Category: Pictures

The Stroller Test

I was at a showcase last week for performers trying to get booked.  I watched all of the magicians showcase (that I was aware of) and while I had a crappy showcase spot, I pulled a bigger crowd then all of the ones that I saw.    Why?   They all had long presentations, where … Continue reading “The Stroller Test”

I was at a showcase last week for performers trying to get booked.  I watched all of the magicians showcase (that I was aware of) and while I had a crappy showcase spot, I pulled a bigger crowd then all of the ones that I saw. 

 

Why?

 

They all had long presentations, where mine while they can be long, have jokes in them. In addition to that what I selected to use in my showcase all had big unique visuals.  This comes down to what I call the “stroller test”.

 

How the stroller test works is you have to imagine mom pushing a stroller down the walkway with a kid or two.  Would she stop at your show. You have say 50 feet to catch her attention and get her to sit down. If she’s travelling at around 1 foot a second, you’ve got about a minute to catch her attention.

 

If you are standing up there talking about poetry for five minutes before the trick happens, you aren’t going to grab her.  If you are standing up there talking and have a joke every 45 seconds, you have a much better chance of getting her attention.  If you have a joke every 45 seconds AND an interesting visual you will have an even better chance of getting her attention.

Another Presentation for the License Plate Prediction…

A couple of days ago I wrote about a post about the License Plate Prediction trick (you can read it here).  I was thinking about it some more and came up with another, probably better presentation.  The idea is that in high school you named your car.   You have a list of the top baby names … Continue reading “Another Presentation for the License Plate Prediction…”

A couple of days ago I wrote about a post about the License Plate Prediction trick (you can read it here).  I was thinking about it some more and came up with another, probably better presentation.  The idea is that in high school you named your car.   You have a list of the top baby names from the year you bought your car. You run scissors down the list and they saw stop whenever they want.  You cut the list at that point. They read the first name from where the list was cut and end up matching your license plate.

 

Mind reading magic trick

 

This would simply be the trick where you have the list of names printed upside down.  So when you cut the list, the name at the top where they think you cut it is actually the last name on your list.  That’s a simple and effective force for a trick like this that is list bases.

 

I think there’s tons of room for fun in this trick. “I named my car “Carl” and would tell my mom that carl and I are going out. It was month before she realized that Carl wasn’t real.”  

 

Now that I’ve got the hook and the method, it’s just a matter of writing the script and testing it out. 

 

Louie

Recommended Reading

Right now I’m reading John Carney’s book Magic By Design. It’s a book on theory of how to become a better magical performer.  One of the things he mentioned was writing down your “ideals” for your magic. Some guidelines as an artist of what you want for your magic / show.   Here’s some of … Continue reading “Recommended Reading”

Right now I’m reading John Carney’s book Magic By Design.

Magic by Design by John CarneyIt’s a book on theory of how to become a better magical performer.  One of the things he mentioned was writing down your “ideals” for your magic. Some guidelines as an artist of what you want for your magic / show.

 

Here’s some of mine:

  • The magic has to be good.  By that there can be no easy explanations of how things work.  
  • Every trick has to have a unique visual.  
  • I have to sweat.  I need to work on stage.
  • The audience has to feel like this “isn’t just another magic show”
  • The audience gets to know me during the show
  • The material has to “move the show forward”

 

I’m sure that I’ll come up with more, but this is just the quick list I’ve come up with.  There’s not much to it, however I’ve always said that creating with rules is so much easier than creating without rules!

 

I’m only a few pages into the book, but I highly recommend it!

 

Louie

Finally Seeing an Act!

When I was a teenager I remember in a issue of Magic Magazine (I think), I saw a picture of Mondre performing.  The picture has stuck in my head for over 20 years.  Last week I was able to work with Mondre at Wonderground in Las Vegas! I had a blast hanging out and chatting … Continue reading “Finally Seeing an Act!”

When I was a teenager I remember in a issue of Magic Magazine (I think), I saw a picture of Mondre performing.  The picture has stuck in my head for over 20 years.  Last week I was able to work with Mondre at Wonderground in Las Vegas!

I had a blast hanging out and chatting with him.

I also love that his act didn’t disappoint me.  I’ve seen many shows that I read about as a kid and when I finally see it as an adult, the show is a clunker.  Here’s a video of Mondre that I found :

 

This also brings me to something that I think is lost on kids today, which is seeking out shows.  When I was a kid there was no youtube, I had to actually ride the bus for hours to see a show.  When seeing a show it had value and a lot of it.  I really took in the show, it wasn’t just something that was happening in the same room as me.

My advice to anyone who wants to be a magician is to go out and actually see shows!  Go see any live show, not just magic, not just national acts…go see every single show you can!

 

Louie

Be Seen!

One of the hardest things when performing for a group in a banquet hall without a stage is being  seen.  Here’s a picture from a corporate gig I did recently. I sat down in a chair at the back to take this picture.  Can you see the person up front talking?  Look close, you can … Continue reading “Be Seen!”

One of the hardest things when performing for a group in a banquet hall without a stage is being  seen.  Here’s a picture from a corporate gig I did recently.

Magic Show
I sat down in a chair at the back to take this picture.  Can you see the person up front talking?  Look close, you can really only see them from about the shoulders up.  What can we learn from this picture?  If you magic is happening below shoulder level most of the audience cannot see it.

