On the other hand, I have been studying "Pack Small (and light!) Play Big" concepts to help kill my large prop addiction. I have found a surprising number of them. While I absolutely agree that seeing 3 or 4 tricks in a 45 minute act is a rip-off audience-wise, if the tricks are selected properly and the props appropriate, it can balance each other very nicely. I am currently working on a 50-minute silent act for foreign language audiences (which we get a lot of in Sydney. Not yet sure if it's possible, but at 55, I'm not into lugging crates of props anymore. However, especially with a silent act, the emphasis must be visual, so I've compiled a list of tricks that I own that fit the "Pack flat (and light!!) Play Big" criteria. Surprisingly, there are quite a few very visual ones. For everyone's benefit, here's the list-all 249 tricks! Some are standard dealer items e.g. 20th Century Silks), some are dealer items modified or remade to fit the brief (Jap Box--see my book for details) and some are originals (Brick Wall Ambigram--see my second book for details). Some are mentalism, some are for kids, but if you can't get a magic act, a mental act and a kids act oput of all this, you're not trying!:

20th Century Silks (Purple)
3-Fly (Kohler)
A Dream of Coincidence
A Trip to Cancun
Animated Spirits
Any Ring Hanky
Appearing Cane (Fantasio)
Appearing Dove (Rubber)
Appearing Pool Cue
Appearing Shot Glass (Squash Ball) (1)
AppearingCandle (2)
Astor Mental
Astro Sense
B'Wave (Jumbo)
Balls in the Net
Banana Trick Repeat (Sponge)
Bang Gun (Large)
Barcelona Swindle (Large)
Berland's Thimble Act
Bigger Finish (2)
Bill in Lemon
Bill Vanisher Hanky (2)
Birthday Blendo
Birthday Card Surprise
Blank Night
Blendo
Blendo (Ginn-Colour Fusion)
Body Language
Book Test-Double Vision
Bottle Production (David Stone)
Bottle Through Body
Brainwave Deck (Jumbo)
Breakaway Fan
Brick Wall Ambigram
Calculator (Einhorn Scientific)
Calculator (Mental Mind-Cesaral)
Calendar Quattro
Card Castle (Bicycle)
Card In Wallet (2)
Card Stand/Temple Screen Production
Card Through Hanky
Cards Across
Celebrity Smart Ass (Kidman)
Cellular Mitosis
Chairs (TC Tahoe Version)
Chameleon Silk Streamer
Change Bag-Tearapart
Chico The Mind Reader (2)
Chinese Sticks (Mephisto)
Cigarette in Coat
Cigarette Pull
Clipboard-Brown Hornet (2)
Coca Cola Bottle Production
Cody's Comedy Confabulation
Coin in Bottle
Colour Changing CDs
Colour Changing Fan (Dragon)
Colour Changing Silk (Black/Pink)
Colour changing Silks (Double)
Colouring Book (magic Clown)
Comedy NO Card in Balloon
Credit Card Force Card (Serrano)-10D
Crosswords
Cue the Magic
D'Lite (Blue) (2)
D'Lite Blendo Bag (Blue)
D'Lite Dancing Cane (Blue)
D'Lite Floating Light
Dancing Cane (Fantasio)
Dancing Hanky (Bogunia)
Devil's Napkin (Large Checked)
Digital Feedback
Diminishing Cards (Tenyo)
Diminishing Cards (Wonder)
Domino (nielsen)
Drawing Dupe (Osterlind)
Dream Lock
Drink's Up
Dye Tube
Dye Tube (Double Load)
Egg Bag (Malini) (4)
Egg Bag Baby
Egg Bag-Abdul's Fez
Einstein's Demise
Electric Deck
Elevator
Engraved
Equal Unequal Ropes (2)
Fantastic Loop
Fibre Optics
Find the Girl (Giant)
Finger Flasher (2)
Finish Line
Fire from Anywhere
Flight of the Paper Balls
Flipover Box (Small)
Floating Rose
Flower Production Foulard
Flower-Wilting
Flying Fifties
Flying Spirits
Foam rubber donuts (2)
Fold-Flat Production Box
Force Wallet (Einhorn-8-Way)
Four Told 2 (Devin Knight) (Large)
Four Told 2 (Devin Knight) (Small)
Fourth Dimensional Telepathy
Fruitfull
Funny Bunny (2)
Gag Bag
Goodnight Banner
Gypsy Thread
Half Dyed (Levent)
Hang 'Em High
Hanky Vanisher (2)
Hawaain Card Location (Mine)
Headline Hunter
Heatwave Wallet
Hover Card (NLA)
Ice Cream Repeat (Sponge)
