Locked Link

Dear Mr. Magic,
I'm thinking about getting a set of Linking Rings. I see that some are offered with a locking ring and some aren't. What should I do?

Dear Magician,
While the rest of the world may be skeptical, there's little doubt that magicians believe in miracles, particularly when it comes to buying the props they think will allow them to do the seemingly miraculous. The idea of using a locking ring in a linking ring routine is definitely in this miracle class.

Magic dealers tend to exaggerate a bit when describing ring sets with locking keys. First and foremost, a locking key ring cannot be handled by the spectators and in many cases cannot even be viewed close up without exposure. While there are more and less visible locking key rings, none are invisible.

Next, ring sets made with locking keys are very often less than serviceable when it comes to actually performing a linking ring routine. The classic example of this is a set of hollow aluminum rings with a locking key. Even when the rings are made from steel or other hard metals, since the manufacturer and the purchaser are so intent on the lock that won't been seen the rings themselves are often of odd proportions.

While some locking keys act like a revolving door, others can only be unlocked with one hand and require two hands to relock. In the midst of a proper routine one doubts the spectators will want to wait around for this.

All of the above aside, the real issue with using a locking key is that it gets in the way of performing many of the best moves and sequences that can be done with a proper set of linking rings. The traditional straight cut key ring is traditional for a reason: it is the most functional method of making apparently solid rings mysteriously link and unlink.

If you're interested in working on a ring routine, the best way to start is with a good set of rings. Once you've learned the basics and actually performed the routine in public, you can better evaluate the advantages and drawbacks of adding a locking key to the mix.

Mr. Magic personally favors semi-hollow stainless steel rings, which are quite expensive, but like a good set up cups for the Cups & Balls, pay for themselves by being dependable to manipulate, correctly proportioned in thickness and diameter, not too heavy and have a pleasant tone when struck together.

Big Vanish

Dear Mr. Magic,
I am looking for the magic plans of an illusion like Kalanag's car vanish or Sorcar's elephant vanish but in its modern version, something like when Copperfield made a plane vanish.

Dear Magician,
The vanishing car illusion you refer to is explained in many introductory magic books by Walter Gibson. It uses a rather cumbersome and suspicious looking slatted frame and a fairly enormous puff of smoke. It isn't particularly convincing and certainly nothing like Copperfield's tv plane vanish. Please keep in mind that illusions you see in person and illusions presented on television are not necessarily the same.

Perhaps the best vanish of a really large object was the elephant vanish Harry Blackstone, Jr. used on Broadway. The elephant visibly disappeared from the stage. The method harks back to theatrical principle of a scrim sometimes used in the "Nutcracker" and to making a ghost appear in "King Lear," but it was cleverly disguised with truly spectacular results. A similar effect using a Brahma bull was used on a Siegfried and Roy tv special.

Note that understanding the working of an illusion and having illusion plans are two very different things. The basic working can usually be expressed in a sentence or two. The plans for constructing an illusion are much more complicated, involving the physical materials, stage technology, decoration, lighting, choreography and the need for an illusionist to combine these elements into a moment of wonder for the spectators.

Vanishes are the most difficult of all stage illusions to present because the object obviously does not really vanish. It has to go somewhere without the spectators being aware of when, how and where it went. So there is a great deal of theater involved in a vanish and in most cases the theater is vastly more important to achieving the effect than the mechanics.

Crowd Control

Dear Mr. Magic,
How do I deal with someone in the audience shouting out how a trick is done?

Dear Magician,
One of the great rules of show business is that the audience is always right. After all, they paid to get in and therefore should be allowed to express their pleasure or displeasure as the case may be.

Despite this general rule, every performer occasionally finds her or himself in front of an audience who are nothing but trouble. Depending on the venue they can be noisy, rude or just throw things. At that point the performer has every right to wonder "What am I doing here?"

Experienced performers know how to match their venues with their talents. They don't accept dates that they can't control because they know it will be seen as their fault if the audience is unhappy. Often a bad sound system, poor lighting, other activities or insufficient production on the part of the presenter will result in horrible performing conditions. Of course the performer will take the blame for this.

There are other issues here as well. If the audience is being rude or not paying attention, the performer has to question his ability and material. After all, the audience may be right. And this of course leads us to the cold reality that "tricks" are not a magic show. If you just do a bunch of tricks for people eventually they may well start interacting by telling you how the tricks are done. If you entertain them, they won't care what tricks you do.

One thing that isn't advisable is to try to verbally wrestle with an audience member who isn't being polite. You run the risk of alienating the rest of the audience. If just one person is causing trouble, your best bet is to ignore that person and hope that the rest of audience will realize that person is ruining their enjoyment of the show and will try to shut him or her up.

