I just recently received this (actually last night) and I thought I would post my review of the DVD.

The DVD shows performances and explanations of 3 routines. This I thought was not a lot of content, but the main reason for purchasing the DVD was for the explanation of the "The Thing"

1. Sponge Snack
This routine revolves around the multiple productions of sponge balls from Bills mouth. This is an extremely funny routine. My 5 year old and 3 year old were watching Bill's performance with me, and they could not stop laughing. My wife came in to see what the noise was all about, then she started laughing. Bill has put together a great routine here to suit all ages. Bill's facial expressions are what turns this routine from a good effect to a great performance.

2. The Thing
As mentioned above, this was the reason I purchased the DVD. What a great levitation effect this is. As stated on the DVD's descriptions "The Thing can float in any performing situation with your audience viewing from any angle", and this holds true. I am away today to purchase the materials to construct the gimmick. Bill gives good instructions on the handling required to pull this off, and some alternative ideas of the effect.

3. Chico the Mind Reader
This is fundamental a "pick a card" effect, but Bill has wrapped a great routine around it. Lots of gags and spectator participation. What this performance did for me was highlight the importance of having a solid routine.

Overall I enjoyed Bill's style on the DVD and his explanations were overall pretty good. Some extreme close ups on "The Thing" gimmick would of been helpfully, but there still is plenty of information on the DVD to construct one yourself (in my case my wife will be constructing it)

Regards
Warren

Thank you Warren, this is a VERY concise and helpful review!!!

Often I see reviews which have ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 which is completely subjective and not really appropriate. Your review is nice since you give details and describe the effects well. Great job!

Thanks again,
L2L

Thanks for taking the time to review this DVD. Coincidentally, I just ordered a copy of this DVD yesterday morning! I'll let you know what I think when I receive it.
Ray

I bought the DVD from another Café member and I absolutely love it. After a visit to Walmart and Joann Fabrics, I purchased everything I need to make "The Thing".
Thank You Bill Abbott for sharing this great magic with us.

Jack

I just received this dvd and I'm very happy with it. That said, I really have to draw the proverbial line in the sand and say that the trick "Chico the Mind Reader" is without doubt, the worst trick I've ever seen performed for children. In fact, it just might be one of the worst tricks I've ever seen, and it stands in stark contrast to the first two routines on the dvd which are spectacular. Why is it so bad?...

Well for starters, the effect simply isn't that exciting. This trick is a standard prediction/pick-a-card type trick, but it Mr. Abbott's hands, it is stretched into a ten minute bore-fest. Seriously. Half of this routine is Mr. Abbott 'conversing' with his monkey puppet, and with all due respect to Mr. Abbott, his Chico is no 'lambchop' or even 'rocky raccoon' a la Dave Williamson. Any sense of momentum or structure that the routine might have had is consistently undermined by laughless, uninspired dialog with the monkey. Or, and this really killed me, an interlude where the 'monkey' keeps misbehaving in the same way over and over again. For some reason, the kids seemed to like it- but here is the really curious thing: Mr. Abbott's interaction with his spectators is embarrasingly bad. Evey now and again a spectator (read: child) in the audience can be heard shouting something toward the stage. In many a performer's minds, these are great opportunities to establish rapport with audience. Mr. Abbott is able only to give strange glances (which probably serve to alienate the child), and make awkward asides. Notice how many of his statements to his on-stage 'volunteer' appear to be accusatory/defensive, and above all, unfunny. Finally, how many jokes does Mr. Abbott make about the odors emanating from Chico's rear? One time might have been a funny toss-off. I stopped counting after about six jokes to that effect. And here's really the most important thing, when the trick is done, it doesn't really seem as though the audience is enthralled with what they just witnessed. I don't blame them.

Now, I know this all sounds very harsh. Please understand that I think the dvd is high quality, but that is due to the sponge ball routine, and "The Thing". Notice that those two routines have only modest amounts of interaction between performer and audience. In all honesty, I don't think that Mr. Abbott has the type of extroverted, commanding presence to do effects that require a lot of audience give-and-take. Who knows, perhaps his other dvds reveal a more nuanced and polished performer. I certainly hope so.

Wow. I certainly respect people's different opinions on things. Not everything out there is a good fit for everyone. I have to admit though, I have watched that DVD numerous times and the Chico routine cracks me up every time I watch it.

I love the interaction between Bill and the puppet which is more important then the card trick.Thank God it's not yet another Rocky routine [with Dave Williamson lines! Like you say Shikina the kids seem to like it!

I love everything that Bill Abbott has released. This is not the usual "Bozo teaches some Tricks" DVD. It is a a highly evolved professional artist giving us his hard-won act. It is about "how to perform like an artist" rather than "how to do tricks".

Best regards,
Glenn Godsey

Shikina,

I respect your opinion, I have to agree with you on some points and disagree on others. I agree that we really don't get a feel for a performer from these three tricks as shown on this DVD. Certain things are lacking to make that speculation:

1.We have no idea what the details of the audience are. How large is it? What was the function? From the details of the filming I can tell you this was not a commercial shoot. Maybe it should have been. Maybe not. What was the make up of the audience? Was it mostly kids? Was it partly kids and partly adults? Was it mostly adults with a few kids?

