The Adequate Blog

I have to give a shout out to the esteemed Mister Brian Brushwood for providing not only a good source for cheap magic wisdom (ie: free), but also a darn entertaining podcast in Scam School - put forth weekly but not weakly, Mr. B shows you a new way each week to use your powers for good instead of evil … well, for social engineering and the occasional free drink. Highly recommended and yes, free.

Cheap Magic (and Free Scam Schooling) does indeed rule!

Mike Caveney - magician, author, collector, and all around nifty guy, has said more than once, “Consistancy is the key to good magic.”  I agree with that, but I also believe that good magic evolves with the number of times you perform it.

Case in point - One of the centerpieces of my current show is my take on Whit Haydn’s Mongolian Pop Knot routine. This routine is available for purchase (you can look it up online, naturally), and while the mechanics of the effect remain the same (otherwise the tricks would not work), the manner in which I perform the routine has changed over time.

Part of the reason good magic evolves is because, if you can read your audience while performing, you’ll find that there are bits which work well for your show and your audiences if you break from the scripted “patter” and respond to what’s going on in a way that’s consistant with your character (and perhaps suprising to the audience).

For me, the best example of this is during the second phase of the routine - Whit’s scripting has the magician cut the rope in half, but not cleanly, and then snip off the offending extra length.  For me, I leave the ropes uneven, reacting to my error with a wide eyed “But that’s not the IMPORTANT part!” and then, when cutting the ropes into three equal lengths, get fed up and snip off the unequal bit while declaring that the rope is cut into “Three… EQUAL… pieces!”

What happened next was more a lucky coincidence. Playing up the frustration Tobias is feeling, I chucked the sharp, pointy Madagascarian Rope Shears at the wooden stage floor.  And they stuck - just as if I was a knife thrower and the floor was my target. *WHUNK*

A moment passed. The crowd, rather understandably, went “OOOOO!”

“… I’m not messing AROUND anymore… “

Looking back over tapes, I’m seeing a similar evolution taking place with the Mallet Trick and the White Tiger trick.

So, Good Magic Evolves.

Here’s a scary thought - don’t buy a single prop for a month.

Don’t purchase any prop which is not a replacement for something you already have or a “consumable” (paper goods, rope, cards) which gets used up in your act.

This will prompt you to look at what you have and what you do with what you have. You may even be moved to … gasp … construct your own props!

… back in the saddle again!

As you all know, I’m a big proponent of cheap magic resources - because the less you have to spend for useful, quality magic items, the more you have for, well, all the other stuff you need to pay for.

This time around, I want to talk about “corner shorting” - originally used by card sharps, clipping the corner of a card to mark it in order to locate that card easily.

The biggest challenge in making a corner short is to clip the card evenly - usually this means taking a very small pair of nail scissors and very, very carefully trimming the card.  Unless you’re very good with scissors, it’s not easy to make a consistant corner short.

A few years ago a magician began to offer a “corner clip” device for about $30.

I applaud his enterprise, but… I’m cheap. So I did some research at one of my favorite magic supply stores - which is to say a craft store. Turns out there are more than a few “corner rounder” paper punches available from Scrapbooking suppliers for much less.

The “shorter” I like is by the Uchida “Marvy” company and can be found for about $10 at craft stores like Michael’s, Jo-Ann’s, Ben Franklins and, well, right here at the AdequateBlog (shipping & handling, of course, would apply).

It also came in handy for clipping the corners of some DIY playing cards I had made at the local FedEx-Kinko’s for use in the Mallet Trick - which, I think, went over pretty well…

You can order the Marvy Uchida Corner Punch CS here…

Cheap Magic Rules!

Magicians like to pack as much magic as possible into an act. It’s as if there is a “trick per hour” ratio we want to maintain.

One thing I’ve noticed as I keep going in my show is that the number of tricks I’m doing is diminishing, but I’m taking more time to build up the sense of “theatre” around each trick that I do.

You’ll also find that by slowing down the actual trick, you’ll make them more effective.

