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JOHN BREEDS

JOHN BREEDSJohn Breeds was born at a very early age, in Portsmouth, England. Although he was a magic nut from birth John started professional magic in 1978. He is a past President of the UK’s prestig-ious Cotswold Magical Society, and has served on its Committee for several years.

In the early years, after graduating, he qualified as a chartered telecommunications engineer and from there went into technical training. He then moved into senior management, marketing and, finally, as the product manager of Nokia Satellite Europe. John Breeds was one of the pioneers of satellite television in Europe during the early 1980s, and wrote several respected text books for satellite TV engineers and dish installers. More recently he also authored the highly successful book How to Create Kids’ Magic and Triple Your Income (Practical Magic). In addition to entertaining, John has also created and invented several tricks. One trick, which he invented around 1966, is called, Visible Magic Painting. Thousands of magicians the world over regularly use Visible Magic Painting. John Breeds’ trick is generally acknowledged as being the best children’s effect invented in the last century! The effect is that a black and white line drawing visibly becomes coloured. email: jbreeds@talktalk.net web: www.johnbreeds.com and www.magicboxcapers.com

YET ANOTHER MAGIC PAINTING!

Introduction:In my book How to Create Kids’ Magic and Triple Your Income (published by Practical Magic) I fully described the workings of the very well known Visible Magic Painting. I had no qualms about explaining and revealing the inner workings and variations of this trick since I invented Vis-ible Magic Painting (VMP). Well, someone had to blow my trumpet about the secret of an effect of which I am most proud!

Since the publication of the book, a few people mentioned that VMP must be difficult to construct as a DIY project since it involved coloured printing on card and mono-chrome printing on an acetate layer, both of which must be precisely aligned with each other.

The following describes an incredibly simple method of constructing a Magic Painting effect, yet is just as effective as most of the Magic Painting effects that are currently on the market. Furthermore, the routine uses a helper to add to the fun, and gives credit to both the child and the audi-ence for making the magic happen – an essential element in children’s entertainment.

Requirements:You need two A4 cards; about 150gsm or the thick-est that will go though a home printer. Better still, use normal photo quality paper and paste the picture onto card. Use suitable clip art to print a clown picture that is fully coloured on one of the cards. On the reverse of the coloured card, paste an address label: ‘To My Granny’. On the other card print a similar clown picture but change all the colour portions to white. The result is a mono picture. This is very, very simple on any PC graphics package.

Yet Another Magic Painting!

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Trim the two cards slightly so that they will easily slide into a white A4 envelope. (The envelope shown here looks shaded but this purely for illustrative purposes.) The colour picture card is loosely encased in acetate sheet by tape at the top and sides. The bottom looks as though a length of tape runs along it but, in fact, it’s open, so that the card with the mono picture can be pushed into it. The result looks like a black/white picture of a clown, with an address, ‘To My Granny’ on the reverse.

You also need a robust white A4 envelope, with an A5 win-dow panel cut into it. Google search a non-tear paper, such as ‘Tyvek’, to construct your own envelope. This plastic-based material will not only last for years but you can easily wipe it clean. The angled cuts on the opening and window allow for a fumble-free placement of the insert. Also cut out a hinged flap at the base of the envelope. The diagrams show the general idea.

Working and Presentation:I will not give my actual patter as this largely depends on you and regional differences. Explain that it’s your Granny’s birthday today and you’ve bought her a beauti-ful picture of a clown. Show the insert, which displays a monochrome picture. Do NOT draw attention to the fact that it’s only a mono picture, but emphasize that you need a helper to act as a postman to deliver it.

After the usual introductions, place the insert into the envelope BUT with the mono picture toward the back of the envelope. This means the ‘To My Granny’ address shows through the envelope’s window. Ask your helper to drive the package to the Post Office sorting department. Have some fun here with things like, “Start up the engine please, Freddie.” Freddie makes an engine noise. Say to him, “Hang on, Freddie. You first of all need the keys to start up the engine.” Ask him to pump up the van’s tyres, or clean the wind screen, fill it with fuel, etc.

Envelope HolderAlthough the sketch shows a shaded colour envelope, in fact you need a white envelope. This is so that the flap left behind is not noticeable. The envelope also needs to be quite robust. I made mine from ‘Tyvek’ for durability and easy cleaning. The angled cuts on the window opening allow for a fumble-free placement of the insert.

