Small Stage Magic Recommendations?

J

Josh S.(10)

Jun 13, 2013
4
0
I'm an amateur magician, I've been doing this for about four years now, and I'm looking to compete in my school's talent competition, but I have experience only doing mostly card magic. However, for a theater fitting about 300 people, this is a little bit too small.

Does anyone have any recommendations for tricks I could learn to perform for an audience this size? I have around 5 minutes, thanks!

*And for reference, the last magician to compete performed the trick Banana Bandanna about three years back, and he ended up winning, so I'm looking for things similar in size and length to that! Thank you!
 
J

Josh S.(10)

Jun 13, 2013
4
0
Would some sort of linking rings routine be good? I'd like to do something really spectacular and I'm afraid that might be too well known of an effect, plus I would have no idea where to buy from. Thoughts?
 
RealityOne

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
The reason that the Vanishing Bandana won is because it couples magic with presentation -- it is funny and entertaining. Linking rings is hard to do well in a month and it is even more difficult to make entertaining.

If you are a card guy, get Wayne Dobson's book WD-40. There are several great routines that can be done on stage AND he has some really good presentation ideas.

Also think about doing a six card repeat, tossed out deck, invisible deck or bank night routine.

A bill in lemon routine can also work for stage. The version in Mark Wilson's book is actually pretty good. You also can get the L&L World's Greatest Magic Bil in Lemon DVD with a variety of versions.

A Zombie Ball is a great effect for stage. Again, the L&L World's Greatest Magic Zombie Ball DVD has a bunch of ideas.
 
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J

Josh S.(10)

Jun 13, 2013
4
0
RealityOne said:
The reason that the Vanishing Bandana won is because it couples magic with presentation -- it is funny and entertaining. Linking rings is hard to do well in a month and it is even more difficult to make entertaining.

If you are a card guy, get Wayne Dobson's book WD-40. There are several great routines that can be done on stage AND he has some really good presentation ideas.

Also think about doing a six card repeat, tossed out deck, invisible deck or bank night routine.

A bill in lemon routine can also work for stage. The version in Mark Wilson's book is actually pretty good. You also can get the L&L World's Greatest Magic Bil in Lemon DVD with a variety of versions.

A Zombie Ball is a great effect for stage. Again, the L&L World's Greatest Magic Zombie Ball DVD has a bunch of ideas.
Click to expand...

I really like the tossed out deck and blank night routines, as well as the bill in lemon effect, I think all of those could play really well! Is there any way I could do a signed bill or card with the lemon trick though?
 
RealityOne

RealityOne

Elite Member
Nov 1, 2009
3,744
4,076
New Jersey
Josh S.(10) said:
Is there any way I could do a signed bill or card with the lemon trick though?
Click to expand...

If you do a bill or card to lemon (or orange), it really doesn't need to signed. That is magician thinking because we assume that it isn't the same item. Lay people don't think the same way.
I have a selected card vanish from a deck and appear in a bottle held by a spectator and nobody questions that it is the same card. I can give you some pointers on how to give the impression that the card selected is random.

Nonetheless, you can easily write down a serial number off the bill, vanish it and then check the number once the bill reappears. You can tear a bill in half and have the other half appear in the lemon. You can give the spectator a corner of a card and have the matching rest of the card appear in the lemon. The L&L DVD has a routine for a signed bill -- its Doc Eason's Bar Routine.

The important consideration is how you will present the effects -- remembering that just doing the effect isn't that impressive without a strong presentation.
 
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obrienmagic

obrienmagic

Elite Member
Nov 4, 2014
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www.obrienmagic.com
RealityOne said:
If you do a bill or card to lemon (or orange), it really doesn't need to signed. That is magician thinking because we assume that it isn't the same item. Lay people don't think the same way.
I have a selected card vanish from a deck and appear in a bottle held by a spectator and nobody questions that it is the same card. I can give you some pointers on how to give the impression that the card selected is random.

Nonetheless, you can easily write down a serial number off the bill, vanish it and then check the number once the bill reappears. You can tear a bill in half and have the other half appear in the lemon. You can give the spectator a corner of a card and have the matching rest of the card appear in the lemon. The L&L DVD has a routine for a signed bill -- its Doc Eason's Bar Routine.

The important consideration is how you will present the effects -- remembering that just doing the effect isn't that impressive without a strong presentation.
Click to expand...

All excellent suggestions. Any routine can "Play Big" depending on the circumstances. You can take what you already know and perform it in a way that will play big to the audience. This is why i like the card to lemon bit. You already know how to force a card I assume. Tare off a corner and let them keep it (the corner can be signed if you really want to have something signed though it is not necessary). Tear the rest of the card up and burn it (or make the pieces vanish). Then you can use some kind of magician's choice to let them pick a lemon (or orange or whatever you want) and then when you open it up, the chosen card will be folded inside. Show that the corner matches, place the card in a baggie and give it out to keep. Boom there is one trick there! Possibly your closer. It is all about taking what you know and making it play big.

Great suggestions David!
 
Timewise64

Timewise64

Oct 19, 2015
317
220
As Josh says, I love my rope tricks and the "professors nightmare" is my favorite, although cutting the rope, tying it together and then repairing it...is also a good one....

Both can be learned with a minimal amount of practice. The rope can be purchased at the hardware store just be sure to get rope that has a core in it you can pull out. How to do these tricks is readily available, just do a search on the sites....should not have to pay much if anything to learn how. I have a DVD with a bunch of tricks and effects with rope. (www,MagicMakersinc.com: "30 Amazing Tricks You Can Do")

Also, I recently got a PK ring and some coins to work with it...not much cost but a ton of great tricks that would be good on stage with minimal practice...

Good luck
 
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