In the News
Instant Magician
Invisible Deck (Jumbo)
Invisio Flash
Jap Box (Homemade)
Joker Poker
Juggling Scarves
Just Chintz (2)
Knife Through Arm
Knife Through Coat (Dick Barry)
Knot Unexpected
Leopard Cloth
Linking Coat hangers
Linking Finger Rings Routine (Einhorn)
Linking Rings (11" Chrome w magnetic locking Key)
Lollipop Vanish
Magic Flash Banner
Malini Card Stab
Mandala (Lge) (2)
Mental Epic (Whiteboard)
Midway Dream
Miller Hankie
Miracle Gimmick
Mis-made Flag
Miser's Miracle (Solari)
Misers Dream
Monarch Monte (Anderson)/Giant Monte (6)
Mr & Mrs Green
Mugged (Watch, Ring,Wallet)-Rich Marotta
Multiplying Watches
Multplying Billiard Balls (Gold Facet)
Music Tear
Mutilated Parasol Plus
Needle Through Balloon
Nelson Gimmick
New Mero
Newspaper Tear (Baxt's)
Nile Divination
Note in Wallet (Parlour)
Number Sense
Observo
Of Dice & Men
Paper Balls to Box
Phone Reciever Gag (2)
Phoney Magnet
Powers of Darkness
Princess in a Pickle
Production Screen (3-fold)
Professor Cheer's Rope Trick
PSI Graphico (Stage)
Psychometry Bag-SOS
Psychometry Bags (Drawstrings)-2
Q&A-Black Bag
Q&A-Jap Box
Quadro Vicious Circle
Raffle-ation (2)
Red Carpet
Remote Control Repeat (Sponge)
Rhinesense
Rice Bowls (Celluloid)
Ricki Dunn Drink Trick (Romhany)
Ring Flite (El Duco) (2)
Ring on Stick
Ring vanisher Hanky
Ring Vanisher hanky (Any Ring)
Rising Cards (Fantasy Jumbo-Schwarz) (2)
Rocky Racoon (2)
Rope Tie (Tony Clark)
Salt Pour--Long (Levent) (2)
Salt Shaker (Levent)
Scrabble Prediction
Seven Deadly Sins (Stage)
Sex Card Repeat (Jumbo)
Siberian Chain Escape (L)
Silent Treatment
Silk Fountain (4)
Silk Production (Lightning)
Six Card Repeat (Jumbo)
Sneak Thief
Snowstorm in China
Spirited Card Stab Ben Harris)
Split Deck (Comedy Jumbo)
Split Deck (Jumbo)
Sponge Ball Routine (Sausages)
Sponge Icecream Cones (2)
Spring Flowers
Square-Square (Homemade-Folds Flat)
Stiff Rope
Suit Jacket Escape
Sum Total
Swami Gimmick (Ballpoint)
Table-PackSmart
Telephone Prediction (Large Cards)
Temple Screen
The Assassin Card Sword
The Thing
The World's best 3 card Trick with 4 Cards (Giant)
Theta Portfolio
Three Card Monte (Jumbo)
Thumb Tip Flame (2)
Thumbtip Rainbow Production/Vanish
Topit
Tossed Out Deck-Bicycle-5
Track Record (3)
Tricks for Food
Trivia (SA)
TV Surprise
Twisted Sister (Giant-made myself)
Ultimate Mind Trip
Universal Coin Stand
Vanishing Bandanna
Vanishing Bottle-Martini
Vanishing Candle (2)
Vanishing Cane (Fantasio)
Vanishing Cigarette
Vanishing Coin Stand
Vanishing Crayons
Voodoo Needle Through Arm
Wacky Worm
Walking Through a Card
Wand-Too Many!
Water Works
Wayne's Exchange
What's Next?
Wrong Way
Your Lucky Nite
Zig Zag CD
Zone Zero

Start getting to work on some premises or on your character, then pick from the list above and you'll have some killer acts without the killer weight!

Well admagic1, that's quite a list! Few brick & mortar shops stock that many PROPS!

You say that you've compiled a list of TRICKS that you OWN.

TRICKS, like music only EXIST while they are being performed. You cannot OWN TRICKS.

You can OWN PROPS and/or SECRETS, with which you PERFORM TRICKS.

I was a part time professional when I was 14 (1945). About 25 years later, I "turned" full time pro. After an analysis of the possibilities, I decided to specialize in the school assembly field, although, I never limited myself to schools. I finally retired in 2008, after 50 years, playing coast to coast and border to border.

I produced a show that could play successfully, almost anywhere, for almost anyone. (After my first tour, I never needed to ask for work. The bureau managers called ME!)

To do that, I developed a list of criteria for the props that I carried, and, the tricks that I performed.

