Scott,

I'm glad to read that you'll be focusing on stand-up material as this will be of benefit to those who are looking to explore this dimension of our craft.

In my opinion, the shortage of commercial stand up material has existed for the last several decades - ever since 'close-up' became the king of the castle! Danny Korem referred to this exact same situation in his wonderful book "Korem Without Limits" in a chapter titled 'The Art of Stand-Up' and this book was published back in 1985!

In the last few years I've enjoyed reading and studying the stand-up material that Jim Steinmeyer has published in MAGIC magazine. His published material serves as an example which illustrates that when you combine the right mix of knowledge, creativity, and desire, it's possible to develop strong stand-up material.

I'm certian that Scott Alexander's contributions to the 'world of stand-up' will be of considerable value in the coming years, perhaps decades.

Thanks for your faith in me! I agree about Steinmeyer's stand up routines. He always includes not just the method but the "why" behind the trick and a plausible routine. A couple of these routines have found there way into my own repertoire...

Paron my ignorance, please.

But what are stand up routines?

Stand up routines are typically performed in front of a medium to large crowd. These are tricks that are too big for close up and not quite big enough to be considered stage, although many performers use stand up effects in between illusions during stage shows. In this case, they are performed "in one," in the space between the main curtain and the lip of the stage. This allows for the next illusion to be set behind the curtain.

Hope this answers your question.