There are two ways to solve this visibility problem:

  1. Hold all of your props above your head:  The problem with this is it makes doing sleight of hand really difficult and looks strange.
  2. Bring a your own stage:  This is most obvious solution.  However not always practical, especially when flying.  So I travel with a folding stool.  This fits in my suitcase and when I stand on it makes the show much more visible.

Next time you are at a show, even one with a stage, sit in the back and watch the act or speaker before you and see what you can see. You’ll be amazed at how little can be seen even with a stage!

Louie

Custom Built Props…

We live in a very exciting time to be a magician. Right now it’s super easy to get custom made props cheaply.   This means your show doesn’t have to look exactly like someone else’s.  For example the Evaporation trick…don’t want it in orange Sunny D?  Easy, I can make it in almost any other bottle … Continue reading “Custom Built Props…”

We live in a very exciting time to be a magician. Right now it’s super easy to get custom made props cheaply.   This means your show doesn’t have to look exactly like someone else’s.  For example the Evaporation trick…don’t want it in orange Sunny D?  Easy, I can make it in almost any other bottle for not much more than the stock version.

 

Click here for details on custom Evaporation bottles

 

This goes with pretty much any prop, you can print out decals on your home inkjet printer and add them to props.  Then you could customize off the shelf props that use generic product names to have “brand names”.

 

Here’s an example from my show. I do a soap bubble act and all of the props were made from “found materials”, thing that I repurposed to use as props.  The props don’t remotely match is color or general look.  I spend about 45 minutes one day designing them to print on my 3d printer.

 

bubble magic

 

I printed them out and got a set of props that not only looks better than what I was using before, but works better than what I was using before.  If you don’t have a 3d printer, there are plenty of services that will print out your projects for you, there are even libraries that have 3d printers you can use!

 

Basically in 2018, there’s no real reason to have props that are cobbled together (unless that’s the look you are going for).

 

Louie

Make the Best of the Situation…

Last night I performed a show at an outdoor Halloween event.  It was a beautiful day out until I started to drive to the show, when it started dumping rain.  Luckily they managed to get a large tent over the stage by the time I got there.  Unluckily the stage was put where water pooled, … Continue reading “Make the Best of the Situation…”

Last night I performed a show at an outdoor Halloween event.  It was a beautiful day out until I started to drive to the show, when it started dumping rain.  Luckily they managed to get a large tent over the stage by the time I got there.  Unluckily the stage was put where water pooled, so the ground had about an inch of standing water.  Oh and as a bonus the tent was leaky, and somehow the leak always managed to follow where I put my case, so all of my gear got wet…and the show hadn’t even started!

 

I know many acts that when their gear got wet would have called it a day and pack up. Here’s my thinking, it’s already wet, so let’s do the show.  We managed to fill up the tent, I don’t know if people wanted to see my show or they just wanted to be a bit dryer?

 

magic show

 

When doing gigs like this, one of the first things you need to do is address the “elephant in the room” which was we’re all soaked and standing in a pond.  So I made a joke about people sitting in front…Oh, I forgot to mention that there were no chairs, so the audience was standing (not ideal for a show).

 

By addressing these things I won the audience over and we had a blast.  However I think if I went up and did my show normally, it wouldn’t have played as well.  When something happens and you just ignore it, the audience senses you aren’t confident with what’s going on.  When you call it out, it makes you more relatable and gets them on your side quicker.

 

Louie

Salt Pour Magic Trick

I’ve always loved the salt pour trick, but the initial steal of the gimmick has always looked shifty. I’ve never seen any do the steal where it didn’t look like something was going on. A good solution is is a gimmicked salt shaker, so you are eliminating the steal of the gimmick. An Al Baker … Continue reading “Salt Pour Magic Trick”

I’ve always loved the salt pour trick, but the initial steal of the gimmick has always looked shifty. I’ve never seen any do the steal where it didn’t look like something was going on.

A good solution is is a gimmicked salt shaker, so you are eliminating the steal of the gimmick. An Al Baker Salt Shaker is a great way to do this…if you can find one as they are no longer manufactured.

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Another option is the Vernet Etherial Salt Shaker, however I think it looks like a trick salt shaker.

IMG_1360.JPG

Finally it hit me, why not gimmick a large glass salt shaker like the Evaporation gimmick. You’ll get a pour that looks similar to the Al Baker Salt Shaker during the pour, but will be much easier to set and operate.

I’m currently audience testing it right now an so far seems to be working…

Evaporation in a Show

Here’s picture taken of. Show at a farmer’s market. If you look on the table you’ll see an Evaporation bottle. I The bottle is still full, so I haven’t done my routine with it yet… Louie www.EvaporationTrick.com

Here’s picture taken of. Show at a farmer’s market.

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If you look on the table you’ll see an Evaporation bottle. I
The bottle is still full, so I haven’t done my routine with it yet…

Louie
www.EvaporationTrick.com

Evaporation Routine…

Here’s a picture of the end of one of the routines that I’m using the Evaporation trick in:   This summer I’ve been working on two routines using my Evaporation bottle.  I’m hoping to write them up sometime soon and offer them in a book of routines with the gimmick. Louie http://www.EvaporationTrick.com

Here’s a picture of the end of one of the routines that I’m using the Evaporation trick in:

evaporation

 

This summer I’ve been working on two routines using my Evaporation bottle.  I’m hoping to write them up sometime soon and offer them in a book of routines with the gimmick.

Louie
http://www.EvaporationTrick.com