Reading the recent Tommy James posting in here got me thinking about a topic unto itself - Magic Wands!

Nowadays, there are so many terrific magic wands on the market - Breakaway Wands, Ker PLUNK Wand, Measel Teasel Wand, Popaway Wand, Silver Sceptre, Silly Wand, Feather Duster Wand, Jumbo Inflatable Wand, and Can-O-Wands just to name a few.

So how many wands do you use in your kids show? I mean, at some point is it overkill to be constantly pulling out different wands - or can you never have too much of a good thing?

In all fairness, the answer may very well rely on how well you creatively intertwine these specialty wands into your act so that they don't become redundant. Are any of you willing to share your creative uses for these wands beyond their standard application?

- Gary

Hi Gary,

Personnally I'm using 4 different magic wands in my kids-show for the moment : The Ker Plunk Wand as a stand alone routine in the beginning of the show, the Feather Duster Wand, the Break-away Wand and my own first normal magic wand I ever got in another routine in the middle of the show.

Your question is a very good one and justified.

At the moment I'm putting a kids-show together with the goal to use as many as possible different magic wands. The idea came to me by watching Harry Potter's first movie. The goal is to find the perfect magic wand to make all kind of things work, like a real magic wand should do by using different magic spells and words, like in Harry Potter.

During the search for the perfect magic wand all different kind of things are happening that shouldn't happen. Tricks are going wrong, funny situations are created...

Oliver.

I think that more the merrier! The nice thing about gag magic wands is they can be used with almost every routine. If you use several in your show, just try using a standard "unfunny" wand and watch the disappointment in the kids' faces! I believe it gives you the opportunity to add more laughs to your show and the kids come to expect "what's this wand going to do?"

Put me ion for the: I love wands!

I watched a very good performer two days ago who had a hat with several wands sticking out of it. As the show went on, several were used, each doing something different and funny. The only disappointment for me was that he didn't use all of them. I wanted to know what they all did!

The funniest thing though was when he was doing the nesting wands. By the time he got to the third wand, he looked at the girl holding the first two, and she was nesting them back together, and continued to do so with all of them until he got to the last one, which he just tossed over his shoulder in a gesture of defeat. Pretty hilarious and unexpected.

Current show I start with a silver sceptre, and I get hit with a small 10" one later in the show by the puppet

then use breaking wand, multiplying wand and fishing pole wand for the magic colouring

** Next term (Autumn) I'll use only a small 10" wand with my puppet

for magic colouring my volunteers will wear humourous sun-glasses

** At Christmas, I'll use a large dog-toy candy cane

TheMagiciansApprentice, You should check out Tommy James' Comedy Christmas Wand for your Christmas show.

Tommy James actually has a wand for every occasion.

Why not a different wand for every trick
tommy's wands are great!

Personally I think one wand is the absolute most that should be used. Would a real sorcerer have several different wands? Of course not.

I have been known to use a Silver Scepter, because I like it. It comes out of the bag occasionally. But normally I perform wandless.

When I see a performer with several wands I normally think lack of imagination, and too much budget at his disposal.

Everyone has an opinion... and apparently a magic wand! Lots of good feedback here. Keep it coming.

Tony, keep in mind that imagination is not measured by the number of wands you use in your act, but by how you use them. Based on many of the comments I'm reading, it seems that many of the wand users here have tons of imagination in how they are implementing these fun props.

I personally don't want to deprive kids of any prop that contributes to the success of the party and to their overall fun. Novelty magic wands are probably one the least expensive props a magician can add to their show for enhancing routines, so I certainly don't think this has anything whatsoever to do with flaunting an excessive budget around.

I love wands! Particularly the break away, the spring wand, and, for lack of a better term, the bopping wand like the one Silly Billy uses.

Tony makes a good point. I feel that way about change bags and other devices. If you have a magic bag, why would you need a magic box later in the show? That being said, I'm currently using three different change bags in my show (and it kind of kills me cause I can't figure out a way around it).

