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I am so excited. I've been reviewing tricks for over ten years now for Genii Magazine and although I've often tried to review an illusion, I've never had one sent to me before. It seems that the manufacturers don't want to spend money on shipping in order to get a review. But Brian South and his team at Creative Magic have changed all that. I have received a sample of "The Shadow Tent," a new approach to "The Shadow Box" and, although I've not yet performed it on a stage, I'm quite impressed with the way Creative Magic has thought "outside the box." "The Shadow Box" or "The Girl from the Light" was created by Cyril Yettmah, probably in the early1920s. It was a feature in David Bamberg’s (Fu Manchu) Chinese Wonder Show. It was also popularized by Raymond in the 1920s and Doug Henning in the 1970s. A cube-shaped cabinet with translucent paper panels was rolled onto the stage and rotated to show all sides. Then the front panel was opened to show the interior empty. A light bulb was held next to the paper panels, to show its translucent quality before being lowered through the top. After the front panel was closed it became a projection screen onto which the silhouette of human hands appeared, climaxing in the magician (or his assistant) emerging through it. You can read more about the method in the final lesson of Tarbell Volume 4. It is often said that a prop that looks normal and familiar will make for a stronger magic impact on the audience. How does one make "The Shadow Box" look like something normal? That's the question that plagued magician Brian South as he toured his illusion show throughout colleges and corporate venues. His solution is now available to you as "The Shadow Tent," a prop that replicates the classic illusion using a 5' x 5' x 4 ½' high camping tent. Your assistant drags the tent on stage and turns it around. It's really light and can even be lifted up a few inches to further demonstrate its emptiness to the audience. The zippered panel is opened and the assistant steps inside with a light bulb or camping lantern. Nobody home! Then she walks completely around the tent, the light shining through the white nylon sides. After hanging the light from the roof of the tent, she zips up the front panel and immediately your audience will begin to see hand shadows on it. The front panel then breaks away and the kneeling magician is revealed. The prop itself is built from the ground up. This is not a pup tent that Creative Magic bought, sewed in a secret hiding place for a person and cut a hole for a light bulb. The prop is made from black rip-stop nylon and white nylon. The poles are high end custom fitted, flexible aluminum. This is so well-made that Creative Magic offers a lifetime guarantee and will repair any rips or tears, or replace any bent poles, for free. Amazingly, it sets up in the time it takes to light a campfire and toast a marshmallow. I'm not kidding. After watching the instructional video, it took me just 5 minutes. For those of you that have schlepped illusions in vans and trucks, fiddled with wing nuts, and touched up paint on site, "The Shadow Tent" may be a welcome relief for sore backs and fingers. Furthermore it is durable, weighs less than 15 pounds, can fit in an overhead compartment on a plane and costs a fraction of what most illusions do if you want to produce a live person. I'm sure that there will be two camps of thought on this. There will be those of you – probably most of you – who say, "What place does a camping tent have in an illusion show?" It is interesting to trace how the production of live people from cabinets with multiple doors, cutouts and gaudy paint jobs have become so acceptable in illusion shows that we now consider it the norm. But this is a subject for another article. If you're of the mind that a magic illusion show must be glitzy, with shiny, colorful props and lots of sequins and fishnets, then “The Shadow Tent” will not fit into your presentation. But if your magic is more organic, and you can justify the presence of a camping tent in your show, you’ll be very pleased with the method. An advantage of using a tent versus the classic "Shadow Box" is that your audience will see it for what it appears to be, and not start suspecting "trap doors and mirrors" from the moment it is pushed onto the stage. If
you want to produce an executive, school principal or VIP, "The
Shadow Tent" will require more rehearsal and flexibility
than say, a "Tip Over Trunk" or a "Backstage with
a Magician" illusion. But it is not overwhelmingly difficult
and I think it can be taught to a physically fit layman with 20
- 30 minutes of rehearsal. Of course, this can’t be performed
surrounded, although the black wing-like flaps protect your angles
very well from traditional audience seating. Another downside
is that the person who appears is not in a standing "Ta-da!"
position. The tent is just 4'6" high, so a normal sized-adult
must kneel and then step through the front panel upon his or her
appearance. Brian South's "The Shadow Tent" asked return policy; Lifetime warranty for repairs. Skill Level: Beginner. Ideal Venue: Traditional audience seating, but they can be quite close and it will still deceive. Ad: OK. Apparatus: Excellent, Durable. Instructions: Video is excellent. Inspection: No follow up In
the March issue of Genii I reviewed Brian South's illusion, "The
Shadow Tent" ( www.cretiavemagic.org), although I had not
yet had a chance to perform it. Last week, while opening the general
session of the American Camp Association, my friend Michael Brandwien,
my daughter Leah Rose, and I surprised and baffled 1000 camp directors
from across the country when we made the 6-foot female CEO of
the organization appear. |
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