Hey all,
I work for the U.S. Postal service as a letter carrier. I am in the early stages of developing a stage act using a "Postal" theme. Some thoughts I'm working on are,
T&R newspaper, 3 fly with stamps, Cards across using post cards, and something with Strat-O-Sphere, not sure yet.
Would really appreciate some ideas using postal items, Mailboxes, letters, Stamps, packages etc..

Please no "Going postal" jokes!

Thanks.

Things with stamps travel, and the stamps get cancelled? There is a very nice short story about someone who gets stamps from some magical far away country.

The zombie floating parcel? Should be possible with the normal Z G......k and lightweight parcel.

Or die box routine with double "mail box" and "parcel".

Both of above are good for stage. I'm not sure how well normal size stamps would come across for stage work. A bit too small and fiddly to see?

The Magic Coloring Book used to have a Stamp Collector's book counterpart. You would show a blank scrapbook and an envelope of assorted stamps, then the stamps would disappear and reappear pasted in place inside the scrapbook. I haven't seen it lately, but it is something you could easily make. Because of the quantity of the stamps involved, this does work for the stage.

The Wizards' Journal #3 has a nice effect called "Letter From Home" which involves an unopened letter dating from the American Civil War that contains a prediction for the present day. It comes with Civil War stamp & antique envelope facsimilies for that authentic look.

Some of the display material available at the Post Office would lend itself to adaptation. You could get some of those large pictures of stamps and do a version of the McCombical deck with them, for example.

Postal Order to Lemon or other impossible location

Ammar has some good material on switches and the use of monkey nuts in his money magic vids. Money would be quite appropriate or a postal theme as it's used a lot at post offices. Marked coin to sealed envelope in jiffy bag in nesting postal boxes in the middle of a bubble wrapped parcel would be another effect.

You could also do a joke about "going civilian."

Thanks guys, love the ideas! Great idea, Bill on "Going Civilian" I'll defenitly persue that as well as all the other ideas. Keep em coming..
Thanks,
Chris

Stage you say?
Maybe something with big 'Gozinta Boxes'.

Let's see....
Mail Carriers have an age old and ongoing relationship with dogs.
Dog leash, chain, bone, a juicy steak,,,,nope, nothing yet. Grrrr.

Wow! Great ideas! Thanks for the feedback! Thinking of using my mailbag to work out of and implementing all these great ideas. Thanks, Jaz for the dog ideas never thought of that aspect. Again, thanks for coming through.

Chris...

Mail bag escape perhaps. Sub-Trunk painted as a large package.

A prediction effect where the prediction was mailed to someone, you could play on the fact that the postal security and Postmaster General have had it in there possession so you know that it has not been tampered with.

If you absolutely MUST use the Strat-o-spheres, here is a suggestion. Repaint "The box" so that it has the USPS logo on it. Make it into a special "Super Express Mail" device. You might want to repaint the tube as well. I think you get the drift, though.

Have you noticed the nice teddy bears they sell? Think Ted Lesley and go for it!

How about the boxes and envelopes. Much to think about there.

The postal version of the coloring book is detailed in Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. It actually involves more than just the book. Not a bad idea for your theme.

Alan

Somewhat dangerious but appriopriate for a Post Office routine you could do the bullet catch in the teeth routine. You borrow a gun from a member of the audience... Making things disappear would be pretty good too since we all know mail gets lost.

On a more positive note a simple 3 cup monte trick would be pretty easy to adopt to a postal theme. Use packages instead of cups. You could gussy it up with the appropriate postal humor. Another idea is doing a mentalist routine where you read the illegible address on the envelope. You can poke a bit of good natured fun at the customers whose handwriting or addresses verge on the ridiculious. By the way I think the U.S. Postal service is first rate. If only the P.O. would lose some of my bills, those things never get lost!

How about something with a nest of boxes? Or something that got lost and was found inside the nest? Or something with a damaged parcel?

Many many years ago my Mom worked for the PO. In the postal worker's magazine there was a cartoon of a guy in a sorting room staring at a package. The thing was a cone about three feet high... standing and balanced on its point. I asked for and received permission to send the cartoon to the Linking Ring, and they published it.

Been wondering about that package ever since.

LePaul's Card to envelope, Dingle's Cards Across in Envelopes, zip code memory act, victory carton illusion, inexaustable box to illustrate getting the most in a package...

so many to choose from, so little time.

Wow! Fantastic ideas! Plenty to keep me busy for awhile. Thanks.

--Chris