Magicians Talk Shop!

2008! Is this your year for magic? There are 3 types of people who perform magic and magic tricks. Those who do magic for recreation, either for their friends, family, or social gathering. There are those who learn magic in the hopes that they will one day have a show put together. And there are those who actually have material ready and perform ‘gigs’, actual venues where a ‘magician’ is the form of entertainment. Many of you will find yourself in one, two, or all three of these categories! Am I leaving anyone out?

My challenge is for anyone reading, no matter which category you fit into, to take a moment to evaluate where you are in magic and what magic can do for you this year. The best way to do this is by setting some goals! A Harvard study followed the progress of students who had written out their goals while still in college. Years later, those students were found to be more satisfied with their lives and more successful than those who had not put their goals down. So, to make the most out of the magic in your life, put your aspirations to paper!

First, be specific with your goals, and include a time frame. Really think about what you want to get out of performing and learning magic. Why do you do it? Why does your audience enjoy it? How can you improve it? Perhaps more practice, new material, or more performances. Whatever it is, write it down! Also write down your time frame. Do you want to learn one new trick each month? Perform one more time each month? Or practice a certain amount of time each week. Give yourself realistic time frames to keep your goals manageable. Plus, these time frames are great checkpoints for tracking your progress.

Next, write out three things you can do to reach each goal. Figure out what it’s going to take financially, actively, and motivationally to make things happen! This part is flexible, but writing down three things is the perfect way to get your brain moving in the right direction. Every time you read over this list, these three things will activate your brain into the same thought process you had when you wrote it down the first time. Once activated, your brain will be able to add, detract and modify what it takes to reach your goals based upon the information it’s gathered since the time you first wrote these down. Your brain is always brainstorming for you!

Finally, evaluate your progress. Keep a copy in your close-up case, or wherever you will come across each time you delve into your magic. Even if you’re not following it word for word, it will serve as a friendly reminder of why you enjoy magic and what it can do for you. Your hobby or profession, whichever it may be, is guaranteed to be more fulfilling by taking the extra hour it may take to write this stuff down! So, get to it!

Okay, here is the solution to the card problem posed in Mind Games Nov 27th below.

Begin by removing all 12 court cards then set the balance of the pack in strict Red/Black rotation. Now insert the 12 court cards into the pack at random positions. These 12 cards will in no way interfere with the Red/Black sequence because if you look back at the problem posed, you will see that the court cards are actually removed from the dealt packet. Another way of looking at it is to think of the court cards as blanks, or better still, ‘nothings’- they don’t exist. If you were now to shuffle the pack and then cut so that the top and bottom cards are the same color - you will find that the sequence is undisturbed, as each pair of cards will be red and black. So the solution to my problem is this:

With the pack set as above, have it cut, shuffled and cut by a spectator. Take the pack and spread to show the mix - noting if top and bottom cards are of the same color- if not, cut between any two which will bring the position about (Tom Ransom ruse). Remember that the court cards DO NOT exist, so the top and bottom cards may well be correct, so look again. Hand the pack back to the spectator and have him deal cards face down onto the table and stop at any time. Mentally count the cards as he deals. When he stops, take the balance and place it to one side, glimpsing the color of the top card. (See End Note)

So you are remembering two things - a number and a color. Let’s assume that he dealt 18 cards and the glimpsed color is RED.

He now removes any court cards that are in the packet. Say he removes three. It is only now that the court cards come into existence The first thing you do is deduct this figure from the total of 18 to give you 15. As this is an odd figure you have to use the glimpsed color - RED. Because of the principle, you know that each pair is Red/Black, therefore the first SEVEN pairs = 14 in all MUST consist of 7 REDS and 7 BLACKS. The eighth pair has been split with the upper card having been dealt and the second card of the pair being the one left on top of the pack - the one you glimpsed. You know that it is RED therefore there must be an extra BLACK in the packet dealt. So there are EIGHT Blacks and only SEVEN Reds. If the total after you deduct the number of court cards is an EVEN number, then you forget the glimpsed card, and simply divide the total by two, because there MUST be an equal number of Reds and Blacks. And that’s it.

