Between effects, cull the 4 Aces to the top of the deck. Top palm them while giving the
spectator the deck to shuffle. When spectator has finished, add the palmed cards back on
top. Ask them to separate the deck into 4 equal
piles face down, from left to right. When done pick up pile with Aces on top , stating,
"You have cut to 4 different
cards in the deck". Thumb over the top card of packet in hand (Ace). Then
pick up the top cards from each of the remaining piles ,overlapping the right jogged Ace
in your hand. Restate they cut to 4 unknown cards, while you Reverse Count the side jogged
cards on top of your packet putting the Ace on top,holding a break beneath all 4.
Now comes the clincher."Let's see what you've cut to." Turn the top card
of your break face up, showing an Ace. Lift all cards above your break and place face up
on first pile on your left. Take next top card of your packet turning face up
showing another Ace! Place single Ace face up on center pile. Repeat with 3rd Ace.
Last Ace turn face up on packet & set packet down showing all 4 ACES!
I've performed this effect for approximately 15 years. It's clean, and very direct.
Try this on another magician, when they think it's the old basic ace routine. Watch their
face !
The above effect is credited to F. Garcia
Magically,
dr(DAVE)
Take a silk, preferably 12" or larger, set it aside. Have a spectator select a card,
controlling it to the top. I prefer the turnover pass leaving the deck face up. Take silk
laying it on your open palm up (L) hand. Put face up deck onto silk,
establishing a break above selected card on bottom. Act like you've changed your mind,
taking deck above the break (lifting it
slightly)while at the same time your (L) hand (holding card)quickly turns palm down. Your
position now should
be spectator's card inside silk. After above move, set deck back on to silk. Riffle side
of deck asking spectator to say stop. Cut at that point, asking, "Was this your
card?" Then say, "Good, yours is lost somewhere in the deck, this
silk will find your card!" Place the top cut off portion UNDER the silk & half
packet in your hand.
Your position now should be half deck face up on top and on bottom with silk folded in
half between these with selected card inside. Lever silk, cards upward to the left, so
they are standing on edge. Tell spectator to think of his card and WATCH the deck. Slowly
pull the corner of silk farthest away from you, and watch their card magically rise out of
the deck and thru the silk!
Dave
by Craig R Dickson
Past National President-Society of American Magicians
We have 60,000 thoughts per day; 90% are the same thoughts we had yesterday and the day
before, 80% of them are negative. That is just human nature. We seem to accept defeat
before we even begin the journey. The difference between those who fulfill their dreams
and those who don't is the ability to handle the obstacles. Many of us make resolutions to
go for our dreams, but why do we seem to always fall short?
Having dreams gives your life, your career power, direction and meaning. But how many are
actually living that dream? Our negative side, our fears, often become the major obstacle.
This hold true not only in a career, but in acquiring skills, the proficiency we want in
our performances.
I attended an intensive workshop for performers back three years ago in Ohio. What was
different was that all the attendees openly shared their successes, frustrations,
disappointment's and failures. One interesting observation came from Stuart McDonald, of
Stu and Lori, an Illusion team from the mid-west. Stu said that after going for their
dream, working so hard for it, with endless practice, performances, changes in stage
persona, they were not getting where they should be, they became so burned out that they
actually thought of giving it up. Frustrated and not being where they should be this far
along in this journey, they didn't have a clue as to which way to go any more. Talent was
certainly not lacking; these are two of the most energetic and talented performers I have
seen.
With this attitude they went forward and thinking it was all going to end soon, did not
try so hard, relaxed, and just were themselves. They stopped trying so hard to make it,
forgot about the image they were trying to create, or re-invent, or perfect. All of a
sudden people, friends and performers began saying things like "that was the best we
have ever seen you, wow, great job." and "we love the look of the act,
bravo".
This baffled Stu. It was the same act, same effects, with minor changes, same costumes;
and then it struck them. They were just being themselves, for the first time, not trying
to be something they weren't. They were finally connecting with the audience, and the
audience knew it, they were having fun for the first time. Their real personalities were
there, and the audience could finally identify with them. Why did this happen? Because no
one can be you, better than you. It all just happened when they were about to give it up.
