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.