May 2024 – Page 2 – MagicShow.Tips

Working on the Half Circle Show

One of my goals this summer is to work on my half circle show. This a street performing style show where it’s more parlor or stage than it is close up magic. Last week was the first week I took out the current version of the show and it had some wins and some losses.

The things that I need to work on:

I need to lay out a larger perimeter. I’m putting my rope line too close to my performing area, leaving me with a very tight half circle.
I need to get out from behind the table. This is partially a symptom of laying out my perimeter too tight.
I need to do the three trick set that I had planned and do it as planned.

A few other mistakes that I made.

I tried a routine from a different show that’s a comedy escape, but there’s a blow off at the end where I don’t get out. It’s funny if you see the whole routine, but if you only catch the last 30 seconds, you don’t get it and it looks like I messed up.
I need to take my PA out of my cart. It doesn’t sound right with it in the cart. I blame laziness on my end for that.
If I continue to use music, I need to plan it out better than using my existing stage show music.

Ok, so things that I did right:

I tried to improve every day.
I did things outside of my comfort zone

Well, those are my general reflections on the week. Hopefully the show will continue to improve the more I do it an the more I start to figure it out!

-Louie

Working Out New Material!

Over the weekend I performed at a four day fair in California and I learned a lot! I’m working on my half circle show and it’s gotten better but still has a long way to go. I’ll write more about this in the next few days.

Here’s a highlight reel of some of the magic that I did:

@louiefoxx Magic at the Glenn County Fair! #countyfair #orland #glenncountyfair #magicshow #louiefoxx #escape #fairmagicshow #orlandca #magician #comedymagic #closeupmagic #haunteddeck #cardmagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

When I perform at a fair I always put an odd prop or two into my pocket and do it throughout the day. These are usually things that I never intend to do in my standard act, but it breaks up the monotony of doing the same set all day.

The “new” tricks I took were Bob Ostin’s Auto Suggestion and Matchbox Mambo by Paul Richards. I used to sell the heck out of Matchbox Mambo in the early 2000’s when I was at Market Magic Shop in Seattle. Here’s the problem with Matchbox Mambo, it doesn’t work for kids. No matter the conditions you put on it, they can’t see why pushing one matchbox drawer in shouldn’t make the other come out. Handing it to them after doing it the first time and explaining why it doesn’t work the way they think it does is a waste to time. You end up spending more time explaining WHY it’s a magic trick than performing the magic. It was fun to play with last week, but Matchbox Mambo isn’t going to graduate into my main roving magic set.

I’ll write more about Bob Ostin’s Auto Suggestion later.

-Louie

What’s In Your Pockets?

I was setting up a school assembly show and was about to put all of the props that I have in my pockets or hidden on my person and decided to take a pic of it!

Here’s the prop list:

Mic pack and microphone
Media Star Remote
Remote control for alarm clock
two sponge ball droppers
two sponge tennis balls
mic holder
silk parakeet
Take up reel

A lot of magicians are afriad of using their costumes for stealing or vanishing props. I use my costume for both! When you start to consider your costume a prop, it opens up a lot of things you can do!

-Louie

Vintage Magic Trick: Emerson and West Presents Gene Anthony’s Pentra-Bill

A while ago Matthew Johnson’s trick Melt got the modern card thru dollar trend going. It feels like since Melt came out or so there have been a lot of version of the trick. The plot is much older and here’s Gene Anthony’s Pentra-Bill trick from 1983!

The plot is very simple, a card is pushed thru a bill. No strange folds, it’s a very clean effect. Here’s what it looks like:

@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick: Penta-Bill by Gene Anthony #magictrick #magic #moneymagic #cardmagic #louiefoxx #emersonandwest #closeupmagic #vintagemagictrick #antiquemagictrick ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

The cool thing about the trick is that the card can be examined before and after and the bill can be borrowed. There is a gimmick you’ll add to the card, and the instructions hint at how to do it with the card examined before the trick, but don’t go into details on it. It should be pretty obvious you simply stick the gimmick onto the card after it’s been examined and you’re folding the card in half.