Finding yourself in these situations is part of becoming a professional performer. It actually is good experience, although it may not seem so at the time. It causes you to question what you're doing and how you're doing it and will eventually teach you how to command the attention of the audience so it never occurs to them that they should do anything but enjoy your performance.

Invisible Magic

Dear Mr. Magic,
What do you think the best floating trick is for performing close up?

Dear Magician,
An interesting question. After considering close up floating effects Mr. Magic would have to say there isn't one.

All the close up floating effects Mr. Magic has seen seem contrived and not very magical. This is because the effect creators started with a length of invisible thread then found something to hang on it so it would appear to be floating.

Thus we have a balled up dollar bill bouncing in space and a playing card hovering above the deck and a wine bottle cork bobbling up and down and a paper match stick hanging over a playing card back.

None of these effects are actually effects. Instead they are curiosities which have no story to tell or entertainment value. They are just fun for magicians to fiddle with and pretend they are making magic.

There are some thread motivated platform and stage effects which could be adapted to close up work using invisible thread. But this hasn't happened which confirms Mr. Magic assumption that the only people magicians fool with invisible thread are themselves.

Mr. Magic has even seen professional magicians fall into this invisible thread trap, usually with the floating bill effect. The reaction by those watch is to stare at the floating bill for a moment then walk away to look out a window to see if there's anything interesting going on with the weather.

A gimmick is not a trick or an effect or magic. It is just a gimmick which only justifies its existence when it is secretly employed to facilitate the impossible. What is almost universally lacking in the use of invisible thread is the facilitator coming up with something worthy of facilitation.

This means that Mr. Magic thinks that invisible thread is an invaluable prop still waiting for some magician to be inspired enough to use it properly. Which means a magician who comes up with the effect first, then decides invisible thread is the best way to manage it.

Manipulating

Dear Mr. Magic,
I'm about ready to add a manipulation routine to my show. Which objects do you think are the easiest to manipulate and the most magical: coins, balls, or cards?

Dear Magician,
Coins, balls, and cards are the classic choices as the objects to be manipulated in a stage sleight of hand routine. While there are certainly other objects that could be used, choosing among these three points out the various issues involved in stage manipulations for the performer and also for those watching.

The first question to be asked is can the spectators see what you're manipulating? The larger the hall, the more difficult it is for those in the back to figure out what's going on if they can't see the props. Coins suffer most in that they become practically invisible in a large room. This is why most coin manipulation routines are based on a Miser's Dream premise since the sound of the coins being dropped into a container makes up for the lack of visibility.

Cards and balls properly pointed up remain visible at greater distances although they lack the underlying charm of a magician being able to pluck something of value from thin air.

A simple multiplying billiard ball routine is probably the easiest way to add a manipulation sequence to a show. While easy is a subjective concept when it comes to manipulation, working out a basic one to four ball routine will certainly teach the performer more than he thought he needed to know about using sleight of hand and a simple gimmick to create the illusion of magic. There are also limitations as to how long the audience will watch balls multiply, vanish, and change color before they're ready to move on to the next effect.

Playing card manipulation is undoubtedly the most difficult in terms of the practice and rehearsal time required before the magician dares to add a card sequence. While acquiring this digital dexterity is the initial issue, even more important is the ability to create the illusion that the cards are appearing, multiplying, and vanishing at the finger tips.

Since card manipulations rarely depend on gimmicks, as such devices tend to hinder rather than help in this area, the entire manipulative routine relies on presentation supported by skill. A card manipulation routine can only succeed when the performer has the technical competence and presentational confidence to make what the spectators see anything but manipulation.

What's interesting about working out manipulative routines is that once you've had success with one such routine the entire process becomes easier using other objects with different sleights. This is because learning how to present a routine relying on manipulation is as important as learning how to manipulate.

Indexing

Dear Mr. Magic,
Would you please explain what a magician means when he says he uses an index?

Dear Magician,
An index is a gimmick that allows the magician to offer a spectator a number of choices and no matter what the spectator chooses the magician proves in some manner that he knew in advance what the choice would be. The gimmick used varies with the choices offered the spectator. The gimmick can be just that, a hidden device, or it can be built into a visible prop.

The card index is the most legendary magic index, although it is more talked about then actually used. It is a gimmick hidden in the costume that allows the magician to reach into a pocket and bring out the one playing card a spectator has chosen. A great deal of practice to eliminate fumbling and hesitation is required to use a card index successfully which of course eliminates those who demand instant miracles.

