Uncategorized – MagicShow.Tips

Protecting Your Original Magic!

Once a month I pop into popular online market places like eBay to see if there are any counterfeit or knock off products of mine. It’s been a while since one has been on eBay, but one recently popped up.

This particular eBay listing violated two parts of my registered intellectual property. The first was in the description it used my ad copy, which I registered with the US Copyright office.

Sites like eBay or AliExpress will pull stuff faster and 100% of the time (at least in my experience) when you have a registration number. I filed a copyright claim with eBay, which is super simple and takes less than 5 minutes.

Within about 48 hours I got an email from eBay confirming the item was removed!

Super simple, I’m surprised more magicians don’t file their ad copy and art with the US Copyright Office. It costs about $70 to file it and get your registration number.

Oh, the second way that this listing was violating my intellectual property was that “Louie Foxx” is trademarked, so the listing was violating my trademark. I could have included this violation with the copyright claim but didn’t. I like to save that one in case the item pops back up with different text, but still uses my name in the title or anywhere in the listing. I can get them a second strike for violating IP.

-Louie
PS Another good resource is Sara Crasson’s book Own Your Magic A Magicians Guide to Protecting Your Intellectual Property, which covers patents, trademarks, and copyrights. I highly recommend this book!

Levitations!

There’s a levitation illusion going around, and there’s something I don’t like about it. Before I go any further, the illusion is fine, there’s just a visual thing that I don’t like. If you can get past this, than it’s a great trick.

Here’s the style of levitation, I think the two pics below are different makers.

What I dislike is the cloth wrapped around the person floating. Specifically how it dangles on the end. This is also my issue with most chair suspension routines. The cloth really serves no purpose, aside from hiding the method.

I get that you can justify the cloth as it’s a magic cloth that makes people float…but then why isn’t all of the cloth floating and some of it dangling?

Yes, most levitations of a human have do deal with gravity. In my opinion the dangling of the hair and dress make the illusion look better visually. Where the cloth wrap doesn’t look anywhere are good as the person uncovered.

I understand that it’s not real magic, and you have to make concessions to hide the method. That’s a valid artistic choice, to have a purpose in your show for a levitation and due to venue limitations you need to use a method that you might not like to move the show forward.

Personally for me, I’d save the levitation for a theater where it can be done without the trade off of having to wrap the person with a cloth.

-Louie

Visiting a Fair in Arkansas

While I was on the road in Oklahoma last week, I flew in a day early to drive a couple hours to visit a fair that some friends were performing at.

To my surprise, there was also a magic show at the fair.

I don’t know Pat and Tess, but watched the show. It was interesting, it was a 20 minute show and about 6 minutes of that was a merch pitch. I don’t know how I feel about that. Sometimes what is seen as the audience lacks knowledge of whatever financial deal is happening behind the scene and the pitch being 1/4 of the is the deal that was made with the booker.

The show was a quick change act, then the multiplying bottles, the product pitch (activity book and Squirmel) and then juggling. In the show I saw Pat had a lot of drops. At the end of the show, I was going to go up and say hi and introduce myself, however he was onstage re-running the juggling stuff to work out why he was dropped. That’s the mark of a pro! He didn’t just accept the drops, the tried to fix them. That really impressed me!

-Louie

The Bodega Coin Tray

I’ve been doing my version of the Multiplying Coin Tray for a while now. I call it the Bodega Coin Tray. It’s gone though some tweaks over time with the design of the tray, but am loving the current version!

Here’s the coin tray in action:

@louiefoxx This math doesn’t math! #math #counting #coins #penny #cointrick #takeapennyleaveapenny #louiefoxx #bodegacointray #magic #coingmagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

The full routine starts with a four penny trick, that has a few phases to it. Then I do the coins to spectator’s hands. It’s a great sequence and using the tray that looks like a “need a penny” try from a corner store allows me to get the tray into the routine with a joke. Then doing tricks where the tray isn’t the method takes heat off of the tray when I use it for the method.

I have an introductory price on these now through the end of september 2024. The normal price will be $25, but I’m offering them at $20 right now, with free shipping in the USA!

You can get them at: https://www.magicshow.tips/bodega-coin-tray/

-Louie

Projection for seniors!

While I don’t do a ton of shows at senior communities anymore, I still do a fair amount of them. Here’s one from last week, you’ll notice that I’m now using projection in these shows.

