Hello Mario, it seems the link is not working anymore, could you kindly point me to that material ?
thanks!

Hi DrVG,

Check out The School of Busking website, that is where you can get Mario's instruction download, lessons, and props.

https://www.schoolofbusking.com


Good luck!

Eldini

Lonnie Chevrie also has a trap routine on his Penguin Lecture. It's what inspired me to get one. I've done various versions of it...all using cards. Sometimes I have trap spring on my hand, other times not.

It's more impactful when it closes on hand, but found it contradicts the danger. If I'm telling the audience it's so dangerous, why am I not hurt? After they gasp, they conclude it's not that dangerous. So I'm reworking it, making it a story about my Great Grandfather who would sell his Iron Elixir: Makes for Strong Mind and Body. He would use the trap as way to lure spectators. I swig the Elixir during routine. So when trap closes on my hand, it explains why it doesn't crush it. Still working on script.

A couple of other things. I demo the trap by demolishing an "animal bone" (breadstick painted with white non-toxic paint). It looks impressive, and any crumbs are left for birds to eat.

I aslo distressed my trap to make it look old. I bought the plan steel trap from abbotts. I painted the edges with a rust colored paint. When dried, I cover the "rust" with vaseline. Then spray painted the trap with Rustoleum's Black "Hammered" paint. It gives it texture like hand forged trap. When black paint dries, wipe it down...the spots where the vaseline was comes off, and you're left with "rust spots."

Makes for a much more dangerous looking trap.

That's where I saw it, too - a hilarious routine. I'm not a card guy but that routine definitely made me want to buy a trap and practice!

This is a case where I feel it's fine that the audience concludes the trap's not seriously dangerous. Once it's snapped on your hand, and they've reacted, it's served it's purpose and you want to bring the audience back to "we're just having a bit of fun here", no?

In that routine, the snap is the climax, and the reveal of the card is the "pressure release" of that anxiety/tension of the trap snapping.

On an artistic level, there's some value in letting it snap and having the crowd walk away thinking they'd just seen a guy shatter his hand, but on a theatrical/magical level it's a much better net result for them to walk away knowing it was all part of the show.

I've always believed that rules are there to be broken once you understand why they're there in the first place and in this case I think the trap serves it's purpose of causing anxiety and danger and fear, and then allows comedic relief of all that built up tension when it snaps on his hand. You kinda, somewhat, sorta know it's coming but if you've never snapped your hand in a leg hold trap, then how would you know it's not going to snap the magicians hand like the animal bone you just saw get dusted.

Plus, him revealing the card in the trapped hand is such a hilarious image.

I like idea of having the whole deck on the trap, instead of just one card as Lonnie does it. One show I has spectator pick a card, sign it. Control to top. Place deck on trap.

I then stole a piece of wax on tip of middle finger. Thrust hand down, drive middle finger into top card. Trap snaps shut tight onto hand. I yank it up, shaking it. Cards flying everywhere...people gasping, may have even heard a scream or two. When I stop shaking hand, only card I'm left holding is their card. It was beautiful. But impractical for street as I had to pick up all the cards...