Greg Webb - Working With Stage Thread

Table of Contents Thread Magic :: Greg Webb Thread Methods :: Greg Webb Thread Prep :: Greg Webb Stage IT :: Richard Robinson

Stage IT :: By Richard Robinson Working With Stage Thread The Object The weight of the object to be animated by the line is the crucial factor in successfully using thread on stage. The object should weigh two ounces or less, any weight greater than that can result in the line breaking if stressed during actual performance. With modern materials such as self-stick Mylar as well as traditional materials such as papier mache, cardboard and balsa wood the performer is encouraged to consider the construction of the objects to be used as the starting point for building any props to be activated by invisible thread. The Length Of The Line The line should be kept as short as is practical to accomplish the effect desired. The longer the line, the greater the strain, and the more likely it is to break if abruptly tugged or too forcefully worked during actual performance. Kill Factor While stage illusionists using heavy gauge lines often resort to glitter curtains and other full backgrounds to hide such line, with this light gauge line a different strategy should be employed. A few bright objects on the performer's table will often provide more than enough 'dazzle' to ensure that the line is invisible to the audience. The principle here is that by using several small items, all of which reflect the stage light, the audience is unaware that any 'dazzle' principle is being used. Distance From Body The further the thread is away from any background, the less visible it will be. If you are using the thread in front of your body, keep your arms extended forward as far as practical. The extra few inches gained in this manner will almost always help to make the thread impossible to see.

Stage Lighting Avoid overhead lighting (lighting coming directly down) with all stage thread effects. The Hands Dry, smooth hands are important to manipulating fine lines. Practice The more fluid your motions are, the less obvious thread is being used. Any effect using thread should be practiced and rehearsed until it is second nature.

IT Work :: Greg Webb Thread Magic And so begins thisMagic Show series on the magical uses of thread. I have some strong opinions about the Thread Reels so popular now, and I'll cover why I feel this way and what some of the alternatives are for thread work. I'll also be explaining a bit of the history of the use of various kinds of thread in magic and some effects that have fallen into disuse because of the thread reels which are great pieces of magic without a reel and based on other knowledge. Carl Polaris I'll start off by saying that Carl Polaris, the great New York club entertainer has some great work with the reel. In fact I helped, and he stated that my suggestions 'changed his life,' which I doubt because Carl brings his personality to whatever effect he does and that is his real magic. We did solve some minor problems with the reel, though. But the reason that I am against the reel is the same reason I am against any fad in magic. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon and wants to do what everyone else is doing, and in a nutshell this is the problem. There are many ways to make something float or move. What happens is that all the other ways fall by the wayside and you have everyone doing the same version of something floating. I think my real role is becoming the voice in the wilderness whoreminds magicians of other good ways that give a similar effect to what's hot that if revived would seem new again. I'll be the guy who says, "You're all in a rut here. If you all - or some of you, switched to 'such and such' you'd be unique and not just a sheep following the herd."

The IT Reel So my main beef with the reel is that while an expert can make it look like 'magic,' in the hands of a novice it seems just like it is. The audience doesn't have tosee the thread to know it is a thread. It is given away by the kind of movement, which needs to be disguised in ways that exist but need to be in the hands of someone with artistic sensitivity. Dealers push the reel on any beginner in magic who walks in. Any tourist. None of them will be able to make it come alive. They don't have enough magic background, yet they'll be out there doing it badly. I say, when that is the situation, be it the reel, cig-through-quarter, the new rinkey dinkey, or whatever, switch your own method to something else. Usually you can find a very old principle that you can revive and make new again. Floating One area that I must address is the entire premise of having an object float. There may be something inherently wrong with the whole premise. It may be the 'Too Perfect Theory' in action. Perhaps the making of something float in midair is just too unbelievable. There are exceptions. Richard Robinson does an effect with a butterfly that comes seemingly to life (although not using thread) and I have an effect with a tissue paper moth that flutters to life (that does use thread - but not the reel) which evoke great audience identification, but perhaps because they seem to come alive rather than defy gravity. A bill or silk that float in midair might just hit the audience as too impossible, therefore they begin right away to wonder, "How?". Guess what? Their first answer is thread. I remember discussing just this idea with the late Bob McAllister at his studio. Perhaps, we decided, it would actually be stronger in the long run to have something twitch, or move, or animate than completely rise in the air. The idea is, the viewers just might be able to buythat kind of power, yet reject the floating object out of hand. It seems we weren't the only ones thinking about this issue. Barrie Richardson, in the terrific new book from Stephen Minch and Hermetic Press, feels the same way, and offers numerous effects that animate but don't completely levitate, and talks about the issue and remember the name of the book - 'Theater of the Mind.' It's very good.

