Building Your Show

To produce a mighty book, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring volume can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it.

-Herman Melville

Are you that guy who does a trick; then does another trick, then another, then digs through his pockets (or case) and finds another and does another? Don’t be that guy. And if you’re saying “for my next trick” in your act, you need to stop now. Let’s change the above quote to fit us, shall we. It only requires that two words be changed. Change both “book” and “volume” to the word “show” and you’ve got it.

To produce a mighty show, you must choose a mighty theme. No great and enduring show can ever be written on the flea, though many there be that have tried it.

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I recently attended a Whit Haydn lecture here at our local magic club. Before I met Mr. Haydn, he and I got into a discussion on the magic cafe about our role with the audience, and their role with us. On many levels I disagreed with his perspective, and he disagreed with mine. However, the conversation was product, albeit heated occasionally, but we came out of it still respecting each other it appeared. If you’ve been reading my stuff for more than a couple of issues, you likely know that I hate close-minded thinking, and so I’m always trying to look at both perspectives.

Granted, it’s not always easy, but it is always worth it. When I met Mr. Haydn in person at the lecture, I realized how accurately he applied the principles he believed in when it came to audience response and reaction. He fooled me with simple things that I knew and have even done before. He fooled me with a false count with linking rings. He fooled me with Al Leech’s effect Chicago Opener (aka Red Hot Momma), and so much more. I was blown away by his level of critical thinking and grasp of audience management.

His lecture is one of the best ones I’ve ever been to. At the end of the lecture we briefly talked for a few moments, and I told him that he opened my mind to a few things that I was opposed to. His response was “Don’t open your mind so much that your brain falls out.” To me, that’s even further evidence of how sharp Mr. Haydn is. Even when I agree with him, he basically is saying that I shouldn’t just agree with him all “willy-nilly” as they say. Make sure I really believe it and understand it; don’t just “change sides.”

I am, of course, interpreting what he meant, but even if I’m way off, I learned a ton from his lecture, and I really enjoyed him and his magic. He is a super nice guy, and very well educated on so many levels. So to all you magicians out there who aspire to be great performers, take a page out the book of Whit Haydn by studying him and his work.

As you know, this column, Pillars of Stone is sort of the catch-all column where I (or others) can talk about things that we think are important to your growth as a magician. What’s better to your growth than studying someone who knows what he’s doing. Please do yoursefl a huge favor and study Mr. Haydn’s work.

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The post What a Character appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Can I just say, that I’m a huge fan of Harry Lorayne. I’ve been doing material from his books for years. Just to name a few:

• One-Eyed Jack Sandwich
• Any Four Of A Kind
• Magic Square (in my stand up act)
• Red & Black Fantasy
• Impromptu Out of This World
• Pseudo Memory
• Four of  Kind

On top of this, I’ve studied his memory work, particularly his book Super Memory, Super Student and Miracle Math: How to Develop a Calculator in Your Head.

Back in the day, when I trained sales people, I used Harry’s techniques to engrain portions of the computer system functionality into the brains of the sales people. Anyway, having said all that, I was extremely happy when Harry agreed to let me publish one of his effects in this month’s issue.

This effect, along with four of his books have been updated, rewritten, revised, etc into one book: Lorayne: The Classic Collection Volume I. You can get a copy directly from Harry Lorayne: harrylorayne@earthlink.net.  Shoot him an email, and let him know I told you to.

Below is the basic description and effect. Of course, for a more detailed and updated handling, etc, be sure to get your hands on a copy of Volume I mentioned above.

Effect:
An unknown, mystery card, is placed face-down between the two face-up one-eyed Jacks (Spades and Hearts). The “Jack Sandwich” is cut into the center of the deck. A card is selected and cleanly cut into the deck (one straight cut).

Then upon spreading the deck, it is found that the “mystery card” that was between the Jacks from the beginning is actually the chosen card. No duplicates, can be done with a borrowed/shuffled deck, and the selection can even be signed if you wish.

