The Orange Trick

This is not the Criss Angel orange trick but you will get good reactions from your audience. Your reactions will not be as big as Criss Angel's orange trick but neither will be your budget.

You don't need multiple TV crews, actors (yes, actors)and many thousands of dollars to do this easy magic trick. The whole setup for this trick is not going to cost more than one dollar maximum. More than likely it will cost you nothing as most of the props required will already be in your kitchen.

There is a Canadian magician named Bill Abbott who does the sorts of routines that I really like. I picked up a really useful tip from him. If you are using a paper bag in your routine: make it a recycled one. That way you can sniff the bag as if to wonder what you used it for previously. Make a few suggestions - tuna, bananas, etc - then thrust the bag, mouth towards the audience as if you are giving them the opportunity to work out the smell.

What this does is give you the perfect reason to display the inside of the bag as being empty, without you having to say the dreaded words that so many magician still use: 'look, the bag is completely empty!'

As much as possible you need to move away from giving instructional explanations to your tricks. The harder your tricks, the more difficult this becomes because you have to put all your effort into the mechanics of the effect rather than spending time thinking about your presentation.

Tricks like this effect can really help you. Just use them to start and finish your routine. Keep your harder moves in there but give the audience some entertainment too. Of course your harder tricks will just get easier over time and then you can concentrate on their presentations also.

Are you concerned people will want to look in the bag?

This is a valid concern. I mean, they will be wondering where the orange went? The best way to fix this problem is to do this trick as an opener, or somewhere in your routine where you have another trick coming straight after it. This way you can produce the apple, scrunch up the bag, then put the bag out of sight as you reach for your next prop.

You could use the idea that I show you in the video of getting ready for a day at the office / how a magician gets ready for work. This would make it a logical way to start a show... "You know, people often ask me how does a magician get ready for work?....'