Stu and Lori started to really have fun and enjoy what they were doing, and it shows. I
hope you are fortunate enough to see them perform, get caught up in the energy and fun. Oh
their dream, they are living it now as themselves, and this all happened just when they
were about to call it quits. With this new found energy stu decided to go back to college
and take courses in theater, acting, drama and behavioral sciences. He wanted more. They
haven't stopped dreaming, that's the way it works, they have new dreams too, and that is
the fun of it all. Work hard, even if you feel it is beyond you, keep going because
success is near, and just when you are ready to give up, keep going, success is nearer.
Three ways to know if you are living your dream:
1. You like getting up in the morning.
2. You feel joy at the end of the day.
3. If you won the lottery, you would keep doing what you are doing.
Four ways to overcome obstacles and fears
1. Avoid negative people and situations.
2. Make the most of what you have.
3. Allow yourself to make mistakes.
4. Always keep your eyes on your goals, have vision and persist.
Reach high, for the stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream preceded
the goal. Reach for the stars; they are there for the taking, if you really want them. I
have found some of mine, but the journey has jsut begun, and that is the fun of it all.
Craig R Dickson, Past National President-Society
of American Magicians
Dear Dan,
Below is a three-part article that I wrote on creativity in magic. I don't know if you
could remember, but a long while ago I promised that I would write an article on
creativity for your web site. I never forgot that promise.
As there was a thread on creativity in IBM Ring 2100 in July this year, I wrote an article
and posted it three parts, i.e., on July 13, 14, and 15. Afterward, I thought that the
article could also fulfil the promise I made to you some time ago. Hence, my current
submission with the three parts of the article together.
In my view, the article provides a systematic or structured approach for dealing with the
elusive concept of creativity in magic. Well, I do hope that you find the article
interesting.
*************************************************************
by Dr. Rodney King
-----------
Part I
-----------
Creativity is a complex activity, especially in conjuring where there is a scarcity of
publications on this mystery of mysteries. Creativity largely takes place in what Steven
Pinker calls "mentalese" - the symbolic language of thoughts. I've found out
that it's easier to apply creativity than to explain it. This finding, however, has not
discouraged me from trying to explain creativity. As far as creativity goes, I don't mind
being referred to as "stubborn"!
While there are many approaches to creating, the Creative (Product) Design approach is
probably the most transparent; it's relatively easy to discuss and use. This
"Design" approach to creating tricks and routines is outlined in Jim
Steinmeyer's "Reminding & Deceiving" and illustrated in Dariel Fitzkee's
"The Trick Brain". Steinmeyer and Fitzkee, however, do not label
their methodologies as the "Design Approach". In the context of conjuring, the
CREATIVE DESIGN APPROACH involves four modules:
(i) CREATIVE PROBLEM-FINDING: discovering novel magical effect(s) or problem(s), e.g., by
asking "HOW TO USE NOVEL PRINCIPAL AND ANCILLARY PROPS IN SELECTED CATEGORIES OF
MAGICAL EFFECT(S)?" Preferably, you should not have previously seen, heard, or read
about the planned magical effect(s) with the particular props.
(ii) CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS: searching for or looking at
possible (alternative) METHODS for the magical effect(s), analysing the suitability and
effectiveness of possible methods, and combining props and methods to form alternative
specific tricks. I'd like to note that routines may be formed by combining and
re-arranging tricks,
which together, constitute a narrative such as a "themed act" or story.
(iii) EVALUATION: selecting the "best" METHOD for your preferred magical
effect(s) or the "BEST" TRICK(S)/ROUTINE(s) from the list of specific tricks and
their variations.
(iv) VERIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION: ensuring that the tricks are novel or
"creative", i.e. not "re-invented"; PRACTISING AND REHEARSING the
newly created and selected tricks to a "performable standard".
"Whoosh, what a theory!" some people might say. Granted, it may look and sound
theoretical but the creative design approach is applicable to many activities, including
the creation of magic tricks. Now, let's put the system to work! My main objective is to
come up with a novel trick, i.e., a trick that I've not previously seen, heard or read
about. I shall put down my ideas as I go through the modules, all of which are
interrelated. Generally, I prefer to do my thinking on paper.