Method:
This effect is the essence of simplicity. If you can do a double undercut, you can do this effect. Here is the basic handling. Again for details, I highly recommend Lorayne: The Classic Collection Volume I.

Once you’ve removed the two Jacks, openly place any card face-down (without ever showing it) between the Jacks. Place the three-card sandwich on top of the deck with the Jacks face up. Double undercut the top jack to the bottom of the deck.

Position Check:

• Top of Deck: Face-down mystery card
• Below that: Face-up Jack
• Below that: 49 Face-down cards
• Below that (on the bottom of the deck): Face-up Jack

You can have a card selected before this point or at this point. Harry recommends that you riffle down the side of the deck with your thumb and have the spectator stick his finger in as you riffle and pull out a card. Once the card is selected and shown to everyone (including yourself if you’d like), it goes face-down on the bottom of the deck.

Position Check:

• Top of Deck: Face-down mystery card
• Below that: Face-up Jack
• Below that: 48 Face-down cards
• Below that: Face-up Jack
• Below that (on the bottom of the deck): Face-down Selection

Turn the deck face-up those showing the selection at the face. Next you will execute a cut that will sandwich the selection between the two Jacks while leaving the “mystery card” behind on the top of the deck.

Next, go get a deck and get into position. While the following move is simple, it’s a little tricky to explain in writing. The illusion is the you cut the “top” of the face-up deck to the bottom.

Essentially that is exactly what you do, except you leave the “bottom” card of the face-up deck in place, and the cut portion ends up between the mystery card and the balance of the deck. See figure 1. Note, in figure one, the grip of the left index finger as it applies pressure to the left hand’s thumb crotch to hold the deck in place.

Also in figure one, the right hand (removed for clarity) has cut off the top portion of the deck. The left hand pink pulls down the mystery card to allow the right hand’s packet to be inserted between it and the rest of the deck. See figure 2.

If you study figures one and two closely, they pretty much have all the answers to how this cut works.  If you follow the directions and the figures with deck in hand, you will see that from the top view, it really does look like you just cut the top (the face) of the deck to the bottom (back) of the deck.

Here’s the best part. At this point in the routine, from the audience’s perspective, you’ve simply cut the sandwich into the deck and then cut the selection into the deck. That’s it.

You are soooooooooo far ahead of the game. It’s all about milking at this point. The reveal is to simply turn the deck face-down; spread to face-up Jacks; show the card between them to be the selection. As always, however, remember: Astonishment over moves. I’ve only described the moves. The astonishment is up to you.

Some Points to Consider:
In your presentation, you need to somewhat justify the use of the two Jacks and the mystery card. I recommend you read what Harry has to say about that. He has a simple, yet elegant presentation that makes the routine all the more beautiful.

Secondly, don’t just spread and show the selection between the Jacks. Milk it. Build the drama; pause; extend the moment. If you don’t know how to do these things, then you haven’t been reading enough of the Roots and Branches articles. 

Credits:
In Harry’s book, he mentions that this trick was originally shown to him by Al Leech. Harry modified a couple components and “fixed” a move that he felt “looked like a move.” I assume that the effect shown by Mr. Leech was Ace Sandwich from his book Card Man Stuff.

Al’s version is a different trick in effect, and partially in method, but it’s clear that Harry’s effect is a derivative of this effect. Once Harry modified it, Fred Braue published a modified version of it in Hugard’s Magic Monthly.

Final Thoughts:
I used to do this trick about 15 years ago. Then over time it sort of vanished from my repertoire. I don’t really remember how that happened. Then I sort of forgot about it. I was recently re-reading some of my Lorayne stuff and found it highlighted in the book. I reread it and remembered how much I liked it, so it’s back in my repertoire.

I’d say over the past few weeks, I’ve done it a few dozen times, and every time it gets a great reaction. Give it a shot. It’s the perfect effect for when someone throws a deck at you, especially if you use Harry’s presentation from his book.

Enough said, if I haven’t convinced you to at least give it a try, I need a new job. Give it a try. To Quote Mr. Lorayne on the subject, “The important thing is that you should learn it and use it – it’s a great quickie.”

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