Magic Roadshow

Hi All

Welcome to another issue of the Magic Roadshow. If this is your first issue, then I want to both Welcome you and Thank You for signing up. I hope I can make a real contribution to your magic.

Finally.. we're actually having some cool weather in the Carolina's, and that puts me in the mood to write. I have that classic view of the writer - locked away in a tiny cabin in the mountains while winter starts to take it's course - spilling words onto the pages of the great American novel. I wish...

Winter makes me think of magic and reconnecting with magical friends. Winter makes me think of magic conventions, like SCAMCON in Columbia SC. ( www.SCAMCON ), and the Winter Carnival of Magic in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge ( Winter Carnival of Magic ), both of which will find me front and a little left of center.. Now is the time to make YOUR plans to be there too..

I think you will find this issue interesting. I'm going to call this issue the 'teaching issue', as it's full of very informative articles and a few less links than normal. Somehow, I've found myself with an abundance of good articles recently, and I've tried to balance them with resources. But, I've not made headway the past couple of months. So.. here they are in all their glory..

Comments, requests, rants or raves? EMAIL ME

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In This Issue
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It's a Small World After All - Introduction and Effect

I get emails from readers, literally, from around the world. I love to read about their circumstances, how they got into magic, and how the progress their craft. From time to time, I'm going to publish an email, with permission of course, and introduce you to fellow readers.

Vi Frank lives in Aruba. Aside from being a beautiful tropical island, it's not exactly a hotbed of magic. But, that reminds me of a well-used biblical verse that goes.. "grow where you're planted".. and Vi has grown through the years into perhaps the best magician on the island.

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The Hypnotic Aces

For this effect you need 2 things: A fast Pass, with almost no hand motion, and a good feel for the audience.

While carelessly separating the 4 Aces from the deck, I begin to give a brief history about how through the ages famous magicians have proven that a strong mind can influence someone's perception, even to the edge of total hypnotic control. Your patter must be interesting and "tuned" to your audience. (e.g. when I'm in the middle of a group of superstitious people my patter has a somewhat "spooky" hue to it - when in front of skeptics a more scientific based tone).

At the end of my "lecture", I ask for a volunteer. After helping my volunteer relax with friendly patter, I ask him/her to place the ace of spades casually on top of the deck, the ace of clubs on the bottom, and the two red aces in the middle.

After doing so I ask him/her to re-confirm what was done and to mention what card was placed by him/her on the top. As soon as they mention the ace of spade, I turn the top card face up to reveal it ..... it turns out to be a red ace, but I state that they're correct and that the ace of spade is indeed on top (sometimes the volunteer or others in the audience start saying that this is not the case, but I ignore them and treat them as if they were hallucinating).

I then continue as if nothing has happened and ask the volunteer which card he/she placed on the bottom of the deck. They reply "the Ace of Clubs", and I turn over the deck, reveal the other red ace on the bottom, and just bluntly state that again he/she is totally correct, and immediately I fan the deck and state that of course the two red aces are in the middle.

By then I have a wave of protest from the crowd and the volunteer, and I start to look somewhat puzzled and ask if it seems they have seen something different than I did. They usually state firmly that it is the two red aces that were on top and bottom, and the two black aces were in the middle ......

I then smile understandingly and with an "Oh, I see ...." kind of statement I explain that they must have been hypnotized - or maybe under my control - or maybe, just maybe, even under my spell from the very beginning. I then proceed to "wake them up", and with slow and deliberate movements I reveal the top card .... It's the ace of spades! I slowly turn over the deck .... It's the ace of clubs! I slowly fan the deck face up, and behold! The two red aces are there in the middle where they were placed from the start!

When done right with the right tempo, I've stood amazed at the mind blowing effect of this trick! I've been doing this trick for more than 20 years, ( I think I got it from an old magic book) and I've actually had people invite me to their homes for a private "fortune telling session" based on the strength of this effect.

The 'secret', of course, is the Pass, which has to be done 2 times: Once after the two red aces have been placed in the middle, and once after the two black aces have been shown in the middle to the audience.

Needless to say you have to focus on their eyes, draw their attention with your "mystical" stare, and at the right moment, when they have that puzzled gaze, the pass occurs undetectably and without the slightest clue.

Although the moves are not original, I think I read something similar in a magic book 20 odd years ago, the routining is mine.. Enjoy.

Vi Frank
Aruba

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The Pass - video tutorial

Your Pass not up to snuff? Here is a little video tutorial to help you perfect your Pass. All I can tell you is.. practice, practice, and then.. practice some more.

