Author: Louie

Taking “Take Out” Further…

I frequently say that creating magic is just problem solving. Lately I’ve been writing about using a chinese take out box as a production box. Logistically, I have the hiding of the load and the showing of the box empty figured out.

The challenge is when is “good enough” good enough?

Right now the production from the box works with a box that’s plain white on both sides. I want to have a box that’s plain white on the inside and on the outside it will have the a red Asian looking logo of some sort. That’s the thing that really establishes it as a Chinese Take Out Box from a distance.

I just ordered a bunch of take out boxes and I’m going to play with a couple ideas for being able to show one side plain and the other side with a logo. We’ll see how it goes…

-Louie

Event Promo Videos…

Frequently I’m asked to make little promo videos for events that I’m performing. Here’s one a made for a gig a few days ago:

They wanted me to thank the sponsors and to do a quick trick. One of my “go to tricks” for situations like that are flap cards for a quick color change. I do the first change in the glass (which as far as I know I’m the first to do) which I think adds to the impossibility of it changing. Then the second is just the toss change.

Having a quick and visual trick you can do for things like this helpful. Also essentially having a formula for doing videos for events, so you’re not reinventing the wheel every time. I just grab my glass and card and I’m good to go!

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Curtis Carlyle

Curt Carlyle is one of the premiere comedy jugglers in the Pacific Northwest. He joins us in the clown basement in Portland and discusses all the things that led him to choose juggling as a job.

He tells us about his early days performing with a partner, how their comedy act of stripping down to speedos opened the door to a plethora of performances in the circus world. We discuss his affinity for tall bikes and what he is excited about moving forward. A great conversation with a fantastic act. 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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New Years Eve

Well, 2021 is coming to an end tonight and it’s been an interesting year. Due to the COVID pandemic still doing it’s thing for most of the year I got to do some unusual shows, from no contact shows, to filming a TV show with no audience to performing for the Amish!

I’ve tried my best to really go with the flow, rather than try to fight the current. Instead of complaining about restrictions on how I could do my show, I looked at it as a challenge as to how to make my show and ultimately my personality work under the conditions I was given.

I’m very curious how 2022 is going to be…so far my summer schedule it looking pretty full and I’ve got some ideas and exciting projects in the works!

-Louie

East Coast Gig…

Check me out tomorrow in Winchester, VA at First Night Winchester. I really love performing at these First Night arts festivals. The audience and shows are good. If you have a First Night near you, I highly recommend performing at them, they are soo much better than 99% of the normal NYE gigs!

This is a rare east coast appearance, I’m more of a west coast guy. If you’re in the area, send me a note and we’ll hang out!

-Louie

Take Out Ideas…

With the Chinese Take Out Production Box, I probably should explore some ideas beyond my initial idea for a routine. While the original idea is good, maybe there’s a better idea.

  • Vanish: Item goes into the box and you open the box flat for the vanish.
  • Mentalism Reveal: Someone thinks of a object and then you make it appear from the box.
  • Multiple Mentalism Reveal: Produce first thought of item from the box, then show the box empty and then produce the second item.
  • Item and Price Reveal: Something thinks of a menu item and price. You open the box to reveal the price inside (also showing the box empty). You close the box and then produce the item.
  • Time Travel: You remove something from the box, and open the box flat to show it empty. It vanishes and reappears in the box.
  • Transformation: Something goes into the box (like hard dry noodles) and they come out as cooked noodles

There’s some ideas, I kinda like the idea of a transformation, maybe ingredients go in and out comes a finished food? Anyway, I’m glad I dug a little bit deeper than just my initial idea.

-Louie

Chinese Take Out Production…

Yesterday I wrote about an idea of using a chinese take out box as a production box. I went out and bought some poster board and made a box using the real one as a template. It was pretty easy to make the box, and luckily it all worked out on the first try:

I won’t use cards as the production item as they don’t make sense coming out of the box. I think I’ll use chinese food like noodles, or possibly and oyster and then noodles.

I think this is superior to many production boxes that are on the magic market because it’s something that people actually see everyday. Also as a prop, it’s much easier to relate to than a mirror box!

-Louie

Production Box

Last week we had Chinese food for dinner and I was looking at the take out box, which were originally called oyster pails and thought it would make a great production box.

I’m always surprised at how many people don’t know that these containers convert to plates:

This would be the method for hiding the load chamber and the presentation hook. It’s a “chinese take out hack” to turn the container to a plate. I made a quick mock up and it seems to work, but I need to try to make a better model of it.

I’m going to make a mock up later today out of poster board. I tried altering the existing box, but the wax/plastic coating inside makes taping anything to it really difficult. I’ve worked out the moves to hide the load chamber with what I have and I’m convinced it will work, I just need to build one with more tape friendly materials!

-Louie