Rich Marotta is a successful magician and comedian. On these four videos he discusses the secrets of comedy and magic while performing and teaching some of his best routines. The four videos combined serve as a five-hour course on comedy magic with routines ranging from the smallest intimate walk-around routines with coins all the way up to stage illusions where you rip the heart out of your assistant’s heart!

In addition to explaining how everything works, how to construct the props and all the techniques used, Rich also gives great advice on how to create and structure comedy routines and acts. Contains adult language.

Volume One: Rich Marotta’s Stand-Up Comedy Magic:
►Paper Strip: You show a strip of paper with all your show notes. You then burn it, explaining that you will do the show from memory. But when you forget what comes next you grab the ashes and restore the list.
►Mugged: Rich’s popular routine where he recounts a mugging where he was robbed of his watch, ring and cash. Magically the items vanish from the robber’s ski mask and appear back on his wrist, finger and back in his wallet.
►Best Trick: You place a bottle of salad dressing into a paper bag, wave your hand and it changes into a ketchup bottle. You repeat this a few times until the audience begins to suspect that you have two bottles. That is when you crumple the bag, proving that the ketchup bottle has disappeared.
►Lasso Card Trick: A card is selected and returned to the deck. The deck is tossed into a paper bag. A rope is used to form a loop and lowered into the bag. When the rope is pulled out of the bag the selected card is seen lassoed on the rope.
►Card In Orange: A spectator selects a card and tears it into quarters. The pieces are tossed into a handkerchief. All the pieces vanish but one. An Orange is selected by a spectator and the vanished pieces are found inside the Orange, where they have restored themselves… except for the missing piece that is held by the spectator.
►Onear: A funny mindreading effect where you apparently hear what card a spectator whispered to their friend by using a giant fake ear.
►Routines performed but not explained: Fish Bowl Production, Cigarette Sequence, Center Cut, McCombical Prediction, Business Cards To Pocket and The Stretching Tongue. Running time: Approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Volume Two: Rich Marotta’s Walk-Around Comedy Magic:
►Quarter On The Head: A quick introductory gag where you stick a quarter to your forehead. When you offer the coin to the spectator to try, they see that it has a spike attached.
►Fan-See Card: A quick and visual opening where a card is selected and lost in the deck. The deck is spread into a double fan. The top layer of the fan is removed, leaving the selected card the only one showing.
►Ring & Rope: A multiphase routine where a borrowed finger ring is repeatedly threaded on a rope but manages to escape. The ring finally vanishes to appear on a severed finger in a box. As a finale you demonstrate how the rope can penetrate your finger.
►A.P.E: A selected card is lost in the deck and wrapped by a handkerchief. When the handkerchief is shaken the selected card slips out, apparently penetrating through the handkerchief.
►Card Rise: A selected card is lost in the deck and a handkerchief is draped over it. All of a sudden something starts rising under the handkerchief and takes it up in the air. Under the handkerchief is the selected card.
►Re-Rabbits: Rich teaches his routine for the walk-around classic; Multiplying Sponge Rabbits.
►Two Cards To Pocket: Two cards are selected and lost in the deck. They then appear in two different pockets and are returned to the deck. Amazingly you now reach into the pockets and once again produce the cards.
►Gypsy Tie: You pull a string from a spectator’s tie and use it for a torn and restored thread. At the end you roll the thread into a ball and put it back into the tie.
►Card In Lemon: A selected card is lost in the deck and covered with a handkerchief. When the handkerchief is whisked away you are seen holding a lemon. The lemon is sliced in half and the selected card is found inside.
►Quick Coin Trick: Three quick coin vanishes and appearances. Running time: Approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Volume Three: Rich Marotta’s Close-Up Comedy Magic:
►Repeat Escape: A selected card vanishes from under a spectator’s hand and appears face down in a packet of cards you are holding. In offering to repeat the routine you apparently do the same thing, except this time three cards vanish from under the spectator’s hand leaving only the selection.
►Shot In The Pack: A selected card is lost in the pack. You then introduce a different deck and use it to shoot a card into the middle of the original deck. The card above it is the selected card. As a kicker ending the card that was shot from the other deck turns out to be the duplicate of the original selection.
►Swindle: A spectator helps you mix up the order of thirteen cards and amazingly the new order exactly matches your predicted outcome.
►Matchic Trick: The routine begins with a sequence of matches penetrating each other and ends with a signed bar napkin changing into a fistful of matches. When the matchbox that used to contain the matches is opened the signed napkin is found inside.
►Visible Card To Wallet: A signed card visually vanishes from a spread deck and appears inside your wallet.
►Nest Of Boxes: A signed coin vanishes from under a handkerchief and appears inside a group of nested boxes that have been in full view the entire time.
►Stabbed In The Pack: A selected card is lost in the deck and you use a knife to stab into the pack impaling one card. It is the wrong card so you toss it into the air where it visually changes into the selection.
►Queen Soiree: A classic routine using a sheet of newspaper and four cards. The cards travel one at a time from under the paper to join each other. Rich teaches the version that was taught to him by Dai Vernon. Running time: Approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Volume Four: Rich Marotta & Twila Zone’s Dynamic Duo!
Rich Marotta and Twila Zone are a successful magic and comedy team. On this video they discuss the secrets of stand-up comedy magic that is performed with a partner. Along the way they will teach some of their best routines.
►Erect Rope: A rope is made to stand erect.
►Bride Of Best Trick: A salad dressing jar changes into a ketchup bottle and back to salad dressing. As the audience begins to figure it out you have a kicker ending where the ketchup bottle disappears.
►The Comedy Levitation: The old circus gag where your assistant apparently floats across the stage. Upon floating the second time the trick is exposed causing laughter.
►Appearing Scarf And Fish: After a gag of apparently producing a scarf you produce a fish bowl on your assistant’s head.
►Arm Chopper: A funny two-person arm chopper routine where you apparently chop a spectator’s arm off.
►Hand Through Body: A visual and funny illusion where you push your hand through your assistant’s body and rip out her heart.
►Plus performances and discussions about many other routines, gags and jokes. Running time: Approximately 1 hour.

A Meir Yedid Magic Product. Produced by A-1 MagicalMedia. Original release date: 1999. Combined running time: Approximately 5 hours.