A thread appeared on this years ago but I'd like some updated thoughts. I'm moving the purchase of a mutilated parasol trick nearer the top of my wish list and would like some advice. The dilemma: From previous comments, everyone says Abbott's parasol is best. However, it retails for $100 more than Stevens's (by Tim Star), which as of this writing is priced at $350. The descriptions on the respective websites of the routines read pretty much alike (Stevens's description of its model is no longer described as the one in which the bag in which you place the silks turns into the parasol cover). Any advice about which is best and whether Abbott's is better enough than Stevens's to warrant the additional cost would be appreciated.

Magical things,
Zipper

Zipper,

Contact TheGreatNancini here on The Magic Café and I think she can answer your questions.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

The Star parasol is very good if you do not intend to restore the parasol. To restore it, you will have to learn how to wrap the silks on the shaft to reinsert it into the gaff. It is not difficult to do but some people have problems with it.

Abbott's is very easy to reload to restore it. One point with the newer parasols that Abbott's makes. They are slighter longer than the older ones because of the different parts available now. That is probably not a problem unless you did the trick the way I did by rolling in a newspaper. With newspapers getting smaller and the parasol a little longer, you only have about 1" to play with to keep it covered. A small point but important.

Richard

They sell brown wrapping paper that will work nicely to wrap the parasol in, no matter how long your umbrella is designed.

Abbott's is made to do the job, many professionals have used Abbott's umbrella for years on the road, it is always a hit.

Money should not even be considered, when the products are already in the hundreds of dollars price range. It is like saying, should I buy the one for $2 or the one for $2.10. It really has no bearing on the choice. I would say, buy it before it goes up another hundred dollars. Price increases every August before the Get-Together at Abbott's.

Bob, Richard, and Wm,

Thank you so much for the excellent advice, both on the apparatus and also on the issue of price. If (or when) I buy an m.p., I think I will go for the Abbott's model based on your sage counsel. (I will try to contact Nancini to see what light she can shine on the whole issue.)

Magical things,
Zipper

The Great Nancini is my mom. We're a two person family act performing professionally. It's a family business. http://www.ShizzleDizzleMagic.com

One of our most requested routines is the Mutilated Parasol. It's an act that features mom, and it constantly kills. When we tried pulling it from the show (because we'd done it a lot) the result was a mob of angry customers!

We think of everything from a theatrical perspective. Methods and execution are slaves to showmanship for us. That means we don't buy magic props and equipment because they are "cool", but rather because they serve a specific function in the show.

When we decided to do the Mutilated Parasol, we sat down and did a ton of research on the options. Hands down Abbott's is your best bet. Here's why:

1.) The "Restoration" is beautiful and seamless. If you don't do the restoration, you're only doing half a trick. In the audiences mind if you stop just at the cover and silks changing places you're leaving unfinished business out there. The restoration is the climax of the act. Every move of the Abbott's parasol restoration makes sense theatrically.

2.) Greg Bordner is absolutely amazing to work with. This is INSANELY important for this routine, and any other. If you're a "worker" then it's only a matter of time until your props need repair. Even if you take immaculate care of your stuff like we do, eventually things need repaired or replaced. Several years ago we had a freak accident with our parasol that caused it to need repaired. Abbott's were true professionals at making the necessary repairs for us. Greg knew it was a "staple" in our acts and that our bread and butter depends on performing. He got it turned around quickly.

I make it a point to not speak negatively about other people or other magic dealers. There's a lot I could say, but I won't. Instead I'll just say that if you plan to use this thing regularly, I would very much rather be working with Greg when it inevitably needs work than other magic dealers.

3.) We have the newer parasol. The extra length has never been a problem. Actually, we prefer it. The easiest way to bend the spokes is if the newspaper gets caught in them as you go in and out. The extra length really prevents that from happening.

