Magic Tricks

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.