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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Hi guys. I have an idea for a Renn Fest act and I was hoping to get your input. I've been reading the other threads and you guys seem to be utterly brutal, which is exactly the sort of punishment I'm into. You also all tend to have great ideas and adjustments on things.
Anyhow, I've been a working pro for some time but escapes are fairly new to me in magicians terms ("Fairly New": been working on it for about three years). The act is called THE SWORDS, STUNTS AND ESCAPE SHOW. Here are the effects, tell me what you think. 1. Sword Stunts: This is a variety of stunts and tricks that I do with a sword. Things like chopping things out of a spectator's hands while blindfolded, throwing up an apple and slicing it in midair, juggling swords, balancing three swords placed end for end on my chin, stuff like that to get the crowd attracted to my show. 2. The Web of Arachne: This is basically the 100 Ft rope escape with a twist. After the 100 ft of rope are tied around me, a sheet with a hole cut in it is placed over my head (Adorned with a spiderweb design of course). Then three lassos are placed over me and tightened, which are held by three spectators. A drumbeat sounds slowly and on every fifth beat the spectators take a step clockwise, further wrapping the strands around me. I have to escape before I am completely caught in the web. 3. Stocks/Pillory escape. This I custom built for the show. It works a bit different from other pillory escapes in that the holes in the stocks aren't in a horizontal line, the two holes for the hand are below the head. You place your hands through the holes and then they're held with an iron bar/shackle restraint on the other side. The shackles are something I created myself out of plumbing materials and have a (sort of?) unique method. The shackles can be examined, the locks on the shackles can be examined, and the pillory (and lock on the pillory) can be examined. Then everything is put in place and a giant canvas is placed over me and the stocks, and I escape from the stocks. When I come up, the shackles are still locked and in place. I then take the canvas off the pillory and it can be examined. When I take the canvas off, it's on top of my hands and I escape from the shackles as the spectator examines the stocks. The shackles are the "In and out Spirit cuff" variety. 4. Pirate bag: I've taken a mail bag and emblazoned a skull and crossbones on it, explaining that extremely undesireables didn't even walk the plank, they were put in a bag and thrown overboard. This is an examinable full view Mail Bag escape from Cannons Great Escapes (which sadly, closed down). The lock is a combination lock and the spectators see you pull and force your hand out, and then manually spin each dial until you manage to free yourself. 5. Cut In Half: To add variety, I'm including one illusion. A half box is placed over a willing assistant from the audience. The woman lies on a table on a table and the box has the words "Medieval Healthcare" or "Medieval Chirgury". The box obscures the middle torso of the woman. Swords are placed in the box, and then the top of the box is opened and a mannequin bloody torso is removed. Then the sides of the box are opened and you can see clear through where her torso was, it's evidently disappeared. The torso is placed back in side the box and the swords removed, the woman is now restored. 6. William Tell Outdone: I set up a crossbow on a swivel mount all the way stage left. I attach a rope to the trigger and stand all the way stage right and tie the rope to my foot (so that when I pull the rope with my foot the crossbow fires.) I am wearing full armor including a helmet with a spike on the top. I throw a melon up into the air and catch it on the spike on top of my helmet. I pull the rope with my foot and the arrow lies across the stage and pierces the melon. Before anyone freaks out that I'm going to kill myself, let me just say that I'm going to be wearing full armor including a steel helmet and eye protection under the helmet. 7. The Sword of Damocles: A sword is tied to a rope, and hoisted up a gallows type structure so that it dangles over a block of wood with an iron ring mounted in it. I'm attached by the audience to the iron ring with a Siberian chain type escape. The rope that the sword is tied to goes down from the gallows at an angle and is attached to a barrel of water on its handle. There is a plug at the bottom of the barrel attached to a piece of string which an audience member holds. The Audience does a ten second countdown and then the plug is pulled. The water drains out of the barrel it becomes lighter and starts to tip, causing the rope to slip off the handle. The sword comes hurtling down and I escape and roll out of the way just in time for the sword to fall and stick into the block. PSHEW! So what do you guys think? Any thoughts? Any suggestions? Any incredibly harsh criticism? Would you want to go see this show?
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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Kondini Inner circle 3609 Posts |
How many lorries does it take to transport it ????
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dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Quote:
On 2012-09-02 10:47, magicbymccauley wrote: Wrong sort of web site let alone forum.... |
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Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
I am assuming your patter and skill level are good, and that you are at least a competent showman.
I would love to see and act like that one. Good family entertainment.
