Diary

Funhouse Revisited

4/30/2021

When last I spoke about my new routine “Funhouse,” the piece ended with the magician giving away one of several mini balloon animals or mini plush toys to a lucky spectator. Both items had previously been magically produced and were displayed on either side of the stage.

While I liked the idea of having a special giveaway at the conclusion, I wasn’t totally happy with the timing and manner it occurred; The special items are produced and displayed but the giveaway was not “earned” by the spectator, as in a real carnival games situation.

So I decided on a third, final act, one where the spectator must play a quick carnival game to receive a prize that was previously produced by the magician. Smallini would present an actual mini carnival game, with prizes on either side to be won by a lucky spectator now turned player!

What would this game look like? How would it be played?

I thought about the carnival games that I’ve always liked: ring tosses (especially onto rotating milk bottles), bean bag throws (either at targets or in holes), and shooting galleries. I’ve always loved the moving targets of shooting gallery games - the cut out ducks, old cans, foxes - and the way they satisfyingly snapped back when hit.

Remembering a tip from the Pinbox3000 guys about how to make small targets using office binder clips, I fashioned a wheel on the 3D printer with eight handles for as many clips/targets. The targets snap back nicely with a flick of the finger.

The game’s housing came next; First designed in Tinkercad, then laser cut cherry hardwood on a Glowforge. The glued-on lettering was cut out of a lighter shade of hardwood.

The duck and rabbit targets were also 3D printed and hot-glued to the binder clips.

The original idea was for the wheel to be motorized, but although I did get a working version, it proved to be too large and bulky for the Suitcase of Wonders stage. So the final Mini Toss has a hand-crank in the back for manual turning of the target wheel. It works smoothly, looks great and I find it fun to turn the wheel myself. Plus, the hand crank is smaller than the motor, and it is detachable for travel.

The whole Mini Toss unit, at about six inches square, fits perfectly on the stage with the prizes displayed on either side, waiting to be won by the player. The only thing left was the bean bags to throw at the targets. I found some well-made one inch sized mini bean bags made by a woman on Etsy. They are just right for tossing with your thumb and forefinger. The only issue is sometimes the targets don’t always fall back after being hit. Thinking the bags might be too light, the Etsy seller is working on a version of the bean bags that contain three pennies instead of the usual resin pellets. Hopefully, this added weight will be enough to knock over the targets consistently.

When I ran through this routine with the newly added Mini Toss at the end, it was a revelation. The added real (no magic) mini carnival game at the end gives reason and purpose to the previous two acts - the prizes are produced first, magically, then they are won, legitimately, in a carnival game. The routine now seems like you’ve had a little evening out at a mini magic carnival, presented by, me, Smallini.

Magicians Come To Life!

3/1/2021

The MyHeritage.com website is now offering to "animate" your portrait photos using a technology they call Deep Nostalgia. I find it both enthralling and discomforting at the same time. When I animated an old picture of my late father and sent it to my sister, she cried.

I chose to animate a few classic photos of some deceased magicians. I'm amazed at the results. Psychologically, I find the process seems to work best with photos of the long deceased - people where there exists little or no recorded footage. Perhaps this is because I have no reference point in my mind for seeing them alive, whereas the contemporary photos I've tried seem somehow less dignified and cheesy. The exception here is Doug Henning, who seems almost ethereal in his animated rebirth.

I recommend watching these videos full screen.

Walking Through A Brick Wall

2/26/2021

I’m happy to report (to myself) on the latest progress of the Houdini-inspired stage illusion that I’ve been developing for the Suitcase of Wonders for some time. When last I put pen to diary regarding the Wall it was October, 2019, where I wrote:

“My version of Walking Through a Brick Wall is predicated on the building of the wall onstage in real time using actual mortar and miniature cement bricks. The construction of the wall takes approximately eight minutes while the audience sits and enjoys refreshments and a live musician. The transposition itself occurs in the blink of an eye, and afterwards I give the wall away to a lucky spectator as a treasured souvenir.”

While I still plan to perform this long version of the Wall at some point, I like the trick too much to relegate it to rare occasions - the attributes that make the performance unique (a live accompanying musician, eight minutes of watching a wall being built, giving the entire wall away) are also what make it prohibitive to perform regularly. The long version is more suited as a performance piece for special occasions.

