David French,

Did you do it on your own table? I'm wondering if this sets a natural boundary which reduces the chances of this happening.

However, I did a holiday party last year and after I did the first stage of the Tricky Turvy bottles, a senior citizen lady walked up to me and looked right into the tube. She was shocked that the bottle turned upside-down and I was shocked that she did that. That's never happened before. But the trick went on very well, as she didn't ruin it for anyone else, only herself

One day I did the c'n b and a guy was trying toy grap my cups. I showed the audience my magic wand and asked them if they knew for what the wand is used for. they did not knew. I told them that is for people who touch or grap my stuff. a moment later agy did grap the cup and I hit his hand with my wand. he I told you so.

Caféinst-

No this was performed in a restaurant on one of the existing tables. I agree, if this was my table they may not try to touch things. My point is that this particular kid was already out of control before I got to the table. There are kids that just are like that...You can do all you wish to try to control them, but from time to time you will run into someone like this.

David

David French,

I agree. We magicians sometimes believe we have magic powers to control people, but we don't.

Robert Blake,

I would love to be able to hit a guy who grabs my props with my magic wand. But unfortunately, where I live, in America, that would never fly. I could get sued. Where you are in the Netherlands, you can get away with that? I've never been to Europe.

I live in America and I have hit someone with my wand, told him I didn't want someone stealing my stuff. Turn it on them, "Hey, someone is stealing"...

That's a good point. I am very protective of my props. I have had many of them for over 30 years.

it is the way that you make the music. I understand that in the usa you get sued for everything. for us here in europe it sometimes looks very ridiculus. all I di is tap on his hand. I sayr that remarke when somebody is messing up the routine. thereby I look him in his eye. so he knows that I mean him. but for me doing the cups and balss on a table is asking for trouble. the street situation is the best.

I don't do cups and balls--or Al Wheatley's "chop" cup either!!! (There! I said it!!!!!)
I think the c & b's -or chop cup)are both great tricks. But, neither of them ever fit into my work.

Bob Blake is a very experienced professional. I would note his comment just above (..."asking for trouble"...)

Pete Biro has the "other answer".

Tiny kids are (exceptionally these days) uninhibited. Keep your props in YOUR hands! (Not on a table top) My props are in MY hands, or in my prop case (out of reach). (Maybe you can "tell" that I broke in the business in a side show!--Saturday nights were always a challenge!)

leo magnus (above)has realized one of the key things in performing! AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT! If the magician is presenting a "watch me do this" show, he does not understand that a magic show (especially these days)must be a "conversation", not a "speech".

I have only watched Bob Blake on video, but, it's evident that he talks WITH, not AT, or TO his audience.

OZ..."You don't do cups and balls?"... Sheesh... then you're not a REAL MAGICIAN.

I learned about this "the hard way" and turned it into "an opportunity".

So here's what I do...I'm prepared in advance to take advantage of a spectator who reaches for a cup by gently rapping him or her on the soft part of their hand with my wand and scolding them with this line:...."un un....do that again and I'll turn you into a frog!"

This almost always gets a laugh from the audience, so my next line is "Think that's funny, huh...well...meet Billy from my last show! (At which point I bring out a rubber frog from my pocket or servante, And looking directly at thee spectator who reached out to touch my cup, I say..."Billy didn't listen to me either!"

I know that this sounds ridiculously stupid, but, it works! (At least for me!)

Love it.

Very good.

Excellent idea!

My good friend, Magic Mentor, and all-around nice guy Dick Oslund was over at my house Saturday afternoon for one of our "Kibbutzing Sessions", and this very topic is one of the things we discussed....

The BIG PICTURE here is: You have to MANAGE YOUR AUDIENCES, and for those relatively new magicians, it's a good idea to realize that learning these things take time. I started performing Magic for money in 1956....after you perform for a few decades for civilians for money....you "Pick Up a Few things along the way that work". As I mentioned to Dick..."YOU DON'T LEARN HOW TO MAKE LOVE BY READING A BOOK"......many things in life need practical, hands-on experience in order to get really good at them.

