If you are like me your well-worn copy of the Abbott catalog shows the effects of your constant perusal of its pages. Somehow, though, that page in the Illusions section that advertises Bryce's Screen just hasn't grabbed your attention the way many others have. The prop does not boast the exotic look of The Girl without a Middle or The Shredder. And, it's relatively small cost may make it seem cheap in some manner.
You do not have to defend yourself. I overlooked this item for decades. But, a new theatrical venue in the Milwaukee area has been hiring me on a regular basis and so I am once again looking for new material that can be performed in a slightly unconventional setting. This theater is part of the Marcus Corporation's newest cinema complex called the Majestic in suburban Brookfield/Waukesha. They have multiple screens including two of the giant Ultra Screens. There's also an ice cream fountain on the premises (just like one I remember in Bronson near Colon) and a made-from-scratch pizza kitchen! Adjacent to the lobby's cocktail lounge ("Take Five") is their signature AT&T Palladium Theater that features at-your-seat food and beverage service. This one showroom was built for both motion pictures and live shows. It is beautiful.
The stage is wide, but very shallow. There are no theatrical wings and only a slightly-wider-than-normal door to get backstage. Backstage consists of only a hallway to a comfortable green room. Ninety degree turns make it hard to feature elaborate stage illusions.
Management and staff have treated us royally and invite us back twice a year for weekends of shows. One of those weekends is the Friday-Saturday-Sunday after Thanksgiving. They want a holiday-themed show and they want Santa Claus.
Some very careful staging allowed us to perform Backstage with a Magician for Santa's appearance in 2007. I did not want to repeat that effect one year later.
I turned to Abbott's Bryce's Screen. They made it up with fabric decorated with holly. They avoided any patterns with too much red so that Santa's suit would 'pop' and stand out.
This is a very lightweight illusion since it consists of only a series of wooden frames covered in cloth. It can easily be carried under one arm.
Since we did not have the benefit of a curtain that would open and reveal this prop we had it 'set' onstage, off to one side. I selected an appropriate moment during the routine that preceded it for our Santa to enter and take his place behind the illusion. My two lovely assistants then slid the illusion to center stage for Santa's production and appearance.
I will admit this was not as sensational a production as the massive Backstage with a Magician version is. But, it did exactly what it was supposed to do, and there's nothing wrong with that.
If your goal is to magically produce a person there are better props than Bryce's Screen, but don't read that as a criticism. The Crystal Casket and the Blammo illusions are both more magical. But, I doubt you'd get Santa Claus into either one.
And, it's not unusual to receive a request to make the boss, the CEO or the sales manager appear at company functions. There's never adequate opportunity to rehearse and these individuals are never of showgirl 'proportions' to fit into the props the typical illusionist owns.
Besides, the surprise appearance of someone known to the audience in an unexpected manner eclipses the 'magic' altogether.
How do I know this?
Because I've used my Abbott's Bryce's Screen twice since producing Santa to make corporate executives appear.
I have a longtime friend who owns and operates a successful regional railroad. He had a Saturday morning event for all his employees in Madison at a Marriott Hotel. He told me he wanted to make an 'entrance.' He would speak and then a short motion picture about the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad would be shown. There was a stage built for the presentation, but it featured giant rear-projection screens. There really wasn't room for an illusion show.
But, there was room for Bryce's Screen. We selected some very dramatic entrance music and added two fog machines for some visual effect. The prop was placed before anyone entered the room. It was away from all the drapes, etc. It stood isolated center stage.
No one expected a magic act; they had come for the video production's premiere (and the free breakfast, of course!).
My friend, Bill Gardner, quietly stepped into position just before show time.
Could he have been seen taking his position?
Certainly. But, why run when nobody is chasing you? There was no suspicion. People were eating and there was the usual activity around the stage area.
Once he was in place the room lighting changed, the fog began flowing as the music played.
My assistant Mary and I took opposite ends of the illusion and turned it around affording everyone a perfectly clear view of both sides. The prop was isolated center stage. We dragged the two ends together to form a screened enclosure. The music came to a dramatic crescendo and we opened the screens back up.
There was Mr Gardner!
Not a single employee expected that!
That's not bad for a prop that costs hundreds -not thousands- of dollars. It takes no time to set up or strike and travels completely flat.
About a month later I was asked to appear at the employee recognition party of Milwaukee's Bell Ambulance. I have a long, friendly relationship with this firm and its owner and its executives. Their vice president, Jim Lombardo, is the 'face' of the company. Traditionally he hands out all the awards that Bell Ambulance generously bestows on its staff. Jim is very much at ease onstage and officiates more like a stand-up comic than a staid corporate VIP.
This event was held at one of Milwaukee's best-known private clubs in a room with a permanent stage of sorts. The ambulance company hired a rock band to perform after the presentation and the band arrived with a truckload of audio gear. Imagine forcing a ten-pound ham into a five-pound can and you'll get the idea.
I was asked to produce a ten-minute show culminating with Mr Lombardo's appearance. We decided on the novel Geometrick illusion and the pretty Color-Changing Plumes that Fakini makes. In addition to Fakini's tri-color plume finish I commissioned Abbott's to provide me with a special Super Botania years ago for this audience-pleasing act. The Botania has red blooms around the top of the growth, white around its middle and blue at the bottom. The traditional green 'leaves' fill out the floral display. The prop's chrome cone harmonizes with the Plumes' silver Mylar for the 'dyeing' effect. The finale` tri-color plume is dropped into the Botania's cone. Its red top extends above the cone. The floral growth springs up and red blooms surround the plume's top. It's a splashy ending that always elicits oohs and ahhhs.
After our opening magic my two lady assistants gestured toward the screens that had been standing in full view throughout our appearance. They spun them about, the dramatic music played and fog materialized.
Jim Lombardo magically materialized within the screens and, again, the crowd responded appropriately.
This presentation required that our VIP take his place before we began so he had to endure standing behind the screens during our magic acts as described.
Once again it was physically possible to see him walk from backstage to his spot behind the screens, but this was done with band roadies still milling about and before Rick Zehetner, Bell Ambulance's owner - and my friend - took to the stage to make opening remarks.
They could have seen him, but I bet they didn't.
For the performer who desires a well-stocked arsenal of material for all situations and client requests there is definitely a place for Abbott's Bryce's Screen. It can be customized to suit your 'look' with fabric choices and this appearance can be changed with alternate 'slip covers' over the wooden structure.
My bottom line: I should have bought this decades ago.
