Designer: Jim Steinmeyer

The Cocoon Redux is fully described and detailed in Steinmeyer’s book Technique and Understanding. Owners of this book are authorized to build and perform this illusion. You may also contact Jim Steinmeyer directly to find a recommended builder.

The curtain opens on the magician and his male assistant who is standing behind an upright rectangular frame, a sort of shallow box, with a white fabric canvas on the front. Two bright lights on tripods are on either side of the assistant. The magician removes the canvas “door” and the audience can see a shallow box in front of the assistant. The box is resting on the stage floor and its height extends to just above the assistant’s waist. The assistant supports the box in front of him by means of two handles, one on either side of the box.

The magician shows that the white canvased frame can be pulled apart in the middle allowing the audience to see through the canvas. The fabric is closed and the magician then runs a light behind the canvas showing it is translucent and that nothing is hidden inside or behind it. The canvas “door” is then placed back on the shallow box frame in front of the assistant. The assistant uses the handles on the sides to lift the box so the audience can see his legs underneath and that there’s still nothing inside the box. Suddenly a hand is pressed through the front of the canvas. The audience can see it’s a real hand and the assistant then lowers the box to the stage floor. Immediately, the fabric snaps open and a lady squeezes out from the confines of the tiny frame. She stands to her full height and takes a bow with the magician.