About.com Magic & Illusion

Creating Powerful Magic with Themes

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:38:31 +0000

Daily Show Provides a Winning Magic Routine

I feel that the best way to create involving and entertaining magic is to apply a theme or story. Admittedly, I don't always succeed at this myself, but I'm always trying.

Recently, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" featured an excellent magic segment, "Playing the Race Card," by Larry Wilmore (the magic begins at the three minute mark). While it's notable that a magic routine has been featured on the show, what's impressive here is that the routine successfully mixes a political theme with a standard card trick.

I think that the routine provides a first rate example of what can be accomplished by applying a theme. Instead of simply showing off, as so many magicians do, the routine involves spectators and provides a reason for the various effects. Well done.

And while I'm talking about great routines, I think that the UK's Barry and Stuart are performing some of the most amazing, cutting edge magic that I have ever seen. I'm a fan of their YouTube videos and this "voices/alter ego" routine is among the best that I've seen (warning, it's PG-13). The routine creates a hilarious theme, provides a great setting for the tricks and effectively tells a warped story.

More Reading:
Seven Themes to Apply to Your Magic
Dealing with Nervousness
The Five Biggest Mistakes Made by Beginning Magicians

Creating Powerful Magic with Themes originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 04:38:31.

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Cyril to Star in TV Specials

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:50:27 +0000

He's on my list of top ten magicians of our time and here's an interesting article about Cyril who will be starring in a TV special called "Cyril: Simply Magic." The show will air on TV channel AXN throughout Asia.

Cyril will perform in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Taiwan and follow in the footsteps of David Blaine and Criss Angel who starred in Asian TV specials. The big difference, however, is that both performed for American audiences in their shows.

"What sets me apart from [them] is that I am here, in Asia, for the Asian people," says Cyril in the article. "You will not see David Blaine or Criss Angel coming out here, but I am coming to the countries these people who watch the show live in."

More Reading:
The Top Ten Magicians of Our Time
Famous Magicians

Cyril to Star in TV Specials originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 01:50:27.

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Remembering Houdini

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:36:37 +0000

After being punched in the abdomen a week earlier, Harry Houdini died on Sunday, October 31, 1926 at 1:26 PM. For the great showman, Halloween seemed a fitting day to die and this date is now remembered as "National Magic Day." Despite over eighty years since his death, Houdini is undoubtedly magic's best-known entertainer of all time.

I think that Milbourne Christopher, in "The Illustrated History of Magic," best describes Houdini.

"Harry Houdini, a short muscular man with curly dark hair, an infectious smile and compulsive drive to succeed became a legend in his own time. Unexcelled escape artist, silent film star, scourge of fraudulent mediums, and eventually presenter of an illusion show that many critics said was more exciting than Thurston's, he had an uncanny understanding of audience psychology."

It's no wonder that Houdini's story continues to form the basis of movies and books. He is remembered for his legendary escapes; showmanship and promotion; the loss of his mother and attempts to reach her through spiritualism; his frustration with mediums and exposure of their methods and his death on Halloween with the storied promise that if anyone could find a way back from the dead, it would be Houdini. All of these aspects contribute to his myth and memory.

I think the truly amazing thing about Houdini is that he is not only the best known magician of all time, he is arguably the best known entertainer of all time. Try to think of an entertainer from his era that is an equal household name today-the only name I come up with is Charlie Chaplin. Houdini continues to hold a place in our culture and history. Now that's living on...

More Reading:
Profile: Harry Houdini
Houdini Book Test
Famous Magicians in History

Remembering Houdini originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 03:36:37.

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Houdini Windows Come to the Disneyland Main Street Magic Shop

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:51:32 +0000

Windows Animate With Haunted Hanks and Showcase Houdini Props

A recent announcement stated that Houdini's Magic Store would be taking over the Disneyland Main Street Magic Shop. The first phase in this transition involves new Houdini-themed windows that replace the old magic-themed displays with Goofy.