Learn the Pass

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The Close-Up Magician - And Extreme Cases of Noise

We should be careful not to exaggerate the noise problems under which we work. After all, when performing close-up magic you do not have to be heard by everyone, but rather by a fairly small group of people. The person farthest from you might be six to ten feet away. A trained voice can certainly reach that.

However, I acknowledge that sometimes there are extreme cases. During the past 18 years that I have worked close-up magic professionally I have found myself in such situations two or three times. In each case, the event was a party where it was obviously senseless to try to make myself heard.

Now, should I, in such a case, try to work anyway, perhaps performing silently or bringing in an amplification system? I chose neither of these alternatives. Instead I simply left. In one instance I told the organizer, a representative from a booking agency, that working under such conditions was sheer madness and I was going home. The agency representative protested of course, saying that my contract required me to work another hour.

I told him that I was going home nonetheless, and that if he wished to rebook me, I would happily work for him again, but not under conditions where the music was deafening. He was silent for a moment. Then, after thinking about it he says, "I suppose you are right." He has booked me many times after that night, and the fascinating thing is he now has more respect for my work and better understands the conditions necessary for me to it properly.

He keeps in mind that I need to be heard as well as seen, and doe's not book me until 1:00AM at parties where loud music can be expected. Of course, to take this attitude you must first do your homework. Only when you have trained your voice to its capacity and properly routined your material for clarity can you accurately judge when the band is deserving of blame. To blame the band, before you have made all reasonable preparations for working in a noisy environment, is taking the easy way out and will be correctly recognized by those who book you as unprofessional behavior.

To act professionally, one must have the skills, foresight and knowledge that make one professional, and those come only with proper training, thought and effort. Do your homework. The result benefits you, your audiences and magic in general.

Brad Chadwick
Professional magician and author
www.Itsmorethantricks.com

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Rick Recommends..

Discover the Magic Tricks and Secrets of professionals in the privacy and comfort of your own home... Dozens of ebooks from a lifetime pro with one of the best reputations for quality material on the web..

http://www.301url.com/magictouch1

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Brevity - Why It Matters to Magicians and Other Magical Sorts..

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brev·i·ty - –noun
1. the quality of expressing much in few words; terseness. The use of few words in speaking. Brevity emphasizes the short duration of speech.

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My friend, John Kinde, the humor skills specialists and publisher of the popular 'HumorPowerTips' newsletter, recently added this article to his ever-growing archive of personal growth resources. As a performer, I read every one of his newsletters. It doesn't matter whether you're a magician, politician, or comedian.. humor adds life to every speaking/performance situation and assures that the audience will remember your performance with a smile.

As a performer, I try my best to use humor in my routines. As John suggests, not a LOT of humor, but structured humor that has proven itself funny in virtually all circumstances. Since I don't perform for children, other than my own, I know my humor will work in front of any audience I encounter. Read John's article carefully and think about how it applies to you ..

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Less is More --

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About the Author
John Kinde provides Keynote Programs on humor, teambuilding and customer service. He also presents workshops and coaching on humor, presentation skills, and improv skills for business. John is the author of a series of audio and video learning tapes. You will find humor skills articles at: www.HumorPower.com.
 

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Creating Commercial Magic

So... you want to create your own 'magic'...

I mean, 'magic' as in inventing tricks and sleights and everything in between. The kind of magic you can sell to Penguin - then sit back and count your bucks and revel in your fame.

Selling magic involves marketing, and marketing involves "The Philosophy".. You know, that one rule that everyone hopeing for success has to follow to find success...

"Find a need - and fill it"

Honestly now.. Is that what you're doing? Trying to figure out what the magic world 'needs' and then striving to fill that need.

If you are, then I suggest you re-adjust your philosophy as follows...

'Figure out what magicians WANT - and fill that Want..'

I know.. I'm going against the grain, and I'm going to get hate mail from marketers everywhere. But before you sign the petition to have me hung by my eye lids, let me explain my reasoning...

Magician's don't buy what they NEED, they buy what they WANT. Oh sure, we all buy insurance and medicine and gutters for our homes because we 'have' to. But we'll spend our last dollar to buy that new rod and reel, golf club, bass boat, mp3 player, or pair of pumps ( hey, magic has some wonderful female performers too..)

We have to be pretty desperate to put our needs before our wants... It's just human nature.

So.. next time you sit down to 'invent' a trick or two, stop and think about your goal. Are you trying to come up with an easier way to LEARN to perform an effect.. because you think this is what magicians want and need? Or, are you trying to develop a prop or utility that will greatly increase a magician's success rate and reduce the learning curve?

