A question about the OBJECT TO IMPOSSIBLE LOCATION theme....

Every time a magician does an object to impossible location... the denouement of the routine is supposed to be the revelation of the verified object inside the object of impossibility. However, the audience reaction after the "vanish" always comes as the lemon, wallet, or box or whatever is brought into view. 

The actual revelation and verification of the bill, coin, phone, card or whatever seems secondary  to many audiences.

During most bill to lemon routines, including the routine I used to do, the big audience reaction comes when the lemon is presented  because the audience knows that the bill or ring or other object is inside.

How do you move the audience expectation to the ACTUAL end of the routine? When the bill, card or whatever is actually produced and verified as the same object?

There's always polite applause at the revelation of the signed/ borrowed thing, but the big reaction always comes at what I would consider the "wrong spot" in the routine.

I feel it's a conditioning problem.  Audiences are EXPECTING their object to be in the impossible location, but the big gasp comes at the wrong moment which SHOULD be the revelation of their object. not the presentation of the object.

The question is.. what can be done to move the reaction to the verification of the object... the signature or whatever as proof?

I've had long conversations with some of my smartest friends... and we haven't come up with a "best" solution.

The long long history of The Phone in the FedEX box trick.. WHATS IN THE BOX??!!!?

This trick has a REALLY long history that I'm going to tell you about in my first blog post in a VERY long time...
A very long time ago... I was with my friend from Singapore Kyle Ravin.  We went on a road trip to Las Vegas, and in addition to pilgrimages to David Copperfile, Mac King and others... of course we went to see PENN AND TELLER.
They did one effect that had a profound effect on me. It was their Phone to Fish routine.  A brilliant effect, with brilliant choreography.  Effect meets method in a diabolical way.... however.... it was not efficient for those of us who work alone.

I decided to delve deep into my years of magic and invention and come up with a practical version.  For over a year... I was going more in the direction of Tommy Wonder.. using very complicated tables and custom boxes and little motors and some remote controls.  While this would have all worked; it was overly complicated and beyond my workshop to build alone.  Let alone THOUSANDS of dollars per each.

Then I had a creative moment... and a "thing" came to me.  I took an old trick that I had as a kid, refined it, changed it a LOT, and made it practical to add to a FedEx box that could be handed out and casually handled by an audience member so the magician can give the box away at the START of the routine.   After another year (I've been up to my ears for 6 seasons on a TV show so its slow) and 4-5 prototypes to get a version I could make in a production environment, I finally had something that I could show magic friends  to work on a routine and get opinion.

Thanks so much to Dan Sylvester, Chance Wolf, Mike Elizalde, Walt Anthony, Chris Stotz, Cosmo Solano, and several more I boiled the prep, the prop,and the routine down to their most efficient elements and built a story that made sense, but wasn't so restrictive that it HAD to be used.

I made the prop available to only a TINY few people in advance... and universally the reviews were beyond my expectations.   I sold a few at a steep discount and refined the routine even more using  suggestions by people who had used it in their shows.. sometimes in over a hundred performances in a real world situation in an amusement park,  Can't get more "broken in" than that!!  (Thanks Ben Zabin!!!)

At any rate..I finally was able to shoot some video for a demo, and an instructional video. My friend Grant Smith edited it all together and I realized that I'd LOST SOME IMPORTANT FOOTAGE!!!  To make it worse, I was getting ready to leave for another season of the TV show I worked on and couldn't work on it more for 6 more months.

To make matters worse, I ended up moving my home and workshop from Los Angeles to Atlanta, GA.

At any rate, I finally reshot the demo, and the instructions and got all the pieces together... sold some more preview versions... was universally told that the price was TOO LOW!!!   I raised the price some.. but not as high as was suggested by several.  and now.. after such a long story, it's here and is available directly through my website at:

ttp://www.wack-o-magic.com/box
or  
https://hocus-pocus.com/magicshop/index.cfm?p=56453

 Any questions? I'll mostly gladly answer them at info@wack-o-magic.com

New Amazing Pictures of That Infernal Contraption!!

Thank you to Walt Anthony and David Facer for the wonderful pictures of the First Sent Out of That Infernal Contraption!!
Still Available for $595 Plus $40 Shipping for a limited time in the US  as this ships as a 16 lb box!!!

Sorry for the delay.. and a secret set of updates!!!

I know it's been a long time since this blog has been updated.. and i promise it won't be that long again.