The windows also have a fun moving display that depicts a classic magic stage effect called "haunted hanks." Every ten minutes or so (I didn't time the duration), the hanks come alive in a display that you can view in a video that I shot and edited today. Even when the hanks aren't dancing around, you'll find that the prominent red handkerchief in the left window occasionally twitches - a precursor to the dancing effect.

The new windows seem to cover every aspect of Houdini's career including: escapes, exposure of mediums, his films, King of Cards and more. There are some cool props as well copies of his letters and posters, which you can view in this image gallery.

More Reading:
The Return of Disneyland Magic?
Readers Respond to "A Hit on Disney Magic"
Disneyland Magic - Pepper's Ghost

Houdini Windows Come to the Disneyland Main Street Magic Shop originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 03:51:32.

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Chicago Magic

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:06:37 +0000

While the Olympics won't be coming to the Windy City any time soon, thanks to Eugene Burger, Robert Charles and Benjamin Barnes, magic is a part of the Chicago scene in the form of "Magic Chicago," a monthly showcase that occurs on the first Wednesday of each month. You can read all about it in a recent article.

Interestingly, the article was written by the same journalist who interviewed Bill Malone and named the controversial five best magic tricks some months back.

More Reading:
Exploring Magical Presentations by Eugene Burger
The Five Best Magic tricks?
Standing Room Only: Vol. 1 - Steve Draun
Magic Tricks by Bob Sheets

Chicago Magic originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 01:06:37.

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Readers Respond to "A Hit on Disney Magic"

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:06:49 +0000

After my recent story about the closing of the Disneyland Mainstreet Magic shop, many of you wrote about your positive experiences with the store, as well as the prospect of having Houdini's Magic Shop, which has stores in many Las Vegas casinos and other tourist destinations, taking it over.

Thank you to everyone who wrote in.

The Magic of a Magic Store

I became a professional, world-champion magician BECAUSE of that store on Main Street! In fact, I do a routine where I tell the story of what a magical experience it was and one of my greatest memories. Unfortunately, it was a mere shadow of what it once was - no decent demonstrators - not any REAL magic to offer - no magical atmosphere. At least in my last visit - about 4 years ago. I started learning magic when I was four years old, and saw the Disney shop for the first time when I was 7. Never turned back...I hope they can bring it back to the special place it was back when...
JoeGivan, August 29, 2009 at 12:25 am

Given the right demo sales team and with the right marketing (i.e. to kids) they could sell a lot of magic in that venue. They might not make as much money as selling T shirts, but it would add to the Disney mystique for the tourists. They just need the right guy with the right vision running it. I remember going to the magic shops at Niagara falls when I was a kid. Those always made an impression on me, and was instrumental in planting the seed of magic in my life.
dks, September 1, 2009 at 12:46 pm

No Love for Houdini's Magic Shop

As a former employee of Houdini's, I have no doubt they will be using the same over aggressive tactics to "move product" at this new store. Trying to convince 8 year old kids that the Hummer card is a very easy trick, is just the beginning. They are also adept at plagiarizing effects, re-naming them, jacking up the price and not crediting their creators. Also, their "certification" means you are able to demo the top 20 tricks (i.e. Rising Card, D-Lite, Svengali, Scotch, Lethal, etc) or at least understand how they work. Seeing as they were unable to keep their shop open at a cut-rate amusement park (Circus Circus), I have serious doubts they can maintain at a world-class park like Disneyland, let alone carry on the Main Street Magic tradition.
Grndl, October 9, 2009 at 5:00 pm

If Houdini's takes over the Disneyland Main Street Magic Store, I can just see all those incompetent sales/demonstrators exposing "helicopter card" on the sidewalk in front of the store. I was in Vegas recently and I kept seeing guys out in front of Houdini's with non-spinning cards dangling from their hands.
Ajayvo, September 2, 2009 at 3:00 am

