This Week's Top 20

The Awakening by Dan Harlan


The best new rope trick of the last 20 years, and Dan Harlan's personal opener. Three ropes change length over and over again, fooling even magicians.
$5 FLAT-RATE SHIPPING TO UNITED STATES. FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $100.
Price: $39.95
10-awesome-magic-tricks-for-stage
holiday-gift-guide
p3
professors-nightmare
rope
rope-magic
three-rope-trick

+click to enlarge

“So, after 30 years of practicing rope magic, I can’t believe I’m considering a new version of the Prof Nightmare! But yes; I will use this! “ - Doug Conn

“Dan Harlan's Awakening is one of my absolute favorite rope routines of all time! Not only is it fooling, it is also just FUN to perform!" - Cody S. Fisher

“Dan absolutely floored me with the Awakening when I first saw it. I genuinely have never been a fan of the standard Professor's Nightmare, but Dan has breathed new life into this classic that both engages and baffles audiences like it never has before." - Kyle Purnell

“Its no small feat to improve a classic of magic... yet that is exactly what Dan Harlan has done with The Awakening." - David Jonathan

An iconic rope routine re-imagined into one of the most visual pieces of rope magic you’ll ever see. Three pieces of rope transform into three pieces of rope that are all the same size. Before you think to yourself, “Oh, the Professor’s Nightmare,” we should probably mention one thing. You can separate the rope before and after the change with your hands wide open. The three pieces of rope that were different sizes are now actually the same size. Don’t believe us? Watch the live performance. This isn’t your grandpa’s rope trick. This is The Awakening by Dan Harlan.

Here’s what happens:

The magician clearly shows three pieces of rope: one short, one medium, and one long. The pieces are held very clearly apart. The ropes are counted and visually they change so that they are all the same size. The ropes are clearly held apart, and the magician can even open their hands to show they aren’t hiding any silly knots. The ropes then change back to three different lengths and back to the same length in wildly visual ways.

Complete with a charming routine from Dan Harlan, this is the most visual rope trick you will ever perform. There are no magnets, no snaps, no hooks, and the gimmick does nearly all of the work for you. The gimmick is ready to go right out of the box. The large coreless rope was selected from hundreds of samples by Dan Harlan to be the perfect rope for this effect. The Awakening is astonishingly easy to do and has made its way from Dan Harlan’s lecture into the working repertoire of some of the top magicians in the world. Now you can perform one of the best rope tricks ever put on stage. This is rope magic that won’t put your audience to sleep. This is The Awakening by Dan Harlan.

Have a question about this product?
ASK HERE

Featured Magic Tricks

Customer Reviews (showing 1 - 10 of 69)
Showing the
reviews with
containing
A Wonderful Rethinking of a Classic Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on July 24th, 2023
The Awakenng by Dan Harlan is a wonderful rethinking of a classic, taking Professor's Nightmare to the "Magician Fooler" level.

I've had the opportunity to present this effect for both adult and kid audiences with great success. For kids, I've been doing a "Look Don't See" type of routine, and Dan's script (with a few changes) for adult audiences.

Although I really like this effect, I only perform it for special occasions. I still prefer the classic Professor's Nightmare over The Awakening. One of my reasons is The Awakening takes away the personal interaction with the audiences as the ropes cannot be handled by the spectators. Another being the additonal set up and handling of the ropes. Professor's Nightmare can simple be thrown into my case and retrieved when needed. No set up neccessary.

IMO... as long as the performer is able to do a good 3 as 3 rope count to display 3 separate ropes, the audience doesn't get much more out of The Awakening. Dan's contribution here is mainly for the magic community... it fools magicians. At least the magicians who haven't purchased it already.

The fact that the ropes don't flatten even with the tips suggested in the tutorial is a consideration, but, frankly, this being a stage effect, I've never had any real concerns about it. The ropes are clearly visible to the audience and it doesn't seem to matter.

