On Monday I popped by Magic Monday in Seattle. This monthly magic show has been running for over twenty years! The show is currently run by Jim Earnshaw, and it usually features 3-5 magicians each month. Then in August, they do magic show that’s all young magicians performing.
This week it was Jim Earnshaw, Sven “The World’s Tallest Magician”, Monty Reed, Me and Master Payne.
This is a fun show to do because it’s a fun hangout…and because it’s a fun crowd! Here’s a table of magicians in the back watching the show:
Then after the show we go downstairs to pub and hang out.
Whenever I’m in Seattle and this show is happening, I always pop by!
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.
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.
On my trip to the Bay Area a couple weeks ago, I ended up picking up a great vintage magic prop! It was Buried Treasure Bean Box by Arturo. Here’s what the original ads looked like:
And here’s what mine looks like:
This is a prop that I do plan to use in my show. I have an idea for it, so when the opportunity to buy it popped up, I jumped on it!
I really like the idea of the item being buried in beans (or whatever). The problem with this is visually it’s hard for an audience to see what’s going on because you have to see the beans from the top. With a camera, this would work great!
Many performers have a stack of tape like this stuck to some case that’s not seen by the audience.
This is mic tape, that’s used to keep a cheek mic in place. Usually, when you take off your mic, there’s not a trash can nearby to throw it away, so you put it on something…then it grows into a mountain over time.
This came in handy the other day, I was setting up a show and putting my mic on and couldn’t find my roll of mic tape. I realized I could peel off one of those squares and it would get me through the show. That works, but I also thought there should be a better way to do this than using old tape.
A Better Way To Be Prepared For An Emergency!
What I did was put a strip of mic tape on across my case, then put a second strip on top of that. That’s going to keep the adhesive on the outermost piece “fresh”.
Now, if there’s an emergency, I just peel off what I need from the outer layer and use that. It’s an easy way to be prepared that takes up no space in my case!
In my children’s show, I use a mouth coil as the end of my ball manipulation sequence. I use the mouth coil as a production coil, so I don’t use the double loop ones like the David Cressey Mouth Coils, but the ones that are just a coil of paper. The ones I’ve used for years (decades?) are the Bazar de Magia mouth coils.
Recently I noticed that Murphy’s Magic is now making them called Professional Mouth Coils. I was running low on the ones I normally use, so I decided to give the Murphy’s Magic ones a try.
The coils look the same when coiled up, there is a slight texture difference that I can see. The picture below shows both of them inside of the case:
The main difference is that the Murphy’s ones are made from thinner paper than the Bazar de Magia ones. The Murphy’s are also ten feet longer, but both coils are pretty much the same size.
For me, the uncoiling action of the Bazar de Magia mouth coils works better. When the ball turns into the coil in my routine, I start by pulling on the end one long pull, then let gravity do its thing as my other hand catches it. I don’t let it fall on the floor. The main reason is that if kids are sitting on the floor, anyone not in the front row won’t be able to see the coil as it piles up. I think the Murphy’s mouth coils, being a lighter paper, don’t pull themselves out of the coil as well as the Bazar de Magia ones, which makes my catching hand have to do a lot more pulling initially.
For me, and how I use the mouth coils, the Bazar de Magia ones are the winner! They work better as a production coil in my hand. The Murphy’s mouth coils still work fine, but if I have a choice, I’ll grab the Bazar de Magia ones. If you produce them from your mouth, you may be looking for different characteristics than I am.
-Louie PS: The first half of my ball routine is called Sankey’s Balls and in my lecture notes 2 pack. That part is my version of Balls In Net, which doesn’t use a net. The second half of my routine that uses the mouth coil is unpublished, but basically Percy Abbott’s Perpetual Balls with a couple of surprises thrown in.
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.
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.
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.
This is an idea for a “chair test” or “color match” sort of effect. You have four boxes, each with a different colored interior. Then you have four cards with a different color. The cards are mixed up and one is put face down in each box. The colors match the interior of the box they were set in!
That’s a simple and direct method that’s 100% surefire!
I think if I were going to do this trick, I would have one more card than I have boxes. That would make opening the last box a bit more dramatic as there could be a failure at that point, instead of it being a known result.
One of the reasons I think most magicians shouldn’t do a “one off” show with special themed props is that if you don’t know about the prop and how to handle it, you can unintentionally be disrespectful. Yesterday was Independence Day in the USA, which is celebrated as the country’s birthday. In the USA, we have the US Flag Code, which defines what a flag is, how to hang it, and how to handle it. This is a law, but one that has no enforcement mechanism, so it’s basically etiquette.
Many performers slapped flags on their show for Independence Day and didn’t learn the basics of how a flag should be treated. I wrote this little facebook post:
PSA for “Patriotic” Performers
Many magicians and variety acts are posting pics of them doing magic with US Flags.
Please take a minute and read the US Flag Code. About 70% of the pics / video I’ve seen today are disrespectful to the US Flag.
Here’s a few quick pointers:
1: When displaying the flag (in most instances) the blue should in top left from the audience’s view
2: after producing the flag, do not crumple it up and toss it in your prop box. Respectfully fold up and place it whenever it belongs after the trick
3: Do not set things on top of the flag
4: A flag isn’t supposed to be clothes. (it may be too late for this)
5: do not use any “disposable” items with flags printed on them, like napkins or paper plates.
Don’t be a disrespectful to the US flag! A quick search for the “US Flag Code” will give you more in depth info, like if you want to learn more like how to properly display it on your car. Spoiler alert: 99% of pickup trucks with flags on them are in violation of the flag code.
I thought it was basically a pretty straight forward. If you’re going to honor something, learn it about it. Then I got this comment from Zach Dwyer:
I’m not sure what triggered him, being wrong or what, but he immediately jumped to calling me names, instead of admitting he was wrong, or even letting it go.
Yes, the flag code is unenforceable, there are no penalties for violating it, but it is, in fact, a law.
Should You Do Magic Tricks with Symbolic Props?
In a larger context with performing, why would you use a prop or theme you don’t understand the rules for?
For example: doing a gig for a mosque and using a picture of Mohammad?
That’s an example of a trick that there’s no law stopping you from doing; however, it would be considered disrespectful. It’s a basic courtesy to treat the symbol how it is supposed to be treated.
When I get offered a gig, let’s say for Purim, I don’t do a special show for them, or add in a Purim trick, I do my show. The reason is that I don’t know about it and don’t want to offend anyone.
I should add that I’m all for intentional acts of disrespect. When Sinead O’Connor tore up the picture of the Pope, that was an intentional act. Whether I agree with it or not, she was making a statement.
I’ve always said that if I die because of someone else, I want them to have wanted to kill me. I don’t want to be killed because someone didn’t look before they turned and ran me over, and my death was an accident. If someone kills me, I don’t want it to be a “whoops”; I’d like it to have some purpose to at least that person. Also, I should note that in a perfect world, I wouldn’t die because of someone else.
OK, so that’s a long post to say, if you use a prop that has symbolism, learn about how to respectfully handle it!
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.
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!
