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johnpert Veteran user Ontario, Canada 322 Posts |
I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this prop.
Is it good? Is it worth purchasing? How do people use it? I've thought about using it as giant straw and combining it with a lunch kit theme routine. Any thoughts? J. |
mforteath New user Tasmania, Australia 62 Posts |
Could be good. I have an appearing shovel, which is about 6 feet tall, and appears from a small paper bag. It gets a really good reaction, everyone is amazed. It was expensive, and when you see the workings it makes you wonder if it is really worth the money; that said I use it in every show, and it is really good.
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johnpert Veteran user Ontario, Canada 322 Posts |
I suspect that it works on the same principal as the Canarm which Canada sent to space. It was a long arm that needed to be stored in a small area during travel. All it really was, was a plastic shower rod, one put over the metal rod to give it colour in the bathroom. Once made flat and rolled up, it took up very little space.
Is it the same thing/idea? j. |
mforteath New user Tasmania, Australia 62 Posts |
Yes. The shovel is basically that. It all rolls up to be able to fit in a small paper bag. As you pull it out, it re-forms its shovel shape, and looks pretty convincing. People have told me that they didn't know when it was going to end. A good trick.
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sir real New user I've been tied to 85 Posts |
Yes, the pole is good. I have the Sylvester 10 ft. pole. It can appear from about any hat, anywhere you have about 6" width. I got mine from John Blake's store: Magic, Music and More, for the price of, (get this) $10.00!
Here is their website: stihttp://store.yahoo.com/magicmusicandmore-store/index.html He has them listed on his site. Sorry, I don't think the link worked (not my strongest skill I guess) but a yahoo store search for Magic, Music and More should yield as much. Best regards, Sir Real. |
vernon Special user Scotland 559 Posts |
I bought the shovel some time back and it was all that can be expected. In fact I had to let the spectators know that they were to go wild after the production of the 4th spade, as in the beginning they were nonplussed. Unfortunately after much use, the shovel snapped and the shaft went all yucky. I still have the handle and the pre-formed shovel base! Though I am now working on an invisible shovel idea. (joke...)
The idea uses invisible thread. Now I have the broom. Hmmmmmm, I wish I could get some of that plastic tubing though. Vernon |
The Village Idiots Elite user Orlando 464 Posts |
Vernon,
I don't know if it is the same diameter, but go to the hardware store and look for the plasitic tubing they put over flurescent light bulbs. It might work for repairing the shovel.
Some are born idiots.
Some are made idiots. Some have idiocy thrust upon them. |
Magicduck Elite user Washington State 484 Posts |
I just got an appearing giant straw. It really is ten feet long. It strikes me as a very good item for comedy and would be great for almost any kind of MC event too.
I am impressed with how it functions. It really does look like a giant straw. I expected it to be more like an appearing cane... as in telescoping rings visible. That is not the case though. It unfolds mainly in the bag and as it comes out it appears to be very solid. I am glad it is a comedy effect because I am sure people will hang around to see how it goes back down after the show. Anyone have this and have good routines with it. I like the idea of the straw, as it ties in well with "food magic" and, for me, is easier to have a justification for this than a pole. quack |
Snidini Special user 776 Posts |
Hello Johnpert. I can tell you that using the 10 ft pole in my kids show probably gets more response from the adults than from the kids. Not that the kids don't enjoy it, they do, but the adults minds are "clicking away" a little differently than that of the child. Kids get instant shock and humor at seeing it, whereby the adults tend to wonder at the miracle they just witnessed. It has played well for me and I usually produce it from a lunch bag after routining it with the disappearing ketchup bottle.
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mplegare Veteran user Forest Grove, Oregon 310 Posts |
I've been using the 10 foot pole (and more recently the Wizard's Staff from the same folks who market Sylvester's pole) as part of the 'set up' for my Faire acts for the past year. It really helps to have a reason to pull it out.
In my case, I start gibbering about setting up my sign (all good magicians have a sign) and needing a pole to hang it on and so I slowly draw it out of my trunk. After about five feet of pole have emerged, look up at the audience, "What? Where do you keep *yours* then?" and some nonsense about it being all right - this bag was made out of my wife's old purse! The Wizard's Staff is a shorter version that 'expands and shrinks' according to the ad copy, and it does just that but I wouldn't trust it to do so 'in the audience member's hand'. Mind you, with a floor stand for a flagpole it makes a darn useful hatstand! (again, giving me a *reason* to have it, "People ask me why I keep this thing..." (puts pole into holder, puts hat on pole) "... that's why."
Matthew Legare aka Tobias the Adequate! - http://www.adequateblog.today.com - you know you want to.