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Kondini:
Actually, ease of transport and everything is absolutely essential to the whole thing. I've got to drive to various places to do the act, and everything fits in my Toyota Corrola (just slightly bigger than a compact car). Swords don't take up a lot of space, so long as they aren't too long. The stocks escape fits in the back seat. The ropes and sheets take up little space. The pirate/mail bag doesn't take up much space at all. The crossbow and the tripod aren't actually that big when closed and/or taken apart, and the illusion box is hinged and folds flat. The only two things confounding me in terms of size: A base for the poles for the Sword of Damocles (which I haven't really built yet). I'm thinking a lump of bucket sized concrete with maybe some legs? The wind might be a problem too with that one. How do you effectively secure an 18 foot pole so it doesn't fall down, yet can be easily transported? The other thing that confounds me is a table for the woman to lie on for the illusion box. You can use any table with the box, but a table which safely supports a full sized human is likely too big for my car. (Maybe not, but I have to look around). The other nice thing about the act is that it doesn't use any assistants at all. I'm actually going to have a gong, a drum and maybe some chimes or a slide whistle and call up people from the audience to play them (that way you get the sound effects/music without having to hire anyone). Also everything is (relatively) cheap and I made myself. Total cost for all the props is less than $1000, which isn't bad for all the enormously huge stage sized things I'm doing. Granted, there's been a lot of blood sweat and tears along the way. The stocks took 3 solid days of work and obviously the whole act has consumed (and will continue to consume until it's ready) a lot of my time.
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Cliff:
Thanks a lot! The idea was to get as much bang for the buck as I could possibly get. I've been to many Renn Fests and all I could think of was "Come on! We can do more than that! We can do bigger than that!". I just found many of the magic entertainers would simply do six card repeat and rocky the raccoon with period clothes on. I mean, come on! There are no illusions, no escapes, no really cool stunts, and it just seems like the world deserves a better class of magic trick. There are exceptions to what I'm saying of course, but I really love these festivals and I want to give these audiences something special for their money's worth, not just a change bag and a rainbow streamer, you know what I mean? I feel like there are so few venues for escape artists, illusionists and magicians. Here's the perfect venue and I feel like people are squandering the opportunity that huge crowds, large stages and the whole ambiance of suspension of disbelief. We don't have night club acts so much anymore, and vaudville is gone. These fairs are one of the last places left where people can do weird and/or strange things for a paying audience. Let's make the most of it!
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Dave: This is the perfect website and forum. I tried http://www.handcuffmeandhateonme.com but the link didn't work.
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Mr McCauley ......
I will have a look at the link you posted(purely as an educational excercise of course) ...... However not just yet as my 10 year old is on the sofa next to me Check out the nitty bits sideshow. Very good stuff. Pole up in air. I have used a parasol base (big square metal one) to hold up a 30 ft aluminium mast (the sort USD by ham radio people) and guide ropes. That worked well. But even better has been a bike maintenance stand - big base, heavy duty. I suect a speaker stand would be similar weight wise and probably cheaper? |
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Kondini Inner circle 3609 Posts |
For the perfect ren act see Jonny Fox he has everything geared to this type of presentation. Saw him at the Annapolis Ren Fair on his 25th year appearance. That's the way to go with it.
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Kondini: I totally agree about Johnny Fox. I have watched him at the Maryland Renn Faire ever since I was a kid. His sword swallowing is incredible, his comic timing is perfect and his sleight of hand is unmatched. He is a personal hero and I hope I can ever have an act half as good as his. In fact, I'll be auditioning for the Maryland Faire so it is some stiff competition. I just don't want to do what so many magicians do which is a song and a dance with the same old props.
I don't know if I'd be a magician today if it hadn't been for Johnny Fox. He's really a pro and is good at every angle; skill, stunt, deception and comedy. A real tour d' force.
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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Harley Newman Inner circle 5117 Posts |
Johnny is one of those rare performers whose routines are remembered by audiences, years after they saw him. And he's a great guy!
Mac, you left out bladewalking and sword-swallowing. How come? Variety is the spice of life, and makes for a much better show than escapes alone, or mostly escapes. I don't like the number of escapes. I DO like the crossbow idea (and just helped one of my students develop a crossbow act). It's an idea with great potential. If you're working a Renn event, you should probably keep the show to 30 minutes.
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus” -Mark Twain
www.bladewalker.com |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Harley
The show is a little escape heavy, it's true and I could stand to lose one, and add something else. I haven't really seen ANY escapes or illusion at any renn fest, so those seem good options (I could add another illusion as long as it's portable). I'm not really going to do sword swallowing. Johnny Fox is already doing those, so it's sort of off limits. He does blockhead too. Everyone's already doing blockhead right and left anyway, and almost every ren fair already has a sword swallower anyhow. No sense in trying to do what other people do. Blade walking maybe, if I could give it a twist. Maybe something with a bed of nails or bed of swords? Jump on a bed of nails? Hot coals are kind of out. A glass walk? Another idea that I had was the old "guess the bag" game with an upturned knife and your hand, but make them swords instead of knives and then fall on each bag (falling on your sword) in turn. For a finale ending the sword could magically switch to another bag (right at the moment they think you are going to be impaled). Keeping the show to 30 minutes actually sounds tough, but I see what you mean. Trying to do a full hour can be too long, especially for someone like me who's new. Maybe throw in a bonna fide magic trick with a stunt sort of twist? Swords and Jumbo Cards?