2 What was the audience reaction? They clearly are not mic'ed so we have little way of knowing anything other than the times the low audience sound is turned up or when there is a particular outburst of some sort. What I do hear is childish laughter throughout the routine. The jokes you hate are tried true field tested laughter getters with children. The techniques you hate (repeated misbehaving) are tried and true staples of kid's performersa the world round. Watch some recent animation starting as "far" back as Ren and Stimpy. Kids love bathroom humor. Kids get bathroom humor. What this means is something I agree with you on. This routine works for kids!

Which brings me to my observation. On his new DVD set Joshua Jay discusses the concept of a Marquee Trick. Typically this is not your best or most magical trick but it is something which the audience can peg their experience with. It is that something which not only makes you unique from other performers but gets you repeat bookings and command performances. "Mommy, I want the guy with the monkey." What Bill Abbott is tipping here is a Marquee Trick. This is a routine which is fun for the children and gives them something to ask for which can only lead back to Bill Abbott. If the kids asked for the guy with red foam balls (Sorry Bill ) or the guy that floated something, they might get any old magician. Heck, these days even if they asked for the guy with that raccoon they are likely to get any of a number of locals sporting any of a number of uninspired "versions" of David Williamson's routine. Ask for the guy with the monkey and you will either get Bill Abbott or an organ grinder, and I doubt mom knows where to call to get an organ grinder so Bill is pretty safe on that one.

Am I simply backslapping Bill... heck no! The opening routine has a major flash of the final load. It looks like it was an accident (slip) and it looks like it might have flown by most laypeople. We magicians know where to look and what to look for so I nailed this flash on the first viewing. Similarly Bill uses the continuous production from the mouth, of which the first few were typical, average moves. By that I mean not very deceptive to a magician as the motion seems a tad unnatural in the same way that every other performer I have seen do this move has looked (even the legends). PM me if you do not get what I mean. Bill redeems himself as the routine takes flight, however, by launching into a series of the finest continuous productions from the mouth which I have ever seen. The retention of vision is perfect and the illusion is perfect. That segment of about 20 seconds where he is hitting production after production with near perfection is worth the price of the DVD. I don't think there is a finer teaching tool in all of magic for that move than those 20 seconds.

Thing is, well, inspiringly beautiful. I think there could be more to it but that "more" would probably be lost on the kids. This is afterall a DVD about Stand-Up For Kids.

If one performs for kids, one will quickly learn where to draw the line, and how and when to keep the kids from crossing that line and getting out of hand yelling stuff out at random. Different performers handle this reality differently. You and I may not fully agree with Bill's choices of child audience management, but they work for him and that I can respect.

In the end this DVD delivers a great variation of kid's show material from truly magical to just plain looney fun. The kids react as the performer wishes, and at the end of the day that is what this game is all about... getting the reaction you want from your audience. To that end Bill Abbott Performs Stand-Up For Kids is an invaluable learning tool for those wishing to perform stand-up magic for kids.

Cheers,

Tom

I have to admit...I see Chico as an above avg kids entertainment act at best. But hey..if it makes kids laugh and be entertained for 10 minutes what do I know?! I thought there seemed like awkward silences in the act but it is really hard to get a feel for a live act on DVD sometimes. I ordered the thing and am looking forward to working with it.

I heard there was a link that you could "preview" this DVD. Does anyone know where that is?

Bruce

Going by the DVD peformance, I wouldn't rate Bill Abbott my favorite kid's show performer, however I think the material is first rate and well worth the price of the DVD. He gives three solid commercial routines for kids. The relatively complex construction of "The Thing" is thoroughly explained. I was able to construct one in half a day. As for the "Chico" routine, I have seen other puppet routines I prefer. But if you already use a rabbit-in-hat puppet, as I do, the monkey routine is terrific for return dates. I would not perform the routine exactly as it appears on the tape, but who would (apart from Bill Abbott, that is)? Magic tricks are a lot like clothing in that some things that look great on someone else might not look as good on you. So you try things on and you go with what fits.
A note to Shikina: I watched the DVD just this morning and some of the references to the monkey's behind must be pretty subtle. For the life of me, I can count only two.

An interesting note is that chicco is a LIVING performance.

what I mean is that Bill adds and takes away lines, during the performance, as he sees fit.

He understands the routine, and is so comfertable doing it, that can and does interact with the audiance.

Ive seen him do this routine many times, for kids AND adults, and it always gets a great reaction.

all three tricks are worth the price of the tape.

Its funny the first time I watched the DVD, I thought the Chico routine was extremely boring and drawn out with not a lot of energy from Bill. However, it got better on the second and third viewing.

I showed the performance of the Chico routine vs another very popular, similar effect to my girlfriend and she prefers the Chico routine because the "monkey has more personality and character."

I'm not crazy about The Thing, even though Bill's performance is excellent. I really like his Sponge Snack routine...very funny with great facial expressions.

Well, I think I will never perform the Chico-routine, but I think it is good entertainment. And that is what it is all about!

Magixx

I have to say immediately that I have not seen this DVD. I only know about is because it was rated 10/10 in Online Visions this month.

Now, it's interesting to read your various comment for and against. But I was surprised that no-one has discussed the wisdom of a trick where things are stuffed into and come out of the performer's mouth. This is NOT political correctness but as children's performers, is it not up to us to review everything we do to ensure that we are not 'teaching' children bad habits?

Young children copy what their heroes do - if we perform this routine, might we be encouraging them to stuff objects into their mouths thinking they'll duplicate?

Discuss

James - Please see the routine before criticizing it.

Jeff