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:
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
It really makes me happy when I see pictures or videos of performers using magic props that I’ve created! I just came across this picture of Magic Monty Reed using my Snake Wand Surprise!
I’ve had magicians ask me if it’s OK to use a prop that I sell, and I say “yes”. I think that’s an interesting question. If I sell it or have published it, and you bought a legitimate version of it (not a copy/knockoff), then feel free to use it!
There have been plenty of times when I had to share the stage with someone using one of my props or routines, and I’ve got no problem with that. I’m honored that people think my magic tricks are good enough to put into their shows!
If you have any pics or video of you using anything I make, I’d love to see it!
A couple of months ago when I was performing on the Oregon coast, I picked up the book Step Right Up, which is a memoire about the author’s time performing with a sideshow.
This book is a fun, but in my opinion, simplified journey of how the author learned sideshow acts. He does talk about injuries and close calls, but pretty much every time he tries, he’s great at it, which isn’t how it normally happens in the real world!
The book goes into some magic and mentalism, including the author learning a two person code and Q & A act!!
This book does highlight the colorful characters that perform in and work around sideshows! A few years ago I did 10 days performing in the longest running 10 in 1 side show in the USA, and it was a blast!
I think I paid $4 for the book, and I’m happy with my purchase!
On the school assembly tour, I used a screen provided by the school. This could be a smart board, TV or projector, anything I could plug an HDMI into. I did have a backup if they didn’t have a screen.
At my last show of the tour, a few minutes before show time, the TV they gave me decided it was a good time to update.
I had been plugged into this TV, and it was turned on for probably 20 minutes when the update started. What I didn’t like was where it said the TV might restart after the update. That could have been during my show!
Luckily, the update completed right before start time, and the TV didn’t need to restart. That’s just something to be aware of when you use other people’s tech. When it fails, and it’s not your fault, but the audience doesn’t know that!
When I created the Evaporation trick, I was out on the road performing. I tried many different methods of making liquid disappear, however it was a trip to this Menards hardware store in Minot, ND where it all came together!
Whenever I’m in the area, I always stop and walk through the store. This hardware store has a special place in my heart! It’s what put me on the map as a magic trick creator.
The month long school assembly tour is finished! I learned a lot doing the same show 2-3 times a day.
1: Simplify the setup and take down. The fewer “parts” a show has to assemble, the better. This show traveled by car, so it was easy not to have a lot of things to put together, unlike a show that travels by plane.
2: Hold the final magic to display what has happened up high and for way longer than you think you need to.
3: Find ways to be present in your show, and not just a robot reciting lines. This can get hard after doing the show for the 40th time in three weeks. Try to look for real moments that are happening and play!
4: Be on top of prop maintenance. If you notice something wearing out, fix it! Don’t try to get two more shows out of it. It’ll break when it’s not convenient for you to fix.
5: When the school (really the teachers) seat the kids in a way that doesn’t make sense for a crowd, tell them to move them. I’ve had the weirdest crowd configurations, and teachers fight hard to not move kids. I push back, because the audience seated as a group and not a bunch of individual units will make the difference just a show and an amazing show.
