MagicShow.Tips – A daily blog about magic by Louie Foxx

Magic Trick Tip for the Fourth of July

One of the reasons I think most magicians shouldn’t do a “one off” show with special themed props is that if you don’t know about the prop and how to handle it, you can unintentionally be disrespectful. Yesterday was Independence Day in the USA, which is celebrated as the country’s birthday. In the USA, we have the US Flag Code, which defines what a flag is, how to hang it, and how to handle it. This is a law, but one that has no enforcement mechanism, so it’s basically etiquette.

Many performers slapped flags on their show for Independence Day and didn’t learn the basics of how a flag should be treated. I wrote this little facebook post:

PSA for “Patriotic” Performers

Many magicians and variety acts are posting pics of them doing magic with US Flags.

Please take a minute and read the US Flag Code. About 70% of the pics / video I’ve seen today are disrespectful to the US Flag.

Here’s a few quick pointers:

1: When displaying the flag (in most instances) the blue should in top left from the audience’s view

2: after producing the flag, do not crumple it up and toss it in your prop box. Respectfully fold up and place it whenever it belongs after the trick

3: Do not set things on top of the flag

4: A flag isn’t supposed to be clothes. (it may be too late for this)

5: do not use any “disposable” items with flags printed on them, like napkins or paper plates.

Don’t be a disrespectful to the US flag! A quick search for the “US Flag Code” will give you more in depth info, like if you want to learn more like how to properly display it on your car. Spoiler alert: 99% of pickup trucks with flags on them are in violation of the flag code.

I thought it was basically a pretty straight forward. If you’re going to honor something, learn it about it. Then I got this comment from Zach Dwyer:

I’m not sure what triggered him, being wrong or what, but he immediately jumped to calling me names, instead of admitting he was wrong, or even letting it go.

Yes, the flag code is unenforceable, there are no penalties for violating it, but it is, in fact, a law.

Should You Do Magic Tricks with Symbolic Props?

In a larger context with performing, why would you use a prop or theme you don’t understand the rules for?

For example: doing a gig for a mosque and using a picture of Mohammad?

That’s an example of a trick that there’s no law stopping you from doing; however, it would be considered disrespectful. It’s a basic courtesy to treat the symbol how it is supposed to be treated.

When I get offered a gig, let’s say for Purim, I don’t do a special show for them, or add in a Purim trick, I do my show. The reason is that I don’t know about it and don’t want to offend anyone.

Great examples of a themed shows are Jack Spareribs Pirate Show or Master Payne’s Ren Faire show.

I should add that I’m all for intentional acts of disrespect. When Sinead O’Connor tore up the picture of the Pope, that was an intentional act. Whether I agree with it or not, she was making a statement.

I’ve always said that if I die because of someone else, I want them to have wanted to kill me. I don’t want to be killed because someone didn’t look before they turned and ran me over, and my death was an accident. If someone kills me, I don’t want it to be a “whoops”; I’d like it to have some purpose to at least that person. Also, I should note that in a perfect world, I wouldn’t die because of someone else.

OK, so that’s a long post to say, if you use a prop that has symbolism, learn about how to respectfully handle it!

-Louie

The Nest of Envelopes – More Work!!

I’m wrapping up two weeks of performing at the San Diego County Fair and I’m learning a lot about the Nest of Envelopes routine. This is a trick that I started working on a little bit ago. It started as an routine idea as a running gag in the show, with not specific trick attached to it.

You can read about it’s journey in these posts:
https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/magic-show-running-gag/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/the-nest-of-envelopes-trick/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/nest-of-envelopes-as-a-running-gag/

https://www.magicshow.tips/uncategorized/the-nest-of-envelopes-update/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/ditching-the-invisible-deck/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/nest-of-envelopes-single-spot/

I think I’ve finally figured out what I don’t like about the routine, and that’s the use of physical props aside from the envelopes. The challenge is coming up with a method that allows me to do that in a manner that I like.

One of the bonuses of trying different methods is that each has things that are positive and could be used in different situations. For example, the method that I was using for most of the two week run of shows I did in San Diego would be great if I were in a situation where access to the audience was challenging. Like stairs to the stage that are behind the stage.

The current method I’m really liking because it’s visually cleaner, it just uses the envelopes, and I like that! I think an important thing to do when creating magic is to try your best not to settle for what just works if it doesn’t align with your vision. Keep trying new things!

