magician – MagicShow.Tips

More Snake Basket Work

The more I work on this snake basket, the more I want to simplify the wiring in it. The previous versions had an LED to indicate that it was on. I eliminated that using the ESP32’s built in LED, so that took out some wires. Here’s the current wiring:

One thing I have that’s redundant is that each action is triggered by a button press. The first version just had a single button that started all of the actions that would be timed. I didn’t like this as it makes me a slave to the preprogrammed timing. To give me more freedom, I added a second remote control button, and both buttons trigger each action. I could eliminate the wired button, however, I can see a situation where it could come in handy, like if the remote unexpectedly ran out of batteries.

The next tweak will be in the code, and that will be adding some delays after the button press. That will get my hands away from the remote control or the wired button when the action takes place.

I think this is coming along nicely, and I’ve learned a lot about using microprocessors!

-Louie

Prop Management

Recently, I acquired a 60+ year old box of magic tricks. I’m guessing this belonged to Portland, OR magicians Duane Duvall. One of the things I think is interesting is looking inside the working cases of magicians. How did they keep their props in the case during their show?

Here’s a look at the case from the 1960s:

Simple solutions to holding things on the lid and around the inside of the case.

-Louie

Improving an 80 Year Old Magic Trick

In the June 1946 issue of The Bat magic magazine, there’s a trick called Puff by Frank Chapman. The effect is that you have a small piece of paper that you roll into a tube. You blow through the tube, and a ribbon comes out. That’s it. I think the effect can be changed a little bit to make it better.

First of all, why produce a ribbon? Ribbon isn’t valuable or interesting. The only reason I can think of is to do a trick with the ribbon.

Second, why not add a layer to this? Right now you snuck ribbon into a tube of rolled up paper.

Here’s my idea to address those two things.

Effect: You show a small piece of paper that has the colors of the rainbow printed on it. Someone picks a color; you then roll the paper into a tube, and that color confetti flies out.

Needed: A piece of paper with a rainbow printed on it. This would be the six color rainbow. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple in that order. You’ll also need a thumb tip with a small hole at the tip and some yellow confetti.

Set up: Put the confetti into the thumb tip. The thumb tip starts on your thumb, and you’re holding the piece of paper.

Working: Show the paper and force the color yellow using the “hot rod force”. Roll the paper into a tube around the thumb tip. Lift the tube with thumb tip to your lips and blow through the end with the small hole. As the confetti flies out, put the thumb tip on your other thumb as you unroll the paper.

That’s it. Super easy, not much to it, but the trick is better. The force of a color makes it a bit more of a head scratcher. The confetti falling is visually interesting, and no one expects you to scoop it up and do something with it. Confetti falling is a period, not a comma.

-Louie

Working on a Snake Basket…

For decades, I’ve wanted to do a snake basket that combined the two popular versions from the late 1990s. Those two were Terry Lunceford’s Viper and Collector’s Workshop’s Khyber Kobra. I wrote a blog post about those two a few months ago, which includes videos of them; you can read it here. In a nutshell, I wanted to combine the two of them, so there’s the byplay of the Khyber Kobra with the ending of the Viper.

I’ve been working on learning to use Arduino and over the summer I made a working model on an Arduino simulator, but haven’t had time to actually make it, until a few days ago.

The arrangement above has a lot of wires, but it works! All of the functions do their thing. Like any project, once it becomes a physical thing, it will change. I realized I could eliminate one motor and have one servo handle two tasks. The motor would make the snake rise, then the servo would make it move back and forth. I decided to eliminate the motor and have the servo make the snake rise and shake. That simplified this a lot, and here’s the new wiring:

Usually, simpler is better; here’s less to go wrong, and it’s easier to diagnose if something does go wrong.

The next step will be to move it from an Arduino UNO board to an ESP32 board and put everything onto a PCB board for more sturdy final version of this.

-Louie

Unforeseen Challenge!

