Tommy Wonder Cups and Balls

I’ve always been interested in Tommy Wonder’s Cups and Balls routine. I finally plunked down the cash and picked up this set:

tommy wonder two cup routine by raphael and bluether magic

Right out the gate, I think the bag is a little bit too small (not long enough) for the cups. You need to be able to tie it shut with the string with the cups in the bag. I really had to force/stretch the bag to get the cups into it and tie it shut. This isn’t a huge deal, as over time I imagine it will stretch and get easier (I hope).

tommy wonder two cup routine

I started by reading the routine in The Books of Wonder Vol 2 and working it out. The routine didn’t feel right, so I then watched some videos of Tommy performing the routine. There’s a lot of flow that’s missing from the book and it really would have benefitted from having a bullet point list of the effects that happen in the routine.

Here’s one of the videos I watched:

One thing that I noticed about the routine is that it’s not a show stopper like when you see Gazzo, Ammar or Bob Read do the cups. At the end of those, there’s a punctuation at the end, a definite end. Tommy’s routine is more of a middle piece than a closer.

In Tommy’s book he mentions that he’s known to magicians for his cups and balls. There’s a clue there, I don’t think he thought it was the best for non-magicians. It’s certainly innovative in how the loads were done, with none from the body/pockets, and resets instantly, but I’m not sure that translates to non magicians as much as it appeals to magicians.

I’m going to learn the routine, and give it a try, hopefully I can get it down in about a month for a week long run of shows I’ll be doing next month.

-Louie

No Contact Roving Magic…

It’s a strange world we’re working in. I was just hired to do roving magic, and in a pre-covid world that’s not strange, however it is in the covid world. That means I need to on some no-contact close up magic. The booker wants something that resembles traditional roving, not small “street style” shows, so I will be working out of my pockets with no table or sound system.

Before you get on me about working during the pandemic, there’s a few things I feel I should mention. Way back in March when cities and states first started putting in regulations I decided that I was going to go by what the local health department where the venue is located says is OK (read the post here). Doing a live, in person show is allowed where the venue is located, and there are some restrictions that I’ll have to follow. I’m not required to do a no contact, however that’s what I’m planning on doing.

Looking at the restrictions, I can still do a lot of my normal roving set that is kept in my pockets. However I need to work on a couple things to add to my normal set. I’m going to add some rubber band tricks. They are small, but can play from a short distance. I’ve done rubber band tricks in the past, so putting them back in isn’t too hard.

The one trick I’m adding is ring on rubber band. In the past I’ve played with the one in Michael Ammar’s book, as well as the one in Thomas Blomberg’s book. I just downloaded Pinnacle by Russ Niedzwiecki and have Pi: Ring on Band by Michael Scanzello on it’s way to me. I think I can put together a workable sequence, it just needs to be a few phase. This is more to have as filler if I need to add some time to a set.

Magic Videos…

A month or two ago Nick Lewin wrote an article about Magic Flix (you can read it here), which is a streaming magic video website. Nick’s article go me interested in check in it out. I found a free month trial code and checked it out. What I’m really enjoying watching on MagicFlix is the … Continue reading “Magic Videos…”

A month or two ago Nick Lewin wrote an article about Magic Flix (you can read it here), which is a streaming magic video website. Nick’s article go me interested in check in it out. I found a free month trial code and checked it out.


What I’m really enjoying watching on MagicFlix is the Stevens Magic Emporium Greater Magic Video Series. These were put out in the early 1990’s and feature a lot of the older magicians, so the up and coming ones, like Micheal Ammar, Daryl, and John Carney. When I was a kid I couldn’t afford these, and it’s very interesting to watch them now.


My goal is to make it through the whole series. There’s a clear point where close up magic changes, with the style of routines that guys Ammar or Carney were doing. That’s the style that’s existed until Blaine came on the scene. Then there’s been another change with Shin Lim and the close up manipulation act style of magic.


From a magic history standpoint watching these videos is amazing!