I finally got to see the physical copy of my fourth parade in the Linking Ring Magazine!
It’s got about a 10 magic tricks in it. I think I need to write at least one more parade for the Linking Ring so that I have an even five!
If you’re a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians check it out in the March 2024 issue!
-Louie
Before I headed down to Arizona this week, I put a tripod on the bottom of the doctor’s bag. This is to elevate the prop holder for when I’m doing street style shows. That way I don’t have to bend down to the floor to grab props.
I have a bunch of Collector’s Workshop base flanges, and several bases. I simply screwed one to the bottom of the doctor bag:
And I’m only using one of the table sections, so that gives me a bag where the opening at the top is about hip height.
That cleans up motion from the show and takes away time that I have to look away from the audience. I’ve already used it for a couple of shows down here and I really like it!
-Louie
When I MC a show, I write out each act’s info on it’s own sheet of paper. That act’s paper and only that act’s is in my pocket when go out to introduce them. I do my best to memorize the introduction, however if I need the paper, it’s the only one in my pocket, so it’s easy to find.
Also on each act’s paper I write any notes, usually I’ll write their ending bit if I know it. That helps me prepare for when to walk out. The other thing I do is write joke ideas to say after their act. For example one of the acts I recently worked with ended his act by producing flags. The joke I wrote was, “That act has more flags than my neighbor’s pickup truck!” and that got a big laugh.
After each act, I crumple up their paper, but don’t throw it away. I leave it around in case I need to remember anything, like a joke was good and I can use it elsewhere.
This system may look messy, however I know a lot of other people that do MC work that use a similar system of crumbling up notes, but not throwing them away until after the show. If you’re not doing it this way, give it a try!
-Louie
Last month I performed in a magic show in California with five other magicians. Here’s the highlight reel of my show:
@louiefoxx 20 min comedy magic show in 44 seconds! #hermosabeach #magic #comedymagic #california #louiefoxx #hoopandcup #balancing ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
Also if you’re not following me on Tik Tok, shoot over there and give me a follow at tiktok.com/@louiefoxx!
-Louie
Recently I took my street organ out to do some busking at the Pike Place Market in Seattle.
Performing an ambient set, versus doing an show is very different and something that’s new to me. It’s a very different mindset than trying to build a crowd. It’s shorter interactions with people than when doing a show. What I would do is spot people about half a block away and try to pick a song that would get them dancing as they approached me.
@vintageorgan Dancing Queen on the Street Organ! #abba #dancingqueen #pikeplacemarket #streetorgan #coverband #louiefoxx #barrelorgan #busker @pikeplacemarket_official #streetperformer ♬ original sound – vintageorgan
While I was there I ran into puppeteer Rob D’Arc! He also runs a flea circus and we’ve working together a few times over the years.
In an hour of street performing I made exactly $40
What I learned it that doing ambient street performing you have a lot less control of your “hat” than you do when doing a street show. With a show you can pitch your hat, with ambient, you don’t have a lot of time to catch people.
-Louie
When I was at Tokyo Disneyland at the magic shop, one of the things that stood out to me was how the demonstrator moved his hands. There was no wasted motion, it was very efficient.
One of the things with sleight of hand is Economy of Motion. You don’t want more motion than is necessary to do the sleight of hand, or you want to try to reduce motion. However that is with hidden motion, and it doesn’t necessarily apply to the visible motions that are made openly. Sometimes doing something like taking a card and putting it into the deck doesn’t need to look efficient or slick. It can look sloppy and that sloppiness can hide the sleight of hand, or enhance the effect.
A good example of where I try to be less efficient is when I do card to wallet. I used to be soo efficient with removing the card from the wallet that some of the effect was lost. Now I take my time opening the wallet and fumble while pulling out the card. That reinforces that the card doesn’t fit easily into the wallet, so I couldn’t have easily snuck it into it!
Take a peek at what you do and figure out when to have as few motions as possible and when you need more!
-Louie
When I was at Tokyo Disneyland one of their new attractions is the Beauty and the Beast ride. At one point in it the Beast turns into a human and it was one of the most magical things that I’ve seen in person with my eyes!
It’s super cool, however something like this would be unrealistic in 99.99999% of any magic shows as the staging/lighting it would take to do it wouldn’t travel well…or handle being moved very well. That said, I think the bar of what magic tricks can be is being raised by things that aren’t presented in magic shows. There’s soo much amazing stuff that’s just out there for the general public that it proves Arthur Clarke’s third law.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”
We’re leaving the days of having a bad trick with a good presentation being acceptable, and entering a world where you need a good trick with a good presentation. Honestly, I would argue that we’ve been in that world for at least a decade and most magicians have just been unwilling to accept it!
-Louie
A few months ago I put a strip of elastic on the back of my audio box, so that it could ride on the handle of my show case. This frees up a hand to pull my suitcase through airports.
After using it for a few months, I’m happy to report that it’s holding up and working great! Finding little ways to make travelling with your show easier add up to a HUGE difference!
-Louie
It’s always fun to get to test a magic product. I recently got a chance to play with a birdcage that someone is taking to market…or planning to.
This one has a nice action and I gave some notes to the maker. Hopefully it will fill the gap between what’s currently available. Right now for a new cage your options are basically the $40 India cage or $1,500-$2,000 for the cages made by Daniel Summers. There’s really no mid range cage, just cheap or super nice.
-Louie
I’m always hunting out unusual things and recently came across a magic kit without a box. I immediately recognized the style of the props as Der Kleine Zauberer magic set from Germany. This set is from around 1900, so it’s 125 years old!
It has most of the instructions which are written in German, French and English.
This set is almost complete, it’s missing the box and a couple of small props. I really wish it had the box as that’s where the value would be. However the props look cool on a shelf without the box. I’m glad to have rescued this magic set!
-Louie
