I’m working on a trick where a glass of water vanishes. The premise of the routine is that the water will change into a named drink, and the surprise is that ultimately the glass vanishes.
I quickly learned that it gets a huge laugh when I ask the person from the audience to name a drink, and they say, “water,” and then I tell them that I’ll change the water into water.
The challenge is how to get them to say “water” every time.
Originally, I was asking them, “What’s your favorite drink?” and I changed that to: “If you could drink one drink for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
Changing that question now gets the person to say, “water” about 8 out of 10 times! The laugh that water gets as an answer is a great laugh because it feels spontaneous. Obviously, you have to sell it as a performer as if it’s never happened before for it to work.
Look for things in your show that happen spontaneously and get a laugh or reaction, and then try to figure out ways to make them happen every show!
-Louie
PS: you can learn more about my process for creating magic and developing routines here!