How to actually get things done PART II

Before I go on: Big thanks to my girlfriend as she is actually the one who pushed me into doing the theater thing. It was a long dream of mine and she forced me to do it. If there was one thing hindering me from doing it the most it would be the initial steps. Finding a location, planning, getting the inventory like tables and chairs, registering the business at the public authorities and so on. She did all of that, so I could concentrate on the magic shows itself. Otherwise it would have taken a lot longer. Back to the magic...

So I deceided to do a comedy magic show and the show about the perception and deception. I knew that the later would take way more effort to put together so I kept the first one very light.

The first show basically was my close up/stage set that I did for years. Rope, cups and balls, sponge balls some card tricks, some coin tricks, something with a finger ring and so one. The first thing I did was to put the stuff in order. From weakest to stongest. Then I ran into the first problem. I have been doing table hopping for so long, that I realized that even my card tricks were to darn strong. There was no proper build up. And that is totally great for table hopping where you don't have a lot of time to establish anything. But for a theater show.... The tricks got to the point to quickly. I needed to milk time. All the card tricks I had were FASDIU. Then it struck me. It doesn't have to be. It's a controlled situation. I could do an elaborated card set with deck switches and gimmicks and all of that.

And what a Pandora's box I opened with this. The card act now consists of 6 deck switches and is gimmicked to the max. Why? Because I can!

I was asking myself how many card tricks I could put in the 90 minutes show. And I think it was Tim Ellis telling me that 30 minutes split up into three 10 minute sets would be okay. That helped alot.

The first card act as follows: The deck is examined, Chicago Opener, a production of the four kings. A card is selected and turns into the four kings, then turn back into the selection. The selection is signed, and again turns into the four kings. The selection is pull from the inside pocket and then is lost in the pack. The four kings turn into the selection one by one, then revert back to being the kings. As I go for the pocket to reveal that the selection has gone back into the pocket the opposite happens and I pull the four kings from the pocket and in place of the kings in now the selection. Then I repeat the Chicago Opener but this time not the card changes color, but the deck.

It's a lot of stuff happening and keeps people alert.

The second card act: The deck is examined, then I do a slip slop shuffle to mix the cards face up and face down. I claim to righten the deck using the magic tool of misdirection. I pull out a jumbo card and ask a spectator to name any card. Basically I do the 52 card gag. Leaving the jumbo card on the table. Then I show that the deck is now all cards facing in one direction. What follows is a multiple card selection routine. 5 people each stop at a card and remember it. I claim to find all of the cards using different ways. Skill, Magic, Luck, Misdirection and Planning. The first one flies out of the deck, the same card then turns into the second spectator's card. The next one is found reversed in the deck and the next one is under the card case. But then the deck vanishes. I look confused and look at the fifth specator.... then I grab the jumbo card again asking him to tell me his card. The jumbo card is now his selection. The it is revealed where the deck has gone, in the card case of course. Then offer to do that trick again where I shuffled the cards face up and face down, this time without misdirection. And then it's the most clean Triumph I could find. And with clean I mean gimmicked to the max.

Again a lot of stuff happens. The third card set happens after the break. And is basically hands off. I won't go into detail here, as it is not my routine, except for the gags.

After I decided on those big blocks, the rest was just filling.

More in Part III