Peter lectured in Rochester, NY on March 11, 1999. He was kind enough to contribute the following from his lecture notes.
If you do just one trick, but do it well, you are the magician. If you do one-hundred, but do them badly, you are a puzzle collector. The sleights, gimmicks, boxes and other toys we loved to acquire and play with are only the tools that help us produce the final results - - entertainment. And for you to be entertaining you must be natural and do the stuff that's you. That means finding and selecting material that suits your personality. To that end, you will find the material here extremely versatile. But that's just the beginning. The routines that follow should be looked on as guides to steer you in the direction that best suits you. They shouldn't be considered the final product - - at least not for you. These are all relatively simple tricks the can be adapted--depending on the story line - - to anything from the comedic to the serious to the bizarre.Nobody but you can develop your own personal style. But these tricks and the routines that go with them, can help you get started thinking in the right direction.
Effect: Two cards, representing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, find a card selected by the spectator and representing a master criminal.
Preparation: None
Presentation: "And now we take you to Victorian England, a time of high living and low crime, a time of Jack the Ripper, and a time of Sherlock Holmes, (as you say this, go through the face-up deck and deal the Ace of Spades to the table) ace detective, and his trusted companion Dr. John (here deal the Jack of Spades to the table) - - Jack to his friends - - Watson."
" As our story opens, London is an uproar (riffle the deck), Scotland yard is baffled. (riffle the deck again) - - Sounds a lot like London being in an uproar, doesn't it? - - and all because of a master criminal who has escaped capture." Fan the cards and let a spectator select one. "Would you choose a card to play the part of the master criminal, please?" Have the card show round, returned to the deck, and then control it to the top.
" Finally, the police seek help of the ace detective Sherlock Holmes and his trusted companion, Dr. John - - Jack to his friends - - Watson. "
' Well, Watson, the game's afoot, ' says Holmes. ' So we've been asked to track down a master criminal who's loose in London, breaking into schools. '
'What kind of schools?' says Watson.
'Elementary, my dear Watson.' says Holmes.
Wait for the groans over that pun to settle and continue. "So Holmes and Watson set off into the London fog to track down their master criminal." As you say this, get a pinky break under the top chosen card. "Holmes started out on one side of the city. (Place the ace of spades face up on top of the deck and double undercut bringing the ace of spades and the chosen card to the bottom of the deck) and Watson started off on the other side. (as you say this, put the Jack of spades face up on top and cut the back. The set up is now: ace of spades and Jack of spades face up in the middle of the deck with the chosen card face down between them.)
" As they worked their way through the grog shops and back alleys, they had planned to meet later and review the results of their invested investigation. They hoped that, between them, they would be able to capture this fiend that was terrorizing London." As you say that, ribbon-spread the deck, showing the two face up cards with the face-down card between them.
"Well, they seem to have caught something between them. What was the name of the card you chose to play the master criminal?" (When the spectator announces the name of the card, turn it over and reveal it as the one captured.)
"Watson was overjoyed with their success. 'Holmes', he said, 'you're brilliant; you're a genius; you're the greatest detective of all time'.
'No, no', said Holmes, 'It was nothing, really nothing at all.'
"Which goes to prove that, be he ever so humble, there's no police like Holmes."