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Darkwing Inner circle Nashville Tn 1850 Posts |
I was talking to my seven year old about a birthday party I was doing (she has been around magic for almost all of her life and does give me great insight on doing birthday party magic) and was making a Gene Anderson T&R newspaper. She said to me "daddy you're not going to do that trick for the kids, it's boring". It did get me to thinking. I went ahead and did the trick that day and I thought it went over well with both the kids (around six years of age) and the adults. I did notice however the little ones seem to lose interest quickly and so I do go through it as quickly as I can.
I use this trick also for the adults in the audience just to give them a little entertainment value and I always get a lot of positive comments and feedback. My questions is this; If you do this trick, do you pick and choose what audience you do it for? Do you save it for your adult audiences or do you do it for your kids audiences also? |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I think this is clearly a case of the effect not being what the children find boring, but the overall presentation being used. A prop is nothing more then a prop. A good magician can use this prop in various ways to captivate an audience and to get them involved in an interactive and fun way.
Too many magicians rely too heavily on the prop itself and do not give enough importance to the presentation they are using. When the effect does not go over well, they often will blame the effect or prop as the problem without realizing that perhaps it is the way they presented it that was the real issue. If you perform the T and R as just a routine to music, then perhaps the children may find it boring, however, if you add in a storyline or a funny bits of business to the presentation, all of a sudden you have changed the overall appeal of the effect entirely. Instead of being a boring presentation for the children, it becomes one of fun because you are engaing them in a fun manner that they can get excited about. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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Frank Simpson Special user SW Montana 883 Posts |
I have't done a childrens' show in many years, but I used to use the Gene Anderson T&R as part of it. It is still a staple in my act today, and is as strong as ever.
But Kyle (as usual) has hit the nail squarely on the head. It's all about presentation. Kids didn't care one iota about the difference between "illusion and reality, etc. etc.". I cannot remember my old patter specifically, but I remember talking about what I was "going" to be doing with the paper and I accidentally tore it...again and again. This gave them plenty to laugh about, and as I hadn't said anything about a restoration, as in the original patter, it came as a big surprise to them and was very successful. You don't necessarily need to change out the effect, just make sure that its plot is geared towards the specific audience for whom you're performing. |
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ReDeFiNe Loyal user Singapore 275 Posts |
I perform an act called the Enchanted Park Act. So the newspaper looks part of the set, I pick it up from the floor and perform the effect. Then dump it into the rubbish bin receptical.
Jeremy |
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Bob Sanders 1945 - 2024 Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama 20504 Posts |
For some time I worked fashion shows for a national modeling agency in Hilton Hotels. I did magic between each set of clothing while the models dressed and to set the stage for the next group of fashions. For the "business and professional" dress segment I did a routine that included tearing up and restoring a Wall Street Journal and then producing a ton of spring bills from it. It traveled very well, was on theme, and eye-catching magic. There were times when it was done for several shows a day. (I could do it in a coma now!) I certainly got my money's worth from Gene's yellow paperback book! Thanks Gene!
Bob Sanders Magic By Sander PS --- Bite the bullet and just buy a roll of floral wire for this trick. It will improve your quality of life! |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I bought a ton of that wire and still am using it to this day years later. It works great for this. Also, if anyone is attending the SAM convention in Louisville, Gene is going to be at the convention and will be doing a lecture. Gene personally showed me how to make and present the T and R many years back and I want to personally thank him for doing so.
Another tip: a small piece of tape at the top and bottom where the papers attach can help them from sagging and keeps the papers aligned well. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Magic for adults and children is presented differently to Entertain them. There is a difference between toddler magic and older children. Buy some books on presenting kids magic. See Magic Inc. and David Ginn to get some insite into entertaining different kinds of audiences.
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts |
I performed the Anderson Tear with a repeat as the closer of my act for aboout 15 years. It always -- ALWAYS -- got a strong response. Why? Because I made it fun.
