Hi friends!

I'm very excited to announce that my new book SYNTHESIS & SECRETS will be seeing a 2024 release. It'll be an *extremely* limited release clothbound hardcover designed by Stina Henslee, illustrated by Sara Froese, and edited by Mike Vance.

So what's in the book? 20 original effects and sleights with cards and coins - including an in-depth treatise on my famous Kras Change - suited for practical real world performance in close-up, walkaround, and parlour settings. There will also be 9 essays about the synthesis of magic and theatre, inspired by my career as a working theatre artist and my time as a resident magic associate on the international stage sensation Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.

A Kickstarter will be going live in the coming weeks for those who want to secure their copies, and with the limited print run, I imagine this thing will sell out very quickly. Those who want to be the first to know about the Kickstarter launch can enter their email on my website (I promise I won't email you literally anything else): https://www.michaelkrasworks.com/synthesis-secrets

If you want some examples of the material, here are a few quick videos to give you a tiny taste:
"Wait, What the !@#$?" - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uHRj6Mnn6Wk
"A Fraudulent Find" - https://www.instagram.com/p/CwaqAfgsnI7/
"One Four All" - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7kaSx8YO4GU

Happy to answer any and all questions in the meantime, and excited to share this journey with you!

Michael

The change looks very good. I hope the project is a success.

Thank you so much Dave! I'm very excited to share this material with everyone and so proud of the book. It's been a deep labour of love and the final product is going to be beautiful.

On top of over 40 pages on The Kras Change and its variations/applications, there are other personal favourites from my repertoire including:

- A tightly choreographed, impromptu, piece-by-piece Torn and Restored card with no extra cards, pieces, or gimmicks
- An uncanny Light and Heavy Coin effect that uses an underrated classic gaff in a new way
- A visual, midair link of a key onto a keyring
- A transposition of two signed halves of a torn playing card using ordinary cards and an on-the-fly gimmick
- A card cheating demo for people who don't like card cheating demos
- And a heck of a lot more.

There are also digestible essays on Designing and Directing Magic for Theatre Productions, the time-based dramaturgy of a magic effect, the Alexander Technique for magicians, and more inspired by my professional work as a theatre artist.

I'll keep sharing news as it comes! Everything is steadily coming together and the wait shouldn't be long.

Sounds Great, Michael. Here's a question about the Kras Change: you used to have an ebook dedicated to the move; how does it compare with the material on the new book?

Edit: I found the download on VanishingInc: https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/ebooks/kras-change/

but does it cover this? https://www.instagram.com/p/CwaqAfgsnI7/

Hey Claudio, great question!

The move has evolved a great deal since the Vanishing Inc ebook was published. The core mechanics of the original change are the same, but the supplementary material has grown significantly. The video posted above by magicmind is a great example of some new unpublished work on The Kras Change, which includes The Kras Change-Back: my way of replicating the change using an entirely different technique to revert the card back to its original state.

The Kras Change chapter also includes applications as an elegant get-ready for a Triumph method à la Ed Marlo, a simple transposition, a utility for an Inversion routine, a variation of a Tomas Blomberg open prediction effect with a kicker ending, a pairing with a semi-automatic colour change, and a moving pips-style trick.

In short, this is the most in-depth work on The Kras Change and its uses that I've shared to date.

Here's a first look at the mockup of the beautiful cover artwork designed by the wonderful Stina Henslee: https://www.michaelkrasworks.com/synthesis-secrets

The book will be a foil-stamped, clothbound hardcover volume, with each book of this limited first edition printing individually numbered.

Stina is behind the design and layout of iconic magic books including Parallax by Max Maven, Mentalissimo by John Bannon, Repertoire by Asi Wind, and many others. I'm so excited she - along with Saras Froese, who will be doing the 140+ illustrations - will be bringing this book to beautiful life, inside and out.

The Kickstarter campaign to preorder your copy launches soon, and you can still sign up on my website to be notified when it goes live: https://www.michaelkrasworks.com/synthesis-secrets

Contents reveal below! Kickstarter launches NEXT WEEK to secure your copy, and there will only be 500 printed! Sign up on my website to be notified when it goes live: https://www.michaelkrasworks.com/synthesis-secrets

PRELUDE
Here and Gone and Back Again

ACT ONE - The Kras Change: A Treatise
Original Method
Clean-Ups and Get-Outs
The Kras Change-Back
A Fraudulent Find
The Automatic Shuffle Change
Wait, What the !@#$?
(In)version
A Simple Triumph
A Simple Transposition
The Slingshot Solution
A Blombergian Blizzard

ACT TWO - A Debt to Paul Harris
Stranger Exchange
Quarter Pounder
Ripped at the Seam
Flip Switch

ACT THREE - Assortments
Signature Coins Across
Everything But Olives
Keith
Holding Out (For a Hero) – A Pseudo-Exposé
One Four All
A Moment of Weakness

ACT FOUR – Essays and Theory
A playwright’s perspective on scripting magic
Humanity over perfection
On “how did you do that?”
On props that mean something
Thoughts on Directing and Designing Magic for Theatre (Part 1: Page to Stage)
On training the voice and body
The Alexander Technique for Magicians
Thoughts on Directing and Designing Magic for Theatre (Part 2: Harmony and Empathy)
Is magic a melancholy artform?

Kickstarter now LIVE!!! Only 500 limited edition, clothbound hardcover books available. Once they're gone, they're gone.

20 close-up tricks and sleights, 9 essays, 140 beautiful illustrations. Secure your copy now! They're already going fast!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/syn......our-acts

50% funded in just one day! Thank you so, so much to everyone who has supported by pre-ordering their copy.

Still quite a few left, so jump in and secure yours!

If you have any questions about the book before pulling the trigger, let me know; I'm more than happy to answer.

Hey kras change seems amazing can you share performance of the Open Prediction effect

Hi Chris! Absolutely, but it'll be about a week or so. I'm out of the country doing illusion design on a production of A Christmas Carol and don't have the required extra stuff to film a performance of the Open Prediction effect. But I'll gladly film and share once I have it!

We are now 72% funded on Kickstarter! We have 18 days left in the campaign to make this book a reality.

If you're already in a spending mood this Black Friday, consider preordering the book today! Only 500 limited edition, clothbound hardcover volumes will EVER be printed.

Grab yours here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/syn......our-acts

Here's another trick from the book to whet your appetite! This is my Sandwich effect 'Everything But Olives'

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/l4zkU8A84LQ

We've hit 95% of our goal on Kickstarter! If you want to secure your signed copy of this one-time printing, limited release book, now's your chance!

Here's the quickest trick in the book. I call it Keith: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xKNDegzI_Fk

Wow! Only two days later, the book is now 114% funded on Kickstarter with 9 days left in the campaign. Thank you so, so much to everyone who has secured their copy in advance. Your support means everything.

If you want to preorder a copy, now's a great time to do it! If you have any questions before pulling the trigger, I'm at your disposal.

122% funded on Kickstarter and already nearly 1/5 sold out of the entire print run half a year before its release! I won't be printing more after this run either.
If you want to grab the book, now is the best time to secure a copy:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/syn......our-acts

Here's another little teaser: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2YkuGA8XfKA

3 DAYS LEFT to preorder Synthesis & Secrets! Again, only 500 individually numbered copies will ever be printed in a beautiful clothbound hardcover designed by Stone Henslee, illustrated by Sara Froese, and edited by Mike Vance. It's going to be a special one.

Go grab yours on Kickstarter now!

Just backed it. Looks like a great book with terrific effects and insightful scripting and performing theory.
Michael