Voodoo Box Brings Good Luck to Illusionist on a Budget

Note: I got the illusion plans directly from Andrew and he sells the plans for half of the origional price (as of this review).

If you know anything about illusion and illusion plans you know how expensive they can be, but Andrew Mayne changes that with his line of illusions plans. This illusion is a take on the classic Sward Basket, in this illusion an assistant steps inside a box and 20 non-gimmicked umbrellas are slid into the box at various angles. The illusionist then removes the umbrellas, the box is opened and the assistant steps out unharmed. This is a full scale stage illusion that packs flat, can be performed surrounded and all the items used are recognizable to the audience, no fancy magic boxes here.

Mayne details how to build the illusion fully with nice detail. I built mine in about 40 minutes. I got the box at a local home improvement store and uses a kitchen knife to cut the openings in the box. The biggest expense in this illusion lies in finding cheap umbrellas, Mayne recommends a dollar store, but if you can’t find cheap umbrellas this illusion could double or triple in price. If you want to do this illusion, be prepared to go on an umbrella hunt!

The illusion is easy to build, the instructions are clear and you should have trouble making the illusion, once the materials are gathered. The cardboard box is familiar to an audience and thus can look to be innocent and un-gimmicked. A flashy, professional sword box, on the other hand, often looks like a magician’s prop. Thus, is you like the cardboard box idea this may be for you. Mayne is creative in his magic approach and his plans make the sward basket more approachable to starting illusionist. You will need rehearsal with an assistant, but this illusion could make a good addition to your show.

I have performed this to great success. You can't get it, build it and go out and perform it just like that. Things need to be worked out and coordinated with your assistant. If you find the picture on the cover interesting and are willing to put a little time into perfecting the routine, you'll have a great illusion on your hands! And inexpensive too! I highly recommended.

Saw this performed three times in one week on the main stage at the Magic Castle, and the audience was completely underwhelmed. The umbrellas drop in at any angle they happen to fall at, clearly allowing the girl to contort around them as needed. Since the umbrellas aren't secured in place, they also wiggle as the girl moves around them. At the end, the audience was expecting the girl to pop out wearing a different costume or something, so was twice as disappointed, first at having been forced to sit through such a lame supposed trick as this. Audience responded with "polite" applause only because they felt sorry for the girl. Save yourself the embarrassment and 15 bucks by not bothering with this.