paul harris Archives - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

The Art of Astonishment

Jeff Stone — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 07:03:55 +0000

A Letter to My Clients

As an event entertainer who uses magic as part of my act, I’m often asked the question, “What is Magic?” or “Is Magic Real?” The answer to the latter lies in the answer to the former.

One of the magicians I’ve studied is someone that most non-magicians have never heard of, Paul Harris. For magicians, he is one of the ultimate creators and teachers. His thinking on magic and what he calls The Art of Astonishment revolutionized my (and many other magician’s) thinking about what I do.

Simply put, the ultimate goal of a performance is to create moments of astonishment. Whether I’m on a stage in front of thousands of people or I’m at your table with 3 or 4 others at a banquet, my goal is to create a moment of astonishment.

Notice I didn’t say that my goal is to “Astonish You,” but rather, “Create Moments of Astonishment.” Those are moments that you (the audience) and I (the performer) should share. It’s a moment where you feel wonder and awe, where you feel like a child again, where you feel magic.

When I say “feel magic,” I don’t mean Harry Potter style magic as in magical powers. I mean magic as in the laughter of a child or the majesty of this beautiful planet we call home. It’s a feeling that makes us feel young again when life was much more mysterious to us.

By now, we’ve all pretty much figured it out and a lot of the “magic” is gone. So is magic real? Yes. To me, magic is a feeling that is created by many, many wonderful things in life. One of those wonderful things, if I do my job right, is my presentation; at least that’s what I hope. I approach astonishment, and occasionally I hit it. I should say we hit it.

If I’ve done my job right, you (the audience) are less interested in how the “trick” “works” and more interested in savoring the moment of astonishment. Once you (or I) start to focus on the “how” of a “trick” the “magic” is gone; the feeling of astonishment fades.

My job as a performer is to focus on you and my presentation more and the “trick” less. Your job as an audience is to focus on the presentation more and the “trick” less. Notice that both of us must focus on the “trick” less in order to create astonishment, but trust me; when it happens, it’s a thing of beauty.

So take this challenge as an audience. The next time you see a magician perform, try to connect with him/her. See if s/he is trying to connect with you. Look for the moment of astonishment; don’t kill the magical feeling by trying to “solve” it.

So “What is magic?” and “Is magic real?” Magic is Real. It’s a feeling, a feeling I often call astonishment. The “trick” as it is sometimes dismissively referred to is merely the vehicle. It is the vehicle on the road called “connection.” This road is where you (the audience) and I (the performer) connect with each other on our way to the destination . . . a place called Astonishment.

I hope to see you there soon!

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: You are on the same team as your audience. When I was actively marketing myself as a performer, the above letter was sent out to my mailing list of potential clients. It was part of a bigger effort to keep the magical moments of life at the top of the mind of my potential clients. This particular letter is very much about teaching the audience to properly play their role.

Spectators don’t necessarily know this. We’ve all met the spectator who narrates the entire trick as he tells us how everything is done. It’s not entirely his fault. He believes that his job is that of debunker. He wants to disprove any claims (outrageous or otherwise) that we as magicians make. He’s just playing the wrong role and doesn’t know it.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Educate your audience. For the next 30 days, focus on making very clear what your audience’s job is. Do this politely, of course. You can do this by openly saying this directly, or you can show them by your actions, or a combination of both. I want you to stop and figure it out on your own, but your job is to make sure that the audience knows that their job is let the feeling of astonishment happen, and then after it happens, let it wash over themselves until they’re buried neck-deep, yet comfortably. Teach your audience and your world as a performer will change.

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post The Art of Astonishment appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Stuck

Jeff Stone — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 06:07:02 +0000

Introduction:

Ah . . . the classic cards across plot. Timeless. The following idea was inspired by an old gag. You know the one.

Magician: The card disappeared from the deck . . . flew across the room . . . and landed in your pocket sir.

Sir: What!!!! No Way . . . (sir jams his hand into his pocket looking for the card . . . sir never finds it).

Magician: . . . but it didn’t stop there. I left your pocket and reappeared over here . . . (magician produces the card/coin/whatever)

I always thought it would be fun, if you were making an object magically travel invisibly, to have it get stuck somewhere along the way . . .

Effect:

The magician, while performing for a small seated crowd, gives ten cards to someone on the far left side of the room. He then gives ten cards to someone else on the far right side of the room.

Magically 3 cards vanish from the “left” person’s pile and reappear in the “right” person’s pile. However, when the person on the right counts her cards, she only has 12, not 13. The magician then “senses” that someone in the middle of the crowd between “left” and “right” should stand up. When she does, she is found to be sitting on the missing card.

Method:

If you do cards across, you probably have already figured out a method to perform the above effect. I’m not going to go into any depth regarding the cards across method. There are so many methods in print that it’s best if you do the research and find one that fits you. I personally use Paul Harris’s Las Vegas Leaper. It’s my all time favorite method for this effect.

With that behind us, let’s focus on getting the missing card under the unsuspecting spectator. It’s simple . . . just put it there when nobody’s looking. This is the kind of thing that you set up well in advance of the effect happening. Use the other spectator for an effect where you need to come out to her and stand near her. It’s a simple matter to stand beside her and place your hand (holding the deck) on the back of her chair and thumb a card off the deck and between her back and the chair’s back.

This can be done to someone between your the two people that you’re going to use for the cards across effect later, or it can be done with someone sitting next to the person who will be “receiving” the cards. It’s up to you. If you’re performing for a group of people at a table, it can be anyone else (other than the two cards across people) sitting at the table.

Also, you don’t have to load it under a person you’ve used in a previous effect. Instead, while using someone for an earlier effect, slip the card onto someone else’s chair who happens to be sitting next to or near the person you’re using in the current effect.