Okay, Module (i): CREATIVE PROBLEM-FINDING. I decide on a PRODUCTION effect. Don't ask me
why because I don't why I chose it! The idea may have emerged from by subconscious, which
knows about my liking for production
effects. The general STRUCTURE OF PRODUCTION EFFECTS is a one-sentence description as
follows:
"[(Novel) PRINCIPAL PROP] produced from [(Novel) ANCILLARY PROP]."
For my "novel" PRINCIPAL PROPS, I randomly select - actually, I select a list of
associated (thematic/scenic) objects: TOOTHPASTE, TOOTHBRUSH, and BATH SOAP. I've not seen
these objects before used in magic tricks.
Most magic tricks are performed using ANCILLARY OBJECTS, so I think, "Which ancillary
objects would provide 'cover' or 'natural' places of revelation for magical effects?"
I write down: TOWEL, CONTAINER, AND BAREHAND.
My original wish has now been concretised. My planned magical effects are:
[TOOTHPASE/TOOTHBRUSH/BATH SOAP] produced from [TOWEL/CONTAINER/BAREHAND]. I now decide to
link each principal prop with an ancillary prop. I decide on the following:
* TOOTHPASTE produced from TOWEL
* TOOTHBRUSH produced from BAREHAND
* BATH SOAP produced from CONTAINER; I decide on a SOAP CONTAINER.
So, I've defined my problems, which I prefer to look at as objectives or magical effects
that I'd love to perform. But how? What are the mechanics of each effect?
-----------
Part II
-----------
Naturally, I look at Module (ii): CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING, ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESIS. My
objective in this module is to look for possible methods for achieving each magical
effect. A good database on trick-methods is indispensable, especially if the database is
stored in one's head. Alternatively, one could do research on methods using published
books, lecture notes, or videos. Nowadays, one could simply put questions on a
conjuring-related Digest on the Internet. For example, I could ask members of IBM Ring
2100: "WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE WAYS IN WHICH A (POWERFUL) MAGICIAN COULD produce a
toothpaste from a towel?
I immediately think of STEALING! But FROM WHERE? I think of my TOP COAT POCKET and my
SLEEVES. I guess some spectators would spot a normal sized toothpaste in my top coat
pocket, so I think of a *smaller (mini-)sized*
toothpaste. IF IT COMES TO THE WORST, I'll *modify* the pocket. Mmmm! I suddenly realise
that intuitively I've been using Alex Osborn's and Bob Eberle's tool of S-C-A-M-P-E-R:
Substitute - Combine - Adapt/Add Magnify/*Modify/Minify* - Put (to other uses) -
Eliminate - Rearrange/Reverse. What a tool!
For the production of a small toothpaste, I decide that I shall "steal" it from
my top coat pocket. The steal, however, should be imperceptible or invisible.
Consequently, I need a COVER as well as a MOTIVATION for my hand to go near the top coat
pocket. Decisions, decisions! I decide to use the towel, but a medium-sized one that would
provide adequate cover. As for the
motivation, it would be during an almost shoulder-high display of an object that I would
have previously produced from the towel. Most spectators would be in a STATE OF RELAXATION
after witnessing a magical climax such as the magical production of an object.
Looking at my list of principal objects, I select the toothbrush. Well, how do I produce
the toothbrush from the towel?
From reading and experience, I know that 99.99% of PRODUCTION EFFECTS involve FOUR MAIN
STEPS:
(i) Placing (preparing) an object, animal, or a plant or person beforehand in a SECRET
COMPARTMENT OR PLACE.
(ii) STEALING or getting hold of the object, animal, plant, or person (UNDER PHYSICAL
AND/OR PSYCHOLOGICAL COVER) from the secret compartment or place.
(iii) SECRETLY TRANSPORTING (under cover) the "stolen" object, animal, plant, or
person to PLACE OF REVELATION.
(iv) REVEALING the "stolen" object, animal, plant, or person preferably with
panache or a "magician's" flourish.
For the toothbrush, I decide to use my SLEEVES as a secret compartment; this suggests
loading my coat sleeve before the performance. There are other methods for producing a
toothbrush such as using a Drawer-Box but I prefer "down-loading" the toothbrush
from my sleeve; the effect looks more magical to me. To be safe, more mysterious as well
as to amplify the subtext of "production of objects from a towel", I would
produce the toothbrush from the towel rather than "openly" at the fingertips.
