Take what Dick Oslund says and LISTEN to it! Dick is a legend. He made his living for decades with a one-hour show that fit in a briefcase.

I had the pleasure (and privilege) of spending an entire weekend with Dick. I asked him to critique my show and help me improve. He proceeded (with my blessing) to RIP MY SHOW APART! And then, he began to show me how to build it back up.

My show is now much cleaner, simpler, easier to perform AND carry...and I believe better.

The public is so used to seeing (and I fell into this, as well) "proppy magic". I used a change bag (as do most magicians...beginners AND long-time vets). Dick pointed out that all the change bag does for an audience is tell them "gosh if I had a cool velvet bag that that I could do magic too". I had never thought of it that way...but he was spot on. If you MUST use a change bag, there are cleaner and more benign looking props to use. You can make your own change bag with a paper lunch sack, which will raise far less suspicion than a velvet bag with a fancy handle. There is also the Creative Magic Change Cap, which is a fantastic benign-looking prop. It might not work for a stage magician in a more formal setting, but for someone on the street or performing casually, it's perfect.

Dick also taught me to work with as many "dual purpose" props as possible (ropes, etc). These are familiar to the audience, don't look suspicious, and are easy to carry.

Just my 2 cents (1 3/4 cents after taxes).