I'm not quite sure that this is the right place for this post but I would really appreciate your comments/advice on the things that I could do to further improve my act. THANKS.

My Act:
I open with a floating effect (Fearson), one of the strongest tricks in magic, in order to get people's attention. I then introduce myself. I borrow some money and have it signed to create a personal latch. The money is changed to a smaller denomination in order to create conflict. The conflict is then given a chance to be resolved through 3 card monte which I am willing to bet my own money on. The Kaps fire wallet is on the table with their signed bill the whole game. Of course they cannot win so I now take the role of "nice guy" magician and give them back their money. The fire produced from the wallet is a definite surprise to the audience and will also continue to keep them on their toes. The ultimate transpo allows magic to happen in the spectator's hands and is very visual.

The deck is set aside and attention is called to me. I take out the flaming business card and people again shriek in terror hehe.... I then ask about what is important to the spectator. This can often times become comical because there are so many things for them to say. I poke fun at their choice to be comical and suggest that time is more important. Besides it being strong mentalism, The watch routine not only allows spectator participation but it also takes the magic out of the magician's hands and into the spectator's grasp due to the second phase of the routine.

Going back to the cards that have been on the table the whole time creates less suspicion of them if the spectator hasn’t grabbed them, which would be bad because the next effect is gimmicked. In a Flash is yet another fire effect to spark them out of even the most stubborn spectator's slumber. "In a Flash!" leaves me with a ruined deck so I have an excuse to do a deck switch, which can hardly be called a switch.

Astral Projection is so awesome because not only is it a mental effect but almost everyone can participate in an impossible transposition. I do school shows and everyone knows that cell phones are "banned" from class. However, so many people still carry them and most would kill to be able to use it during class. This creates a big interest in what the other person on the line will say for the whole crowd. There is so much misdirection there is NO WAY I could be caught using the nail writer. I distance myself from the pencil beforehand to get rid of that out for the audience. And the fact that I predict what someone would say when they weren’t even there makes the trick 10 times stronger.

I explain that I have a card on a paperclip that I folded up last night as sort of a prediction and set it on the table. By now the are already wondering what I will predict next. I have a card signed and I do an ambitious card routine with only the best moves. After a bit, I pause and ask them what they think the odds are of the card on the table being the same suit as theirs. Then I ask them, "well how about the same value?" This is all misdirection for the mercury fold. Then I say, "with the paperclip off I want to see that this isn’t just any wussy prediction; this is the real deal." I place it back in the same spot it was before to connect the two in their mind.

I close by saying, "That is impossible, I'm Mark Storms, and thank you all for taking this journey through your imagination and mine!"

-Fearson’s Floating Lifesaver (Find some good music) (floating)
-Visi-bill (visual change, money creates interest and personal attachment)
-Kaps on Fire Wallet (impossible location of their signed bill/fire)
-3 Card Monte (cards) (chance to earn back money)
-Ultimate Transpo (card miracle)
-Hot Leads Business Card (fire)
-Watch Routine (Osterlind vol. 1)(mentalism)
-In a Flash! (cards/fire) (Allows you to transition to another deck with reason.)
-Astral Projection Deck (mentalism/magic)
-Cell Phone (Swami Prediction) (mentalism)
-Ambitious Paperclipped! (cards/card miracle)



TRICKS I'M CONSIDERING
*********************
-Center Tear
-Osterlind breakthrough card system effects

Wow! Thanks for sharing. You have obviously put a great deal of thought into this. It is a very thorough and intuitive description. I enjoy the process of routining immensely, of connecting effects, creating a thread.

It is, of course difficult to comment on your ideas without knowing your personality and style. One thing which may benefit from further thought - The 'Paperclipped' finisher. You already have a signed bill to impossible location, and, I am not sure how moving from magic to mentalism and back to magic again might work? I do not know.

I am intrigued as to whether these are tricks that you have already performed and you are just creating an act, or whether a lot of this material is new.

