I need to expand my selection of good opening routines. What is your favorite opening routine for a stage performance for families? I usually like something that is fast paced, colorful, and that I can do silently to music. At this point, I would say my favorite is a silk routine involving the twentieth century silks & cool music. What is your favorite?

Check out the silk road routine on McBride onstage vol. 2.
PM me for more info if you haven't seen this before.

Best
Brandon

Tony,
My favorite is anything that will get the audience's attention, establishes character and has enough speed/power to it to let me burn off that initial blast of nervous energy.
From my point of view the opener is there to get me "in the zone" for communicating, and manipulating, etc. The actual effects may vary but the outcome should be audience attention and settling into command of the audience.

Thanks UFO. Would you like to share one of those routines that would accomplish the goals that you mentioned?

Brandon - I don't have the DVD you are referring to. I'll PM you.

Tony,
Sure. I do a silk production from a paper cone which includes a couple of streamers...this involves much waving and pulling and fills the performance area nicely. And, you know, nothing says applaud and smile like a big load of color pouring out of a prop!
Amongst the silks is a 20th century set-up and I pull up a spec on stage right and stage left. Silks go in the glass and held by spec on stage left, spec at SR holds the middle silk which I then vanish ala hankball and topit. SR spec is dismissed and the big reveal pulled from spec on SL..ends with me at center, three silks draped over shoulders for the bow and as the music ends I welcome everyone and introduce myself to the spec that remains.
At this point I can either proceed to use them again in another effect or I can dismiss them and move on to whatever.
Another opener is to come out with a top hat and cane, I juggle so I do some flashy hat flips and manips, remove a long black steamer from the hat and it changes color (dealer item), I drape it over my shoulders and as I bow the cane changes to silks and confetti, all of which is put into my hat and set down as I come forward to speak.
I have several variations on this for time and circumstance flex, but the idea is to move around a lot, set the tone for a strong energy level and know that my first magic will hit hard and fast. Now we can get down to business, having won the audience's confidence and attention.
Hope that helps!

If the conditions are right, I open with card manipulations followed by the dancing/vanishing cane. If conditions are not right (e.g. bad lighting for thread work), I open with card manipulations and leave out the dancing part of the cane and go right to the transformation of the cane to silk streamer. It's quick, visual, and sets the tone. If conditions are really bad (like mirrors behind me or audience surrounding me), I skip the card manipulation and go right to the vanishing cane since that can be done pretty much surrounded.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

You can create many interesting routines.
Just involve your imagination!
For example, chouse the items like: Silks, Cards, Sponge Balls, Flash Paper and some gimmick parts like Fantasio Canes or Candles!
Develope something unusual and uniqe!

Best
NJ

Well I open my stage show with Dancing Cane routine!
But in partyes or VIP.
I do the Cut and Restore Rope routine, with the Wine Buttle Production in the End.

Thanks Nick!