Happy Face by Paul Romhany

Alright, let's take a look at some of the pros and cons. First let's discuss what you receive then we will get into the routine and the accompanying DVD.

When you purchase Happy Face you receive a 5 cards, printed on very thin stock, that measure about 5.5" by 8.5" semi-glossy on one side only. The lack of coating on both sides means that some cards with faces on them have a semi-glossy face on one side and the same card changes to have a new face with a dull side. Perhaps a small detail but something to consider nonetheless. I would have opted for the extra few bucks to produce the cards with semi-gloss coating on both sides it just lends a better feel and look. I'm also bit concerned with the durability of these cards. They are very thin. I was hoping for something a bit thicker or possibly even something plastic coated or laminated for longer lasting props.

Alright, the cards are a very nice size, easily handled and the provided routine is dead simple. Unfortunately we do not see Mr Romhany performing this for a real live audience. It would have been nice to see what Mr Romhany gets out of this item in a real paid performance.

The effect is this, 4 cards with sad faces are shown, and placed on display. Two of the 4 cards placed down are faces towards the audience and two have their backs towards the audience. The last remaining card is a smiley card! By rubbing the smiley card against the frowning cards they each change into smiley cards as well. This is of course a variation on the classic Wild Card plot by Peter Kane.
Nothing particularly spectacular is taught in this trick, you are really paying for the cards and the smiley/sad idea. I tried this out for a few youngsters and they were quite receptive to it. I'm sure with a little work you could make this a good routine in your children's program.
Mr Romhany mentions on the back of the DVD that he uses it for his Humor Seminars, which is all nice and dandy, except he never teaches it, explains about it, or performs it! This was a let down. For those of you looking to purchase this item for any humor seminar, don't expect to get a presentation from this Trick/DVD.
Onto the actual DVD, which is shot in Mr Romhany's living room with a handheld camcorder. That being said, the video quality is quite good. Mr Romhany presents the trick and uses an artist's easel to hold his cards up, this is great but unfortunately they are expensive and the only solution given on this DVD is take a piece of cardboard and putting a section along the bottom for the cards to rest on. I suppose it would work but I would hope for something bit better than a piece of cardboard or two.
The presentation is fine, but basic, it is clear that this has been performed for audiences before by Mr Romhany. One this that did bother me was the errors made during the explanation. Mr Romhany apparently didn't prepare a script for the explanation and it is clearly seen when he flubs up a few times. Why didn't he just shoot it again? I'm really not sure but the errors seem significant enough to me to do a second take.

All in all, this routine could be good for the children's performer but I would not consider performing this for an audience of adults, especially considering no routine for adults is really given despite the mention of one on the package.

The DVD is short and the routine could be learned in a one or two viewings at most. The sleights involved are a glide and a double lift. Mr Romhany teaches both, part way through the whole packet is turned over which is made out to be a move. I thought this drew too much attention and could easily be replaced with a gentle turn of the body or lowering the cards down and lifting them back up reversed.

For the $29.95 price tag I think your money could be better spent on other items. If you are looking for a piece for your children's shows, this might be worth taking a look at. I'd recommend viewing the demo which is taken right from the DVD HERE .

If you find this routine might be right for you then 30 bucks might be worth it but it seems like a 15-20 dollar item at most especially considering the low quality cards provided. For the 30 dollars I would hope digital files of the card be included in case you wanted to make more cards when these wore out, which I assume would be within a few months for any working children's performer.

Not recommended for anyone but the children's performer and only if Mr Romhany were to provide a link to download the files and print your own cards as well.

Happy Face sells for $29.95 from Hocus-Pocus Magic or Paul himself at http://www.paulromhany.com/

On a happier notes, the music on the DVD was very pleasant! I would have liked to have that in a format I could use, it sounds similar to most royalty free music but you'd have to confirm with Mr Romhany

A Review of an older book...

Actually, it's a set of lecture notes. I am a big fan of books in magic, they are efficient, beautiful, and often contain the detail and excellent tricks that people are looking for! The practical stuff, a magician's life of magic in a volume. Any magician who has accumulated a significant library knows there are certain hidden gems. Specific books that people disregard, but you know better than that. Under appreciated works full of information most people are constantly looking for.

A common day example would be the Dale Carnegie book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. I recently found a set of lecture notes by Denny of Denny and Lee's in a bargain bin at my local brick and mortar.