One Note: I found out the hard way, don't allow the ropes to come into contact with velcro. It will completely destroy the ropes.
10 of 11 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Highly recommend Report this review
Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on July 14th, 2022
This one of those you hope doesn’t get out to the masses. The video is about 30 min. High quality teaching by Dan Harlan. Which if you have been to any lecture or bought any of his effects you’ll know that he goes over everything and anything plus leave an opening to you to make it your own. He’s very good at going over the nuisances of the effect. As far as learning the effect a solid couple hours for your working magician to get down the handling and patter, a few more for your hobbyist, and a few more for the beginner. As an opener or a closer it’s worth adding to set. This is not a toss in the drawer and forget about it effect. 5 stars all around. Quality of ropes, teaching, and will I use it or not use it.
8 of 8 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Learning the ropes Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on May 26th, 2022
I love the quality of the presentation. This is a strong effect that can be used in a professional stage show. The training video is top notch. This is not a pop out of the box and use the next night in your show effect. You want to take the time to learn the ropes and become smooth with the handling. I give it a four because I’m finding it hard to get the ropes to fluff up as the instructions tell you to. They continue to want to remain flat and not take on the round shape and trying to get them shaped right is becoming annoying.
8 of 8 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? 1 comment
This is going straight into my show! Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on May 6th, 2022
Finally! I now know how it’s done. I used to perform professors nightmare all the time. But it slowly faded out of my shows. Then I saw Dan doing this live at the P3 magic theater and I got the itch to bring it back out. Not knowing what His secret was.Thinking “ I’m an Eagle Scout I can figure this out.” I practiced over and over but just couldn’t understand the way he did it. Dan did it… He gave me my child like wonder back. This is going straight into my show. I highly recommend you pick this up. You will not regret it.
6 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Highly recommended Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on May 7th, 2022
I watched the video last night. Dan Harlan’s routine and teaching are outstanding. Received the box today and didn’t take much to pickup the routine. The ease of change with the gimmick provides endless possibilities. I am a late comer to magic, but each Dan Harlan created product I have purchased has received goods & Awakening is no disappointment. Ease of use, great instructions - you will like this one - I sure do.
5 of 5 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Harlan at his best Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on May 4th, 2022
Ooooo I get to leave the first review. I bought this at a Dan Harlan lecture many years ago and just reordered from Penguin cause I lost the ropes and I like the video instruction. I was in a room full of magicians all giggling at how wonderful this looked. Just watch the performance. I admit I’m not sure that for lay people its is significantly better than a standard professor nightmare and the ropes can not be handed out for examination but it’s a wonderful trick and not hard to do. Unlike some demos, it’s all there for you to see.
5 of 6 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Rope Magic Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on November 30th, 2022
The best 3rope illusion I've ever seen and or performed by. I highly recommend to anyone who does rope magic. Thank Mr. Dan Harlan for coming up with this Great rope illusion, you're da Man!!!!
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Flat Ropes Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on September 5th, 2022
I love the method and Dan's teaching is on point as always. He really takes his time and covers all the bases. I like the routine, but am creating my own presentation.

I had to modify the gimmick, but that is so simple it isn't even an issue. The only thing keeping this from a 5 star rating is that being despite following Dan's instruction to the letter the ropes will not stay unflattened. I can get them looking good, but within moments of handling they return to their flat ribbon state. I have been working on them for over a month now so have finally given up and plan on making my own.
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Absolutely Love This Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on May 11th, 2022
My set of ropes is arriving today and I can't wait to start working with it. I've watched the tutorial a dozen times while awaiting the package. It's a fantastic routine and I'm certain it'll go straight into my act. Dan Harlan is an exceptional teacher. He explains every step in detail several times and covers nuances that'll enhance your performance. Plus, his true appreciation for the effect makes watching the video a pleasure. I think I've watched the tutorial several times just to see his performance of the effect again.
Do yourself and your audience a favor and buy this one. It's a worker.
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
The Awakening Report this review
Verified buyer Pro Privacy ON (login to see reviewer names) on May 6th, 2022
Dan has done it again. Such a simple addition and you have a real fooler. Thank you.
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
Did this review help you? Do you want to respond to this review?
Bestsellers
See all bestsellers



Act Builder beta



     Get To Know Us

     Shipping and Store Policies

     Need Help?

Home | About Penguin Magic | The Penguin Foundation

Mail orders: Penguin Magic, 3299 Monier Circle, Unit A, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742
Call us at 800-880-2592 | International Dial: +1 707-317-6733

© 2002-2023 Penguin Magic. All Rights Reserved.
We hope you found the magic tricks you were looking for!