The Five-Pointed Star Framework

6 posts in this series

Reading Order

1 of 6 — 8 min read

The Five-Pointed Star: A Checklist That Changed How I Design Every Routine

I used to think a good trick was about the method and the script. Then I found a five-element checklist that revealed how much I was leaving on the table.

2 of 6 — 8 min read

Why Your Arabian Carpet Matters More Than Your Card Force

I spent months perfecting a technique and nobody cared. Then I spent twenty minutes choosing a tablecloth and it changed everything.

3 of 6 — 8 min read

Footsteps on Twigs: How Environmental Sound Design Transforms Magic

I always thought sound in magic meant music. Then I discovered what happens when you design the sonic environment of a performance from scratch.

4 of 6 — 8 min read

Russian Cards, Beeswax Wands, and Black Silk: When Props Tell the Story

A prop wrapped in silk communicates something a prop pulled from a printed box never will. I learned to stop treating my tools as tools and start treating them as characters.

5 of 6 — 8 min read

Put Flowers in the Vase: Why Contextually Logical Props Strengthen Everything

If you use a vase in your act and there are no flowers in it, the audience already knows it is a trick prop. I had to learn this the embarrassing way.

6 of 6 — 8 min read

Weaving Threads: Why Setting, Sound, Light, Props, and Story Must All Agree

I once performed a routine about an old Viennese fortune teller using props that looked like they came out of a plastic bag from a magic shop. The story said one thing. Everything else said another. The audience believed neither.