Stage/Cabaret Magic Ending!

[Simon_Magic]

Heya Guys!

I'm looking for a good ending trick for my stage/cabaret show and I was looking for some ideas.

Any help would be brilliant!

Thanks,

Simon_Magic

 

[RealityOne]

Based on the information you've provided, I'd suggest the effect that Copperfield does where he makes 10 members of the audience disappear -- it's his closer so it should work for you too.

In all seriousness, you need to give us more to go on. What is your character like, what else are you performing, what is your ability, what is your budget?

 

[RickEverhart]

Sometimes the best closers are a "call back" from something earlier on in the show. Just food for thought.

 

[Simon_Magic]

RealityOne, I am looking for a good trick to end my Edinburgh show with this August. I'm asking now so I can practice!

When it comes to experience I've been working cabaret clubs for the best part of 2 years ending with a rope escape, however I'd like to do a more magic ending as the show I'm devising will mostly have magic in as apposed to my usual Freak Show stuff, although that will be making an appearance.

Character on stage is fun and outlandish, and I tend to wear flamoyant shirts and green eyeliner, with sometimes a fedora hat.

Budget currently is anything below or around £150. It will only be a cabaret venue that I wil be performing in (I know because I've been to check it out) so nothing to dwarf the stage, but something that plays big.

Rick, I did used to do a call back thing where I got them to choose an envelope at the start from 5 different ones and throughout the performance I'd get audience members to pick a newspaper report and a business card, then at the end of the show in the envelope was the newspaper report that they chose with the name of the business from the card incorporated into the report. It was good, but I'd like to think of something more visually appealing to do.

Thanks!

Simon_Magic

 

[RealityOne]

What else is currently on your list of effects that you will be performing in the show?

 

[Simon_Magic]

The plan is to do half Sideshow stunts (nail in nose, swallow razorblades, swallow balloon etc) and half magic (circle of time [rope trick] mind reading trick [window envelope] , card trick, fizzmaster, etc) which is my usual sort of performance, with a few gags in between like making a ritz cracker vanish and fun things like that.

Hope that helps!

Simon_Magic

 

[Justin.Morris]

I wonder if something like velocity 2.0 would work well for your show. It's a bit more than your range, but could play very well. And depending on how much you get for your shows, it could pay for itself quickly. Bob has some other fantastic routines up on his site. I would check it out.

 

[Simon_Magic]

Heya Justin! What is the difference between Velocity 2.0 and Alan Rorrison's Catch? They sound like the same effect just with a massive price difference. You mentioning Velocity reminded me of Catch, I was thinking a while back of incorporating it into the show as a grand finale so thank you for the reminder

Simon_Magic

 

[RealityOne]

Andrew Mayne's In Half using you as a victim. If you could have an assistant, even better. The only problem is that it is out of proportion to the rest of the show which is small effects playing big on stage. It might provide texture and variety and make the finish seem more dramatic, but it might also make everything else seem trivial.

An issue I see with your show is that it has no coherence. It seems to be a bunch of effects that you like to perform. There is a big gap between razorblade swallowing and fizmaster in both the presentation value and the power of the effect.

I think it would work better if you started with the magic, transitioned with the balloon swallow, then razorblades, then nail in nose, then In Half. The magic would be presented more as a joke but then your character shifts to the more serious stuff in an attempt to impress the audience.

A couple of other thoughts, the nail in nose doesn't seem to fit. It is a little too much in the gross department and seems to be more serious than the rest of the show.. I would substitute something like a head twister. Also, the head twister and the razor blades can give you some comedy like having a bottle of Tums to give to a spectator to hold for "after" as well as the juxtaposition with the balloon swallowing and razor blades.

The magic still seems a little weak though. Maybe set up a theme of "Mind and Body" and do some mental magic to open up with. Tossed out deck or invisible deck. A comedy book test. Mark Wilson's Tic Tac Toe effect. Then go into the balloon swallowing and present it as being very dangerous. Even In Half can be presented in a comical way -- you could play it as if YOU are freaked out by it.

 

[Simon_Magic]

Heya RealityOne!

I play all the Freaky stuff for comic value. I think playing it like I am performing a really dangerous stunt doesn't work for my character, and so, in the case of the Blockhead I play it as a game of Simon Says, getting the spectator involved and having fun with them. There is a clip of it on Youtube if you care to look.

The magic will be performed mainly through its presentation. All the tricks I plan to do so far are ones that have been in my set for a very long time and so I know how to bulk them with patter and so forth, making a simple trick look amazing. For instance the window envelope will be used in conjuntion with a comic piece in the middle, then ending with a drawing duplication using the information learnt from the window envelope. Putting these idea's together gets me a nice 8 - 10 minute routine when played right and I have had a lot of practice!

I like the idea of a tossed out deck routine. A good friend of mine has an amazing invisible deck routine on stage and he will also be working the Festival and so I cannot use it as it would be seen as ripping him off unfortunately.

Comedy book test also seems like a good addition to the show

Thanks for the help so far!

Simon_Magic

 

[RealityOne]

What do you think about In Half?

 

[Simon_Magic]

Just checked it out, looks really good, thanks for putting me on to it RealityOne!

Simon_Magic