A New Topps Article



	informal family get-togethers he really does a nice job - especially because of his moderate $95 fee. The local shopping mall kicks off their annual Fall Sale with a Halloween Magic Show and the "Great Amaze-O" talks his way in as "le grand entertainer" at a whopping - to him - $500 fee. Of course his wonderful "Water from India" Lota Bowl routine that seemed amusing at the Pack 53 Potluck Supper Night doesn't cut the mustard at beautiful Sears-and-Penney's Land Mall. "Amaze-O" wallows in some self-excess and, if we're lucky, realizes he bit off more than he can chew. The mall management and the audience expected something more and he didn't deliver. After all, they were paying more than five times his normal fee! The "Great Amaze-O" won't get hired again - but neither will our hero, John Cabala! Doug Henning, David Copperfield, Blackstone, Siegfried Ł Roy and, of course, Mark Wilson have done so much and worked so hard to elevate our love to an art form. So tell me why I still get calls where people say, "Oh, that's way too much! This is just a magic show; it's just for kids. It doesn't have to be that good." The "Great Amaze-O"s of the USA make sure that lots of folks get exposed to poor magic. Shame on them everywhere. I don't think you can call the famous "Mis-Made Girl" illusion poor magic. It's a great, popular illusion that is an audience favorite. I have ten year's experience with the effect and always enjoy performing it. I do not hear audience "explanations" for this illusion; that tells me it has the right balance of amusement and mystery. How many of you want to buy one? This prop's construction should only be attempted by a very good	woodworker, so my advice is to leave those headaches to someone who has experience - the experience of building one before yours! There aren't any bad angles to its presentation although anyone at the sides or back will not see the mixed-up effect unless you revolve the prop in that state. It is very easy to set up. The base and blades travel separately from the four cubes. If you ever stacked toy building blocks as a child, you have enough experience to set up this illusion. There are no bolts, nuts or pins. Your lady assistant will want to check out the prop after it has been set since many versions have a variety of panels, clasps, etc., that she must be comfortable with. The act does take a few minutes to do since the performer must move the boxes about. I wouldn't stretch this out for any reason; just do it as fast as you can without racing around and pick some appropriate upbeat music for the background. My current "Mis-Made" weighs in at 292 pounds. That includes both cases and is the total shipping weight. How practical is the "Mis-Made"? Very practical, in my opinion. It hasn't been overdone, so there's none of that "this one again" syndrome. Lighting is not critical and it doesn't need to be loaded or unloaded with an unseen assistant offstage. It can sit in full view through an entire show and then be used or, you can open with it and leave it "on display" through the show with no one getting any wiser. I know that it's possible to present this with just the magician and his assistant, but that will require a tall magician in good physical shape. The individual boxes are big enough and heavy enough to be awkward to move about, especially when it comes to

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