When I travel I love visiting junk shops, you can find all sorts of props. Yesterday I found some sandwich skewers that were 50 cents for the pack. I bought them for the sole purpose of bring a smile to the old ladies who ran the shop. Here’s what I did: People who say the … Continue reading “Add a Little Magic…”
When I travel I love visiting junk shops, you can find all sorts of props. Yesterday I found some sandwich skewers that were 50 cents for the pack. I bought them for the sole purpose of bring a smile to the old ladies who ran the shop.
Here’s what I did:
People who say the only do magic tricks when they are paid are completely missing the boat when it comes to promoting magic in general. Not forcing magic on people is also important. You notice I do one trick, and she asks me to show another person. I’m not forcing a show on anyone. Just a quick little thing.
It was a long day, I went to Canada and back to see Shin Lim’s show. This was the first stop of his tour. I’m going to be completely honest, the show was a bit of a let down. My ticket said “Shin Lim” but the show was Colin Cloud with Shin doing a few … Continue reading “Shin Lim’s Show…”
pic from www.shinlimmagic.com
It was a long day, I went to Canada and back to see Shin Lim’s show. This was the first stop of his tour. I’m going to be completely honest, the show was a bit of a let down. My ticket said “Shin Lim” but the show was Colin Cloud with Shin doing a few things here and there. Colin is great, but it was sold to me as a Shin Lim show and I really wanted to see what a Shin Lim show was.
Colin opened the show and carried it. Shin has a long way to go to carry a whole theater show by himself. Shin’s opening trick was the “love card trick” that Penn and Teller do, which is a good trick, but not an opener. The worst part was we got halfway through it and they Shin said that he “messed up the math” and told us to throw the cards on the floor. The family next to me was confused. At the end of the show, he also referenced messing up this trick. By that point in the show, we had forgotten about that, and he didn’t need to bring it back up.
Unfortunately every routine that Shin did had something that didn’t work. sometimes it was just a card peeking out that we shouldn’t see, to the Love Card Trick that just didn’t work at all. It was interesting leaving the theater, people were talking about how underwhelmed they were, and that his stuff looked better on TV.
Here’s my takeaway, if your name is on the ticket, you should be on the stage the most. And that simply putting a camera on close up magic doesn’t make it engaging for the audience. There still needs to be more. That’s why Colin Cloud stole the show. I have a ticket to the show for six months from now when it’s in Seattle and I’m excited to see the show, and hopefully what an awesome show in that time it’s grown to!
A year or so ago I was chatting with Jonathan Friedman and he said something like, “Instragram is now a perfectly valid performing venue…”. He’s 100% correct. Social media magic has really launched the career, or kept them going for many magicians. Shin Lim is a good example of this. His fanbase is HUGE outside … Continue reading “Instagram Magic”
A year or so ago I was chatting with Jonathan Friedman and he said something like, “Instragram is now a perfectly valid performing venue…”. He’s 100% correct. Social media magic has really launched the career, or kept them going for many magicians.
Shin Lim is a good example of this. His fanbase is HUGE outside of magicians. He’s using magic trick to keep people who follow him engaged and promote upcoming shows. A lot of the stuff he’s doing is social media only content. It’s stuff that he’s really not going to do in a show, it’s just to reach or connect with fans.
On a smaller scale than Shin Lim, I do this. The main reason is to give me an outlet for ideas. Things that I know I’ll never really do in a show. Here’s a good example:
Having a reason to work out little ideas and a place to share them is great. I’ve had a couple of ideas I’ve posted videos of get big responses, and I’ve figured out ways to work them into the show.
The moral of the story is to not be upset with social media magic tricks, they have place and a purpose. You need to grow with the times and stop being a dinosaur!
