Handling Humans

Grand stage illusionists, clever sleight of hand performers, mysterious mind readers, and wise guy stand-up performers are in many ways worlds apart in their approach to the art of magical entertainment. But all of these modes of performance share a common challenge. Humans. We all have seen shows ruined by a poor choice of assistant from the audience. We all have seen routines sent tumbling...

In Search of Better Magic

The scenario: Romany takes to Las Vegas to spend 3 months polishing her magic cabaret act ready to host and perform an evening show in the Las Vegas Wonderdome to be attended by some of the world’s most prestigious magicians. Eeeek! And cor blimey!!! One of my favourite magic teachers, Eugene Burger, says that good magicians are created one effect at a time. That’s one effect,...

Women and Children First

Excerpted from Brad’s new lecture notes. Check BradHenderson.com for more information. Whenever I go to a magic club meeting and watch the performances, I notice that in almost every situation where a magician requires a volunteer they inevitably pick a woman (or girl, if available) or a child. My heart goes out to every magic spouse/girlfriend who has ever made the mistake of sitting in...

The Snake Basket

I have loved the Khyber Cobra trick ever since I was a kid and saw it performed at the Boston Magirama/Magical. It is just one of those tricks that is so fun it just sticks in your head. It’s a classic. Collector’s Workshop makes a terrific remote controlled version of it. But since my lottery number hasn’t come up yet, I have developed this version. Its main advantage is that it is cheap to...

Audio Equipment Revisited, Part 1

Given the current state of electronics available to the average magician, this is a good time to revisit the issue of audio equipment. However, let me first restate that the purpose of our “Magic Tech” column is to consider some of the technical issues for a practical one or two person stand-up show. In several years of producing my own self-contained cabaret act for 50 to 300+...