I am interested in purchasing a Cube A Libra. Does anyone here perform it and is it a really good routine. I always look for feature effects for my shows. I don't like just "fillers". I have been performing shows part time since '81 and full time since '91. Also, are there any videos of people performing it anywhere and if so what are the links to them? I would like to see the audience reaction to this effect. I have seen the one advertised by Steven's Magic Emporium and also the one by Jay Leslie at Hocus-Pocus. If anyone has any information or suggestions on this trick, please let me know. Thanks!

You'll find Geoffrey Durham's terrific routine in his wonderful book "Professional Secrets." He calls it "The Blocks."

I have been working on this for some time and I can assure you that it is not an easy thing to pull off as a feature item. Most routines are too long and it is diffucult to find the right rythm to make it a good a routine.
Geoffrey Durhams routine, in his excellent book, is interesting but I would like to see something that is even more streamlined.
I read somewhere that Bob Sheets have a terrific routine using only one tube. Maybe that's the way to go?

I remember a performer name Jan Ballan, years ago in San Francisco that KILLED with it. And now Bob Sheets has set the standard. It is a baffling trick and all you need is a solid presentation.

I always saw parts to the Buma model in Jim Swogers shop and never thought much of it. Then I made a set. The reaction every time it's performed is stunning. It even works for family audiences.

There are two standard routines. One uses a single set of numbers and the second has a few extras. Both routines have a mechanical progression to them. To clarify, once either routine is memorized it must work the same way every time.

Now the real world experience. I've performed BOTH routines just to see which one I liked better. It's a moot point. The audience reacts to either routine in the same way they react to you producing a tiger or a lion. They are both big cats. The audience applauds the same for both productions.

What it boils down to is not the routine. but the performance. I ran it by my IBM meeting and no one knew how it worked even from 3 feet away. (OK one person knew.... but they already knew) Everyone else was amazed. When the blocks change around the audience always applauds...... always. It's the performance that counts most.

It is a very strong effect that always gets comments after the show. It does take some work to memorize the steps and sequence, but it is well worth the work. I play a little ragtime type music softly in the background throughout the routine that seems to add a little atmosphere to the trick. I think anyone would be very pleased with the reaction it will get in any show.

Wow, thanks you guys! Only one person so far thinks that it is not a very good rouotine, but according to others, it could be a great routine if you put the work into it. So I think I will purchase one. Jay thanks for the link to your site and the additional information on it. I'm used to really working out my routines and putting a lot of time and practice into them before I show them. I've been performing long enough to know that you can't barely learn something and then immediately put it into your show. There are lots of fine points on both doing the trick and your presentation and personality that needs to be worked out before putting things into your show. I really just needed to know, if I purchased the effect and put the time and practice in, that it would be a great trick or not. Sounds like it will be. So thanks again you guys, I appreciate it!

Bob Sheets does the definitive Cube A Libre performance.

OK, several people have mentioned Bob Sheets performance of this effect. Where have you seen it. Was it in person, in a DVD, a book or where? I don't want to copy his nor anyone elses exact routine, but I would like to see it. I guess most of us are at least a little bit of a thief here even if we don't copy someone elses routine, we still take little bits and pieces of routines and maybe use some of the fine points of them that we remember that would help us out in our own routines. (I should say most of us are a little bit of a thief because I know there are some out there who are complete thieves-stealing whole routines and acts) Sorry to get off on that, but anyway, please let me know where I can find or see Bob Sheets routine. Thanks

Bob Sheets often does this at conventions. He's a member here and was the Café Guest of Honor last month. Take two seconds and PM him.

Hi
I have the original from Harris magic from Sweeden.
I bought it at FISM in Sweeden and never used it.
If you are interesting please PM.
I think there is a movie on Hocus Pocus site.

Hi,
I have a problem, I got the cube-a-libre from a friend, but a few pages from the manual are lost, Do anyone have the instructions for me? the sequence for buiding up the stacks of cubes makes me dizzy.
I hope so.

Hello again Rusell!
Now it is five months later. It would be interesting to know what happened with your intentions. Did you get a set? Did you find a routine? Did you perform it? Is it in your show? What happened?