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owen.daniel Inner circle England 1048 Posts |
Men in coats, have an excellent silent routine in which they pull out several of the wooden poles during the act. At the time I didn't know how to do the trick, and I was absolutely amazed by how realistic they look, I never really considered it not to be made of wood.
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WR Special user Utah 945 Posts |
I start all my kids shows by pulling a 4 ft wand out of a tiny bag. I also do an effect with a giant straw appearing from a small MaDonald's bag.
WR
"Tell Em WR sent Ya."
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paraguppie Elite user Forsyth Montana! 411 Posts |
I think everyone has just convinced me that I need a pole, straw or spade. I have seen them before (stores, not in use) and never gave it a whole lot of credit. Gonna have to buy one now!
Thanks, I had money burning a hole in my pocket.......not really. Keith
Check me out at www.magickeith.com
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Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Hi Paraguppie...
Ohhhh wait until you see the ladder!! Very cool effect as well! |
Reg Rozee Special user Vancouver, Canada 592 Posts |
I pulled one out of a hat when I was doing a short show for my kung fu club. I told them that some of my weapons would not fit in my gear bag, so I carried them in my hat! We have kids in our club as young as six and their eyes just about popped out of their heads... Many of us work with a very similar weapon, so as a stroke of luck, there was an almost identical solid wooden pole at the site which I showed to a few who wanted to inspect it afterward. Now if I can just figure out how to pull a broadsword out of my hat, I'll be all set!
-bigwolf {*}
Reality is what doesn't go away when you stop believing in it. -Phillip K. Dick
Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes? -Chico Marx |
Bobcape Elite user Rapid City, SD 470 Posts |
Quote:
On 2003-03-21 10:52, paraguppie wrote: Hey Keith, Before you buy one, get in touch with me. I've made several of them for next to nothing. They're easy to make. Bob
Be Amazed! + Enjoy The Magic!
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NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
I have spoken with more people who are disappointed with the pole's reactions then pleased.
I used it for a few months but eventually packed it away because a) it started to crack b) who wants to carry a ten foot pole around after a kid's party and c) the reaction just wasn't THAT strong. That said, in my stand up routine I ALWAYS finish with Wayne Rodger's Missing Spade. You have a banner rolled up that predicts a card, however, the banner is the three of spades and they picked the four. You reach behind the banner and pull out a very real looking garden spade (better then the wooden handle one IMHO). Great comedy and great magic |
flowJuggler New user East Coast USA 71 Posts |
I got the straw and agree that it gets a strong reation.
Halfway through my show (for both adults and children) I look at my watch and announce 'Break Time'. I take out a paper lunch bag, place it on a table, sit on my trunk, and rest. There is something really enjoyable for me to go from high energy performance to cultivating bordem. Some shows I sit there for up to a minute...doing nothing...and it gets funnier and funnier. My advise for this, if you feel comfortable with the silence, is to not force anything but allow your experience to arise organically from the stillness. The lesson here is that it is not what you do, but how you do it. Anyways, after a moment of quiet contemplation and commitment, I take from the bag a bottle of Coke. I begin to open it when I remember that I need a straw. That is when I pull out the straw. Slowly the straw comes out...taller and taller...until I am faced with the 10 foot straw and the 6 inch bottle. One slow look from the straw to the bottle and everyone is tuned into what is coming next...how is this going to work? I spend another minute or two attemping to find a solution to this problem in a way that is consistent with my character. Finally, resigned to defeat, I put the bottle in the bag, crumple it up, and toss it into my case. The piece as a whole doesn't have a strong climax, but it flows nicely, has a lot of comedy potential, develops my character, allows me to be silent for a while (which for me is very grounding) and has the basic, logical elements of a routine...a biginning, a middle, and an end. So the appearing straw...and the vanishing coke bottle, two of my favorite components of my show.
Ãœber goodest signature ever.
VarietyArtsBlog.com |
daffydoug Eternal Order Look mom! I've got 14077 Posts |
Ah, yes! The good old appearing pencil!!
Daffy Dpug has put tjis to GOOd use over many, many performances. In fact, Daff has worn the durn thing out. I'm badly in need of a new one. I start my kids shows by having the pencil in a small brown paper sack, and we play a little guessing game, to see if the kids can guess what is in the bag. (They never do!) I also have the shovel, and would say this, you should be willing to have time for prepreparation, (at home most likely, as this is NOT easy to work with) Anyway, the thing is tricky because, like the pencil, it has "memory", and if you set it TOO long before your performance, it will not come to it's correct shape when opened. so, in that aspect, it is a pain in the butt. Also, it is not something you can leave sitting around and just grab and go when you have a show.. The set up requires TIME. If you are in a rush, it can turn into a headache. But other than that, the effect itself is GREAT when performed! Anyone else concur with that?
The difficult must become easy, the easy beautiful and the beautiful magical.
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
I use the Appearing Wands instead.
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