Whats a good routine for the needle through balloon? (patter)

I put the balloon to sleep. Sometimes I have a child draw a picture of a rabbit on it.

Ken Scott idea on his video "Making the Birthday Dough" has some more neat follow-up also.

I used to do it as a balloon blowing up contest between the child helper and myself. I show them my balloon and then give them a HUGE weather style balloon (biggets balloon I could find) and have it folded up. I then hand it to the child the balloon unfolds to show that it is huge while I have a small balloon. It gets great laughs when the music starts I I am serious about trying to win. It gets good laughs. The balloons I found I think were used for large bases of balloon arches etc. I just tried to find the biggest balloon I could find for this and it works well.

Kyle

In Michael Ammars book: The Magic of Michael Ammar, there is a super routine for needle through balloon. Most unique I have ever seen.
Actually the whole book is fantastic!

I never thought of needle through balloon as a magic trick. Ever since a younge age, I saw this and it was completely obvious, maybe its just me. It also seems like a trick that's trying to say "look at the cool thing I can do."

That is interesting. I feel a similar way in that it looks so obvious to me, but then many classic magic effects do. However I always find the needle thru balloon gets the biggest gasps of amazement (especially from the adults). It consistently surprises and amazes adults. Don't let its apparent simplicity fool you; this is very strong magic when done right.

One of my favourite ways to perform this is as an opener done totally silent.

First of all I would like to say that it is a great trick and makes a hit at little kids shows just try not to pop the ballon I did that once and it was horible but I got a big hit out of that even though it wasent planed but and I'm sorry but I disagre with swisskid 52 uts a great and is preaty hard to do but the kids really like it

That is another reason to always have a backup or an out for the effect. This way if soemthing does go wrong, you go to the backup plan and no one knows the difference. The only way an audience would know if you ever mess up an effect is if you tell them you did. Keep your cool and have an out for each effect you perform.

Kyle

I just don't see it as entertaining, it's more of an "Oh, that's cool (clap clap)."

Remember it is never and should never be ONLY about the trick. If you are a true magician, then what you should be excelling at is the art of entertainment. You want to entertain your audiences and not just wow them alone.

With this in mind, even the Needle through Balloon can be a wonderful bit if it is routined to be entertaining to an audience. You have to remember that often it is the journey you take your audience on that is even more enjoyable then the actual effect itself.

I never make my routines JUST about the trick. Anyone can do a trick but it takes a true magician to create magic. That is the big difference. Do not perform your magic as just a trick after trick. Your audiences deserve much more than that. Think outside of the box. Do not do what others are doing. Just because you see this trick done the same way so often, does not mean you have to be a magic clone and follow what they do.

Go down a different path. Find out how to take the trick part and develop it into a routine that fits your character and style of performance. With the right creativity and the right patter, this trick stops being a trick and becommes a magical routine the entire audience can enjoy.

Kyle

Thank you kyle and you are right it is never just about the trick its the way you present yourself along with the trick no offense Swisskid 52 maybe that's is why you don't like


Adam

I am not trying to put anyone down at all. I am just saying that a trick can be made into anything you want it to be once you think creatively and build your routine around the trick and add more to it. You must give your audiences a magical experience that is fun and exciting and not just show them a mere trick.

Sometimes I will take a trick that I just do not care for as a trick itself. I force myself to use that trick and develop a routine that is different and unique and fits my personality. I do this as a test for myself to see if I can change an effect enough to not only make it my own, but to prove to myself that ANY trick can be made entertaining if I just apply myself to it.

Kyle

There was an idea in an old MUM magazine of putting a small red or other color balloon inside of the normal clear balloon. It is inflated slightly and the outer balloon is inflated as per normal.

I draw a face on the balloon and patter about Billy the Balloon having a headache. I use the magic needle like acupunture to get rid of the headache. I bust the inner balloon and then I patter after he got rid of the headache. and vanished outside to play and break the balloon.

Richard

Noiw Richard just showed a PERFECT example of thinking outside the box and applying both creativity and imagination to create and change the effect to make it an entertaining piece of magic. Now you have a story and a character and even a reason for sticking the needle in in the first place. I can see a very funny story that could go along with this. Even dressing yourself up as a doctor and a kid helper as your nurse or assistant. Now you start to build upon a clever idea and you get away from it just being a trick alone. Great stuff Richard. =)

Kyle

I get a child volunteer from the audience and have him draw a face on the balloon, using my own face as an example. The audience gets the idea pretty quickly that the child is actually supposed to be drawing MY FACE on the balloon. The worse the drawing is, the bigger the laughs.

Onc the drawing is done, I ask all of the kids in the audience if they have a lot of friends that they play with (note; I don't ask the volunteer just in case he says no - it would make him look and feel bad). When the kids all yell yes, I tell them that I didn't have a lot of friends when I was growing up - so I made up my own friends.

Then I show them the balloon and introduce them to my new best friend. His name is POP (At this point, the kids all know what is going to happen and a lot of them start to cover their ears). I tell the audience that Pop is a magician and he just invented a new trick.

Now I pull out the big needle and the kids' expectations are confirmed. I tell the volunteer that, since Pop invented the trick, we are going to use him as our first volunteer (now the balloon starts visibly shaking in my hand). I tell the audience that we are going to put this needle right through Pop's head and the volunteer is the one who is going to be holding the needle.

I get the volunteer to hold onto the needle, focusing all the time on the safety aspects of the trick. Of course, PoP bursts and the kids go nuts. I scream in pretend anguish, yelling "You killed Pop! He was my best friend in the whole wide world and you killed him!"

Immediately, I pull out another balloon and say "but that's o.k. - Pop has a brother!" Now, it's my turn. I draw the picture of the volunteer on the balloon and successfully put the needle and yarn through it, before popping the balloon and getting the applause.

Kent

My two cents are always the same for this trick. Great trick but NEVER hold it by the balloon, always have complete control of the needle at all times. Occasionally a defect in the balloon will cause it to pop and it will send that projectile flying unpredictably into the crowd, or if you’re lucky, into your own skull where the insurance costs won't put you out of business.

Frank Tougas

Daniel Faith: Thanks for the Ammar-tip. That was indead a great routine. I am thinking about adding that piece to my act. Thanks! (Without the bird though.)

/Ark

Not a trick I use but it seems to me that when at the end you pop the balloon, if you where to have a duplicate balloon wrapped around a th tip you could drop the broken bits in and apparently restore the balloon, just seems a more magical climax to me
Phillip

The Needle Effect worries me that Children will try and copy it with their own balloons. I know that you may say that it's PC gone mad but I thik that any effect with anything Sharp is not suitable for young audiences.

Just My Opinion

Wacky

I worked out a routine for the needle through balloon using the Ammar routine as a foundation.

What I added was I would use a rather largish cloth for polishing the needle and hold it in my hand throughout the routine. At the end of the routine when I would actually pop the balloon that had the face on it I would appear to do it accidentally as the balloon character "Billy" was taking a bow. I would look at the audience in shock, then produce a bouquet of spring flowers while taking off my hat, look down at the spot where "Billy's" remains lay, and throw the flowers on the spot. I would then look up at the audience and say, "'Cmon, it's just a balloon. You could hear a pin drop in this place." At that moment a regulation 10 pin bowling pin would fall out from under my cleaning cloth and drop on the floor.

I thought it would be funny but I also thought it might be a little dark for the kiddies so I have never done it in front of an audience. If you read through the routine the timing for the steals should be apparent.

Best,

Dan-