4.) We perform this outside, inside, and in many adverse conditions. One thing we learned. Have a small piece of scotch tape already torn off the roll and on the side of your table. When you roll the umbrella into the newspaper, tape the newspaper together on the outside to keep it from unrolling. Part of our act requires that the newspaper be left lying on the table with part of the umbrella in it. We had issues with it unrolling on us mid-show. The tape fixes that problem and the audience has yet to question us on it.

5.) The quality of the materials used in Abbott's is just outstanding. After thousands of performances the silks have yet to begin to fade.

Hopefully that helps. Mom didn't have a chance to respond personally on this because she was working on packing for our next show. She asked me to come on and write this out for her. I feel comfortable saying though that she's very knowledgeable about the act and the routine as a result of performing it regularly for many years.

- Matthew

Thanks Matthew!

Good points Mathew.

The reason I use a newspaper is I do Neil Foster's center tear immediately prior using that paper for the parasol. I do not work with an assistant so the extra length is important for me.

I would also add that I prefer the tie dye pattern to have red on the outside as I feel it looks bigger than the Blue on the outside. Purely a personal thing but my two cents worth.

Richard

Another thanks to you all, but especially to Matthew for his thoughtful and thought-provoking reply, filled with information that I will use. It also made up my mind on which parasol to buy.

Magical things,
Zipper

P.S. Matthew, I also responded to your mom's very gracious pm.

We are home from our gig, so I just want to chime in and say that I LOVE my Abbott's parasol! Yes Richard I agree about the red on the outside even though mine is blue. If I ever replace it I will definitely go for the red!

Abbott's is the way to go.....I'm on my 4th one and have been using them for over 30 years.

A couple of good points have been made here....yes Greg Bordner is great to work with and I bring my parsol in for the get-togethers to have him 'freshen it up" when necessary.

In respect to Richard's comments.....I completely agree with red on the outside as it does look bigger, but NEVER EVER use a newspaper to wrap a parasol! I learned this the hard way with my first one after having newspaper ink bleed on to the yellow of my parasol cover....instead, I reccomend using white poster board rolled and cut to size and secured in the middle with a good quality rubber band....it's easier to pull the parasol out and push it back in and if, like me, you have an assistant hold it, you wont have to worry about it unrolling.

The mutilated parasol always goes over with audiences and Abbbott's parasol is built to troupe!

I understand and agree to a point about the newspaper ink transfering. I never had that trouble but one of the keys is letting the newspaper age. That fully sets the ink. If you use a freshly printed paper, it will more readily transfer off. Since I worked at newspaper and I was using it in conjunction with the center tear, I would get stacks of papers ahead. I never worried about the date as people could see it anyway. I would make up about 12-14 centers tears at a time. The paper were always at least two or three weeks old.

Another option is to use a bamboo mat or grass mat to roll the umbrella up in. You might also use wrapping paper. Picking up a couple of rolls at an after Christmas sale would be good and cheap option that would be very colorful.

Richard

You know that one of a butler's tasks is to iron the newspapers to keep ink off his employer's shirt!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

PS --- If you use the comics instead, you won't have near the ink problem.

In a couple of years none of us will have the problem.....there won't be any printed newspapers.

Richard

I use the Abbotts mutilated parasol in every show, it is very well made.

I always use the comics for my act and have never had a problem with the ink transferring yet. Of course I have a lot of people save the comics for me so they are aged by the time I use them.

This has been a lively, enjoyable thread, and I appreciate all the advice. In fact, I'm making notes so I will have them even when my computer crashes. I have one more question about the mutilated parasol as a general effect. I can tell that those of you who use it like it very much, as do your audiences. I've always liked it, too, even back when I was a youngster (a long time ago). As I think about the effect, and get closer to making the investment, odd as it sounds, I'm not really sure what makes it so appealing to performers and audiences. It seems rather straightforward how the effect works to even a rather naive audience (I showed a tape of the effect to my 12-year-old granddaughter, and she knew exactly how it worked). Even with the new and improved Abbott's, wherein one parasol is used instead of two (changed I think the early part of the 20th century), its level of deception can hardly be what distinguishes it. What do you performers do when someone in the audience yells that it's still in the paper? No matter how well an item is constructed, if most everyone knows how the effect works (and switching back to the original unmutilated parasol doesn't seem to heighten the illusion; it seems only to confirm that the parasol cover was left in the paper intially), I wonder what accounts for the mutilated parasol's popularity and longevity. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Magical things,
Zipper