End Note:  There is a possibility that when you make your glimpse that the top card is a court card. To assist in avoiding this, you can Double-cut the top card to the bottom and glimpse it. If it’s a court card, ignore it and glimpse the top card. This second glimpse – if needed – can be done while the spectator is removing the court courts from his packet.

First, the disclaimer: I am only writing this because I just saw something that made me think of magic, and the performance thereof. And I’ll try to explain it so that you understand what goes on in my head…

Over the past week I have been listening to all of the radio stations and television stations as their sponsors and advertisers try to cash in on the Christmas rush, and the season in general, trying to get Joe Public to spend more and more. Ah, the joys of “the system”! <grin> But I also hear the charities pulling on the heartstrings of everyone, as they try to get money for what would be wothy causes: feeding the homeless, medication for children, coats for kids, as well as many others. And I thought: can we, as a magic community, get together and offer a service to help out?

Then the dark side of my mind popped up and asked “Why?” And so I spent a long time sitting in front of my computer rationalizing the difference between helping now, and helping always. And here’s what I came up with…

As a magician I should decide what I want to do with my magic. I should know whether I am building my own ego in showing that I can do amazing things, or whether I am using magic to get my auidence to laugh, or to challenge them to figure it out, or to get them to play along…but this knowledge of self should be apparent to me all the time. You see where I am going with this, right? How can I justify charging more money at Christmas (as many do), simply because it is Christmas? How do I rationalize that I am worth more because more people want me right now? After all, I am offering the same thing today as I was offering six months ago. So why does it cost more?

Some will say “supply and demand”. And, in a way, they’d be right. But to me, if I am offering the same show in June as I am in December, then they should pay the same amount, because what they’re getting is the same. Granted, I *am* working more, because of the many gatherings and parties, but the scheduling is my concern, not theirs. I talked with one fellow who said that he blew off one gig (because of the lower fee) and took a higher-paid one, and then added in the cost of losing the other gig on top of the amount he was asking! Because of his Christmas spirit?

I try to be a good performer all year ’round, not just when the busy season strikes. As I’m sure you do too. And I offer my show to whomever can afford it, knowing that (even though) I might need more money at this time of year (due to presents, food, expenses, etc.). It’s sort of like giving to charity in March, not *just* December. I try to be a “good guy” all year long…

If you know of someone who increases their fees at this time of year, ask yourself why they would do that. Or, simply ask them, and see how their answer sits with you. I  won’t be dressed in a Santa suit in August doing spongeball moves, but I know that whenever I do them my audience will have a good time.

So for me it’s Christmas time, all year long. And that’s the magic of the season!

What are your thoughts?

What, exactly, is originality? Does someone “out there” have a real-world definition, other than what is found in the dictionary? I ask, because I see conflicts between intelligent people in our industry who are arguing over what I consider to be insignificant points.

Now, I am going to throw a stone here, and I do not want anyone to be offended; after all, this is only my opinion, right?

Follow along with this exercise: it is Thursday afternoon, and yu go into the local car dealership to buy a new car. After filling out the forms and signing all of the paperwork, including giving them the $2000 downpayment, they tell you that your car will be delivered to your doorstep on Saturday. So, you go home and wait…

Friday Night rolls around, and with a great deal of anticipation, you allow yourself to fall into a nervous sleep, because you cannot wait for the morning to come. And when it does arrive, you jump out of bed, and rush to the driveway to see - the body of a car, with a note that says “For you to actually drive this car, please go out and buy a set of tires. you might also need to get windshield wipers. Oh, and for your comfort, may we suggest a car seat or two?”

Easily, you would feel like you were cheated. But how does this relate to magic in general, and mentalism specifically? Well, as I went to the mailbox this last week I found my most recently ordered DVD waiting for me. Now, Oz is a good performer, but I believed that I was buying something new, not just a sample of routines using methods that I already had at my disposal. And, what makes it hurt even more, the fact that the routines that involved a Center Tear suggest that I use a CT of my own choosing, or perhaps get one by (insert famous author here). The routine that uses a wallet suggests a commonly available wallet that Oz states he sells when he lectures (call you say “kickback”?). And so on…

Now, I understand that there really is no such thing as a “new”idea, and that everything (especially in mentalism) is built upon those greats that went before us. And, I really do appreciate the concept of capitalism, and the ability for me to earn a living, and charge what I want. But selling me a routine, and then telling me to shell out more money for the props would be like buying a magic props that had parts missing. When you buy your zig-zag illusion, it is understood that the blades are included, and the only part I have to supply is the ‘bendy’ assistant. But imagine buying one, only to find out that you had to install wheels (to roll it onstage), you had to cut your own doors in it, you had to install your own fabric, put on your own hinges…you get the idea.