One of the many benefits of being a member of The Magic Café is that there are MANY seasoned and experienced magicians here who are more than happy to share their tips and ideas for performing Magic better....my best advice is to PAY ATTENTION.......it's NEVER too late to learn!!!

I'm 65 and still learning about performing Magic every day....... and, in my opinion, if you're truly serious about performing Magic, that's the only way you will get better....

This is very true. Experience trumps theory any day of the week. You can read all the theory you want, read about "creating magical fiction" and other such pie-in-the-sky ideas, and it will get you nowhere until you actually get out there and perform.

Ditto on getting out and performing it more. That is really where you learn audience management. That said, I will tell you that the cups & balls are my money maker, the one they ask to see over and over again, and where I book more shows from. I do it close-up, at the bar, strolling, stand-up shows - wherever. It is solid, powerful magic.

When you get more seasoned you will find that you really don't care if you get busted. Yes, I care, but I don't. I've had people ask me to open both hands - I simply say "well, then you'll see the extra ball". They laugh, we move on. I've had people prematurely lift the cups - occassionally. But for the most part the routine moves at a clip and there are set points where I allow them to lift the cups (audience involvement). My only heartburn is when people lift the cups when the final loads have been placed. I'm upset not because I got "busted" but because my patter hasn't yet established that something amazing is about to appear in the cups - it steals that strong magical moment from the audience.

Johnny Ace Palmer's strolling cups routine is a great place to start with a routine that can play in very close-up situations. Study it. I was the first person to ask him to teach me it when I was his student (many, many years ago).

I think it has to do with reading your audience first and then following up by managing them. In other words try to avoid trouble before it begins. If I do a couple of tricks and see a wise guy in the crowd then I may not bring out certain effects. If I notice small kids or hyper kids then I may not do some things. If I spot these problems while doing a couple of tricks then I know that if I proceed I need to take steps to manage the situation. I also try to think of things that could go wrong and try to think of things I can do or say when it happens - while you can't predict every mishap you can come up with several replies that will work well with different problems, or you can sometimes get lucky and turn the mishap into a trick on its own. for me it's more about "don't PANIC" than it is about being "caught"

This year I was performing at an outdoor festival when, and I don't know how, the 2nd ball dislodged from inside the cup falling next to the ball on the table. The teens in the crowd started laughing. I just looked at them and said, "I don't care. I'm going to fool you anyway." I went on with the routine adding an extra step to set up where I needed to and floored the laughing herd at the end of the routine with a double load.

Great ideas on how to handle this. I have fought it once or twice over the last ten years, both as a magician and as a minister. Whatever the situation, the best way to control a crowd is to never let them see you sweat, even if you're sweating bullets!

Some kids (and even adults) don't get or respect boundaries. Be especially careful if it is an event where alcohol is involved, I learned that one the hard way. During a show for my community's fourth of July festivities, a drunk lady walked right onto the platform and started messing with an escape I do from a 55-gallon drum (a version of Houdini's milk can escape). I just mentioned over my shoulder that if she wasn't 100% sure what she was doing, she'd probably die, and just kept moving with the act. She beat if off the platform pretty quickly.

The first time something like that happened to me, a kid ran up during the zombie ball and tried to grab it. Being newer to public magic performance at the time, I raised the whole thing higher, and glared at the mom until she came and got the kiddo. Today, I'd probably handle it differently.

It happens sooner or later, no matter how good your crowd control techniques. Just roll with it. Don't let them see you sweat!

Ever heard of whack a mole son? You know the last person that tried that didn't get out of the dungeon for 2 weeks. My pet spider/snake lives here. Careful they (cups) bite. Before you start: I'd like you to meet my little friend, bringing out the finger chopper. - I'm thinking this would be a great time to try out the "electric touch".