Hello!
I've long admired the medicine show from afar- and now I've found myself placed in the awkward position of having to make an act in two months.
See, there's a kind of "Frontier Festival" thing happening where I live and I (as the only magician that lives around here) have been requested to do a medicine show. Trouble is, I have no experience with medicine shows.
So I was wondering the following: 1- is "Cataleptic Neuroplexy" a term held exclusively by Dr. Wilson? 2- What kind of things are typically done at a medicine show? 3- Would an old trunk be acceptable to perform out of rather than a wagon?
Right now, my pitch is using the soapy smith bit with having soap for a quarter/dollar/five bucks with large amounts of money "Wrapped in" with the soap and gotten by shills and I have BLINDFOLDED 5 finger filet as a "Demonstration of the stupendous powers of concentration that YOU- yes, even the most addle headed young runt- will be able to muster with a single swig of my prodigious potion!"(my attempt at patter- does that sound proper?)
Any tips would be very welcome!
-Nate

I'm looking forward to the advice that those who know more than I do can give.

Use the first link below to check out a master at work and purchase his products. I don't see a wagon in his show. I also don't see a fake "Indian" or even a banjo player, but he makes it work. I've found the other links helpful as well.

http://www.pophaydn.com/amazing-miracle-oil.html

Other links:
http://www.optimystiks.com/medicine_show.htm
http://www.memoryelixir.com/lenapeliquid/history3.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kRKiP2sMk8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7cItTWOkWg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYZdUhTPGWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVGjdkWes7g

Just stumbled across these set of links. Thanks, D. Yoder!

>is "Cataleptic Neuroplexy" a term
>held exclusively by Dr. Wilson?

Apparently so. I haven't been able to find any other use of that term that doesn't lead back to him.

>What kind of things are
>typically done at a medicine show

Think of medicine shows like TV variety shows with commercials. The idea was to keep a crowd entertained, nesting pitches for the product the salesman was hawking in between magic tricks, juggling, music, comedy routines, or whatever else the salesman and his assistants (if any) could manage. The longer the crowd remained in place, the more chance that people would give in and eventually pull out money. Just about any sort of talent or trick you would like to use would work, as long as it isn't so modern that it breaks the general mood of the show.


I looked into putting together a medicine show a few years ago, and may still do it. One possible alternative I found to a full-blown wagon is a retail cart like this one:

http://www.displays2go.com/P-4269/Wooden......o=1-1839

In the book Caddie Woodlawn's Family, there's a description of a medicine show. The book will be found with collections of the Little House books, as it is similar in time and focus. A frontier family, it at least claims to be based on real people, etc.

Anyway, Dr. Handy's Medicine Show was something that had people walking miles to see it because that was entertainment back then. As I recall, he did some magic tricks, played a banjo, sang some songs, and sold bottles of his quack nostrums.

As above, think of it as a one-man variety show. Always keep the whole point on selling your bottles of elixir, too. If you are going for tips, you could use bottles of soda pop with labels you print up advertising it as your amazing feel-good medicine, concocted of the finest ingredients from a secret recipe handed down from ancient Egyptian papyrus scrolls. Sell for $5 a bottle. (A good label can be worth a lot if you are entertaining enough to make it a memorable hook - think of how many people will pay quite a bit for a photograph of a minor celebrity from a science fiction TV show from 30 years ago if they are at a convention and can see the former star when buying the photo. This is your version. And a 6-pack of decent pop is about $3, so the profit is $27, less your labels.)

Also look at Pop Haydn's Magnetized Water routine. Don't steal his act, but do get inspiration from his ideas about selling a clearly silly quack product.

Just some thoughts. I have never done a medicine show, but I do play the banjo! Now I am thinking such a show would be fun if I had a venue for it. Hmm...

-Patrick

An additional link that I stumbled across today. Watch it to the end to see his old time pitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jPm_86V-js

Wow! Thanks to all for your help!
I'm considering selling Coke with labels saying "Nate's patented Cerebration tonic".
I'm of meager talents outside of magic so I figure that I'll open with a simple pitch, then move into a magic square as a demonstration of my improved mental acuity, then do some juggling, a more direct and sales focused pass with the pitch, maybe the cups and balls (it's my favorite trick), and close with a final pitch.

Does that sound like an adequate show? The magic square takes about 3-5 minutes, juggling takes 3-6, the cups take 5-10. Do I need more material?
Thanks again!

You could consider working on one of those tables that suspend from your neck and waist. Kind of like the old cigarette girl tray. I recall seeing a snake oil salesman act out west on a family vacation years ago. It seemed to be pretty authentic at the time and would be a way to work festivals while strolling.

You may have already come across this book, but if not check out:

http://www.leapinglizardsmagic.com/aaa_n......show.htm

Hope it helps.

I guess that link doesn't work. If you're interested in that particular book, go to Leaping Lizards Magic and look for the Storytelling section.
The Magic Of The Medicine Show by Paul A Prater.


http://www.leapinglizardsmagic.com/

BTW - an interesting pitch at the end of your show could be a Svengali deck pitch. You could talk about how the elixir makes you see things, like how this innocent deck of cards suddenly looks to be all the same…..

Nate:

Checking in to see how your medicine show performance went. I have a blast doing it as my character "Professor Plato". You may want to try and find a copy of Tom Jorgensen's book Medicine Show Manual". He gives great advice about the structure of the show to fit for today's audience.

I have a manuscript on mounting the medicine show. "The Medicine Show Manual" is available from Denny and Lee. It shows how to build a pop out Kiester, banners, etc. also it teaches what not to do...has instructions for props, some scripting, etc. it is valuable if you don't want to go full-bore on the expense and hassle of a wagon. It has been well relieved and many have used it to build a Med Show that fits in their van.

There was a company in the nineteenth century that often sold its medicine though shows. The Kickapoo company (which probably borrowed its name from the tribe) used skewed perceptions about Native Americans to sell it's products. The idea that Native Americans were privy to secret powers was a common stereotype, particularly in rural America of the 19-20 centuries . As many know, that perception is still with us even today.

For a show, you might hand out a small card advertising some unusual medicine such as Dr. Flint's Quaker Bitters (an actual concoction) with your picture on it. For comic relief, present someone who has 'benefitted' from the use of your medicine-such as a before and after stunt. Come up with your own crazy claims. One company claimed that their medicine "carried off the old blood and made new"

PS You could have a before and after the treatment. Do it badly for comic effect.