stage magic – MagicShow.Tips

Bad AI Introduction

Here’s one of the problems with AI, it’s that you have to check it. Basically, you are doing the work anyway. A good example of that is from an event that I performed at. Despite having provided them with an introduction and one being available on my website, this event decided to have AI write it.

I worked as a street magician when I was in high school, but wouldn’t say I’ve worked as one in the last almost 30 years. I have never appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brian, which I’m assuming is just a misspelling of Conan O’Brien.

This is why AI isn’t useful, if I need to go back an “fact check” everything it’s more work than actually doing the research correctly, or simply asking someone for their intro.

-Louie

Vanishing Bird Cage from Germany?

The newest addition to my vanishing birdcage is also one of the most interesting to me. This one came from a Potter and Potter auction and there really wasn’t much bidding action on it. I got it for $150 (gavel price) and they simply listed it as from the 1920’s and German.

This cage has some very fine detail work on it. Like the super tiny sleeve guard, there were two, but one is missing. The screws that hold it on are very fine!

This cage is missing a bar and it appears to have been repaired at some point. I also don’t think that the ring that the pull attaches to is original.

Another fun this is that this cage has a perch and this perch is a spring! I guess that is a lot easier to attach than a wooden one, and more flexible!

This is a fun addition to the collection!

-Louie

Magic show at 7:40am!

I must be getting better! I did a show for middle school kids at 7:40am and it went great!

Middle school (grades 6-8) are notoriously one of the hardest age groups to perform for. They don’t really relate to silly humor that I’d use for younger kids or smarter humor that I’d used for older kids. It’s just a small age group that I find really hard to perform for. Then add in the 7:40am when they’re still waking up and it sounds like a rough gig.

The show went well. Whenever I perform for a group of kids I try to aim my material slightly older than younger than the group. I’ve found kids will “age up” much easier than down. If I do material that’s designed for younger kids it will turn them off quickly and they’ll dismiss the show as a “kid show”, which they’re above.

I opened the show with my Any Card at Any Number and that immediately had their attention. I know a lot of magicians think that ACAAN is a boring trick and many are, however for this group, if it was, they’d be asleep by the time we got to the card! ACAAN done correctly, I’m not talking about routine/patter, but method is an amazing and compelling trick. Once you start adding procedure into it like rolling dice or a calculator, then it becomes less amazing. Simply saying, “name a card, name a number” and that’s where their card it without any BS is a great trick!

The moral of the story is sometimes taking a show that you know will be a challenge will help you grow as a performer.

-Louie

Play-Duh

Hocus-Pocus in Fresno put out a prop called Play-Duh. This is a snake can that’s built into a Play-Doh style can. I wrote up the routine I’m doing with it here: https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/play-duh/

I’m using the Play-Duh props in my library and summer camp shows. The fair I was performing at last week I did the routine for some kids between shows.

here’s what it looks like:

It’s just a solid, fun routine.

-Louie

Single-Lumen Dimmest D’Lite!

Some friends and I were texting horrible variation of existing magic tricks. One of my ideas was the “dimmest” D’lite! Then my buddy Chris used AI to make them into packaged magic tricks.

It came out well! He uses AI for his work, and gave me some tips on how to use AI more effectively to create things. I think that effectively communicating with AI is going to be a skill that will be helpful. It’s a modern version of knowing how to use photoshop (which I don’t know how to use).

-Louie

Hunting Vintage Magic Props

When I have down time when I’m on the road I pop by junk shops and try to find old magic props or unopened bicycle cards from Cincinnati. Usually I don’t find much, but the other day I found a Deland Deck:

I also found this lid that looks like the top of a dove pan!

The lid was lacking the spring clips inside, so a quick search on Google and I learned it’s the lid from a serving tray. I guess that the dove pan is actually something in real life…well halfway. The metal bowl isn’t something that would have been with it, it would be paired with a flat tray.

I always love finding the real life item that props are trying to mimic!

-Louie

Weather Prediction Mentalism Trick

A while ago I wrote a post about me having Trigger Finger, which is a tendon issue in my knuckle. I noticed that it was bad when it was raining, so that means I have an old man super power, my finger can predict the weather!

What can I do with that?

It got me thinking about doing a weather prediction effect. The idea of the trick will be that someone says the name of a city, and I write down what my finger thinks the weather in that city is.

I wanted the prediction to be bigger that something that could be accomplished with a nail writer. After some writing of different ideas, I hit upon using weather icons:

The flow of the effect is:

A city is chosen
The prediction is written down
The weather is the city is determined
The correct icon matching the weather is removed
The written prediction is shown to match the icon

That’s the flow.

I originally had a step earlier in the process that had me showing all the different possible icons. I decided that’s really dead time, and not needed, because we’re going to go through them later to find the correct one.

The method is really simple, I spent a lot of time writing more complex methods, but this was the most simple and direct method that I came up with.

I tried it for the first time a couple of days ago and it worked! Now to do it more and create a more complete routine.

-Louie

Adding Tech to Library Shows

For my library and summer camp shows this year, I added a screen to my table.

There’s not much to it. It connects to an iPhone that’s running IQpro and controlled by a Flic Button. The main reason I’m using it is to get used to running IQpro.

I want to be more comfortable using production elements in my show, and obviously the best way to do that is to use them!
-Louie

Street Performer in NOLA

I found this picture in my phone of a street performer when I was in New Orleans last month. I just caught the end of the strait jacket escape, which also was the end of the show, so I don’t know if it was a one trick show, or more.

What I saw was fine for what it was, a get the money show. I’m not it’s target audience, so all the standard hack jokes didn’t really do anything for me, but the people watching seemed to like them and that’s all that matters…or is it?

It comes down to what is your art?

What are you giving the audience a piece of you, or a piece of a dozens of other people’s shows that are used without permission?

Is your art a line that you saw another magician get a laugh with, so you started doing it? If it is, that’s fine, that’s your art.

Is your art giving the audience some sort of experience that no one has ever seen before? This is what the kind of art that I like to watch.

Is there anything wrong with this show? No, it’s fine, just not for me. His show would probably also run circles around mine at that pitch in NOLA. There are a tons of places where a guy drumming on a bucket will absolutely do better than the guy with the a million dollar violin.
Sometimes the right show for the right venue matters.

-Louie

You Should Be Working!

Many years ago I heard an interview with Jerry Seinfeld that had an interesting piece of advice. He said your job isn’t having fun onstage, you should be working! I agree, your first job is to work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun at the same time.

Here’s how sweaty I am after a show:

I know it’s gross, but I busted my ass onstage! It was fun, but I worked

-Louie