Also cut out a hinged flap at the base of the envelope. This allows the left-hand fingers to go in and ensure that the coloured card is pulled out by the right hand fingers, while the mono picture stays behind in the envelope. The diagrams show the general idea.

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DOUG SCHEERDoug Scheer is Michigan’s #1 elementary school performer. He is widely recognized as one of the country’s top children’s educational performers having won “Best Assembly Performer” by the KSGB (Kid Show Guru Brain trust) and is a featured lecturer to his peers at the international conference, KIDabra. His work has been published as the contributing school show expert in the national trade magazine, MAGIC, for four years and he was even invited to perform at the White House in 2008.

His roster includes 11 educational shows that are seen at trade shows, corporate training seminars, and state fairs and have been in over 8000 elementary schools and libraries throughout Michigan and Ohio.

The KIDabra Journal said this about Doug: “Doug’s commanding voice and impish playfulness has endeared him to hundreds of thousands of kids and thousands of principals. He is a creative genius...who has taken the typical assembly show and elevated it to near Broadway standards.” email: doug@assemblyshows.com web: www.assemblyshows.com

I’ve always been a fan of the Kellar Rope Tie, the effect in-vented by Harry Kellar and re-popularized by Harry Black-stone Sr. and Jr. in the twentieth century. In the routine, a magician has his hands tied securely behind his back, but he is able to release each hand alternately while continuing to show that his hands are still secured. I’ve always felt that it’s an entertaining routine, clever for adults, but only okay for children.

In the hands of most performers, it never seems to have a good ending. Houdini’s Squirt Gun Escape is my attempt to add some suspense, comedy and a surprise ending to this classic trick. What follows was inspired by a rather dark routine first performed by Mel Mellers called The No Water Underwater Escape. I use Mel’s silly idea of wearing a snorkel and mask while escaping from handcuffs on land, but developed it into what has become my closing routine for children’s shows.

It should become apparent that this is not something I’d ever suggest performing in a home, but libraries, commu-nity centres, schools and outdoor stages are the perfect set-tings for this raucous routine. I’ve simplified the mechanics of the actual escape by using a common dealer item, The Chain Shackle Escape, and turned the introduction of this routine into a running gag of sorts.

Effect:Six loaded squirt guns are distributed to children in the front row of the audience; then the magician invites two volunteers on stage to handcuff his hands together. The magician challenges the children to shoot him in the face and try to empty their squirt guns before he can make his escape. The two volunteers hold a beach towel in front of the magician to protect the secret of the escape while he’s able to release alternately each hand under a barrage

of squirt gun fire. As the volunteers duck and dodge the sprays of water, the magician tries to make the volunteers hold their positions with hysterical results. Finally, the ma-gician frees himself, then whips the towel aside producing a huge squirt rifle and takes his revenge on the audience.

Requirements:You’ll need The Chain Shackle Escape trick with two padlocks and key; a gallon size plastic bag containing six water-filled squirt guns; one large, long range squirt rifle; a pair of swimming goggles and snorkel; and a beach towel.

Houdini’s Squirt Gun Escape It should become apparent that this is not something I’d ever suggest performing in a home, but libraries, community centres, schools and outdoor stages are the perfect settings for this raucous routine.

Houdini’s SquirtGun Escape

DOUG SCHEERHOUDINI’S SQUIRT GUN ESCAPE

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You’ll also need a box or container to hold all the props. I use a large cooler since it’s watertight and keeps all the wet stuff away from the other props that I use in my show. The cooler is placed on a chair or low stool in the left corner of the performing area. Working and Presentation:After the second or third trick in a show, creepy and sus-penseful music is heard and the performer says, “Today’s show is not just all silly and goofy. Coming up at the end, I’ll be doing something dangerous and deadly...ooooh.” At this point the magician holds up two padlocks and waves them around in a campy and silly sort of way, mocking the upcoming ‘danger’. The audience laughs at this silliness. Then the performer says, “Forget it.” (The music abruptly stops.) “You guys aren’t taking me seri-ously.” A few tricks later, the music starts again and the performer repeats the same patter, this time waving around the shackles. Finally, after the penultimate routine of the show, the same familiar music is heard for the third time leading into the start of this finale:

“It’s time for the moment you’ve all been waiting for (creepy and suspenseful music begins again) something dangerous and deadly! But I will need two helpers who are brave. I will need helpers who are fearless. I will need helpers who are not afraid. I will need two helpers who are…kind of smelly. Two helpers.”