I like the opening the flap of the dollar to show the card in the dollar before the penetration. It very much feels like Timothy Wenk’s Misled trick from the 1990’s. Here’s David Copperfield doing Misled:

Pentra-Bill is a great way to do Card Thru Bill and I think in many ways it’s superior to the modern ones. Also it’s fun to see an Emerson and West product that’s not a packet trick!

-Louie

Packing The Street Show

Here’s all of my street show props packed into the wagon that they’ll travel in.

This is everything, including the sound system. It’s important that the show is very mobile and sets up quickly! This show will be starting this week, so we’ll see how much the set up and packing changes by the end of the week!

-Louie

AirPod Magic Routine

Almost a year ago I started thinking about doing a little routine/sequence with AirPods. I haven’t been consistently working on it for a year, it’s been something that I’ve thought about time to time.

I finally put the routine together and I think it’s a good little sequence!

@louiefoxx Super fun thing with some old airpods! #airpods #appleairpods #sleightofhand #louiefoxx #magic @Ellusionist.com #magician ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

The main difference I would make in a live, close up magic setting would be the final transposition from the case to my hand, I’d probably put the case into a spectator’s hand. That adds a “condition” to the final transposition, from their hand to mine.

This little routine is a great example of taking something that exists, it’s basically a coin routine with AirPods in place of the coins. Then the properties of the new item will lead to new possibilities. This is very effective way to create magic that feels “new”.

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Marcus Wilson

On this episode we welcome in the Funny Man Who Does Tricks, Marcus Wilson. Marcus tells us about how he got started in comedy, what it’s like as a variety act working in comedy clubs and how being a power ranger led him to being a full time performer.

We also discuss how he was able to create passive income with some of his other endeavors. A great conversation with one of the funniest people in the business.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Breaking in a New Routine…

Over the weekend my daughter and I had a booth at an arts fair. Sher was there selling her art, and I had my book C is for Conspiracy: The ABC’s of Conspiracy Theories for sale. I was also doing a little bit of magic every now and then.

The routine that I was working on while there was the new ending for my Cee-Lo dice trick where I make a giant metal nut appear under the cup and then an even bigger one appear under my hat!

I’m not doing any body loads for this routine, all of the production items come from my doctor’s bag that hangs on the back of my table.

After doing it a lot over the course of the day, I’m confident that the loads will work in a close up context. The plan is to use it in a half circle style show, so hopefully the loads will translate to that larger audience that’s further back. I head out on the road later this week and will get to try it out!

-Louie

Silver Release by Stuart Judah

I love my vintage magic tricks and this is an interesting idea that was created by Stuart Judah called Silver Release. Here’s what it looks like:

@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick: Silver Release by Stuart Judah #magictrick #vintage #magic #antique #stuartjudah #louieFoxx #historyofmagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

It’s interesting that I’ve come across this now as I’m working on something that uses a similar principle in a wacky way to have a coin disappear and reappear somewhere else.

As for the trick, I think a huge improvement would be using bigger coins, like a Scotch and Soda set. However I do understand that from a marketing angle, using a Scotch and Soda coin set would immediately tip the method. Also making the trick with Dime and Penny sets makes the much cheaper to make.

-Louie

Walnuts to Glass Magic Routine: UPDATE

I’ve been working on a walnut to glass routine for a little while and there’s one challenge I keep hitting: Why walnuts?

Using balls with cups and balls makes sense as it looks like the shell game which people are aware of. Even though it’s cups and balls and the shell game visually are very different to people who do them, to the general public who have never seen them in real life, it’s appears to be the same.

The challenge with using nuts is basically I’m fighting the whole routine being a testicle joke. I can’t call them “nuts” in the routine, they have to be walnuts. However every time I handle them, I think I’m going to be fighting people in the audience making their own jokes. I really just don’t want that.

I’m switching over to using my Cee Lo dice and cup routine and doing the hat load of the giant metal nut. I’m also using a devils hank for a vanish of all three dice instead of doing a two in the one in the pocket sequence. The bits I have planned for the devil’s hank before the vanish will hopefully help the routine play larger!

I’m hitting the road in a few days and I’ll know if it plays or not soon!

-Louie