Hello, loyal reader!
Today's blog is very special as I'm proud to announce a pre-release special on "Cause & Effects Volume 3!"
My first two volumes of "Cause & Effects" books continue to be very popular with professional magicians as I reveal real-world routines that I myself use in my day to day performing, enabling me to travel all over North America.
This new volume breaks from the format slightly in that in addition to several full-length routines included, I also include some shorter tips, tricks and techniques for other effects and routines, as well as an essay or two on life as a professional full-time performer.
The main focus of this volume is original presentations for many classic effects in magic, such as Snowstorm in China and Floating A Child in the Air. If you're performing for audiences, there's sure to be something in here for you.
The pre-release runs through the middle of July, but my goal is to be beat that deadline. I don't do pre-releases very often, but when I do, I never go past the deadline. But if you order now, you'll save $5.00!
I'll also be releasing a couple of more products this summer, too. Both of these will be more business-based. I'll also be back next week with a new review.
Here's the ad copy for the new "Cause & Effects: Volume 3" book:
Think about
the last time you saw a magician perform a classic of magic. Was the
presentation original…or a cookie-cutter photo-copy of the same presentation
you saw the last guy do…and he took it from the last TV special featuring a
magician.
Why do so
many performers perform the same effects with the same routines the same way?
I’m not sure,
but I DO know that the hard part is NOT learning the “trick.” The “trick” is
the easier part. I’m not saying that performing the trick is easy (because it’s
not) only that performing a “trick” is easier than crafting a commercial,
entertaining presentation that ‘hooks’ an audience.
I also know
that as a full-time professional magician with over 3000 paid performances
under my belt, developing and fine-tuning original presentations for magic
effects has been one of the keystones of my success.
I’ll also
share with you a secret: creating a new, original script and presentation for
an effect is tough. What looks good on paper may take on a different life once
you perform those same words in front of a paying audience.
I believe
most magicians use the same themes, the same laugh lines, heck even the same
music selection in their routines because it’s a lot easier than coming up with
your own stuff.
I understand
– it’s tough writing an original script! Heck, if a professional performer
offers an effective, commercial presentation for an effect of magic, I’ll
certainly consider adding it to my own set lists. In recent years, I’ve
purchased routines from Bob Kohler, Paul Romhany, Scott Alexander and many
others.
Still, the
majority of the time, a routine that ‘fits me’ for a given effect simply does
not exist and after years of trial by fire in front of hundreds of audiences,
I’ve fine-tuned several professional presentations for many “classic” props and
effects in magic. Some of these routines appeared in the previous volumes of
this series, “Cause & Effects” Volumes 1 & 2.
This NEW
volume breaks from the format of the previous two books in that in addition to
the commercial, practical routines, I’m also including some essays on
performance, trouble-shooting and more! Here’s what “Cause & Effects:
Volume 3” includes:
Sean Bogunia Sketch Pad or Axtel Board
– I bought Sean
Bogunia’s wonderful Manual Sketch Pad and completely fell in love with it! It
didn’t take me long to come up with a routine for this incredible prop. In case
you’re not familiar with the effect, here’s what the audience sees: A crude
sketch is made of a person’s face. As the audience watches, the eyes move, the
mouth moves, and after the routines is over, the paper with the drawing can be
torn off and given to a spectator as a souvenir! No switches! The only
“problem” with the routine is that a prospective buyer looks at the prop and
immediately dismisses it, believing they need to use “vent” with it. Not true.
After 500-600 performances, I’ve fine-tuned my presentation into a rock-solid 5
minutes of laughter and amazement…without ANY
vent work at all. I don’t do vent and probably never will…yet I’ve used
this prop to close shows with over 400 people in the audience or small birthday
parties with 10 kids. This ROCKS. Oh, and if you own an Axtel Drawing Board,
this routine will work wonderfully for that prop, too!
