Aloha everyone,

Looking for a Big finale for family show. I read good things about the Parker Swan dollhouse from the dealers, but I would like to get the opinions from the guys out there that are performing it or have seen it performed before I invest in yet "another prop". Any help or advice on this will be deeply appreciated.

Wayne

I was interested in this once and the response was that it wasn't very deceptive.

Mel

A more deceptive one CAN be built, if you can "Do-It-Yourself." It's Jim Gerrish's Magic House of Mystery in his Hardboard and Duct Tape Book 2 (on my site). His version makes a little old fashioned Magic Shoppe out of the prop, but you can make a Doll House, Santa's House, a Castle, a Circus Tent... whatever! Jim gives instructions for making the table base one that you can see through, and also a table that you can use all during your act until you are ready to present the House of Mystery effect.

Buy the Dollhouse illusion from Dennis Loomis.

http://www.loomismagic.com/lmp.html

Don't believe they are looking at the same effect laci.

Loomis is for a person, Swan's for items, is this not right??

Blair Marshall
"ShaZzam!"

We use the Parker Swan Dollhouse to produce a rabbit as our opening bit for family shows all the time. It's a good looking prop and audiences enjoy it.

We assemble it on stage in front of the audience, a piece at a time and then lift off the roof and pick up the rabbit. Next, I reach in, pull out a roll of toilet paper, unravel 8 to 10 feet of it and produce our first dove.

We have never used it as a vanish, but it would work as a tear apart vanish no problem too.

One other thing, it cannot be done surrounded as there are some angle issues to consider.

All the best,

Rob

Blair,
I know Loomis is a person. I ordered book from Loomis already. I thought about his disc so if they want they can build it the Dollhouse illusion. That's why I gave the link.

http://www.magicnook.com/hardboard/Book2.htm

Thanks to laci200 for mentioning my name. However, the Parker Swan Doll House is very different, and as mentioned, it not generally used to produce a person. So, if you're looking for a rabbit production, that's one way to go.

Best to all.

Dennis Loomis

Laci the Loomis doll's house is to produce a person, not items.
(as in "Loomis is FOR a person")

And I agree the plans that Dennis sells are great for the Doll's House. Now if only Steinmeyer would release a series of DVD plans.

Blair Marshall
"ShaZzam!"

(P.S. Dennis - I still have some invites for your party, think it was Philly, are they still good??? LOL Geez, we were a lot younger back then!!!)

I can certianly see the confusion in the name Dollhouse for this illusion.

Dennis', I have the plans, but as of yet to build it, is for producing a person.

The Parker Swan Dollhouse is not a person producer. They would have to be extremely tiny, under 18" tall and less than 10 pounds to fit inside this one.

You can find a drawing and description on Hank Lee's site

http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=3386

All the best,

Rob

Blair,
I assume you're talking about the SSS? I'm afraid that the organization never was very "organized" and not much has been going on. But...

Will you be at Magic Live in August?

Dennis Loomis

Don' get out (of town) much these days. Hopefully in the next year things will be at a level where I can take some time off!!!

BM

If looking for a parker Swan original check out his lecture notes on How to force a watermelon. Absolutly Hillarious and amazing. you will not be able to follow it with any other routine.

Thank you for the great posts to this thread gentlemen, you gave me a lot to think about.


Wayne

Michael,

Did you ever see Parker perform this effect???

It was great!

Blair Marshall
"ShaZzam!"

When I saw Parker Swan perform his act in the 1970's, I was amused by his Dollhouse routine, but not by the Dollhouse prop itself. It wasn't until Jim Gerrish began tinkering with making the table a see-through model that I found any real use for it.

The reason I bought Parker Swann's lecture notes ($2.00!) on "How to Force a Watermelon" was to get the script for another hilarious routine of his: The Great Jewel Robbery or How to Stretch a Two Minute Trick Into a Twenty Minute Routine. That went right into my kid's shows and soon after I began making my own variations including a Star Wars version right after the movie came out.

Despite years of study of his notes, I still have not mastered the art of back palming a watermelon.

The Parker Swan doll house is pretty good, but the patter gets a little unwarranted hype, if you ask me. The effect plays well and the doll house has a larger load capacity than many livestock productions, but I also like Barry Mitchell's pet presto (a cage in which rabbit "appears" and solves your problem of having to put the rabbit back in cage before dozens of fawning kids who want to pet the poor bunny) and also the Rabbit Wringer and the Rainbow Box. The doll house is good and ranks with these but is not awe-inspiring on its own (needs showmanship).

Im bringing this topic back up as I was wondering how the angles are. Someone in one of the posts on the dollhouse said that angles can be an issue. How drastic do the angles have to be?

I would like to use it daycares, libraries, and holiday shows where the audience can be as close as a few feet away. Will it work in these situations?

Both the Parker Swan Dollhouse and the Magic House of Mystery (in Jim Gerrish's Hardboard and Duct Tape Book 2 on my site) can be performed in the situation you describe, unless you totally lack the ability to control your audience and you have kids sitting behind you and one clinging to each of your legs. Then you would be better off with a completely surroundable production like Jim Gerrish's WAH Production Box from The Wizards' Journal #10. But if you are buying and not into making, the Parker Swan Dollhouse will do just fine.

Aren't there plans for the Parker Swan Dollhouse out there? Spellbinder, will your plans you speak of cover the load section?

Doc