Let me tell you first what these notes are not, they are not full of tricks (there are actually no tricks at all!), this set of notes is a very concise clear set of instructions on defining yourself in the magic world and making a real living from magic.

My first impression was that these notes are dated, and this is true in many ways, the advice on using a tape player instead of recorder for example. Also these were written in a time before the Internet, so no info on that either.

But this book does write a few things that are must knows, a formula for a "club date act", how to charge 5 times more than everyone else doing close up magic and have the client be HAPPIER about it!
Some great tips on getting your publicity together, although he advocates black and white photos over colour, I'm not an expert in this field but from an expert, Paul Romhany, states in his cruise ship book, that a black and white is advisable but colour photos are worth the extra cost. I would wager that the artistic integrity and feel of the photo lends itself to being either black and white or color. Take a peek through some posters at a music store and you will see black and white and color ones, if either were the other way (black and white being in color instead) they would lose a certain flavor I'm sure.
The notes are 41 pages in length, and to be honest I was slapped in the face after reading these notes. The ins and outs of performing magic for a living are all covered and I couldn't be happier!

I would highly recommend these notes, although I would love to see them updated. At 12.50 from Denny and Lees I don't know how any working pro or wanting to be working magician can afford to be without these notes. I am sorry it has taken me so long to get them!

Update: L and L Publishing and The Pendragon DVDs

I am happy to say that L and L publishing has signed on and will be sending the Pendragon DVDs on Illusions for review.

To all other potential product producers, I will begin reviewing items within one week of receiving them.

Update: Review Items

I see people are starting to vote in the poll I have set up. I will be reviewing tricks in the near future, including, Happy Face by Paul Romhany, The Shakespeare Experiment by Todd Karr, and Cardiographic Signature Edition by Martin Lewis.

Until then I'd like people to know that I have contacted Stephen Minch, L and L Publishing, and The Pendragons to review DVDs and books that have recently hit the shelves. I will post updates as these suppliers choose to sign on or not.

Update: Miracle Factory News

I have just heard great news from Todd Karr. He will be submitting a whole host of products for review. I will not be reviewing the very exclusive items from Todd Karr as I believe a certain amount of secrecy should surround products like that. I will be reviewing the Erdnase Scroll though as I am a big fan of all that is Erdnase! Products to be reviewed will include the DVD and CDs from Miracle Factory, The Shakespeare Experiment (Which I have yet to find a real honest review on) and hopefully The Erdnase Scroll.

Again anyone who would like products reviewed please email me first.

Update: A Paul Romhany Update!

I have been in touch with Paul Romhany following the review of his book and have some wonderful news! First, Paul is doing very well financially and the startled feel at the cheap prices was because of the shock at how inexpensive things in South America were, not so much today sadly. Also Paul is a "citizen of the world" you can google it to find out more information about that. I am also very happy to let people know that Paul is sending me a copy of Lunch is Served his new book on the out to lunch principle. I will be reviewing it as soon as I receive it and look forward to more releases from Paul.

Anyone else liking a review of an item can email me and we can discuss it then. Also a big THANK YOU to Paul for appreciating that this review site is not the pat on the back boys club that we seem to finding so frequently in magic magazines available at your favorite magic store or mailbox.

Entertaining on a cruise ship: The Ultimate Guide

I've always been a fan of business books in magic. Unfortunately my magic brethren often do not share the same feelings. So with that in mind let me introduce you to Paul Romhany's most recent book, Entertaining on a Cruise Ship: The Ultimate Guide.

For many magicians the cruise industry seems like a dream come true. This can be the case but it is also hard work. Aside from seemingly high pay, the industry also has a high school feel to it in terms of on ship politics as Mr. Romhany explains. You also need a truly spectacular act... 2 of them. So before you consider jumping in to cruising remember that you need 2 acts 50 minutes each and perhaps another 15 minute act, all A material. Without this you have no chance. So if you don't have this already, you might be better off working on the stage shows before diving into a book on how to book shows you are not able to work yet. That being said, if your GOAL is to be on ships then this book is a must buy at 30 bucks it's a deal and a half. As per usual I will be hyper critical where necessary.

Let's take a quick peek at some basics of the book. You can buy it at Amazon.com for 29.95 which should get you free shipping. So buy it there if you choose to. Second the book is a misleading 265 pages in length. We will discuss this more later on.

Let's take a quick peek at the table of contents for this book.

Chapter One is a history of cruising, the ships, and the destinations. Not a must have in this book but I actually enjoyed reading the history behind it.

