Gerald Wincklhofer
gerry@nexxus.novasys.com
Change the circumstances and it becomes a different story. If, for example, you use a coin and a cup and the French Drop you may construct half of a small routine. (Digression: If you are right handed, display the coin in your left hand and visa-versa for lefties. This is because, as has been pointed out, if you have a coin in the dominate hand your would use this hand to place the coin in the non dominate hand; but if you have the coin in the non dominate hand you more than likely will use the dominate hand to pick up the coin) Right handed: Display the coin in the right hand, Cup is to your right. "I am going to take this coin." (take it in the right hand) "And put it into this cup." (Drop the coin into the cup.) "As you see this is very simple." (Use the right hand to empty the coin into the left hand.) "All I am going to do is.... (repeat the whole bit.)" The second time as you empty the coin into the left hand say, "I will make it a bit more difficult. (turn the cup over.) I am now going to drop the coin into the cup through the cup. I will take the coin (feign taking the coin) and...Hold it. Check under the cup to see that I haven't cheated...Good You'd better watch the cup though you can never tell with me. I take the coin (French Drop, Move right hand over the bottom up cup as you roll over the left hand lapping the coin {This requires the audience to follow three things 1. the cup 2 the right hand 3 the left hand.} If you follow the action with your body (nothing more than physically following where the coin should be) all eyes should be either on the cup or on your right hand. Grind the coin out of the right hand, show the left hand empty, sit back in rest position and retreive the lapped coin in the left hand. "Please turn the cup over." As this is being done, Imp Pass the coin to classic palm in the right hand. "What do you mean it's gone? I've never hand that happen before." Point to the spot with your right hand. Rub the spot. Pick up the cup with the left hand. "It's not in the cup." (If I have to tell you to look in the cup quit now.) Take the cup with the right hand. "It's not in this hand" Looking into the left hand while dropping the coin from classic palm to the table and covering the coin by pulling the cup back. (This is done while looking at the left hand, not at the cup. Directing attention to the left hand.) "Or in this hand" displaying the now empty right hand. (You are now home free.) "It must have gotten stuck in transit. Tap the cup. Did you hear anything? No I guess not. Try again. Pick the cup up and see if the coin arrived."
Analysis: We started with a French Drop. To take the heat off, we repeated the action twice before doing the sleight. We gave a reason not to watch the hands (Or course you will have Hawkeyes watching your hands at all times. But you burn them twice by not doing the drop. If all movements are the same they're not sure what is happening the third time.{Digression: This is why the guys at the club always say "get on with the thing"} They tire of watching. The turning of the cup gives you a new hitch. Attention strays a bit, you do the drop. The rest simply satisfies "If it disappeared, where is it?" Plus having them tap the cup twice brings up the possiblity of a gimmicked cup.
The only time I thought that magic was simple or just getting the right sleight was for two weeks when I first began.
I took out my triple fold black close up pad. (A large piece of good felt folded 3 times and stiched at the sides. Ran a needle through about 2" to the left of center. Left an invisable thread sticking out. Ran a needle through about 2" to the right of center. Left an invisable thread sticking out. Moved the turtle to the Left side of the mat. Waxed the right thread to the back of the turtle. Waxed the left thread to the front right foot of the turtle. Pulling BOTH threads causes Timmy to move from left to right across the mat. When he is about 2" to the left of center I pull only the right thread and he continues. He will stop about 2" to the right of center. I now pull the left thread very gently and Timmy turns towards me. That's right, he points at me.
The Patter: "I want you to meet Timmy the Turtle." Placing him on the left hand side of the pad. "He loves to do magic and is willing to do a little magic for you. The only problem is he is very slow." I may produce a miniture deck "Timmy is only two inches long and can't handle the big cards." and have a card chosen and its name written on one of my cards. This is needed because it will be a long time before I get back to the card. I bring the card to the bottom (Double cut is simplest) and deal out about six cards across the top of the mat, bottom dealing the one which will fall about two inches right of center. "O'kay Timmy, up and at 'em!" I watch and finally say, "While we're waiting for Timmy to move I would like to show you this. And I do say Mike's Ace Through the Handkerechief. While they're unfolding the handkerchief to find the card I will give the threads a little tug. Timmy will move, I will not notice. I will however do three or four more tricks, moving Timmy only at the climax. If someone does notice that he is moving I will say, "He isn't ready yet he hasn't signaled me."
At the end of the performance I'll pull the left thread and have him point at the card. "There it is. That's the signal. What is the name of the card you wrote on my card?" I will pull the threads tight. "Please turn the card Timmy is pointing to." I may now either pull the thread through the mat or Keep the threads tight and remove Timmy from the mat breaking the wax bond. Next I would draw a four line picture of Timmy on the card and say, "Timmy wants you to have this."
Hope you fool around with this. It looks like a keeper.
Method: (from I believe MUM) Lick a finger on your right hand, slide it down
your left palm and place the pen on this small bit of saliva. The pen will
adhere.
So much for the "How its done" crowd.
The Effect: Establish your credibility, establish the reason the effect will
work and do the effect.
This is how I do the above. "I am a magician. I do tricks and the like, but
my main interest is in real magic. The power of the mind over gravity,
levetation if you wish has always intrigued me. May I borrow your pen for a
moment. If I place the pen on my palm it falls. You see the energy we call
gravity pulls it down. If there were to be an opposite energy to neutralize
this gravitational force the pen would stay. Now I have found that if I hold
the pen on my palm and concentrate....Whoa, the pen will stay as long as I
can concentrate. Let me try that again. Good. Your pen sir. My hands.
I'll be honest, if you try it, you may succeed. It took me fifty times to
succced, but I know why. The effect requires a lot of brain power.
Since the whole trick is a wet palm the chances of their success at this is
great. Yet if they succeed it is not the wet palm but their ability to
concentrate.
I prefer this approach to the, "Look what I can do!" approach of many.