I have a very simple set up and don’t ask for it, but if they have a TV or projector in the room, I use it!

The two tricks that I specifically use the projector for at:
The Russian Shell Game
That Way More (my version of the ambitious card)

Both of these routines are interactive, in that they aren’t tricks that the audience just watches. They are involved in some level of the trick. For me, I think that it’s important when doing things that can only be seen with projection is to have an interactive component to the routine. That’s my style, not everyone is like that.

That said, I’m really liking my video set up, it’s small and easy to travel with!

-Louie
PS if you want to learn more about performing for senior communities, check out my book: How To Perform For Seniors

Bicycle NERTZ Playing Cards

I finally broke down and bought a box of the NERTZ game playing cards that Bicycle puts out.

They’re $24.97 and you get six deck of cards, each is a different color.

What I don’t like about these is they’re jumbo index and not regular index cards.

I’m going to try to come up with a trick that uses these cards. I’m trying to avoid coming up with a packet trick where the payoff is the cards aren’t red or blue.

-Louie

Egg Bag Routine

For some reason I’ve been dinking with the egg bag off and on for the last 10 months. This summer I have the egg bag in my library show, it’s a non-traditional routine, that is really more like a miser’s dream with with balls.

When I was reading Charlie Frye‘s book, he had his egg bag routine. It’s got the standard “sucker” phase, but then his ends with a production of four eggs from the bag, with them all between your fingers like a multiplying billiard ball routine. I like the ending, and I got all the stuff to do the routine. I also got a new egg bag as I’m not sure that I like the standard black egg bag that I had been using. I wanted a color that’s more visible.

I’m trying to work out a routine when I have time that has Charlie’s ending. I’m not positive how I’m going to do the first parts. I just need to play with it more.

-Louie

Using Projection in my Senior Show!

Last week I had a travel day where I got into the city a day before a week long gig. I booked a show at a retirement community that day as I wasn’t doing anything but loading into the fairgrounds.

My current senior show equipment is essentially a briefcase show. Here’s what I bring in with me (not including my audio equipment)

One element that I’ve added to the show is using projection in the show. I have two bits that use a TV screen.

Most senior facilities will have access to a screen in the performing area. Before I rely on it, I always ask to confirm that they do. I also have alternate things, so that if there’s an issue with the TV or whatever I still can do my time.

Here’s my theory on using projection, I don’t use it as a “look at this cool thing I can do“, everything I do on it is very interactive. The two tricks I do are my That Way More card trick, and my Russian Shell Game. The card trick uses someone in the audience (who stays in their seat) and the shell game uses the entire audience.

-Louie
if you want to learn more about performing for seniors in retirement communities, check out my book How to Perform for Seniors!

Ginóskó by David Kuraya – Partial Review

Way back in early June when I was performing in San Francisco I visited Misdirections Magic Shop. Joe mentioned the book Ginóskó to me and said it was really good. I picked it up and finally started going through the book.

I’m only on the third trick in the book and so far I like all three!

The first trick is called Check Yo’ Self and is a production of a deck of card, which I think is fun, but I don’t really have the pocket space for it.

Blackjack For Brother John is the second trick is a packet trick that I’m having fun learning, but it’s not the style. I love learning packet tricks, but I don’t do them. The trick uses four cards, has a fun little blackjack theme and is pretty easy to do. If you’re into packet tricks, you’ll like this one.

The third trick is High Five and a Handshake is one that I really like and while it probably won’t make it into my main close up set, it’s something that I’ve been doing since I read it and it fits my style and gets great reactions! The effect is really simple, the two jokers are put in the middle of the deck and they jump to the top and bottom. It’s got a clear cut effect and David’s routine for it is fun!

Based on the first three tricks in the book, I would highly recommend this book! And at $25, if the rest of the book is junk, it’s still worth it!

-Louie

AirDrop for Pics of Your Show

I had an idea to get pics of my show. I told the audience that I’d allow anyone to airdrop me “pictures of my show or their pets” after the show. Here’s what I got:

The first pic is of me that someone ran though a filter to make me old! Then I got a few show pics and two dogs! It was a fun experiment to see if people would send me stuff.

When I do close up I ask people to AirDrop me pictures or video and this is a great way to get those of you doing close up. From a stage context, I’m not sure if it’s as good, but I’ll keep playing with it.

-Louie