MagicGizmo

Anyone had troubles with easily recognizable props (change bag, hippity hop rabbits, dove pan etc.) where the kids shout out they have seen it before? Or worse, I have that one? I am starting to wonder if certain props just need to retired in favor of less common ones, any thoughts?

I do believe that magicians should try as much as possible to put a new look on standard effects so that (1) their presentation is unique to them and (2) they tricks will tend not to elicit the "I've seen it before" response. I remember reading somewhere that the Hippity Hop bunnies can be transfored into a different trick simply by just using one and making it a color change routine. I haven't tried this but the idea is that just giving a trick a slightly different look and routine may make all the difference.

Having said that, there may be tricks that are just too common and recognizable to avoid that response such as the magic coloring book.

i really dont worry much when they shout out . we as magicians should always be in control of our show. sometimes you can say to the one saying ive seen that one before or i know how its done "then its our little secret,we wont tell the others how its done" this makes the kid feel important cause he stands out as an expert in magic to the others. just let them gloat about it and fedl good about themself and do the tricks anyway. no need to get rid of the dove pan, hippity hop rabbit etc...just dress it up with showmanship. we should be entertainers first and magicians second. the magic is a tool to that end. the most astounding magic ever seen is so simple in effect. why do somthing complicated that done simply offers the same result. thats another discussion topic right there. what tricks that you have done that were so simple,yet they brought the house down. then what tricks were complex, didnt go over very good. let me know. magically brian

Thanks for the response Wendell, I think you can be innovative with a utility prop like a dove pan but when it comes to something like the coloring book which does a set thing, I just wonder how innovative you can be when kids recognize it from sight and know what is going to happen next.

Don't "retire" those "old" tricks, yet......

I too believe that each performer can take an old effect and create a new presentation that will make it "different" than someone may have seen it performed before....So many magicians don't want to perform “old” magic tricks and/or illusions because, they believe, they’re overexposed, or "everybody knows that one". This may come from magicians seeing other magicians performing magic tricks at meetings and conventions, and other events they may attend and once they’ve seen it 5 or 6 times, it’s “overexposed” or “old”. Yes, there are tricks that have been overdone and overexposed to audiences..... But there's still some life in those "old" tricks.

Look in your collection and choose a trick and try applying to the effect some material other than the one the trick was originally intended for, maybe combining it with another effect or taking an effect and using a different type of object(s) than the original material called for can breathe new life into an old, “overexposed” trick. Create a new story line or add some comedy...

Learning tricks and learning to perform them well can be challenging enough. But learning ways to make those "old" tricks feel fresh and new is how you can make your mark in magic.

The problem becomes when the trick is so recognizable just by sight that kids say "I've seen it before..." By dressing up or repainting an existing trick and giving a new look and a new presentation, it can make all the difference.

Let's face it, you hear "I know that trick" even when you bring out a deck of cards or a piece of rope. Youngsters always try to look "Cool" and "In the know" with their friends. Sometimes they just mean that they recognize what you are holding, NOT necessarily that they know how it's done.

Besides, mattr is absolutely right in saying that we should redo or change our props to make them look different. You should do this with all of your effects. MAKE THEM YOURS. Get rid of all the Chinese charicters, red with gold trim, etc. etc. UPDATE!

For the "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" release party at Barnes and noble, I was doing magic thoughout the night, and I took the old Voodoo effect and redid it using the bookcovers from all (at that time) six books. Scripted a story about spells and blew everyone away.

I showed it to a very knowledgable magician friend of mine who asked me how I did it. I looked at him with some confussion as I KNOW he knew the method. HE JUST DIDN'T RECOGNIZE IT IN A NEW WRAPPER. When I told him to think HOT ROD, he got mad at me. TEE HEE!

Use some imagination, and like I said before, MAKE IT YOUR OWN.

When kids say "I've seen that before", you can start to put it away and say, "Oh, I'm sorry, never mind then", and pretend to move on to something else. Most kids will beg you off.

You can get the same reaction when you pull out a trick and someone says, "oh, I got that in my magic set". I incorporate him/her into the trick in some way.

I wholeheartedly agree with what's been said previously. My repertoire is heavy on fresh takes on classic magic. That way, even adults (and magicians!) enjoy the show!