Hi all

I'm completely new to stage illusion (I'm an established, full time working mentalist with international TV credits) but I could use some help from you "old hand stage illusionists".
I have a gig in late Jan performing 4 x 20min shows in a day for a staff "motivational conference" for a major Global corporation. The theme of the conference is "Mind" and I will be starting each plenary session.
There will be an audience of around 1,000 for each of the four sessions.

So far, so "All in a days work" for me.

The problem is that although they want me to perform mentalism someone client end has got it in their head that they want me to make a grand entrance.
They initially want me to fly in from the back of the auditorium over the audiences heads - Until they realised that there wasn't a hope in hell of a rig carrying my weight (very, very, VERY big guy). I told them that it didn’t exactly fit the brief but - Hey! It's their dime, for the amount I'm getting paid I'd dress as Coco the clown for the day.

So I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of an "entrance" illusion that conforms to the following criteria:

Must be off the shelf - No time/ability to build for myself.
Must be practical for a large, fat man.
Needs to be in Amsterdam by 24th Jan
Must be able to reset easily and quickly (four shows a day)
Must be idiot proof to operate (I have no experience in this field at all).
Must be under $9,000 including all cases and shipping to Holland (They wont pay more for that than they are for me and I sure as hell am not paying to ship it there from where I am based in the UK).

I hope you can help me.

Thanks in advance

A version of flash appearence might be good.

Also, check out Magic Auction's "Illusions outside USA, known builder" section. There is PORTAL APPEARANCE DUX / GERMANY for sale, located in Belgium. I don't know whether you can fit, but it fits the bill otherwise.

Hi MV.

Thank you.

Any thoughts on where I can buy a flash appearence?

Many builders build them. I just don't know any UK builders! Maybe you should check with Mark Parker, he can nudge you to the right direction in UK.

Hi mvmagic,

my Portal Illusion is not practical for a "large and fat man".
You will find a performance video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUuvb7hAhIU .

@ Suffolk
Take a look at: http://www.ozillusions.com/infinitycabinet.html
The audience sees a cabinet standing centre stage. The front is open and the interior is seen to be empty. An assistant enters and pulls down a roller blind which closes the cabinet. Suddenly, all walls of the cabinet fly up and the magician is seen, standing in the now open framework.
This prop has to be one of the most practical magician appearances around. The illusion folds down to pack in one relatively small case and is easy to assemble. This prop features our re-designed mechanism for smooth working every time. Price: AUD$4400 -> http://www.ozillusions.com

Best regards from Germany,

Christian Dux

Hi Christian!

Hey it was great to see that in action. The look has really pleased the eye and I loved the speed of it. Clever design indeed!

Suffolk I just PM'd u!


Sean