Hi,

So, I'm not having trouble with the actual sleight of hand involved in the sponge balls. The trouble I'm having is memorizing the routining--how do you practice? You need more hands than just two! My dad (professional magician of four decades, though he pretends it's more like 3) says to lay them out on a table and pretend they are in someone's hands as need be, but it's so hard to visualize! Surely there's an easier way to do this? How did you do it?

Unfortunately, having been born into magic I have a love-hate relationship with it. When I was five and six I could do a *** impressive routine of Professor's Nightmare, and now my dad's routine has me just as confused as a muggle. Now, over ten years later, I can't master sponge bunnies. How embarrassing!

Thanks,
Alexa

Your dad pretty much said it. That is how most of us practice sponge ball/sponge bunny tricks when it comes to the spectator's hand. The only other option is to get someone in your family or another magician to be your partner in practice.

Set them on the table and cover them with a mug, so you're forced into remembering what is there, perhaps?

I take a heavy, hard cover book (school textbook or Mark Wilson's works well), I lay it with the spine facing away from me, and I treat the cover of the book like the spectators hand. When I want them to open their hand, I reach out and flip open the cover of the book. When I want them to close their hand after loading the sponges/bunnies, I close the book cover. If you think about it, it's almost the exact same motion of subtlety manipulating just how you want the spectator's hand to be.

After you've practiced this, ask your dad for help. Tell him to be a heckler (after 40 years, I'm sure he knows just what kind of heckling can go on during a sponge routine). It may feel somewhat silly at first, but it will definitely come in handy when performing for real people (muggles, as you call them).

Just my 2 cents...
~Jonathan

Thanks for all of your thorough, prompt responses! Both the mug and the book sound like great ideas. Now, if only I wasn't in boarding school so I had a pair of family/magi hands to watch...you can't really practice on anyone at school because then I won't have an audience when I'm ready to take it for a test drive.

Thanks,
Alexa

You could also use a small sock, folded in half...put in the sponge, grab the sock, and flip it over like you would someone's hand.

I like the book idea the best. It is something I could work with... Thanks for the tip.

SeanD13

When I practice with my sponge balls, I usually just stuff them into a coffee mug. You can't see what's inside from most angles, you just have to give them a good push to the bottom. Or you could also use an empty card box. Hope it helps.

I used to put the sponges into a rubber hand. That way, I placed them into the proper location during rehearsal. When practicing, I sometimes placed the sponges in my hand to make sure that they were being placed correctly - such that the sense of touch didn't give away what was really happening. Another strategy is to run through the routine in your head, until you can visualize the details - keeping your eyes closed may help.

Great idea...something I never really considered!
~Jonathan

Where does one find rubber hands for such a purpose?

Try a costume or novelty shop, they should have one. A Google or Yellow Pages search for your area should do the trick.

I like the rubber hand idea!

You would need to find one that had a wire armature inside it. Otherwise, you can't open and close it.

How about small cotton work gloves? Just add a little padding with a few stitches here and there, and you have a lifelike hand that you can practice with that will fold.

I took your first few suggestions, and the book works wonderfully. Of course a hand is always better, but there's no need to go through the trouble. I'm mostly practicing in between classes (or during...), and a book is beautifully inconspicuous.

Thanks,
Alexa

No matter what gimmicks and gaffs you come up with for practicing the sponge balls, nothing works as well as a real human.

So, after you have gotten in plenty of "book practice", when you get a weekend off from Hogwarts, go into town and practice on some of the locals.

You will receive an education in spectator management no book can provide.

One thing that helped me immensely, if you are not aware of this, when you place a sponge ball into a spectator's hand, ALWAYS close their fingers around it, then turn it over, so the back of the hand is uppermost. This is a good idea for coin work, as well.

Why?

If they decide to look inside to see what is really going on, they have to turn their hand over first. This gives you a chance to stop them before the climax of the magnum opus is prematurely revealed.