Zombie or The Thing – I’ve been performing a “zombie” type
of effect in my show for close to 20 years. A few years ago, I “downsized” to
Bill Abbott’s wonderful “thing” routine simply because of the smaller size and
portability. In years past, I had watched other performers perform the Zombie
(or similar effects) in exactly the same way, concentrating on the movements of
the ‘mysterious silver ball,’ and I really groaned when lady magician Melina
actually CALLED her routine the “Mystery of the Silver Ball.” Ugh. To me, it
was right up there with the guy I once saw who performed a Hat Coil routine
(that looked really good) and after it was over, he proudly announced, “The Hat
Coil, Ladies and Gentleman!” Ugh again. With my routine, the ball is
personified and designed to elicit squeals of delights from children. The
routine builds up to the first movements of the ball as a big, thrilling moment
and from there, the laughs build and build. I’d been performing this routine
for years and when I saw Bill Abbott’s Thing, I saw an opportunity to
“downsize” without dramatically affecting my show in the negative sense. Bill’s
routine for the Thing is very powerful, but if I had to offer one critique, the
routine is very short, only a minute or two. My routine would perfectly
compliment Bill’s in that I include more jokes, more build-up and more laughs.
Zombie or Thing – the choice is yours and this routine, in one form or another,
has been in my show for over 15 years.
Spelling Bee – I love the classic Spelling Bee
effect! If you’re a kid’s performer, you’re probably familiar with this effect:
a board is shown with seven letters horizontally arranged in a jumbled order.
The performer assures the audience that the letters actually do spell
something. The board is flipped around and the cards are removed. Without
looking at the mixed cards, audience members tell the performer where each card
goes, trying in essence to spell a word simply by guessing where each letter
goes. Incredibly, when all the letters are arranged according to the audience’s
decisions, the board is turned around, revealing that the audience selected
EVERY letter correctly! I use this
effect all the time in my work, from spelling out the birthday child’s name to
a certain key word pertaining to the topic I’m presenting about in one of my
school assembly shows, such as “RESPECT.” The only downside to the routine is
the fact this selection process by the audience can really drag. Really, “Okay,
where do you want to put this letter? “Good, where do you want to put this
letter? What about this one?” is NOT the most compelling presentation! Most
performers I’ve seen using this prop try to rush through that selection
process. I decided to follow the sage advice of Eugene Burger and others who
write about the necessity of making the journey interesting – it’s not the
‘ah-ha’ moment of revelation that makes the effect worth it but rather the
entire journey from beginning to end. With that in mind, I’ve changed the
entire structure of the routine by just using one volunteer onstage with me and
added some very funny lines during the selection process. The lines are “kid
friendly” and completely age-appropriate.
Snowstorm in China – The performer shows some tissue paper,
tears it into a few pieces and puts them in a glass of water. Once again
removing them from the water, the performer squeezes the tissue paper – the
audience can see water dripping away. Using a large, ornamental fan, the
performer begins fanning under the hand holding the wet tissue…and soon from
his hand erupts a shower or more accurately, a “storm” of confetti, looking
very much like a “snowstorm.” Beautiful effect – it’s another one I’ve been
doing for over 12 years. It can close any show, for large or small audiences,
kids, adults, all ages. The one big problem? Nearly every performer I’ve ever
seen performs the show with the same routine. “I was 5 years old and I had
never seen snow before…” Great routine when David Copperfield did it on TV in
the late 80’s, but since then, I’ve never seen any other presentation for
Snowstorm in China…well, other than The Amazing Johnathon’s bizarre and
hilarious (but oh-so-NOT family friendly) performance. I’ve crafted a
presentation that perfectly sets up the snowstorm effect, is trendy in that it
ties into the super hero craze, and most importantly, even includes a brief message
of self-esteem in it. Even if you are not a school assembly performer using
messages in your show, your audience will appreciate this quick bit of a
positive message as a way to set up the audience-pleasing Snowstorm effect. Oh,
and if you’re using a Kevin James Snow Animator or anything like it, the
presentation will work perfectly too, without changing a word.
