I recently met Edward Boswell briefly at the Magifest convention in Columbus, Ohio. He showed me a few effects that I really liked, but the one that left me scratching my head the most was his amazing production and subsequent vanish of a card box around a deck of cards. One moment he was holding a deck, and spreading it for a  selection. Then, with a wave of his hand, the box suddenly appeared around the deck. He tilted the deck up so I could see that the card case was actually surrounding the cards. Before my senses could recover the box faded away as if by magic. It looked like trick photography. He then proceeded onto his next effect as if it was all part of the journey. Here is the demo:

Our time together was brief so I was never able to coerce him into tipping the method. However, the first thing I did when I got home was to type Edward’s name into Google. Luckily for me, I found that he HAD released his work his magical looking sequence with the card box. In fact, it was being marketed by Theory 11. It took me all of about two seconds to click “Add to cart” and within minutes I was greeted by an instant download video of Edward teaching his effect, Rapture.

I stood on pins and needles hoping that the method was going to be reliable and workable. The fact that I had already seen him do it live gave me hope, but I’ve been burned by my fair share of magic effects that look great in certain situations but don’t stand up in most real world environments. Was this going to be another instant download product that I would watch once and never think of again?

Luckily the answer was a resounding “No.”

Rapture is an outstanding effect from a young man who I predict we will be hearing much more about in the future. The gimmicks required to create the effect are fairly easy to make and Edward explains their construction quite clearly. I was so enamored with the trick that I made up a few sets of gimmicks in one sitting. It’s something I definitely anticipate using.

After a bit of arts and crafts time, you’ll be left with the tools necessary to assault your audience’s senses. However, you certainly won’t be performing this straight away. I wouldn’t say that the sleight of hand required is difficult, but it is a bit knacky. Basically, you’ll have to learn how to handle the gimmicks naturally which will take a little getting used to. Luckily, this is the kind of trick that’s actually fun to practice in the mirror. In fact, it looks so good that, even after you know the method, you’re likely to spend some time just watching yourself do it over and over again.

Overall, I have to say that this is a fantastic offering. If you put in the limited amount of required work into this, your spectators (and even other magicians) won’t stand a chance. This is a one-two punch of clever gimmicks and sleight of hand. It’s only a brief moment of magic that is over in a blink of an eye, but if your audience members are anything like me when I saw the effect, it’s something they’ll be thinking about all the way home after your performance. Highly recommended.

- Available from Theory11.com for $19.95

David Solomon is a member of the famous Chicago Session. Known for their weekly get togethers, the trio (consisting of Simon Aronson, John Bannon, and David Solomon) have created some very strong magic over the years. With Bannon’s recent successful projects with DVD producers Big Blind Media, I was excited to hear the news of Solomon’s project with the company. Well, the wait is finally over. I just watched the DVDs, and now I’m even more excited.

First, let’s start with the small things. It’s not often that I’ll praise a detail such as this, but they picked the perfect title for this DVD set: The Card Solutions of David Solomon. It gives you a glimpse of exactly what you’re getting here. Solomon mentions in one of the interviews how he likes to tinker with things and come up with new (and better) ways to perform classic effects. In some cases, these are small improvements that make a huge difference. In other routines, the tricks have been through a major overhaul.

The production values are a nice change of pace from the typical L&L audience or street magic type of performances usually featured these days. The performance footage is a mix of live and in studio shots. The explanation portions are all shot in studio where David is joined by other magicians to make sure that everything is crystal clear to the viewer.

Overall, there are 24 effects spread across three discs. The total run time checks in at over four hours. Definitely a good value for the money. You can check out demo videos of four of the effects by heading over to the BBM website. This should give you a good idea of whether this is something that will interest you. Here’s a rundown of some of my favorite effects:

Card in the Card Case- This is perhaps the ultimate example of replacing sleight of hand with subtlety. There is no palming or gimmicks. David has devised devised a completely self working method for having a chosen card vanish from the pack and end up in the card case without ever going near it. The effect occurs completely in the minds of the spectator. This is definitely one of my favorite routines from all of the discs.

Marlo’s Secret Kato- This is a cheeky cards across routine that again uses subtlety instead of difficult sleights. Its simple and bold working are very satisfying for the performer and fooling for the audience. It can be done with any deck at any time. This is definitlely something to keep in your back pocket.

Jamesway Poker- This was a cool poker routine where the audience seems to have a lot of free choice as to how the cards are arranged. Of course, in the end, the magician is dealt a royal flush anyway. You will have to make sure the effect doesn’t drag during the procedural steps, but this is something definitely worth playing with. I will warn you, however, that the effect doesn’t always turn out as perfectly as what happens during the performance section. The poker gods were on David’s side that particular day because he ended up with an even greater effect than usual.