Chapter Two Dives into the life you could live on a ship. Whether or not you are a passenger or crew, nightclubs on board, your potential accommodations, dos and don't, etc. A great chapter for prepping but really I was more anxious to find out magic related specifics.

Chapter Three is a good look at things you need to know, who people are on board, there positions and power, who to be nice to, etc. This is the chapter I was looking for because it discusses at length, Requirement of Shows, Length and Number of Shows, Your Schedule, Performance Material, Cue Sheets, Live Animals, Theatre conduct, Contracts, Dress Code Gratuities on board, Money, Passports, Selling DVDs of your show or teaching DVDs, baggage, Even how to travel with a guest who IS NOT part of the act for a small fee, How much money you can make (You will likely turn here first so I will ruin it, 1500-3000 per week US Dollars, but your agent will take 10-15%, something to keep in mind).

Romhany does a good job of being honest with you about cruising. Some books glorify everything, this book does not. Sea sickness, disease and viruses on board, what type of visas you need. (Romhany is from New Zealand, lives in Canada but is a resident of nowhere, so pays no taxes. A very strange place to be in for anyone!)

There is also a great section on EXACTLY what you need to find work on ships. This was a fantastic section! This is not all business Romhany goes into relationship issues. What about cruising with a wife or kids at home? That's a lot of problems potentially!

We also get a few travel tips, which covers things like viruses on board and then we get to a fun chapter. Cruise Line Entertainment Bookers. This is the chapter that is very difficult to put a price on. Essentially it is priceless. Certainly worth 30 bucks at this point. To me at least. But we are only on page 101!

Okay, now Romhany talks to us about some business ideas, professionalism, attitude while on the job, Dress, Performance, Preparation, Back up shows, Promoting yourself, business cards, brochures, photos, websites, even free publicity.

We are at about page 123 and my biggest complaint has to be the lack of editing. The book is riddled with spelling and grammar errors, it makes the book very difficult to take seriously sometimes. I suppose this is the bi product of self-publishing. While it has opened the door to everyone to become an author it has also dropped the quality control tremendously.

Paul, you need to send your books for review by friends before publishing!!

There are over 15 errors within less than 50 pages. That is way too many in my mind.

My favorite has to be on page 157, this is the "Excerpts from Journal" Chapter, and we start with.

"Note: This section has been taken direct from my journals - no editing has been
applied in order to keep it real."

I am a fan of keeping it real, that is what this review site is all about! But I like to keep it real easy to read and real professional. This book should have been sent to a professional proofreader. Also, after about page 125, it is a lot of blog entries, journal excerpts and stories, including a section entirely dedicated to cruise ship jokes, which are funny. It just seems a lot of pages are used poorly. The blog chapter is 11 pages long, too much if you ask me, then the journals run another 43 pages!! WHOA 43 pages of journal entries! This was too much.

But reading them did give me insight into Paul Romhany the man. They often focused on the price of things and how cheap things were, which leads me to believe that perhaps the money you make on cruise ships looks like a lot but somehow isn't then again I know very little about Mr. Romhany's personal finances. To me it just sounded like the money working a ship isn't as great after the fact as it sounds.

I would love to be in a position to be on a ship performing to let people know first hand what costs are like and how much you come home with. When it comes to cruising the only alternative to this book seems to be Fred Becker's book, The Cruise Ship Magician's Handbook, but it is difficult to find, Mr. Becker doesn't even have any for sale! He should consider republishing perhaps.

I would recommend this book by Paul Romhany to anyone with 2 solid 50 minute stage acts or a VERY intense desire to work cruise ships. If you are merely curious then pass on this book. I should also mention Romhany has thrown in a handful of magic tricks and routines in the back of the book. One I will be using immediately is the production of a bottle of wine at the end of a paper balls over the head routine. The tricks are decent but I wouldn't buy the book for the tricks. At 30 dollars this book is a steal if you ARE SERIOUS about cruising. Otherwise spend your money on Rick Marcelli's book, it would do more for your career over all than this book will. Paul's book is available from Amazon.com with free shipping in the US. Rick Marcelli's book can be bought here

Update: Voting

I'm glad to see people voting on here. I'd also like to let people know that if they would like an item reviewed please email me via erdnasestudent@gmail.com and I will let you know how we can continue. Also the voting on our poll for what types of things to review is very important for me to know where people's interests lie. So for those voting please email me and let me know if there is specific magic you'd like reviewed.