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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Harley Newman Inner circle 5117 Posts |
You have five escapes. Cut it down to two, which have little apparent relation to each other.
If you choose to go the stunt route (what I did), doing a magical switch will discredit everything else you do. That doesn't mean you can't do something from the magic genre...just that you need to be verrrrry careful how you do it. There are many sword swallowers. Johnny is one. If your target venue is the Maryland fest, then yes, you should not do it in competition with him. For the stunt work, there are two places to train formally. One is Coney Island. The other is me. In the years I've been teaching, about half of my students went to Coney previously, and then came to me. So far, none went the other way around. http://bladewalker.com/www.bladewalker.com/Oddity_U.html
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus” -Mark Twain
www.bladewalker.com |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Harvey:
It would be an honor to train with you. So cool that you have a school which teaches this stuff. I also have a school of magic but it is far less impressive (LOL) http://www.mysteryacademy.com So name the time and the place, I would love to meet with you and exchange ideas. In any case, for escapes I've got the Rope Escape, the Pirate Bag Escape, the Sword of Damocles and the Stocks escape. I don't want to get rid of the sword of Damocles because it's my finale, and I don't want to get rid of the the Web of Aracne because it's so great in that it takes up THE WHOLE STAGE and has tons of audience participation, and the drumbeat to weave the web around me is just too cool. So it's the stocks or the bag escape that needs to go. Any thoughts on which one is stronger? Anyone?
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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dave_matkin Inner circle 4522 Posts |
Depends on you as to which is stronger.
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Kondini Inner circle 3609 Posts |
I worked with 4 Seasons Events the premier Ren Fest org in the UK for twenty years or more,,,funny they were set up by a Yank and mirrored the Fests in the USA.
A lot of very good info on this thread regards this type of entertainment especialy from Harley,,,I would make a point that if geared to a street style busking style set you cant go wrong. Also check out Isaac Fawkes who uses an in / out presentation to good effect. The most amusing thing to see from my perspective,,,were bricks and mortar stalls (In the UK we kept it to the original woods and canvas). Also the American version of the British accent!!!!! We creased up at that. But I will say value for ticket it was on the button. You gotta cut your content down. Ken. |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Kondini:
I have been very surprised at the incredible warmth of this new escapology community and all their advice. Obviously you can see that I am both a fan and a burgeoning escapologist and I really thank ALL OF YOU for helping me with this. You know I was thinking about my goals for this and it isn't so much money or another gig, but just to put on a really great show. I've heard many fairs don't pay so well, but I think having a venue to put on a really good and funny act is more important just to get my name out there and to "advertise" my services for better well paying gigs. And even if THAT doesn't work, screw it, it's about putting on a really great show and keeping some of these spectacles, stunts and stuff alive. Beyond that it's just about pushing the envelope from a performance perspective. I just want to do a REALLY GOOD act at Renfaire. I want to be satisfied with it and proud of it, above anything else.
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
Geeze, I'm thinking about it and you guys are right. This is too much stuff for just 30 minutes. I am going to have to cut a bunch of stuff. Especially since I'm going to take time calling people up, all sorts of jokes and gags with stuff and so forth. I think I'm going to do what I have here for some test audiences and then decide what material is stronger and which is weaker.
I could also go for a more varied format 1. Stunt Sword Stunts 2. Escape (Pick one: Stocks, Rope, or Bag) 3. Illusion (Cut out Middle) 4. Stunt Crossbow 5. Escape Sword of Damocles
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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Cliffg37 Inner circle Long Beach, CA 2491 Posts |
If the renfaire has a set of stocks used in a show, that would be a good set up for your stocks escape.
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right! |
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magicbymccauley Special user 830 Posts |
I mean, I think maybe I'm going to go with the stocks escape. It's the most IN PERIOD escape that I'm doing.
Thought of a funny angle. So they put me in the stocks and put the giant canvas over it to cover it. Then I rattle around trying to escape. As I'm rattling around under the canvas, all of the sudden a set of keys flies out onto the ground. "I just dropped the keys. You know, those would have been really useful." A few more seconds rattling around and a set of lockpicks flops onto the ground outside the stocks. "Gosh. There go my lockpicks and now I can't reach them. You know, those would have been really useful. Don't worry I can still get out." A few seconds go by and a full sized SAW flies out from under the canvas. "Yeah. Well. I don't know if I can get out of here now. That saw would have been really useful." A few seconds later a BANANA flies out from under the canvas. "You know that banana would have been really delicious." Anyway, you get the idea. So does anyone think it's a funny gag? Or are you all laughing at me on the inside?
"Tricks are about objects, Magic is about life."
-Max Maven |
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