IT Work :: By Greg Webb

Thread Methods Invisible Thread A little history is in order now. The modern origin of work - and interest in 'Invisible Thread' must go to the woman 'psychic' from Russia who could make a drinking glass twitch and sometimes slide around on a table as she made 'passes' around it. She was taken to be a genuine telekinetic until unmasked by Randi, I believe. Then overnight, we began hearing about how to unravel British pantyhose to get a thread that was seen to be made of a myriad threads and one of these was our original 'invisible thread.' It was a funny situation when magicians everywhere were buying black pantyhose in lingerie shops for nefarious purposes, but not for what sales personnel may have thought. For those interested, the Russian woman had her invisible thread in a loop (Tying invisible thread is not easy. Maybe she used real telekinesis to get the ends tied.) The loop went around her thumbs and her hands could be held six or eight inches apart. As she made her 'passes' around the glass, the taughtly stretched thread would bump the glass and make it slide or twitch. It looked good. I saw the footage. Floating Cork Then there was leaked rumors about Fred Kaps' Floating Cork. Then came Wonderbar and the Floating Match, and then a flood of ideas such as standing a credit card or bill on its edge and other wonders until the 'thread reel' came along which caught on like wildfire, in main part because it made invisible thread work so much easier. There is a more ancient history of thread work that you should be aware of, if we are to explore alternate methods to the thread reel. Early Methods The ancients had 'invisible thread' and you'd have to try this idea to realize that way way back, long before British pantyhose, magicians had single strands of human hair. They had single strands of horse tail hair. They had single strands of spider web, and they had single strands of silk worm silk thread. The great Japanese magician Shigeo Takagi who also worked in the Japanese Archives, found an ancient text called 'Secrets of the Saints' and I remember some of the tricks were with a long piece of dark human hair. If you never tried this, I must tell you that against a dark surface it is utterly invisible. During a bus ride I was sitting next to an Asian woman with long black hair, very straight, and when she got off at her stop I noticed a hair on my sleeve. I wrapped it around one of my business cards and I have it to this day. It is a reminder that ancient magicians had invisible thread too. Normal Thread Then there are tricks that don't need invisible thread and the regular old black sewing thread will suffice - such as for stage or platform work. Working Normal Thread So there are various types of 'thread' and this highlights my problem with the thread reel. I guess you could simplify my position by saying that anytime anything gets into

