Might there be plans out there somewhere for a tip-over trunk that can be taken apart or otherwise collapsed for storage and transport? I hardly have room for my table and props in the back set of my Camry, much less trying to add a person-size box to my load! Might have room in the trunk - depends on what other junk is in there, but the lid definitely won't close, so then I'd have to strap it down with padding to avoid damaging the box.

Collapsing or coming apart for transport would be a definite plus.
Ed

Ed.. the very nature of a tip over would nearly preclude one from being capable of breaking down.

It needs to have enough stability so that it doesn't flop around... in order to that.. setting up a trunk that breaks down would end up taking more time than the effect is worth.

If you want a decent production that's easy to use, that CAN break down very small.. a Modern Cabinet is a good candidate. Paul Osborne has plans for one that will break down very small..

you can use colorplast and these to build it..

http://www.eztube.com/connectors/connectors.html

and it will not only be light.. but strong..

Great notes Michael...

The age old dilemma with illusions is time vs .portability vs. rigidity. You can make a very sturdy piece that travels solid and it will roll on stage and be ready to go but it takes a lot of room on the truck. On the other side is another piece which breaks down really small but takes 20 minutes to assemble. The other option is the piece which is really light and goes together fast but isn't that sturdy.

You have to weigh out what your priorities are for each illusion. If you have a lot of time at the venue you can make a tip over out of flat panels that bolt together with angle aluminum and reinforcing corners and gussets for the back panel. It will be really strong but take quite a while to assemble and take apart each time you use it. There is also the additional wear and tear on the prop each time it is disassembled.

You can do the same thing with pin hinges instead of the sturdier bolt and angle construction which means it will go together pretty quick but it will not be as stable as Michael noted.

I do agree about the break down modern cabinet. I built one years ago and it is both light and sturdy.

Pick your poison!

If you go the Modern Cabinet route, there is a set of Osborne plans in an old Genii that is essentially a Modern Cabinet, but themed for toy soldiers. The theme can be changed but this sucker will produce up to six girls! And it doesn't seem to be much larger than the typical version.

Ed;
Buy an enclosed trailer.
MR

I'm not familiar with the Modern Cabinet - is that the one where you open the curtains on three sides to show it empty and then someone steps out after you close them?

I'm thinking of something to add to my regular show that would make it play larger in front of a larger audience. Mostly I'm thinking schools. One thought is to vanish a teacher or principal, have some fun with whether to bring them backor not, and then of course you do. That would mean a method that takes a minimum amount of skill and instruction ("climb in, crouch down, hold still"). And you can't always guarentee the performance area (high stage, on the floor, curtains or not), so it needs to be ready to go anywhere.

It would also have to be large enough to be of interest to back corners of the audience, but that brings in the transport problems. (An enclosed trailer is not an option at this point.) I didn't grasp the trade-off between "easy assembly" and loss of stability, but I do see where that would be an issue with a large moveable box.

Budget, of course, is always an issue as well.
Your thoughts are most welcome.

Ed

Ed, I don't think you thought this through. You will also need drapes/curtains and all the other things that go with large illusions.

If you want something larger, then the Chair Suspension, Super-X Levitation, or something along those lines will work for you.

Otherwise, you will need assistants as well in that Camry. Also, you will have to increase your vehicle and get a trailer, hire assistants, make huge draperies, and lights and sound equipment.

I have used Abbott's Chair Suspension when I wanted to add an illusion. The kids liked it a lot when I used a little girl from the audience.

A modern cabinet would be right up your alley. Super minimal rehearsal.. Easy as pie for a novice... and doesn't need a "backstage" as long as it's assembled before the audience arrives..

In fact.. it would be better than a standard tip over (which is VERY angley).. and MUCH lighter and easier to cart around than a Double tip over, which at "two layers thick" can get very heavy and clunky...

The only drawback to a modern cabinet.. is that as an appearance.. it can be a surpise.. as a vanish.. it's rather obvious as not only has the MM given it away.. but EVERY "magic cabinet" on the Disney Channel works the same way.. and it's continually given away on those shows. There are ways to make it more deceptive.. but they make more work...

If you want to use a teacher or the principal to indulge every kid's fantasy, then build a dagger head chest. It is large enough to play for a few hundred spectators and can be made to pack as flat as a brief case.

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Modern Cabinet:

The magician displays a tall upright cabinet with a curtained front opening.

The cabinet is wheeled all the way around to show that there is nothing hiding behind or around the illusion.

The front curtain is closed, and one, two, or three persons can be produced, one at a time or together as a group.

This prop can also be used for what has become popularized as (thanks to the late Doug Henning), "Things that go bump in the night."
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This illusion needs no special stage curtains, lighting, or assistants (you can produce the boss, a guest, or Santa) and is easy to teach and perform. It is best for making someone appear, not really a strong vanish.

As has been said, it can be made of coreplast and made to pack flat and fairly small. It would be lightweight, and last a while if you took good care of it, maybe making a cloth slip-in case.

