When performing table magic och strolling magic, do you try to theme your tricks to fit each other? Or do you simply do one trick after another without any "link" between them?

I entertain families in restaurants and the only link between my tricks is me.

If I were putting together an act for a magic convention competition I might theme everything and have clever links between tricks.

If I were putting together a set for a TV appearance I would make sure that things moved along smoothly but I wouldn't be too concerned that there was a theme.

Your personality should be the link and the theme.

I remember when I was starting out in the early '40s. Looking back, it seemed as though everyone was trying for "linking routines". I think it was the vaudeville influence. A magic act ran perhaps 8=16 minutes. You could do that sort of routine in a short act. I know that I TRIED to do it, but, gave up!

A great example of character driving "theme" of tricks is Pop Haydn. There's great thread on the development of his character (thereby the themes around his routines) here in the Café:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&start=0

I sometimes ask my spectators, "What stuff do magicians use?"
They give replies like "money", "cards", "ropes" etc.

Whatever they say, I use.
If they don't say what I use, I help them or I just take out a prop and, mostly, they recognise it as a magicians prop.

The theme is what magicians use and the audience seem to catch that.

Privately, I call my act Double R, Triple C.
Ropes, rings, coins, card and cups.

It works for me.

That sounds odd to me Tom. In my experience most people don't have any opinion about what close up magician's do. They know about rabbits from hats and sawing a woman in two.

If it is true that your audience has a pre-conceived notion of what a close up magician does....why would you want to underline the fact that you do exactly that?

I did manage to build a sequence of tricks that I am very pleased with. The theme is "paper recycling" and goes from newspaper to a drink to a silk to money. I set it to music. I wish I could set up more of my parlour show with items that flow from one to another in the same way.

Richard

Meet Magic Mike is right on. Any theming would be overshadowed by the sheer enjoyment of the magic and routine. I go from chop cup to turbo stick to whatever, a bunch of others. Sometimes my "transition" is "How about another trick?" The kids and adults are like "Absolutely!!" The theming or transitions are just not as important as the fun! Of course, if you can do that, well that's fun too. I sometimes go from the sponge ball climax (lots of balls) to Extreme Burn. I ask the child, "Woah!!! Can you do that with money?" Everybody laughs. The I'll whisper "Do any of you work for the IRS?" So that's fun, but whatever. Extre Burn blows them away. Doesn't matter how I transitioned into it.

And turbo stick flows smoothly into sponge balls if you use one of the suggested presentations on the DVD.

Richard

Yes and no

When I worked Busch as the first strolling performer at any amusemant park, so I was told, every effect was medieval style. That's to say, my Ring and String was an alabaster bracelet and a string. Every move was a slight as opposed to employing gimmicks. Most other routines could have been performed in that time period (not that they were) except for an ID and a few card color changes which were all slights.

The tricks included
Ball Escapo
A few paddles
Color cube
Ring and string moves, all slights
3 inch linking rings
three colored balls and a silk
A rope, you do as I do knot tying
A thumb tie with cord or wrist tie with rope
Other rope effects snapping a knot, tying 5 loops, double knots at each end
Spellbound with english money
And you get the idea. I tried to perform non metal looking things using patter (stories) that went with the routines and the time period.

That was at the amusement park because I was a prince or a wizard in Merry Ol England http://jayleslie.com/graphics/jaylesliep......romo.jpg
It was then easy to do the same effects for my leg of the HP bus/book tour. http://jayleslie.com/graphics/INDEX%20pi......agic.jpg which was a joy to perform because the patter was very close to what I did at Busch.

However, at restaurants or for strolling I do a variety of tricks with oversize objects, sleight of hand and occasionally something electronic - so the only theme is, I do what the audience responds to, with the greatest joy
("responds to, with the greatest joy" equates to various demoniations of joy handed to me in appreciation of the joy I bring)

Mike,

I don't ask about close-up magicians, just magicians in general.
Just about everyone says cards and rings. Perhaps because these are very well known.
The others are sometimes mentioned but at times I have to lead them to it.

It works for me.

I use one theme: MAGIC.

When doing camp-strolling in Medieval settings years ago I would hand out a basket of assorted items,
various coins, rings, balls, rope, etc.

A spectator would select and item and I would perform with it, occasionally asking for another item to match.

I could continue as long as time allowed. So, the theme was "any object" with no question about "examining things"

I became very adept at switching items during the hand-off.

Sometimes I'll use money and my own ineptitude as a theme to link some coin tricks together. I have a routine for kids that I call "Why I don't do coin tricks," where I do a series of 3 tricks in which I seemingly have no idea what I'm doing and keep "messing up" which is really when the magic happens and; therefore, that's why I don't do coin tricks! It's funny to hear kids say, "But you just did a trick!"

I also have an intro to my kids close up set that uses a bunch of props that all flow from one to another in a themed way. It works really well. I go from hot rods to some stop light cards and then I have two pencils that I use for vanishing pencil, pencil up the nose and the old 3 color prediction trick. One of the pencils is the "magic" pencil and matches the green, reflective stop light perfectly and one is the "wand" in the prediction trick. And during the pencil up the nose gag I make a hanky appear and vanish to "wipe" the pencil off. Silly kids stuff, but it works and keeps a running theme of matching, colors and silly gags and whatnot. It's quite a fun routine actually; I should do this one at the hospital.

And during my longer close up card sets I like to theme a few gambling demonstrations and then later, a few prediction tricks together.

Like everyone else has said above though, the main theme is magic and fun with no real theme linking most of my act.

Right on Richard! And sponge balls can flow smoothly into a color changing knife routine (or the more contemporary color changing flash drive by Chad Long).

Brass Block by Garrett Thomas changed my approach to linking tricks. I like to link by theme because the patter rolls, and you can avoid saying '...and for my next trick!'.
But whenever possible, If you can actually link props physically, perhaps with a call back to a the routine you began with, Its stronger.

That said, I like watching the 'trick after trick' approach too. I like the idea of a magicians pockets full of rope, rings, eggs, silks etc... and the magician bringing order to the chaos.

Garrett's "Brass Block" was a staple in my act for years. It's a perfect trick construction, and will definitely change how you think about set transitions.