Paul Harris Stand up Material

[Josh Burch]

Hey everyone!

I am a big fan of Paul Harris but have yet to add anything of his to my magic library. I'd like to purchase one of his Art of Astonishment books but I really need some magic that can be performed in a stand up setting for a small group up to stage. Which of his books would you say was best for stand up?

 

[chrislafferty]

A lot of the stuff from those books can be done stand-up or at a table. A lot of it is constructed in a way that allows for a lot of your own input too, so tinkering with stuff that may not originally be 'in the hands' or stand-up will be possible.

 

[RealityOne]

Josh:

I don't think that a lot of it can be used for what you are asking. From the sounds of it, you would be performing standing in front of a group rather than standing in terms of table hopping or "street magic." To me, that would seem to be "parlor" magic.

For Art of Astonishment, check out the tables of contents here:

http://archive.denisbehr.de/show.php?book=163

http://archive.denisbehr.de/show.php?book=164

http://archive.denisbehr.de/show.php?book=165

or here:

http://www.geniimagazine.com/magicpedia/Art_of_Astonishment_Volume_1

http://www.geniimagazine.com/magicpedia/Art_of_Astonishment_Volume_2

http://www.geniimagazine.com/magicpedia/Art_of_Astonishment_Volume_3

or here:

http://magicref.tripod.com/books/harrispaulaoa1.htm

http://magicref.tripod.com/books/harrispaulaoa2.htm

http://magicref.tripod.com/books/harrispaulaoa3.htm

If you have questions about whether any of the effects can be used for parlor, shoot me a pm or hit me up on Skype. I'd be glad to look up the effect for you and let you know.

Also, two other considerations. The first is a subscription to Genii. With that, you get access to the archives of all the past Genii issues through Ask Alexander. If you are putting together a show, that is an invaluable resource.

Second, consider Jim Steinmeyer's Conjuring Anthology. It is the best resource I've come across for parlor / stage magic. I realize it is a big investment, but you may want to pick up a back issue or two of Genii, because Jim has brought his Conjuring column back for Genii in the last two years.

From the sounds of it, you are putting together a show. If you need any help (effects, scripting, etc.), let me know.

 

[Josh Burch]

Thanks for the great response David. I have been doing close up for about ten years and recently I've been getting repeat bookings for family parties and other medium sized events so I'm slowly burning through my parlor material.

I'll definitely look into those other resources. I have consulted the Denis Behr website, but I do have a couple specific questions regarding some of the effects and I'll send you a PM for that.

 

[TylerRouss]

If you are looking for only one book from his series.. I would recommend book #1. Simply because everything in there is great, and can be made to fit a huge range of performance styles.