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Cabaret Card Magic

Bill Abbott

(Based on 1 review)
Have you ever dreamed of being a performer who can fill a room with personality, excitement and mystery, without resorting to a lot of props to do the filling? Does the idea of carrying a deck of playing cards in your pocket and having a limitless supply of entertainment options available to present to large audiences appeal to you? Bill Abbott's Cabaret Card Magic reveals how to turn your card tricks into real magical experiences that can entertain and mystify large audiences. Proper selection of material, the effect of your performance environment on that material, as well as the use of stories and how to generate consistent applause are some of the tools Bill discusses in detail. Ultimately, what is revealed here is how to create commercial card magic for the stage. Bullet proof performances that will work for any audience and in any environment you are thrown into. You already know that a deck of cards packs small. Now learn how to make it play big.

Contents
  • Dedication
  • Foreword
  • Contents
  • Cards On Stage
  • The Princess & The Pea
  • Pokerface
  • The Last Romance of Diamond Jack
  • EZ Action Ultra-Mental Deck
Pages 19 - Saddle Stitched

Praise for Bill Abbott's Cabaret Card Magic...

"As a professional magician for over 12 years, I am very picky when it comes to material selection for my act. Having read this booklet, I will be putting two of the routines directly into my show and I'm anxious to try out the third. Bill is a true artist. Whether it's an effect, a method or a presentation, Bill remains unsatisfied until he has created something truly unique. The routines in this booklet are a breath of fresh air for the stand-up performer. The effects are easy to do, the presentations are simple to carry out and their impact on a lay audience is HUGE! To top it all off, each routine is fully scripted, complete with all the lines, comedy, bits of business and psychology that makes each blockbuster routine play so well."
- Richard Sanders - from the Foreword

"Bill Abbott's Cabaret Card Magic is an extremely cogent work and is of tremendous value to every magician out there, but particularly to magicians who want to increase the effectiveness of any material they choose to do for real people. Bill's ideas with the do-it-yourself Ultra-Mental deck is wonderful and I love the Princess and the Pea, a very commercial routine that packs small, plays big. However the real gold is found in the information on pages 7 through 9. To any working magician this information is worth the price of the book."
- Marc Desouza - Author & Performer

"The idea of entertaining a large group (as in 50 plus people) with only a deck of cards is at once thrilling and scary. It would be convenient...but what sort of material would you use? Bill Abbott's Cabaret Card Magic has answered our questions with a collection of card material designed for large groups, and I enjoyed it immensely."
- Joshua Jay- Magic Magazine

"Reading Bill Abbott's Cabaret Card Magic was a real breath of fresh air when it comes to literature about "card magic". It became increasingly clear that Bill thinks long and hard about staging, presentation and creating professional pieces that are memorable. Although I have my own signature presentations of classics like the Invisible Deck and the Tossed Out Deck that I use professionally, Bill's original take on each of these is incredibly inspiring and are truly worthy of serious study. Professional secrets worth ten times the asking price!"
- Cody S. Fisher - Master Comedy Magician

Reviews

Christopher Carey

Official Reviewer

Oct 26, 2008

I groan out loud when I see "new" card effects come into the marketplace. Every day we are bombarded by the newest DVD or packet trick which comes along and promises to improve those that came before it. It's so rare, but it does happen (Paul Vigil anyone?).

But Bill Abbott has written a nifty little 19-page booklet called CABARET CARD MAGIC. It contains three stand-up card routines, complete with blocking, script, preparation and theory.

Mr. Abbott takes the first three pages to describe his approach to performing with cards on stage, but generally it sounds like his approach to all magic. It's a good primer for the next three effects.

THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA is the first of these and it's based on Stanley Jaks' approach to an Ultra-Mental Deck presentation called ONE IS FACE UP. Mr. Abbott describes David Regal planting the seed for this idea during a conversation. It's always great to read or hear performers describe why they were drawn to a certain plot. I know it helps me to know what their motivation was. Bill Abbott, in this booklet and in his other creations, is very good at this. If you want a trimmed, humorous card routine that's almost guaranteed to get a good round of applause, this is it. As a bonus, Abbott provides complete details on how he makes his own Ultra-mental Decks. The thinking behind this is solid and the clear photographs make this a no-brainer.

POKERFACE is next and it's the best of the three I feel. It's a presentation for TOSSED OUT DECK that gives the feeling you're using a brand-new ungimmicked deck. Mr. Abbott's lines for this routine are priceless. And the tip he gives the reader for focusing and building the routine to a successful finish are very good.

THE LAST ROMANCE OF DIAMOND JACK is okay, but after the first two effects set the bar, this feels a little tacked-on. Abbott has updated a few of the lines of the standard DIAMOND JACK story, which has been used by many over the years, but nothing new is offered here that would make a huge difference to anyone.

Overall, this is a steal at $25.00 but I can't give it the highest recommendation due to inclusion of DIAMOND JACK.


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