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dearwiseone Inner circle Portland, OR 1143 Posts |
I haven't run into this problem before, but I performed the chair suspension at a school today and the little girl kept trying to sit up during the illusion. I think it was because of all the noise the crowd was making. How do you keep the volunteer laying down? (besides of course just telling her to lay there as still as possible?)
Thanks! |
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Sekhmet New user Nacogdoches, TX 54 Posts |
Straps? Ropes? Chains, maybe?
I honestly can't think of a foolproof method to keep a kid down (they're bouncy little things). Try stressing it more. "You MUST stay laying down, or it won't work at all. People around will start to make a lot of noise, but you HAVE to stay down" Maybe throw a little joke in to lighten it up a bit...
There are none so blind as those who will not see.
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Moth Regular user 109 Posts |
You have to enlist the kid, as S. suggests - letting then know that they have a very special part to play, and that if they really really concentrate on keeping their back very straight, something amazing will happen...also, you can give them a "counting concentration" game that they can whisper. Depending on the age, this can be anything from the alphabet backwards to, say, every other number starting with 1. Let them know it's part of the magic.
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Dennis Michael Inner circle Southern, NJ 5821 Posts |
Select an older child, someone at least 5 or older, and talk to them ahead of time. After a while you can tell the nerveous ones.
Even with all these precautions, I still watch for those who appear to be moving.
Dennis Michael
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ClintonMagus Inner circle Southwestern Southeast 3997 Posts |
A close friend performed this a few weeks ago and had the same problem. He simply asked her to step down, made some lighthearted comments, and asked her to participate in something later in the show.
Things are more like they are today than they've ever been before...
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ssucahyo Inner circle 1954 Posts |
I never dare to use volunteer to do my chair levitation, the main reason is that one...I never asure how to make them stay laying down. I do not want to risk my show...
Cheers, CC |
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Loual4 Special user Montreal, Canada 670 Posts |
When I perform this illusion, I try to spot a child who looks and acts a little more subdued compared to the others. The very important part, I find, is this: I get on his/her level (on my knees... No, I am not begging the child, just getting better eye contact!), and make him/her an accomplice... I tell them that I need them to be still. I tell them exactly how I am going to sit them down on the board, then they lay on their back... reassure them that they cannot fall, I am there to hold them when needed...
Never had a problem, except once. Luckily, the kid did not "bounce" too much ( she was wigling on the board...), and I got over that part of the show real quick.... Have a nice day! Louis Jutras |
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Thetruthteller New user 93 Posts |
Laudenum
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the Sponge Inner circle Atlanta 2771 Posts |
What about wrapping the cloth (that I often see in pictures) around them?
s |
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Father Photius Grammar Host El Paso, TX (Formerly Amarillo) 17161 Posts |
When choosing a child for an assistant, I watch several children during the show who I feel would be good potential assistants, I look for subdued behavior, one that looks better self disciplined. Upon identifying the child I think will work best, I choose them for an assistant, then always give them a simple explanation of what I want them to do, such as, "Now what I need you to do, is lay very still, relax, and close your eyes. Nothing it going to hurt you, and you are going to be part of the magic" That generally does it, never had a problem with that method.
"Now here's the man with the 25 cent hands, that two bit magician..."
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magicofCurtis Inner circle Los Angeles 2545 Posts |
OHH this is the fun part of the trick... NOT lifting the head...
I tell the child and the audience that I am going to balance them on one chair, and I play a little balancing game... Stand on one foot,,, hold your hands out.. etc.... I present it as the AMAZING SUE (child's name) she will perform an amazing defeat of balance.. Then I pretend to interview Sue and ask her why, and how she is going to pull it off.... a lot of add-living.... SO when I pick her up and walk towards the chairs, I tell her not to worry, and it might feel uncomfortable, but she will be fine, also I tell her to keep her head down it is very important etc.... So when Sue is on the chairs,,, I ask her to tighten her body up and think of light thoughts....etc etc... and I point her head downwards... Every since I have adapted this routine I have never had a head lifting problem... Also in LARGE shows I will have my stage manager pick a child before hand and walk through it.... Best of luck...
