Stranded with a Stranger: Mark Piazza

Eight tricks, one book, one banishment and a lifetime of lessons packed into a single, fast-moving session with performer and author Mark Piazza. We trace his arc from 25 years of kids’ shows to a sharp mentalism repertoire, pulling apart the choices that still earn repeat bookings and real reactions. From the tactile honesty of Hundy 500 to the elastic power of propless tools like Quinta, Mark shows how method serves meaning when the script and structure are tuned for impact.

We dig into the psychology behind equivoque that feels like prophecy, anchored by Max Maven’s unforgettable line about remembering something that hasn’t happened yet. Then we swing visual with a cap through a clear bottle, complete with a cork for extra conviction and talk about why organic, brand-familiar props beat shiny apparatus in the wild. Personalisation runs deep in Mark’s set: DMC Alpha markings enable a clean, hands-off four-of-a-kind, and a name-spelling revelation turns a quick card effect into a souvenir moment people photograph and share.

Classic structure gets a modern skin with a Starbucks chop cup and themed baseball loads, proving that context can refresh method without sacrificing clarity. We close on confabulation, glass boxes, balloons, secret adds and why layered choices plus time misdirection make it so hard to unwind. Mark also shares the book that keeps his creativity sharp, Tractare by R. Shane, and the one technique he’d banish for good. If you care about framing, personalisation, and practical workers that travel light and hit hard, this lineup will sharpen your set and your thinking.

Send in your list of 8 tricks, 1 banishment, 1 book and 1 non magic item you use for magic to sales@alakazam.co.uk and have your list featured on an episode of Stranded with a Stranger! 

Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk

Chapters

• 0:33 How The List Episodes Work
• 1:51 Meet Mark Piazza
• 4:13 Hundy 500 And Money Magic
• 7:58 Quinter And Mental Toolboxes
• 11:27 Equivoque And Memorable Framing
• 16:40 Cap In Bottle Visuals
• 20:25 Personalized Hits With Hands Off

