Greetings Café Members,'

Thought you might like a look at a new illusion from Dan Summers. Its called FOUL PLAY. Here is a video of Ryan Joyce performing it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ-m1kbbB4c

Best,

Tim

Could only get half the video on youtube. But look good.

Anyone had better luck....

Tim, didn't Mr Summers have 2 versions of this illusion? I know he sent me the info and offered it to me last year but not completely sure. Gotta check my old e-mails.


Posted: Jan 7, 2007 1:16pm
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Ok, it is only one. Mr Summers had 2 "Foul Plays" in Oct. available, one as we can see. Ryan got the 1st one produced.
If you could not view the youtube, here it is again:

http://www.danielsummers.com/FoulPlay2006.wmv

Nice touch with the silk on the swords and at the end.

Lance

That is one sweet prop! Deceptive as heck and has a small footprint, which is an added bonus!

Great illusion but the swords look a bit weak....

JA

Hmm,, I like it.. but it seems when you place the swords in, it is very bulky and not smooth..... Very nice effect....

As cool as the effect is, how different is this from the "slide the rack of spikes through the girl" which Mark Kalin was selling the rights to a number of years back? I can also see a definite resemblance, though an entirely different method, to Kirby's kiosk. And, doesn't Steinmeyer have the rights to a sliding spikes thing also? Don't get me wrong, I am all for protecting the rights, (both building and performance rights) to the rightful owners, but some things, of course, fall into a grey area. This has been discussed many times here before. One can't claim rights to sticking an object through a container which contains a person, but the striking similarity that this illusion has to others has me surprised that no one has cried foul. Thoughts?

Phil

That was the 1st things coming in my mind, when I saw this video today.
And for the lay there is no difference at all.

Took long enough for a vid! lol.. seen ryan perform it twice its amazing! even while packing it away it looked good!

Kudos to you both for being concerned that magic ethics are being upheld. With that said... keep in mind that there are countless methods of floating a girl yet they can all be called " floating a girl". You'd never consider a chair suspension to be the same thing as an aga levitation but they are still " floating a girl" in the laymans eyes. We as magicians understand two different methods and thus are not confused.

Long before most of us here were into magic, Jack Gwynne created his " Temple of Banarius" (sp?) where swords were thrust into a box and then the girl vanished and to the layperson it may have looked just like a standard swordbox but we as magicians understood it used a totally different method and didn't cry foul to Jack.

Spikers have been around for a long time and many methods have been used. This method of concealment I can assure you is unique to any spiker ever built and not a copy. It was designed to bring a "spiker type" illusion to the performer who doesn't want to haul a huge 6 or 7ft long table around with them. The footprint on this table is 3ft by 4ft so it can be easily transported and performed on large stages OR in cabaret type shows.

Not to nit pick but they are swords not spikes.

Best,

Tim

Yes, the spikes through thing has been done but the method on this is different.
I must say it's amazing that Mr. Summers can take his Death Drop gimmick, turn it around and get a whole new effect out of it.

Lance

First off thank you for the positive comments in regards to our performance. Foul Play certainly is a gem.

I did want to chime in here because Tim brought up some great points. The illusion is an amazingly innovative 'spiker' without the bulk. For a touring application like ours it’s a dream. We are trucking around 7000lbs of lighting, sound etc etc and somewhere in there we have to find space for all the illusions!

To get the ‘spiker’ effect without having to transport around a huge base is really worth its weight in gold. This past year we performed Foul Play some 115 times and not only did it kill in terms of audience perspective but for us we didn’t have to sacrifice the much needed space.

Oh I must add, it’s so darn deceptive!

Best,

Ryan

So what's it cost and who's building them?

Keith Jozsef

Call Mr Summers I can't remember what he told me the price would be but I THINK it was around $6,000.

Hi Guys,

The story behind this one is an interesting one. This design was actually created before Death Drop but never built until recently when Dan wanted to see what one looked like in the real world instead of in a notebook. He released this one only as a favour and I don't think he has plans to market them anytime soon.

Best,

Tim

Ryan:

Beautiful routine - well done!

I think that this variation on the Spiker theme will generate a lot of interest because of it's small footprint.

Chris

Chris,

Thank you very much!
You are 100% correct, it's a nice and compact illusion!

Best,

Ryan

Above all I feel its a good illusion, does the job, looks cool and I feel its not a magic ethics problem but it is good to be concerned guys. Nice job Ryan!

JA

Wow- earlier I said that I didn't see how this was anything more than just another spiker. Then I watched the video again and realized that the table really is that small. The actual method flew right past me the first time so let me say again- WOW. I have never seen Death Drop performed but the method on these two is pure genious. Good job Daniel!

Phil