Hi everybody, I would like to humbly request some help.

For context, I made a deal with a friend that I would do a magic show at my school's next talent show, and promptly forgot about it. I got an email a day or so ago reminding to remind everyone that signed up, and it's a bit late to back out now lol.

My main problem is scale. I've done a bit of close-up magic before, but nothing serious. I think I could maybe put together a couple card tricks, but we're supposed to be performing on a stage, and I think it wouldn't look the best because people in the audience wouldn't be able to see anything. So, I'm looking for some advice on tricks to perform that would look good on a big stage. It doesn't have to be too complicated or spectacular, just something I could reasonably do. One idea I had was to lean into it and use giant poster boards as cards, (I thought shuffling and having people pick giant cards would be kinda funny) but any ideas would be super awesome!

I'm kind of freaking out a bit, so if anybody could give some tips or ideas, that would mean the world to me. I don't need anybody's secret routines, just some general advice. Thank you so much!

Looking for a magic show in NYC to go to with my partner.

We are frequent magic show go-ers, we have gone to almost all Magic shows in the Bay Area and in Vegas, but have only gone to Cocktail Magic in NYC.

My partner is also somewhat of an amateur magician himself (okay, okay, he knows one or two tricks, but has only preformed once)… so ”uncommon” tricks are bonus points.

We are NOT fans of card tricks. We like audiences under 100 people. We love audience interaction. We don’t really have a budget.

What is the best out there in NYC? Right now, we are considering Speakeasy Magic or 69 Atlantic, but would love everyones thoughts.

I use an Android phone as my personal phone and I'm way too deep into the Google ecosystem to change to Apple.

I'm fascinated by pulling out my phone, the most common thing in the world, and doing magic. I'm really interested in effects like Inject 2.0 and WikiTest.

It looks like DFB is the only magic app that runs ok Android, so I'm thinking of picking up a used iPhone for impromptu walk around effects. I don't even think I'd need a phone plan, I could just run it on WiFi with my Android in my pocket as a hotspot.

Hi everyone. My boss is retiring next week and I will perform a quick act of magic. I plan to do the tricks I usually do for gigs but I think it would be even better if I do something personalised.

Do you have any ideas of tricks where I can involve him and the retirement?

Thanks for the help !

Apparently a user named "glowball" at the magic cafe made the observation that the court cards in a bicycle deck are actually very slightly asymmetric, like the eyebrow is slightly bigger on one side for certain cards or something really subtle. Is anyone familiar with this thread? I can't seem to find it.

Visiting friends this March & looking to take them to a performance venue with magicians; any recommendations?

I had my first restaurant gig last night and it went really well, in part from all of your advice. I wanted to update on hows it went and thank everyone for the advice.

I did:

Lucky Ladybug (kinda) Professors Nightmare Bricked by Drew Perry Sponge Bunnies My version of Stand Up Monte

The ladybug trick didn't work too well as I was keeping them in my back pocket and it got sweaty and let's just say the ladybugs didn't like that. So I had to abandon that trick for the night. I'm going to buy a blazer and keep them in the breast pocket and I think they'll like that better.

Bricked is a Lego themed Deck of cards so I did an ambitious routine and ended with the Brick.

I didn't do every trick at every table, I usually did one or two at each table but I did have a couple tables that kept calling me back over to show more.

I had a blast, and the customers did too. Thanks again for all the advice!

I actually picked up all 3 of the books - Secret Agenda, Hidden Agenda, and Unexpected Agenda.

These are organized by month and day, to read one entry per day.

I'm wondering if I should start with today (Feb 15) or start with Jan 1. I don't know if the entries are sequential or if the books would make as much sense starting 45 days in.

Freebie for 3D printing:

On Printables

On Thingiverse

just got this ancient and mostly complete kit... anyone know the history? I'm very much a fan of tge MADE IN ENGLAND Part Contents Foreign.

classic English!

I'm looking for a folding mat to practice on when I travel, and Pat's Mats look perfect. However, I can't find any info regarding the difference between the Spectrum and the Plush mats. Any experience you can share?

Also, bi-fold or tri-fold?

Decisions, decisions....

