stage magic – Page 8 – MagicShow.Tips

Tape Measure Magic Trick

A couple nights ago I was hanging out at the First Tuesday Magic Jam at the All American Magic Shop in Portland, OR. One of the magicians had a a tape measure on their keychain and it got me thinking of things that could be done with a tape measure.

I do a tape measure magic trick in my stage show, and didn’t want to reinvent that. I did have an idea for a stage trick: Walking Thru a Tape Measure

The effect would be: there are two posts onstage about 3 feet apart, one has a notch to hold the tape measure, and the other has a hole in it. The tape measure is secured in the notch on one side and it’s extended to the other pole and thru the hole. You stand behind it and a cloth that’s maybe 2 feet tall covers your middle where the tape measure is. You make a sawing motion with the tape of the tape measure and then the cloth is dropped and you’re on the other side of the tape measure.

The method isn’t anything crazy. The tape is cut about 4 or 5 feet into the tape, and then tabs are cut out.

The tabs go through the tab of the other end, so they are joined together. This joint is then rolled back into the tape measure.

During the effect, then you are doing the sawing action, you’re extending the tape measure, undoing the joint, moving the tape behind you and then rejoining it. All that’s left is to let that part retract into the tape measure to hide it.

I have no idea if that will actually work, if you try it, let me know if it does!

-Louie

Snake Wand Surprise!

It really makes me happy when I see pictures or videos of performers using magic props that I’ve created! I just came across this picture of Magic Monty Reed using my Snake Wand Surprise!

I’ve had magicians ask me if it’s OK to use a prop that I sell, and I say “yes”. I think that’s an interesting question. If I sell it or have published it, and you bought a legitimate version of it (not a copy/knockoff), then feel free to use it!

There have been plenty of times when I had to share the stage with someone using one of my props or routines, and I’ve got no problem with that. I’m honored that people think my magic tricks are good enough to put into their shows!

If you have any pics or video of you using anything I make, I’d love to see it!

-Louie

Magic Shows at Fairs

In about a week, my season of performing magic shows at state and county fairs begins. The show transitions from indoor audiences to outdoor, transient audiences. These shows can be challenging and are very different from most indoor shows.

When performing at fairs, some of the challenges are:
-An audience that doesn’t necessarily arrive at start time, and won’t necessarily stay till the end. They’re leaving early or arriving late because they have/had other things to do, or be at.
-The weather that can beat up your props. Rain is bad for most props, but so is the sun! If you use your phone to play your music and it’s sitting in the sun, it will overheat!
-The wind, this is its own challenge, it comes out of nowhere and can ruin tricks, especially if you’ve got something hidden behind a silk!
-You’re competing with the noise of the rest of the fair, so it’s hard to have quiet moments in the show.

Despite all of these challenges, I love performing at fairs! It’s one of the few places where you can do a lot of shows every day and really polish material! Performing at fairs is where I developed my 6 R’s to Working on Your Show system for improving my show.

Every summer, I get multiple routines that go from an idea to a polished A level trick by performing at fairs!

-Louie

Can’t a TV Just Be a TV?

On the school assembly tour, I used a screen provided by the school. This could be a smart board, TV or projector, anything I could plug an HDMI into. I did have a backup if they didn’t have a screen.

At my last show of the tour, a few minutes before show time, the TV they gave me decided it was a good time to update.

I had been plugged into this TV, and it was turned on for probably 20 minutes when the update started. What I didn’t like was where it said the TV might restart after the update. That could have been during my show!

Luckily, the update completed right before start time, and the TV didn’t need to restart. That’s just something to be aware of when you use other people’s tech. When it fails, and it’s not your fault, but the audience doesn’t know that!

-Louie

Where Evaporation Began!

When I created the Evaporation trick, I was out on the road performing. I tried many different methods of making liquid disappear, however it was a trip to this Menards hardware store in Minot, ND where it all came together!

Whenever I’m in the area, I always stop and walk through the store. This hardware store has a special place in my heart! It’s what put me on the map as a magic trick creator.

-Louie
Click here to learn more about building your own magic props!

The Show I’ve Been Dreading!

Yesterday my itinerary had me doing my show that was written for an audience that’s kindergarten to 6th grade for an group of seventh to eight grade kids. No younger kids, just the middle school kids. When I noticed this show on my schedule, I was dreading it.

