A Creative Exercise..

[Luis Vega]

Hello Everyone!!

I wanted to post a little exercise for magic...see I was on the "Independence Party" here in mexico and they were selling this little colored umbrellas there for around 1 buck..these are not the kind of umbrellas that you put on a drink..is a fully funcional umbrella but around 1/4 of size, monkey size!!

I bought it because I thought I could do a routine with it...doesn´t happen to you that you buy something because "I can made something out of it" like a trick or routine?

anyway I keep staring at it and I cannot think of anything!!! I just have it around lying in case something occurs to me...

so what would you with it? any ideas?

 

[notsoltd]

Have it completely closed up, and open it, and impossibly pull something out of it...close it back....repeat. make a routine out of it, and then at the end, open it up and produce a glass of water, raise your glass to the audience, say thank you and take a drink

 

[LuseifHo]

A lot of people have performed tricks with umbrellas. They are usually the ones who are more... culturally oriented.
Thus, the first one to come to mind is Jeff Mcrbride. I am sure in his performances, there will at least one umbrella. I think... he produced a bunch of paper flowers from an umbrella some where. If I recall, they were just the collapsible flowers that come in... 20s or 50s and pack up into the size of a deck. This basically works with any collapsible item. Don't produce anything small though... like... a deck of cards... cause anyone can hide a deck of cards in an umbrella. Perhaps you can try the Appearing Pole.
As for actual magic with the umbrella, there have been Umbrella Manipulation DVDs before I think. One produced here in HK is Parasol Anywhere by Joker Lam. I've never seen it, but it looks quite nice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6Xo_HA2rK8
I think Shimada also does a Parasol Act.

 

[RickEverhart]

Think along the lines of what are all of the pieces of the umbrella. Can the handle be used to have a load in it? Could you use an opened umbrella to produce multiple objects? Could there be a reveal on the material part by using lemon juice or other solutions?
Could you use the point of the umbrella to do a card stab?

I'm just brain storming.

 

[deezy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JicEzCD5RjY
i hope this helps to give you some ideas. im not sure if the umbrella thing can be used for close-up magic though.

 

[Aaron.Williams]

Levitation? You could spin it on the little stick and have it levitate while still spinning in the air