APPEARING GLASS BY STEVE THOMPSON

This will be a very quick review of a brand new drop from our good friends at Vanishing Inc.

The Performer starts by removing a folded paper bag from his pocket. It is clearly flat as can be. It is opened up, shown on all sides, and the spectator can feel around inside to confirm that there is nothing inside. The performer mimes holding something above the bag and "drops" it into the bag where something visibly and audibly appears in the previously empty bag! The spectator can reach into the bag and remove the full glass of liquid.

This is a very fun item that can be done on stage, parlor, or even close up. It comes with a glass, a lid for the glass, a gimmicked bag made of Tyvek to last for a very long time, and a 20 minute tutorial.

The glass is a very light and durable plastic but looks and feels relatively sturdy. The lid is nice and tight but not TOO tight. The bag is super deceptive. When I first removed it, I couldn’t tell which side was gimmicked. It takes a little working in to get it “trained” to do the right thing but once the bag gets the hang of it (and the performer gets the hang of it) it feels pretty automatic. I performed it for my wife up close and she was completely fooled. She had no idea where the glass came from, and the only thing she cared to examine was the glass.

The tutorial is a basic walk through of each aspect of the routine. I must admit, the bag is clever and even more deceptive than it appears in the demo. It can come out folded into fourths, shown all around, and a spectator can reach in and feel around without finding anything. Right before the glass appears, they can even take one final look inside and there is nothing to see. They can't full on EXAMINE the bag, but all of the feeling around makes it feel like it has been examined.

The placement of the glass is pretty standard for these types of appearances (you need to be wearing a jacket or open shirt), but the steal is pretty subtle and nicely covered. Like most of these things, if you're a bigger person, you may struggle with the body load, but if you're clever, you can probably come up with another place to hide the glass. Steve does briefly discuss a non-body load method which is ideal for table hopping. In that version, you can cheekily have the spectator name their drink of choice and produce a glass filled with that drink. Those who have worked with table steals before will understand what's going on here.

I should also point out that while they provide a perfect sized glass with the perfect lid to prevent spills, many glasses will work, and if you don't want to produce a glass of liquid, you can produce pretty much anything else. There is a bonus video that teaches how to produce a Rubik's cube which will give you a good general idea for how to use the bag to produce other things.

You can produce any liquid you want, but, you should know that sugary drinks and/or drinks with a lot of color should probably be avoided because they may stain the bag. It's Tyvek, so you can dry out any liquid and wash off any stickiness, but staining may still occur--especially since the bag is white.

I’m going to do a little informal closeup show for my students soon, and I will use this as part of my set. I think it’s really great and very deceptive, and I personally believe it's even more effective closeup with a casual jacket. I was pleasantly surprised with how well thought out it is. This will be my go-to liquid production.