impromptu magic – Page 2

As You Wish…

One of the most common joke questions people ask is if you can turn a one dollar bill into a hundred dollar bill. When people ask things like this they think they are the first person to every ask you that. There are three ways to deal with it. First you can laugh with them, next you can try to one up them with a joke, and finally you can do what they ask.

Of the three reactions to the joke, the only one I don’t recommend is the second one. Let the person have their moment, they are going to allow you many more. Now as for the first and third option, I prefer being able to comply, but that’s not always possible with the “make my wife disappear” jokes, so then you have to laugh it off with them.

For something like turn my dollar bill into a hundred dollar bill, you can comply. You can keep a hundred dollar bill in a thumb tip and do a bill switch, however if you do this you have to give them the hundred dollar bill. It’ll cost you ninety nine bucks, but you’ll have created a miracle that they’ll talk about forever.

Another way would to be to take their dollar and switch it for a bill that has the serial number altered. The serial number reads “A 00000100 S”, so it’s a hundred dollar bill. You could also have the serial number read “1 HUNDRED”. Either way you’ve turned their bill into a hundred. Changing the serial number takes a bit of work, but it’s a lot cheaper than spending $99!!!

Using Magic For Good…

One of the cool things about being a magician, is you frequently have the ability to change someone’s day. What I mean by that is showing someone a little card trick can change their mood. Here’s an example, I was stuck in line that wasn’t moving. Someone recognized me a the magician from the show and we chatted for a minute. Then I offered to do a card trick. Everyone in the line went from being annoyed at a non moving line, to laughing and having a good time. One little card trick changed the mood and experience of 30 people.

Sometimes I wonder why so many magicians say they never do a trick for people outside of being paid. Personally I thinks it’s a very self centered approach. Being willing to do a little magic trick, if very different than feeling like you have to do a magic trick. You can say no, and sometimes you’re asked to show a trick and it’s just night a right situation and in the end no one will really gain any real joy from it. But when you know it’ll improve someone’s day, you should do it!

This is part of leaving your mark on the world. Jeff McBride is really into this type of “giving” with magic. It doesn’t mean doing a show, just a quick thing to make someone’s day a bit more fun! That’s why in my wallet I always have a trick that I can do, that’s a good trick, with a direct plot, but also quick. It’s not a long routine, it’s a quick trick. I actually have a 15 min show in my wallet, but usually don’t do the full thing.

Improvised Magic

As a magician you need to be able to do magic anytime. It doesn’t mean that you have to do magic whenever someone brings it up, but you should be able to do something. I’m pretty sure I’ve written about having an impromptu show that you’ve practiced as a show that you always have on … Continue reading “Improvised Magic”

As a magician you need to be able to do magic anytime. It doesn’t mean that you have to do magic whenever someone brings it up, but you should be able to do something. I’m pretty sure I’ve written about having an impromptu show that you’ve practiced as a show that you always have on you. I’m not writing about that today, but the ability to improvise magic.

You need to be able to look at a scenario and mentally go through your “toolbox” of sleight of hand, subtleties, or whatever and to make a trick happen. For example last night my family was at dinner with another family and they had a kid who wanted to see a magic trick. I’m a horrible human if I say no to a 7 year old kid. Now, this doesn’t mean I need to do a whole show, but a quick trick.

Looking around the dinner table there was standard stuff like cups, plates, silverware. What I ended up doing was improvise a little routine. I told the kid I was going to teach him how to do a trick and then I taught him how to stick a spoon on his nose. I then told him I was going to make mine disappear off my nose. I held a napkin in front of my face, wiggled my nose so the spoon fell off, and lowered the napkin to show it was gone. The kid of course saw what happened…but then he was blown away when his full glass of chocolate milk appeared in my napkin!

I’ve done the appearing cup in the napkin before, but needed a way to get the misdirection to steal it. The idea of dropping the spoon off my face was something that came to me in the moment and worked out great. It was a funny moment and everyone let their guard down, which allowed me to steal the cup.

Understanding magic and how it works allowed me to work out this routine at a glace of the table.

Always Be Amazing…

Last year at the Southern Sideshow Hootenanny in New Orleans, I saw legendary showman Aye Jaye speak. Aye Jaye has been around circuses and carnivals his whole life and is a fun guy to hang around! He always has a trick on him, and he’s always ready to do it. He has a name for … Continue reading “Always Be Amazing…”

Last year at the Southern Sideshow Hootenanny in New Orleans, I saw legendary showman Aye Jaye speak. Aye Jaye has been around circuses and carnivals his whole life and is a fun guy to hang around!

He always has a trick on him, and he’s always ready to do it. He has a name for this, which I don’t remember, but it’s essentially a “gift” he gives people. For the longest time I hated the idea of always having a trick on me. I used to think there was no good reason for it, besides “dancing” like a trained monkey.

As I’ve gotten older, I have had many doors open and opportunities present themselves simple because I could do a magic trick. I don’t force magic tricks on people, but having something you can do is frequently beneficial!

A good example of this was I as having a drink with some performers after a trade show. We ended up chatting with a group that was in a position to book a couple of us performers. Of the magicians I was the only one that could do a trick on the spot. I did my three trick set that lives in my wallet.

Guess what?

I got the gig. I’m not saying that to brag, but when you are in a formal networking situation you 100% should have a trick ready to go. This goes for informal networking, which is pretty much all day, every day.

Think about it, let’s say you randomly meet someone and they learn you are a magician and they mention they need a magician for an event. What do you think will leave a bigger impression, if you hand them your card, or do a trick, then hand them your card?

TLDR: Always be ready to do a magic trick