Pictures – Page 2 – MagicShow.Tips

Nest of Envelopes as a Running Gag

This routine is starting to take shape. First, I had the idea of doing a running gag with a nest of envelopes. Then I figured out what the magic trick payoff at the end of the running gag would be. The last piece of the puzzle is to figure out the routine.

Each envelope will have an instruction written on it. This is independent of the card selection process.

The rough flow is that they will make a choice, like red or black. Then they will open the envelope, and written on that envelope will be an instruction. They do that. Then you do another routine and come back to the person with the envelope. You give them the next choice, like hearts or diamonds. Then they open the envelope and do what’s written on it. That is repeated until the choices have narrowed it down to a specific card. The last envelope has the invisible deck in it, which reveals the selected card!

I think this will make the invisible deck play bigger with all the envelopes, but also allow me to get more time out of the prop, without it being a single routine that’s dragged out.

-Louie

Old Magic Props in Real Life!

There are magic props that look like they were created to make a trick work, and don’t exist in real life. The TV Card Frame magic trick where a card appears between two pieces of glass is one of those tricks.

Recently at a junk shop I saw a picture frame that I’m guessing is what the TV Card Frame is trying to look like:

I’m always amazed that these things that look strange to me, but were created long before I was born, were designed to sort of look like things that existed in real life back then.

I wonder what props that look like everyday items now won’t look like anything people will have interact 40 years from now?

-Louie

Stage Show Props

These are the props that are in my hands or pockets when I walk onstage. This is for a 90 minute theater show.

The paper will have a person’s name under “congrats”, but that will be filled in right before showtime. The paper goes in the envelope, and that, along with the mic, goes in my hands. Everything else is in a pocket or under my coat.

I will say that switching from putting the ball in my back pocket to a ball dropper to steal the tennis ball is a game changer for me! I use it in my Stand Up Chop Cup routine (from my 2025 lecture notes). The steal is cleaner, with less motion and I don’t have a lumpy butt for half my show!

-Louie

What’s the Out?

Personally, I have a love/hate relationship with magic props that use electronics. There’s so much that can go wrong, and when it does, how do you still do the routine? For me, I usually run two different methods at the same time and can switch from the cleaner/easier electronic method to the analog method instantly.

I’ve got a bit in my new show that uses an electronic magic prop, and the easiest solution to it failing is to have a second one running at the same time!

I do have a third backup method that’s analog; however, the more efficient way is two of the electronic gimmicks.

With magic methods moving towards apps, and electronic gimmicks, I think it’s important to look at your show and figure out where the potential failure points are for tech and how you would deal with them when it happens.

It will happen!

-Louie

Not Doing Material

When I host a variety show, I try to do as little of my formal material as possible. I do have a lot of material ready to be used, however I try to make the show not about my act…unless I have a scheduled spot in the show.

Here’s my MC props from a gig a couple weeks ago:

Of those props, I only did my routine with the Evaporation gimmick and there were 13 acts in the show, so I was on stage a lot! Luckily, the transitions were pretty tight, and there were a lot of announcements that needed to be done, so that gave me things to fill transitions.

I also did things like interview someone from the audience:

…and fed a guy licorice out of my mouth!

Both of these things were spontaneous and really created fun energy for the show. I always try to find things that take me out of my box and to create a show that’s unique to the people who are in the audience at that specific show that they know they’ll never see again!

That’s why people go see live entertainment, to be a part of a unique experience!

-Louie

Magic Show Consumables

Last week, my magic show did 12 shows at a fair in California. When I was packing to go there, I took a picture of all the consumable stuff in my magic show. This is stuff that isn’t reusable and I have to replace each show or every few shows:

Here’s what’s in that picture:

Pad of paper
Dollar bills
decks of cards
Gift bags
wet naps
confetti
garbage bags
paper plates
throw coils
produce bags
evidence bags

It feels like a lot of stuff, and it kinda is when you’re seeing 12 shows worth of stuff, plus a couple of back ups. For a single show, it’s not a lot. The nice thing about having stuff that gets used up in the show is that my case going home is a little bit lighter!

-Louie
PS: I have written tons of posts about traveling with a magic show on this blog!

Travelling Magic Shows and Gas Prices

The last couple of months have seen gas prices rise by over 50%, which concerns a lot of performers coming into the busy summer season. I was on the road all of April, driving just shy of 7,000 miles that month, so I’m very aware of the rising prices.