The performer walks into the audience and hands out the two padlocks to two children, eight years or older. “This young lady right here, do me a favour: grab hold of this padlock, please, and take a look at it. Make sure it’s real. Over on this side, you sir, hang on to this padlock for me, please. Do not snap it shut; just check it out.”

The performer returns to the stage. “You can see those are real padlocks.”

Removing the shackles from the cooler, the performer says, “Using two real padlocks and something you’ve prob-ably never seen before – these old fashioned handcuffs - I’m going to recreate Harry Houdini’s most dangerous, most famous escape. Harry Houdini was a magician who travelled the world challenging people to tie him up, to chain him up, and to lock him up. He claimed that he could escape from anything. One hundred years ago, Harry Houdini created an incredibly dan-gerous escape called The Chinese Water Torture Cell. I’m going to perform that escape for you right now. What you’re about to see was the last escape that Harry Houdini ever attempted, because a short time after per-forming it, he died. There’s a possibility the same thing could happen to me.” (Music fades.)

“If you’re holding onto a padlock, would you bring it up, please? Give my helpers a round of applause.” The two volunteers with the padlocks are invited onto the stage and are positioned on each side of the performer. Let’s say their names are Ella and Gannon. “Ella, Gannon. You both took a look at the padlocks. They feel heavy; they look real, right?”

“Houdini’s hands were locked together with these special handcuffs.” The shackles are shown then set to one side. “By separating the hands with this bar, escape is impossible. Houdini’s feet were tied together and he was hung upside-down over what looked like a giant phone booth filled with water. Houdini was lowered headfirst into that water-filled box where he had to es-cape or he would drown. I did not bring a phone booth

The Chain Shackle Escape Removing the shackles from the cooler, the performer explains that by using two real padlocks and something you’ve probably never seen before – these old fashioned handcuffs – he is going to recreate Harry Houdini’s most dangerous, most famous escape.

Harry Houdini was a magician who travelled the world chal-lenging people to tie him up, to chain him up, and to lock him up. He claimed that he could escape from anything.

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JOHN KIMMONSJohn Kimmons started performing children’s magic at the tender age of 15. He went on to work for Supreme Magic until 1992 and since then has been developing his unique style of family entertainment.

He has performed in every conceivable type of venue from living rooms and village halls to theatres, cruise liners and television. In 2008 he was awarded the title of Children’s Entertainer World Champion and became the first children’s act to receive the Ken Dodd Comedy Award.

Perhaps his biggest claim to fame is being the co-star in Practical Magic’s popular ‘Fireside Chat’ series!email: johnkimmons@me.com web: www.kimmo.co.uk

Magic Colouring ClipboardEffect:The Magician displays a stack of identical black and white pictures on a clipboard. A child is selected and she signs her name across the front and back of the top sheet. This is then removed, folded up and given to the young assistant to hold. The audience now help to colour in the picture using ‘invisible felt tips’.

Afterwards, the child is prompted to open up the picture and discovers that it has been coloured in completely in felt tip. Her signature remains on the front and back of the picture, which is given away as a souvenir.

Requirements:This is based on the Out To Lunch principle. However, it eliminates the need for a huge elastic band to cover the

join between the top two pictures, the edge being hidden within the outline of the drawing itself. The clipboard helps keep everything aligned and in place until the dirty work needs to take place.

The illustrations show one of the drawings that I use in this effect (a caterpillar). Notice how the design leaves just the lower right corner blank for the child’s signature.The coloured version of this picture features butterfly wings for added surprise. You will need to make a fake stack of pictures. Print out 10 copies of the black and white version on thin card and glue 8 of the pictures together along their top edge. For ease in handling, make sure the stack is bevelled slightly to allow you to riffle through them at their lower edge. (See fig. 1)

Picture Layout DesignThis illustration shows one of the drawings I use in this effect (a caterpil-lar). Notice how the design leaves just the lower right corner blank for the child’s signature.

The coloured picture features butterfly wings for an added surprise.

JOHN KIMMONSMAGIC COLOURING CLIPBOARD

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Cut around the black line at the bottom of one of the other pictures. Affix this to the last remaining picture with a Scotch tape hinge along the top edge, making sure the lower edge lines up exactly with the drawing underneath. (See fig. 2). This double sheet is then glued along its top edge to the rest of the stack.

The entire fake stack is then glued to the clipboard with the top edge underneath the clip, which then conceals

Set Up:You will need lots of copies of the colour picture. You could produce these on your printer at home or get them done at a copy shop. They should be from the same heavy paper stock (so the image doesn’t show through) as the fake stack. You will need one of these for each performance.