As for the wands though, I like to think of myself more like a cartoon than a magician. And I could definitely imagine a cartoon running to a cabinet, opening it up, and choosing one of hundreds of wands. I've seen the joke with a cartoon's clothing: they open the closet and have a closet full of the same outfit they always wear.

That being said, I currently only use the breakaway wand in my show. Although I recently resurrected Bigger Wands for one show. I had forgotten how HUGE the reaction is with those wands.

Just like a Golfer going to their bag of clubs, a hat full of wands, one for every situation.

In my first trick with a volunteer, I bring out several different wands. The premise being that I just get things wrong, though in my mind I'm kind of feeling like the Olivander scene in Harry Potter. The first two "wands" aren't even wands.

I first ask the child if she/he has a wand on them. Of course they don't because I make them leave any wands they may be carrying at the door. I say they can use one of my wands and hand them a giant toothbrush -- I always say you can't brush too often. The next thing I hand them is a giant stick of dynamite -- Dinah Who?-- which gets quickly thrown in my dump box. Next is the feather-duster wand from Silly Billy. I brush off the child and then bush it across my butt -- no that won't work. Next is the silly wand (stretches) from Silly Billy. I give the kid the wand and when he/she grabs it, I make it stretch. Then I pull out a second silly wand and say that since I'm the big magician, I need to have the big wand that the kid gets the small (unstretched) wand. I then admonish the kids in the audience not to tell the child to stretch it -- which of course they do. About 90% of the time the kid stretchs the wand. I get all flummoxed and take it away and hand them an unstretched wand. This goes on three times.

Finally I put the two silly wands away and pull out what I describe as a very expensive wand that cost me $1,000 so the kid must be very careful with it. This is a wand made by the late Warren Stephens that collapses like a car antenna when held perfectly straight upright. I never actually give it to the child (a la breakaway wand) but when it collapses and the kids start hollering, I say "this wand cost me $2,000 and you're laughing at it." I again admonish the child to be careful with it and it collapses again. I say "this wand cost me $3,000 and you're laughing at it," which makes them last even more. I do it a third time and say the wand cost me $5,000 or $10,000 etc.

Finally, I bring out the Silly Billy inflatible wand "ta dah." The kids scream it's not a real wand. I say "Oh, you want me to blow on it?" and give a loud raspberry as I blow at the wand. "Oh, you want me to blow INSIDE the wand." Then I blow it up with a lot of body motion. I use it to hit myself on the head a few times and then give it to the kid helper saying the wand doesn't seem to like me. Then continue on with the trick, which in this case is a hat tear and mouth coil production.

How many do you own/ versus use per show..
My wife made me count the other day...it was surprising
breakaway
nesting
fishing pole
kerplunk,
tipple topple
feather duster
flash wand
pop off wand
rising wand/silver scepter idea
bigger wands
biggest wand
spring wands in a can
mini wand
silly billy stretch wand
squeaker wand
spring wand(black metal spring)
flower wand

other than the last 2 I use all the rest, not all in one show, but in regularly used routines...

I go through about seven wands within the first ten minutes of the start of my show

The second trick of my show is an explanation of "forgetting" to bring my wand with me and the need to make another wand before the show can continue.


The Magic Wand Machine from practical Magic is between ten and fifteen minutes of great entertainment for the children, laughing at the mis-made wands and at the conclusion of the routine they cheer and feel good that they have made a wand.

http://www.practical-magic.com/component......Itemid=0

7

Really? I'd very much like to meet this real sorcerer you happen to know. Until such time, WE are the magicians and sorcerers, and WE decide how many wands it takes to do magic. One of my wands only makes balls disappear to and from cups. Another makes a red hanky turn into a blue hanky. Took me a long time to charge those wands with those spells, yes it did.

It's for kids. We can be as eccentric and mysterious and odd as we want, and they love it.

Also, I doubt a REAL sorcerer would be doing birthday parties to begin with.

That sounded all snarky. I meant it to sound fun. I should have used emoticons. Like this

But seriously, I didn't mean that to sound mean.