I found floral wire too light. I use 18 gauge stovepipe wire. It doesn't bend as easily, but it grips the goodies very firmly, and you can reuse the gimmicks several times. When I did the Renaissance Festival, I did the T&R eight times a day. I tore it and restored it, then repeated it. To avoid intensive labor during the performing day, I would come in the Friday night before the festival, construct 8 complete sets of papers and 8 refills. After the last show on Saturday, I would install the refills into the papers, and set them inside my trunk, away from the prying eyes of the curiosity seekers. If you work with your local newspaper, find out when they dispose of the back issues. If you make friends with the person who is in charge of that, you can get all the free papers you will ever need. I used 30 day old papers for the most part. BTW, I have done it surrounded and in the wind. I even did it in light rain. That gave a double whammy. The newspaper was restored, ironed and dry.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Magic Mike Japan New user Yokosuka, Japan (U.S. Mailing Address) 98 Posts |
I perform the Gene Anderson T&R newspaper trick to young children in Japan as follows. I create a home living-room situation by sitting lazily down in a chair with my ball-cap on. My wife (assistant) dusts around me using Silly Billy's wand (available from Silly Billy directly). As she's dusting me off she acts as if she wants to read the newspaper, so I tear off half of it, and hand the ungimmicked portion to her. We both tear the newspaper simultaneously with me holding the gimmicked part. As I tear my half I put some of the newspaper pieces in my mouth to "glue it back on." The kids love that, but you may choose not to do that for health reasons. That's my biggest laugh in the show. I then finish the trick the traditional way, however I stand up for the finale (the newspaper drop). Hope that helps. You have to make the trick YOURS and the rest is up to your creativity and understanding of what impresses kids.
"There's no limit to what one man can accomplish, as long as he's willing to let someone else have the credit." (These words were inscribed on a small brass plaque which sat on President Ronald Reagan's desk in the White House during his second term.)
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I like the basic premise here and it is a very clever way to present the T and r in a new way that would give something more for the audience to enjoy. I like the ideas here but I feel perhaps you can take it further and add more to it. You have a great start but what if...
I like the fact that she is dusting you off while you read the paper. I love the wand idea but I feel as if the magic and characters are defined and the plot is there but then it sort of goes back to a normal routine after you hand her one to tear. What if you really played up the characters more and the plot idea to get more laughs and comedy from it and use the great characters you created. What if you had on a sound track or voice over something like, "man I just LOVE Saturdays. Saturdays are a guys day. A day where I can relax, kick back, read the paper and do absolutely NOTHING!! well that is my magical day but it doesn;t always work quite like that.. instead of talking about it.. why not show you what I mean." Then music can start playing and maybe the music is like "my 3 Sons" or something funny but something that takes the audience back as you sit in the chair to read the paper. She does the dusting and such and you just keep on reading. She just looks at you and you look up from paper and look at her and look at audience and go 'What!?" It gets a laugh cause anyone can relate. She taps foot again and you go, "oh hey honey here is something really cool Pay Less is having a Half OFF sale." She takes the paper as if very interested and as the audience hears Half Off, the paper gets torn. The entire act can go along these lines where you are giving her a reason to tear the paper in a comical fashion and the audience gets laughs from it until the unexpected ending finale. In this fashion you are using the characters a bit more through out the entire routine and the audience gets in more on the fun that they can directly relate to. I think you are certainly on the right idea here with this. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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Tony S Special user New York 582 Posts |
I've done the Anderson Tear in almost every show I've performed for the last 20 years. I have different presentations for adults and children. I recently saw Whit Haydn's presentation for the first time - my adult show has a few similarities to his. For children's shows I talk about Dr. Seuss, ask the kids about their favorite Dr. Seuss books, and then proceed to do the tear whie saying a Dr. Seuss kind of rhyme as patter. The kids really love it.
What it boils down to is that I agree with Kyle. You've got to know your audience and tailor your presentation to the particular group you are performing for. |
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JoeMagician New user 42 Posts |
You might want to think about researching the non-w*re and glue paper tears out there, there are tons of them on the market you might like better, and there is a lot less preset.
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Christian Illusionist Special user Ohio (currently located in Missouri) 503 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-03-03 22:18, Bob Sanders wrote: Quote:
On 2006-03-15 04:14, Bill Palmer wrote: This is probably a dumb question, but does the type of wire matter so long as it's eighteen gauge? I have 18 gauge aluminum wire. I haven't used it for the effect yet, but I already have my doubts as to how it will perform. It just seems way too flexible, but I wanted to ask you more experienced magi before I went and bought more wire. Also, in the Greater Magic video that Gene Anderson explains the effect in, he says that the amount of wire to be used is 18" and then shows it already made into what it's used for. What dimensions should it have? I figured it was about 2 inches on each end and 7 inches on each side? One more thing, where does one find that white tape? I looked all over Wal-Mart and never found anything even close except for grey duck tape and clear tape of different sorts. Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.