-Louie

Make it Happen Every Time!

I’m working on a trick where a glass of water vanishes. The premise of the routine is that the water will change into a named drink, and the surprise is that ultimately the glass vanishes.

I quickly learned that it gets a huge laugh when I ask the person from the audience to name a drink, and they say, “water,” and then I tell them that I’ll change the water into water.

The challenge is how to get them to say “water” every time.

Originally, I was asking them, “What’s your favorite drink?” and I changed that to: “If you could drink one drink for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

Changing that question now gets the person to say, “water” about 8 out of 10 times! The laugh that water gets as an answer is a great laugh because it feels spontaneous. Obviously, you have to sell it as a performer as if it’s never happened before for it to work.

Look for things in your show that happen spontaneously and get a laugh or reaction, and then try to figure out ways to make them happen every show!

-Louie
PS: you can learn more about my process for creating magic and developing routines here!

Family Friendly Magic Show

Here’s a listing of things from a Fourth of July event:

I think it’s strange that they had to add the “family friendly” to the magic show, but not to anything else. I kinda wonder if the performer was pushing that angle really hard, or if the event had a bad experience in the past?

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Tumbleweed Circus

On this episode of The Moisture Festival Podcast, we welcome Keara Scannell of Tumbleweed Circus.

tumbleweed circus - the moisture festival

We talk about her upbringing skating in her parents’ shop, where the name Tumbleweed came from, and how she turned those early influences into a one-of-a-kind career. Keara shares her journey to becoming a performer and how having a broken ankle early on didn’t stop her.

She also tells us who belongs on her Mt. Rushmore of trick roping. It’s a great conversation with a multifaceted variety artist.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Library Magic Show Props

We’re at the end of the summer and the Summer Reading Library shows are done. Here’s look at the props that I have on my person during the non-themed library magic show:

And here are the props in my prop bin:

This show had a pretty simple set up, it took about 15 mins to set and strike the show. The non-themed show had elements of other shows that I do, so it was like a “greatest hits” and was fun to do!

-Louie

Discount Transposition!

I’m really enjoying going through Al Leech’s card magic. His card magic is really direct, which I like. One of the tricks in his book Card Man Stuff is called A Quick Theft. It’s a transposition of a card in your pocket and a card in your hand.

Here’s what the original version looks like:

And here’s my version of the trick:

What I did was give the trick a bit of a premise with the coupon card. I also added the force of the coupon card to get the card into my pocket before the actual card was selected. Finally, I changed the card control, to something a bit more direct to get the selection in position for the trick.

I think it’s a better trick now!

-Louie

Magic Trick That No One Asked For

Oh man, this ad for a magic prop came through my social media feed. It’s a power bank that’s decorated like a deck of cards.

That’s it.

In theory you can use it to secretly charge someone’s phone by touching it to a deck of cards. This doesn’t really pass the “walk to the car test”.

The walk to the car test, is if people on their walk to the car try to figure out how the trick works, can they?

I’m thinking that most people would draw a straight line from the deck of card that the phone was set on top of to the charging of the phone.

OK, here’s the demo video:

If you pay attention to the video, you’ll notice that it only charges 1% more than the phone already had! If I had magic and could charge your phone, it wouldn’t be just 1%!

I think it’s a fun idea for a power bank that’s “on brand” for magicians, just like a tie with playing cards on it. However, as an actual trick, it feels like a money grab versus a good idea for a trick.

-Louie

Vintage Magic Box for $30

Magicians frequently ask me where I get my vintage magic tricks. Well, there’s not one source; this one kinda happened out of the blue. Basically, someone at a show told me they had an old box of magic tricks. We negotiated a price at the show, and I bought the box without knowing what was in it!

Here’s the saga:

There are some winners in that box!

-Louie

“I Know This Trick”

A topic that comes up every now and then in social media magic groups is what to do when a kid says, “I know that trick”. Most of the advice given views the kid as a heckler and suggests lines like:
“There are thousands of tricks, how could you know”
“I checked the script, and you don’t have a speaking part”
Lines that try to shut down what the kid says.

This happened at a library show recently, here’s what went down:

The kid wasn’t heckling; it was them simply saying that they want to see the trick! In the video, you can hear how excited the kid was when I said I was going to do the trick.

Try not to look at everything a kid says in your show as a heckle, 95% of the time, it’s not, you’re just hearing it that way. You need to step back and really look at the situation.

-Louie