Curtis Lovell II
http://www.CurtisLovell.com http://www.MagicofCurtis.com www.facebook.com/curtislovellii Los Angeles, California - U.S.A. |
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STEPHANE-ARNOW Regular user FRANCE 136 Posts |
Hello
I use ever a lady from the audiance for the chair suspension. I never had this problem. Only one time, the lady wanted to see what I was done, but only with the head. The key is the way that you explain what WILL done, and rassure her. The best moment is during the moment who you go back on stage after going in the audiance to 'take' the girl. If you put her arms on his body and if you Speak all the time with her (even you put a music), she 's fell in security during the performance. And give her the promess of a nice photo... She don't want to disappointed the audiance! But for me, with a child...it is not the way to do.... |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Hi all,
This illusion is probably one of the most used illusions in my show. No matter what show I do, from a theater to a b-day party, I find myself doing this illusion. Because I was so fascinated with the illusion I started really researching and asking around for information on the illusion and found out a lot of it just did not exist at all. This is why I have studied and out my own notes together on this very illusion itself. Here are just some of my thoughts on the subject. I hope they may be of help to you. First off, the idea of the illusion is that the child is suspended on the chair from her neck only. It adds to the effect and creates the ultimate illusion that gets the best reactions from your audience. I also looked into an extension and a pillow and realized I was overdoing it and thinking like a magician too much. For a child, hanging their head over like that in a gentle manner for that period of time, is not harmful to them at all. Children do this a lot on the playground when they hang from monkey-bars and such. If you gradually set their head down gently over the board, they are fine and comfortable doing so. Also, if you get a girl, the hair helps hide your point of contact on the chair and makes for the best illusion possible. Not only this, but having their head on the board without any extension, causes their body to be out of balance. The proper location of the body on the board is one where the shoulders are parallel to the edge of the anchor chair. This allows the body and weight to be distributed evenly and adds to the illusion in that the suspension is straighter out and does not sag. It is one of the safety measures I do each time I perform the illusion. I can remove the first chair and the board will remain attached to the bottom of the child. I then remove the final board and the loose wrapping of the cloth really indeed looks as if the child is totally suspended. The effect is so great that it always gets a strong reaction from audience of all ages. Things I try and do in my routine of the chair suspension illusion: - I always perform this at the end of my show when at b-day parties or at least in the middle of the show if at a theater etc. The reason is that this effect and illusion relies a lot on the child not being afraid of you and having trust in you. As your show progresses, you build up trust and the kids learn to relax. - When the child comes up, I never like to stand and talk downward towards them. I take a step stool (used in the routine) and I sit on and so that the child and I are on the same level. This eases them and makes them relax. - I talk softer and gentler to them. This makes the audience quiet down to listen but also tends to get the child to know I am there to have fun with them... that they can trust me without begging them to. - I always start by making the child and the audience laugh together. This is done for a reason ever before I get her on the chairs etc. The reason is to get them to laugh and the audience to laugh so that they know it is going to be fun and that the audience is with them. I do this by telling the child what I wanted to be when I was a kid. But if I tell them who I wanted to be.. they must promise not to laugh or giggle no matter what. No laughing or giggling allowed. I also make them and the kids in the audience take an oath by raising their hands and repeating after me. It gets a lot of laughs when I get the kids to promise to do their homework, wash mom and dad's car etc. I finally tell them I wanted to be superman. Of course the kids start laughing and the helper giggles but it really helps to show we are there to have fun and that it is ok for the helper to have fun with me. There is a pyschology for doing this before I ever place the child on the illusion. - I always tell the child everything I am going to do and ask for permission before I ever do it. This is a key and helps them build trust in you. There are no surprises for them as it is made clear. I never ever rush them onto the chairs. I take it slowly and step by step for a reason. - I get the child wanting to help me. This is done because I tell them that although I wanted to be superman but realized that I wasn't going to be flying anytime soon. BUT I grew up to be a magician and although I never learned how to fly I learned how to make people float. That tonight I would like to make the helper float if they could only help me out. You see magic is only PART of making someone float. You have to have magic but you also have to have imagination. That is where my helper comes in. Cause the best imagination is the imagination found in children. By doing this I build more trust in the hlper. I make them feel important and I empower them in that we are going to work as a team to make this happen. This is psychology once again working for me to get the child wanting to help and work with me through empowering them. - I first ask them if they would like to help me have some fun to end the show. They almost always at this time say yes. - I use a step stool in front of the illusion. This makes it ten times easier for you to get the child to sit right. So I first have them step up on the stool. I then ask them to hold out their arms for me. This is to remind them to use their imagination that they are a plane. I then ask permission if I can help them sit up on the board and I help them up. Everything I do I state before I do it. This is very important. I will never touch the child at all before I ask permission if I can assist them up on the chair or assist them in laying down. Once again this builds trust between you and them. - I then make sure that their shoulders are as far up on the anchorage chair as I can get them. This is for safety reasons and helps to divide the weight the proper way. Their head I have them lie downwards and have them do 3 things for me for the remainder of the trick. 