A few days ago I wrote about using the Predict n’ Grab trick to force an image on Instagram. I was thinking this morning if it’s better than using flash cards. Everyone can relate to flash cards…but also with Instagram. Flash cards are a tangible thing which is nice, however so is my phone and … Continue reading “Instagram Force…”
A few days ago I wrote about using the Predict n’ Grab trick to force an image on Instagram. I was thinking this morning if it’s better than using flash cards. Everyone can relate to flash cards…but also with Instagram.
Flash cards are a tangible thing which is nice, however so is my phone and it’s larger. For the trick I’m doing, on the person on stage can see the forced animal. The reason for that is simple, since I’m doing this for kids, I don’t want another kid to say what it is. If they say what I’ve forced outloud, I can’t got back and redo the selection because of what I’m revealing.
Instagram also feels “cooler” for older kids in the audience than flash cards do. When performing for kids, I always try to play up to the older kids, than play down to the younger ones. I’ve found that works better for my style of performing.
The Silk Thru Coat Hanger that I’ve been doing is getting some interest from magicians on Facebook. It’s interesting how many don’t realize that going from the body to the hook isn’t a standard way of doing it. They’re going to try it, but I’m not sure they’ll “understand” the trick. By understanding the trick, … Continue reading “Reel Experiments…”
The Silk Thru Coat Hanger that I’ve been doing is getting some interest from magicians on Facebook. It’s interesting how many don’t realize that going from the body to the hook isn’t a standard way of doing it. They’re going to try it, but I’m not sure they’ll “understand” the trick.
By understanding the trick, there’s a lot that can go wrong with this trick. I think that’s why more people don’t do Silk Thru Ring or even the Silk Thru Microphone type tricks. In the short amount of time I’ve been doing this, I’ve learned a lot about the trick and the props used in the trick.
The first thing you need is a good reel. Right now I’m using a P & L reel, but still experimenting with other ones. I just had a Kirkendall Reel show up yesterday and have a Tango Ulimate Reel showing up today. I’ve even played with using a badge reel.
The nice things about a badge reel is that they are cheap and have a lot more force than the other magic reels. The downside is that they make a lot more noise. When initially experimenting with a badge reel, I 3d printed a finger clip and glued it on one:
I think when I have time, I’m going to 3d print the entire reel housing and put the badge reel inside it. I think there are some things that I can do to quiet down the cheap badge reel and make it usable!
Playing with the Silk Thru Microphone Stand concept, and starting to do some research on it, I’m amazed a how little there is about it out there. I guess that part of it is that I’m searching for a specific trick, that really only has two methods. It’s also a quick trick, so there’s a … Continue reading “Researching the Silk Thru…”
Playing with the Silk Thru Microphone Stand concept, and starting to do some research on it, I’m amazed a how little there is about it out there. I guess that part of it is that I’m searching for a specific trick, that really only has two methods. It’s also a quick trick, so there’s a lot le
Then I realized I should be searching for a Ring and Silk routines, as that’s much closer to what I’m going to be doing. Once I searched that, I had a bit more success. Here’s a good example of something similar to what I want to do:
I’m not using a ring, but a coat hanger, however the moves are similar. The size and shape of the coat hanger lends itself to a couple of things that a ring doesn’t. This is what I find exciting. Also the routine I’m going to do, will probably be a talking routine, where I’ve only seen silent ones (not that that’s a huge differnce).
When I was a kid I remember reading in Tarbell Vol 4 called The Penetrative Silk. This was a handkerchief that you can pull thru and upright pole and used a very simple set up. I’m not positive if this trick predates the Silk Thru Mic Stand trick or not. They are essentially the same … Continue reading “Silk Thru…”
When I was a kid I remember reading in Tarbell Vol 4 called The Penetrative Silk. This was a handkerchief that you can pull thru and upright pole and used a very simple set up. I’m not positive if this trick predates the Silk Thru Mic Stand trick or not. They are essentially the same trick with different methods.
If you aren’t familiar with the trick, here’s what it looks like:
In my show I’m always looking for tricks that can be done solo, with just me on stage. I like the concept of pulling a silk through something. This is something that is visual, so would play big. I found a P & L fingertip reel at a decent price and started messing with it.
