Getting Routine Ideas

Just start typing, the experts said.

I sit here, staring at the computer, not knowing what to talk about.

Only one other time in my previous issues of this newsletter have I NOT had a fun topic to write about.

I considered writing a helpful tip about SEO. Or time management.

Ultimately what came to my subconscious was filters.

No, not a fish tank or kitchen filters. Not even coffee filters.

But filters as in…what interests you?

Many magicians don’t know what to script around a given prop or routine, so they resort to “first I’ll do this, then I’ll do that.”

Expository scripting is boring, there I said it. I see this most often with Ambitious Card. “All I have to do is tap my finger and the card rises to the top of the deck.”

I maintain that good effects require more effort in scripting most of the time in magic.

Look, a good Ambitious Card routine requires a ton of technical skills. Double lifts alone are usually what makes me turn away from a lot of card magic.

But what, dear reader, shall you write about?

I’ll draw from the words of the immortal Stephen King, who wrote about filters in a nonfiction book. What interests you is a filter. What doesn’t is also a filter.

I’ll use a routine from my own repertoire as an example. One of my favorite effects is Tommy James’ wonderful Cards Across.

His routine (depending on which version you get) uses either red and yellow cards or red and blue. This makes the routine highly visible. I’ve done it for up to 500 kids at a time and it plays great.

There are no gimmicks, so at the end, I count the cards into each kid’s hands, making it even stronger.

But how to present it?

As I mulled over the trick, my subconscious bubbled up and gave me the perfect presentational hook: Star Trek.

I grew up loving Star Trek despite the cheesy effects and Shatner acting. And I loved the transporters.

The idea of being able to transport instantly from one area to another is captivating. I wish this was something I could do in real life when I have a long-distance show to get to!

So in about 30 minutes, I’d whipped up a decent opening script for the routine.

Your subconscious is a lovely thing.

My friend Joe uses a lot of superheroes in many of his routines because he loves superheroes. So that’s a natural filter for him.

What are YOUR interests? What are things you enjoy outside of magic?

Make a list of your hobbies and other interests. When you are struggling to find a presentational hook for a trick, look over the list to remind yourself what you have.

And don’t edit, either. Cooking, cars, sports, taxes, let your imagination run wild.

David Parr finds politics interesting, so he crafted a quasi-political routine. You’d think doing such a routine would be deadly, but David made the routine into one of his most popular.

Having that list of routines in the back of your mind will do wonderful things when you least expect it.

Here’s another example of my own subconscious mind at work.

There are two effects I really like. One is the coin flipping routine where you control the outcome of the flip, heads or tails, to ‘rig’ the final outcome.

I also like Cryptext and other ‘predictions in plain sight’ effects. These are when the audience sees something written onstage that looks innocent or nondescript.

At the climax of the routine, the performer turns the paper over, folds it a certain way or whatever. Changing the paper in some way reveals the prediction.

I went to sleep last night pondering the latter. When I woke up this morning, Voila! I had my routine.

Here is what I came up with:

I start the routine, explaining I’m going to flip a coin, and the audience must decide whether it will be heads or tails.

They all stand, with one head on their head to indicate they believe the coin will come up heads. If they think it’s going to be tails, they touch their waist. (This setup is all Jon Allen’s.)

After each flip of the coin, people who got it wrong sit down. Eventually, we get down to one person, who is invited onstage.

I point to a strange-looking poster with weird symbols that’s been in view the entire time. I ask the person their name and then fold the poster…showing the weird symbols are now spelling out the volunteer’s name.

Pretty sweet little routine, and I have my subconscious to thank for it.

What routines are YOU working on? Try writing down the basic idea and looking at it before you go to bed.

Eventually, your subconscious will help you along with an answer.

Have a great week!

- Cris

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