If you offer to sell something that includes someone else’s material, you need their permission before you offer it up to the shopping block. Or, if you don’t have their permission, then you wait ’till you get it, or you simply don’t sell it. But please, don’t say you are going to give me a great thing, and expect that I either already have everything else I need, or assume that I have access to the bits and pieces that weren’t included. It’s just not fair.

Now, if he’s concerned about exposing amethod of someone else’s, then he shouldn’t offer it in the first place.I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, on the issue of exposure. For example, here I am, writing a series of thoughts (my own, as far as I know, unless credited appropriately) about a secret society - magicians and their ilk - whose basic tenet is “Don’t tell!”, and yet I am supposed to be able to, or perhaps have the freedom to, describe, illustrate, or, simply, tell about, a technique, a prop, a method, and perhaps even a performance of, a trick. Any trick.But there’s the rub: somewhere, someone is looking over the ‘net, searching for someone who inadvertently (or, advertantly) uses their words, their description, their idea, within the context of a forum, a chat room, a discussion, and without knowing has stepped on some toes (have I used enough commas yet?).

Well, I’ve rather busy lately and have not had the time to contribute to the blog. Time to remedy that. Some years ago I wrote a column for a close-up magazine called Profile. The column covered several of the mathematical principles in card magic, such as: Gilbreath, Free-cut etc. At the end of each column I posed a card problem where the solution used the principle discussed in the column. So I thought it might be fun to resurrect these problems here, from time to time. The only clue I will give is the principle required to make it work. To kick this off, we start with the Gilbreath Principle. The following effect uses the Gilbreath Principle.

Note: this, and the other problems that may appear here were never intended to be performance tricks. Rather, they were created and offered as mind-exercises, or puzzles to be solved by magicians. Also - if you can solve the problem it also indicates that you understand the underlying principle. I am amazed by the number of magicians who perform mathematical card tricks and are just as baffled by them as their audiences! What if they drop some cards, or one gets out of order? How do they fix it if you don’t know how the trick works? Scary, uh? Okay….on to…

Problem # 1

A full 52 pack is given to a spectator for cutting, shuffling and cutting. The pack is seen to be thoroughly mixed. He now deals a pile of cards face down onto the table and stops anywhere. The balance is placed aside He now looks through the cards and removes & discards any court cards that are in the packet without their faces being seen by you. You now immediately tell him how many RED cards he holds. Remember, this uses ONLY the Gilbreath Principle. So there you are, I’ve just told you how it’s done!

Email me your solution: magic@peterduffie.com. The first correct explanation will receive an e-book of the aforementioned six-part column entitled “Principles & Deceptions.” And, yes, I stole the title from Arthur Buckley!

I will post the solution here before the holidays!

Peter

NUMBER FIVE

NUMBER FOUR

NUMBER THREE

NUMBER TWO

I had been working in a restaurant for eight months, table-hopping twice weekly, and in my off-time, sitting at home, or on the bus, or in the bath tub, or watching tv with the volume off, or anywhere I could, practicing my sleights. In this particular case, I had been working on my pass. I knew that there were three of four versions of the pass, and I wanted a certain flexibility to be able to choose which one to use in any given situation. So, practice, practice, practice. The next night at the restaurant, I went into my favorite “pick-a-card” routine… the selection was returned to the deck, and BAM!, passed to the top. When I turned over their selection, they were not gob-smacked, as I expected them to be. So, I did it again, knowing that this time they would revel in my technical expertise. Same outcome. Ok, once more. Nothing. Later that evening, while I was trying to piece together why my audience didn’t go nuts over my amazing pass ability it struck me, and struck me hard, in a number of ways: they didn’t appreciate the long hours of work I had put in because they didn’t see the pass in the first place. Duh! All they saw was a pompous magician doing the same boring trick over and over, not knowing that they were supposed to say “Wow, what a great pass!”, for no other reason than to build my insecure personality and tell me that I had succeeded in doing something right.