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:33

Hello, and welcome to another episode of Stranded with a Stranger. This is the version of the podcast where you can send in your lists. Now, like I've said before, we would really like to be able to do these more regularly. So that's all dependent on how many of these we get in. So send in your list of eight tricks, one banishment, one book, and one non-magic item to sales at alakazan.co.uk. In the subject line, put my desert island list. That way it comes through to me and I can get one of these recorded for you. Of course, put in a little bio about you just so that we can get to know who you are. And of course, put the reasons for your tricks and your choices as well. And like I said, the more of these we get, the more versions of this podcast we can do. And we love hearing everyone's suggestions. So please do get them in. But we do have another stranded stranger. His name is Mark Piazza. I hope I've said that right, Mark. And he has sent us like a little bio about him first. And it sounds like he's had a fascinating career. So let's get into it. He says, Hello, my name is Mark Piazza. I'm 68 years old and perform in Northeastern Pennsylvania, USA. I did kids' magic shows for over 25 years, then shifted to mentalism. I have a few ebooks over at Library, Shudder Shadow, Mansion, and Memories of Emily, to name a few. I also was on our local TV channel every Tuesday for over a year for a segment we called Tricky Tuesday. Then COVID hit and ruined the bookings that I started getting from the TV exposure. A few months ago, I started going for a 45-minute walk to strengthen my cardiovascular system, and I searched out and listened to many magic-based podcasts to occupy my walking time, but most were so so. Then I came across the Desert Island Tricks podcasts. I love listening to them, and you're an excellent moderator. Well, thank you very much, Mark. That's very kind of you. And I think it sounds like you've had a really interesting career. The idea that you had a local spot on a TV channel sounds fascinating. And I think anyone that has to come up with routines that work on TV regularly and make them entertaining and see that kind of side of our industry, which not many people get to see, you are in a minority of people, which I find is fascinating. And uh I love talking to people around the world who have had these experiences. Of course, our very own Peter was involved in a TV show uh years ago, and listening to his stories and the things that go on behind the scenes is fascinating. So I guarantee, Mark, you probably have an entire book's worth of stories and this pivot to mentalism that's interesting as well. I'd love to know what prompted the shift. Um, and it really sucks that COVID ruined your bookings, but hopefully keep persevering and well, they may already be back up, but hopefully they're on their way up. But let's find out what Mark's list is. Now, he said that he did a lot of kids' magic and now he's into mentalism. So is that gonna help us guess what his list is? Maybe it won't. Let's carry on with what Mark says. He says, anyway, on my list, this was hard, and these aren't in any specific order. At number one, Mark has put Hundy500. Just so newcomers are aware, this is Gregory Wilson's$5 bills that change into$500 bills. For some reason, I like this better than Richard Sanders' Extreme Burn, which is more visual. I had Extreme Burn, but it was sort of knacky for me. Extreme Burn is also too magical for me. With Hundy500, it's as if my hands are doing the magic. I plan on releasing another ebook and it will contain my version of Hundy500, which uses a spectator's borrowed money. Ooh, interesting. So that's a really interesting take on the transformation of bills because I think certainly with the introduction last year of instant paper to money, I think that we are constantly looking for the most magical looking. But I really like the idea that maybe that's too visual, and the idea that you are somehow manipulating the money and that's transforming under your power. I think that's a really interesting take on it. So I think that's a great one. If you've never seen Hundy500 as well, it's a really good version of this plot. Uh, and it takes us into number two. So let's see. We've got Quinter. So this is our uh first mentalism piece. Quinter is a method introduced to me by Phil Smith. To avoid speaking with the devil's advocate, the routine I would do with Quinter method is my routine, which is mentioned in Phil Smith's Quinter book. I call it Dice Man Q, but Phil lists it as Nice Man. In my routine, the premise is that my psychiatrist had me jot down pleasant thoughts on some cards. The spectator will help me choose one for me. I developed the routine based on an Andy Nyman idea and a Tom Stone idea. Great choice. I know that we're we're in the the world at the moment of uh propless mentalism, and it's a controversial one, propless mentalism, but I do believe that we should all have this mental toolbox of methods, just a toolbox of things that we have stored in our head for the right time in the right situation. And Quinter is definitely one of them. I remember seeing Phil do it for the first time and thinking it's so clever, and there are so many different applications for it, you know. Uh just having this in your head will allow you to come up with hundreds, if not thousands, of different adaptations and ideas. So it's a really good method just to have locked in your head for the right time, and it's a great one in at number two. Let's go to number three. Mark has put Equivoke or Equivocate, dependent on what you want. He says, narrowing down my use of equivocate down to one routine, it would be a Max Maven routine that I saw him perform on YouTube with a rubber band and four small discs that have simple shapes drawn on them. The volunteer is given a rubber band