I've been working on a TV show called The ORIGINALS.. working out of Atlanta Georgia.  That's about 2000 miles away from the shop at Wack-o-Magic.

That's why you haven't heard much about new magic.. and why you haven't heard much from me.

The show is great... the peopel are nice.. but it makes it virtually impossible to put new magic onto the market.

That may change with Wack-o's next release... if all goes well I'm going to team up for the FIRST time with another magic company.. either Hocus Pocus or Theory 11 to put out a JUMBO Coin 3-FLY!   It's NEVER BEEN DONE.. and for good reason. It's a stage version of a close up effect that takes practice.  It's hard.  It's new.  It's been tested by Kyle Ravin, a wonderful magician in Singapore.. and now it's coming to America via the wonderful magic of download and DVD.. The shells will be made by me.. possibly in a variety of coins.

I can probably make a shell out of virtually any 3" jumbo coin.. but I'd rather keep it simple.

Anyway.. that's the story for wack-o's delay... I'm sorry I'm not putting out more magic.. but That INFERNAL CONTRAPTION is here.. and it's wonderful.. and the Jumbo Three Fly will be out in a few months.. and it's going to be wondeful.

I'm wonderful.. and wack-o is NOT going out of business... probably ever.. but certianly not int he next decade.. I have a mile long list of stuff that hasn't been made yet.. and stuff I need to re-release that's not currently available.. Grimoire's are in my future.... really.. improved and just as amazing... but sadly about 30% more expensive.

THAT Infernal Contraption!!!!

Welcome to That Infernal Contraption.  Magician have been using Square Circles for Generations in their act.  They are cumbersome.  They're often ugly to the point of gaudiness. They produce silk hankerchiefs, or flowers or something equally  discordant with the image of a male performer.  Welcome to somethign that ain't your grandfathers Square Circle!!

An ornate Victorian-Steampunk inspired example of wood cabinetry, with gizmos and gadgets and thingamajigs and knobs and switches ...that allow for intergalactic time-space- travel... and huge entertainment value.
Jules Vern, H. G. Wells, Charles Dickens, and Edgar Alan Poe would have loved this prop! The Outer-Cabinet opens to reveal an Inner-Chamber, both rest on a revolving art nouveau inspired base.
The conjurer weaves strange tales of half-mad inventors and secret laboratories where ramshackle machines create a vortex making teleportation possible. He reveals the cabinet’s “present” (outer chest) and “past” (inner chest) and how space-and-time can be manipulated and warped at the magician’s will.
Imagine being able to produce Jack The Ripper's bloody gloves, Edison's first light bulb, John Wilkes Booth's diary, Queen Victoria’s wedding veil!!!
Not only is this a beautiful and collectible artifact, it is a practical and logically themed variation of the classic Square-Circle, with numerous innovations in design and function, allowing for a considerable load capacity, but the ability to dismantle and pack almost flat. No one will ever guess that this contraption is based on a classic method.
The painstakingly fabricated components are very deceptive and the entire unit plays huge, but packs into a small aluminum case for transport and storage!
Each individually constructed and hand-finished piece will be:
—Each unit hand-numbered by Wack-O Innovative
—Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity
—Performance Rights for story and presentation
—A full Story-Presentation by respected bizarrist Walt Anthony —Collectable Unit Limited Edition, with individually ornamented components —A protective aluminum transportation case 

I have only made 15 of these.. and 4 were immediately taken!!  that means that only 11 can go to magicians world wide!!   The case, as shipped, weighs 18 lbs!  This is a GIANT prop that pack FLAT as can be into it's own suitcase!!!

The final dimensions when it's assembled  14 x 14  x 22!!   

The price is also nice for what it is.. $595 plus shipping... shipping a 22 lb box isn't cheap... shipping for this is about $40...  but it's so totally worth it!!!

I just realized that I haven't had a blog post for almost 4 months.. that's not because nothing is happening here at Wack-o-Magic!  It's because I've been so BUSY!!

Wack-o has a NEW WEBSITE!!!!  visit me at www.wack-o-magic.com.

It's still going to  have some small tweaking, but it's finally at long last... done-ish.

I've also been working on a new prop (actually a few of them..)   but this one is super special!  It's an anti-bullying routine with a familiar prop that's been re-designed by one of the top conceptual designer in both fashion and film.

