Louie – Page 241 – MagicShow.Tips

More Silk and Coat Hanger

The main reason I’m playing with the silk and coat hanger trick is that I had an idea for a move. I think this is an interesting move, but it’s also fairly subtle. Here’s just a quick video of me running some moves with the props: The first move where the silk goes from the … Continue reading “More Silk and Coat Hanger”

The first move where the silk goes from the body of the hanger to the hook is what interests me. However I think selling the idea of the penetration to an audience may be hard. The concept of going from a locked place to a place that’s not locked in will muddy the effect. I’m worried audience will thing the trick is that the silk go onto the open hook, and not that it got off of the closed body of the hanger.

It’s more about where it started, not where it ends for the first phase. That’s a very subtle difference in effect, but I think that will make a world of difference to the audience.

Learn About Your Tools…

In my continuing work with the Silk Thru Coat Hanger routine, one of the things I’m doing is examining the props. Since the props weren’t made specifically for me and what I’m doing, the odds are that they can be improved for what I want them to do.

The first thing I did was look a the coat hanger. I originally was using a wooden one, however this was pretty heavy and had a seam in a spot where the silk moves and frequently snagged. I ended up buying some plastic hangers at the dollar store and altering them so the were smooth where the silk and thread needed to move. This was a huge improvement.

Next I started to look at the reel. Currently I’m using a P & L Fingertip Reel. I ended up altering this a little bit. Inside the reel, I added teflon discs to the spots where metal touched metal. These discs are sold to add to gimmicked coins to reduce clinking sound and make them slide better.

These teflon discs really added to the smoothness of how the reel retracted.

I also recently ordered a couple of different reels to see if there’s a style that I prefer, rather than simply using the first one I got. I’ve got a Tango Ultimate Reel and a Kirkendall Reel coming this week. We’ll see what I end up using.

Finally I looked at the silk that I’m using. I went from a square silk to a diamond cut one. The main reason is weight, the reel can move a lighter weight faster than a heavier one…or in my case, can move a larger one for the same effort as a smaller one.

All of these little things end up making a difference. At the very least I know my props really well!

Hook for Coat Hanger

Right now I’m getting to the writing phase of the Silk thru Coat Hanger trick that I’m working on. The hardest part it to come up with a hook for it. by hook, I mean a presentation hook, not the literal hook. I need to figure out why I’m doing this.

So far I have a sequence of four moves to do with the silk and coat hanger, that gives me a starting point. One of the moves is similar to the linking ring gag where you show it’s an “optical illusion” with the rings linked, then turn your body 90 degrees and the rings are unlinked. With that used in the routine, I could use the optical illusion angle.

Personally I don’t like using optical illusions as a hook for the routine. Whenever I see someone do it, it feels like they didn’t try to come up with something better. This is probably the biggest challenge for the routine.

Researching the Silk Thru…

Playing with the Silk Thru Microphone Stand concept, and starting to do some research on it, I’m amazed a how little there is about it out there. I guess that part of it is that I’m searching for a specific trick, that really only has two methods. It’s also a quick trick, so there’s a … Continue reading “Researching the Silk Thru…”

Playing with the Silk Thru Microphone Stand concept, and starting to do some research on it, I’m amazed a how little there is about it out there. I guess that part of it is that I’m searching for a specific trick, that really only has two methods. It’s also a quick trick, so there’s a lot le

Then I realized I should be searching for a Ring and Silk routines, as that’s much closer to what I’m going to be doing. Once I searched that, I had a bit more success. Here’s a good example of something similar to what I want to do:

I’m not using a ring, but a coat hanger, however the moves are similar. The size and shape of the coat hanger lends itself to a couple of things that a ring doesn’t. This is what I find exciting. Also the routine I’m going to do, will probably be a talking routine, where I’ve only seen silent ones (not that that’s a huge differnce).

Play With Your Props

Playing with props instead of trying to learn a routine really makes a routine yours. You end up understanding the props much better than if you simply followed directions. Yes there is a place for following directions and learning from the people that came before you.

Personally one of the ways that I create material is to start with the prop that I want to use. I then learn the technical end of the prop and then start playing with it. The play helps me come up with ways to use it that are more based on my mannerisms and movements. Now that I understand the prop a bit, I’ll start to learn all I can about the prop or effect. How do other people do it, and why do I like or not like they way that they are doing it.

After playing with the “silk thru mic stand” a lot yesterday a routine has started to take shape. My routine uses something other than a mic stand, but essentially the same trick. I’ve got three phases for the routine, and that I think gives it a sense of build and each phase has a different texture. These phases came as a direct result of playing and then research, try it, you’ll be surprised at the results!

Silk Thru…

When I was a kid I remember reading in Tarbell Vol 4 called The Penetrative Silk. This was a handkerchief that you can pull thru and upright pole and used a very simple set up. I’m not positive if this trick predates the Silk Thru Mic Stand trick or not. They are essentially the same … Continue reading “Silk Thru…”

When I was a kid I remember reading in Tarbell Vol 4 called The Penetrative Silk. This was a handkerchief that you can pull thru and upright pole and used a very simple set up. I’m not positive if this trick predates the Silk Thru Mic Stand trick or not. They are essentially the same trick with different methods.

