I like sponge balls, but they don't seem too organic to me. Is there a way I can perform it to where it makes sense to have sponge balls in my pocket? I have spent a while thinking about this, but I can't come up with much. Has anyone else thought of this?
thanks,
Zach

I don't really put to much emphasis on things that are "organic". I hear and see that word being thrown around a lot now and days, but what does "organic" actually mean?

There are many other ways to produce sponge balls.

Al Goshman, Steve Darci, and many others produce them from a purse frame that has no actual purse, just a frame.

In a Mark Leveridge sponge routine I once saw, he introduced a little red mat, calling it a "dust bunny collecter" and using the dust to form the first sponge ball, then magically spliting another one from that one.

Hope this helps!

David

Organic means that it looks as though it not a prop. Production is not the problem it is justifying my having sponge balls.

I don't think it's possible then, to do a sponge ball routine and make the audience believe for a second that the balls are organic. Sponge Balls are an oddity, definately not something you see in everyday life.

Nevertheless, it's still a favorite for laymen, and it's a fantastic piece of magic.

Now, Jay Sankey has a take on Sponge Balls that he marketed called Earplugs, that has a more orgainc feel to it.



David

Thanks! This is what I was looking for. Should have known Sankey had the answer!

No problem Zach!

But a word of warning from personal experiences with this one. When you practice it, and get it performance ready; if you have any desire to do a routine with them where you cause one to vanish from your hand into the spectators hand, just think twice about producing them from your ear.

I've learned this fact the hard way and I just wanted to tell you this, in hopes of preventing a potentailly embrassing situation for you.

David

Thanks. May I ask why?

Again, this is strictly from personal experience, but when I produced the Earplugs from my ears, it got a great reaction! I did a ten count, great stuff!

Then...I asked them to hold out there hand, they did. I reached for an Earplug to place in their hand and the very quickly drew their hand back and exclaimed, "WHY THE **** WOULD I WANT TO HOLD THAT!!! THAT WAS JUST IN YOUR ******* EAR!!!

Yeah...so a lesson learned, you know? I haven't done the Earplugs in awhile, but from that moment forward I was careful about how I routined this effect.

This might not happen to you, but you never know. I just thought I'd share this with you because it was really embrassing.

David

Pull one from their ear and it won't be a problem...and make sure you pull it from Behind their ear.

But as for your original comment: nobody cares whether they are organic, natural, or anything else. They're magic. Only you care. Just do them.

Zach,

I'm with you. I have been doing magic for many years and I've always had the same problem with sponge balls. While people do just enjoy the magic, when you create a purpose for the magic, it just flows better, even if the purpose is just humor.

I have worked out a few ways around this.

1. If you perform for adults, you can make humorous references around a routine with two balls and have them change colors from yellow to red.

2. If you perform for kids or families, then you can have fun pretending one of the kids has balls in their ears. They become organic because they are not your balls, but coming from a kids ears. You can start by asking a kid if they like playing with balls.

3. I am still working on another approach. I've always wanted to do a routine with sponge balls where the audience doesn't ever know they are sponge balls. I'm thinking the routine would start and end with a small rubber solid ball and use sponge balls in between. I could use some suggestions on this one.

KJ

Most effects we perform are less than "organic"...
Now, if you want to keep it real and use everyday items you could find anywhere, just roll up toilet paper, paper towels or bar napkins into balls and proceed as planned. Have one or two preloaded if you want to be ahead of the game...otherwise don't over-analyze a situation that nobody else knows exists

There are some situations (and audiences) where you don't want anyone touching the sponge balls. Even plucking them out of your ear as ear plugs doesn't keep them from grabbing for the balls. My solution is boogers. The first sponge ball is expelled from my nose and is called a giant booger (yellow works best). From then on, I do magic with my boogers and have yet had anyone desire to examine them. Afterwards, I use some "hand sanitizer" to get accepted back into polite society. The sanitizer is real, but I just pretend to be squirting it on my hands and rubbing it in for the placebo effect it has on the audience after my work with boogers.