I'm certainly not advocating taking the 'learning' process out of magic - we're talking strictly about human nature here. And I'm not implying that props are more important than technique. The whole point here is - how to create successful magic effects that can be easily marketed to many magicians.

Why do you think Scotch & Soda has been the most popular device/ utility/ effect on the market for years? Is this that one great effect magicians really 'needed'?

Certainly not. Magicians have a wealth of information out there that will teach them all the inside info on coin magic, without resorting to props.

Or could it be #1 because it's something magicians 'wanted'.. something truly easy to use, straight out the pack, that still carried a powerful punch...

Think about it..

Next time you set down to come up with magic's next great effect, think about Scotch and Soda and the impact it's had on magicians worldwide. What were they thinking when they bought it? What were they hopeing for when they opened the package.. and did they get it?

I can answer one of those questions for you.. They were hopeing to buy a product that made them 'look' like Bobo himself, without all the practice. Like it or not.. that's the TRUTH. Yes, it goes against the basic principles of magic; success should be a combination of working hard and hard work. But success in the world of marketing is something else altogether..

Bottom Line -

Want to be a successful magic marketer ?? Develop a product that reduces the learning curve... Like it or not, that's the Truth.

Rick Carruth

  
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Magic Tricks

Read Rochak's very interesting blog about magic and performing magic. Not your typical blog with weak effects, Magic Tricks features a wide array of effects, many of which required special permission to reprint. Some of the latest include;
 
'10 Tips to perform the perfect Balducci Levitation'
'Levitation Secrets'
'Rick Johnsson's Dining on Dollars' - (biting the center out of a bill and then restoring it..)
'The 110 Pound, six foot Card Trick'
Paul Wilson's 'Double Your Pleasure'

I particularly enjoyed Rick Johnsson's effect and Double Your Pleasure. I think you will too...

** This link has been removed for reported copyright violations **

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Kreskin's Recording

Did you know Kreskin made an album? For those of you who don't know what an album is.. think mp3 recorded on plastic.. Recorded sometime in the seventies, and probably in connection with a Milton Bradley game called 'ESP', this record is full of the greatest secrets of mentalism and ESP. Not.

But it is interesting. Scroll down a little ways and look for the Kreskin album cover. You can either listen directly to the mp3 recordings or download.. your choice.

The Basic Principles of Kreskin's E.S.P. (mp3s)

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/mp3s/index.html

And if you aren't that familiar with Kreskin, or would like to see a good video interview with him..
Kreskin Interview

Thanks to my friend, Jim Canaday, at the Magic Portal for the link..
The Magic Portal

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Planning vs. Procrastination

I know some of you may question what public speakers and comedians have to do with magicians, but I can absolutely assure you that whether you're planning an improv performance or a magic show - the rules are the same.. I can publish articles from Avish Parashar or John Kinde, and substitute the words 'public speaker' or 'comedian' with 'magician', and everything is just as relevant a if it had been written by and for a magician.. Websites by speakers and comedians can be just as compelling and rewarding as those by master magicians.

Avish writes about a real career-killer... failure to take action. Read and learn..

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Lesson from Improv Comedy: Planning vs. Procrastination

As an improv comedy director and performer, I am a strong proponent of jumping in and pushing forward without knowing exactly where I am going. This may seem like I don't plan, but that's not the case. The plan is well in place before I start. I know my end-point and goal (to entertain the audience), my resources (my fellow performers) and my starting point (the audience's suggestion). The rules of the game I am playing serve as the plan for how I will get from my starting point to my end point.

Planning is important and vital to success. Over-planning, or procrastinating disguised as planning, can be deadly to a business. Motivational speaker Brian Tracy says the way to achieve your goals is to make your plan, identify the biggest limiting step, and then go about overcoming that limiting step. I think that's great, but unfortunately I think most people's biggest limiting step is that they never take the first step, regardless of if it's what they think is the biggest limitation!

Starting is a scary business. Sometimes it's just very comforting to have your dreams and never act on them, because the thought of trying for your dream and not getting it is scary. It can be more depressing to know that you can't have something than to be able to hope and dream that someday it will happen. Logically this is flawed thinking, because if you never try you're never going to get it anyway, but plenty of people think this way.

To avoid taking action, people over-plan. They refuse to start because every single detail has not been sorted out. They also get caught up in 'analysis-paralysis.' They get so caught up in thinking analyzing the plan and situation that they get paralyzed and end up taking no action.

