Hi all. I'm new to the Café, but 30 years in magic.

I'm looking for a good 20th Century Silk routine. I have a custom made set, that I've used for years in my kids show, but have always felt that my routine isn't as strong as it should be; the audience reaction has always been good, but only because the effect itself is so good.

Any suggestions? (If it could be used for adults as well as kids, that would definitely be a bonus)

Thanks,
Jeff

My routine, simple but effective. Just listen to the kids. I did it very fast for a red ribbon drug intervention show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjqkNItGR3E

Hello Jeff:

A routine I use is the Arnold Furst old time melodrama story from his book. It's now part of the Kid Stuff series of books, I believe the Arnold Furst routine is in volume six.

Ron

Thanks for the ideas guys!

I combine it with Silk to Egg. It furnishes a way to vanish the silk from 20th Century Silks and a place to find the "missing" silk once you crack the real egg.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Get crackin, BOB.

Ian,

You don't know how glad I am that the silk has vanished!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Magicians, your method is just awesome combined with the appearing cane!

Personally, after performing 20th century silks (which, perhaps, we should be calling "21st century silks"), I do a blendo with the three silks. Once the one silk vanishes (if not before) everybody knows that the vanished silk will appear with the other two. The blendo comes as a complete surprise.

Although I don't do it, I've heard that some performers get very good results by showing the third silk tied between the other two before they show that the silk has vanished. It has a bit of a "sucker" aspect to it, because spectators might think that there is still a silk in the vanishing device. Of course this won't work if you do a bare-handed(?) vanish,

Along the same lines, instead of just vanishing the silk, something else might be found in its place. Both Bob Sanders and magicians do this, each in hos own way. But the object it changes into might be something you use in your next effect, or something that disappeared earlier and was never found again. If it's something you don't want, its reappearance (again and again) could become a running gag. Or, for magicians only (I don't think that this would work for layman), when you go to show that the silk has vanished, you could find a bra!



Thom

Thom Bliss has a point about the name referencing 20th century silks. Albenice had a "visible" version that he called "40th century silks" (the two silks at the beginning are held separately, one in each hand. The two silks never come near each other and the third silk still appears tied between them.)

When I came up with my streamlined version, I called it "Third Millennium Silks." I guess you could call it hyperbolic hocus pocus.

Joe Smiley had a 20th century silks routine that he used in his amusement park show, using a space travel patter and very large silks. Ah, those were the good ol' days. Joe would invite some of the local Norfolk magicians to stop by his trailer on the amusement park grounds between shows. He was a classy performer from the old school and did illusions as well the like neon rod through girl and even the buzz saw illusion with his wife Georgi.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Joe was quite a guy. I still have his promo photo. I remember him telling me that he always opened with silks and closed with the flowers. He had just gotten a new set delivered from Horace Marshall. Little did I know that I would someday be making the flowers learning from Horace.

I did get to meet Joe later in life at an MAES convention. He was hard working pro.

He did the that big St. Bernard from the TV box, Neon light through the girl, Where do the ducks go, and the Indestructible Girl. I remember Georgina sitting in that darn black head box in the blazing sun on a county fair stage while Joe pattered on and on. It's a wonder she did not pass out.

Richard

There was a real nice idea in the Linking Ring a few years ago that goes something like this.

Bring up a spectator that wants to help perform an effect, tie the two silks together and put them in the spectators pocket. Use magic dust or a wand and tell a story about the knot is suppose to disappear. Keep peaking into the spectators pocket and act confused as to why the knot has not come untied and disappeared. After a few attempts decide it is not working and go on to something else. Vanish the off colored silk. Again look confused but in the end the spectator finds the silk in his own pocket and all ends well. I may have missed a few details but that is the basic idea.

Have a nice day,

Walking Bob in Iowa

In relation to a post above about the blendo, using the remaining three silks in a blendo provides me the transition I need at times to get to another prop. For instance, going to the blendo sets me up for a body steal. That enables me to do product placement in sales meeting, awards banquets, etc. (It also gets me out of the silk routine to go to rope, etc.)

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Ade Duval performed a "repeat" 20th Century where 5 silks would vanish, one at a time in different ways, and reappear, one at a time, tied between the two silks - eventually making a chain of 7 silks held between his two assistant. Very effective and stage-filling with minimal props.

That sounds pretty cool, David!

I love the 20th century silks. I prefer the vanishing silk to have a unique pattern or color scheme though. Just my preference.
I built a routine that involves a child from the audience. It was based on David Ginn's Clatter Box routine and uses a change bag, break away fan, break away wand, and a real wand (and I just realized that a set of nesting wands could work as well...hmmmmm). The routine has a couple of don't look don't see moments and some strong visual comedy by play but at the end the child helper looks the hero and there is a real magic moment and great applause cue. I designed it for my kids Birthday shows, but it was so popular with my audiences that I put it in my family resort shows as well and it gives me the chance to use a younger child as a helper for a fun routine.

For some reason, I hear people speaking of 20th Century Silks as a prop only for childrens magic. That is very short sighted to my way of thinking. My audiences are typically adult audiences. (Of paying audiences, adult audiences are about the only growing audiences in the USA market!) The 20th Century Silks play well to them. Even better, they actually process the patter that holds the show together. Of course, there is not much available that is more visual magic than silk for color, movement, and size.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

I have used 20th century for Mother- Daughter banquets, Christmas shows, and several other types of shows.

I change the patter line and background music.

Richard

You can see a young Fantasio performing the 20th Century Silks on the new Ed Sullivan Amazing Stars of Magic video just put out on the market.

The link is
http://www.sofaentertainment.com/sulliva......188.html

A lot more great magic is on this DVD for just $16.95. Highly Recommended for everyone.

Special 20th Century Silk combinations offer a plethora of unique routine possibilities. By all means, explore them. They can be very entertaining and reputation builders.

I have special routines for the The Red Hat Society, birthdays of elderly adults, football teams, false ending to shows, and even to say "Thank You". Scheme! The 20th Century Silks are great props.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- Don't forget that 24" silk sets work well too! For dove magicians they have special benefits.

A very different presentation on the 20th Century Silk routine can be found in the book, Tony Marks Aristocrate of Deception Book from Bev Bergeron.

http://bevbergeron.com/tony_marks.html

Also Peter Scarlet from England has a unique visible jumping 20th Century Silks he explains in his lecture. More involved but very magical.