:

I saw him on a weekday during the day and he had rough conditions. It was over a hundred degrees out, there was no shade for the performers or the audience. The only shade was probably 150 feet away, which is where I watched the show from. To top it all off, there was a stage directly next to and slightly behind the one Patrick was performing on that was having a Mexican Battle of the Bands, which was insanely loud!


To his credit, he did his show, didn’t look annoyed and people watched. He didn’t get much of a response out of people, but they were into it and stayed for the whole show.


The moral of the story is that no matter how bad the conditions, the audience came to see you. If there’s nothing you can do about it in the moment, you need to press on and give them the best show you can!

Themed Shows…

One thing that Disneyland does better than all of the other attractions in California is sticking to their theme. You don’t see “cast members” dressed for frontier land in fantasy land. The do a great job of bringing you into the world that they want you to be in. In a themed magic show, you … Continue reading “Themed Shows…”

One thing that Disneyland does better than all of the other attractions in California is sticking to their theme. You don’t see “cast members” dressed for frontier land in fantasy land. The do a great job of bringing you into the world that they want you to be in.


In a themed magic show, you need to have more than a couple of props that are themed, you need to really jump in an do the whole thing. This is why when I do themed shows for libraries, my shows are more “academic” than a show that is supposed to take you to another place.


For variety performers this is easier to do now than every before. Custom backdrops are cheap, custom decals are cheap, and custom costumes are cheap. All of these are easy to source with the internet, so bringing an audience into your world only adds a $500 or so more to building your show than using generic props.


If you are going to do a theme, I think you really should immerse your audience into that theme. There’s really no excuse to not do that!

Using Music…

Not too long ago I worked with an act that was a talking act, but used music. He did used music as a background to talking pieces and also did acts to music. The music should have added a lot to his show, however it didn’t. The way he used the music wasn’t “seamless” and … Continue reading “Using Music…”

Not too long ago I worked with an act that was a talking act, but used music. He did used music as a background to talking pieces and also did acts to music. The music should have added a lot to his show, however it didn’t. The way he used the music wasn’t “seamless” and it wasn’t loud enough.


Let’s tackle the last problem first, since it’s the easiest. There are times when you want music quiet, there are times when you want it loud, and there are times when you want it to vary. The simple solution is to re-record your music tracks at the approximate levels you want them. Background music tracks are quieter than tracks for acts to the music. Simple…Yes, however I’m always amazed more acts don’t do this.


Now for the problem of using music seamlessly. The act I saw had an ipod in their case, and whenever they needed to play music, they had to stop what they were doing, run to the case and change the music. This created a lot of dead time and took the audience out of the moment. The first solution is to use a cue sheet and give it to the sound person. The next solution is to use a remote control. This is one of the better solutions because you can make sure your cues happen when you want them to. It also allows you the freedom to go off script.


Using music effectively from a technical standpoint is easier than ever to do. Years ago recording your tracks with varying audio would have been insanely expensive and using a remote control is simple and reliable now.


Sound Guys…

There are tons great people that run the sound at fairs, however most of them don’t understand much about what makes a show or contest work. A good example are simple things like having music loud or quiet during your show. The tend to strive for an even volume throughout and that’s not necessarily what … Continue reading “Sound Guys…”

There are tons great people that run the sound at fairs, however most of them don’t understand much about what makes a show or contest work. A good example are simple things like having music loud or quiet during your show. The tend to strive for an even volume throughout and that’s not necessarily what the act wants.


Another good example is how I run my fair show, I like to select my audience, versus trying to hold the audience from the previous show. The reason I want to turn the audience is that if you are there to see the classic rock band, you’re not there for my show. Sure I can try to win you over, however if I don’t you’re eating a seat for someone else that would be a better base for my audience. I’d rather have a smaller starting audience that builds to a bigger audience at the end than a big audience that walks leaving me with a small audience at the end.


When the sound guy gets on the mic and tries to bring people in by saying, “if you can hear me, come fill up the seats for the magic show“, they aren’t helping. First of all, they aren’t helping, I do my preshow in a very specific way. That is to build a base that’s committed to me and the show and weed out the people that will walk and not be down with what I do. I’m not a show that’s for “everyone”, but no show is.


It was also interesting that the sound guy this week would only try to pull in people for the beginning of my show, and not the other acts. I also asked him to stop doing it on the second day as it made my job harder. What I was doing clearly was working as I had the biggest crowds on the stage all week. I’m sure he was just trying to help, and that’s good, however he should really ask before doing anything on the mic during my time, just like I always ask before I put anything into, or out of his equipment.






Don’t Be Like a Band…

In the summer time I share the stage with a lot of bands and I can tell how successful they are within about two or three songs. This has nothing with how good musicians they are, or the genre of music, but with how they treat their time one stage between songs. How I see … Continue reading “Don’t Be Like a Band…”

In the summer time I share the stage with a lot of bands and I can tell how successful they are within about two or three songs. This has nothing with how good musicians they are, or the genre of music, but with how they treat their time one stage between songs.


How I see it is the time you (or your band) is on stage, that’s not just your time, that is the audience’s time. When I’m watching a band, if they waste time by doing a huddle between each song while they discuss what they are going to play next, they are wasting my time. I’m not sure why so many bands don’t have a set list? Shaving off the huddle time, they’d be able to play at least one more song.


How I see it is one way you are doing a show and the other way you’re jamming with your buddies. Jamming with your buddies has a place, but not on a stage. Also if you have a set list, you know how long your show will run, and are able to cut things down and make it work if you are running long, or have alternate songs planned if you are running short.


How does this apply to a magician? Simple, have a plan, have a set list, it will make your show tighter and you won’t be wasting the audience’s time!