I just was in Vegas and the Houdini shops are not Disneyesque in the least. I felt sorry for the demonstrator at this particular outlet, he was manning the late shift 10 pm on a Friday night. He was doing the Hummer Card, which they repackage as Helicopter Card. My wife was impressed so i bought it, knowing that it would take practice, even though the salesman said it was 'easy.' The instruction booklet was a joke, with pages duplicated and complex moves described in a few sentences and line drawings. I don't think Disney would tolerate such shoddy merchandise.
Bill Clark, October 13, 2009 at 4:03 pm

I was in Vegas and I saw nonspinning cards hanging from the hands of Houdini salespeople too. Gee, I wonder how the trick works? Is there anyone who visits Vegas who doesn't know after seeing the demo? After walking around the casinos, New York, Caesars, Circus Circus etc., I got tired of seeing those cookie cutter Houdini stores and those sales people pushing those spinning cards.
Jtenny, September 2, 2009 at 3:07 am

Not the mystique or the feeling or aura of the "Disney" magic shop... and not even a close replacement. Houdini's is just cookie-cutter chain of stores that is exactly the same in every location. Every hotel in Vegas has one and therefore NONE are special at all anymore, let alone Disney-oriented in any way. I hope the vendor that takes over the Main Street Magic Shop keeps it "The Main Street Magic Shop," and god willing, not another generic Houdini's.
MM, September 1, 2009 at 10:43 pm

More Reading:
Disneyland Magic - Pepper's Ghost
The Return of Disneyland Magic?
A Hit on Disney Magic

Readers Respond to "A Hit on Disney Magic" originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 15:06:49.

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Is TV Magic a Hoax in the Vein of "Balloon Boy?"

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:12:40 +0000

"Balloon boy" was a huge hoax and I think that large scale TV illusions border on the same.

I was driving home from a gig tonight (great strolling audiences - I live for these gigs) and the hour-plus drive allowed me to listen to an NPR program about the recent "balloon boy" hoax.

For those of you not in the US, a six-year-old boy supposedly flew away in a family's helium balloon. After continuous television coverage, extraordinary expense and effort on the part of authorities and interruption to local airport traffic, the event proved to be a hoax.

The discussion on the thought-provoking radio program got me thinking about TV magic. The purist pioneers of TV magic, Mark Wilson and Doug Henning, always made sure that a live studio audience was an integral part of their shows. And everything that viewers at home saw on television was exactly what was seen by the studio audience. Henning went as far as to broadcast his early TV specials live.

The Blaine Levitation
Enter David Blaine and the infamous levitation on his first network special. While most of the magic that Blaine performed was recorded live in front of real spectators, his levitation had some assistance, which I have written about earlier. And Criss Angel has numerous feats and effects that can't be reproduced live (floating from the top of one building to another, for one).

I rather despise magic tricks that only exist in edited television shows and are solely designed to puzzle television viewers. If an effect can't be performed for live audiences, it's a hoax on the order of "balloon boy" that is designed to make suckers out of everyone.

And most detrimental to our art, when television magic starts to resemble special-effects in movies - the use of camera tricks, green screens and the like - the "magic" itself becomes insignificant and drags down everything else with it.

More Reading
Exposed: David Blaine's Levitation
What Makes Great TV Magic?
Recalling Doug Henning
Magic Circus by Mark Wilson

Is TV Magic a Hoax in the Vein of "Balloon Boy?" originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 04:12:40.

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This Magic Moment?

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:14:05 +0000

Is Magic Undergoing a "Renaissance?"

I mentioned in an earlier story that the relevance of magic in the minds of the general public is probably more important than the exposure of magic on television and the internet. And a recent story claims that magic is undergoing a "renaissance" that's being led by David Blaine and Darren Brown. I sincerely wish that the writer were correct, but his view of the magic world is decidedly different from that of my own.

