Hi,
I was wondering if you could help me. When a friend heard about me doing magic they started and they love it too. The thing is, we decided to do a show together. I love the idea.

But we don't know which magic tricks we can do together. Does any one have any ideas?

I'm talking about tricks which could use both magicians doing different parts or a trick were the assistant has to be in on the gimmik to do a special move. (eg. like when the magician cuts the lady in half. But we only want simple tricks.)

Have a magical day,
Prettylady and Friend

I'm glad to hear it. I think there should be more teams working out there.Watch the great teams work together and follow their example. When I performed with my brother, we more or less took turns doing tricks while the other provided commentary. Kind of like the Smother's Brothers crossed with P&T. Second sight routines work well even as comedy. The last thing we worked on but never perfected was the cups and balls where I only used my left hand and he only used his right. PM me if you have further questions. I'd love to help.

Take a look at Rich Marotta's DVD on Duo Magic. You may not use a single item, but there is good stuff about how to do a duo act.

I do a three person act, so I got it tough...

I would try to stick to effects that REQUIRE two magicians. I have never understood why it took 2 magicians to saw 1 woman in half. Effects such as the sub trunk, levitations, and "Grandma's Necklace" come to mind for stage. Duvivier has a GREAT two person Cups and Balls routine for close up. Perhaps a "Dueling Magicians" act might work out well.

Another member here at the Café and I work together in certain performing situations. We began working by rotating sets. Eventually, we built in a few routines that did require both of us. We have a two person routine for Fast & Loose. We also do a mentalism effect called "Serial Killer." We are currently working about an hour long set that has us "pitching" back and forth to one another while also integrating the two-man routines. It works well and I enjoy it.

Do not under estimate the power of a two person code. I know a good one, and if you are interested PM me.

Since I read your original post, prettylady, I've had images in my head of two magicians standing side by side, silently doing exactly the same thing at the same time but producing different results.

More thinking to do...

Hi,
Thanks for all the posts


Dpe66 Do you have a link to the website of Duvivier? I would like to check it out.

Laughing otter: Just keep getting imagises in your head so you'll see if the show will turn into a flop.

I never really heard about team magicians. But I never really thought about it either. I do think there should be more of them

Prettylady

Jwilder mentioned doing a two-person act on occasion. I am that other half. It's been fun playing with this idea. As he mentioned, we started as two acts working the same bill, and this, at first, transcended into a round-robin performance. We each had our own bits, but decided to pitch the spotlight back and forth, rather than each do a straight 20-30. This was not only equitable for both of us, it gave the audience a better sense of variety.

I really started thinking hard about this concept after seeing a 3-man tag-team show performed at Duvivier's, "Le Double Fond" in Paris. It was a really enjoyable time.

Much of our work has been in the street magic environment, although some of that has been in festival environments where you might say, we had a cushy job. Last night was one exception when we decided to set up camp in an area here we hadn't yet worked. We found ourselves working for a few dozen homeless people and some others unafraid to walk the same side of the street... interesting to say the least.

One thought that came to my mind was that being able to have each other's back may prove handy one day.

OK... back to the point. Slowly, we are developing routines that incorporate both of us. Jim mentioned Fast & Loose as one of those. This came about because we found ourselves once in a performing situation that would have been a bit less than ideal for that kind of audience interaction. Seeing this... I took it upon myself to jump in and play the "dupe" who always picks the wrong loop... however... I picked the loop that the audience, in a collective sense, told me to pick. So, the choice was always their's, but I was always the loser. It offered comedy potential as I kept acting more and more frustrated with their "lousy help", as I kept losing my money. They thought it was funny, and Jim and I knew we were onto something.

On another thread, I was asking for info on an Abbott & Costello routine (the lemon bit) that I am hoping may give us a springboard for another two-person comedy magic bit.

Two person acts, while not common, are not at all unusual. I have seen manipulation acts, comedy acts, & straight dramatic acts all done tandem. I have never seen a close-up duo, though.

dpe666 mentioned "Dueling Magicians". Many years ago, two guys from here did a duo linking ring routine to that piece of music. They started each trying to duplicate the other in the classic sense of that song, and eventually, all Hell broke loose as their rings became tangled with each other before coming to the climax. It was a very good piece of magic.

Those same two guys eventually developed a Laurel & Hardy theme, but unfortunately, I never had a chance to see them perform it.

During the summer, and at some select other times, my 12 year old son and I perform together. He does his own magic (performing as "Raven", half boy/half bird), I do mine and we have a couple bits that we work together. We have a show we call "The Comic Book Show", where the classic good vs evil plot is built in. Check my website and look for it.

Anyway, to the above posts, good thoughts going here. I especially like Laughing Otter's same action/different results concept.

Prettylady... please keep us informed of your progress.

Everyone else... keep this one going...

Hello prettylady1990,

My twin brother and I each have our own shows/programs that we have done for years. But, we have also developed a completely different show as we find ourselves working more and more together. It seems that when we team up there is an energy that comes over us on stage.

Maybe it is because we are twins, I do not really know. All I can say is that working with a partner will add a new dimension to your program. There will be ideas that will jump out at you once you sit and talk about creating an illusion or bit.

My brother and I start the program as Dueling Magicians and this goes over VERY well. During the course of the program we will sometimes go a little left of center from our act and fly by the seat of our pants. When this happens we will feed off one another. We both think very much alike and can tell where the other is going in their patter or body movements. These are the moments where the magic of working with a partner shows through. When the show is over we will write down what we did and any punch lines or bits of business that we came up with. To do this both partners needs to understand their craft and how to work an audience. This comes from doing many shows.

Each partner must find his or her type of magical personality. It has been proven that a two-person act needs a straight and a funny man.

Sit down with your magical partner and brainstorm. You will be very surprise at the results.

Good luck,
Ray

I do a duel magic show and it worked out better than when I did one on my own!!!

We used to do duel silk disappearing from hand using ***** tip!

We also used to do a coloring book duel trick and it worked great too!

Just a few ideas pm me for more!

Regards,

Brett Stamm

The Pendragon's, S & R, Penn and Teller.
A two person act is great as long as you know who's the star.