So many magicians throw aside “old” magic tricks because, in our world, they’re overexposed. By this I mean that magicians see other magicians doing magic tricks and once they’ve seen it 3 times, it’s “overexposed”.

In this case, make a list of tricks you love that you don’t do.

Now, pick one trick, and try applying the effect to a material other than the one the trick was applied to.  Taking an effect and using a different type of material than the “traditional” material can breathe new life into an old, “overexposed” trick.

I’m rather proud of the Hammer Trick (aka the “Card Mallet”) because, in a way, it’s the first trick I’ve really put together “from scratch”, with an end result, a starting point, and then filling in the blanks as we go.

I knew I wanted to do something with the mallet -it’s a great prop and one I’ve used for a number of other things (a few theatrical shows, as a sight gag, and occasionally for malleting coworkers), and the idea of the spectacular nature of the Card Sword effect has always appealed.

This was also the first trick where, as I was putting it together, I was much more concerned with the trick from a visual rather than a mechanical standpoint.   Every other trick I do in my show started from the mechanics of doing the trick and ended with refining the visual aspects. In this case, I knew that the trick had to involve

• Going into the crowd to have a card selected
• Holding the card up so everyone can see it (Thanks to Jeff McBride for teaching me the card control I use)
• Bringing out the Mallet - this is an automatic laugh moment. It’s a big, silly prop
• Balancing the cards on the flat side of the mallet - this is harder than it looks
• “Pre-launch” - Magician standing with arms extended, mallet in hand. This is a very long a and “big” picture.
• Tossing the deck into the air - a flick of the wrist and I have this great long lever with the mallet… everyone’s eyes follow the deck up (especially mine)
• Contact - Cards meet hammer
• Followthrough - cards go everywhere
• … showing that, somehow, the selected card wound up stuck to the tape on the mallet
• And finally, the Big Applause Position, arms out, mallet in hand, tadaaa!

… whew. That’s a lot of pictures.

When I put the trick together, the mechanics of the effect took maybe 3 minutes to do in full. When I performed it, the trick took about five minutes. This is because with a live audience, I could use pauses to get more entertainment out of the trick.

Let’s face it, a man attempting to swat a selected card out of the air with a 3 foot long mallet is a preposterous idea! And every so often, a pause, a ‘take’ to the audience, can make people laugh just because of that.

Pauses also build dramatic (or perhaps comedic?) tension.

With a juggling show, there’s this balance of “something neat is going to happen” and “something could go horribly, horribly wrong” - especially when a juggler is using “dangerous” objects.

This is the tension, and the “vibe”, which I have been trying to create in my “magic” show for the past four years.

So standing there with a big mallet, proposing to achieve something which, when done, implies a delicate touch with a big stupid blunt object, has something could go horribly, horribly wrong written all over it.

So in a way, this is the first trick I’ve created moreor less “from scratch” which has had the “Tobias nature” pretty much from the get-go.

Close-up magic is the biggest selling type of magic today. Books, tricks, videos - almost 80% of them concentrate on close-up magic.

Let me tell you something: I don’t like close-up magic.

I’ll give y’all a sec to let that sink in.

Magic is a visual art. Close-up magic is about little pictures. And far too many people try to do close-up magic in a situation where big pictures are needed.

(Close-up magic also consists, frequently, of the same six tricks redone over and over and put into ziplock bags but that’s another rant.)

My thoughts - pick up one, just one, trick you can do for a big group. There’s plenty of them out there (in books no less!) which you can do with everyday stuff and with very little prep.

And start looking for the Big Picture.

This week I’m going to do a run of what I call “Audacious Gambits” - things for magicians to try that go against common wisdom, with a little justification as to why they’re worth doing.

Today - LOSE THE BOOK

Go over to your shelf / box / massive library of magic books. Pick out one you’re really fond of, one that’s full of tricks you love but you don’t ever seem to do.

Now, give it away. Sell it, gift it, donate it to the magic club… get it out of the house.

Why?