Blank Jazz Aces- This is a simple Jazz Aces routine until the knockout finish where all of the cards in play turn blank. In fact, the entire deck turns blank despite the audience seeing printed faces from the beginning. There are no deck switches and the routine is relatively easy to do. You will need to supply your own gimmicked cards.

Jokers Are Wild- This is a simple effect where a Joker transforms into a spectator’s signed selection. However, David’s handling seems completely open and free, making the final change all that more striking. If you don’t mind a small bit of preparation, this could be a very strong piece for any card guy.

Not all of the routines left me amazed, and some were certainly more commercial than others. Overall, however, the value for the money is quite high. If you’re a fan of card magic, you will definitely enjoy this DVD set.

Recommended.

-Available for $50 from Big Blind Media.

I became familiar with David Corsaro through his Time To Be Awesome video podcast where he interviews other magicians about their thoughts on sleight of hand, audience management, and a ton of other topics. His guests have included Steve Beam, Eric Jones, Joshua Jay, Asi Wind, and Boris Wild among many others. I’m a big fan of the show, so I was excited when I heard that David had released a DVD of his own material. Let’s take a look at the routines taught in The Magic Of David Corsaro.

Getting To Know You- This was my favorite routine on the disc. A spectator is asked four personal questions of which they have a free choice of answering. The magician deals one card for each letter of their answer leading to one card at random in the deck. The other cards are each shown to have different names written on them. The spectator’s card is turned over to reveal his own name written in bold letters. 

This routine has a few things going for it. First, it is easy to do but is extremely commercial. Second, you do NOT need to know the name of the person before you get to the table. David provides a handling that allows you to go into this routine immediately after learning their name for the first time. Third, you can completely customize the questions depending on your performing situation and audience. This will provide a very memorable experience for your volunteer.

Baby Gag- This is David’s small addition to the standard baby gag. The magician introduces an envelope containing a prediction. Someone in the audience names any actress. The performer explains that inside the envelope is a picture of the named celebrity…at age 6 months. A picture of a baby is shown. This will get a laugh (or groan). “Last week someone named Whoopi Goldberg… I’ve got that covered too.” The picture is turned over to show a picture of an African American baby. This gets another laugh.

In some instances, the routine ends right there and is played off as just a gag. However, David has built in a significant possibility for a real stunner where you prove that you really did know which celebrity the audience member would name. His idea is a good one, but you will probably have one of two reactions: “Why didn’t I think of that?” or “I’ve already thought of that.” Either way, it’s a funny piece for the audience with a chance of hitting upon a real miracle.

Mallrats- Based on a Peter Duffie idea, this is a mathematical effect that doesn’t feel like a mathematical effect. As a result, it was right up my alley. The performer introduces a map of his local mall. The spectator seems to move around the mall freely and stops at a random location. Before the magician reveals his prediction, maps are passed out to other members of the audience to try the same experiment. Everyone stops at different locations proving that there is no force. The prediction is opened and revealed to be correct.

On the back of each map is printed the magician’s contact details which provides a nice giveaway at the end of the effect. I would recommend printing this map onto a large board and doing this in a stand up show. I really like this trick!

Can I Call You Sometime-  This is a unique presentation for John Bannon’s Play It Straight Triumph (recently renamed Bannon’s Triumph). The performer mentions that whenever he gets a girl’s phone number in a bar, he jots it down along with a brief description of her on a bar napkin. He pulls out a shoebox and dumps out a large number of these napkins. This could obviously be played for laughs. All of the napkins contain different phone numbers. A volunteer selects one of the napkins and shuffles a deck of cards face up into face down. When the cards are spread, the face up cards match the freely selected phone number.

Bannon’s Triumph has been applied to phone numbers in the past by a few different performers but not in this exact way. There is no sleight of hand required for this trick as the spectator does the shuffling himself. You will require some table space both for the shuffling and the laying out of the napkins. This makes the effect better suited for a formal close up show rather than for walk around situations. The working is very clever. Even magicians who are familiar with Triumph sequence will be confused about how you set it up for the correct number.

While these routines were designed for a close up environment, at least two of them could easily be adapted for stand up work. This is always a plus for professional performers who are looking for effects that pack small and play big. The explanations are clear and the routines are extremely commercial. You will notice that none of these routines can be done “out of the box.” You will need to do a little work getting the props printed up or made. It’s not a lot of work, but it’s something that you might want to be aware of.

The only negative is that there are only four routines included. However, there are no filler items like you find on most DVDs in the marketplace. Each effect is obviously something that David has been working in the real world for awhile now. It is definitely worthy of your purchase.

-Available for $29.95 from www.DavidCorsaro.com