that's put around their wrist at the beginning of the routine and told this will help you remember something that hasn't happened yet. After the volunteer arrives at their chosen shape through Equivocke, that you reveal that the rubber band is shaped to the same shape as the volunteer's chosen shape. For stage, the routine I would perform is Witches Do Burn from Paul Prater's book Maleficium. So again, we've got two routines there. And kind of what I said with Quinter, I think that a quiverquet is another really good tool to have in your little mental toolbox for the right time. And I think Max Maven had such a brilliant way of putting these plots together and these hooks that make them really interesting. The idea that this will help you remember something that hasn't happened yet. Just that one line at the beginning of a routine will have an audience member hooked. There's no way that they're not gonna think about how that could be a thing or how that might manifest itself. So I think that's a really, really great choice. And we've got our first two mentalism pieces there. Back to back, we've got Quinter and Equivocke. So let's go on to number four. We have Prohibition Cap in Bottle. I just like the visual penetration of this trick. I use a clear bottle like a Corona beer bottle. When I do it, I also put a cork in the bottle opening before slamming the cap through the bottom of the bottle. Another great choice, uh, a bit of a curveball compared to what you've got so far, but I think it's another really great routine. I remember what one point in certainly my knowledge of magic, coin in bottles, cap in bottles, object in bottles were a really big plot. I remember Axel Hecklau's version uh and just seeing the cap melt through the bottom of the bottle is one of the most visual versions I've ever seen. And I've always thought that it's kind of fallen out of favour over the years. I know some people still perform the coin in bottle, and it's such a fantastic piece of magic. I hope one day there is a resurgence of caps and coins in bottles, and it becomes a bit more mainstream again because it really is such a wonderful illusion. So I think that's a great one in number four. Thank you for reintroducing us to that. Uh, but we have number five, hands off. Phil Smith also had this on his list. So sorry if it seems I'm copying him. It's basically a four of a kind plot. It's just that this trick with the DMC Alpha cards hits hard because it's personalized. I like to customize my routine if possible. The next one on my list is gonna be personalized too. Okay, this isn't uh one of the routines that I can fully remember. I kind of remember it, but yes, I think anything that Phil has recommended, I can imagine is gonna be on other people's lists. So please don't apologize. I think it's great that you're bringing it back to our memory. And of course, with the DMC Alpha cards, Bill's Mark Deck, it's still one of the best on the market. It's so clever, it's so invisible, and it's so accessible to people who don't have very good eyesight like myself. So I think that's a really great choice in at number five. Number six is the name game. That's not the actual name of the trick, that's how I refer to it. It's a J Sankey YouTube video where the spectator selects a card, then it's lost in the deck, and you reveal it by spelling the spectator's name. I usually don't like spelling tricks because you have to calculate the letters in the spectator's name. In this routine, the selected card is automatically placed where it should be when you spell to it, and it really impresses the spectator. A great choice, and I kind of am with you there. With spelling routines, sometimes there is uh a lot of process or a lot of things to think about, and the idea that with this routine it automatically works and it kind of works itself out, I think is great. And you mentioned about personalizing tricks. I think you're spot on with that. I think anytime you can personalise a trick and make it about the audience really creates such a massive impact. So I can imagine the name game really creates a stir. I certainly know the Dan Harlan and David Jonathan deck of cards, snaps cards from uh Penguin Magic are also a great way to sneak in a name or a name reveal at a table. And as soon as they see their name, it creates an absolute store stir. The amount of people that take photos of the cards when they're on the table with their name on. It's a great choice, and it's really interesting to kind of see your process. You know, the idea that you like personalising the tricks. I wonder if that's something you've always done, or if that came from, you know, the TV work or with the kid shows. Who knows? But we will get on to the uh tail end of your eight. So we're on number seven, which I know will please our very own Andy who loves this plot. Chop cup. I always was amazed with the chop cup, and that's why it makes the list. But of course I have my own routine. I don't even have a regular store-bought chop cup. I made my own from a Starbucks coffee cup. The balls I use are little baseballs. Halfway through the routine, a foam eyeball appears. Baseball players are told to keep their eye on the ball. Very good. That's when the regulation size baseball appears from under the cup as a final load. Sometimes a turnip appears as I love the Michael Amar inclusion for it. An honorable mention chop cup routine is from the late Larry White of MUM. In Larry's routine, Doc from Disney Seven Dwarfs gets involved with Snow White's poison apple, a pill, and a cup. Wow, that sounds great. Uh a great choice. Chop cup is a classic of magic. There are so many versions. I think we've had it quite a lot recently. Uh certainly on um Craig Petty's episode, we spoke about his version of Chop Cup and the idea that you can put it into regular items and the fact that you've managed to do it with a Starbucks coffee cup. I think it's great. It makes it more organic, and you know, and the idea of Doc from Disney 7 Dwarves getting involved with Snow Whites Poison Apple, I'm gonna have to look up that version because it sounds brilliant. So let's get on to your final effect in your eight choices, and that is confabulation. I have way too many confabulation routines and methods. I guess Devon Knight's glass box started me on this obsession with confabulation theme. Then Barry Richinson had a routine with a balloon, which ended up being the version I do the most. Bill Abbott had his spin with his magical mystery tour, which I like because of the mechanics of how this works. And then he expanded it to his no-brainer routine. I have my own version that enables me to secretly add the feat the future information while no one suspects it's being done. After one of my shows many years ago, I received a phone call from a local branch of National Psychic Organization asking me how long I had the ability to see into the future. Wow. At the time I didn't want to be hassled, so I ended up telling him that I can't see into the future and it was a trick. Looking back, I should have continued the farce illusion because it probably would have gotten me more publicity and I would have been a local celebrity. Well, it kind of shows you the strength of confabulation there, though. The fact that uh a psychic organization really believed that you had these abilities and that you could do these things is really interesting. You know, I remember seeing Darren Brown do confabulation at the theatre during uh one of his first shows in his career, and I didn't really know the methods back then, and I remember being absolutely dumbfounded. There's no way to backtrack a lot of confabulation's routines when they're done really well. Uh, and you know, the idea of it being in a balloon, the Barry Richardson version, is a really great shout because again, it makes you feel a bit more organic, I guess, and a bit less like uh magical prop may have been used, if that is a concern for you. But I think it's a great way to close out your list. So let's have a look again at Mark's list. He had Hyundai 500, Quinter, Equivogue, Prohibition, Hands Off, the name game, Chop Cup, and he closed out with Confabulation. Now, before we go into the final things, I will say, Mark, you have shortchanged us a tiny bit. You have not provided us a magic prop that is not magical that you use for magic. So we're gonna have to forgive that one, but we do still have a book and we do still have a banishment. So uh Mark has actually managed to get it down to three books, but he does close out by choosing one. So let's go into his book choice. Choosing a book was really tough because I love to read. I narrowed it down to three books. One is really a 12-month collection of e-book magazines by Andy from the Jerks. He released what he called the jam for one year, and that was the end of it. The other runner-up was named by Oliver Meach on his podcast, and it is Be More Funny. Christopher and I talked through emails back when he was in the New York area. He has since moved to California, where he's knocking it out of the park. But the one book he would take with him would be Tractar by R. Shane, and it's a book of classic magic methods and routines, but it's Shane's creative spin on them, which helps my mind to be more creative. Great. That's not one of the books I've heard of before. And the other choice is that the jerks. I know a lot of people have the jerks books and really, really enjoy those books. And anything Oliver says is gonna be brilliant because you know Oliver is great, and Be More Funny is an excellent, excellent alternative. But I'm glad that you picked your final one, and it's another one that I can add to my ever-growing book library, uh, because it's not one that I have. So thank you so much, Mark. But we do also have a banishment, the Hot Rod Force. Who thinks this would fool anybody? Okay, short and sweet on that one, but uh I think that some methods maybe have been advanced and thought about a bit more. Certainly, in our recent uh effect sticks with Eric Stevens, he really thought about that method and he found a really interesting, creative, and arguably better way to achieve the same thing with a hot rod. Um, those who don't know, it's basically a way for the performer to force someone to select a certain colour within a row of colours. I think that's the nicest way that I can put it without revealing too much. But do check out Eric Stevens' version of it because it's a really interesting take on that method. Uh, but Mark, I think that's a brilliant, brilliant list. It sounds like you've had such an amazing career. And certainly, if anyone wants to check out those ebooks from Mark, he said they were Shudder Shadow Mansion and Memories of Emily. Uh, and that was just two of them. He said that he had loads on library. So if you want to check out more from Mark, head over there and check them out. But again, thank you so much, Mark, for your list. It really was a brilliant one. And there's so many interesting effects on there that I'm uh gonna check out. Uh, I think I'll probably check out the name game. I'll try and find that video because it sounds brilliant. I'll also check out the Seven Dwarves chop cup routine because that sounds brilliant as well. So thank you again, Mark. Now remember, if you guys want one of these episodes recorded for you, send in your list of eight tricks. One book, one banishment, and one magic, uh non-magic item that you use for magic to sales at Alexam.co.uk. Include a little bio about yourself and of course why you want those items. We're gonna be back next week with another version of Desert Island Tricks. But until then, have a great week, everyone. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_00: 19:56

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