The hard part now is figure out a routine with it and what’s going to make the trick uniquely me. I’ve found a couple of interesting moves that I don’t think have been done before, or at least I haven’t seen before. Hopefully this ends up being something that gets used in my show!
I’m frequently working on new material, and need places to try it out. that’s the thing with magic, it needs an audience to see how it actually plays. Frequently I break in new material as the “preshow” while the audience is waiting for the show to start. Yesterday before a show I started breaking in … Continue reading “Break In Time…”
I’m frequently working on new material, and need places to try it out. that’s the thing with magic, it needs an audience to see how it actually plays. Frequently I break in new material as the “preshow” while the audience is waiting for the show to start.
Yesterday before a show I started breaking in the three ball trick that I’m working on. What’s interesting about the trick is that my method which is a little unusual for the three ball trick seems to work and be deceptive to the audience. Trying out an unusual method for a trick is one of the most stressful things that I do. You never know if people will see right through it, or not. I’m glad I tried it out, I’m going to keep moving forward with the trick.
Taking the leap and putting stuff in front of the audience is very rewarding when the trick plays out. You can learn a lot from a method or presentation that doesn’t. Whenever I”m breaking in new material I try to record it, so I can watch how the audience responds and use that info for future development.
Recently someone asked me about what size coins I use. Personally I use silver dollar size coins, and I believe you should too. The reason is simple, they are bigger and more visible. There’s really no reason to use anything smaller. Sure some things are easier with smaller coins, but if you take that argument … Continue reading “Coin Size…”
Recently someone asked me about what size coins I use. Personally I use silver dollar size coins, and I believe you should too. The reason is simple, they are bigger and more visible. There’s really no reason to use anything smaller.
Sure some things are easier with smaller coins, but if you take that argument to cards you’ll see it wrong. Poker sized cards are what 99% of magicians use, however there are bridge size cards which hardly anyone uses for magic. These cards are smaller making a lot of card magic easier with them.
Currently it’s easier than ever to get gimmicked coins custom made and they aren’t that much more expensive than standard gimmicked coins. If you wanted a larger size gimmicked coin you can do that. You’re no longer limited to what’s a stock item.
You owe it to yourself and your audience to use dollar sized coins…Unless you are making an artistic choice to use a smaller coin. For example my coin in bottle routine uses a half dollar, but there is a reason I’m using that coin in the presentation. This also doesn’t apply if you are using a borrowed coin for something like coin in ball of yarn.
Recently I watched Anthony Jeselnik’s stand up comedy special on Netflix. In it he works really slow and really takes his time. I had also recently watched David Hira’s Penguin Live Lecture and on it he talks about using pauses. Last night on stage I decided to experiment and really take my time. I went … Continue reading “Working Slow…”
Recently I watched Anthony Jeselnik’s stand up comedy special on Netflix. In it he works really slow and really takes his time.
I had also recently watched David Hira’s Penguin Live Lecture and on it he talks about using pauses.
Last night on stage I decided to experiment and really take my time. I went at a what felt like a snails pace on stage, in real time it wasn’t nearly that slow.
It really took me out of my comfort zone, but well worth it. I got a lot more applause in the show and better laughs. For me, it’s mentally really hard to pause and wait for a laugh that may not be coming. Waiting for applause is easier, but the waiting for the laugh stresses me out onstage. Waiting is the better choice than just plowing through it and stepping on it.
Unfortunately bad gigs make it hard to do good gigs as they
give you bad habits. Things like stepping
on a laugh when you are really just trying to get through a rough gig. I think that I need to work bad gigs like
they are good gigs and just do everything the way I normally would and almost
treat them like rehearsal, and not like trying bail water out of a sinking
ship. If I know it’s the gig (and not
me), like a horrible set up, or whatever, then just treat it like a rehearsal.
