... and Mentalism.

I've been playing around with ideas for my vent-style puppets performing magic. I've considered putting magnets in their hands so that they could do some coin tricks, and have been playing around with an arm rod that can also control a change bag.

One of my puppets will also be doing tarot readings (online). I own a lot of magic props that never quite worked for me but may work well with a puppet. Such as inserting a device to detect magnets in the puppet hand and clipping the receiver on my belt. There are quite a lot of self working mental magic that I can have them perform online, but I'm looking for things that will work in a live setting. I'm a one man show so everthing has to be manipulated by my non-dominant hand via an armrod.

Any ideas?

You have some interesting ideas. I can't offer much because I mostly just do vent routines with the figures, although I do a comedy mind reading routine with my boy figure. Steve Taylor has a DVD called Fooling Your Dummy that has a lot of good suggestions.

Thanks, even for the live events I'll be utilizing a shadow box/booth with the background and myself covered with Duvetyne.

I have no Vent skills.

With a little practice I could probably operate a mirror box with a puppet arm.

Sounds good. I had no vent skills when I saw the Magic Drawing Board. I liked it so much I bought it thinking I'd perform using the AxTrax recordings, but I didn't like the inflexibility of a recording. So I dove in and studied vent. I'm glad I did. It's a lot of fun and goes over well. But non-vent puppet routines also go over well. I have several friends who get a great response from non-vent puppet routines.

I have played with the idea of puppets doing magic a lot..
The thing about puppets is that they don’t have the same restraints as people..
so that helps with method a lot.

Constraints, not restraints - haha..

I remember I had a book by Col. Bill Boley on Magic with Puppets. Great ideas there.

I have a puppet, Hesteni, who does card tricks and some mentalism. Had to learn how to force a card from a deck with one hand.

Mike, I found a great mind reading routine for my puppet, Hesteni. It is a book of quotes that the volunteer assists by giving a number from 1-9. Then you have another volunteer give another number between 1-9. You can put the numbers together to get a two digit number and have the first volunteer keep that one or reverse it.

Then, you hand them the Little Book of Quotes and turn to that # quote, read it silently and you tell them a word that is in that quote. They will never figure out how it was done.

My puppet will do all the talking. Here is a link to it:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1980520232/ref......bMYRX750

What age group are you performing for?

Mixed. It's for a video channel. Mostly aimed at teens/adults, but there will be no live performances at this time.

It will be an Axtell vent puppet who will be doing a few magic tricks along with Tarot card readings.

Did you ever try out the Book of Quotes - book test?

James Munton's Little Book Of Quotes is a nice effect, but will not work in video.

It's excellent in a parlor setting though.