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Hi, I'm currently designing a routine for my school talent show, and I need help with one effect.

Basically, what the spectator sees is this - A rose is placed in a jar. the performer then touches that rose, and visually, that rose begins to die (leaves shrivelling up, wilting, etc).

I know about the commercial Wilting Rose, but I'm thinking along the lines of using a real rose. Any ideas?

Regards,
Cris

No it probably wont work unless you are holding onto it. Even if you do hold onto the rose, it would be hard to do it with a real one.

If I were you, buy the original wilting rose, I know a friend who has one and its a decent prob, very cheap too. I think it may be £9.99 from most internet shops.

With stage magic, make sure what goes on, is busy, large, and most of all, make sure everyone understands what is going on. A wilting rose in my opinon, is slighty too small and caberet-ish. Unless thats the style you are going for.

I seem to remember Derren Browns DPB has a nice effect called "Zamiels Rose" but again, its a card trick and is far too small for stage magic.

Luke Jermay has an effect in building blocks that does just this, but it's not a stage effect.
I seem to remember seeing in an old book on chemical magic that used something other than water, which makes the rose wilt.

I guess you could dip a rose into co2, and allow it to thaw out. It would probably fall apart.

or you could buy a really nice silk rose, and prepair one side of it so it looks dead.

show the good side to the audience, maybe use a paddlemove to show it all around.. place it into the vase, and with the aid of a thread, or a small motor revolve the rose, giving the appearance of it fading away .

How about a mirror glass?

I can see where your comming from Peter. A mirror tube might be better though. You sometimes get single stem roses in tubes around valentines day.

Good ideas, thanks. One idea that I had was to spray it with UltraSmoke 2000 solution just before the performance.

I believe that that is just an oil based product isnt it?.

It wouldnt work

Dont forget that what ever your doing for the rest of this act, the one thing you wont be doing is giving the "dead"rose away at the end.

So, why do you have to use a real rose?

Use a really good artificial bloom, and you can repeat the act if needbe, without going through the trouble of gaffing another fresh, EXPENSIVE ( and, Lets not forget, real roses cost a bomb when they are out of season) Flower.

The Ultra Smoke 2000 wouldn't kill a rose, but it sure would kill anything else. Its dirty stuff.

Dale is right, just stick with an artificial bloom. Real flowers are expensive

If you were to buy one of the better looking wilting roses, (Ive just googled Mike Danata might be able to assist.
Magic smiths looks nice too, but it may be the same one)

You should be able to create a method of having it wilt in a vase, rather than in the hand.
( the innards are often a steel rod, so magnets come to mind.)

now the IMPORTANT thing is, you load the wilting rose with a few loose ,weighted petals.
this is so when the rose droops, it also starts to shed it's petals. Something a real flower does when it dies off.
And its a small thing like this, that sells the Ilusion, that it was real.

In fact, Going back a few years,i seem to recall Jim Stienmyer used a simalar idea in the original disney beauty and the beast.

I don't think a real rose will work at all, no matter what you do with it. Roses have thick woody stems that are happy to stand upright forever. A real-life dying rose just has icky brown petals sticking off the top of an upright stick.

For a romantically drooping effect, you'll have to invest in a prop.

DB's "Zamiel's Rose" is beautiful to behold, but it's definitely a one-to-one close-up effect. A card turns into a scattering of rose petals.

I'm wondering if something along the lines of the old rose to silk effect could work. You might be able to work it so that the rose just melts away, some well positioned rose petals could leave you with a scattering of petals at the end. I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're after but it could give you a very pretty effect.

cris132001 wrote:Hi, I'm currently designing a routine for my school talent show, and I need help with one effect.

Basically, what the spectator sees is this - A rose is placed in a jar. the performer then touches that rose, and visually, that rose begins to die (leaves shrivelling up, wilting, etc).

I know about the commercial Wilting Rose, but I'm thinking along the lines of using a real rose. Any ideas?

Regards,
Cris

Look up the old Thayer "REINCARNATION" Illusionette... I believe the principle behind it could be modified to work with your rose vs. a human head.

I would like to say a very big thank you to all who have given up great ideas (weighted petals, silk flowers, and many more).

I will try a variety of methods, and repost on what I end up with (and finally, how it goes).

Many regards,
Cris