So far, so good! Originally, I wanted one novel magical effect. I seem to getting more
than I had anticipated. But now I have difficulty in finding a method of production for
the bath soap. I scan several SLEIGHTS/MOVES, GIMMICKED APPARATUS, UTILITY GIMMICKS and
OTHER PRINCIPLES in my head. To "CANCEL METHODS" as well as to provide VARIETY,
I go for a gimmicked apparatus; I choose a CHANGE BAG. I feel that a magician's change bag
would
be OUT OF CHARACTER, so I think of a "MORE NATURAL" prop: a TOILET BAG! Good,
Good! I'll make the change bag look like a male toilet bag. Maybe, I'll consult a
seamstress or magic dealer/constructor to prepare such a toilet (change) bag with a secret
compartment. I could show empty the inside of the "toilet bag" and later produce
a bar of soap from it. To add mystery as well as to protect the change bag from soap
perfume, I'll put the bar of soap in a soap container. Well, that's it! Not really. I
almost forgot an important aspect!
-----------
Part III
-----------
The magical effects seem to have a will of their own; they'd like to tell a story. Think
about it: producing a toothpaste from a towel, toothbrush from same towel, and bath soap
from a "toilet bag"! My left-brain, the bossy Judge says, "That's not
logical!" So, I re-arrange the effects so that my sequence of effects or routine is
now: toothbrush from towel, toothpaste from towel, and bath soap from "toilet
bag!" I hear my left-brain saying again, "Why not take the toothbrush and
toothpaste from the toilet bag?" To this my right-brain, the Dreamer, displays a
large cartoon saying, "Anything is possible. This is magic!" On a serious note,
there is an anomaly. My current idea about resolving this anomaly is to add a slant to the
CHARACTER, perhaps a confused or eccentric magician.
Somehow, something seems to be still missing. Inwardly, I feel somehow dissatisfied; the
effects seem "dry". The effects seem to suggest a theme such as washing one's
face in the morning. Ah! Now, I think of water. I look at the structure of a production
effect, i.e., "[(Novel) PRINCIPAL PROP] produced from [(Novel) ANCILLARY PROP]."
My principal prop would be
water in a glass; my ancillary prop would be my coat's sleeve. So, the problem is TO
PRODUCE A GLASS OF WATER FROM A COAT'S SLEEVE! The method? I've said enough already. But
you could think of or search for a similar effect and substitute the relevant prop for the
glass of liquid. It's not impossible!
Maybe, I got carried away by the excitement of creating. I've not explicitly touched
Module (iii), i.e., EVALUATION. Although I've isolated this module, it often occurs during
problem-solving as we filter or select methods that appeal to us. However, if there are
many variations of a particular trick, you may decide to select the "best"
method using an explicit procedure such as "scoring" using a common set of
personal criteria and giving points to each variation. The best variation could be the one
with the highest total. Of course, you could just select a trick that most appeals to you
or one that you think your audience would like best.
Module (iv) - VERIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION - is self-explanatory. It is good practice
to verify or establish the level of "originality" of your novel trick before you
publicly perform it. Otherwise, someone may slam you with "I've seen this
before!" or "It's a re-invention!". VERIFICATION is mandatory, especially
if you intend to publish a trick or routine. The
phase of IMPLEMENTATION consists of PRACTICE, REHEARSAL AND REFINING your trick to make it
meaningful, interesting, and entertaining to your audiences.
What I have described above are the "bare bones" of tricks or what I prefer to
dub as "skeletons". The above design approach largely relates to the technical
elements of tricks. It's another story finding suitable theatrical frameworks for
presenting tricks, especially as a patter-narrative or story. But with a toothbrush,
toothpaste, bath soap and water, who would have difficulty in dramatising what (s)he does
after waking up? Just imagine an alarm clock ringing loudly and irritatingly!
For the "theatre-purists", a morning gown could replace my suggested coat for
the planned performance. Wouldn't the scene be "purer", if there was a
"bathroom set" at the place of performance? Or even a bed from which the
performer would wake up?
Oh, just kidding!
Meanwhile, best wishes,
Rodney.