1) to close their eyes until I tell them to open them 2) to not move from this point forward 3) to have fun and to imagine they are lighter then air As I perform the illusion. My wife is always there by the head side with the helper. She is there to make sure and comfort the child if in any way she senses anything from the child. In most cases, this is never an issue. If my wife does sense anything at all she can usually whisper words of confidence to the child or can give me a signal so I cna be aware of it. This is something my wife and I have built into the act to make sure it goes off without a hitch every time. A safety note that I tell everyone doing the chairs is the following: Always hold on to the non anchored chair and the board resting on it whenever you are lifting the child on or off the illusion. It is not so much the weight that causes the problem, but if the board twists off the back chair as your helper is getting up, it will twist enough that it can actually break the weld right off. I always hold the chair and board at that spot or have my assistant hold it as I lift the child off the chair. These are just some of the many things I have wrriten down in my own personal notes for the chair suspension. I really try to study the illusion and the pyschology behind it. The reason for this is that I always use a child from the audience to perform this. It makes the illusion that much more powerful in the mids of the audience who are watching. However when using any child for this (as I am sure you are all aware) there is always that danger that something could go wrong or that the child will not behave properly during performance. I have found that by doing some of what I mentioned above, I usually have no problems at all. I have done this hundreds and hundreds of times now and it works out wonderfully. I think the way you get the child tobeahve and not move is to not rush into the illusion that I see so many folks doing. you can not expect any child to race up on stage and wanting to be placed on something they have never seen before. It is a bit scarey for them. In this way, you really need to establish trust between yourself and the child before you ever get them on the illusion. This is very critical. I find that the way I routine it, alloes me to build that trust with them in a very fun manner and before I ever place them on the chairs, they feel more relaxed. There are a few rules of thumb that help me to make sure the child does not move some of these are: - having and making the child get used to hearing your voice as you take them step by step through the process. - by going it step by step I am not having the child do too much at any one time. They get to know what is going to happen next before I ever do it. - I build trust in them and empower them through the routine we are doing. they know that it is us as a team that is going to try and do something very cool. This way they are empowered to want to assist me the right way. - I make sure the child is positioned correctly on the chairs. So many times I see magicians performing this incorrectly. Just having the child in the wrong position can and will cause the child to want to move. I make sure they are positioned right. - before I wrap the cloth gently over them. I take their hands and fold them on their lap. I then wrap the cloth over them. The reaosn for this is that is is a much more relaxed position for them to be in. It calms them down. The other reason is that if their arms are held that way, once I wrap them in the cloth, it becomes much more difficult for them to move their arms or body to grab ahold of anything. I hope some of this information is of help to you. I am going to try and attach an image of the chairs as I performed it last year. This isused basically to show you how the child is set up on the illusion and notice also their is no sag at all in when the child is in the suspended position of the effect. I hope these ideas and thoughts help some of you. Please let me know if I can go into any more detail on this. I would be my pleasure to do so. I have a passion for this illusion and have always enjoyed working with it. My pleasure. Kyle Click here to view attached image.
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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Loual4 Special user Montreal, Canada 670 Posts |
Great post Kyle! I was wondering when you would show up (hee hee hee...).
Anybody who takes the time to read and assimilate what is written here should not have any problems performing the illusion. Have a nice day! Louis Jutras |
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Louis:
Thanks for the kind words my friend. It is much appreciated. I really have a passion for performing this illusion as when it is properly presented it creates such a great reaction. It is also a great illusion for someone starting out in illusions cause it can be performed virtually anywhere. I actually have an ebook out now that covers 15 detailed pages on information like I posted above. It really was my chance to try and cover off on as many issues about this illusions as I could. If anyone is interested in the ebook, shoot me a PM. I hope the information above is of help to those who perform this illusion or are thinking about getting one. 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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aquamage New user 92 Posts |
Great post Kyle...very complete. I don't do the chair suspension...I use a walk away, but I usually use a child for my Wizard Academy shows. I help the child up onto the table and position them laying down. Then I tell everyone we are going to "hypnotize" her. I count to three and "Bang...you are asleep. (thier eyes are usually open at this point) er...most people usually sleep with thier eyes closed". This usually gets a laugh and the child (sometimes at my prompting if needed) will close their eyes. Throughout the suspension I am talking to the child about using their imagination to feel like they are flying. The music I use is very beautiful and a bit hypnotic...and the child will almost always keep their eyes closed and be relaxed. Using this approach I have never had one sit up on me.
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Marvello Inner circle It's amazing how little I can say in 1612 Posts |
Kyle is da man when it comes to chair suspensions - great post, as usual.
Never criticize someone else until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Then, when you do criticize them, you will be a mile away from them and you will have their shoes.
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Thanks guys. I really do appreciate your kind words. I love the illusion but just felt there was never any real and practical information out there on the illusion. That is why I worked hard on developing and researching all I could so that I could make sure I was presenting is safely and in an entertaining way. The ebook is basically my blood and sweat put down on paper that covers everything I could possibly think of in regards to the performance, safety and set-up of the illusion. I hope the ebook and its information is of help to others. Let me know if I can answer any questions or assist anyone in any way. My pleasure.
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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ddhoudini New user Kansas City, MO 70 Posts |
Kyle,
that was incredible. I wish you'd post a video sample of your performance. My son is learning this illusion. Your post is a tremendous help. |
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ddhoudini New user Kansas City, MO 70 Posts |
Btw, where is the best place to purchase the chair suspension? I found a place in my town for $400....
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