To start, the story describes the previous state of magic as "Paul Daniels figures - irritating pranksters who make balloon dogs and think that pulling gaudy flowers from a sleeve is the height of sophistication." I, on the other hand, respect Paul Daniels. To dismiss and describe Daniels in this manner is to be ignorant of his contributions to the art of magic.

David Blaine
The writer supports his "renaissance" premise by describing Blaine's many physical stunts: frozen in ice, standing on a pole and more. However, I think that Blaine's biggest impact was over a decade ago when his brand of recorded street magic was fresh and the general public was talking about his effects and stunts.

I felt that his most recent "Dive of Death" special, where he hung upside down for some 60 hours, was lackluster at best. I think that currently, Blaine is struggling to create anywhere near the buzz that he had a decade ago.

Darren Brown
When I published my list of the "Top Ten Magicians of Our Time," many of you wrote me and said that Derren Brown was missing on my list. Undoubtedly, it's a US versus UK issue as I'm based in the United States. But after looking at clips on the web, I'm convinced that Brown is creating an awareness that is unmatched by any of his contemporaries.

Is there truly a "magic renaissance" going on as the writer proposes? Indeed, Darren Brown is carrying a torch, David Blaine still has the influence to sell a television special and the guys in Las Vegas are still entertaining the masses. But I'm not detecting such a resurgence these days. The best that US television has served up recently is the mediocre "Masters of Illusion" series.

Finally, the writer talks of David Copperfield making buildings disappear. To my knowledge, unless you count the Statue of Liberty as a building, I don't recall Copperfield ever doing so. If anyone out there knows of such an effect performed by Copperfield, I would like to hear about it.

More Reading:
The Top Ten Magicians of Our Time
Las Vegas Magic
David Blaine Profile

This Magic Moment? originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 01:14:05.

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Get Your Act Together for the Holidays

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:43:52 +0000

With the holidays coming up, there's no better time then now to finally learn that magic routine that you've been wanting to perform and polish it up. If you want to shine at upcoming gatherings and parties, here are resources to get you started.

Selecting Tricks for Your Act
Before you learn a trick, you have to select the right ones for your skill level, venue, angles and crowd.

How to Learn Magic Tricks
You now have some tricks that you want to learn. The next step is to learn the tricks, develop presentations for them and get your feet wet standing in front of and performing for audiences.

The Five Biggest Mistakes Made by Beginning Magicians
Why do so many in the general public loathe magic? It's probably because they've seen poor magic and/or arrogant, boorish "magicians." Here then, are the five biggest mistakes made by beginning magicians.

Dealing With Nervousness
Probably the number one problem facing beginning magicians. Here are tips to keep your composure when you're in front of a crowd.

More Reading:
Seven Themes to Improve Your Magic
Five Steps to Perfect Your Sleight of Hand Moves
Performing Routines Versus Tricks

Get Your Act Together for the Holidays originally appeared on About.com Magic & Illusion on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 13:43:52.

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Magic and the Swine Flu

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:06:05 +0000

Because of H1N1 and the upcoming flu season, I thought this to be a good time to revisit a topic.

Earlier, I wrote an article that discussed the performance of magic and consideration of viral and bacterial infections. I don't think that this topic is overkill as within the last year, I've encountered close-up crowds who didn't want to touch props (select a card, etc...). There are even churches that are rethinking how they dispense communion or even leaving it out altogether at services.

In addition to clean magic props and hands and perhaps open use of hand sanitizer when I think it's necessary, the only other precaution that I've added is that I got a flu shot (in addition to preventing me from contracting flu and potentially spreading it to others, this may also allow me to not get sick in the thick of the holiday season).

And for you magicians who still do that outdated gag where you steal a kiss from a lady, it's truly time to stop. The bit is obnoxious and inappropriate and reflects poorly on magic and magicians.

Timely and necessary, you can read my thoughts on the topic in my article.