Here’s all of my street show props packed into the wagon that they’ll travel in.
This is everything, including the sound system. It’s important that the show is very mobile and sets up quickly! This show will be starting this week, so we’ll see how much the set up and packing changes by the end of the week!
-Louie
Almost a year ago I started thinking about doing a little routine/sequence with AirPods. I haven’t been consistently working on it for a year, it’s been something that I’ve thought about time to time.
I finally put the routine together and I think it’s a good little sequence!
@louiefoxx Super fun thing with some old airpods! #airpods #appleairpods #sleightofhand #louiefoxx #magic @Ellusionist.com #magician ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
The main difference I would make in a live, close up magic setting would be the final transposition from the case to my hand, I’d probably put the case into a spectator’s hand. That adds a “condition” to the final transposition, from their hand to mine.
This little routine is a great example of taking something that exists, it’s basically a coin routine with AirPods in place of the coins. Then the properties of the new item will lead to new possibilities. This is very effective way to create magic that feels “new”.
-Louie
Over the weekend my daughter and I had a booth at an arts fair. Sher was there selling her art, and I had my book C is for Conspiracy: The ABC’s of Conspiracy Theories for sale. I was also doing a little bit of magic every now and then.
The routine that I was working on while there was the new ending for my Cee-Lo dice trick where I make a giant metal nut appear under the cup and then an even bigger one appear under my hat!
I’m not doing any body loads for this routine, all of the production items come from my doctor’s bag that hangs on the back of my table.
After doing it a lot over the course of the day, I’m confident that the loads will work in a close up context. The plan is to use it in a half circle style show, so hopefully the loads will translate to that larger audience that’s further back. I head out on the road later this week and will get to try it out!
-Louie
I love my vintage magic tricks and this is an interesting idea that was created by Stuart Judah called Silver Release. Here’s what it looks like:
@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick: Silver Release by Stuart Judah #magictrick #vintage #magic #antique #stuartjudah #louieFoxx #historyofmagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
It’s interesting that I’ve come across this now as I’m working on something that uses a similar principle in a wacky way to have a coin disappear and reappear somewhere else.
As for the trick, I think a huge improvement would be using bigger coins, like a Scotch and Soda set. However I do understand that from a marketing angle, using a Scotch and Soda coin set would immediately tip the method. Also making the trick with Dime and Penny sets makes the much cheaper to make.
-Louie
I’ve been working on a walnut to glass routine for a little while and there’s one challenge I keep hitting: Why walnuts?
Using balls with cups and balls makes sense as it looks like the shell game which people are aware of. Even though it’s cups and balls and the shell game visually are very different to people who do them, to the general public who have never seen them in real life, it’s appears to be the same.
The challenge with using nuts is basically I’m fighting the whole routine being a testicle joke. I can’t call them “nuts” in the routine, they have to be walnuts. However every time I handle them, I think I’m going to be fighting people in the audience making their own jokes. I really just don’t want that.
I’m switching over to using my Cee Lo dice and cup routine and doing the hat load of the giant metal nut. I’m also using a devils hank for a vanish of all three dice instead of doing a two in the one in the pocket sequence. The bits I have planned for the devil’s hank before the vanish will hopefully help the routine play larger!
I’m hitting the road in a few days and I’ll know if it plays or not soon!
-Louie
It brings me soo much joy to see other people use the tricks that I’ve released. Here’s Todd Bogue’s promo video and my Straight Suit makes an appearance!
Todd does the Straight Suit better than anyone (including me) and I’m honored that he uses it in his show!
Also his promo video is a good example of how using high def video and clear audio makes him look super professional!
-Louie
A few days ago I had an agent ask me if I could make them a new version of my promotional sizzle reel. They wanted a version without any text. For context here’s the previous version with text:
The previous have two kinds of text, it has title cards and captions. The agent wanted neither of those. Luckily I kept the video editor project saved, so it wasn’t a huge deal to go back and cut out the text. I think in a sizzle reel, the text is a good transition piece and adds some context to things. However if the client wants one without text, I’ll make them one!