Several book tests, where the spectator selects a book, a page at random, and a word on that page, use an index. In this situation the index is often built into a prop. Peter Warlock's Book Of The Mind is an excellent example of this kind of indexing. The method is straight forward, requiring theatrical ability rather than finger twisting.

There are any number of effects that can be created using an index although magicians tend to favor everything but an index. As to why indexing isn't on their list of simple, straight forward methods, is difficult to understand. It is possible they think an index is too easy, or feel that they're somehow cheating.

Any effect where a spectator is given a limited number of objects to choose among can be resolved with an index. The card index requires a 52 element index. A choice of a red, green, yellow, blue, or white silk requires a 5 element index. So if the magician has five costume pockets, and five thumb tips each loaded with a silk of a specific color, he can easily produce that colored silk from nowhere. What's interesting about this as an effect is that the spectator is more likely to be concerned with how the magician knew the color rather than where the silk came from.

Another amusing example of indexing that Mr. Magic spent some time working out was a small, open top box. Mr. Magic announced that the box contained a particular fruit. He then asked a spectator to chose a pear, an apple, an orange or a lemon. Once the choice was made Mr. Magic reached into the box and removed the chosen fruit, showing the box otherwise empty in the process. This was done by building a four side / four flap handkerchief box and managing to find compressible rubber fruits. The number of choices would be increased to five if a flap was also added to the box bottom.

While indexing may not be the first thing to occurs when figuring out how to work an effect, it should always be kept in mind.

Suitcase Table

Dear Mr. Magic,
Where can I find an affordable suitcase table?

Dear Magician,
To some extent the concept of a suitcase table is a figment of the magician's imagination. The same might be said of many of those who build suitcase tables for magicians. The idea is to build a box on wheels with a handle on the top, the box unfolding to double in height so that the downstage view looks sort of like a table and the upstage view is an open area with shelves where the magician's props await their moment in the spotlight.

Having invested a substantial amount in ready made suitcase tables as well as having had a half dozen of various designs custom built, Mr. Magic has to say that finding a functional, road worthy, and reliable suitcase table is surprisingly difficult. Much of this difficulty centers on the table builder's idea of a what a light weight functional table should be since they rarely take into account that some poor magician is planning to use it but seem more concerned that it takes a good picture for their catalog.

So the magician as buyer must beware. In fact it is advisable to see the actual table before purchasing it.

Also the magician must separate fact from fantasy. Can you carry your whole show in the table? Probably not, depending on the number of props used. Can the props are set up and ready to go before you leave home? This is very unlikely since props like anything else that might go into a suitcase usually have to be packed for travel.

Then comes the weight issue. Since a suitcase table has to of fairly sturdy construction it is likely to be heavy enough so that once you add your props it will not be easy to carry any great distance. With casters it can be more of less rolled from place to place, except for the stage. Most stage floors are hardly idea for safely rolling a opened out and set up table with props onto center stage.

If there are any secrets to a prop suitcase table they would be simplicity of construction and ease of access. The construction should be as simple as possible, the fewer latches, hinges, locking supports and the like, the better. Clever is not a good word. The open back must be open with no protruding table top or other obstruction on the upstage side to ensure you won't have to get down on your hands and knees with a flashlight to find the next prop.

Finally, keep in mind that while you may be able to store quite a few props in the table if you plan to put them back in the table after you use them on stage you really won't have time to put them away neatly so the interior space must be arranged so a no longer used prop can be quickly removed from sight. Again this limits the number of props that can travel inside the suitcase when it becomes a table.

As for the cost of a table inexpensive is relative. A properly made and road worthy table is a worthwhile investment. A tricked out table that promises to do your show for you will have to be added to the cost of the next table you buy. It is usually a good idea to consider whether you really need a suitcase table and what the alternatives are. Often there are simpler, more reliable ways to display your props and have on stage table space than hoping to work off a table that folds down into a suitcase.

Staged

Dear Mr. Magic,
When doing a card trick in a stage show is it better to go down into the audience or to ask one or more spectators to come up on the stage?

Dear Magician,
This is an important question. Unfortunately far too many magicians never think to ask it.

The reason that theaters have stages is so those sitting in the audience can see the performers because the performers are on the stage. By the same logic this is why the stage is illuminated and why the seating area is not.

When a magician suddenly decides to leave the stage to wander up and down the aisles with a pack of cards in hand both the magician and the audience are literally and theatrically in the dark. Mr. Magic has seen this happen far too often. He has never seen it work to the magician's advantage. In fact it usually destroys the theater and tempo of the performance if there was one. It is however a good time for a nap.

