Leland,

Congratulations on "getting out there" with the Rope

I looked for Oscar Munoz and Rope on youtube but only found Oscar doing what looked like an abbreviated Tabary Rope routine. Do you have a link to see Oscars routine?

By the way, a picnic can be a good place to tear apart your Rope Routine and do the effects as single effects, skipping the ones you are not so sure of. Picnics are casual and have a lot of human interaction so you might try that next time if you aren't up to doing the whole routine. This won't work for every Rope Routine but you might consider it.

-Mary Mowder

I've been Juggling a bit several times a day for about two weeks. Adds up to about 20 min a day. It has really improved my Juggling. I saw an old video of me and I noticed my work had slipped, I just wasn't going for the harder bits like I had in the past. I'm almost back to where I was 20 years ago.

I'll never be a great Juggler but I do enjoy it. I only know a few tricks and I didn't want to lose 'em

-Mary Mowder

My mind has been going in sort of the same direction, Mary. I have noticed that while I am practicing on one particular thing for my 30 minutes a day, other effects that once were "under my thumb" kinda fall apart. Now I am dedicating my Friday sessions to a once-through of each of my favorite dozen effects. This is my response to having someone ask for an impromptu show and me launching into my version of the " relentless ring and string" routine, only to realize I had forgotten the order of some of the steps. I could have used some juggling talent right about then...

Jim

I know what you mean Jim. If I don't do Bruce Cervon's Warp II occasionally I have to sit and dope it out for a while or dig through the old Video Cassettes.

-Mary Mowder

Mary that's the one that got me started. Nothing fancy about it, maybe that's why I liked it and thought I would give it a go!

Hey, I'm posting a pic of the "secret something else" on the thread in Secret Sessions!

Laurie

Laurie - very cool pics. I'll bet kids love the cows and sheep.

Hudson.

Still with the Juggling.

Working on a book test pretty constantly. You know what it's like when you can't think of anything else. Too bad I have other things I should be doing.

Love the new Avatar Laurie.

-Mary Mowder

Busy month! Not much time for new stuff. After this weekend I will go back to the ropes. I promise.

Been working on my Halloween shows. Mwa-ha-ha-ha! Butcher's Blade is about to make another appearance...

Working on my Castle audition act. Any suggestions? I'm sticking mostly with cards but would like to throw in one other simple trick with something else, perhaps to open. If you have thoughts, let me know! I'm being vague on purpose so I can get any and all ideas. Also I'm lazy.

I always suggest Gypsy Thread because it leaves room to express your personality and interests.

There are some good Dollar Bill effects around. Check out the "Paper Money Madness" Forum and see what sounds good. Follow up on youtube. Although people shouldn't use the real name of effects in performance, they do and you can often find an Effect by name. Don't trust that the name is always correct though.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewf......210&8868

You would never regret these additions.

Good to see you back in this thread Andrew.

-Mary Mowder

Hi folks!

Andrew, I almost never deviate from cards if I am doing a card magic routine. When I do, I try to keep the connection, by doing something like a four-coin matrix with cards or Ammar's excellent queens routine.

The other thing I generally like to do is card "magic" such as Torn or Card Warp. My fav opener for a card session is John Kennedy's Amazing Shrinking Deck- it always catches people off guard.

Hope this helps. Anyway GOOD LUCK!

ps- I LOVE Gypsy Thread - that is a very good thought by Mary...

Jim

Good luck Andrew!

Hudson

Jim is right, Card Warp is a good effect and different from most "Card Tricks". I love Bruce Cervon's Warp II and get a great response especially from Lawyers, Dr.s and Engineering types.

While I don't do it, Mike Close's Dr. Strange Trick (also a version of the Card Warp plot) is very strong and visual.

Check 'em out. I'd guess that nowadays Dr Strange Trick will be more easily found and I know Mike Close is a better teacher in general.

-Mary Mowder

Thanks for the input - I love Dean Dill's Tonight Show Matrix and will probably go over it with him in the next week or two. I've done it for quite awhile but never hurts to brush up!

Andrew,

You know , there is something to be said for the tried and true. From the things you've said in the past I'd assume you have the Material and the Chops. You might want to choose from among your working repertoire for variety and leave it at that.

How rough is this Audition? Do you know anyone else with a comparable skill set who has passed the Audition process?


My partner Tom is holding his annual Night Magic event (III) this Sunday Nov. 13. There are two, two hour shows of almost non-stop performances in store for me. I'll have 20-ten min sets in a row with a one hour break in the middle.
I whine about all the work of setting this event up each year but I love the performance part.

I can do one, two or four different sets but I'll probably just do one or two to get maximum repetitive practice with real live people.

I'll be a better Magician on Monday. I sure wish I did more Table-to-Table or Cocktail Style Banquet work. Here's hoping the Holidays bring my wish.

-Mary Mowder

Mary - good points. I do have material but I want to be sure it's solid. I've talked with several folks in the know and they've helped me to narrow it down. This isn't exactly the place to be trying out new stuff for the first time anyway. I sessioned with Dean Dill until 10pm on Wednesday and I feel good about what I'm working on, thanks to his advice and input.

Wow, I would give a lot to session with Dean- even get a haircut! Good luck, Andrew! I am fortunate to be able to call myself an Academy member magician, however I had to do a taped audition since I live so far away. It is a great feeling to be a part of that wonderful group and the phenomenal Castle, and I wish to be back there soon...

Hope to see you out here, Jim! We can exchange witty remarks in the bar.

The best part of the session came at the end, after I'd helped him re-cover the table in his shop (it needed some serious TLC.) Being able to do the first coin matrix on it was EPIC.