To set up the trick, simply open up the clip and slide one of the coloured pictures between the top two sheets of the fake stack. Make sure the lower outline on the shorter top sheet lines up precisely with the coloured duplicate and then allow the clip to hold everything together snugly.

Working and Presentation:Select an audience volunteer. As they will be required to write their name, I usually ask for someone with really good handwriting. I might add, “Don’t worry, you won’t have to write a long story or anything like that – JUST YOUR NAME.” This lets them know exactly what will be required of them and saves any embarrassment should a child be unable to do this. Then act slightly embarrassed. Announce that you needed a picture for the next trick so you thought you would draw one yourself. Pick up the clipboard and hold it with its back to the audience, as if you are reluctant to show them the other side. Ask the volunteer to name their favourite pet. They will usually say cat or dog.

Whatever they answer, look disappointed and say, “Well, I thought you might say cat, but I couldn’t even draw THAT, so I drew a CAT...ERPILLAR!” Turn the board round to show the picture. Hold it by one of its long edges just to make sure that the shorter top sheet doesn’t separate from the coloured one underneath. For some reason reveal-ing the picture usually gets a laugh, so say: “Oh COME ON! It’s not that bad. It’s pretty good for my age!! Anyway, you better like it because I’ve printed out tons of them!”

As you say this, hold the board in your left hand by the top edge (where the clip is), insert the fingers of your right hand beneath the whole stack of drawings and riffle upwards through them quickly to show an entire stack of black and white pictures.

Approach the helper and ask them if they like your picture. They will usually say yes. If they do, act triumphantly and say, “Hah! See? Helen thinks it’s really good and she wants to take it home – don’t you Helen?” She will usu-ally agree again. “HAH! In fact, she wants to put it up in her bedroom, don’t you Helen?” She will probably agree again. “HAH! In F-ACT (I pronounce it IN FUH-ACT, I don’t know why – except that I find it funny), in F-ACT...She is going to pay me thousands and thousands of pounds for it because she thinks it’s so totally cool and brilliant! Aren’t you Helen?”

She will usually say no. “HA.…(looking suddenly de-

Fig 1

the Scotch tape hinge. The clip can then be freely opened without the entire stack falling to the floor. (See fig. 3). This makes the handling incredibly simple.

Fig 3

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Fig 2

6-1TOMMY JAMES

Tommy JamesTommy James is from the United States and makes his living performingthroughout the New England area. He received his first magic set at the age of 10years old and performed his first paid gig at the tender age of 14 years old.Tommy says, “I absolutely LOVE what I do for a living and there is nothing elseon Earth I’d rather be doing.” He is a regular on an award-winning televisionprogramme in New England called Safe Kids and Friends where he presents magicwith a safety theme.

He recently created and marketed his first invention – Measle Teasel Wand – andhas released his first DVD, The Halloween Safety Magic Show which is creating abuzz in the kid-show magic world. Tommy’s inspirations are Trevor Lewis,David Ginn and Doug Henning.email: Tommy@TommyJamesMagic.com Web Site: TommyJamesMagic.com

FEATHER FLOWER PRODUCTION

Introduction:I LOVE feather flower productions and I always have!Some may say they are out of style or old fashioned but thefact of the matter is kids love them and they make abeautiful production in any magic show. The routine I amabout to share I have been performing for over 25 yearsand uses an audience volunteer.

In a birthday party show I always use the birthday child. Ina family show I try to pick a child 8 years old or younger.This is a perfect volunteer routine for young childrenbecause all the child has to do is stand there, look cute, andwave a magic wand!

My routine was inspired from a book written by DavidGinn called Feather Flowers From Nowhere. In the bookDavid shares an invention of his called the Ginn Clothwhich is a single bouquet production. My routine isdifferent from what David describes in his book but theending is the same as a bouquet of flowers appear. I had

my grandmother sew me up a Ginn Cloth and off I went!Before we get into the routine let’s see what a Ginn Clothconsists of.

A Ginn Cloth is a large foulard which can be made of anymaterial you desire. The top of the foulard is folded over toform a pocket at the back and has an opening half waythrough so you can load and hide a feather flower bouquet.My dear Grandma was great with a sewing machine and Ihad her make a “border” around a Rice’s Dragon Silk togive it a nice flashy appearance. The finished product is