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I’ve now developed a second, shorter version of Walking Through a Brick Wall that I’m pleased to add to the regular programme. It will run something like this:

The curtain rises to reveal what appears to be a moderately-sized cinderblock wall sitting on a thin black base at the center of the stage, a few stray blocks strewn about nearby. After a moment for the audience to ponder what they’re looking at, a forklift is driven out from behind the wall. Standing atop a wooden palette that the forklift is carrying, is Smallini, the evening’s magician.

Smallini stands next to the wall as the stray blocks are gathered up and stacked on the palette. One block is handed to an audience member to examine and keep. The forklift then drives away as two workers with hard hats enter the stage and stand next to the wall, inspecting it. Mr. Widdle assists in the inspection by lightly tapping the wall at various spots with a wooden mallet, showing the wall to be solid.

Satisfied, the workers depart, leaving Smallini alone on the stage with the wall, bathed in blue light. The wall is turned ninety degrees and the magician stands on the right side of it. A decorative wooden frame with a red curtain is brought out and placed over the wall, in such a manner that half the wall is protruding through the opening in the middle of the split curtain.

Twice, the right side of the curtain is lifted, showing Smallini standing behind it. Immediately after the curtain is dropped the second time, the frame is quickly lifted - revealing Smallini to be standing on the other side of the wall!

The wall is turned back to its original position and the magician stands in front of it as the Suitcase of Wonders curtain is lowered.

The only change from the previous version of the illusion to this one is the lack of building the wall onstage, thereby significantly shortening the trick to a manageable length. Hopefully, the presence of the inspectors and the mallet tapping the wall convey the solidity of the structure. Also, someone in the audience still gets a souvenir, but now it is simply a cinder block instead of the entire wall.

I am quite pleased to have this fun and dramatic routine join my regular repertoire, with the longer version on deck for a special occasion one day down the line.

Funhouse

1/3/2021

Smallini (that's me) is seen onstage with an old decorative trunk. The trunk is opened and a green balloon is removed from it. After some magical hand manipulations, a twisted balloon dog emerges and it is placed on a coffee table that's set to the side. This is repeated twice with blue and pink balloons, and their resulting creations (a rabbit and a bear).

A decorative box-like prop labeled "Funhouse" is brought onstage, along with another balloon and a balloon pump. The balloon is inflated and placed inside the Funhouse - The balloon can clearly be seen to fill the interior of the box, with it's ends protruding on either side.

The magician then flips the switch at the top of the box, with the intention of something happening, but it does not. He tries it several more times, growing frustrated, until he remembers to remove a long, sharp metal pin attached to the side of the box. The magician then thrusts the pin into the balloon, causing a loud dramatic pop. At that same moment, the inside of the box can be seen filled with some objects.

The trunk is brought onstage again and the magician proceeds to remove from the box what are now seen to be small plush animals. He fills the trunk with them until they are practically overflowing, then takes his place in front of the ending tableau for the curtain.

Funhouse is a new routine that I'm excited to debut at the next possible opportunity (worldwide pandemic permitting). I've owned the beautiful Funhouse cabinet (created by Chance Wolf) for many years, but have never found a way to incorporate it into my act. Recently, I came across a new magic item whereby you can create mini balloon animals in a magical manner. This item proved to be the lightbulb that set me on the path to this routine. I added the mini plush animals and a wonderful old-style trunk, along with a dollhouse coffee table, and the outfit was complete.

I hope to have enough mini balloon and plush animals that I can give one of each away for every performance. What delightful keepsakes those would make!

The Funhouse is the second of three new routines that I'm excited to be developing (The first being the aforementioned Cups and Balls). Soon I will talk about the third routine - the much-awaited Walking Through a Brick Wall, in this diary.

Smallini's Cups & Balls

10/24/2020

I’I’ve finally secured a set of Cups and Balls for my evening programme. Due to the nature of my height (small), and the restrictive stage requirements of the Suitcase of Wonders (also small), it took a while for me to find suitable props. Of course, I’ve performed the C&Bs for as long as I’ve been a magician, working with many kinds of sets, from disposable plastic drinking cups and paper napkin balls to finely spun copper cups and knitted cork balls. But these handlings have been for private and informal close-up shows; I have long been searching for the right set of Cups and Balls for my evening stage program.

This set, which I acquired from a reputable magic dealer, is not only of the proper proportions, but also the appropriate quality and (importantly), weight. They were a value in that the set also came with a Chop Cup and shell.