I agree with Giles and would bet you have perfoemed them many times. I would also like to know what effects, if any you have discarded from your act and why.
best regards
bunkyhenry (glad someone else thinks about the same stuff as he does)

As far as structuring of the act is concerned you have done a great job, and I can see transitions between a few of the effects you describe. What I don’t see from what you have written is how you make the transition from floating lifesaver to visi-bill, and as mentioned the movement from magic to mentalism. I would recommend a change in paperclip effect, as it seems to resemble too closely to other effects in your act namely your bill to possible location and transportation effect. Plus when you think about it, the bill to impossible location is so similar to the paperclip effect, it could easily replace it for the ending effect creating reason again for why such an effect would be in the middle of an act, since by routining theory your suppose to end with your best. To remedy this is to find an effect that is stronger then both paperclip and bill to lemon or get rid if one of the two mentioned effects.

Just a tip I would like to pass on for transitioning is that don’t neglect the power of patter as a transition tool. It can transition effects that can be totally different in effect which can make it more valuable then the physical transitioning you seem to have from your visi-bill to Fire wallet. An example in your act that points this out is the transitioning from the fire wallet to the three-card monte using the stigma of a gambling routine in your patter. This in turn leads you nicely into another two card effects after the monte. Another example, as pointed out, the magic to mentalism point may present some problems. Where the magic and mentalism meet are at the effects Hot leads business card and the watch routine. A suggested patter link could be:

“Wow, you think that’s hot (referring to the business card effect) you should see how hot this watch is because I bought it from one of those guys who come up to you trying to sell watch’s which are hinged on the inside lining of there coats.”

I hope you get the idea

Oh, one more idea that I hope to pass on is creating reason for your magic. Why is the lifesaver floating? Its it because it the light version of the product? Just make sure that everything you do has a reason for why it’s done other wise it become a pointless activity. This is a main factor in my presentations.

Magically

Aus

Best advice...try it out and see how it goes. Take out the weak spots ang go from there.

Another thought is this for close-up are stand-up show? This might change a few things.

cheers Chris

Thank you all for your advice. I had thought about the problems with using mentalism in between magic effects and I think that many of you are right that it may present a problem. This act is supposed to be for close-up however the opening effect is sort of further away from the audience. I don't even talk or introduce myself before I go on. I just hit the music and go straight into the lifesaver routine. A thing that I have tried with that routine to be a bit comical is to come out in front of the audience as the music is playing and act as if something stinks. I then smell around till I "discover" it’s my breath and then point my finger and smile as if a light bulb went off. I then take the lifesaver out of my pocket and take it out of the wrapper and go through the routine (of course ending with eating the lifesaver). I have begun to think about scrapping the whole visible thing but I'm still not sure because at the time it works THE BEST for allowing me to get it to the wallet. If anyone can think of a similar thing to do Id appreciate it because I'm not so sure about visible anymore. O yah, I also forgot to mention that "hot leads" allows me to transition straight into the watch routine because it begins by taking out a business card. Any other suggestions are appreciated. THANKS GUYS.

It's never a good idea to begin by borrowing money. Usually you do a few tricks and then do a trick where you borrow it.

Magicandblankjack

I would be intrested as to why you think that, because borrowing any item of value to a audience member will automaticly obtain what our goal is in the opening effect, and that is attention and more importantly intrest.

Magically

Aus

Magicandblankjack-

I think that it is very appropriate to borrow money for the first effect. By the time I ask for it I have already shown them some STUNNING magic (Fearsons Floating Lifesaver) and I have also introduced myself. It may seem intrusive to the audience but again that depends on how you ask for it. And anyways some audience member will give in. I think that having them sign the bill also gives them a bit more of security because It sort of implies that they will get it back. Please let me and AUS know why you find that borrowing money is bad for a first effect.

I just think its better to do a few tricks before borrowing money. I read this somewhere, and I agree with it. I think they should get to know you a little better before asking them to get into their wallet/purse and fork over a bill.

Some situations would be exceptions.