Jay – Exclusive Magic

09 Mar

Green Neck Cards – Alternate

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A presentational idea (the method is not taught here).At a recent Phoenix Magic Club meeting I performed Gabriel Werlen’s Green Neck System, but instead of using playing cards I used picture cards:I got a great reaction at the end and am glad I had the picture cards made up, because I think this packet of cards is going into my shirt pocket as my “go to” effect when I need one. Tweak the Presentation?After the meeting my friend Bill H. asked if I’d ever thought of switching the face down part of the effect for face up, and that way…

17 Feb

Gabriel Werlen Timestamps and Mini-Review

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For his Penguin Live LectureTopic: Gabriel Werlen Penguin Live VideoAgenda: First I complain about Penguin and Vanishing Inc, then I give you timestamps, and then I finally get around to a review of the magic video.While I appreciate that Penguin included timestamps for this lecture at the beginning of the video, that should be the second place they live. The first place should be on a PDF that I can download. If I’m watching a video, needing to scrub back to the beginning each time I want to jump somewhere is dorky. So the following are the timestamps in a…

26 Jan

The Mystery Performer’s 2025 Goal Sheet

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Here's a valuable checklist for the upcoming year...This goal sheet is a tool designed to help magicians and mentalists set meaningful goals, stay organized, and grow both creatively and professionally. It focuses on honing performance skills, expanding business opportunities, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance, ensuring 2025 is your most successful and fulfilling year yet.The checklist is broken down into seven areas, and since it is “generic advice” not everything will fit you perfectly, but I suspect much of it will. And even those things that don’t may spark ideas of your own to help you have a more magical…

15 Jan

Learn: Chromatic Insight

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Every color tells a story—yours is about to be revealed!Here’s a routine you can use if you have one of Iarvel’s Mental Cubes and like the colors option (rather than numbers, ESP symbols, etc.) — it adds a set of cards (the PDF file has a “Print Your Own Props” section) and a way to make this something other than “guess the color.” I think this presentation can create a real connection between you and the volunteer, making this more than just a “trick.”While it requires the Mental Cube prop, take a look at it even if you don’t have…

22 Dec

Working Performer? Want More Business?

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Well of course we all do…This is short and sweet — a friend of mine, Barry Friedman, worked as one half of The Raspyni Brothers for a couple decades, and they were tremendously successful.…four-time World Juggling Champions with over 200 national television appearances and 2,500 successful corporate shows…Barry coaches performers in how to get more business (the guy knows what he’s talking about) and he’s just finishing up a small-bite video series called "The 12 Days of ShowBiz" that’s available free.From his email to me: “Each episode is between 1-2 mins and tackles one specific challenge we all face as…

07 Dec

Free Magic (+ Networking)

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My secret plan to wiggle into the magic creator community...Note! The event talked about below is over, but it turned out so well we’re going to do it again in December 2025. You can sign up for it now and get a free monthly magic gift leading up to the new event next December!TL;DR - I created a new site to build my email list and to meet new magicians who are into creating original magic. It offers free magic every day for the first 24 days of December to every mystery performer. https://mysteryarts.christmasI’ve been a programmer nerd for about…

01 Aug

Nothing Beats Actual Stage Time

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I like to think that I am really good at routining an effect so that it is workable right out of the gate.And I am (he said humbly).I think it’s probably because I was performing for money from the time I was 13 until my early 20s (dropped out of school to focus on it, even — thanks Mom and Dad!), got trained at Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Clown College, and then spent six years as a radio DJ (radio? I know, I just really dated myself), and then did some acting and directing in community theatre. All…

28 May

iQ Pro: Show Reference Guide

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A look at the options when you create a Show in iQ ProI’ll be back with an actual “build something” tutorial soon, but I wanted to make a few “this is what this option does” kind of videos. Building a basic show is pretty easy in iQ Pro, but there are a lot of things you can tweak that aren’t completely obvious, so I thought I’d start running through those. https://youtu.be/6dXP9DFU5jQ If you like what you see, tell others about iQ Pro and about my web site, please. The more, the merrier. ;)And, if there’s something specific you’d like to…

26 May

iQ Pro Tutorial #01 – A Bare Bones Audio-Only Show

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A beginner look at how to quickly make a short show.The tutorial series I’m creating will start at the beginner level, but it will probably not gradually get more comprehensive. After a few videos it’s likely start bouncing around from beginner level to advanced, to intermediate, and back again. But I will attempt to tag them such that finding “your level” is easy.Thanks for reading Exclusive Magic! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This tutorial does NOT go into depth on the different options available in the iQ Pro app — that video is coming up.…

26 May

New to iQ Pro? Look Here First…

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I wrote an article about iQ Pro after using it for a couple months. If you’re new to the app, maybe hearing about it for the first time, click this link to see the initial article.