The Thing (Professional package)
Available from www.hocus-pocus.com
Price: $120 (approx £70 GBP)
Category: Close up to stage illusion
Difficulty: 3 out of 5
They say:
The reputation-making, one-man levitation that can be performed ANYWHERE! Perform it in a living room, on a large theater stage, or in broad daylight on the street.
The Thing can float in any performing situation with your audience viewing from any angle. No matter how close the spectators are, whether they're behind, on top, or underneath you, they will not see how this THING works!
Practical, one-man levitations are few and far between. After a decade of research and development in front of real audiences, in addition to numerous requests from magicians around the world, Bill is finally releasing a cherished routine.
Through exclusive arrangement with Bill Abbott, The Thing comes complete and ready for your show! Whether your specialty is bizarre magic, kid shows, mentalism, comedy magic, or stage illusions The Thing has the versatility of playing in any style that you want it to.
Routine Description:
At any point in your act, you show a box made of clear plastic and completely empty. The box lid is opened and an empty cloth handkerchief is draped over the open box. Mysteriously, a form rises slowly up from out of the box under the cloth continuing up until it is hovering suspended in mid-air. The audience can have a clear view of the levitation from any angle and can see there is no support of any kind.
You then lift a corner of the cloth up and over the levitating object only to have it suddenly disappear leaving the cloth hanging empty in your fingers! By draping the cloth over the invisible object it slowly makes its reappearance in an unbelievably magical fashion.
The object can then float up and out of your fingers, shoot on a horizontal plane away from you or out above the heads of the audience. Finally you push the cloth-covered object back down into the box, dramatically close the lid and bow to thunderous applause!
Professional Package Includes:
Clear View Box
Ungimmicked Cloth
Hand-Made Gimmicked Cloth,
Practice Folder with step-by-step photos to make practice and rehearsal fun and easy
Instructional DVD with both a Street Performance and a Formal Performance of The Thing with detailed descriptions of every move and nuance to help you master this amazing effect
A Compact Disc with 6 tracks of royalty-free music to accompany your performance!
Points to consider:
No threads
No magnets
No assistants
No special clothing required
No reset, perform it over and over again without any lighting or staging considerations to worry about
With the discreet handling described on the instructional DVD, you can pass out the cloth & the box afterwards leaving the skeptics speechless, in fact in Bill's current stage presentation he has a volunteer hold the box as the The Thing rises out of it!
I say:
Now I normally don’t look twice at this type of effect but for some reason I clicked on the video demo button at Hocus Pocus and WOW! I was enthralled!
I watched this guy doing his best to restrain and control an unearthly sphere under a blue cloth. He pushed it down from above and it resisted for a moment before giving way, but it rose again…smooth as silk.
Then the man lifted a corner of the cloth and took a peek underneath. He flung the cloth off the creepy little ball…it was gone…no trace.
Next he held the cloth up like a Matador’s cape and threw it forward. As it floated downward I saw the ball take form under the fabric again, as if he had just thrown a net over it. It hung in the air before dragging the man about a bit more.
Finally the man opened a clear plastic box and eased the floating entity down into the box with a gentle push. The lid was closed and the man gathered up his belongings and walked away.
I arranged to get one that very day.
This is a wonderful illusion you can carry in one hand. It plays well on the street, on stage, in a dining room, heck, anywhere.
The package you get it STUNNING! Your “Thing” will arrive in a smart cardboard box with Bill’s confident face printed on the label. He seems to be daring you to give it a go. The props are BEAUTIFUL! The gimmick itself is super-neat and tidy. The fabric feels rich and supple. Everything looks good in the box and better when out.
Bill Abbott is clearly a master at working “The Thing” but the purchaser will get joy from it straight away. It’s just so much fun to play with you can help but get better. The pay-off for the work you put in will be manifold.
The DVD and CD that are included are fantastic. You get a great and insightful tuition DVD and a audio CD with 6 tracks of royalty-free music on it for all sorts of performing. You also receive a poster with photographs depicting the key points of Bill’s performance as a reference chart.
The clear plastic box sound tacky but…what you get is a TOUGH clear equipment box/flight case style home for your very own “Thing”…nothing cheap here.
About the only thing you don’t get is Bill himself, tucked up neatly in a corner and covered in bubble wrap and the only thing he does set you up with is a CD player and gig bookings!
Despite this being a great product from one man, something he obviously loves and has worked hard to make his own, Mr. Abbott gives ample credit for his inspirations in developing the effect
What more can I say? If you want an effect you can perform as spooky, dramatic, vibrant or high comical farce and slapstick then you need to get hold of your very own Thing!
Overall: 9.5/10