Posted by Ian on 2010-01-09
in Tricks
The proliferation of tricks that are available for magicians to buy is quite simply astounding. Indeed so much so that I’m now finding it hard to know exactly what tricks magicians are doing. We always previously had shorthand that was easy to follow: Linking Rings, Egg Bag, Chinese Sticks, Bill in Lemon etc. No doubt about what those were.
Now, however, it’s becoming much harder. Recently I did a show with a couple of other magicians and they were mentioning tricks I had no idea what they were. Dead Zone was one such. Turned out to be predicting what weapon somebody chose from a choice of three.
On the surface new tricks would seem to be a good idea – giving audiences a chance to see new effects. However there is a problem with them from the performer’s point of view. Most tend to give very little license for the magician to improvise around them. Essentially, unless you follow the instructions to the letter, the trick won’t work.
Take Dead Zone for instance. You make a prediction in advance which you pin on the front of your assistant. He is then given a box with three weapons in them – a gun, a knife and some poison. He is told to pick up one of the three and to place it in his back pocket; this is repeated with the other two, placing them in the front right and left pockets.
The performer, despite being blind folded and having his back to the spectator is able to ascertain which weapon is in which pocket. Moreover he confirms that he apparently knew from the very start where the spectator would place each item. The targeted prediction is opened to reveal that this is so.
It’s clever and well routined; and would certainly mystify 99% of those watching. But it doesn’t give you much to play around with and make your own. There is only one way of doing the trick, which means you can’t put anything of yourself into the method. And, in order for it to work, the spectator has to follow your instructions to the letter: you can’t afford to give them the chance to get confused or deliberately muck you around. Something which is especially likely if you aren’t even looking in their direction.
It’s primarily for this reason I would rather stick with the classics. Give me an egg and a bag- and a myriad ways of making the egg appear and disappear from the bag (the Egg Bag) - over three weapons in a box that can only be handled one way.
Now, however, it’s becoming much harder. Recently I did a show with a couple of other magicians and they were mentioning tricks I had no idea what they were. Dead Zone was one such. Turned out to be predicting what weapon somebody chose from a choice of three.
On the surface new tricks would seem to be a good idea – giving audiences a chance to see new effects. However there is a problem with them from the performer’s point of view. Most tend to give very little license for the magician to improvise around them. Essentially, unless you follow the instructions to the letter, the trick won’t work.
Take Dead Zone for instance. You make a prediction in advance which you pin on the front of your assistant. He is then given a box with three weapons in them – a gun, a knife and some poison. He is told to pick up one of the three and to place it in his back pocket; this is repeated with the other two, placing them in the front right and left pockets.
The performer, despite being blind folded and having his back to the spectator is able to ascertain which weapon is in which pocket. Moreover he confirms that he apparently knew from the very start where the spectator would place each item. The targeted prediction is opened to reveal that this is so.
It’s clever and well routined; and would certainly mystify 99% of those watching. But it doesn’t give you much to play around with and make your own. There is only one way of doing the trick, which means you can’t put anything of yourself into the method. And, in order for it to work, the spectator has to follow your instructions to the letter: you can’t afford to give them the chance to get confused or deliberately muck you around. Something which is especially likely if you aren’t even looking in their direction.
It’s primarily for this reason I would rather stick with the classics. Give me an egg and a bag- and a myriad ways of making the egg appear and disappear from the bag (the Egg Bag) - over three weapons in a box that can only be handled one way.