CRITERIA:
VISUAL EFFECT, VISIBLE PROP(S), VERSATILE EFFECT, ANGLE PROOF PROP, RECOGNIZABLE PROP, (no "Victorian Era) props, such as Welsh Rarebit Pans, Change bags, Dove Pans, etc.) LITTLE, OR NO SET UP, NO TABLE NEEDED, SPOT ADAPTABLE, PROP(S) PACK SMALL & LIGHT, WINDPROOF ("al fresco" dates).

See JNeals post above, about the New York producer's concept. ("show me less but, involve me more.")

At Jon Racherbaumer's "urging", I wrote up the "story" about LYCEUM (school assembly programs) in my book. Along with the "history", which was told with a gezillion anecdotes, I described (with patter and presentation) the tricks that I did. --You list the T. Francis Fritz (Frank Ducrot) trick, "20th Century Silks". The 20th C. is my next to closing for the elementary school program. The finish, STOPS THE SHOW with laughs and applause. Misers Dream closes. I can't follow it.

I wrote two posts earlier in this thread. You can read, or re-read them, for more thoughts and information.

IMO, a 50 minute show with no talking will be a challenge!

Dick, I have a great amount of respect for people like you who've "made it" in the magic industry, so value your comments on here always. Thanks for catching me out on my error, you're quite correct, these are u=indeed props...nothing magical about them until we get involved! And Yes, a 50 minute silent show I think will be a challenge but that's why we're alive, right? Thanks Dick...as I said always value your input on here.

Gali Gali headlined at the Reno Hilton (at the time the largest stage in Nevada ( one of the stage props was a full size 737 plane!) doing the cups and balls with baby chicks. different people can get aways with different things... no hard and fast rules apply....

Jon! I agree 101%!!!

I was told this story by a magician, whose name, I've forgotten! Heqq! I'm entitled! (I'll be 85 in a month.)

The late John Daniels was booked at a Las Vegas casino, a few years ago. He walked backstage in the afternoon, and was stopped by the stage manager, who said, "Sir! This is not a public area." John, replied, "I'm the magician!" The stage manager turned to his crew and said, "OK boys! Open the big door so, the magician can move in!" John indicated the small case under his arm, which held his chop cup, and said, "I have the props here!" --John "done good"!

Yup! "It aint WHAT ya do, it's HOW ya do it!"

Hi! Thanks for your kind words! I'm glad that my "corrections" weren't offensive. They were just to "clarify"!

I wish you well in producing the 50 minute show, without talking! That, surely will be a challenge, but, with your attitude, I'm betting on you!

An example of a successful packs small and plays big is Michael Carbonaro’s act. Whether or not it is a good act is for you to decide. He came to town a few weeks ago. I did not see it but my friend did. He was disappointed. Michael’s act was 90% of what my friends act is, professor nightmare, etc. My friend couldn’t believe it. Kudo’s to Michael though. The auditorium was full and 30 bucks a ticket. Two small tables on the stage and a couple of cases.

Friend Markis!

Regarding the guy who filled the house (at $30) --It "aint" the PROPS, IT'S THE PRESENTATION BY THE PERFORMER!!!

School administrators, and teachers, too, were invariably "amazed" by my "little" case! When I walked in with that little bag and the waiter's tray stand, they often asked, "Is THAT all you have?"

I would point to the grand piano backstage, and the violin "sitting" on top of it. I would ask, "Do those instruments produce good music?" They, of course, responded, "Yes!" Then, I would ask, "Which produces the better music?" They would look bewildered. I responded: "It's the ARTIST, NOT THE INSTRUMENT, EH?"

Of course, I TALKED, but the patter was just enough to "move" the performance. I didn't just do verbal gags. The program was VERY VISUAL. --And, the comedy was mostly situational, not verbal. (The "magic" happened in the MINDS of the audience!)

One of my early mentors, was the late Roy Mayer, who had toured schools nationally, for most of his life. He carried his props in a "shoe salesman's sample case" which he had found in a thrift store. It was about 45" long x 12" wide x 8" deep. He also had a "nite club" table. (He borrowed a small table (card table size) from the school. The school "people" (kids AND faculty) always loved his program.

But, he got tired of hearing that question: "Is THAT all you have?" when he arrived. He bought another case about the same size. It was EMPTY! He would ask for a boy to help "move in". He would hand the prop case, to the kid, and, he would carry the EMPTY case. The empty case was left "in the wings". A visiting high school lad who was a budding magician, saw the two cases, on the floor, before Roy started to set the props. The kid, incredulous, asked, "You're going to do an hour show with THAT?"

I write up these anecdotes in my book. The late C. Thomas Magrum, another of my mentors, began performing with one small case in the '30s. His program was good. But, he was obsessed with doing a "THURSTON" show in schools. At its height, he had TEN cases of props and tables. It required 40 minutes to set the show, and, another 40 to pack and move out. He was doing a tip over box that had a half bushel sized load chamber (one of the productions items was a 180 foot silk streamer--just imagine untangling and re loading THAT! He produced the bowl of water (table load) and did the Lota and funnel bits! I saw him do THAT four times in one day! Two in the AM, and, two in the PM. (He ate a big breakfast, skipped lunch, and a big dinner! He wore himself out! After a few seasons, he went back to the one case. He had red lighted the FIVE tables, and most of the props that needed loading or setting.

I enjoyed watching my friend Doug Henning do what he did, I've enjoyed Copperfield, and Siegfried and Roy. I'm just not interested in doing THAT! Copperfield is now worth millions! I don't envy him. Harry Blackstone Jr. played a theater in New York, with a semi truck full of props and scenery. (He rented the big animals.) Living in a New York hotel, and with a "corps" of assistants, and stage hands to pay, takes big bucks! I saw Harry and Gay in Sacramento a year or so later, doing a 90 minute show with two or three small illusions, and a suitcase with some silks, some rope, a deck of cards, a bird cage, ETC. He and Gay, with a young lady and man to "jump boxes" and, push props, did the show. He had two young guys in the pit, to provide music. It was a GREAT SHOW. We waited out in the lobby after, to say, "Hi!" Gay came, wearing a jump suit and started to pack the souvenir programs and "BOR" salables which helped "move" the show. She smiled at me, and said, "Dick! We have a couple of girls in college! With THIS show, we're making MONEY!

There are a lot of these stories in my book! I NEVER bought a car or motor home on "time" in my life. I always wrote a check and owned the vehicle.

Hee hee: The late VICTOR BORGE was a musician who did comedy and played the piano. He got top $, and, the committee provided the piano!

I was/am an "itinerant mountebank", and, I love(d) my work!

This is the same way you see free concerts. Get an empty box, put a few empty bottles inside and go to the back door of the arena.

“Hello (jingle the bottles) I’m here to set-up the champagne for the act… which way to the dressing room?”

A minute later the box was in a garbage and you were in the concert. Don’t think that works, It did

Great thread guys!
However the blog post J C Sum links to in his original post is coming up with a Page Not Found notice.
J C, is this still online anywhere we can see it?

Ah, I've got it.
JC's very informative article has been moved to http://backstagebusinessacademy.com/pack-small-play-big/

I think Dick Oslund was referring to PAUL Daniels rather than John Daniels. (John Daniels would have willingly wheeled in all the big stuff). And I believe the casino was the Tropicana!
Nevertheless... the point is exactly the same.

Egad! --as Jay would have said!

Thanks Jonathan! You are 101% correct.

Ahhhhhh the Tropicana in Las Vegas.......

I can remember when the site of the MGM Grand was the Tropicana Golf Course......and the Tropicana was the "Southern Outpost" of the Las Vegas Strip......AND when Lance Burton was the "Segueway Act" for The Folies Bergere there......not to mention all of the Desert Magic Seminars there for many years.....

Lots of History there........

The only time I put together a bag show is in a restaurant full of tables. Or where I'm squeezed between other activities and setting props out is asking for people to set their drinks on them. One more, I assume that a park, any park is a pain to drag lots of props into, the routines for a park show are also wind-proof.

Ah, yes Jay!

WINDPROOF is Number TEN, in my "NINE IMPORTANT THINGS" ("Nine important things" is my CRITERIA)

Having "broken in" in a carnival side show, back in the '40s, I learned early about "windproof"!

P.S......On my first tour for Jack West (National Assemblies) I learned that many California elementary schools "do" their assemblies on the playground ("AL FRESCO"!!!).

Two fire trucks and an ambulance with red lights, and sirens, are amazingly effective "misdirection"!

Dick Oslund said it in two words--Fun and Laughter.
Amen!
Tricky Ricky

"I am the show" ~ Max Malini

My understanding it that Grand Illusion usually involves a person, or an animal larger than a dog. Surely the Vanishing Elephant and the Appearing Pony would be considered Grand Illusion.

The Eclipse Illusion presented by Peter Tappan is surely Grand Illusion, and doesn't involve living beings. The Floating Lightbulb can be Grand Illusion in some presentations--certainly in Blackstone's. It could fill the largest auditorium.

The late Peter Tappen and the late Joe Palen presented Doc Tarbell's Eclipse at Abbott's GTG about twenty five years ago.

Ya coulda heard a pin drop!

Doc Tarbell had done it when he four walled the Chicago Opera House in the late '40s. Harry Blackstone Sr. lugged a box car full of plywood (and, some NOT PLYwood) and, Doc came in with a couple suitcases, and the Eclipse. The admission was the same price as Harry's had been.