Why a stage magician wants to loose the focus and attention of a stage performance by leaving the stage empty is difficult to comprehend. Although it does suggest that the magician is an amateur and is fated to remain so. To add further insult to the spectators, it is often evident that the magician didn't bother to check before the show as to the quickest way to get off and on the stage which sometimes results in his climbing over seats and other acrobatics.

As to inviting a flock of spectators up onto the stage there are very few performers who can pull this off. Harry Blackstone, Jr. could do it for his rope tie routine. That's about it. There are several magicians who think they can do it. The truth is they can't. Usually the magician looses control of the proceedings and the spectators on stage and off having no idea what is going on. By the time the spectators on stage get back to their seats, generally without any assistance from the magician, the show is pretty much over, no matter what the magician imagines.

Is a card trick worth this hubbub? Absolutely not. Any magician seriously aspiring to be a stage performer has to thoroughly determine and understand what the audience will see and what they won't. Without this perspective those watching will spend most of the evening wishing they'd stayed home.

Sleight Vanishing

Dear Mr. Magic,
Are sleights like the French Drop over exposed? And if so, what coin sleights could be used instead?

Dear Magician,
At this moment the population of the planet Earth is 6,801,839,065. The number of people who have ever seen a magician vanish a coin using the French Drop, or any other sleight, is significantly less than that. Those who've seen the French Drop often enough to consider it over used is therefore minimal. It isn't the particular sleight you have to worry about, but rather how you perform the sleight.

A magician intending to use sleight of hand to create an illusion must understand that the manipulation has to be reduced to an apparently natural action so that it passes unnoticed. The magician's hands are doing things before the sleight and after the sleight. The sleight itself is just another hand movement crafted so that it does not seem out of place, awkward or unusual.

Generally magicians learn sleights out of context. Magic books and videos teach thumb palms, put and takes, french drops, finger palms and the like. The magician dutifully masters these sleights by mimicking the hand and finger positions taught. Often the magician will look in a mirror to make sure the coin, ball or other object isn't seen while the sleight is in progress. Rarely does the magician look in the mirror to see if his hand movements and gestures suddenly become awkward when the sleight arrives in the progression of the effect.

Magicians who understand this and get really good at it can use any sleight without the moment of sleight execution being noticed. These magicians change sleight gestures into hand gestures. In doing this the sleight tends to disappear to the point where even other magicians watching can't quite determine what is going on.

In perfecting deception it helps to think of manipulation as acting with the hands. Just as actors in plays and movies attempt to create a believable character in part by developing mannerisms that fit the portrayal, the magician has to adjust physical actions so that false actions are not noticed.

Wands And Wizards

Dear Mr. Magic,
How is a magic wand supposed to be used by a magician during a magic show?

Dear Magician,
The scepter or staff as an emblem of power dates back to at least the ancient Egyptians. Whether magicians first started using a wand in imitation of kings and queens or whether they took it up from court jesters who brandished false scepters to amuse their royal audiences is open to question.

The traditional Western civilization magic wand, black with white end caps, seems to have been the result of the introduction of the evening clothes which are commonly referred to as top hat and tails, in fact matching the black and white of that costume. It appears that the English baron Edward Bulwer-Lytton was quite influential in both the evening costume and the wand as power symbol.

In any case by the late 1800s magicians had added a magic wand as a required prop. This isn't surprising since earlier magicians including those in other cultures were using fans, sticks and similar objects for the same reason: secretly concealing an object in hand was less obvious if that hand also held a wand, closed fan, or stick.

So the wand had a technical as well as a theatrical purpose. In the last hundred years the use of the wand has diminished along with other theatrical elements. However it remains available for use if the circumstances are appropriate.

The use of the wand during a performance has to be premeditated. There are times when wand waving or gesturing is useful to pause between the start and finish of an effect. There are other times when the magicians needs both hands to accomplish an effect. There are tricks such as the Cups & Balls when using a wand can increase the deception. The only rules in using the wand is that it probably shouldn't be used for only one trick and certainly shouldn't be used in every trick.

The use of the wand should also be integrated with other gestures of magical power: the moment of concentrated staring at an object, the passing of the hand over an object, and so forth. The wand is a prop and a premise so like the other elements in the show it must be assigned a place and its tasks decided and rehearsed.

GO AHEAD, ASK MR. MAGIC
Mister Magic sees all, hears all, can center tear with the best of them and isn't really afraid of balloon animals. He's also a really nice guy who's happy to explain the inner workings of the arcane art of magic, if you don't ask him how David Blaine does the snap change. If you've got a question you'd like Mr. Magic to ponder, transport yourself to the Mr. Magic email form.