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mcharisse Inner circle York. PA 1226 Posts |
I've used 18 guage alumnimu and while it feels flimsy, it hasn't ever failed me. I'm a newspaper editor and I do this trick a lot...go ahead and try your wire and see if you're confident with it -- this trick takes lots of practice usually anyway, to get the natural-looking handling down pat.
By the way, newspapers are getting narrower, so I've scaled down the gimmick by a coule of inches and I tear the paper in half, then in lenghtwise thirds, rather than in half three times. That certainly simplifies the handling and makes it that much less likely anything will flash. |
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
As mentioned earlier, put some humor in it for the kids. For example tell the kids someone was tearing up your important newspaper. Say something like, "After each time he tore it I said, 'No, do not tear it.' (in a silly manner.) But he could not here me because..."
Bob Sanders mentions using the comic pages that are colorful for the kids in a different thread. Beginning next week I'm starting my shows off with music using the Richard Osterlind method. At the end of restoring it, I will crumble it up so a dove will appear. |
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Darkwing Inner circle Nashville Tn 1850 Posts |
Dynamike,
Good post. I have noticed for kids you do have to move it along a little quicker. David W. |
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Frank Douglas Special user 555 Posts |
I am thinking of using T&R newspaper as an opener for a 10 yr old birthday party I have been asked to do.
I’d appreciate any feedback here. I am toying with coming out wearing an art smock with a stack of newspapers and a clear water container on a stand, say my hellos to the kids and go into the following. "Ok gang, let's get started.... I was told you all wanted to learn to do Paper Mache. “ Pick up the top paper and start tearing the paper in to the requisite strips, ignoring the kid’s yelling about magic, etc. “I love working with Paper Mache… it’s so messy….. You get to tear up paper like this….” Continue the tears as I’m speaking, still ignoring the kids yelling about magic. “To start you need to tear your newspaper in to strips……” Tearing the last long strip. “…Like this…… But you need to make the …. Pieces smaller…..” Starting to look confused and looking between the kids and the newspaper. “If you want to...... Magic?..... “ Looking at the kids like they are crazy. “What about magic?.....NOOOOOOoooo I was told you wanted Paper Mache…. No one said anything about MAGIC” Completed the final tears and prep for the flash restoration as I speak, but slowing down. “Excuse me (insert Birthday boy/girl name here), You want me to do magic?... not Paper Mache?” Look at the parent… REALLY confused. “MAGIC?.... REALLY? Shrug and act like I guess I can pull it off. “ I guess I can give magic a try….. Well I THINK I can anyway…… So no Paper Mache huh?” The Idea to magically fix the paper dawns on me. “We won’t be needing this then…” Bring attention to the shredded paper in my hands. Whisper to the Birthday Child. “Do you know and magic words?” Child says his/her magic word/s. “OK then….. (Repeat the magic word/s)” Do the flash restoration and look relieved. “Whew… I’m glad you could help me out there. Let’s get this out of the way since we don’t need it, shall we” Clear the paper and water and go into routine proper. Too much for an opener?.... Too tacky? Cheers Frank |
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Peter Pitchford Elite user Philly 423 Posts |
Best time to do the Gene Anderson T&R?
To answer I will quote the great Spongebob Squarepants, "The best time to wear a striped sweater... is all the time..." |
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Bill Hegbli Eternal Order Fort Wayne, Indiana 22797 Posts |
Frank Douglas,
The only advice I can give is to introduce yourself 1st. The on the magic word, make funny words up and have the whole audience of toddlers yell out the words. Louder, louder, louder! As mentioned earlier, David Ginn's books and DVDs are excellent kids show references. Even if you do not do his exact trick, you can get lots of fun ideas for the kids on what to say and how to handle them. He has been doing kids shows a very long time and is an expert on the subject. |
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Frank Douglas Special user 555 Posts |
Introducing myself falls under "say my hellos to the kids"
I figured to draw in the birthday kid right off the bat be ask him/her for the first magic word. This group is all around 10 yrs old one 7yr old (her little brother) and a few parents. My main concern is the script premiss for T&R opener. I think it's fun/funny... but that's just me. Cheers Frank |
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