I've just bought Axtell's lion puppet, and I'm now racking my brains trying to come up with a good routine for him. I want something totally different than what I do with Scamp my dog puppet. I've got a basic intro patter for him but need a trick for him to do. I'm looking at doing Who's Who at the zoo. I can do all the mechanics of the trick one handed except operate the folder and reveal at the end. It's hard to open the folder and control the monkey popping out at the sides one handed. So I am looking for a different way for the Monkey to reappear. It has to be done one handed, while operating a puppet and it has to involve a helper and lots of audience participation. One idea was to make a stand where the monkey is hidden behind a bit of felt, which I can cover with a silk and then I can remove the felt as I lift the silk up to show the monkey.
Has anyone got any other Ideas? Cheers

I take it from the lack of response that like me you can't come up with an alternative trick or idea on how to produce the monkey somewhere else.

How about approaching it in a different way. Forget the lion puppet for the moment. What good tricks /routines can anyone come up with that can be done totally one handed.

Sorry Guys, I forgot to stipulate I mean one handed Children's Tricks/ routines

Clive

Have you considered Where's that Tiger, by Terry Burgess.

It's now obtainable from Albion Magic http://www.albionmagiccompany.co.uk/

It's part of their Terry & Norma range of Magic.

There is also a Monkey insert which i have as well as the Tiger insert.

Hope this may help you?

Mark Andrews

Cheers Andrew. I'll have a look at it. As the puppet is a lion, I think it's nice to have a animal theme to the trick. It's the one handed bit that makes things hard. Scamps routine is a silk trick useing a change bag so a similar trick was out of the question.

Hi,
What about a circus routine using Laflin's Comic Silk Set (four cartoon silks without heads like the old edwin plaques).

Personaly I have used Charlies invisible message by David Ginn with the silks and forced the clown having the Laflin clowns head silk as the prediction in the crystal cube. It would also mean that you could get 4 helpers on stage too.
Phillip

Hi Phil. With one hand operating the puppet it would be awful hard work, plus the routine will be used in every show. In most front rooms I work there's usually just enough room for me and 1 helper let only 4, but thanks for the input.

Mark, I looked at the Albion magic site, but didn't find anything I liked. I think they need to redesign the graphics on a lot of their stuff as it all looked a bit old fashioned.

As I said, I've got a set of Who's Who at the Zoo I can use now, there is lots of scope for fun, mis-calling noises etc, plus they fit in with the lion. It's just I'd like to come up with a different ending. I can't open the folder and have the monkey peeking out the side and then bring him round into the folder with one hand. I don't want to have him appear in a change bag. I would like him to appear in something the assistant is holding. I've got most of the routine in my head now, it's just the ending.

I'm hoping to use him for the first time next week if I can solve that problem.

Hi,
How about having a kind of bag with a strap saying Zoo Keeper so that you an take the different foods for each animal out of the bag (latex or sponge). The bag being a change bag but with velcro on the food side so that once the food is taken out you can lock that compartment. You can put the bag around the helper's neck and say not to give the monkey his Banana until he has done his trick. But the monkey is found in the bag along with a banana skin!
Phillip

Nice idea Phil. I'll have a good think. Last night I dug out a frame I made for a Christmas trick, it uses a bit of felt. I had the monkey behind the felt and covered it with a large silk, lifted the silk away taking the felt with me and the monkey appeared. Very visual and I can do it one-handed.

I like the idea of the food. When I designed the trick it was made so as a picture was placed in the top it lifted the felt so when the front was removed the picture had changed. So maybe I could show the animals, make the monkey disapear. Show the frame Empty, put a zoo front on it. Show pictures of the food and get the kids to chose the banana, place this in the top which would lift the felt remove the front and there's the monkey. Maybe I could call the frame a monkey trap and we need the banana as bait.

Thanks Phil sorry for rambling, my brain went into auto.

I know I keep talking about the same things in my posts but here goes. Set up six cards on a music stand or somehow. Walk over to the stand and have the lion talk about each card. What does each card say? It doesn't matter, you put what ever you want to that fits your program. The lion proceeds to say that he is the best guesser that ever lived. You then proceed to talk to him more. You pick a child to give you a number between 1-6 and the lion uses the old Hot Rod force on the child to produce the only one card marked on the back and that one will be the one the child landed on.

Or maybe a bag that has site gags that you set on table then proceed like I said except with obects not cards.
Hope this helps

A good idea, but it would work better if I vented the lion, but as the lion only talks to me sooty style it wouldn't be quite as funny.

I've been thinking on Phils idea with the food, and I found a brilliant gag built in. I've made several cards with food for the zoo animals on the Who's Who cards.

Doughnuts for the elephant, fish for the seal, meat for the lion, bananas for the monkey and a mouse for the snake. But the mouse in the picture is a computer mouse. I'm sure the kids will soon tell me that it's the wrong sort of mouse. Anyway I'm going to call the empty frame a monkey trap and as the monkey has vanished we need something to bait the trap. The kids will chose the bananas. I'll push the banana card into the top of the frame, (which lifts the felt), we'll do a bit of magic and when I open the door to the trap the monkey will be there. Tried it this morning before I went to my first show and it worked a treat. So I'm going to run through it a few times and have it ready for Thursday. Thanks for all your help, guys, Even if I havn't used your sugestion it's been a big help.