If you aren’t familiar with the trick, here’s what it looks like:

In my show I’m always looking for tricks that can be done solo, with just me on stage. I like the concept of pulling a silk through something. This is something that is visual, so would play big. I found a P & L fingertip reel at a decent price and started messing with it.

The hard part now is figure out a routine with it and what’s going to make the trick uniquely me. I’ve found a couple of interesting moves that I don’t think have been done before, or at least I haven’t seen before. Hopefully this ends up being something that gets used in my show!

Power Through It…

Before I went to bed last night I started feeling sick. I could feel the beginning of a cold coming on and this morning I’ve got a sore throat and a stuffy nose. I’m not dying, but don’t feel as good as I could, and this afternoon I’ve got a school assembly to perform at.

Luckily I’m not a singer, so a little bit diminished quality of my voice won’t hurt the show. There are a couple places where I do a falsetto voice that I won’t be able to do. The hard part of the show is going to be getting through the show and not showing how “tired” my body is.

Frequently you hear about performers saying they always rock the show when they are sick. I think this is because they are “acting” a lot more than they normally would in their show. They need to act well, they need to act for their reactions, they are acting the whole time.

Maybe in shows where I feel normal, I need to “act” a bit harder???

The Last Laugh…

One of the things that drives me nuts on facebook groups of magicians is when they get upset about common jokes that audience member have. Things like, “make my wife disappear“, “can you make me lose weight” or whatever. I’m not sure why it drives magicians so crazy to hear this. Sure they hear it … Continue reading “The Last Laugh…”

One of the things that drives me nuts on facebook groups of magicians is when they get upset about common jokes that audience member have. Things like, “make my wife disappear“, “can you make me lose weight” or whatever.

I’m not sure why it drives magicians so crazy to hear this. Sure they hear it all the time, but these are the same magicians that use stock line, which is essentially the same thing these people are doing, but they actually had an original thought (to them). My guess is that the magicians are very insecure and that if someone gets a bigger laugh than them it diminishes their act/show.

A while ago I was having dinner with a pretty successful comedy magician and we were talking about giving away big laughs to audience members. I’m for it, he’s against it. His thinking was that the audience will remember the person onstage getting the laugh, and not consider it your laugh. My thinking is that the show is getting the laugh, and it’s part of the whole show.

The beauty of a live show is anything can happen, and by setting up people from the audience to get big laughs, it feels unplanned. How you respond then counts as well. If you are setting them up for the laugh, then you also know what your response will be. Sometimes your response isn’t a joke, it’s a reaction to their joke, letting the “win”.

David Copperfield used to do a great bit where someone asked him how a trick worked. David told the person, “I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you” and the person form the audience said, “tell my wife!” That’s was a huge laugh, that he’s setting up and giving away. My point is that you should try to not be a selfish performer and let the person get the laugh.

Breaking In Tricks…..

Before my show at a library I did some tricks that I’m working on as my preshow. One of the tricks is a dollar production called Sketch Money by Joao Miranda. It’s a drawing of a dollar bill that turns into a real dollar bill and other I did was the gypsy thread. Sketch Money … Continue reading “Breaking In Tricks…..”

Before my show at a library I did some tricks that I’m working on as my preshow. One of the tricks is a dollar production called Sketch Money by Joao Miranda. It’s a drawing of a dollar bill that turns into a real dollar bill and other I did was the gypsy thread.

Sketch Money played better than I thought it would, and I added a switch at the end to get rid of the gimmicked dollar bill. Basically I’m going an “under the box” type switch with the pad of paper instead of a box. It worked well, and I thought there’d be a ton of heat after the dollar production, but there was none. That was very unexpected.

The Gypsy Thread trick from a technical end is fine, I just need to work on selling the end. The trick is missing the magic moment. I think I need to verbally tell them what’s going to happen right before it does happen. I’m doing this trick for kids, and I think the moment of licking the string overshadows the restoration. The string licking is a very funny moment for the kids. I need some more separation between it and the restoration, and to give the restoration a magic moment, like a snap.

I’m happy with how these tricks are coming along and both are for my summer library shows, so hopefully they’ll be solid tricks by the end of the season.

Break In Time…

I’m frequently working on new material, and need places to try it out. that’s the thing with magic, it needs an audience to see how it actually plays. Frequently I break in new material as the “preshow” while the audience is waiting for the show to start.

Yesterday before a show I started breaking in the three ball trick that I’m working on. What’s interesting about the trick is that my method which is a little unusual for the three ball trick seems to work and be deceptive to the audience. Trying out an unusual method for a trick is one of the most stressful things that I do. You never know if people will see right through it, or not. I’m glad I tried it out, I’m going to keep moving forward with the trick.

Taking the leap and putting stuff in front of the audience is very rewarding when the trick plays out. You can learn a lot from a method or presentation that doesn’t. Whenever I”m breaking in new material I try to record it, so I can watch how the audience responds and use that info for future development.