Vanishing Birdcage Addition

Here’s another idea I’ve always wanted to try with the Vanishing Birdcage:

While I was at FISM I picked up a smoke device. These have come a long way since the late 1990’s when I became aware of them. This particular unit has a timer, so it you hit a button and it delays however long you set it, then it emits smoke for as long as you program into it. It’s pretty cool. The big addition to these is a fan that propels the smoke, and that’s the thing that I think was missing from a lot of the previous attempts at a smoke device.

I know that in the video above, my timing is off a little bit. It’s not a big deal as this isn’t something that I intend to ever do again, I was just curious what it would look like.

I do think it looks really cool, however having the take up reel and smoke device on one arm is a lot of stuff strapped to you and because of that I’ll never do it. I could be missing out…
-Louie

Out of Town Order Notice

This blog will still be updated everyday, so keep reading below this notice!

This is just a heads up, I’ll be out of the country from October 26, 2022 to November 18th, 2022. If you place an order during that time, nothing will ship or start being made until I return on the 11/18.

If you need something sooner, you can order most of my products at www.Hocus-Pocus.com and they usually have most of my stuff in stock!

This blog will still be updated everyday, so keep reading below this notice!

-Louie

Going Rogue…

One thing I believe in is that when everyone is good, it’s better for everyone who performs in an industry. I was at a conference last week and there’s not a lot of content for the performers who want to get better. A buddy and I came up with the idea of a problem solving session. It wasn’t on the official program or even endorsed by the conference, so I had some flyers made and we distributed them and made it a word of mouth thing.

We had a great turnout, my picture below is about half of the room:

What was really cool is that a lot of the people who book entertainment showed up. They were able to hear what our challenges were, and able to have a dialogue with use about how to solve them!

There are some people who have asked me why I’m helping my competition, and the answer is simple:

We’re all on the same team.

I don’t look at anyone as competition. Not because I’m better than anyone, we’re all on one big team. When people hire good entertainment that’s easy to work with, they want to hire entertainment more and that’s more work everyone!

-Louie

Old Promo…

Another day of me perpetually cleaning the office. I found a box of old promo that I thought I threw away a couple of years ago!

magic show promo flyers and postcards

I kept one of each piece of promo and tossed the box. The promo has no value, I don’t look like the person in the picture, some of the info on the postcards is old and the overall style isn’t modern.

In the future, I’ll probably do a lot more short run prints of things, as it’s not very expensive to print 50 or a 100 of a one sheet flyer. Back when I had these printed, you really needed to print 500 or 1,000 of them. That’s why soo many comics had headshots that were 20 years old, they had to print 1,000 of them!

Life’s too short for boxes of old promo that you’ll never use again. Recycle it and be free!!
-Louie

Video Introduction

I just wrapped up showcasing at a booking conference. Usually at these the MC isn’t the best, so a couple years ago my agent started having her acts use video intros which play right after the MC intros the act.

Here’s mine:

It really does a lot more to set the tone and energy for the showcase. I’m really glad I started using a video introduction!

-Louie

Marketing Your Show…

One thing that always surprises me the fear that magicians have about spending money on things that will help sell their show. I get most of my work through booking conferences. I needed to make a new banner for one of the agents that I work for, so while I was doing that, I also made a generic one for me.

These were made in a rush, and they’re good enough. If I had more time I would make a couple of changes, but the more important thing is that I have the one the agent requested by the date they needed it!

A Sip of Water

Last week I was working with Lanky the Clown and he always has tons of little gags in his clown costume. He showed me a fun little gag where you offer someone “a sip of water“, then offer them a tiny bottle of water.

I thought the gag was hilarious and he gave me one of the tiny bottles.

You can get the Tiny Water Bottles by clicking here!

After playing with the gag, I have a little magic trick with it. I do the gag, then the bottle disappears and reappears from a handkerchief, which ends with the production of a full size unopened water bottle!

If you’re a Paul Harris fan, you’ll recognize this as King Soloman’s Drink from his book the Close Up Entertainer and in republished in The Art of Astonishment Volume 2.

It’s a fun little routine to do!

-Louie

Silver Dollars or Paper Dollars…

In my show I do a bit where a kid gets a dollar, loses the dollar, and eventually gets another dollar bill. I thought it would be fun instead of giving the kid a paper dollar. I swung by a coin shop and picked up some Eisenhower Dollar coins.

The problem I’m running into is that the kids don’t know what a silver dollar is and maybe 10% don’t want to take it. The finale of the routine plays a lot better when the kid takes the dollar (paper or coin) at the end. If the kid doesn’t take the dollar, the routine has a feeling like I hustled the kid, and that affects the applause at the end.

I’ve added a line that adds some context to what I’m handing the kid. I say, “…a silver dollar…also known as a giant quarter” and that’s upping my acceptance rate. I’m also thinking of buying it off the kid for a two dollar bill. I’ll have to swing by a bank and pick some up, that may be the solution…

-Louie

Card Stickers!!!

After doing my “Face Peel” ending to my card routine, I’m really liking it! People take the card sticker and put it on their phone cases, on their shirts or in this lady’s case, on her purse!

I think it’s a way better souvenir than just handing them a card at the end of your card routine.

-Louie

Good Enough…

magician trade show banner

In less than two weeks I’m showcasing at a booking event and my retractable banner is missing. I needed to order another one ASAP, but of course, I’m on the road and can’t find the original files.

Working off a picture of the old banner, I had it recreated with a couple of more recent pictures and some new credits.

Having to remake the banner was sort of a blessing in disguise as it needed to be redone anyway. That and the retractable base was getting pretty banged up, it didn’t work very smoothly.

If I was at home I had pictures on a hard drive that I would have rather used, but sometimes you just need something that’s “good enough”. This will get me through the event and with banners at about a hundred bucks, if I only use it once before I redesign it, it’s totally worth it!

-Louie