Ultimately, the routine is the key to a satisfying Cups and Balls performance. With so much material available from some of the greatest practitioners of this trick, it can feel intimidating and overwhelming to assemble a routine to present professionally. But one (namely I) must also remember that along with the trick’s formidable history, the Cups and Balls is also a continually evolving magic organism with slights, moves, and handlings being tinkered with and improved by magicians both professional and amateur all over the world. A deck of cards, another classic magic instrument, is similar in that respect.

After a few weeks, I’m pleased to have a first draft of a routine that seems to fit Smallini’s persone and is fun to perform. I decided early on that the props must work together in tandem with the figure of Smallini (myself). As the cups and I are approximately the same height, it appears as if the tiny magician is directing the action as the cups (and he) are being moved around on the stage.

The routine begins with the balls appearing on top of the cups, one by one, in a triangular direction with Smallini in the center of the formation (I consulted a Frank Garcia handling on making the balls all appear on the top of one cup, but decided that it was not visual enough as an opener, so I changed it, but kept one of his moves). I’m proud of the appearance of the third ball, as it differs from the previous two by the showing of both hands clearly empty right before the ball appears on top of the cup. With practice, It looks very smooth. I’m sure there is precedent for the idea (perhaps going back hundreds of years - I would need to ask a knowledgeable magician about that), but I stumbled upon the idea myself, which is a nice, if rare, thing to happen when practicing magic.

The second phase of the routine is a bit from the late Mark Wilson’s seminal book - some switcheroo of the balls after they’ve been placed under the cups from the front. I wanted to keep this section brief - a little playful hide and seek before the set up for the final sequence.

I changed the final ending one usually sees in Cups and Balls routines to fit my stage show. Instead of the balls being placed in one’s pocket (as would be fit for close-up work), I place them in a nicely decorated box sitting atop a dollhouse side table. When the door to the box is opened, the balls have vanished and the cups make their classic reveal of the three large loads. I haven’t seen another piece of magic apparatus on stage being used with the Cups and Balls before, but again, given that this is probably the oldest magic trick known to man, there could be another instance of that published somewhere, but maybe with not the type of box I’m using (a classic Mirror Box - perhaps the smallest one ever, at 1 ½” square. I made it myself).

Immediately after the balls have vanished from the box, the three cups are tipped over to reveal a red grape inside. These grapes are gathered up and placed in a small decorative dish that has been brought onstage. Without hesitation, the cups are stacked and a small sherry glass is set down next to them. Surprisingly, wine is poured from the cups into the glass!
Both the dish of grapes and the glass of wine are brought to the front of the stage (the curtain falling behind them), where the magician offers an audience member to sample the fare.

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The whole routine is quite brief, coming in at two minutes or so, but it contains a variety of action and surprises. I like the idea of the audience remembering the cups and balls as only a part of this routine, along with the vanishing box and the appearance of grapes and wine. In fact, when the curtain falls, it is only the grapes and wine that remain visible, a simple ending image that closes the routine, with all other props unseen.

A Mere Puzzle

7/15/2020

When reading essays and reviews about magic, I often come upon statements comparing a poor magic trick to a “mere puzzle.” The negative identifier, “mere” always seems to proceed the assumed lesser activity of “puzzle.” Magicians seem to acknowledge that puzzles are a sort of cousin to magic, but a lesser one, kind of like juggling.

I’ve seen “mere puzzle” and “merely a puzzle” used in writings by venerated magicians including Tamirez, Maven, and Kaufman, all more or less with the same point - that if a spectator of magic perceives a magic trick as a puzzle, then the magician has failed, specifically, to mystify. Perhaps the puzzle in and of itself, magicians conclude, is not necessarily inferior to magic, but magic, they say, should never be confused with a puzzle - for in that context it is an inferior experience - a “mere puzzle.”

While I appreciate the reasoning behind differentiating magic with puzzles, the negative mere puzzle sentiment has not sat well with me over the years, and so I was intrigued when I read a quote by Stuart James (from The Essential Stewart James) where he proclaimed, “The simplest puzzle is far cleverer than the most brilliant trick. You can’t cheat to arrive at the solution to a puzzle. A magician invariably cheats in order to complete a trick.”

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a piece about Enron years ago for the New Yorker where he postulated the differences between a mystery and a puzzle. He concluded that it was a matter of information. With a puzzle you know the information is available, you just need to find it. Whereas with a mystery, you’re not even sure the information exists.

In magic, there is an intense moment of astonishment - as spectators we don’t know if information exists to explain what we’ve just experienced - it is a mystery. But soon after, inevitably, we begin to puzzle over the trick, knowing (from our logical perception of our world) there must be a solution. But magicians want us to minimize the puzzling feeling. They want us to indefinitely suspend disbelief in our knowledge system of the world so that we can remain in a blissfully ignorant state of mystery - a feeling they claim is qualitatively better than one of puzzlement (pondering the answer/secret/solution).