The number of performers who are losing their minds trying to figure out how to deal with this is staggering. The fact is, when you break it down, it’s not too bad. Let’s say gas has gone up by $1.50 a gallon, and you get 20 miles to the gallon. That means if your typical range is 100 miles (200 round trip), the higher cost of gas is only $15 on that gig.

While I’d rather have that $15 in my pocket than give it to a gas station. If you buy lunch on the way to the gig, that’s probably costing you more than $15.
At the end of the day, if $15 is going to make performing unprofitable for you, you need to raise your rates.

One thing I’m going to warn you about is adding a gas surcharge. The problem with openly adding that as a line item on an invoice or a condition in a contract is when it goes away. If gas drops below a certain amount, are you giving them a credit? That math makes it a pain in the butt for the buyer. They want to know how much you cost when they book you, not how much you might cost. If they’re willing to pay you your rate plus a gas surcharge, then they’re willing to pay you that as a flat rate, and that should be your new rate.

That’s just how I see all of this.

-Louie

Newspaper Magic Tricks

About five years ago, I used a torn and restored newspaper as the closer to a show. I used Nick Lewin’s Slow Motion Paper Tear, and it got great responses. Someone in a Facebook group asked about a newspaper tear that gives you clean edges on the tear. In my experience with the trick getting a clean tear is a combination of the grain/quality of the newspaper and just doing it a lot. The more you do it, the easier it is to get a clean tear.

That’s not really what this post is about, it’s about using a newspaper. Look below to see multiple people mention newspapers not being common:

Yes, I agree a newspaper isn’t common, but they still exist. Just about every grocery store in the USA still sells them. Here’s a list of things magician use that they consider “everyday objects” but I think aren’t:

Dollar bills
Coins
Handkerchiefs
Playing cards
Pencil
Breast pocket size wallets
Records
CD

All of those things still exist in the world, but the average person probably interacts with them about the same as a newspaper. I can’t think of the last time I held a pencil or handkerchief that wasn’t magic related. I hardly use cash anymore, and outside of a magic context, I’d say its been years since I would have touched playing cards.

It’s all about context, people still know what a newspaper is, they just might not have physically touched one recently. I’m not saying you should or shouldn’t use one based on how often people see them, but it’s not a strange object. A silver dollar is more strange than a newspaper.

That said, the first line of the newspaper tear when I did it was a joke explaining what a newspaper is.

-Louie

The Omni Chair AKA Take a Seat!

Let’s start by me saying I think most omni magic tricks are the result of lazy creativity. I’ve written at least one blog post about that in the past. What most omni magic tricks lack is something more than just the object becoming clear.

Ok, that all being said, I came across a set of small plastic folding chairs and one of the color options was clear.

There were four colors of chairs: Black, pink, blue and clear. I bought one of each. These stand about 5 inches tall. My first idea was some sort of chair test with them. My current idea is this:

Three tiny chairs are shown:

One of the three chairs is freely selected and put into a handkerchief that’s folded into a bag. You snap your fingers and pull out a ribbon/silk that is the color of the chair you put into the handkerchief. Then you remove the chair, and it’s now clear, and the handkerchief is shown empty.

There’s not much to it, but a bit more meat than just “hold this…now it’s clear” like in so many omni magic tricks. This routine is more like Dr. Boris Zola’s Silver Extraction routine. I do like the selection of a color as it adds a layer to it.

-Louie

Tape Measure Magic Trick

A couple nights ago I was hanging out at the First Tuesday Magic Jam at the All American Magic Shop in Portland, OR. One of the magicians had a a tape measure on their keychain and it got me thinking of things that could be done with a tape measure.

I do a tape measure magic trick in my stage show, and didn’t want to reinvent that. I did have an idea for a stage trick: Walking Thru a Tape Measure

The effect would be: there are two posts onstage about 3 feet apart, one has a notch to hold the tape measure, and the other has a hole in it. The tape measure is secured in the notch on one side and it’s extended to the other pole and thru the hole. You stand behind it and a cloth that’s maybe 2 feet tall covers your middle where the tape measure is. You make a sawing motion with the tape of the tape measure and then the cloth is dropped and you’re on the other side of the tape measure.

The method isn’t anything crazy. The tape is cut about 4 or 5 feet into the tape, and then tabs are cut out.

The tabs go through the tab of the other end, so they are joined together. This joint is then rolled back into the tape measure.

During the effect, then you are doing the sawing action, you’re extending the tape measure, undoing the joint, moving the tape behind you and then rejoining it. All that’s left is to let that part retract into the tape measure to hide it.

I have no idea if that will actually work, if you try it, let me know if it does!

-Louie