The prop is being called TALLER OR SMALLER and will premier at MAGIC LIVE in Las Vegas in August.. and will be available to the general public through Wack-o-Magic and on a VERY limted basis from Hocus Pocus Magic

I have a wonderful time travel prop coming out as well probably in Sept or Oct called The Infernal Contraption. It's a sort of Square Circle.. but in name only. This is highly decorated in  true steampunk and comes with a routine that includes Thomas Edison AND Jack the Ripper.  It will also come in two sizes.. I think it's about time that someone put out a TRUE stage size Square Circle that isn't Ugly and covered in inapproriate stencils and yellow fringe.

I'm going to tip the general idea behind the end of the year project.. and that's I'm designing and making  MAGICAL FURNITURE!!!  That's right. Architectural Quality furniture that you can use as a piece of furniture 98% of the time, but then you can actually do a magic trick with it that's been familiar to you for generations, but has NEVER beeen seen like this.  I'll have a bar

table version that's even BETTER a few months after the coffee table version

Hi! It's been FAR too long..

I can't believe it's been 5 months since my last blog!!!  Far too long!!

Part of the reason is that Wack-o-Magic has been busy.. I fulfilled a GINORMOUS order for Murphy's magic supplies.. 600 Boxes went out of the wack-o warehouse at the end of January.
I'm working on some new stuff... a new version of the Jack Hughes routine for the Giant and Dwarf.. with permission from the Jack Hughes estate!!!  It'll be a wonderful anti- bullying routine for kids shows and library performers.  I haven't finalized the materials yet.... but the prop has a GREAT pedigree.
The artwork is by Jarrett Fajardo, a super talented production designer from the Bay area who's art skills are only matched by his joyous outlook on life.

The routine, of course written by Walt Anthony will be reviewed and approved by one of the top bullying experts in the country. Author of several Anti-Bullying books.

In addition, I'm working with Walt on his prop for THAT INFERNAL CONTRAPTION..  new take on the old Square Circle ... with a SteamPunk Prop and a routine that will knock the razor out of Jack the Rippers Hands!!!!

I'm also gearing up for my booth at the MAGIC LIVE convention in VEGAS.. if you haven't heard of it.. it's a once every other year event at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas thats widely known as the best magic convention on the planet.  It's over 80% sold out of about 1400 seats for this year.. Get 'em before you miss out on the ONLY convention that I'm doing this year..  Meet me in person!! and Walt too!
Pictures will be coming shortly of how AWSOME the booth will be!!

A good friend of mine is going to kill me for posting this.. but I think it's a good representation of what this new rubber bowling pin can do..

What happens when you pack the wrong stuff in your bowling bag?

Watch the video

We'll have Bowling Pins Shortly!!!

This is a bit of a distorted view of my new rubber bowling pins! The shape is the same shape and size of a REAL bowling pin because it was molded off of a REAL bowling pin.  It's a thin soft vinyl just like a Nielsen bottle...

The should be available around the middle of November.. hopefully earlier!

Reserve one now.. I'm only having a few hundred made.. and when they're gone, they're gone.  The retail price will be about 80 bucks.. give or take.. and worth every amazing penny!

Custom Work! Tables for the San Francisco Magic Parlour

Walt Anthony is opening up his magic parlour show in San Francisco  https://www.facebook.com/SanFranciscoMagicParlor
and asked Wack-o-Magic to build the centerpiece and side tables for the show.

The requirement.. other than the elegant design, was that they pack absolutely flat. The hotel wouldn't give him much space to store his show that runs Thurs-Sunday and during the week it has to pack into a TINY space. This includes the STAGE, Props AND the tables..

So.. we came up with this design.. and they do pack absolutely flat.. and set up easily and sturdily. 

Back from Vacation and going full steam ahead!

Wack-o-Magic is gearing up for a busy end of summer and spring..

Things I'm working on:

The NEW Bowling Pins will be arriving in a couple of months. They're super shiny, super smooth, seamless, and SOFT... Think of  a bowling pin version of a Neilsen Bottle!! 

A Dovepan birthday cake the likes of which you've NEVER seen!!  It's going to look like a REAL birthday cake.. not a piece of foam.

A Vanishing Bandana Bandana that's MADE for the routine.. It's a bandana that's plastic lined for easy cleaning... and it's made a bit bigger to hold a banana.  I'll also be offering an option of including one of my rubber bananas with it for those that can't get banana's and need an emergency backup.  The routine is always funnier with a real Banana...

And that's just the tip of the iceberg!  The rest of 2012 is going to be exciting here at Wack-o-Magic!!