For some, puzzlement is an enjoyable feeling. However, magicians believe this aftereffect of a magic trick is a lesser feeling than that of being resignedly mystified. So they endeavor to avoid and defer the most common reaction to magic trick, “How did you do that?” believing it is a misplaced (and lesser) reaction, befit to someone who wants to solve a “mere puzzle.”

For puzzles, the act of solving is the pleasure. This seems to inherently contradict magic’s fundamental pleasure, which is not solving. Never the twain shall meet, according to magicians. The minute a person begins to try and ‘solve’ a magic trick they enter into puzzle territory, a misguided and inappropriate activity under the prescribed circumstances (a mystery).

Again, while I understand how a magician might want a magic experience to be exclusively about mystery, I don’t feel that puzzlement (as defined by the dictionary: to solve or understand something by thinking hard) as an additional reaction should be construed as a negative outcome. As magicians, why not welcome ‘puzzling’ as an appreciation rather than embarrassment?

Remember, a “mere puzzle” might end up being the brilliant magic trick you hoped for.

Vanishing Elephant Demo

6/4/2020

Here is another demo of a Suitcase of Wonders routine, The Vanishing Elephant, that I mocked up on the computer to be a "playable" magic experience. Once again, as in the previous demo, the player/spectator initiates the action as the routine progresses. There are no branching possibilities, or conditional actions, but I still think the routine has its own feel that is different from simply watching a video performance.

A Hopping Production Demo

5/22/2020

Looking for things to do while quarantined in NYC, I decided to mock up on the computer an idea I've had for some time.

Ever since the first days of "interactive" media in the mid-90's (think CD-ROMs), I've been interested in creating "playable" versions of magic routines on the computer. I just like the idea of being able to click on magic apparatus within scenes and having it behave as if you were watching the trick, but you were moving it along yourself, so to speak.

I really had no idea how this would look and feel until I mocked up a couple of Suitcase of Wonders routines. I rather like the result. There is definitely a subtle difference in initiating the action as opposed to simply being a viewer. It does feel like I'm "playing" the trick.

Please enjoy watching a video demonstration of my first example, A Hopping Production. I'm sorry I can't provide an actual playable app at this time, but hopefully you will get the general idea. I will have another example to show next month.

April 26th, 2020

4/26/2020

Big Apple Circus Still Kicks Ass

2/1/2020

When looking for something to do on a gray January afternoon, I was happy to be reminded once again of one of the benefits to living in New York City - half-price tickets to excellent same-day entertainment. On a whim, my wife and I decided to take our sons to see The Big Apple Circus, which was playing in town next to Lincoln Center. We scored practically ring-side seats, half-off, for later that same day. Boom!

The last I heard about the legendary Big Apple Circus was that it filed for bankruptcy and its star clown had resigned for sexual misconduct. A sad, inglorious end to a wonderful circus that I had experienced several times over the years. Or so I thought. The Circus was back, apparently, and this time around they had a cat show!

What an amazing afternoon we had. The Circus was another reminder that experiencing good live entertainment up close cannot be surpassed: A man doing a backwards somersault from one trotting horse onto another? Check. A woman dressed like a pigeon clowning around with the audience? Check. Feats of strength you didn’t know humans were capable of? Check. Cats doing tricks on command? Check. Another somersault? Ok, how about a guy doing one on a spinning “Death Wheel” sixty feet high? Check. Juggling open umbrellas? Yes.

My thirteen year-old was blown away enough to not reach for his phone, citing his favorite acts being the Wheel of Death routine and the cat show. As an owner of two house cats, I don’t know if I can accurately describe the amazement of witnessing those creatures perform tricks for humans in the spotlight of a live crowd. Dogs? Well, Ok, sure. But cats? Truly astounding.

All of the acts, including the refreshing and funky new Ring Master, were impressive, as I would have expected from the Big Apple Circus. I was just extra happy to see the troupe still kicking ass.

Special mention goes to seventy-nine year-old Hovey Burgess, who was giving beginning juggling lessons to kids before the show. I’d never heard of Hovey (although his face seemed familiar when I saw him), until I looked him up and discovered his distinguished circus arts career, including playing a small role in one of my favorite movies, Robert Altman’s Popeye (He played Mort, one of the toughs).

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