|
|
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
My wife thought it was horrible that I was planning to saw a 10-year-old in half this weekend. What do you guys think? I told the mother, who thought this would be a great and memorable birthday for her son. The illusion is the new type, with a Black and Decker saw from Daytona Magic's recent sale. It's foolproof and looks great with a towel tucked in the "guide." The birthday mother is going to take the smaller kids out of the room, and I told her I wouldn't want to do it for kids much younger than 10, but that I'd be glad to do it for her son (with someone holding his arms and legs just so he doesn't flail about). David Ginn makes this look quite "kid-friendly" and so I decided to go for it. Was I right? What do you think? Has anyone had a kid (or parent) faint or any other type of problem?
Thanks. |
jakeg Inner circle 1741 Posts |
If anybody is looking for a Mak visible sawing 1/2, I have one for sale. I only used it a few times in school shows, and it ALWAYS went over great. I got out of magic for about 10 years and packed it away. When resurrecting the show, it just didn't fit in with what I wanted to do. I saw George Schindler do it and he did a great job with it. I think that when presently with a comedy routine, you could use it anywhere.
|
Regan Inner circle U.S.A. 5726 Posts |
I have one I'll sell too. Mine has never been used. It was bought for me as a gift. I felt it was too intimidating to use on kids.
Mumblemore, you might be able to pull it off. I didn't feel that I could. I don't use chopper effects on kids either, but I realize that some do. I used to do some gullotine magic when I ran the a haunted house. Kids were present, but that was a different situation. I thought I would use Visible Sawing in the haunted house but I gave it up soon after my wife bought it for me. So if anyone is looking for a like-new, unused Visible Sawing Illusion at a good price send me a PM. Regan
Mister Mystery
|
Spellbinder Inner circle The Holy City of East Orange, NJ 6438 Posts |
Those sawing spectator tricks with electric saws scare the heck out of ME. I would be very nervous if someone had me in the stocks, because I don't trust ANYONE with my life. That's how I've lived so long! But having said that, I wouldn't feel so terrified of the hand saw version (Robert Harbin made the first one, I believe) simply because I know the dang fool magician can stop if I scream for the police. With an electric saw, it's all over in a second if anything goes wrong. Maybe I've been watching too many fools slam their hands onto nails on YouTube, but I don't really trust the younger generation of magicians to have read the directions and practiced anything like that!
Professor Spellbinder
Professor Emeritus at the Turkey Buzzard Academy of Magik, Witchcraft and Wizardry http://www.magicnook.com Publisher of The Wizards' Journals |
Dennis Michael Inner circle Southern, NJ 5821 Posts |
I've done the visable sawing in half at birthday parties and it plays strong because it is a danger trick. It's major drawback is that it scares the young children to see a older girl get cut in half.
This would work better if there wasn't very young children at the party. It works well at Halloween shows!
Dennis Michael
|
MikeDes Inner circle Montreal 1174 Posts |
The problem is that you can't know the sensitivities of every member of your young audience. For some ten year old boys this will just be a cool trick, for others it will be something that scares them and, heaven forbid, for one or two it may be an invitation to try out their theories of how it was done. It may be more of an issue at birthday parties than family shows as the children's parents aren't there to guide their kids through what they are seeing.
Can some magician pull this trick off at birthday parties without getting any negative feedback...sure. I, however, would be uncomfortable doing it so I chose to present other things. |
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Thanks for the feedback. The most revealing thing about this thread so far is all the saws for sale! I'll definitely have all the small kids leave. The birthday mom really wants her son to do this, but it definitely seems like a borderline call. I'll let you know how it goes Sat.
|
KC Cameron Inner circle Raleigh, North Carolina 1944 Posts |
In any of the saws, is there any room for error? I was under the opinion that there was no way you could hurt the child short of hitting them over the head with it.
If you has a safe saw for sale, PM me! |
Andre Hagen Inner circle 1432 Posts |
I can see possibly doing this as long as children under seven are not present.
I once did a head-chopper routine in a theater for mostly adults and it was very well received. After the show I was asked by a spectator to do a birthday party for her six-year old...including the chopper routine. I talked her out of it. She argued that her son was more advanced than the usual six-year old. (How many times have I heard THAT from a prospective client)! Personally, for a birthday party it makes as much sense to me as a chair suspension. That is...Logistically, it makes no sense at all to me...Too much to drag around and bring into someone's home. Just an old magician's two-cents worth. Andy
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one - Albert Einstein
|
jakeg Inner circle 1741 Posts |
Hi Andy: Not much dragging in the visible sawing illusion. It's fairly light and is about 1/4 the size of a chopper, and a whole lot less to carry than a suspension.