Because first of all, if you’ve owned a book or a trick for more than a year and you haven’t done anything with it… you’re just hoarding secrets. Note: If you WANT to hoard secrets that’s ok. Kindly disregard this blog posting. On the other hand, if you haven’t done anything out of that book and you get rid of the book, the only things you’ll remember from the book are the tricks you actually liked.   So… you might just start playing around with what you remember, resulting in your creating a trick or routine that you like and that you’ll do.

It’s a gutsy thing to do - magicians are packracts.  But… you can always take the “safety” route and just donate it to your local magic club, so you can come back and visit it later. If you’re scared..

Another Audacious Gambit tomorrow!

… last month I debuted a new trick at the local Society of American Magicians chapter (59 - Portland) as part of their Entertaining Card Trick Competition.  Shockingly… I won.

… so what did you do?

For many years I’ve been enamored of a bit known as the ‘card sword’ - a randomly selected card is noted by the audience, the magician loses the card in the deck, pulls out a sword, hurls the cards into the air and spears the selected one on the end of a blade to the general amazement and accolades of all.

It’s a big visual trick - makes a pretty picture - and would work pretty darn well in a faire setting.

So… like many fledgeling magicians, I figured the best way to do this trick was to buy someone’s version of it. I would like to mention right now how bloody expensive and / or impractical most card swords are. I mean seriously. The most common ’sword’ is really more of a big three sided spike made out of chromed tin which, when you look at it, is no more a sword than your average dust mop.

But, like a number of other “Holy Grail” tricks, I kept it filed away in the back of my head for a long, long, long, long time. Until last month.  This is where I need to bring in another piece of information.

I am in posession of a remarkably well-made foam mallet.

Said mallet is a holdover from my LARPing days in college - it’s about 3 foot long, with a big, double-ended ‘head’. It looks totally outlandish.  It is also completely ‘in scale’ with me, where the commerically available (and less than $300) card sword props were not.  The fact that it’s a cartoonish-looking hammer helps a lot.

So…a card was selected, lost in the deck, a strip of double-sided tape was openly applied to the face of the hammer. The cards were carefully… placed… on the flat side… of the mallet… the hammer was held out at arm’s length.  A gentle tossing motion, like flipping a pancacke… and

WHAM!

Cards. Go. Everywhere.

It was beautiful.

It also helped that the selected card was stuck to the face of the hammer at the end.  As soon as there is video or photos, I’ll post those.

Now, some theory to go along with the now-described practice.

• Magic is a visual art - this needed to be all about the pictures. Most of the things I do are a combination of sight gags and funny behavior on my part, but I wanted this to have some pretty moments. The point where the mallet strikes the cards, knocking them scattered everywhere is a very striking* visual.
• The opportunity for dramatic tension is immense. Just bringing the hammer out causes the audience to pause in that “Oh dear lord what is is about to do” way that works so well with my show.
• My dialogue** with the audience through all this is very self-aware, and it’s clear that my character isn’t certain what is about to happen… so this trick has “The Tobias Nature”.
• It’s amazing and very gratifying how much mileage a man with a deck of cards balanced on the end of a rediculous looking cartoony mallet can get out of a single, knowing grin at the audience.  Add a slightly deranged chuckle and it makes all the effort worthwhile.
• As with all my stuff, the physical motions have to couple with words and yes, acting. Putting words and acting with the smacking the cards out of the air extended the bit from 3 minutes to 5. Not quite enough to completely replace the Mongolian Pop Knot in my repertory, but darn close… perhaps when I work the kinks out of the White Tiger bit…

So there you have it. Idea to creation to refinement. I did this bit twice on Sunday of Faire in the Grove and it was well-received, garnering me my biggest hat for that event.  At Valhalla, we shall see if I can pull it off at 5000 feet. And if I can get my custom, inexpensive, period-neutral playing cards made and ready by the end of the month…

* no pun intended. No, honestly.
** I hate the term “patter” when it comes to my own show. “Spiel” I can work with, but not “patter”.