Thanks to Jeff McBride and the rest of the attendees at the IMX Convention in Las Vegas

Thanks to Jeff McBride for saying some VERY nice things about Wack-o-Magic and buying a Grymoire and a GIANT Devil's Handkerchief at the booth!

His exact phrase about the Devil's Handkerchief  "What a GREAT utllity item, I've never seen one made this big before."...

Yigel Mesika and Bill Abbott both loved my Topsy Turvey Bottles.. (All the weirder because Yigel is the invisible thread guy!!)  Bill Abbott's quote was "The best Tricky Bottles I've ever seen."... even if he didn't get the name right.. we all know what he meant!! I'm humbled.

Raymond Crowe said some GREAT things about the Ultimate Dancing cane and gave me permission to add some of his dancing cane moves to my directions... as long as he gets the credit where it's due.. and OF COURSE I will.. he's a super nice guy, and a genius performer!

I have to say the reaction to Wack-o-Magic was exceptionally positive at the IMX convention... People RAVED about the Grymoire and the Tiny Tricky Trashcan... and of course the Topsy Turvey Soda Bottles and the Dancing Cane was a big hit.. and sold out... but it seemed that people REALLY like the stuff that I build and that Walt Anthony writes the routines for..  We make a spectacular team...

Pictures from the IMX Convention!!

WHEW! Sometimes it's hard keeping a secret... actually it's ALWAYS hard to keep a secret... but I think I've done a good job with this one.


I have RUBBER BOWLING PINS!!   THEY ARE CAST FROM A VINTAGE LANE PIN FROM A LANE THAT WENT OUT OF BUSINESS IN PENNSYLVANIA... 


I've painted them.. and added something that I don't think has EVER been added to a rubber production item... a SEALED FLEXIBLE DECAL!!  The "bowling supplies" decal won't crack, or come off... it's sealed onto the latex in the gloss coating... 


The price is not cheap... but they're not cheap to make. They're thick so that they keep their shape, and The cost of latex recently went up 25%... and that's on top of a price increase 50% from about 10 years ago.. Blame it on rubber gloves being made for a rising medical system overseas.


At any rate.. they're good for productions.. or for the old bottle in the paper bag routine..  or whatever your imagination can come up with!!

grimoires... AK!!

I laid out the newly printed Grymoires... and found out that 18 pages were mis cut.  I'd QUADRUPLE checked it.. and I'm not sure if it was me or the printer... but it's wrong at any rate.. and now it's being reprinted.

This will set the release date back 2 weeks. That makes me a bit sad. 

They're not going to be cheap.. but they're going to be pretty.

The GIANT DEVIL'S HANK

http://www.wackomagic.com/wackomagic/Devils_Hank.html

The New GRYMOIRE's are at the printer.. and thats where the work is just STARTING

Over 32 hours of graphic design work over the course of 3 days.. and the Grymoire's are finally at the printer..  That's where the work just BEGINS!! These props are going to be ART!! BEautiful, wonderful amazing incredible ART!!

Can't tell you much about the storyline.. but WOW... Walt and I have really out done ourselves.. there's an adult bloody version.. and a kids version with green goo...  I hope I sell a thousand of them.. but I can't imagine making a thousand of them!!

NEW MIsMADE Monsters!!

After nearly 6 months of being unavailable, i have a limited number of Mis-Made Monsters!!!

These are super limited.. and each one is hand made.. hand painted... and beacause of this.. no two are exactly alike.  Some of them are more different than others, the monster's jacket may be a different color, the castle may be a bit different, the stand may be different.  The workings however.. are all the same.. and there are small improvements over the first run.  The Magnet in the castle can't come loose anymore, as it's embedded deep into the plastic now.

The monster is lighter in weight, but is JUST as strong...

http://wackomagic.com/wackomagic/Mismade_monster.html

New stuff coming at Wack-o-Magic

Wack-o-Magic is building a new magic table.. it folds super small.. and turns into a full size practical table.. with two shelves.. on wheels!!

Wack-o also will release a super creepy routine this year with a Grimoire!!

and Walt Anthony and I have teamed up with one of the top bully experts in the country to come up with an anti-bullying routine that EVERY school show and library  magician won't want to be without!

Now that I'm moved into my new space.. I know that 2012 will be VERY exciting for Wack-o-Magic

a magic funny... yes it has a swearword.. get over it.

This was taken off the magic cafe because it has a swear word.  So it does.. and it's funny as heck.. takes a moment to get.. because you have to read the title of the cartoon..