talkmagic.co.uk

Hi. I'm totally new to the whole magic trick game, but am trying to build up a bit of an act with which to entertain & amuse the kids! I thought that using some flash paper would be an impressive start to the act & grab everyone's attention. I duly bought some flash paper & tried it out in the garage. I put a lighted match to the paper and waited for the "whoosh!" Sadly the flash paper did not whoosh. It just burnt quickly.

Did I buy a dodgy batch - off eBay & looked quite old!? Or am I supposed to roll it up into a ball before use? Or use more than one sheet? Any tips or advice gratefully received. I'm hoping to impress the kids at the weekend with my new found magical skills, and I really want a whoosh moment to grab their attention!

If it came in a ziplock bag it was probably stored damp and will work better if the sheets are dried out before use. Don't dry too many at once though, they are more dangerous when they have been dried out.

If this isn't the problem then I'm afraid I'm not sure except that it could be dodgy from ebay.

Hmmmm, buy from a magic dealer not Ebay.

Also, I hate to be the one to point it out but is Flash paper the best option for a kids show? I personally have no experience performing for kids but in my opinion, I'm not sure fire is a good idea

Goodluck with the show, and have fun performing

fire, blades and penetration effects should all be avoided thease days as kids copy.
a fellow kiddy pro used to do the dagger chest illusion on kids head, unfortunatly one kid whent home stuck a box on his brothers head and stabed him with a kitchen knife, my friend retired soon after the funeral.

very good point well put magicdiscoman! what a sad story! I think that puts everything into perspective.

magicdiscoman wrote:fire, blades and penetration effects should all be avoided thease days as kids copy.
a fellow kiddy pro used to do the dagger chest illusion on kids head, unfortunatly one kid whent home stuck a box on his brothers head and stabed him with a kitchen knife, my friend retired soon after the funeral.

WTF!!

wtf!! indeed its now an urban ledgend it happened to my friend about 6yrs ago though he was not blamed it was a wakeup call for a lot of performers and for myself i stoped useing fire in my act and made me more aware of health and safty issues at work.