That lesson changed the way I did magic, right there. I stopped worrying about methods, and started worrying about my audience, and their perceptions of what I had done. After all, they are the singularly most important facet of a performance art, regardless of what that art is.

Without an audience, you are not a performer, you are an insecure, power-hungry show off, doing nothing but performing for yourself. So consider what they see, what they think, what they talk about after you’ve left, and make sure that these things are what you want them to be. This is how you create the legend of the great performer…

Greetings, one and all. I am a mentalist. That means, I use your mind. Both in performance, and the dissection and analysis of our performances. You’ll notice that I switch from first person perspective to an all-encompassing viewpoint. This is because I like to include myself in some of the things I rant about; in others (like when I am slinging mud and flash paper) I will stand back a bit… As well, you’ll get used to the disjointed feeling of the way I write; that is, I have a tendency to bounce around a bit. I often do this in my performances as well, usually coming to an easily understandable conclusion at the end.

I bring this up so that you, dear reader, understand a few basic rules: a), this is just an opinion, and means nothing, unless you agree, in which case it is law. <grin> b), everything that is written is based on my personal experiences, and since I’ve only had two experiences in total(!), I’ll be repeating myself often. c), this whole idea is to get you to expand, or amend, or completely change your way of thinking/performing, and will only work if you actually pay attention and try some of the things that are suggested here. d), this, as is my act, is an interactive experience, so if you don’t play, you won’t get as much out of it as you would if you joined in.

As a mentalist I require my audience to actively take part in my performance, and not just sit there and watch me show off with my props on stage. Those who simply sit and watch get to see a show, but those who play along get to have a different kind of experience. So you are encouraged to submit your thoughts and opinions, questions, references, and any information that will make this whole experience a better one, both for you and I.

DISCLAIMER: I am not gender biased in any way, but most of the references to a volunteer in magic makes the volunteer male. I, personally, don’t care whether I am performing for men or women, but I *will* make a specific mention of gender if the effect I am describing, either from the performers’ or the audiences’ perspective, requires, OR PLAYS BETTER TO, a specific gender. And, I have a tendency to use certain words that have double meanings; I am sure that my use of said words will be clear, but just for the record I mean no harm, disrespect or embarrassment to anyone…I use words to create an understanding in those who read them, and if using a word causes you to understand a perspective, then I have succeeded. AND, I am not going to spend a lot of time discussing methods. First, I don’t like the thought of being sued by someone I haven’t met, because I used a description of a word that he or she used thirty years ago in a secret document that was only given out to a certain few…you get the idea. I will allude to basic techniques that we should all know. If you *don’t* know what I am talking about, you can email me, and I can always give you a direction on how to get more information.

Now, I started as a magician, doing kids’ shows,and gravitating to close up in restaurants and private parties. I spent hours working on sleights, developing dozens of ways to do the same thing, and spent my hours showing off at the local gathering of magicians-just-like-me group. I made friends in the industry, and my opinionated point-of-view made me a few enemies, too. I have grown up a lot, and changed my perspective about magic, about mentalism, hypnosis, psychic readings, music, theater, and performing in general. And you’ll see my POV as we get to know one another, and we speak to each other. Are you getting the subtle hints to join in and play along? First, someone much smarter than I once said that the main difference between magicians and mentalists is that magicians perform to, or at, their audience, and mentalists perform for, or with theirs. This was amended (over a few drinks at the local club meeting) into something along the lines of “Magicians are so self-important, that they are doing nothing but showing off how “cool” they are by getting up in front of their audience and saying ‘Look at me, and look how good I am, and look at what I can do’”. I bring this up, and explain with a story in my next post!

I’ve been thinking about the concept of perception. In particular; where the audience see one thing, while an assisting spectator sees something different. In some cases, the assistant “knows” what happened - in other cases he doesn’t, yet his perception of what happened still differs from the rest of the audience.