Do the puppet's hands work like a normal glove uppet (a la Sooty)? Or is this a puppet whose mouth moves, rendering the arms less than useful? What can the puppet do to accomplish the trick?

0pus

It seems a shame for that beuatiful lion puppet to be mute. Maybe if you can't do a believeable lion voice you could do deep roar/growl (a la Sweep). Is Scamp mute as well?

Have you considered using a pre-recorded script for him to lip sync to?

Yes they both talk to me. I've never found it a problem. The kids love Scamp and have never questioned it. Sooty was on TV for years, I think he's still going, and he only spoke into the blokes ear. His sidekick Sweep only Squeaked.

When I first got Scamp I did think of the lip sync idea, but it leaves no room for adlib. I tried a bit of vent, but couldn't really do it with a decent voice (OK OK,I admit it, my lips kept moving as well).

I have a Lion Puppet (I think Folkmanis). Since he is new to the program I tell the families that he is a PIT. That is Puppet in Training.

I tell them his first name is Dan. His middle name is Demitrius but he goes by D. So his name is Dan D. (pause) wait for completion.

His character is more like the cowardly lion.
He is a vegetarian. (had to lower his cholesterol- Doctors orders.)

Check out Bill Boleys book on Magic and Vent.

You might also think about floating him and use a comical "flaming ring" to go over him. The ring would have paper flames attached. I gave up using real fire a long time ago. The disaster at the club back east confirmed my decision.

Harris Deutsch
Laughologist

Thanks for the ideas, one thing with the Axtell lion is the size and weight, (he's not only heavy on the pocket) which means to use him comfortably I have him sit up on his box on a stand next to my magic box.
This has caused problems with performing the show in small living rooms. I've had to adapt my performance to suit as his box and stand take up a bit of room. Any trick I do has to fit on top of my magic table.

Anyway I used him for the first time a week ago and the kids seemed to like him. I'm doing the Who's Who at the Zoo routine and trying new bits out each time, probing the kids for reactions, waiting for the gem to drop from the kids mouths. Even though he's going down very well, it will take a couple of months of performing before his routine has evolved into a really good one, that I'm happy with. Thanks again for all your help.

Just saw this thread and I have had some thought into one handed magic tricks, since I also use an Axtell puppet (the Vern bird). One of the reasons I use my left hand for the puppet (I am right handed) is so that I can do the magic stuff in my dominant right hand (you have to make this choice and stick with it when using a bird with the arm illusion since you have to buy it either in a left or right hand version).

If you think about it, a one hand change bag really needs two hands! (you need an extra hand to take the object out of the bag).

I have used two tricks with the bird puppet. A do a one handed knot in rope trick and I also do a silk trick using a Lafflin silk can, which has a 36" silk appear at the end. The problem with large silks (particularly print silks) is that you need two hands to display them, but I get my puppet to help by holding one end with its beak. Perhaps you can have the lion hold things in its mouth to help with a trick. The spot can trick is another that can be done with one hand.

The one handed change bag may work with the bird puppet if the puppet can pull out the silk with his beak. I am not sure if it makes sense for a lion to do it with its mouth, unless he thinks there is food in the bag. A chop cup may work too.

BTW, I love the Axtell product line of puppets. They have some great puppet characters.

Dan; I just got Vern the Bird from Steve A. a few weeks ago. He (Vern not Steve) will make his first public appearance next week at a retreat for disabled children in the Poconos. I think he will be a hit since he is very colorful and very goofy-looking.

I am right-handed and use the right hand arm illusion though. I see your point about having the domninant hand available for use.
By now I am used to the right hand set-up however and also have found that it is somewhat fatiguing to hold Vern up for more than 5 minutes or so. We'll see how he does at the retreat.

Emezdad: Thanks for the reports on the Lion.
I have only seen photos of him on the Axtell web site and he does look very massive, but very impressive. Axtell makes great quality products.

I'm right handed, and use my right hand to operate the lion, mainly because my magic box is always on my left side. As I only have to move a few props and hand out wands I don't find it a problem. With the Who's Who at the Zoo trick, all I have to do is have the cards on the stand and move the front one to the back for each animal, then do a double lift when I turn the monkey round.

Following on from my last post, today I had the biggest and best audience since I started useing him, a room full of 40 primary school kids. Their reaction shows I'm on the right track, they loved the lion I've called him Marmite, and the noise when they made the animal noises was deafening.

Doug, I know where your coming from when you say your arm gets tired, the lion is quite heavy which is why he performs sitting on his box.

Dan, I've used a one handed change bag with Scamp my dog puppet for 7 years. The assistant always put the silks in it, and took them out which meant all I had to do was hold it.