Here’s the new version:
Ultimately the goal is to get work and if someone wants something specific to sell my show, I’ll gladly make it for them!
-Louie
Awhile ago I made an ungimmicked spirit hand for someone in Arkansas. They then added the gimmick to the hand and decorated it so that it looks old and cool and here’s what it looks like:
I was chatting with the guy who gimmicked the hand and he’s willing to make more. If you’ve been wanting a gimmicked spirit hand, shoot me a note and we can get you pricing options for one!
-Louie
I’m excited to release my first card trick in a long time, this is called Placeholder!
Effect: You show a deck of cards that’s in new deck order. A card is selected, but kept in place in the deck of cards, so the whole deck stays in order. Now the spectator spreads the cards and their card is now blank card in its place in the deck that’s in new deck order!
One of the the things that this routine solves when using a special deck is how to get that deck in play without. In this routine the deck of cards is in order and stays in order throughout the trick, so you can openly take out the deck and there’s a reason why it’s not used for everything else and that it’s in order and you need to keep it that way.
Here’s a demo of the Placeholder routine:
Right now I’m having an introductory sale on Placeholder. It will retail for $20, however now through May 31, 2024 you can get it for only $15 with USA shipping included!
For more information or to order Placeholder visit:
https://www.magicshow.tips/placeholder/
-Louie
Last night I drove an hour to see a magic and hypnotism show. I love seeing magic shows, and supporting people who are out there performing. I never ask for a free ticket, I always buy one. Before I get into what I think of the show, let me tell you how it ended. I walked out of the show and asked for my money back.
Was the show that bad?
The quality of the show isn’t why I left, I love all magic shows, good, bad. I walked out because I got physically injured by a hypnotist during his show and he didn’t seem to give a crap about it. That’s why I left, the performer intentionally hurt me and didn’t seem to care.
OK, so let’s get into the what happened:
The second half of the show is a hypnosis show. He does the some of the standard full audience stuff, like pretend you have a balloon tied to your hand and feel it lift up with your eyes closed. As this is happening, he taps people in the audience on the shoulder and if he tapped you, you’re invited to come onstage. After the audience qualifying bit he askes people who got tapped to come onstage. I didn’t want to go onstage, and since the tapping on the should bit is discreet, no one would know that I’m declining. Four people come up, but one has a cane, so he sends her back to her seat. Then he looks right at me, gestures towards me and says that he tapped me and verbally invites me to the stage. Being a good sport I go up to the stage after I was specifically singled out.
He does his induction, I’m not hypnotized (as far as I know), but following his directions. So I’m doing what I think he’s asking me to do. Then he gets to the bit where people play imaginary instruments and I guess I didn’t start soon enough and he walks over and has me look at him and he starts shaking my arm. Apparently I wasn’t doing it right, so after a few times of me trying to do what he wants and not doing it correctly, he grabs my arm and violently yanks it towards him and says, “sleep”. It was the opposite of making want to sleep, it hurt and I heard my shoulder make a noise.
I told him that it hurt and that I was done onstage. I walked off the stage, grabbed my coat, asked for a refund and left the venue. I really wanted to yell at him on stage about how inappropriate what he did to me was.
The hypnotist was recording the show that night, so he has this on video. I’d love to see this video and to see that I’m over reacting, however my shoulder still being sore this morning almost 12 hours later tells me I’m not.
In my heart, I hope that the hypnotist reviews the video of this show and my interaction with him and realizes how forcefully yanking on someone’s arm with no warning is a horrible idea and a great way to injure someone, someone that paid for a ticket AND drove an hour to see his show.
This should also serve as a reminder that people in the audience are actual people and not props. What you do with them on stage can have lasting effects and can skew how their opinion of future shows like yours. For example if I was the holiday party booker for a company, I’d probably never book a hypnotist in the future based only on this one experience. I used to think it was unfair when people has a bad experience with a magician and won’t book any magician, now I totally understand that position!
-Louie