You could also look into Bryce’s Screen (or even smaller the Creative Magic B’Screens, but you’d have to find one used as C.M. is no longer in business.) And actually there are even more packs-small, plays-big in the Mark Wilson books.

Modern Cabinet is a great option though, and good plans are easy to find.

Magically,
Walt

Thanks, Walt. I think I do have an Osborne book buruied in stuff I bought a long time ago that might have that. Come to think of it, I might have a Mayne book, too.

But Michael's suggestion - the dagger head chest - really sounds like a better way to go! "Indulge every kid's fantasy"!! Oh, yeah!! Isn't there a version that uses balloons? Just to make it more palletable to audiences with smaller kids? It would really be cool if there was a way to stick an iflated 646 through it!

Ed

Ed!

There is a version that uses balloons.. but if you look at the reviews..it's far too small for an adult head.In fact.. the reviews say it's too small for a kid's head. That doesn't mean you can't make one that does fit an adult!!


I've had plans for ones for YEARS that uses syringes.... for a "this is your brain on drugs" theme.

I'd originally designed it for a friend that did school shows.. but never finished it.. and then as time passed.. I finally threw it away.

The Modern Cabinet is cool, but not likely to fit in a Camry, no matter how you break it down.

The dagger head chest is just a variation on a theme. You can make one to shove about any long, thin objects through... balloons, arrows, paint brushes, whatever. The idea is to convince the kids first, that you are going to make the head disappear.

Do your mojo. Apparently check and tell them that the head is gone. Of course they'll want to see for themselves.

So, you say that you will prove it by pushing in these things. It stands to reason that you can only do this if the head is gone. Some of the kids will still doubt it, and still want to see for themselves. Finally, you add to that proof by opening the front doors and showing that the head is indeed gone.

This is better for kids than supposedly sticking dangerous objects through if they are lead to believe that the head is still there. You kind of tease them along the way until you finally prove your claim that you made the head disappear. That is the effect... not piecing the head with daggers (or whatever). A lot of performers miss that point.

Thank you, Michael - that makes perfect sense!
I'm going to start looking for plans!

Ed

Ed you can do the Wrap-up to exchange the principle, The farmer and the Witch (with different characters) the head twister or swords through head and the chair suspension.

Once those are well integrated into the show.... then I would worry about hauling around a bunch of illusions that are a "whole different world" and when the time comes to retire, you'll wonder why you bothered to take all those curtains, lighting, assistants and heavy wood when you could have achieved similar results with what you have now.

As my father always said... it's not how big the show is - it's how well you tap dance.

Funny, my dad said: "If you can't dance good tap fast!"
But that's a whole other topic.

Yes, those old U.F. Grant and other simple classics are still worthwhile,
time to dig them out of the mothballs.

Again it can't be said too much: It's not the size it's the performance.

walt

Walt, Could you tell that to my ex-girlfriend.

Jim Gerrish's PVC Pipe Illusion Tip Over "Trunk" (Book 1) shows how to take the effect down to its bare essentials- you don't need a solid "trunk" to perform the effect. Obviously, you can't make a solid trunk from PVC pipe that will carry stuff, but the framework LOOKS like a trunk and the "trunk" can be tipped over and shown empty without any solid parts.

The problem with any of the head disappearing boxes is that the audience knows it is just an illusion- if the head were really gone, the person would be dead; therefore they just can't see the head for some reason and their brains go clickity-click and figure out why.

Make the person disappear completely and that's another story, OR make one person change into another or into a rabbit (Boy to Rabbit). However, if you want it to be convincing, you'd better be ready to prove that the vanished person is nowhere to be found in the prop itself, otherwise, it's just a puzzle waiting to be solved. The tear-apart newspaper dove box is a good example. The box is taken apart piece by piece and then each piece is apparently destroyed, leaving the audience completely baffled as to where the dove went. Unfortunately you can't stuff a kid into a box like a dove and smash the box up to any degree, but you CAN take it all apart IF you can then put it back together and make the kid reappear safe and sound.

Jay, I'm very sure a better and more experienced performer could easily fill a stage with what I have now. Unfortunately, I haven't grown that big yet, so I'm looking for a prop to help me out. And, as Mr. Baker pointed out, to do something to/with an adult figure - especially something physical - would get the kids more into the performance, and I don't have anything of that caliber yet.


Many kids are already convinced their teachers could easily remove their heads as they believe all adults are brainless. Little do they know what will happen in 20 years .....

Ed

Of course this goes against all logic. However, that misses the point entirely. In this context, the kids spend 5% of their energy wondering if it could really happen, but 95% of their time having fun watching this happen to a teacher or the principal. It's like the prisoners playing football against the guards in "The Longest Yard". It's their small glimmer of hope in gaining the upper hand against authority. It serves the same purpose as the principal taking a pie in the face at the school carnival.