the hands of the beginner magicians and catches on, that I immediately jump ship and start to look for something in the same vein of effect but with a different method. I might mention here that there are animations of objects that don't use thread of any kind. Also there is the idea that making something twitch or move without actually floating free can be stronger to a layman, but we don't realize this at first because 'once a magician - at all - never again a layman,' in our assessments of impact. Add to this that many hobbyists only show their magic to their magic friends, and you get a style that has no bearing on what non-magicians want to see. Thread Effects So let's begin with some effects using black sewing thread. If you never tried this old trick, you must, to appreciate the impact. Attach a thread to the end of a wand, stick or pen. Attach the other end to your belt or belt loop. The thread should be about a foot and a half long. A note here is that in most cases the monofilament type of thread, although clear, is not usually invisible for magic because it is shiny. This kind of thread silver in a spotlight. Black sewing thread is way better. The trick is to put a finger ring over the vertical wand and thread. The upper end is the end with the thread attached. The ring will only go down as far as your left hand, which holds the wand in the middle. Now for the magic. By pushing away from yourself, you tighten the thread and the ring will climb up the wand in an eerie way. What is nice is that the wand itself can entirely hide the thread if you watch the angle of vision and keep the wand in front of you. If the suit you wear is dark, there isn't a problem anyway. To make this more magical, gesture mysteriously with your free hand. Move this hand around and under and above, seemingly proving no sort of support to the ring. The ring should move up and down numerous times, as if to show it has some life force. You can use it to answer questions. You can have one up-and-down move mean 'yes' and two movements mean 'no.' For a larger stage, use a yardstick and a bracelet or harness ring. Thread Props I want to mention a few good tricks of yesteryear, and yester-millennium. One can't ignore the little 'Magic Mouse' that ran along the back of your hands, a favorite of street pitchmen and mentioned in all the magic classics. One can't ignore Rising Cards, the Floating Match, and of course Wonderbar, which is yet another Edward Victor invention down to the test tube, but his used a cigarette. but changing to a Mylar tube made it into Wonderbar.

IT Work :: By Greg Webb Thread Prep How To Now, how to make invisible thread without having to be 'tied' to a magic shop. Go to a fabric or sewing shop and get black silk decorative cord. First you have to untwist the strings that make up the cord. Look carefully and you'll see that each of these strings is made up of many strands twisted together. These have to be untwisted to get a single strand. Each of these strands is made up of many threads which you untwist to get one thread, and each thread is made up of many pieces of invisible thread. To get one of these you pull on a single piece, and pull all the way down the length of the thread to straighten any buckling or tangling as you go. You should be working with about a one yard length. Pull about an inch, then work the buckling mentioned down the length. Then another inch, etc. and soon you have a single strand of invisible thread free. You can see that this way you'd have a lifetime supply. Anchors How to attach it to something? A small oval cut from Scotch tape will attach one end to a fingernail. For some people the frosted tape works best. You can fix one end to a bead with a tiny bit glue, and use this end to 'animate' something by wiggling the bead. Another method is wax, and the best wax to get is the wax they sell in doll shops for use in doll houses, to keep object from falling over or moving around that you don't want to move. It comes in a small tin, and you take a dab of it and fold one end of the invisible thread into it and then form the wax into a ball, and this is the other method for making a bead to manipulate to make something twitch or vibrate. The other end of the thread can have a similar wax ball on the end. Effect And Method To end I am going to describe what I feel is the best combination of effect and method. This goes back, of course, to the premise I put forth at the start of this series, that causing an object to twitch or move can be more powerful to lay audiences of non-magicians. This ability to remain able to think like a layman and not a magician is also important. The effect is done by having a thread attached to a belt loop or belt with tape on the inside of belt. The other end has a bit of the wax mentioned. This is stuck somewhere on the belt when not in use. Introducing several pieces of paper, have a person write a

date that has meaning to them, birthday - the date of birth of their husband, wife, child, etc. On the other slips they write a date that has no particular meaning to them. These are 'controls' in science jargon. In short you get the waxed end of the invisible thread into your hand and attach it to the underneath of the special date slip and sort of mix the slips on the table. By simply changing your posture the slip in question will move. Gestures with your hands and arms help hide the slight movement of your hips. Its hard to believe but this can have more meaning than a floating bill or silk. When using invisible thread, less is more.

IT Work is (c) 2000 by Robinson Wizard, Inc. New York City. Portions (c) 2000 by Greg Webb. All rights are reserved. This document is for the personal use of the reader and may not be altered, sold, reprinted, copied and/or distributed in any form without the written permission of the copyright holder.