Tag: magician

Jimothy and How To Create a Card Trick

A couple of days ago I saw a video of a unique looking racoon that that internet has named Jimothy. Here’s the video:

He’s popping up everywhere, and that got me thinking, what magic trick could I do with him.

A Simple First Step To Creating Magic Tricks

The easiest way to create a magic trick quickly is to find the theme, in this case Jimothy and figure out what to do with it. I’m travelling right now, so I’m limited with props, which can be a good thing when trying to create something new. I did have some blank face playing cards, so that gave me a start, it’ll be a card trick, with a picture of Jimothy.

My idea was to do an ace assembly type trick, with Jimothy and things raccoons eat. The challenge was that I didn’t have enough blank face cards to do it in the traditional way with 16 cards. I think this was a good thing, because most ace assemblies are too long and redundant, but you kinda need to have three “traveler” piles because there are four aces. I didn’t have that restraint for this trick.

I’m a huge belivier in creating magic tricks with rules or restraints. It definately makes it easier. You can read about how this applied to a full show that I wrote here!

Here’s what I came up with:

What I like about the format of this card routine is that it can be used for other themed tricks. It’s an easily adaptable format, customizing!

-Louie
PS: You can learn more about how I create magic here!

How to be a Good Opening Act!

Recently, I was the headline act for a stand up comedy show at a casino. The show had three acts, and an MC who did 15 minutes, a feature act that did 30 minutes, and then the headliner (me) who did 60 minutes.

Comedy magic

One of the things that many magicians don’t understand is how to be a good opening act when you’re in a show like this. Magicians think they need to go out there and DESTROY an audience almost with a “try to follow that” attitude, and there are places for that, but as an opener in a comedy show, that’s not your job.

The MC’s job is to warm up the crowd, not to crush. The Opener’s job is to keep the energy going so that the headliner has a hot crowd when they step onstage.

I’m not saying you should intentionally be bad, or not give it your all. The thing is that you’re working within a show and the whole show needs to be successful. If you’re constantly blowing the headliner out of the water, and you’re not moving up to that position, you should look at why you aren’t moving up.

Do you have enough A material to fill the 60 mins?


If not, you should be working on that, and not necessarily doing the stuff you know crushes every time.

Are your first 25 minutes any good?

I’ve worked with tons of acts that have an amazing 5-10 minutes, and they close with that. However, everything before that is pretty bad. They close strong, but don’t move up to headliner because the rest of the show sucks.

Is there some other reason?

Are you hard to work with offstage? Do you follow the rules of the venue? These are all things that can keep you from moving up the ladder to the headline position.

How I Learned The Opener’s Job

Many, many years ago, I had a closing bit that crushed. One day, I was on the phone with my stand up agent, and they told me that they didn’t want me doing that bit as the opening act. It really changed the energy in the room and made it hard for the headliner to follow. The agent then explained to me my role, and once I understood that, it made me work harder as a performer to figure out a more appropriate ending to my show for that venue. More importantly, it made me look at my show and really start working on the steps to move up to the headliner spot.

I should point out that you absolutely should do your best, but sometimes a choice of material that’s better for the show as a whole is the right choice.

-Louie

Why You Should Visit Your Magic Club

Whenever I travel, if the local magic club is meeting, I do my best to swing by and visit. Last week, I was in the area when the Northwest Ring of Fire magic club had their meeting. I think the last time I visited this magic club was about three years ago.

Northwest Ring of Fire magic club

Magic clubs are a great way to speed up learning magic, because you can ask questions, get answers, and see things that you can’t over the internet.

Northwest Ring of Fire magic club
Northwest Ring of Fire magic club
Northwest Ring of Fire magic club
Northwest Ring of Fire magic club

When I was a kid getting seriously into magic, the local magic club was a HUGE resource for me and really helped me grow, being able to see things performed with my own eyes! It helped me learn what styles of performing magic I liked and didn’t like. That’s something that’s hard to do if you want to do a long form, in person show by just watching internet videos.

Go out and visit your local magic club!

-Louie

Easy Magic Trick Prop Management

One of the things that I think is interesting is how different magicians keep their props in their prop cases. I’m not referring to how they are in the case when set for the show, but for traveling in between shows.

Years ago, I heard about how Billy McComb had a different Ziploc bag for each routine.

A Better System for Storing Magic Tricks

I’ve used Ziploc bags, but recently found these hard sided cases. I think they’re sold as make up cases.

Magic trick prop management

I bought them as a prop for a routine idea that I have, but realized the other day that they’d be perfect for travelling with props. They’ll protect the props a little bit, but I can see into them, so I know exactly what’s in each case.