Any Levitating a Child Trick – If you use a Chair Suspension, Magic
Carpet or any other method of floating an audience member, then you already
know just how powerful it is! It’s a killer selling point and a guaranteed show
stopper. Many performers (though thankfully not all) use a presentation
sounding like something right out of Disney or Peter Pan – a lot of stuff about
believing in yourself and wishes and all of that. Some of the presentations are
very good, and unlike Snowstorm, they are not all the same. The problem for me
is when I float a child in the air, it’s at or near the end of the program and
the kids are getting restless and are not always in the most receptive state to
hearing a sweet, sentimental story about youth, wishes and other warm, fuzzy
feelings. In my case, I wanted to provide a justification as to why I was going
to float someone in the air and I wanted it to be funny…and I wanted it to be
appealing to all ages. I wound up drawing inspiration from Paul Romhany, The
Vanishing Bandanna and some ideas of my own. The result? A funny, original way
to float someone in the air!
As the old
saying goes, “That’s Not All!”
In this special
volume of routines, I also include my own take on the Headline Prediction!
Confab-Headline Prediction – (originally published in Paul
Romhany’s book, “Headline Prediction”) I’ve loved the headline prediction, but
have always found a couple of troublesome things wrong with it. First,
predicting catastrophes! So, taking advice from other experts, I’d restrict
myself to predicting ‘non-traumatic’ headlines, such as sporting events or
political battles. That was okay, but it played a little dry. Eventually, I
wound up coming up with a “Dream Letter” style prediction using the “confab”
concept popularized by Alan Shaxon that didn’t deal with the news or world
events at all. (This handling was detailed in a prior volume of “Cause &
Effects.) With some shows, however, clients specifically WANTED me to predict a
news event, a headline prediction. For some clients, it just felt more
“impossible,” so that’s what they wanted. However, those situations
occasionally turned sour when a client would forget to bring the envelope I’d
mailed out in advance! Obviously without the envelope mailed in advance, the
routine fell on its face….until I developed a headline prediction routine in
which the audience members would select WHICH specific headlines, phrases,
sports scores, etc were to be predicted! It added another dimension to my
prediction routine and even in those rare occasions when a client forgot to
bring the envelope I had mailed to them weeks prior, just the fact that I was
able, during the show, to show that I predicted which things the spectators
selected helped save the routine by me using a “backup” envelope I’d brought
with me. Admittedly, having the client remember was much stronger, but the
added element of predicting the audience’s choices allowed me to ‘save’ the
routine in a worse-case scenario and add an incredible dimension when things
went according to plan. I tip the entire workings, envelope construction,
routine, and much more. If you have the previous volume of “Cause &
Effects,” you know the workings of the gimmicks, but this routine is a nice
twist on the classic Headline Prediction.
This volume
also includes a contribution I made to Paul Romhany’s new book, “The Real
Deal,” a 9-page essay on survival techniques for handling emergency situations.
Paul’s book is a masterclass of surviving as performing magician, so hopefully
my little essay will pique your interest! I cover emotional state in an
emergency (this is a biggie!) and, among other things, I even list some set
lists of effects you can put together the night before a show if you fly to a
gig and lose EVERYTHING, even your carry-on! This was a really fun topic to
write about. I cover both mentalism and visual magic…and admittedly, putting
together a stage mentalism show by visiting Wal-Mart is a heck of a lot easier
than putting together a magic show!
But that’s
STILL not all…in this volume I also include some shorter essays, ideas, tips,
techniques, real-world advice and thoughts on:
·
A
hilarious family-friendly Mouthcoil routine
·
A
KILLER marketing tip for The Manual Sketchpad
·
A
funny story (with an important tip!) on Silk to Egg
·
A
performance tip to make performing Sword Thru Neck easier…much easier!
·
A
funny script line you can use for “Hundy 500” and other ‘money’ tricks
·
A
great presentational idea for a Banknite type of presentation – most people
will scoff at this, but when the right gig comes along, this will kill!
This third
volume in the “Cause & Effects” series is the biggest yet!
PRE-RELEASE
SPECIAL: This book will be ready to ship mid to late July. If you remember my
past pre-release specials, I usually beat my deadline by several days.:) Order now and save $5.00 off the regular
price of $24.95.
Retail price:
$24.95
No comments:
Post a Comment