I think I'm going to build this trick and see how it goes...

Jonathan,
If you are going to build it as Geoffrey Durham wrote it in his excellent book than let me tell you that his measurements are wrong. I was one of the first to get his book and as soon as I read it I sent an email to Geoffrey but it was already too late to change anything in his first edition.

Here is what Geoffrey wrote in his reply
"You have discovered a serious mistake, which I must put right in further editions of the book. Thank you very much for pointing it out. The shells are 70 mm cubed, but the blocks are 66 x 65 x 70. In other words, the blocks and the shells are the same height as each other. I’m really sorry."

Peter Kersten has his own version and that`s the one you can get thru almost any German dealer like Alfred Kellerhof, Stolina.. It is called Das Kubusspiel in German. Many years ago Dr. Peter Kersten put a video on the market thru "The Magic Doctor Promotion" with the same name "Das Kubusspiel". It is a very good video with a solid routine.

Thanks Bojanbarisic...you are amazing!
I found a mail order supply that will send me the pre-cut cubes and I'll build up the top using veneer to bring them to the correct height (to match the shells). These cubes will be solid, but If I like how it turns out , I'll rebuild them hollow for weight considerations.

Again, you are always there with the correct information no matter the subject and an asset to this forum
Regards-
JNeal

Posted: Aug 16, 2009 1:51pm
Bojanbarisic,

My response immediately above to your response is in error. While I still maintain that you are remarkably well informed, in reviewing my thoughts over the last couple of minutes and consulting the Durham material, I now believe the information in the Durham book is correct. I'll send you a PM to explain, rather than bore the casual readers of this thread and avoid having to take the discussion into "secret sessions" or "the workshop"

A word of explanation.

Bojanbarisic is right to point out the error in the first impression of PROFESSIONAL SECRETS: A Life in Magic. I was mortified when I saw it, but there was nothing I could do, because the first print run had already sold out in the first six weeks of publication.

I immediately put it right for the second print run. Anybody who has bought the book in the last 17 months or so has the right measurements for this detail. So, JNeal, if your book has the words "Second Impression April 2008" on the flyleaf, you have the correct information.

Thanks for "weighing in" on this discussion Mr.Durham! Your material and routine structure is the best I've found in print, altho' I'm sure I'll be modifying it to my needs and personal style once I have the props in hand.

The blocks I'll be using will be 2 and one half inches square (pretty close to the 65 mm size you recommend) because they were readily available, but I've noticed many manufactured sets are about 3 inches per cube. I wonder if you have any thoughts as to the relative merits of a different sized block set.

Regards-
JNeal

JNeal

Thank you very much for your kind comments - I'm delighted you like my Blocks routine. And of course you absolutely must modify it to suit your style!

Two and a half inches sounds a good size for the cubes, especially if you can get them pre-cut. What ultimately matters, of course, is not the size of the blocks, but the height and style of the numbers on them. If your numbers are white, with lines about 1/2 inch thick and almost as high as the block, they will be seen in any size of auditorium. I have often done the routine in 1,000 seat theatres and have never had a problem with visibility.

One mistake that I have often seen is to make the two sets of blocks different sizes from each other. That seems to confuse the issue somewhat. If the piles are the same size with the same number style, but different colours, that seems to work best psychologically.

When you make up the trick and try out the routine, you may find heavy, solid blocks preferable to hollow ones. Their weight tends to be good for stability - particularly at the end, where the whole stack turns magically upside-down. And solid blocks have the great advantage (especially when you're learning!) of being unbreakable.

I hope you have a great time with the routine and that it does wonders for your show.

Geoffrey,
(see how quickly I segue from the fawning statement: "Mr. Durham" to the more collegial "Geoffrey"?)

Thanks again for taking the time. Most of the rooms I work are 800-1200 seats so its is reassuring to note that the blocks you mentioned when capably lettered, will be visible.

As to the weight, I'll factor in your good advice and act accordingly. I agree regarding stacks of mismatched size. I should think that aside from color, the identicalness of the two stacks adds to the impression that the tube could be used on either stack to great effect. We no otherwise of course, but subtle impressions count.

Regards-
JNeal