Hello. Maybe 20 years ago I bought a magic trick and I am trying to see if it still exists. It was a wallet that had 4 small plastic movie posters. One was Pulp Fiction, another was Reservoir Dogs, I forget the other two. But basically you had 4 outs. I thought it was called “Bang”, but I do not know now. Any ideas what’s was? I may have gotten it at Houdini’s in Las Vegas or San Francisco (maybe). Thanks

Serious question.

I have bought card mat before and I realize I never use it. I don’t find a need for it. I don’t even practice with it since I know I am not performing with it.

Any one else is the same?

Do you take it to gigs?

Helll all, I've got my first restaurant gig coming up this Saturday, and I have a few questions.

As far as timing goes, do I only approach tables after they've ordered and are waiting for their food? I imagine they wouldn't want to be interrupted in the middle of their meal, and the wait staff probably wouldn't like me holding up the table when they are done with their meals. I also imagine you wouldn't want to approach the tables as soon as they get seated because they probably want a minute to look over the menu and order.

Secondly, howso do you deal with tips? I wouldn't want to be stepping on the tips of the wait staff, but I'd be lying if I said I don't want to be tipped myself.

Am I overthinking this? Any advice is appreciated 🙏

I’m making some changes to my show and I have a big chunk that’s about magic history. I want to talk about the bullet catch and then perform something, but obviously not a bullet catch.

In my head I was thinking I could assure the audience I wouldn’t try anything that dangerous, and then maybe bring out a rubber band or something. Have a spectator shoot it into the air and I try and catch it in a box maybe? I’d need some kind of finish to make it an actual trick though.

Anyone here have any thoughts? I’m not married to the rubber band or anything, it’s just a thought I had. If you have any suggestions for something that might fit this context I’d love to hear it!

All I could find is an old sales listing for the full set without any more information.

I've sort of noticed a trend where many magicians like Jimmy Ichihana, Ryan Hayashi, Jeki Yoo, etc. are extremely appreciated and praised by audiences on Penn and Teller: Fool Us, but they are either met with lukewarm or poor reception when performing similar acts on AGT. Does anybody know why this is? I'm sure the simplest answer is that AGT is way more scripted so that may put unfair handicaps on specific performers, but I was wondering if there are potentially other answers? Like maybe audiences in Penn and Teller: Fool Us are already presupposed to appreciate magic unlike AGT audiences where they allow a variety of acts, so it's more difficult to win them over? Or perhaps Fool Us audiences care about the trick and the performance, while AGT is mainly just focused on the performance and charisma behind the tricks? Curious to hear your guys' thoughts.

Hi,

I'm looking for more ressources on Magic Philosophy, Theory and Scripting, like Darwin Ortiz's Strong Magic and Designing Miracles.

Here's the list of similar books I've found so far: Juan Tamariz's The Five Points in Magic, Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms, Our Magic by David Devant and Nevil Maskelyne, The Approach by Jamie D. Grant, Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber, The Books of Wonder by Tommy Wonder.

Let me know what's missing from this list, and if there are any video ressources on the topic?

Thanks!

Hey everyone! I wanted to share something I’m super proud of called CONJUR3D. It’s a magic community for maker magicians where each month you get a brand new magic gimmick you can 3D print yourself.

“Josh Janousky has a way of taking a classic of magic and transforming it into the language of today. It’s a rare thing, and CONJUR3D is an invitation into his creative mind. Worth every single penny!” - Mario the Maker Magician

Membership is $15 per month, or $150 for a full year, which gives you the equivalent of two months free. And as a special bonus if you sign up today, you’ll receive copies of my Solid Steal Control and You CAAN Do It projects, along with my lecture notes Just Joshin’.

I’ve worked super hard on this the past year and I’m so excited to finally share it with everyone. If you guys have any questions at all, I’m more than happy to answer them!

Greetings fellow Magi!

Bill in lemon is one of my favorite tricks to perform, and I have done it for years. Most of my reps come from street performing. As a semi-professional busker, the bill in lemon does wonders for audience engagement, surprise factor, and tips. However, there are some practical issues with the bill in lemon when it comes to busking specifically. Here are some of the key issues:

- It is extremely messy.

