The Crystal Cube Magic Trick in Real Life!

The Crystal Cube magic trick is something that I thought didn’t look like anything that existed in real life.

clear box for magic tricks

It’s one of those props like Lester Lake’s Discecto, that to me look like they were created for a magic show…until you see what actual item they’re trying to look like!

Here’s a clear trinket box that I saw at an antique mall that looks like the Crystal Cube magic prop!

clear box on antique store shelf

and here’s medical specimen box that looks like the crystal cube magic trick:

Sometimes these strange objects that are used in magic actually look sorta like something that existed for non-magic purposes! I love making that connection!

-Louie

How to do the Hot Shot Cut in a Fun Way!

The Hot Shot Cut by Daryl is a great flourishy card reveal. In the last few years, I’ve changed how I do it from catching it myself to having people in the audience catch it.

Here’s a video where I do it that way:

I think it adds a fun element when they try to catch the card. They don’t always, and that’s also why it’s not always the best option. When doing things like a cocktail hour at a corporate banquet, I try to keep things off the floor.

-Louie

Certified to Perform Magic Shows

Certificate of completion

Personally, I dislike bureaucracy; however, sometimes you need to wade through the red tape. A recent instance of this is that, in Oregon, to work in retirement communities you are supposed to have completed a diversity training that is required by the state. Honestly, I’m all for inclusion and treating people nicely, but do I NEED to have sat through this online class?

Probably not, but I guess there were probably some people at some point who did. When you perform for the public, you need to treat people with respect, especially when performing for seniors. It doesn’t matter if their values aren’t what your values are, judging people isn’t why you were hired to do a magic show.

-Louie
PS: Click here to learn more about performing in retirement communities!

Splitting Dollar Bills – History

Splitting dollar bills (like splitting cards) has gained popularity in the last decade. I honestly thought it was a new thing, however I was reading Ansology and in Max Maven’s book Thabbatical from 1994 he casually mentions it!

text in mentalism book

Unfortunately he doesn’t mention HOW it was done back then, but I can’t imagine its too different from how we do it now. I’m also very curious WHO was doing it back then.

-Louie

Seeing another magician’s EDC

Last week when my wife and I went to see the show The Rise of Houdini, the guy I sat next to was a magician. Before the show he turned to me and asked me if I would like to see a trick and of course I said yes!

Two magicians

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of homemade paddles and did a quick paddle routine with two paddles that had spots that disappeared and reappeared.

Magic paddle trick
Magic paddle trick

His paddle design was really cool. It wasn’t just a popsicle stick; he had built little handles for them, which made handling the prop much better, and it made them not look like just popsicle sticks, but something a little bit more special.

His other piece of EDC magic was a hot rod that he had made, but I didn’t get a picture of it. It’s always cool to see what other people are doing. When he found out I was a magician, he asked me to show him something. Unfortunately, with my hand fresh out of surgery, I wasn’t planning on doing anything, especially at someone else’s show.

I did however, do this dollar trick:

It’s always fun running into another magician.

-Louie

Get it at Wacky Zack’s Magic Shop!

drawing of magician performing for seniors

If you’re looking for my How To Perform For Seniors book, you can get it from Wacky Zack’s Magic Shop.

You can reach them at:
(602) 548-8667 info@wackyzacksmagic.com

I want to thank them for carrying my book!

-Louie

Out of Sorts by Max Maven

As I’m working my way through Max Mavens book Ansology, I think my favorite trick in it is called Out of Sorts. This is a trick where a spectator thinks of a card and they never say it out loud, then after a few shuffles, You then tell them what their card is and where it is in the pack.

I’m really liking this trick, it can be done hands off or with the dealing done yourself. I was trying to think of a way to do it so that it wasn’t a card trick and I came up with a way to do it with postcards. The postcards I’m using are national park postcards.

8 Postcards

If you are familiar with the trick, you know you need pairs of cards. In the picture above, you’ll see that the postcards are kind of in pairs in columns. Once you know one, it’s pretty easy to know the other. The challenge with this specific set of postcards is that the writing isn’t very big. I think if this is something I was going to pursue, I’d find something with a larger print of the name of the place.

Using these postcards the method doesn’t change. If you have the book, I recommend looking into the trick out of sorts, even with playing cards it’s still great!

-Louie

The Rise of Houdini

Program for magic show

On Friday, my wife and I went to see the show The Rise of Houdini in Portland, Oregon. This show was part burlesque, part magic show, and part scripted show about a séance. The magician in the show was D.R. Schrieber.

Two magicians one wearing a top hat

Before the show D.R. did some close up magic for the crowd.

Magician doing close up magic

The magic show was good. D.R. does a great job with his character, and the audience was into it. The third act, which was the play about a séance trying to contact Houdini, was interesting. There was a fake heckler, which I think surprised a lot of the audience, that he was part of the show.

Magician reading a book

There was a point where there was an intermission during the play, but D.R. was on stage as his character in this play, and he was reading a book. That book was used previously as a book of magic spells. From the audience, the book looked really familiar to me. I asked after the show, and it was, in fact, the pocket edition of Expert at the Card Table!

This is a fun show to watch

-Louie

The Moisture Festival Podcast – Lucy Juggles

On this episode of the Moisture Festival Podcast, we welcome Lucy Juggles! Lucy shares stories of growing up in rural Georgia, struggling to find her people, and navigating her first jobs. We explore how she developed her talents, the hours of practice behind her skills, and why a cross-country move became a game changer. We also talk about staying true to herself onstage and what’s on the horizon. A wonderful conversation with a fantastic performer!

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