I’ve done shows for middle and high school kids on this tour, but they were mixed in with elementary school aged kids. You can read about that here.

The show went great!

What I did was start by mentioning that this show was written for younger kids, but if they stuck with me, they’d like the show. The show was rocking! I mostly did the show as written; I did cut a few things that I knew wouldn’t hit for this older group.

This is a good example of why I disagree with people who say, “it’s the journey, not the trick”. The trick needs to be good, and so does the journey. Just because one is great, doesn’t mean the other can’t also be great! Sure, it takes a bit more work, but it’s worth it!

-Louie
Click here for more information about how you can learn this School Assembly Show check out the School Assembly Set!

The Snake Box

One of the tricks that I made for this school assembly tour is a snake box. This is essentially a “snake basket“, however, I’m not using a basket as I think that’s an old trope, and one that kids don’t have a point of reference to. The routine in my show started out as a card trick, but it’s now something more, and something that plays bigger!

I was thinking about Terry Lunceford’s The Viper trick and it’s great. If you haven’t seen it, here’s what it looks like:

It’s a great routine for its time. Personally, I think that trying to use a phobia someone has for a laugh is an older style of performing and not modern. Doing a danger trick is one thing, a French Arm Chopper isn’t a common fear, but snakes are.

My snake basket does have the snake jump out, but with only me onstage, and guess what, it gets a great reaction!

As someone who has an irrational fear of something, I try to show some compassion to people in the audience and not put them in a position where they will laugh at them being scared.

That’s just my opinion. I still think it’s a great effect, just not the part where you jump scare someone in front of an audience.

-Louie

Handheld Microphone

On this school assembly tour, I’m controlling my music with a Flic Button that’s taped to my handheld microphone.

I don’t hide that I’m pushing the button, or that the button is there. I did try to make it less obvious by covering some of it with black tape. After just about every school assembly, I’ll have a teacher or staff person ask me how I’m controlling the music!

Initially, when I started this tour, I was using a combination of the Flic Button on the microphone and my Media Star as an ankle switch. I’ve phased out using the media star ankle switch, and I’m just using the Flic Button on the microphone.

-Louie
Click here for more information about how you can learn this School Assembly Show check out the School Assembly Set!

Final Week on the Road

Today is the beginning of the last week of this school assembly tour. It’s crazy how doing 2-3 shows a day for 3 weeks (so far) will tighten up a show. That is if you actively try to make the show better, and not just go out and do it.

These shows are supposed to be 40 minutes long. For the first week or so, I was constantly cutting out bits or routines, and the show seemed to consistently run long. That was because what I was cutting wasn’t working; however, at the same time, I was making what was working better!

To me, the real value of taking a tour like this is taking a show from OK to great in a short amount of time! It is a lot of work to do this; you have to objectively look at the show, and every day, try to find something to improve or cut.

-Louie
PS: You can learn about my system for working on my show by clicking here:
https://www.magicshow.tips/how-to-work-on-your-show-the-6-rs/

Click here for more information about how you can learn this School Assembly Show check out the School Assembly Set!

School Assembly Audience Layouts

On this school assembly tour most of my audiences are seated in bleachers, with me standing in a basketball court.

On the West Coast, most school assemblies have the kids seated on the floor with my back to a wall. The kids on the bleachers are a better setup. It gives them tiered seating, like in a theater. This makes it easier for everyone to see everything.

The big challenge for me is getting them to pack kids into one section. Here’s an example, let’s say these are the bleachers in the gym and it’s a small school with about a 150 kids.

They will come in and some classes the top row, some the bottom and the rest in random spots in the middle. That’s spread out over all the bleachers. That doesn’t give you a crowd, it gives you 7 groups. It’s hard to get any energy going. When I try to pack them into on section of the bleachers, they always fight me on it. Telling me they won’t fit (they always do), or that they keep the grades separate because the older kids get bored. I bet the do, because they’re not part of the crowd! It’s easy for them to disengage from what’s happening if they’re off in their own corner. It takes a lot of work to convince these schools to move the kids into a crowd, but it’s worth it.

-Louie
Click here for more information about how you can learn this School Assembly Show check out the School Assembly Set!