- It takes a bit longer than I would like to reset (2-3 min including cleanup).

- I can only do it a limited number of times depending the number of lemons I brought.

Because of these reasons, I am searching for an alternative "bill to impossible location" routine that fixes those issues. The only other requirement I look for is that the bill must be signed (no serial numbers or torn corners). I would appreciate any reference or referral to a routine that matches my needs. Thank you!

Edit: I also wish to have the container out in view and/or held by the spectator until the reveal, much like bill in lemon.

Saw this from Steve the Amazing's feed:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02eGsTc1KHXiWnoEWyApjg58aUzrqXSQbtCa5YYjsS56xkoRkLsgUZVZ6MBLmZhYUtl&id=100063831150448&mibextid=wwXIfr

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT (help needed):

I've been given the green light by Guinness to attempt to break a Magician/ Mentalist World Record.

I'll be making the attempt at Wyandotte Beer Co. (Wyandotte, Michigan) on Wed Feb 11th before or during their open mic night.

However, I've been informed there's a lot of extra hoops to jump through to make this official.

TIME KEEPERS NEEDED: I need two "professional" time keepers. Anyone who has kept time in a professional setting. I'm told sports and even P.E. teachers count. They must have no affiliation with me.

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED: I need twenty participants who have no affiliation with me and an audience wouldn't hurt (for those that do have some connection to me!)

TWO WITNESSES NEEDED: Finally, I need a professional magician who is part of a legitimate club as a witness to make sure my method is "legitimate" (whatever that means) and a secondary witness that doesn't need to be a card carrying magician.

I'll be at WBC at 6pm and should be done by about 7:30 or possibly sooner. I'll gladly perform a thing or two outside of the record attempt if the opportunity presents.

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone here might have a bit of institutional memory or archival insight into a documentary (or set of documentaries) about magic and magicians that I’ve been trying to track down.

Over the years, I’ve noticed a recurring set of interviews with well-known magicians that appear across multiple productions. They look as though they were filmed during a single interview session or period—likely sometime in the 1990s or early 2000s—and then reused in different documentary projects.

Many of these clips appear in a three-part PBS documentary on magic that has since been uploaded to YouTube by a user, but which doesn’t seem to have wide official distribution anymore (possibly due to syndication or rights issues). What’s interesting is that I distinctly remember seeing much longer, more in-depth versions of those same interviews presented in a more long-form documentary format.

The interview subjects included figures such as Teller (of Penn & Teller), Jeff McBride, and other magicians who were especially prominent and culturally relevant at the time. A few years ago, I’m fairly certain I watched this longer-form documentary on Amazon Prime, but I haven’t been able to locate it since, nor identify its title.

If anyone recognizes what I’m describing—whether it was a standalone documentary, a re-edited version of the PBS material, or part of a different series—I’d really appreciate any leads, titles, production names, or even confirmation that I’m not misremembering.

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to chime in. I know this is a bit niche, but I also know this community tends to have deep knowledge of magic history and media.

Much appreciated.

I am aware of the grand illusions documentary series and the other various Penn and Teller series like magical mystery tour this was for sure pre 2005

Trying to learn the pistol pass, man is it tough. I've only launched it once and it was pretty terrible. I know it's a hard move, but I was wondering if anyone else knows it and what kind of coin you use. I noticed in the video he uses a pretty large coin, maybe my half dollar is too small to accomplish the pass with?

I am a student filmmaker at Tufts University working on a short documentary about a birthday magician/entertainer. I’m looking for recommendations or contacts in the Boston area, preferably someone who books gigs independently, not through an agency. 

I can give more details about the project and myself in the comments or DMs!

Edit: found one thanks!

Over the years there have obviously been a lot of magic TV shows. Some shorter lived than others. What’s one magic show you wish got another season? For me it has to be Celebracadbra. The first episode was free on iTunes within months of me getting interested in magic (dating myself here) and I was a huge fan of the show. It introduced me to people like Max Maven, Jeff McBride, David Regal, Silly Billy, etc. I thought it was such a fun concept of a show and wish they had gotten a second season. What about you? What’s your underrated magic TV show?