I used to feature it on my fliers. "See a member of the audience being sawed in half, etc." When people think of magic they usually think of two things, pulling a rabbit out of a hat, and sawing a woman in half. Good for publicity too. I used to use my sister .... my half sister. Now she lived in Chicago ... and Detroit. |
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
I am going to tease about it throughout the show, stating initially that I'm going to doing some sawing, and then doing the split deck and then stating "wasn't that a great diembodiment?" Then I'll have them chant for a person, and I'll do zig-zag Rocky and tell them I cut my assistant in three. Then I'll do the sawing at the end. When I do the rabbit I have a running gag where I make a silk rabbit then a stuffed skunk, then the rabbit (someone else on Café suggested it). This should be a good running gag and crecendo, and going along with Andre's suggestion, I'll try to get the under-7s out (and the mother said she would). And yes Captain Kid, they are absolutely foolproof. My wife is just hypersensitive, adn when you see and hear the saw, it is a little chilling . . .
|
Andre Hagen Inner circle 1432 Posts |
Jakeg,
You sawed your sister in half and now she's your half-sister! LOL
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one - Albert Einstein
|
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Thanks for the feedback. It went well - the kids loved it, but the parents didn't take the little ones out of the room, so I told them all it was an illusion, not to do it at home, and played up the comedy. I think I'll do it at older kid shows after confirming with parents, but leave it home when I do under 9 or 10. But it's definitely a great adrenaline rush. Turn on the saw and it just gets to you . . .
|
MikeRaffone Special user 623 Posts |
Sounds like it went great Mumblemore!
Now got me thinking about getting one. How long does it take to setup and break down this illusion? Mike
Mike Perrello
DC Area's Leading Family Entertainment Expert |
btedeski Veteran user Pittsburgh PA 322 Posts |
I use to do that kind of trick when I was 12 years old (long time ago) I learned my lesson when the birthday girl ran and hid under her bed for the rest of the show.
Now I only cut rope at at kids show. |
Mumblemore Inner circle 1429 Posts |
Mike,
The wood guide is about as long as an attache case and weights about 10-14 pounds. The electric saw version (there are lots of these - check out the one Daytona Magic makes with Black and Decker saw and ask them for comparison with other models)is about half the size of the attache case and about 5-8 pounds. It sets up in about 30 sec and you can just like the volunteer on a rug floor and thus don't need a table. To address Bill's issues (real ones) I would say get a volunteer (I'll bet there's always someone who loves this) rather than insisting on B-day boy/girl. |
MikeRaffone Special user 623 Posts |
I like this one because it all packs into a small case and the case becomes the table. But I know nothing about the quality of the product. Anyone own this?
http://www.chaletstephens.com/catalog.html (see the third item down the page) Thanks, Mike
Mike Perrello
DC Area's Leading Family Entertainment Expert |
jakeg Inner circle 1741 Posts |
Mike: The Table seems like a very expensive addition to the illusion. I used to use a board over my chair suspension to do this on. (The board that came with my suspension was too narrow.) I had the board hinged in the middle for easy carrying.
My only reason that I am selling mine is that it just doesn't fit in with what I'm doing. I no longer have the suspension or anything else that weighs more that a couple of pounds. The only time that I feel my age is when I get tired before the show instead of afterwards. <g> It's bad enough that I need to carry a speaker system and stands. |
jimhlou Inner circle 3698 Posts |
I have an electric jigsaw "head chopper" that I use in my shows with a Cyril head drop (see Avitar). We only do it for adult audiences. I really don't think this type of illusion is proper for kids under 12 - 13 years old.
Jim |
MikeRaffone Special user 623 Posts |
I don't think it is expensive if it does what it says it does and is high quality. It would be a great benefit to carry a small case in rather than haul in a table and a saw along with the rest of the show.
Does anyone have the Chalet version? Thanks Mike
Mike Perrello
DC Area's Leading Family Entertainment Expert |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The little darlings » » Sawing a kid in half - appropriate birthday trick? (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |