£1.95 net 150 COMEDY PROPS Mow to make them, how to use them PATRICK PAG IMjustrated by Maw ° Day cian off to a faster he quick, the bow tie, wand, the runaway str 150, COMEDY PROPS is av collection of these laughter raisers whi can ve made at home, each © ted and with full instructions: on how to make and use them This (uable reference~ work for ner; for props managers, produceis and directors of amateur or professional shor even for after di to start and fini 1 seripewvriters peakers who want a laugh COPYRIGHT 1977. PATRICK PAGE SY Ce hPL ao 2 Mow to make them. How to use them. Patiiele Page @2000000298 TA ai SiG AGE WO OF! ee sad obedg wormedConte Introduction 7 ‘The Butterfly Fluttered By 9 Collapsible Umbrella 10 Magiciau? 11 ‘The Drinks are on Me 12 Jumping Hat 13 Spherical Phantasy 14 threadbare 15 Wilting Flower 16 ‘The Levitation 17 Carpentry the Basy Way 18 A'Tricky Table 19 ‘The William Tell Overture 20 ‘The Tale of a Seat 2 ‘The Patriotic Magician 22 Light Ale 23 Smoke that Cigarette 24 Room Service 25 ‘The AlLin-One Disguise 26 Applause Please 27 Milking Time 28 Tm Off 29 ‘A Sock in the Purse 30 ‘The Boomerang Hat 37 ying High 32 crambled Eggs 33 Handy 34 Zipper Banana 35 Missed Again 36 ‘The ‘Third Leg 37 A Utility Prop 38 B 39. Rigid Toothpaste 40 ‘Animated Puppets 4 the Breaking Bow 42 rhe Boxing Glove 43 Chain Smoker 14 I's that Flower Again 45 Chicken Sandwich 46 ‘The Watch Winger 47ues conunued Beer, Beer, Glorious Beer 48 ‘There’s a Leak in It 49, He Went Thataway 50 He's Potty 57 itting Pretty 52 Always at the Ready _53 Captain Hook Outdons 54 Drink, Anyone? 55 Instayjt Midget 56 Pop Record” 57 Anyone for Square Dancing? 58 Wobbly Gun 59 Heavy Smoker 60 Bottomless Glass 61 How Do You Do? 62 Knife Through Arm. 63 The Good Evening Bowler Hat 64 The Half Crown Hat 65 The Giant Dummy 66 Smoke that Cigarette 67 Hairy Legs 63 ‘The Cut Flower Gag 69 Cuff Off 70 The Tin Lid Bra 71 A Trick Glass 72 Drunken Yngenuity 73 ‘The Fright Wig 74 The Comedy Library 75 Pepys Diary 75 Plumbing for Beginners 76 Ghost Stories 75 How to Mend a Fuse 78 Moby Dick 79 Cowboys or Indians? 80 The Long Book 87 Ankle Socks 82 Odd.Socks 33 Playing Cards 64 The Morselrap 35 ‘The Policeman's Helmet 86 ‘The Becile Killer 87 Contents continued ‘The Jigsaw Puzzle 88 Patent Alarm Clock 89 Obliging Trousers 90 The Musical Toothbrush 91 Knife for Eating Peas 92 A New Type Bitdeage 93 The Cup and Saucer 94 The Spaghetti Fork 95 ‘The Soap Saver 96 ‘The Coat Hanger 97 Jumping Stool 98 ‘The Snake Basket 99 Teed Lolly 100 Flat Beer 101 ‘The Impossible Bottle 102 ‘The Moving Hat 103 A Trick Dagger 104 ‘The Shoplifter’s Delight 105 Digital Dexterity 106 TSee I See 1 See 107 Sword into Body 108 Jumbo Thermometer 109 ‘The Talking Picture 110 ‘The Long Glove 111 Breakaway Wand 1/2 The Collapsible Seat 113 Another Snake Basket 114 Headless Man 115 nother Headless Man 116 Giraffe Neck 117 Growing Arms 118 That Magic Ball .179 ‘The Mitror Waisteoat 120 Sherlock Holmes 121 Portable Rain 122 ‘The Bang Gun 123 Roll-Up Dickie Front 124 Hop to It 125 Banana Banana 126 The Upside-Down Walking Stick 127‘Contents continued ‘The Stand-Up Coat 128 Wobbly Music Stand 129 ‘The Collapsible Music Stand 130 A Balancing Feet 131 ‘The Justant Nose Wiper 132 Hula Hula 133 ‘The Tidy Box 134 A Spectacle of Yourself 135 ‘The Wimbledon Glasses 135 Mother-in-Law Glasses 136 hi-Up Glasses 137 Spy Glasses 138 Pop-Out Byes 139 Bye Bye 140 And So to Bed 141. On Spec 142 Big Smoker 143 Hello, Sailor 144 Long Tongue 145 Fresh Air 146 The Indian Love Call 147 Full Marx 148 Battery Props 149 All Alight 150 ‘Ting-a-Ling 151 ‘The Blushing Heart 152 The Light-Up Bow Tie 153 The Fez. is Familiar 154 ‘The Swinging Bra 155 ‘The Telephone Walking Stick 156 ‘A Hair Raising Experience 157 Hankie to Match 158 Spring Sausages 159° About the Author 160 Introduction Whatisa Comedy Prop? A simple question perliaps, but the answer may not be as simple as itseems. A quick ansiver couitd be, any prop ‘which gets a laugh, but thisis not necessarily the ease, Take a simple straightforward everyday object like a beer bottle, Not a particularly funny object, you might think, and you would be right But, in the hands of a comedy specialist, this simple inanimate object could be made to appear to have a life and mind of its own, with all of its interests directed against the performer If, for instance, the performer were to get his forefinger stuck in the neck of the bottle, the enswing struggle (o remove his finger from the neck of the bottle coulel, become hilarious. If, ina last wile allempt to achieve freedom, he succeeded and at the same moment the bottle dropped on his toe, resulting in him hopping around the stage on one foot, we have a situation comparable (0 snany a scene in the old silent movies. But a beer boitle is not-a comedy prop. In one of his many films Charlie Chaplin, as a pawn shop proprie tor, was offered an alarm clock to be deposited in his emporium. Naturally, he had to examin uch of a plot for a comedy scent memory of every comedy buif who ever saw it. With the aid of atin opener hte takes the clock to pieces, examines its insides, and after failing to put it back together again, reluctantly declines to accept it for deposit. Chaplin’s antics throughout the whole scene are unfor- gettable. But an alarm clock is not a comedy prop. In this instance, as with the beer bottle, itis a prop used for comedy purposes, a description which could be used for any object. Iisa well known fact that anything which is too small or too large for the purpose for which itis intended will ereate a laugh or, atthe least, raise a smile, A hat which is too large or. too small for the person wearing it looks ridiculous, therefore funny jn the eyes of the beholder. But ifthe same hat was worn by someone else and it ted perfectly, it would no longer look ridiculous and would not ‘warrant asecond glance. Which brings ts back toa prop which isnot self being used for a comedy purpose $0-0-0-0-0, what 15 a comedy prop? ‘There 1y be'no simple SPSSOCTSSFSSIOSSSIVNS SOS I@AISIDISSSSSSSSSIOSSSESSSSSSTSOSSETSSESSSFEOSEVISSSSVessese answer (e the question but in an attempt to find oine, the following hiag been concocted: “A comedy prop is an object which has been invented, devises, built, or manufactured with no other purpose. than to. make someoae laugh. It has probably no other practical use, and if one ‘can be found it is entirely coincidental!” In short, itis prop whose sole purpose on this earth is o create a laugh, preferably with an audience. The comedy prop is not new phenomenon, it has been around for a long, long time. ‘The frst comedy prop is, o recoin a phrase, “lost in the mists of jest ‘The jester’s slapstick, or the earliest version with an anianal blad ached to the end of it to magnify the sound as it strikes the recip nt of the blow, must be considered as one of the earliest comedy props, Missing from this book, quite deliberately, are large scale props such as collapsible stairways, breakaway motor cats, props which require trapdoors in the stage, or any other props which would be beyond the scope of the average performer to either use or build. Many of the gags described are old, some new, but all of them have been performed at some time or other by professional enter- tainers. The ball is now in your court—make ‘em laugh. neh i The: Butterfly Fluttered By ‘This prop butterfly is capable of many uses. Essentially its a piece of tissue paper, twisted to resemble a butterfly, attached toa longish length of wire, ‘The wire is important. It must be thin, flexible and black. Florist’s wire is ideal, You will have to experiment with the length of wire required but around eighteen inches (46 centimetres) is about right, yee? 9 Attach the butterfly 10 one end by twisting the iviré around the centre of the two wings. Place a small piece of (ubingson the other ‘end of the wire, About half an inch (1-2 centimetres) long will be plenty. Hold the tubing between the thumb;agd forefingenso that the wire is standing up straight in the air with the butterfly upper- most. You may have to balance ita little if the wit is flexible, Now roll the tubing quickly between the finger am the Wire to revolve first one way then the other, and the will davt about in a most reaoF Collapsible Umbrella 4 ering with a hat and umbrelta, the performer removes is Hat Lifting the umbrella upalitle, he places the end of tin the a a Hane it slowly until it disippears fcom sight, The hat is placed te Later, when about to make is exit, he picks up the at wilh sage sand and, reaching into'the, hat with the other, he pulls the ane, ha apungeds out ofthe hat, dons the at and exis "The umbrella consists ofthe handle and ferrule only. The eenive soutien fe simply a tength of black cloth, As longs the umbrella + eld by the handle, the remainder will hang dowowards in a most realistic fashion. Magician? Hor anyone who docs a comedy magic actor inchudes this type of Merial in his regular act, this(gag is a must. Reaching into his wide pocket, the performer takes out, very slowly and with a look at surprise on his face, a rabbit, Nota ormal rabbit, but fat one Romarkiig, "I told my wife to take him out before she sent this suit to the cleaners,” he tossesit asides. ‘he abitis made rom pec ition white (ur stuck to a piece of eatdbonrd cut to the same shape. Two glass eyes are added to create a touch of realism, eat f (eesoceesoseosesasseosesse2ee0e ao0eoen:— SSESSTSIORSVOSTOTCOVOeCOE The Drinks ave on Me A boule and two glasses ray. One glass is considerably Smaller than the other. Offering someone a drink, the performes asks them if they would like small one ora tall one, When they ‘reply that they would like a tall one, the performer fills the taller et the two glasses and offers it 10 them, 11 like a small drink mysel€” he says, filing the smaller ylss Replacing the bottle on the tray he lifis up the small glass to drink, from it and itisseen to be much taller than the so called taller glass ‘The tray, unknown to the audience, hus a hole eut in itera the cally tall glass is placed in this hole so that it will sink downwards jeaving less than half its length exposed on top of the tay. This lass is already «timed with liquid up (o the level of the tay only, se that ial apreas empty. A cloth fs fixed around the edge ofthe tay hiding the lower half of the glass fron 2 Assistant off-stage pulls thread to make ha? jump off. Jumping Hat € performer turns to face the audience ( | jumps off the chair and lands on the floor, wes it on the chair and again it jumps off looking, Thisis repeated at intervals through holds the end ot ‘the seat of the chair itis placed ep pull in an upwards , vB3 (23 A Spherical Phantasy ‘Atballisplnced into the top of a clear plastic tube which isting te Gncommand the ball will rise and fallin the tube. The ugh ae te wen the performer exposes how the effect is achieved ont of the tube on the end of the thread and swingit wre Fastration almost explains all there is for you to know. O end ofthe thread is attached to your waistcoat, and the other ent is sia to ping, pong ball wth apiece of whitesticky tape, The palit Stopped into tite tube, By leg backwrards ate, the er i treed tat and the ball wil bedava upwatls in (he he, By raging torwvards, towards the tube, the bal willsink down stowly in the tube, Coat. Let go and it Mies back Giejght en other end under coat) Threadbare ‘An old gag is to have a white thread showing on youtisle e ad showing on yotifisleeve and when someone pc it off tae longer iiongerand longer, Tis is achieved by having a reel inside the jacket whicl wnvvinds as the thread is pulled, ent tar TA Minter nd more practical variation om this fed isto fi this idea is to fix a thread to your jacket so that six inches (15 centietres) of it is ngon the oulside of the jacket. A further eighteen inches (46 netres) are hanging down inside the jacket. On the inside end fof the thread you have a small weight attached (oi key is ; y You pick the thread off your jacket and ‘ jour jacket and as you de it pets long ie tel inside the jacket bt sl leaving inces (15 cent metres) exposed on the outside of the jacket. ie a knot in the Tinea at the otal where you wish ito stop ee | e| e 6 e @ e © 6 @ © e e ® © e @ ® @ o e o ® ° @ ° ® ® ®0 a » ® 9 ® oe ® ® ® @ &, ” a e 6 = feather Flower —tape aA tpting or thread hole in 1 etal tbe Tube ¢ eS CN Wilting Flower ‘Thisisa flower which isheld in one hand. Atany tine the performer Wishes, the head of the flower droops down in comical fashion, Itcan Also be made to tise slowly. ‘You will need a piece of metal or plastic tubing the same thickness as tle stem of a flower, about three inches (8 centimetres) of col {pring which isa tight fit over the outside of the tube, an artificil lower, a piece of thread as ong asthe flower stem anda small base 7 ring. The tubing which is about twelve inches (31 centimetees) k cut in two about three inche fo one end of the short piece. inserted into the spring. Oue into the oxher end of the spring, so that you now have a long stem pith a flower at one end and the spring about three incher down from the flower. The thread is tied to the stem above the spring, It you now pillon the thread, the head ofthe flower will bundowes de the thread from view, drill a hole in the tubing below the spring and insert the thread through this hole and out the bottan {nid ofthe tubs Tie the ring 1 the thread at this point. You will now be able (o hold the stem near the bottom and insert your litle into the ring, and operate the prop one handed. 16 ' The Levitation ‘This is @ real old fashioned music hall classic. An assistant is ying down covered with a shect, The performer folds down one end of the sheet so that the assistant’s head is showing. He folds back the other end of the sheet so that his feet are also on display. Waving his hhands over the assistant the performer commands him (o rise. The assistant starts to float upwards horizontally. Suddenly the shect sips off the assistant’s body and drops to the floor, exposing the fact that he is standing on the floor anil holding the two broomnsticks ‘out from his body with two shoes fitted on the other ends. ‘The assistant should be lying on a settee with his feet on the floor over one end of the settee, When he floats up off the settee it will be with a forwards and upwards motion. AS he apparently floats forwards away from the settee the performer caw accidentally step on the bottom of the sheet, which should be large, and as the assistant moves away the sheet will be drawn off his “body'? "7=z Fe Be hail moves eaner slide Carpentry the Easy Way ‘A tue, visual comedy gag which can be perforined silently or wi appropriate patter. The performer exhibits a piece of wood about titree feet (91 centimetres) long. He holds the wood i histett ight knee and places th Kanee. The tight hand now commences to move as suw and cutting six inches (15 centimetres) fromthe end of the wood. Sueldenly, a piece of wood six inches (15 centimetres) drops off the ‘wood_—but from the opposite end to that which has apparently been The wood is one inch square (6 square channel cut in one side for the whole ofits te vod which will fit into this channel is also required, plus a three foot (91 centimetres) by one inch (2-5 centimetres) length of thin plywood. Both the channelled wood and the plywood are eut into two pieces. ‘One piece is six inches (15 centimetres) long and the other is vo feet six inches (76 centimetres). The longer piece of plywood has a slot ches (5 centimetres) long by a quarter inch (six centimetres) wide. A serew ie thin strip of wood in such a position tat it will oincide with thestot in the plywood, The 18 wholeis assembled asshown in the illustration and the short piece is placed on the projecting thin strip of wood. Ifthe whole Is held in the Left hand and the left thumb pushes the sctew alongside its slot, the thin strip of wood willbe withilcewn into the body of the wood and the short piece of wood, having been deprived of its support will fall off the e1 ‘The plywood should be glued to the channelled wood. A Trichy Table “This is a magician’s table which, when an object is placed upon it will ip over to the side and deposit the object on the floor. You ean tither purchase a magician’s table, of use the base of a microphone or a straightforward music stand. ‘The central column of the table has to be cut in fialf and joined again by inserting the two parts of the column into the opposite ends Ofastrongeoiledspring. Theyshouldbea very tight fit. Ue you ow place an object the centre of the table nothing will happen. Butt you place the object close to the edge ofthe table, its I weight will pull the table top over to one side and the object drop. ‘You will have to experiment with different objects to find the amount of weight required to operate the table. If the object is too Tight, nothing wil happen. Ifit is (oo heavy the table will topple too quickly. Ideally you should be able to place something on the table dnd as you turn away from it, it should start to swing over slowly. Once the object has slipped off the table the central column will straighten up again to its original position. Ifthe object is breakable, 80 much the better. 9 BOPRL2SCOLLSSSSHDISlLlSIHI0.90.9 0009 &SST SSSSSSSTCSETSTHSCS PHCSSLOSSSCOSSSESESEE bow asithe isabout to play bitin it and it ies up ror off into the wit ‘about this gag is that it should be presented Were going t0 play the violin, 20 that he © comic pauses ion to the piece, fact hooks the end of the bow and arrow, releases s. The important thing straight as if you really i jy The Tale of a Seat ‘This is ideal for anyone who plays the piano. ‘The performer looks around for the piano stool, but there is none. Undaunted, {ails of his tail suit under him and sits on the tails which, cS SA ‘The tails themselves have been sewn together to form one large (ail. The lining is cut away at about waist level and a large board as illustrated is slipped down into the tails. Note that the board has a “shelf” across the top, otherwise itis liable to be rather uncomfort able, aalas ached fo fistde of hat. Hirehed here — = lactic eee fat f-Flag alter praduction The Patriotic Magician Removing his top hat the performer reaches into it and produces a string of flags. At this point the hat i held inthe left hand and the Tht hand is holding the end of the string of flags. The right hand se vrreleases is grip on the flags and they fly back into the hat to the performer's “The string of flags is Itshould be good quality elastic that iengt The flags are sewn on in suc displayed properly when the elastics syn as shown on to a length of cord elastic. stretch to several times its fay that they can only be stretched condition 2 Light Ale Removing a light bulb from his pocket, the performe ‘end pours himself glass of beer from the bulb What kind of beer is that"? asks.asecond performer. Hight Ale of course: he replies. Tey ay a visual pun, The method speaks for ise, although a litte care must be taken in the making ofthis prop. Fhe serew cap, dr bayonet catch cap has to be removed {1 it bull, and the nner, working section of the bull knock ‘Another and perhaps simpter mettod is tod ccomacts at the end of the bulb and break away sii aneans that you will be unable to remave the eap before Fring, but cork can be substituted and removed as required iserews the a 2.22.26 9.2.2.2099.0 02 00 ® "Sf 29.222. a aSOHC OHOOOCCEBE ee see SSVSTSSSsSOsesssves Smoke that Cigarette The performer takes a puff on a cigarette and cetains the s bis mouth. Me raises his fet arm so that i is sticking out straight {om his side, He now raises his vight hand to his mouth and bles fmoke down his right sleeve and as he does so the smoke appears from the left sleeve in a stream A length of ruber tubing is responsible for the transportationof the smoke from one sleeve to the other. I must be strapped to beth Wrists and rayels up one sleeve and across the back antl down the Olher sleeve. The end of the tubing which is attached to the right Wrist should be fixed in such a position that itis easily accessible a jhe mouth. ‘There must be no delay in the presentation, The right hand approaches the mouth, you blow, antl the smoke is eieced immediately fom the lett sleeve, 4 Room Service ‘This prop consists of a telephine hand receiver which has had a length of black rubber tubing inserted into the space in which the Wire is normally placed. A rubber bulb is attached! to the other end of the tube and filled with water, ‘The tube is arranged in the handset so that when the bulb is squeezed the water will be ejected from the earpiece end of the handset. The bulb is placed in the pants pocket and the handset is placed in the inside jacket pocket. In perform- ance, mention the hotel you are staying at. ‘Unbelievable room service. Trang up the other day...look. .. T'll show you!" Reach into your pocket and bring forth the handset and at the same time place the otherend in the pants pocket ready to operate the bulb. . "Hello, hello. Is that roomserviec? Send me up. a Scotch and soda please!* ft the handset up so that the earpiece is six inches from your face and squeeze the bulb and a stream of water will be ejected from the earpiece into your mouth. “Thank you;" you teply into the phone and replace it in your pocket An addition to the above is to yell i had the drink, "What about the soc: process o the phone, after you have and repeat the squirting asThe All-in-One Disguise You need an all-in-one false beard and moustache for this one. ‘The typewl Aebuilt on awire framework isbest ‘Normally this typeot Uae has to wires which hook ovet the ears 10 Keep it in position. These two hooks will awe (9 ‘be eut off with a pair of wire reuters Aer ow fixan imitation cigar in position DeNTn ees the moustache andthe beard, al the exact poiat where Ne ‘mouths, A short length a alen dowel, painted to cesemblen iy pest. Thisis fixed to oie aaguise by nvenns of a feat wire SAP es The cigar itself must protructe inwards for an inch) "reatimettes) OF s0, to enable it to Pe gripped firmly between the teeth ty by placing the cigar in your month re dom the disguise. me neon adresses yous You remove We GEN from your Trouth to answer him and ¥ rsthe form of anew invention, especially devise’ oe Tt conststs of apair of white gloves for prep vt weak spring atacied between Ne palms of the two" Moves, Wien the spectators wear gloves takes it mutch easier for them to clap. \ ; Or ceesentation ofthe same eS 10 CATH tht they are Another Hesenision studio audiences whoare ashe to applaudas vis ance they stat applauding they fed Met they the sag a Psarha's wy you heat all thal ABDIar, {com studio Gdienees when youre s "TV!@ ® ® ® e ® ° ° ® ® © o ® ° ® o ® ® ® ® ® o ® ® ® @ ® 6 @ ® @ ® Milking Time 1 is possible to blow up a rubber glove until it reaches the proportion of a football. The fingers wilt project stihly outwants from the body of the glove and resemble, quite realistically a con's udders. This in itself is quite funny, but if you place an empty glass ‘on the floor and proceed tomilk the “cow” andthe glass fils up ith milk, itis even funnier, ‘The glove itself is of the normal kitehen variety, but coloured pink or yellow. To "milk it, all you requize isa rubber bulb witha short length of small bore tubing inserted into it The bull is filled with milk and etd in the hand. The hand which is holding the bulb fakes hold of one of the “udlers" and pulls, and at the fame tine gives the bulb a squeeze. A thin stream of milk will be ejected from the bulb looking forall the works you are milking a cow. 28 is is one of those gags which belongs ina domestic comedy se: Although itis extremely funny, it has to be placed proj such a way that itis totally unexpected. Imagine the si band and wife have a row, and the hh things into a suitcase until itis fa a erly, and in ation. A band starts throwing He tries to close the case but it {00 full. The wife sits on the case to help speed him on his way. The case is eventually closed, The husband stands the case upright, looks at his wife and says, “I'm off?" bends down, picks up the suitcase aid the handle comes off in his hand, He exits unaware of the fact that he is holding the hanclle only ‘The explanation hardly seems necessary. from the case and replaced again but this position with two pieces of sticky tape, hhe handle is removed ie is held lighly in 29A Sock in the Purse “This is another one of those zany visual BABS. RENONTE F purse Ta this pocket the performer opens the catchy [ook inside and tro Tio the purse to remove something, As he loess the Toady ofthe purse lengthens to reveal the fact (hat isa sock, witha Page frame fited across the mouth of the so mse Ta Us is simply a case of finding the FD she To: remavtig the frame frou it and sewing it seross tHe mouth of the sock. 40 The Boomerang Hat “To perfor this gag you will have to pick your veuyes fo is not To pero gap that can be performed anywhere. Wat happers & he the performer tosses his hat out into the austcnes with a ta ng motion, As ities over te spectators ends creates 20 she and returns to the performer. cp nathod is simple. A strong black thread is aaches Ve the centre of the crown of the hat. ine other end of this thread is fixed centre oe Me eciling oF somewhere up im the Mes if you re petformingin a thealre. Iisnot asensy a8 it Tooks, and does requite Petr aanount of practice to get it Co spin in an ane, One Soe 2 recive presentation isto toss the ha out to the eudiense, walk aires the stage and catch it on its return just as you reac the “opposite wings to exit. aui - Sevamblea Eggs Ma comedy acts, when confronted with donning a military wpNORt: ate almost duty bound to wear a vast amovat of meat ihbons. This gogis really an extension of thal thought, nthar ea SelfSame medal ribbons can be made tolight up orfashonw alee required. The medal ribbons ae in fact painted on a sheet of plastic. This Ae ye plastic sheet is fitted to a cardboard shape which isthe light bulb. The switch tooperate the ight bul sin the jacket pocket Flying High ‘The performer removes his coat, which ly floats upwards in ti lites completely pout of sight. Tho meen aie this is our old friend, a length of black thread There ie eget frame across the shoulders of the coat, so th the coat retains ils shape as Hgoats upwards. A simple. wire coat hanger would cere ea Prana amitably, but make sure that it is sewn into the coats iger inHandy Ist perf. “Would you like & dnd pert. “Yes thank you, Where did y to get hold of these days” ‘Oh! T got it from a friend of drink of XXXX? sou get XXXX7 Is difficult te, Mind you he didn't Ist pert. vant to part with it, but {got it ‘As the last line is delivered, the performer reaches into his brief dee of RXXX and the audience can see that case and removes a sree Fig bloody hand cutoff a the wrist $0 Be sping the bottle. Mere is ease, a vubioer fase tine which has been hued to the ottte plus a fitle splash of red paint « The pag itself can be applied fo praeticn short supply. iy anything strict isi a Zipper Banana i “This is just what the ttle implies. banana with zippers on iT Tt uae of yellow mater ke et Three eee mre ext to the required shape and size, the zips fitted, the Inside of a real banana is placed inside and that’s ; “Atang tne inthe el you ean reach nto your pocket remove the banana nai it take a bite, zip the banana up agai and teplace it Haare pcekel, to be repented again later if necessary. Fe tMissed Again This item ig ideal as a crossover gag. One performer i standing Centre stage. A second performer, who should if possible be a litle shorter, ccosses over in front of the other, wearing a top lat. As he asses, ths first performer takes a swipe at the top hat. As he docs 80, the top hat collapses on top of the other performers heud, causing the first man tomissand spin around, perhaps takings fall The top hatis actually an opera hat of the type which will fold fla. Most opera hats are held upright by means of four stems hinged at the centre with springs attached. For this effect you will hav remove the When the crown of the bi a use it to fold up aj lance, a strong black thread is fixed to one side of the fre peek ee hat tjeaded down through the bin, up agun through the brim oa the other side and fixed to the crown. ‘You have in fact created a sort of lose chi The action of placing the hat on the head will force the stems intoan upright position. If the thread, which is hanging under the Pulled sharply, it will pull he hat flaton top of the head. 36 in action: The Third Leg ‘This is an extremely old visual gag which probably originated in a Russian folk tale. The petformer is seen to have three legs. He can walk around the stage without any hindrance, and with a little care and rehearsal, can perform a simple dance. ‘The modus operandi is quite simple. A length of broom handle has a shoe attached to one end. A single leg from a pair of trousers is then tied to the broom handle so that it will hang down in a natural position over the top of the shoe. It may be necessary to pad the broom handle out a litte to give ita thickness ofa leg otherwise the trouser leg may flap around too much, ‘The top of the broom handle is held in the tight hand against the right leg. You now don an overcoat with a glove sewn into the right sleeve. A matching glove is worn on the left hand. ‘The coat is buttoned up and the resulting effect is that you have thee legs. The. dummy right leg ismade to move forward with the real left leg. This means that the two legs will travel forward simultancously leaving the centre leg, which is the real right leg, behind. As the dummy right leg and the real left leg touch the floor, the real right leg is brought forward between those two. This is repeated and will give the effect of a three legged man. a7A Utility Prop ‘This is quite a simple idea which can be very useful in a comedy sketch. It can consist of practically any type of com ‘The illustration depicts a snake basket, When the lid is removed from the snake basket, a large snake suddenly makes ance, frightening the performer who quickly slams the lid back on the basket. ‘This ean be repeated ad lib. “The snake is attached to the lid by means of a length of black thread. When the lic is lifted off the basket it will pull the snake's head and part of the body 1p into view. “The beauty of this effect is that the snake makes its appearance after the lid has been removed. There is a delay of a second or two, ‘giving it the appearance of being self propelled. The same principle ‘can be applied to larger props suich as.a large basket with a goritla's head making its appearance, or a smaller box with a rabbit popping vp. Ear Ear “The large rubber ears which ean be bought at novelty shops should never be overlooked. ‘They can be the source and inspiration for many gngs. For example, in'a sketch, anyone playing the part of an elderly person can have an ear trumpet with a large e9r attached to the open end. ‘ ‘As a crossover gag, one performer can continually walk across the stage with a transistor radio held to one ear. This is repeated several times until the fitst performer stops him and says, "What's he idea of all this walking back and forward?"/The second performer stops and removes the transistor radio from his ear and says “What?” — exposing the fact that he has one very large ear which has been hidden by the transistor radio. 9Rigid Toothpaste A very funny prop indeed, is this one, where the cap is removed from a tube of toothpaste and the toothpaste pops out ofthe tube by itself, straight upwards, and remains in this position, For platform purposes it is advisable to use one of the large ‘economy size tubes, or better still, to use a shaving cream tube which is even larger. Open the bottonrend of the tube, scoop out all, the toothpaste, and wash out the tube itself. Reseal the bottom end Of the enspty tube by folding it over as it was. You will now need a slim metal or plastic tube which is seuled at one end. Snto this tube is placed a spring. On top of the spring is placed a 8ort length of wooden dowel painted white to resemble toothpaste. When the dowel is pushed down and released, it will pop up aga ‘This metal tube is now inserted into the neck ofthe toothpastetube and pushed down. The dowel will naturally pop up. Push the dowel down and place the cap on the toothpaste tube to hold it down. When the cap is removed it will pop up. A length of thread can be atached from the botiom of the dowel to the bottom of the metal tube to prevent it popping out ofthe tube completely. 40 spel hands in False hands puppets or glove: $ Animated Puppets Can you imagine a man holding a tray in both hands while two puppets wiggle around the tray with no apparent manipulation? ‘That is exactly what happens with the next prop. ‘The illustrations should make everything clear. A coat is worn with a glove sewn onto each sleeve to make it appear as if they were hands. The coat has two holes cut through the front. A tray with a neck band to support itis placed in front of the body. ‘The two gloves are now pinned to the tray to make it look asif the tray is being held steady. ‘The tray itself has two holes cut in it to allow the hands to pass through them in an upwards direction. A glove puppet is placed on each hand, A drape is now hung around the Iront and sides of the tray. If you want to make a real professional job of it, use two false hands instead of the gloves. utwood end The Breaking Bow svho plays the violin, thisis the almost perfect gag. ‘2 bow which falls apart just as he is about to play. ‘The construction of the bow is simple. All you need i a length of metal tie tubing about a quarter of an inch (6 milimetsés) in "a piece of white elastic three eighths of an inch ‘millimetres) thick, a length of metal rod which will slide easily inside the tubing, and (wo small blocks of wood, Cut the tubing i two about one third of the way from one end. “The two small blocks of wood are fixed to the two outer ends of the bow" with an impact adhesive. ‘The rod is now inserted it shorter tube and the longer tube is placed over the rod, ‘the elastics represent the horse hair, Note that it must not be stretched too ntl. Ifthe bow is held in the hand with a short horizontal it will appear normal, Ifthe short end is pointed upwards, the metal rod will side down inside the tube aul the bovw wil fall ‘apart in two pieces. If the clastic is stretched too tightly this will prevent the rod ftom sliding freely down the tube celuryiniane the The Boxing Glove i Acclassic joke indeed. A box with alld is picked up, the lidis opened and a boxing glove pops out and punches the performer of the nose. The mechanics of this effect are quite simple. ‘The size of the box depends upon the size of the glove, but the illustration will make everything clear. Fixed to the inside bottom of the box is a length of electrical conduit tubing, The plate which holds this twbing in place to the bottom of the box is a standard electrical fitting from your nearest electrical supplier. An almost similar length of alumiaium tubing which isa loose fit over the other tubing is also required. The glove is placed over one end of the aluminivun tubing and tjed firmly in position, to prevent it slipping of. ’ A small hole is riled inte al from the glove. A shout length o ‘other end of the sti action of itingthe lidwillpull the glove upoutofthe box. The lid of the box should be at the side rather than the top. When the lid is raised the glove will be pulled out of the box horiz- ontally. ‘The lid shoutd be caised quickly with a sharp movement to jerk the plove out of the box conduit Tube i tubingat the opposite end is ied to this hole andChain Smoker A large prop cigar is shown, On being asked if he smokes many of them, the performer replies, "Of course I do. I'm a chain smok; As he says this a large clan drops out from one end of the cigar. ‘The cigar is simply a piece of cardboard postal tube painted to resemble «large cigar. The chain is concealed inside the tube and anchored to one end witha piece of thread to prevent it falling out of he tube completely. A slight tipping action towards that end ofthe ‘cigar is encugh to tip the chain out of the tube. 4 duplicate "flower on elastic It’s that Flower Again Simple but effective. The performer re buttonhole and tosses it aside. Suddenly, anoth appearance in the same buttonhiole. Both flowers are of course artificial. One of them is attached to a length of black elastic, the op, ind of which is pinned to the jacket behind the lapel. ‘The length of this elastic wll vary according, {o the person, but it should extend down behind the lapel for about six inches (15 centimetres) atleast, togive ita reasonable amount of stretch. It should, of course be threaded through the buttonhole first. By pulling the flower away from the lapel you should be able to place the flower under the left armpit. A second flower ean now be inserted into the buttonhole. After this second buttonhole. is discarded, iti simply a matter of raising the left arm a little and the other flower will fly into position, oves the flower from lower makes 45Chichen Sandwich Alter a few derogatory remarks about the local restaurant oF ean teen, the performer displays a large thick sandwich. “Look at that; he says. "I asked them for a chicken sandwich and they gave me this!” As he delivers the last word, he separates the two slices of Dread and exposes the fact that there is a whole chicken in the made froin white towelling with a small piece of red fell added for the comb. The legs of the chicken are macle fro yellow tape. The slices of bread eould be real but if you intend to use the prop more than ance it would be advisable to make them from ‘wood, suitably painted to resemble the real thing complete with large crusts. ratchet toheel fesieal sping i The Wateh Winder ‘You will have to be jandymian with metal to'make this next prop, but it could be more than worthwhile, It is a, small gadget which is held concealed in the hand with @ wheel, whieh when turned will reproduce very loudly the sound of a yateh being 10 wind it up, The su from the volume of sound emitted from the watch. The sound is of which is miming the aetion The illustrat n the manulaetuie of the wate winder. IC consists of two pieces of metal with a ratchet wheel between them. When the wheel is tuned by a tunity it wil lick sta short length ol spring steel. andl produce the sound, Nate that the spring steel i five ta smal black of sand by mn impact authesive When the whole icassembled it should be held together by me rivets. insolan| 4 \ we i re | Beer, Beer, Glorious Beer ‘You will have to visit-your friendly neighbourhood joke shop to make the uext prop, which is ideal for a drunk routine. Fol beer bottle, the performer attempts to drink from it, discover the proce! that it is empty. Turning the bottle upside down, he looks upwards into the neck of the bottle as if it were a telescoze. Lowering the bottle to waist level he looks down at it and as he does 30, astream of beer shoots upwards from the neck of the bottle into his face, “The bottle is actually made of rubber exactly as sold by jok shops. Inserted into the neck of the bottle, and out of sight, isa cork. with a hole drilled through the centre. If the bottle is filled with water and the cork inserted into position, you will find that it is possible to turn the bottle over and the liquid will remain inside the bottle: Ifir starts to dribble out, the hole ir the cork is too karge ‘The principle is the same as the vinegar botile. You ean turn it over but nothing will come out until you shake the boule. In this instance, you just wait until the bottle isin the correet position end give it a'sl arp squee: ult? A very wet face 48 There’s a Leak in It Picking up a bottle and glass the performer pours himself a drink, He places the bottle on the table and as he does so a stream of water is ejected from the side of the bottleon to the floor. Placing the glass oon the table he picks up the bottle to investigate the problem only 10 find that there is now a stream of liquid pouring out from the side of the glass. ‘All you need is a clear plastic bottle and glass with a small hole drilled in each about one inch (2-5 centimetres) from the bottom. ‘Take the bottle and fill it with liquid, not forgetting to hold your finger over the hole as youdoso. Once thebottles full, place a cork the neck of the bottle. You will now beable to remove your finger from the hole and the liquid will remain in the bottle. [fyou remove the cork, the liquid will ran out of the hole, Place the bottle with the cork in position on the table with the glass alongside it Pick up the bottle in the right hand, and with the lett hand remove the cork. One of the right fi eat this point, Place the cork in th ble and pick up the to the the hole. Pour the liquid from the bottle in the right hand 49glass in the left hand. Place the bottle on the table: as soon as you release your grip on it it will start to spurt, Look at it, look at the glass, place the glass on the table and pick up the bottle, The glass will now be spurting liquid. Make sure that both bottle and glass are near the edge of the table so that the liquid will fall to the floor y He Went Thataway This is another one of those zany gags, which should be done on the offjeat when no one is expecting a gag. In effet, ote person is Standing with an umbrella and a second person asks him aquestion Ineply, the fist person turns and points with the umbrella — a which point the audience realises tha the umbrella i not all that it seems to be. ete “umbrella” is simply an_old walking stick cut in tv and joined togettier again wilh’a piece of string. A length ol black Imatetia now lapped aroud the stick to make it fescanble nn Unbrella AS long ae-the umbrella fs hanging dow Ht will appear hotinal, but as soon as itis raised lo point ith, the botenn hal will He's Potty ‘The first performer dashes across the stage earryiig a tray upon vihichvests.a baby's potty. Send performer stops i, peks the potty exposing the fact that i has no bottom. Ist performer: ‘This is no good, it has no bottot. performer: Ohno, ..you putyour own bottom on it This js an excellent crossover type gag for a double act. A tray plus a plastic potty with the bottom Femoved isall youneed.