I've only performed the Mutilated Parasol a few times and it's been a handful of years since the last time. However, I will be performing it a number of times in May and June in some school shows. I think it boils down to preparation, presentation and how your routine flows. Mystical Mike pointed this out. If you're concerned about using a newspaper (not really sure that it's necessary), you could always get oaktag paper and construct a type of massal tube for the umbrella..... again, I'm not sure that it's really necessary. I'm still thinking about routining it and whether to set it to a story or to do it to music or a combination.

Others here who have had a lot of experience with this routine will point out a lot more detailed help with this effect.

I'm not sure what taped routine you saw but I saw Marty Hahne's routining of this effect for children on YouTube and I like it. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qHf4FfQwyc I'm not saying someone may not be able to put 1+1 together, however, I think that when a routine has a certain flow and there is ongoing interaction with the audience, that those suspicions fade with the moment if presented "magically" (pun intended).


Jimmy

P.S. I recently bought a custom-made mutilated umbrella at a great price from a fellow Café member (Jonathan Levey ---- thanks again, Jonathan) which comes with a small c****e box (so no need for a newspaper) that is only slightly bigger than the umbrella (it's like one of those automatic Tote umbrellas and is a solid, bright yellow color so it will show up nicely on a stage). This gives me another option. My other mutilated parasol (which I have had for a number of years) is from Harries Magic in Sweden. A couple of friends own Abbott's model and it is well-constructed.

In shows where I’ve used a female assistant, I always had her perform the Parasol, this way she became a colleague magician not merely an assistant.

I do think it can be, and is, deceptive. And as said above it depends upon the presentation.

First, I think it is stronger and more logical for a woman to use this prop.

Then, it is partly the beauty of the props which help distract the senses from method,
and using a newspaper, being and everyday thing therefore assumed innocent, rather than a more showy tube.

The important thing, either through story or music, is to lure your audience from their left-brain thinking (the puzzle solving half) to the right-brain thinking (the imaginative half) then there is no need to fear the “that’s how it’s done” interruption (I go into great detail on this in my new book.)

The presentation must flow and not be too drawn out, you don’t want them to dwell on the effect and therefore suppose method. And you want to hold and use the props as naturally as possible, assuming (as an actor would) that they are just what they appear, an umbrella, a handbag, and a newspaper.

The final thought is to make it theatre, not a “trick” and use the beginning/middle/end plot to you advantage.

If you use half the suggestions in the posts above, and perform it with elegance and conviction, it will be a memorable moment in you show (for adults or children) and will be magical in nature.

My two-cents,
Walt

Yes! Yes! Yes! A billions times yes!!!

In fact, that's true of literally every piece of magic.

If the audience has an opportunity to yell stuff out in your show, it should only be because you've opened the door for it and the moment is planned. Otherwise it's just the result of weak scripting.

My firm belief is that if the audience is focused on the method, then I'm not doing my job as an entertainer. I want them so engaged in the moment that even if there was no magic present, they would be enjoying themselves. They should only wonder about methods long after the show is over and they're on the way home.

The method rarely matters to laypeople. Entertainment always does. The only reason I worry about methodology is if I can bump up the entertainment factor as a result.

We've never once been questioned on the parasol. It lends itself to theatrical performance beautifully. Our act is filled with many more complex pieces of magic, but repeatedly people tell us that it's their favorite part of the show.

Posted: Feb 27, 2011 6:45pm
One other thought... Dwayne Laflin has a great mutilated parasol routine on his "Magic Beyond Belief Christmas Show" DVD. It's well worth the cost of the DVD just to see his handling of the parasol.