Magic trick prop management

I just did my first week with these, and I’m really liking them. The next thing will be to make a list of what goes into each box and write it on the box.

Here’s another example prop management from a vintage magic box that I found!

I’m a big fan of these cases and they’re cheap!

-Louie

The Nest of Envelopes – More Work!!

I’m wrapping up two weeks of performing at the San Diego County Fair and I’m learning a lot about the Nest of Envelopes routine. This is a trick that I started working on a little bit ago. It started as an routine idea as a running gag in the show, with not specific trick attached to it.

You can read about it’s journey in these posts:
https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/magic-show-running-gag/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/the-nest-of-envelopes-trick/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/nest-of-envelopes-as-a-running-gag/

https://www.magicshow.tips/uncategorized/the-nest-of-envelopes-update/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/ditching-the-invisible-deck/

https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/nest-of-envelopes-single-spot/

I think I’ve finally figured out what I don’t like about the routine, and that’s the use of physical props aside from the envelopes. The challenge is coming up with a method that allows me to do that in a manner that I like.

One of the bonuses of trying different methods is that each has things that are positive and could be used in different situations. For example, the method that I was using for most of the two week run of shows I did in San Diego would be great if I were in a situation where access to the audience was challenging. Like stairs to the stage that are behind the stage.

The current method I’m really liking because it’s visually cleaner, it just uses the envelopes, and I like that! I think an important thing to do when creating magic is to try your best not to settle for what just works if it doesn’t align with your vision. Keep trying new things!

-Louie

Library Magic Show Props

We’re at the end of the summer and the Summer Reading Library shows are done. Here’s look at the props that I have on my person during the non-themed library magic show:

And here are the props in my prop bin:

This show had a pretty simple set up, it took about 15 mins to set and strike the show. The non-themed show had elements of other shows that I do, so it was like a “greatest hits” and was fun to do!

-Louie

The Magic Garage!

Whenever I’m in the San Francisco area, I pop by the Magic Garage! It’s a great hangout with a bunch of magicians.

The magic garage
The magic garage
The magic garage

While I was there I did my Nest of Envelopes trick that I’m working on and got some great feedback!

The magic garage

Having a room full of magicians to give you ideas, or tell you that something doesn’t look right, is worth its weight in gold!

Things like this or magic clubs are great ways to get feedback on things you’re working on. I’m a huge fan of magic clubs, and I think everyone should go to them. They helped me out a lot when I was younger!

-Louie

Magic Poster Museum in Everett, WA

There’s a restaurant in Everett, WA that has a magic poster mini museum! Here’s a quick tour of it at Shawn O’Donnells!

Here’s a close up of a few of the pics:

vintage magic posters
vintage magic posters
vintage magic posters
vintage magic posters

If you’re in the Everett, WA area, swing by and check it out! Also, Shawn (the owner) is a magician, so you’re supporting magic!

-Louie

Close Up Pads as a Disposable Item

Close up pads used to last me for years, now not so much. The difference is that I use them frequently for roving magic, not just practicing at home. That means they have to look clean or at least not gross.

Between replacing these for my close up/roving magic and my stage magic show’s consumables, my show generates a lot of trash. I wish it was less, but that’s how it is.

I’m really liking the economy close up pads. They’re not the best, but for an item that I replace sometimes after a single gig, I’m willing to compromise for the price. Also they’re slightly lighter than the nice close up magic pads, so that’s handy if I’m flying to a gig.

close up pad for magic

If you use a close up pad in your work, really look at it closely and see how clean it is. Sometimes comparing it next to a new one will show you how beat up your old one really is!

-Louie

Strait Jacket Escape Routine

I was driving home the other day, and I was thinking about the strait jacket escape. In the past I’ve done the Strait Jacket Escape with 50 Feet of Chain. Many routines are done against a clock but I like the idea of doing it against someone else doing something (completing a task). It sets up a head to head sort of challenge. My buddies Scotty Walsh and Steve The Pretty Good both did that in their routines.

The routine I was thinking about would be:

  • There’s a box or container of some sort that has a lock in it.
  • $100 is put into the container and locked.
  • The key is mixed with other non-working keys.
  • I’m put into the strait jacket.
  • I have to get out before someone from the audience find the correct key and opens the box.
  • I get out when there it one key left.
  • The final key that they didn’t try opens the box, and I get to keep the $100
  • I offer them a 2nd place prize, which is another box with a lock.
  • They pick any key they already tried and it opens that box, inside is $5 that they can keep!

I think it reads a bit more convoluted than it flows, or how I think it will flow.

I need to go out and try it out and start figuring out if it works or doesn’t.

-Louie
PS: There’s an essay in one of my older lecture notes about how I created my comedy escape The Straight Suit.