Over-planning is just another way of procrastinating. It allows you to put off doing what you are afraid to do. Don't get caught in this trap. Make your plan, but start acting on it as soon as possible.

Albert Einstein said, 'Make things as simple as possible, but no simpler.' To paraphrase that, I say, 'Plan as long as necessary, but no longer.'

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To learn how to apply the powerful principles of improv comedy to your own business or life visit Avish Parashar, a highly successful speaker who shows individuals how to get what they want using the Art and Science of improv comedy. www.ImprovforEveryone.com
www.avishparashar.com/

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Mindreading Secrets

Mentalism WILL be the next big field of magic. Shows like 'Phenomenon' and performers like Banachek and Marc Salem are taking the once secretive world of mentalism to another place. You guys like resources.. so check out THIS resource.

Mindreading Secrets

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Close Up Tricks - King And Queens

This marvelous close up trick starts with an ordinary pack of playing cards, which you pass to a member of the audience. Ask them to look through the pack, remove the four kings, the four queens and lay them on the table face upward.

Once this has been done, arrange the cards in four pairs, king of clubs with queen of clubs etc and so on. Then put these four pairs on top of each other to form a packet of 8 cards which is left face down on the table.

At this stage, ask several people to cut the cards (but not to shuffle them) to give the impression that the cards are mixed.

And now for the main part of the performance. State that your touch is so finely tuned that you can separate the kings and queens just by feeling them. At which point you put the 8 cards behind your back and moments later displays the four kings in one hand and four queens in the other.

Now it's time to up the ante. So you make the bold claim that you can reunite the four pairs of cards, again using nothing more than your finely tuned sense of touch.

Pick up the four queens, place them on top of the four kings and leave the cards face down on the table.

Again get a number of people to cut (but not shuffle) the cards until it appears that they are well mixed. Finally pick up the cards and put them behind your back. Seconds later you start to produce the cards from behind your back two at a time and lay them face down on the table. When they are turned over, they reveal that all four pairs have been correctly matched.

And if you can perform a false shuffle in a believable manner, you could incorporate that as part of the trick.

So how is this trick done?

Part One: When you put the cards behind your back for the first time, take every second card with one hand and the rest with the other. Or, to put it another way, one hand should take cards 1, 3, 5 and 7, while the other hand takes cards 2, 4, 6 and 8. Due to the way that the cards were ordered before you picked them up, this will always separate the kings and queens.

Part Two: When you put the cards face down for the audience to cut before you put the cards behind your back for the second time, the audience should think that you arrange them in a face down pile at random. But as with most things in magic, nothing is left to chance.

Make sure that both the queens and the kings are in the same suit order. For example spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds. This is a good choice because it goes black, red, black, red, so once you've picked up the first two queens, the next two will be even easier to put in order. Then collect the kings in the same order; spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds. A code way to remember this is the saying SHow CoDe, which has the initials of the suits in the correct order.

Make sure you collect the cards together as nonchalently as possible. Make it look as though you're tidying up the cards from the way they were left at the end of the first part of the trick. Once you've done that, turn the 8 cards face down and get the audience to cut it several times.

And finally, when you have them behind your back, take the top four cards in one hand and the other four cards in your other hand. Then produce the cards in pairs taking the top card from each hand, until all four pairs are on the table. All that's left is for you to ask a member of the audience to reveal each of the matching pairs in turn.

Lucas Da Silva runs www.SuperMagicTricks.com
For information on a wide range of free magic tricks, visit SuperMagicTricks.com

 
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FAKE

Is it 'real' or is it 'fake'? Take the test and see if you can pass. I'll give you a word of advice.. your astute editor got four out of ten right the first time, and I was sure I'd get at least seven or eight..

Look at these pictures and see if you can tell which ones are real and which are computer generated.

Fake or Foto

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Free Download.. Expert at the Card Table

Download

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Free Download.. Easy Mentalism

Download

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I encourage you to send any magic resources my way. If you know of a site that has a free ebook or a wide assortment of magic related material, let me know. I'm sure all the other readers will appreciate it..

Remember too, the new form that allows you to send your articles and effects to the Roadshow for publication.

Reader Submit Form

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Email me..
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Please don't forget to visit some of my other sites.. see what's new -

http://www.StreetMagic.info
http://www.MagicRoadshow.com
http://www.StreeMagic.info/blogger.html
http://www.StreetMagicSecrets.info
http://www.LasVegasMagicShows.info
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May my next issue find you well..

Rick Carruth / editor

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