Stage by Stage - John Graham
$60.00
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/magic-......y-stage/

The Hype:
What makes Stage by Stage unique is the scope and intention of this remarkable magic book. Author John Graham has not written other magic books. He has not released dozens of tricks. Instead, he has dedicated his life to perfecting his stage show. And, in this book, he shares every part of the process: the tricks, the transitions between the tricks, why he made the changes he did, and how to build your own standing-ovation-worthy stage show.

This is not merely a book on parlor and stage magic (though it contains more than a dozen complete parlor pieces). This is a book for those wishing to transition from close-up to stage. It's a one-of-a-kind roadmap that takes you through the nuts and bolts of how to design an act. Stage by Stage is an equal mix of essays and routines, gorgeously illustrated and designed.

You'll learn how to convert the magic you already do to parlor situations, and make those same tricks play for audiences twenty times the size of a close-up crowd. You'll learn about prop management, and how to create a show that is modular (so that you can swap tricks in and out, without sacrificing the feeling of a cohesive show).

But don't take our word for it. This is from Asi Wind's Foreword to Stage by Stage:

"Even seasoned performers will find a great amount of valuable information within these pages. The author explains much more than the mere mechanics of the tricks. He goes into the details that make his material work in the real world, from managing the props to how the tricks play in relation to the routines before and after…I had the privilege of using "Name-Dropper" before it was published, and it instantly became one of my show's highlights. You can easily create an entire show from the material in this book, with tricks like "Final Sale," where a random audience member guesses the cost of your jacket; another favorite is "Now and Later," an effect where you appear to lasso a randomly chosen playing card. I find the method to be as beautiful as the effect."

My Take:
As a reviewer I feel that it is my duty to read each book I am given cover to cover to be fair to both the writer and the publisher. Sometimes it becomes a job and is a real chore to plow through. This, I am glad to say, is not one of those times.

However, it took only a few pages into the book to realize that I hated it. Just as when I get a new Stephen King novel, I started reading and the next thing I knew it was 2:00 in the morning and I was sleeping in my chair. It is dangerous to have a book that catches you so quickly and completely. John's style of writing is both very informative and quite entertaining. His personality really shows and his jokes are actually both new and really funny.

When I took a marketing class back in my college years, one of the first things you were taught were the three P's. Product, pricing and placement. Very important things. John teaches you his three P's with an equal importance to your act.

He teaches methods to perform two related tricks in a row and how to develop a script for that. He also teaches you what to do to link up two unrelated effects.

You learn how to take that closeup effect that you love and adapt it for the stage. He offers many tips on all phases of you becoming more professional. To me, one of the biggest things is connection with the audience and he offers some pointers on that. If you remember Mat Franco competing on America's Got Talent, you saw what a good connection can do for you. There were magicians on that season that to me performed better magic but the thing that allowed Mat to win was the way he connected with his audience. He won because he was just so darn likable.

On top of all the tips he offers a number of outstanding routines and they can be done without knucklebusting. On a number of the routines, he starts with someone else's work then explains to you how he made each his own. He makes sure he gives full credit to each of the original creators.

One thing I love that I don't often see with a magic book is that John has four of the routines from this book on Youtube so you can see not only how the effect looks but you can get a picture of his personality and how he sells each effect to his audience.

The Ring - A very nice ring on string type effect based on Dan Fleshman's work. It ends with the ring disappearing and being located in a zippered wallet inside a sealed envelope.
The Ring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_KZ2tJstfg

The Examiner - Special Edition. A very pretty turn and restored newspaper. However, this uses only a four page sheet. Direct from the work of Paul Harris.
The Examiner - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbhfNtA_gu0

Now and Later - Those of you who do lassoing the selected card just may switch your method. This requires no magnets and the lassoed card can be given out with the rope attached. This one will definitely fool those "in the know."
Now and Later - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY5dPB4FRPE

Buffalo John has been adapted from a Harry Anderson routine.and can easily be expanded to a full act featuring bits of "the Million Dollar Mystery", the "Barcode Gag', card flourishes, a "Before Your Eyes" prediction, a Himber wallet transformation , a hat tear and a $100 bill switch
Buffalo John - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY5dPB4FRPE

The tricks are separated into Openers, Middles and Closers. He gives simply everything you might want to know about polishing your show, from Prop Management to his jokes. He even goes through three full acts telling where everything goes on his table and listing the music for each step. The music is the only thing that concerns me. This is obviously not royalty-free music and the way the tunes are inserted into the routines and the number of different things I think could cause a problem with BMI or ASCAP.

This is a superbly written book that you should have on your shelf if you are serious about your art. It is nicely illustrated by Jeremy Dutcher with a forward by Asi Wind. The book is beautifully produced as are all of Vanishing Inc's books.

John has produced an excellent primer of upping your games. Well written and well illustrated. This is finding a permanent place in my library so , of course, it gets a highly recommended..

Canaday, thanks for the review.
BTW, there are 4 P's in marketing.

I stand corrected. It's been a long time.

Thanks for the review!

Is this a good book for someone that will be doing a parlor show?

Yes...yes it is!