family magic show – MagicShow.Tips

School Assembly Tour Day 1

Today is the first day of the school assembly tour and the first full performances of my new show called Incredible Idioms. This show is themed about the language we use and it’s been a lot of fun to work on.

The whole show fits inside one case and here’s what it looks like:

Unfortunately it doesn’t really travel set up. It’d be nice to just open the case and go, but there’s a lot of crushable things in there AND that picture doesn’t show things like my mics and audio cables which need to travel in the case.

The show is going to probably go through a lot of changes over the month of performing it on this tour. This is where the work comes in. I need to record, at least audio record and hopefully video record as many shows as possible and review them as often as possible. This is how a show gets good in a short amount of time.

Well, off to the first gig…

-Louie

Theater Show Highlights…

Here’s the sizzle from my show at the theater the other day:

I was messing around with more “epic” music. I’m not sure I like it, but it sure gives the video a different tone from what I normally use. It’s crazy how much the music can change the feel of the video!

Think about that when using music in your show, song selection can dramatically change the feel of the trick you’re doing.

-Louie

Remote Control Alarm Clock as a Running Gag!

When I made a remote control alarm clock a few weeks ago, my intent was to use it with my Vanishing Alarm Clock stand. This summer for the kid shows I’m doing, I put in the remote control alarm clock in the place of my Remote Control Chattering teeth as a running gag in the show.

At the beginning of the show I take out the alarm clock and say “It’s time to start the show” and the alarm clock rings. Then throughout the show whenever I say the word “time” the alarm clock rings. I don’t call attention to the connection of the word time and the ringing of the alarm clock. I let the audience discover that, and the do fairly quickly.

This gag definitely has it’s roots in Pee Wee’s Playhouse with their use of a secret word and when it’s said everyone screams. I like the gag because it’s not exactly a look don’t see as it’s an action that’s triggered by something else happening, so it’s funny, but the kids don’t feel a need to explain anything to you after the connection of the word and action are established.

I have a feeling this is going to be a great lead into the vanishing alarm clock once I have finished making the couple of extra props that I need for it.

-Louie

Coming Soon…Applause Please

I’m still working on a redesign for my Applause Please trick.

This is my take on the liquid in light bulb effect, but instead of using a lamp, it uses an applause sign. This has been unavailable for a while as the Tim Rose who built them for me passed away about 2 years ago. I’m working with a new builder and should have it available in the near-ish future.

One of the changes that I’m working on is having it all battery operated. I’ve fought thing as I don’t like to rely on batteries, but I frequently get that suggestion. I think LED technology is catching up for the lumens that I need for the trick that can be run off of a 9 volt battery.

I should mention one of the reasons that I’m not using a rechargeable lithium battery is that you can’t fly with them. If the battery was built into the prop, you’d have to hand carry it onto a plane. Another thing is that I don’t trust myself to always charge it. With a built in battery, if you forget to charge it or don’t plug it in fully, you can’t do the trick. With a 9 volt battery, you just throw a fresh one in there and you’re good to go.

Another change I’m testing now is that I’ve rewired it so that the foot switch and hidden remote work together to so there is less secret pushing of the button on the remote control than in the current version of the trick that I’m using.

Hopefully these will be available by the end of the summer!

-Louie

Kid Show vs. Family Show

One of the big changes in my career happened when I learned the difference from a Kid Show and a Family Show. A kid show is when the audience is a large majority of children, so something like a school assembly or birthday party. A family show is when kids are about less than half … Continue reading “Kid Show vs. Family Show”

One of the big changes in my career happened when I learned the difference from a Kid Show and a Family Show. A kid show is when the audience is a large majority of children, so something like a school assembly or birthday party. A family show is when kids are about less than half of the audience. This is an important distinction.

Yesterday I did a show at a community center and the audience:

The audience was mostly adults. For a show to be successful you need to be able to engage the whole audience. In family shows there really aren’t any “kid magic tricks” that have low magical effect. Every trick is a good trick.

The humor is aimed at the adults, I make the kids step up, instead of making the adults step down for laughs. I don’t do any “turn it around” type gags, I have to dig a bit deeper for the laughs. For me this is the secret to my success on a local level.