As part of this month’s birthday celebration for legendary magician and escape artist, Harry Houdini, JumpStart Times is cooking up a little magic of our own. Magic is a great way to get your family working together to awe audiences while making magical memories in the process. Everyone in the family can play an important role when putting on a magic show and most of the items you need to make magic are already sitting around your house!
Before learning the tricks of the trade, it’s important to consider these simple tips for successful magicians.
Mandates for All Magicians:
- Assisting Assistants: A lovely assistant always adds to the reality and suspense of a magic show. Plus, having a few extra hands handy ensures that your tricks go off without a hitch. An assistant also helps calm nerves and gives you someone to chat with to distract the audience during tricks.
- Practice, Practice, Practice: Even Houdini started his career by practicing tricks in front of his brother. Select one trustworthy family member to watch and critique your show. That way they can tell you they saw what was behind your back or that your hidden wand was sticking out of your pocket. Do tricks so many times that’s it’s impossible to fail. Practicing in front of a mirror will help you perfect your tricks as well.
- What’s That You Say: Don’t forget to practice what you’re going to say during a trick. Magicians must be excellent storytellers and plan a story to go with each trick. Many times this story distracts or misdirects the audience so much they never even see the magic coming, leaving them in awe over your abilities!
- Absorb Your Audience: Involving the audience always make magic seem more amazing and realistic. Whenever you can borrow objects from the audience or let them check out your props first, they’ll be less skeptical and more impressed with your trick.
- Shhh! Don’t Tell: A good magician never reveals his secrets! Even though they’ll ask questions and beg, resist the temptation to tell your audience how your tricks worked. If you keep them guessing, they’ll be even more impressed with your magical talents!
- Cap Your Recaps: Never ever do the same trick more than once! Your audience will start to catch on and your magic won’t be as magical anymore.
- Seating Chart: Finally, make sure you choose where your audience members will sit. Many tricks aren’t as tricky if someone is watching from behind or beside you. Set up chairs for your audience and make sure they stay seated the whole time.
Trick 1: Sticky Business
Props:
- 1 Strip of Newspaper
- Rubber Cement
- Baby Powder
- Scissors
Preparation: A day or two before the show, paint the middle portion of your newspaper strip with rubber cement. Lightly dust the glued area with baby powder. When your concoction dries, it should look just like an ordinary strip of newspaper. The glue and baby powder shouldn’t be visible at all. Now you’re ready for some sticky tricky business.
Performance: During your show, tell your audience you have a solid newsflash for them. Flash the strip of newspaper before their eyes. Fold the strip in half with your glued area on the fold. You can tell them this is the definition of breaking news as you (or your lovely assistant) cut the paper on the fold (in your glued area). When you open the strip of newspaper back up, the glue and baby powder will hold the paper together making the impression that it was never cut! Your audience will be amazed at your ability to put together breaking news!
Trick 2: Colorful Calculation
Props:
- A pack of color crayons
- An Audience
Preparation: Practice to make sure you’ve got the knack for this trick before your audience appears.
Performance: Get your audience involved by allowing them to select ten different colors from your pack of crayons. Then, instruct them to select one crayon from their group of colors. Turn your back to the audience while your volunteer shows the audience their selected color. Then, instruct your volunteer to place the chosen crayon in your hand (remain with your back to them). Tell them that simply using your sense of touch, you will tell them the color of their selected crayon. As you’re telling them this, secretly scrape off a little wax from the crayon using your fingernail. Give the crayon back to the audience member and allow them to rearrange the group of crayons in any order they wish. As they’re doing this, put your hands back in front of you and take a glimpse at the colored wax under your fingernail. The magic is complete! Turn around and awe your audience with your ability to select the correct color!
Trick 3: Read My Mind
Props:
- One Magician
- One Lovely Assistant
- An audience
Preparation: Before performing this trick, you and your lovely assistant will have to get on the same page regarding the secret behind this mind reading trick. It takes a gifted magician to realize how easy it is to communicate without using words. This trick involves reading your lovely assistant’s mind with a simple trick. This trick takes advantage of the reflex produced by biting down with the back molars. When you bite down with your back teeth, it makes your temples flare.
Performance: To perform this trick, your lovely assistant will go out to the audience and ask one member to write down a number between one and ten. After the number is written, the lovely assistant will show the rest of the audience the chosen number. The paper will then be hidden somewhere among the audience. As the magician, you will announce that you will read your assistant’s mind. With your assistant in front of you, place your hands on his or her temples and begin your storytelling about mind reading. In the meantime, your assistant will begin biting down with his or her back teeth. Count the number of times his or her temples flare, and you’ve got the secret number.
Trick 4: Icy Impression
Props:
- A small sponge
- Non-transparent cup
- Ice Cubes
- Glass pitcher filled with water
Preparation: Stuff a sponge into the bottom of your cup. Make sure that it fits in there snug. If it’s not tucked in tight, the trick won’t work. Shortly before your magic show, place two ice cubes on top of the sponge and fill your pitcher with water.
Performance: Present the pitcher of water to your audience. Tell them a story about your extremely cold breath. Let them know that your breath is so cold that you can freeze water just by blowing on it! Hold up the cup with the hidden sponge and ice cubes, and pour in the water from the pitcher into the cup. Or, even better invite a member of the audience to do the pouring. Be sure to keep the rigged cup up high so your audience can’t see your secrets inside. Now, with your super powered freezing breath, blow on the sponge cup. Make sure you allow enough time for the sponge to soak up the water. Then, slowly turn the cup over and let the ice cube fall out. Your frozen magic will mesmerize your audience.
Filed under: Just for Fun! Tagged: | family activities, holidays