One example of the former is the old blank deck force. You turn to a spectator on your far right, giving him a secret wink (that only he sees) so he knows that he is about to be taken into your confidence in some way. You then make a reverse fan so that the deck appears to be blank, apart from the face card, as you say, “Just think of any card you see.” Assuming you have made a good choice of spectator, etc., he will play along and think of the only card he CAN see - the face card. The audience assume he can see all 52 cards and a miracle can be performed.

So, in the above example, the spectator is “in the know.” He could blow your effect wide open at any time. Most will not (though many will later while chatting to friends).

However, it is the latter example that I have been thinking about recently. In this, the spectator is aware that what you are telling the rest of the audience is not true, but he still has no idea how the trick was accomplished - despite being aware of something that the others are not. Here is an example that I have yet to try out in front of an audience, but I think this will play well:

For this you need a Koornwinder Kar, or another variant of same. I use Morlas Car, the crystal clear model. Go here for another version you can buy right away!

In brief: you remove about 10 cards from your deck and place the rest of the deck aside. Have a lady pick one of the 10 cards and remember it. Have it replaced among the other 9 cards and then control the selection to top or bottom. Bring out the car and have it examined by a gentleman. Lay the 10 cards in a long line on the table - placing the cards end on end like dominoes. Do this in a random fashion and position the selection near the middle of the line. Take the car and explain that the lady (spectator who chose the card) will try to make the man stop the car on the card she is thinking of. As you are talking, set the car at the end of the row nearest the man. Demonstrate how he is to push the car along, etc. Now look at the lady and say, “I want you to try to make him stop the car using your female intuition.”

Now look back at the man and tell him to start to slowly push the car along the row of cards. AS HE STARTS DOING SO (and not before), say, “When you feel a psychic impulse, STOP the car.”

The timing of the words is all important here; if you say the foregoing too soon, he may well stop pushing the car voluntarily and fall short of reaching the card. Timed correctly, he will be nearing the stop-point before you finish giving the instruction. So, the car will brake and bring him to halt - involuntarily! At which point, you loudly say, “There?” But do not wait for a reply. Instead, you immediately look towards the lady, saying, “Is this where you think your card lies?…..hmmm….well, let’s see if you’re woman’s intuition was correct.” Ask her to name her card, then flip over the card revealing it to be her selection. Once the applause subsides, say to the woman, “Well done”" and then turn to the man and say, “That was fantastic…I bet you didn’t realise you were psychic?”

So, back to perception. In the above, the audience thinks the man stopped the car. In fact, the car stopped the man. While the man will know that the car suddenly braked at the chosen card, he will have no idea why and will accept this as part of the paranormal effect that you are presenting.

One other thing - after the effect is over I suspect that the only person who will be remotely interested in examining the car will be the man. All other spectators, assuming that the man stopped the car under his own volition, will treat the car for what it purports to be: an innocent toy.

PS: There is some controversy over the sale of the various cars as Koornwinder has never given permission for copies to be manufactured. Maybe another discussion for the future. However, the Morlas Car that I have does one thing that the Koornwinder Kar does not, and that is; once the car brakes to a halt, no amount of pushing will make the wheels move. With the Koornwinder Kar, if a spectator pushes firmly, the car will continue to move forward despite the halt mechanism engaging.

Nobody told me, as I settled deeper and deeper into magic, first as hobby and then as a working close up magician, that I’d signed up for an eternal quest; the quest that is the constant search to find “The Trick.” The one that shows your wide eyed group of anticipating public, once and for all, that they were right to book you and you are indeed something special.

And so I eagerly trawl through internet sites, magic magazines and endless teach in DVD’s, waiting for it to jump out. Oh, I’ll always perform my “standards,” my own polished classic routines which I know get a great reaction - but that’s not enough. No. I’m a close up magician.

I need the next big thing. And you know what? I’ve found it! Yip, that’s right. I’ve actually found it… hundreds of times. And each time, it was indeed just as I thought, THE one to end all others. “I hope nobody else is doing this around here”. And so as I bathe in the warm feeling of having found the Holy Grail, I start to look for another one. It just continues. But why? It doesn’t make any sense! Or does it? Actually, it does. Perfect sense. First, the Blaine-esque reaction I am looking for never quite materializes as I think it should. Yes, it often gets a nice reaction, but hey I paid $200 for this shock generator card thru body coin in wall swami gimmick and these people still think I’m human.