Right now I’m writing a show that I’ll be doing for a elementary school assembly tour in April. One of the challenges is that I’m trying to avoid the whole 6 7 thing.

That makes counting tricks a challenge and there’s a card across type trick that I’ve written into the show. I don’t want to lose control halfway counting a packet of cards, and that needs to be done four times!

Right now is that my plan it to talk about the objects as I’m counting them. That would break up the 6 to 7 with dialogue between them. I’m not sure if that will work, but it’s an idea. Another idea is to use 9 items instead of the traditional 10. Then if three items move from one packet to the other, that will reduce the counting that will have the numbers 6 and 7 from four times to three times.

Another option would be to not have the trick about counting, but about specific items moving from pile to pile. So three red backed cards end up in a blue backed packet.

I’m not sure how this will play out…

-Louie

Vanishing Bottle Routines

Yesterday, I posted a little routine for the latex vanishing bottle prop. If you haven’t read it, you can read it here and do that before you read this as what follows will make more sense. Here are some ideas for yesterday’s routine:

Use two bags instead of one so that the item travels across the stage.
Say they’ll change places, the spin the bag 180 degrees.
If using two bags, one could be labelled “full” and the other “empty”. You then turn the bags around, and they have the other word on the back.
To add a layer, to make the method harder to back track, you could start with a variety of drinks that are different colors and force the latex bottle.

There you go, a few ideas to expand the routine.

-Louie

Getting Props on the Ocean

It’s been a few days since my last show on the ship, my next shows are tomorrow. In my show I use a orange for my drawing routine and a banana for my whip routine. You’re not really supposed to be bringing fruit on/off the ship, so I get those two while onboard.

One of the challenges can be that they’ll have something like bananas all week, but then they’re out the morning of my show, and I can’t get them. Typically, a day or two before my show, I’ll go down and grab what I need and keep them in my room. Then on the day of the show, if they have them out at breakfast and they look better than what’s in my room, I’ll upgrade my oranges and bananas.

This is one of the challenges of performing on cruise ships: if you need something or break something, it can be hard to source it. I try to travel with what I need to fix things or backups. For example, I do Promystic’s Color Match in my show, and I travel with a spare set in case one stops working.

-Louie

Magic Monday in Seattle!

I was up in Seattle on Monday last week, so went and performed at Magic Monday! This show happens on the second Monday of the month and has been running for something like 25 years!

Before the show I met up with Chris Beason for a quick drink at Teddy’s. This bar was one of the places where Cliff Gustafson used to perform when I was a teenager (and not old enough to get in to see him)

The performers were Jim, Evan, Payne and me.

Sorry Jim, somehow I didn’t get a picture of you.

It’s not just the show, a lot of magic happens, like Ruben doing some close up magic for the audience after the show.

I look at this show like a magic open mic. It’s a place to try new stuff for a great audience! It’s also like a magic club meeting as we all get together in the pub downstairs and hang out after the show.

If you’re ever in Seattle on the second monday of the month you should come out to the show!

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Cassandra Ruiz

On this episode we welcome in singer, magician and actor Cassandra Ruiz. We learn about her beginnings in singing and how her theatre background influences her show today . She tells us about her chance encounter with a famous magician that became her first exposure to magic.

We talk about her run performing as a ninja magician at a Ninja themed restaurant and how her and how she balances all the different types of performing she does. We also discuss how she creates routines and how her personal experiences inform those routines. A long overdue conversation with a wonderful person and performer.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Ran’d Shine

On this episode we welcome in Ran’D Shine. We learn about how Ran’D came across magic and how that led him to a career performing all over the world. We talk about the benefits of coming into his art form later than most and how he was able to apply aspects of academia into his craft.

Ran’D also gives tips on the best way to become a professional performer and how making connections makes all the difference. A wonderful conversation with a performer who will be making their first appearance at this year’s festival (2025)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS