Familiar Objects

Dear Mr. Magic,
What do you consider a familiar object?

Dear Magician,
A familiar object is any object that is immediately recognized by those watching.

Periodically magicians face the demise of a familiar object and the magic they've been making with it. For instance the top hat, silver dollar, walking stick, pocket watch, pocket handkerchief and many other conjurable objects have disappeared from public view.

In some cases magicians are forced to abandon classic premises and effects when it becomes patently obvious they are going to have a great deal of trouble borrowing a top hat from a spectator in the front row. In other cases magicians ignore the winds of cultural change and continue to utilize props that have gone from familiar to foreign.

This resistance to change is generally based on a lack of imagination and the fact that many magicians rely on the creativity of others to supply them with their magic. So, for instance, the advent about ten years ago of the baseball cap as popular head gear took over a decade to inspire even one effect. It often seems that most magicians idea of the contemporary is limited to giving old ideas a new coat of paint.

An example of this is the radical make over of world currency. In some countries paper money is no longer paper but plastic, making the torn and restored bill impossible; coins have been drastically reduced in diameter to the point where many classic manipulations are difficult. It is possible that magicians will face the demise of coins and currency altogether as purely electronic transfers take hold.

In aspiring to catch up with the current date magicians must be able to separate method from effect. In some instances both can be applied to a recently familiar object, in other situations a method taken from one older trick combined with an effect taken from a different trick can result in new magic.

One of the biggest intellectual leaps a magician has to make is to realize that the principles of magic apply to many more objects than those illustrated in the magic dealers' catalogs. A knowledgeable illusionist can look at any object and envision the various magical effects that might be created with that object. By the same token, someone who's done their homework will know the various effects that already exist using a particular object.

For example looking at a pencil or pen should bring to mind all the effects that use an object of this nature plus all the principles that might be applied to such an object; for instance every trick with a magic wand, walking stick or whatever that might be modified to use a pencil or pen.

Of course one does have to separate the magic from the props in order to create new effects. On a basic level this isn't really very difficult. Time tested methods such as palming, pull vanishing, sleeving and the like work just as well with the common objects of today as they did with the billiard balls and silver dollars of another era.

Despite the need to consider the present if not the future, there will no doubt always be a place for the arcane props of the magician. Mysterious boxes and tubes, preposterous looking constructions, and whimsical examples of alternate realities can intrigue and entertain those watching.

An object can be made familiar by having a spectator handle it. Most magicians fail to appreciate the value of this maneuver except perhaps giving a spectator cards to shuffle. The spectator isn't given the object for examination but rather he or she holds it momentarily, perhaps to put something in it or take something out, the result being the assumption that it has to be ordinary and unprepared otherwise the magician would allow it to be handled.

Impressions

Dear Mr. Magic,
I'm interested in getting an impression board for mental effects, but the cost seems to vary from inexpensive to very expensive. Is there any way to figure out how well a particular board will work and in what situations it can be used before I buy it?

Dear Magician,
Secretly obtaining a copy of what a spectator has written on a piece of paper is a useful method of apparently reading the spectator's mind. While not as impromptu as the center tear or other peek, it is less suspicious since the written on paper is retained by the spectator, the performer obviously not touching or handling it.

Methods of the spectator unknowingly making a copy of what he is writing date back to at least the early 19th century when carbon paper was invented and may have existed even before that using candle wax and lampblack. By the late 20th century magicians had varied, if not improved, the generation of a copy using all sorts of dodges and gimmicks, a few quite practical, many unreliable in actual performance.

So the first issue is to obtain an impression board that works every time. This will most likely eliminate the higher priced devices which may be clever in method but are not necessarily practical.

Assuming you've gotten a functional impression board, the issue becomes how to use it. You're correct in wondering what situations it can be used in because there is a huge distance in time and space that separates the spectator finishing writing and the magician getting a look at the copy without anyone noticing. This is a rather tantalizing state of affairs. The writing instrument and impression board (which may be a clipboard or another object gaffed to take an impression) must be retrieved from the spectator, then consulted without those watching noticing that you're reading.

Obviously the impression prop used can help in gaining a quick glimpse by the manner in which it is constructed to expose the copy. Some impression props do this quite well, making it appear that the magician is simply putting the prop aside or closing it. But no matter how quickly the glimpse is obtained - and the spectator's handwriting is an issue in this regard - the presentation must cover the action.

So the use of any impression device gets down to routining and choreography. Working out the staging and presentation to eliminate visible handling requires a significant understanding of the theatrical manipulation. This is why more impression boards are purchased than actually used.

The effect created using an impression board has great impact. As with other mental magic props, the performer's goal is to suppress the impression board's existence while using it so that by the next day the spectators are unlikely to remember anything was written down before the mind reading took place.

Guarantees

Dear Mr. Magic,
Can you suggest some tricks that are guaranteed to absolutely fool those watching?

Dear Magician,
No. Despite claims to the contrary every magic trick must be properly presented to ensure the mechanics are obscured so that only the intended illusion is seen. It isn't the prop that makes the magic or makes the operator a magician.

Many magicians engage in a life long quest to discover props that are self-working. While this endeavor certainly warms the hearts of magic dealers it rarely results in anything more than the acquisition of a few tricks that the magician finds easier to do than the rest. Even competent, experienced magicians are susceptible to this conviction that there is one trick out there somewhere which when added to a show will make them super stars.

This isn't to say that a correctly fashioned prop or gimmick won't make a trick easier to do. Since props and gimmicks must be manipulated, the performer should ensure that they are reliable and that their design facilitates comfortable handling.

While some magicians collect props and gimmicks just because they like props and gimmicks, many magicians buy tricks based on the advertised effect. They imagine the effect and the sensation they'll create when the spectators see them perform it. Very often on receipt of the trick they are disappointed by the so-called secret of how the trick is done. This may be because the props are shoddy or the method is impractical, a state of affairs that isn't unusual. On finding that the trick won't work itself with the method supplied, they express disappointment that the trick doesn't work and wouldn't fool anybody.

Dissatisfied with their purchase and the fact that it will not advance their desire to work wonders they forget they bought the trick because of the effect. However the effect hasn't gone away. The method may be clumsy, hardly self-working and unlikely to fool anyone but the effect is what they really paid for and should not be discarded along with the props. The concept that the value of a magic trick is the effect rather than the secret is foreign to most magicians. Yet the effect is what the audience will see and remember.

Having been prompted to acquire a trick because of the effect, the magician must then set out to find a way to create the effect so that it is guaranteed to absolutely fool those watching in that the illusion of the effect appears momentarily to be reality, no matter how fantastic that reality may be. Some magicians will 'get something out' of a particular effect, others will not. This has the amusing result of a magician buying a trick, deciding it is useless, then seeing another magician perform it effectively, and rushing home to dig out the props to add it to the play list.

It is advisable to stop worrying about how it is done and instead worry about how you'll do it. This is a more involved process which increases the possibility those watching will be taken by surprise as a result of your magic.

Prop Productions

Dear Mr. Magic,
There seem to be a variety of props which can be used to magically produce articles. Any suggestions as to which are easiest to use and most convincing?

Dear Magician,
First let's consider the word produce as it is used by magicians. When a magician decides to produce something, he generally means he will cause that article to appear as if by magic. This is not the dictionary definition of produce. Originally magicians used the phrase conjure up to describe the materialization of an object from nowhere. Conjure up implied that the magician employed his powers to bring an object into existence for subsequent use.

So when a magician decides to produce an object, often an article purposely manufactured as a production item, it is helpful to keep the theatricality of conjuring up in mind.

Since many magicians are not particularly competent at creating the illusion of conjuring up, they rely on a ancillary prop to make the production. While obviously less magical, a production box, tube, paper cone or other apparatus is employed. The magician attempts to convince those watching that he holds an empty box or empty tube from which the production article is subsequently taken. In magician's parlance the article has been produced from the empty box. Ideally the spectators will believe the article somehow materialized in the empty box, then is brought into view for them to see.

Magic dealers delight in offering boxes and tubes which can be shown empty before an over abundance of articles are pulled out of them. This further confuses the issue, since the magician begins to think in terms of quantity rather than quality and most certainly abandons any consideration of why he is using what. Thus we are confronted with the magician standing next to his Square Circle dutifully yanking out his collection of silk handkerchiefs.

When wishing to create the illusion that an article has appeared by magic, the magician must justify the reason for the article materializing. He needs a silk handkerchief to cover an object so they rubs his finger tips together and the handkerchief materializes. It has been conjured up in context since it will be employed in the magic that has yet to happen. Note that in this illusion conjuring up is a more proper description than produced.

In deciding when to use a production box or other supposedly empty container the end result should be considered. If the effect is the appearance of, for instance, a quantity of silk handkerchiefs, then producing them from the apparently empty hands is more magical. If the silks appearing in the box are then used to create a magical effect their appearance is secondary to their use and the manner of their appearance is unimportant enough to allow an apparatus production.

As to which production boxes are the easiest to use and most convincing, the prop's ease of handling and its inherent appearance of emptiness are important. There are many production boxes and similar apparatus that simply do not look empty when their interiors are shown and are quite cumbersome to handle and manipulate. Making something appear from nowhere should not be a complex or complicated process. In addition, the size of the production box should not dwarf the article taken from it. While magicians may deceive themselves, the spectators will not.

The most effective apparatus productions usually involve the removal of articles from the container that could not possibly fit in the container: De Kolta's flowers from paper cone, Robert-Houdin's portfolio, Hartz's devil of a hat and Molini's devil's supper among them.

In working this out for a show, ask yourself why every step of the way: why a square circle; why silks; why produce them. If there is no contextual reason, the answer is to avoid the use of props which serve no magical purpose.

Close Up Stand Up

Dear Mr. Magic,
I'm a close up magician. Recently I gave my first stand up performance. I did close up style magic which played fairly well but wasn't what I hoped for. Is it possible to create a close up atmosphere when performing stand up for larger audiences?

Dear Magician,
The transition from performing close up to performing stand up is indeed a challenge. A stage performer is likely to consider performing on a stage, a platform or just standing in front of a large group as more or less the same once theatrical considerations such as lighting, angles and visibility are adjusted. The close up performer on the other hand has to reinvent himself when he takes a step back so everyone can see him.

The impact of close up magic is the result of the seemingly informal, spontaneous nature of the event. The performer and his spectators are one in that the performer is among those watching. Whether the performer is working one on one, or standing or seated at a table, a close up performance is just that: close up. The props, handling, and presentation are determined by these circumstances. This means that close up material and its performance are unlikely to translate effectively when the performer sets himself at a distance.

Some close up performers consider working stand up at a short distance from the spectators as formal close up. They often stand behind a table presenting small prop magic on the table surface so it is visible to the watchers. They will also vary this by having one spectator take a seat at one end of the table, while they sit behind the table, allowing the remainder of the spectators to watch the reaction of the seated spectator to a close up effect.

Stand up performances are different than close up in that the performer abandons his working surface, standing before his audience rather than behind a table. While a table or chairs may be used in the course of demonstration, the performer is not permanently situated behind them. Stand up is similar to what late Victorian magicians called parlour magic. The performer puts on a show in a fairly small room, the spectators seated facing the performing space, the performer at most a few steps away from them, but working in an area temporarily defined as his own. There may be a small table for the display of props, but generally the magic happens in the performer's hands.

Once the performer is working stand up it becomes obvious that many close up tricks are no longer suitable. This may be because there is too much walking back and forth between the performing space and the audience; because the props are difficult to see at any distance; or because the reactions of the spectators are not as immediate making the effect less remarkable. This does not mean that the intimate atmosphere of close up cannot be maintained working in a stand up situation. It does mean that the material chosen and how it is presented will need to be broader and more theatrical to make up for the increase in distance.

The close up performer deciding to shift to stand up work is best off if he doesn't presume his close up material will create the same impact when done at a distance. Instead he must discover what works and what doesn't, substituting material that engages those watching from the perspective he establishes and reworking his presentations so that the spectators believe that they are closer than they actually are to the magic.

Magic Shows

Dear Mr. Magic,
I've learned how to perform a number of tricks, for instance the Linking Rings and Professor's Nightmare. However I'm having trouble figuring out how I go about putting them together into a show.

Dear Magician,
When starting out most magicians find themselves in this situation. They've bought some prop tricks, learned a few sleight of hand tricks from books or videos, then realize that organizing these tricks into a magic show is more complicated than they expected.

While it is obvious that a magic show is essentially a series of individual effects, one following the next, it is less obvious what tricks should go where.

In addition, there is the interesting question as to why any particular trick should be in the show at all. Just because the magician has purchased and mastered a specific effect does not guarantee that effect belongs in his or her show. Mr. Magic has seen many magic shows that would have been better or at least less tedious without the Linking Rings, the Egg Bag, the Sucker Egg Trick, the Professor's Nightmare and other stock classics.

However every magician hoping to put on a show has to start somewhere. Performing the tricks that he or she has technically mastered is a reasonable place to start as long as the magician is smart enough to immediately pull tricks that don't play. This doesn't mean that all the pulled tricks are gone forever, but that they need to be reconsidered and reworked before use.

The most important trick that a magician brings to a show is his or her personality. If the spectators enjoy being in the company of the magician, they are more forgiving as to the tricks presented. Learning what this means is the result of actually performing before an audience.

So the best way of deciding what plays and what doesn't is using the props and tricks you've got and performing as often as possible. When starting out it is better to find places that welcome a free show because they have no budget rather than attempting to charge for a show you can't deliver. Eventually you'll discover what tricks play and the best order for presenting them. At that point you'll have the beginnings of what you can realistically call a magic show.

Prop Free

Dear Mr. Magic,
Are there any very simple tricks without any props or cards I can perform to impress my friends?

Dear Magician,
Unless you find some way of reading other people's minds, it is fairly difficult to impress or amaze them without using props. Even effects like the Balducci Levitation or Meir Yedid's Finger Fantasies have props in that portions of the magician's anatomy are involved.

The trick here is to make magic using borrowed and familiar objects. This will create a props free impression in the minds of the spectators. Many magicians aren't comfortable performing tricks unless they're using equipment supplied by a magic dealer. There is no reason for this other than the often false confidence that the prop will somehow do the trick for them.

Becoming adept with the basics of sleight of hand and directing the spectators' attention during performance allows you to subject just about any object to magical manipulation. There are also routines such as the Cups And Balls and One In The Hand Two In The Pocket that can easily be done impromptu with borrowed objects. Too often magicians wait until they see someone like David Blaine turn the mundane into the marvelous before they suddenly think of doing the same.

What's amusing about much of this is that many classic magic tricks started out being impromptu, borrowed object effects. But soon magicians were having the objects used gold plated or spun out of brass and painted to look the original object. In some cases today's magic props, such as the die box or ball vase, were originally familiar objects ... a hundred years ago or so.

While the best way to impress your friends is to entertain them rather than fool them, there more likely to be both if you borrow a pen or coin or cap or piece of paper and use that to create the illusion of magic.

Paper Tears

Dear Mr. Magic,
What's the difference between a Paper Tear and the Torn And Restored Paper?

Dear Magician,
The Paper Tear is something magicians came up when they discovered they got little audience reaction by just tearing up a sheet of paper, then restoring it to one piece.

Originally a long, narrow strip of paper was torn to pieces, then magically restored to one long strip. The magician performed this at his finger tips, his open palms towards the spectators. Performed in an artistic fashion the effect is quite mysterious.

Once the premise and method got out, magicians started tearing up larger sheets of tissue paper and eventually moved on to newspaper as the preferred object of destruction and restoration. The method involved was varied, made more complicated, and very often resulted in the restored paper displayed with either severe wrinkles, creased fold lines, or both.

While this was going on, a second avenue of effect and method was pursued. At first it was called the Chinese Laundry Ticket, a strip of paper printed with faux calligraphy. The original thumb tip was abandoned, instead the restore paper was just crushed into a ball and stuck to one end of the back of the paper first shown. The visible strip was torn up and crumpled into a ball, then the restore paper was opened out, the torn stock ball hidden at one end on the upstage side.

While this can play fairly convincingly in the right hands, in most cases they weren't and it didn't. So magicians cast about for some way of performing the effect that required even less skill and presentational abilities. The result seems to have been the paper tear.

Generally the paper tear starts with two sheets of paper, often of contrasting colors. These are put together, torn up and when opened out the magician displays a paper hat or paper lingerie or other object which evades rational explanation. At this point magicians were quite pleased with the result. The method was the same as the laundry ticket, the ending was built in, no skill was required and if the audience just sat there blinking at the non-sequitur ending, at least it was an ending.

Although the original torn and restored paper strip effect did not feature a wrinkled strip of paper as a finish, all subsequent versions were unable to avoid the fact that the magician couldn't magic away the wrinkles, which out front more or less gives away the trick. Those interested in all this should work the original two papers, one thumb tip version to discover why it creates a better illusion than what followed.

And, yes, this does mean that some magic tricks or knock offs of magic tricks exist for no good reason, even if that fact hasn't occurred to the magicians performing them.

Magic Work

Dear Mr. Magic,
I'd like to perform more often, any suggestions on getting work?

Dear Magician,
It seems there are always more magicians than there are places to perform. This is true on all levels of the magic business including places like Las Vegas where magicians are usually in demand.

For those who would rather be performing than doing anything else, this lack of venues is frustrating. It also means it is difficult to develop as a performer. Many magicians have turned to areas where there is a modest demand for live magical entertainment: restaurants, birthday parties, corporate work, cruises, and street performing among them. But each of these areas imposes limitations on the nature of the magic the magician will be able to perform and the manner of the presentation.

This doesn't mean it isn't possible to find places to perform or succeed as a magician. Obviously there are a number of highly successful magicians. What it does mean is that there is minimal middle ground in the magic business. You're either making a modest living or you're doing very well.

All that said, it is possible to build a business based on being a magician and get paid for providing your talents. What must be understood is that to do this your magical talents aren't quite as important as your business talents. Like any business, you have to determine what you're going to sell and who is going to buy. Then you have to figure out how to let your potential customers know that if they don't hire you they've made a big mistake.

In Mr. Magic's experience very few magicians know much about advertising, promotion, publicity, contracts, theater or any of the other elements that are crucial being in show business. If you're not working as much as you want to, then you should consider spending your free time figuring out how to attract new customers just like any other business would do if they wanted to, er, stay in business.

Do as much research as possible to find all the places and companies in your area who feature or use live entertainment. This includes theaters, restaurants, caterers, corporate event planners, civic organizations, arts councils, schools and anything else you can think of. Check local listings to build a list of events that happen on a regular basis and find out who books them. With enough effort you'll probably be surprised at how many places there are that might potentially hire you. Be sure to include local newspapers, magazines, tv and radio on your list.

Once you've developed a master list, create publicity material that can be mailed to them. When you have an important show, let them know you're working with a promotional postcard or press release. The basic idea is to make everyone aware of who you are and what you're doing. Over time, you'll establish yourself in their minds as a magician and maximise your potential for being the one they call when they need entertainment.

Some magicians believe that with a web site touting their talents they're in business. Selling a magic show requires a more door to door approach than that. Most often potential clients are most likely to hire you if they've seen you perform, met you and like you.

Appear Empty

Dear Mr. Magic,
I have a problem getting the lighting right so that my Square Circle looks empty.

Dear Magician,
Lighting is the principle problem with any prop that creates the illusion of false interior depth. Not all lighting is a problem, just lighting coming from above the prop. This is difficult to counter unless you're working in a theatrical situation. Many magicians forbid the use of overhead or back lighting in their contracts.

One thing that might help is to work on the exterior decoration of the props. With proper lighting it isn't necessary to make the exterior decoration blinding but if you continually encounter problems where you're working it may be the only solution. Metallic trim is probably your best bet.

Another suggestion is not to use black art. Many older illusions used a busy pattern on the inside of props rather than a solid black. In some cases this can be effective, you'd have to experiment.

Regarding the Square Circle, there is another solution. In truth, the Square Circles sold by magic dealers are not constructed properly: the load chamber is too large in diameter and requires that the magician line up the tube to slide it over the load chamber. Sometimes the tube is also too large in diameter, fitting too snugly into the square.

The load chamber should be much smaller in diameter, so that the tube can be dropped into the square. Once the load chamber has been reduced in size, the entire handling of the prop changes. It is possible, with practice, to appear to put down the tube and pick up the square in one motion so that the audience doesn't perceive that you have to put the tube into the square before you can pick up the square.

This handling makes the actual production much more magically convincing. Since just about any container can be used for the load chamber, you can try this without altering the prop you now own. It should be noted that the interior of the square must be covered with the exact same material that covers the load chamber, a good quality black felt is ideal. You will not have a convincing black art effect if the inside of the square is just painted black and the load chamber is covered with black material - they won't match. In magic, black on black requires that both blacks are exactly the same.

Silk Fit

Dear Mr. Magic,
I bought a pull and hank ball from a magic dealer along with some 18 inch silks. I can't get a silk to fit into either vanisher. Am I doing something wrong?

Dear Magician,
Probably not. One of the exciting things about buying gimmicks is waiting for them to arrive to see if they actually work. Some dealers offer pulls and hank balls which don't work, except possibly with very thin 9 inch / 22 cm silks.

This situation occurs when magic manufacturers either don't know what the prop they're making up is supposed to do or else decide to reduce the size to save on material costs. Of course this comes from not having any real idea of what the prop originally looked like or how it was made.

It is possible to cheat a bit by using very thin silks or diagonally cut and hemmed silks, but the fact is that any pull or hank ball that won't easily hold an 18 inch / 45 cm silk was not made properly. There is a very good reason for saying this, since both of these gimmicks work best when used at a distance, in platform or stage shows for instance, and once that distance is established the silk has to be big enough for the spectators to see it. Silks smaller than 18 inches square are generally of too small proportions to look right from the stage.

There are a couple of ways around this problem. You can visit some used or collectible magic web sites and buy a gimmick that was made in an earlier time when they understood what they were building. Or you can make up the prop yourself out of cardboard, papier mache or suitably shaped objects found at a toy store. In fact, George Stillwell, who first popularized the use of the hank ball, used hollow rubber balls which he cut holes in. These same rubber balls are still sold in most toy stores in a flesh tone and a diameter that makes them ideal for stage work.

Go Ahead, Ask Mr. Magic

Mister Magic sees all, hears all, can center tear with the best of them and isn't really afraid of balloon animals. He's also a really nice guy who's happy to explain the inner workings of the arcane art of magic, if you don't ask him how David Blaine does the snap change. If you've got a question you'd like Mr. Magic to ponder, transport yourself to the Mr. Magic email form.