Further, you can just do it casually early on in the show as you’re walking out amongst the audience and not using any particular spectator for an effect. Your goal is to have the card loaded well in advance . . . long before you perform the actual cards across routine. Also keep in mind that not all venues and set ups are appropriately laid out for this to work. You’ll have to kind of get a sense, based on the venue, as to whether or not it will work in that particular staging.

Presentation:

What makes this work is how you “sell” it. During the presentation where you are making your magical gestures that represent the magical traveling of the cards, you can glance at your “middle” spectator and say something like, “did you feel the card make its way past you over to her?” Anything like that can be used to set up the ending.

Then at the end when the “right” person only has 12 cards instead of 13, you can give the “middle” person a “look.” The hope is that the audience will catch on and get ahead of you. Either way, you simply say, “you really did feel the card, didn’t you? In fact, I think it didn’t make it past you.” Then ask her to stand up to discover the card.

If you’re performing it where the “middle” person isn’t really in the middle, but next to the “right” person or just somewhere else at the table, then you can use a different “line.” This time when you’re gesturing to make the cards travel, don’t say anything to the “middle” person about feeling the card. Rather, you can act as if you stumbled or mis-fired when you make your gesture. Look at the “middle” person and say, “I almost sent the card to you.” It’ll get a laugh, and everyone will assume you’re kidding. In fact, even if you weren’t going to have the card appear there and you were just doing a standard cards across routine, this line totally works.

At the end when the 13th card is missing, act as if you maybe screwed up. Then as a joking way to get out of your mistake, look to the “middle” person and jokingly say, “maybe I did send it to you.” Let that “sit there” for a minute as an awkward I-screwed-up moment. Then politely ask her to stand up.

Another line that works at the end when the 13th card is missing is simply, “I missed. Sometimes I miss.” Then look to the “middle” person and say “maybe I ‘hit’ you?” At this point, rather than looking at the “middle” person, you can look around the room at multiple people (or everyone, depending on the size of the group) and say “did any of you end up with the missing card?” Then have someone stand up. Then another. After each sits down have another stand up until you “find” the card.

Finally, a nice touch is to be aware of what card you slipped under your “middle” victim earlier. Let’s say it’s the Two of Spades. During the presentation, later, when you are making the cards travel, on the last card, say something like ” . . . and the final card I will send you is the Two of Spades.” Then when she (the person on the right) counts the cards and finds only 12, ask her if the Two made it. When she says “no” you can start looking around the room suspiciously. As you ask people if they have the Two of Spades, the effect becomes slightly more powerful when the “middle” person shows that not only did she end up with the card, but it was the Two of Spades.

Extras:

Rather than having only one card get stuck, you can have all three get stuck. The beauty of this is that during the procedure where you are counting out the ten cards for the “right” person, you can be extra super fair because you’re not hiding any extra cards. You can really milk this and build it up that you are only giving her ten cards.

Then at the end when she still has only ten cards, you can make a joke about “maybe I shouldn’t have been so fair about how I gave you those ten cards.” Then proceed as before to find the missing cards.

Lastly, the above joke can be used as cover for a standard (non “middle” person) cards across. When everyone is laughing about the fact that there are still only ten cards you can easily load on three more if needed.

Final Thoughts:

I know that it has become “the thing to say” in magic to say “don’t overlook this just because it’s simple,” but it’s so true in this case. This is the kind of stuff that will set you apart from other performers. You’re taking a simple idea that adds a little “something” to an effect, and it becomes something more. It becomes more memorable and unique. Give it a shot. You won’t regret it.

The post Stuck appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Make Your Magic Meaningful

Jeff Stone — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 00:03:11 +0000

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.

Root:

Let’s Remember Our Roots. The Root: Structure, theme, continuity. A mighty theme doesn’t necessarily mean a “complicated” or “big” theme. It could be simple and small. For example, I’ve considered putting together a show that has the basic premise of “I’m going to disprove all of the magic cliches.” The show would then be a group of effects that prove wrong the cliches.

For example, “Don’t repeat a trick” – I would introduce the idea to the audience and explain why people say it, but then I would proceed to disprove the theory by doing a trick that repeats – such as Ambitious Card. Another cliche is that it’s “done with mirrors” or “it went up his sleeve” etc. The show would be structured to use these elements in the theme of the effect or the show.

Currently I’m building a show that has the simple premise that “things aren’t always what they seem.” It starts with some very visual magic to get their attention and it builds with several effects that all fit that theme that things aren’t always what they seem.

Years ago, I used to do a whole card set centered around the theme of “things you didn’t know playing cards could do.” It was a bit more tongue-in-cheek, but it was fun and people enjoyed it. I did an “elevator” trick by Al Leech, The Gun Trick by Ken Krenzel, Mickey Mouse Math by Paul Harris and several others. The idea was that a deck of cards could be an elevator; it could be a gun, a calculator, etc. . . .

How ’bout a poker/gambling themed show. I know that it’s been done before, but how well has it been done. What if the show at a casino style poker table from the old west and you dressed the part of an 1800’s gambler. Throughout the show you might throw in some history and even have actual paraphernalia from the period. You use 1800’s style playing cards, etc., etc.

My father, who showed me my first magic trick ever, used to travel with the carnival. That’s where he met my mother. I’ve been compiling a list of effects for several years that I think would fit the carnival theme and make for a great stage show. Someday, I’ll put it all together. The intent would be to have a biography of sorts about my father. It would be very personal and very much a way to truly connect with my audience.

Branch:

Let’s Build Our Branches. Your Challenge: Create a theme. Build a show with some meaning. Give your magic some meaning. Look at the examples above and be inspired to create your own. What’s unique about you that could be a theme for a magic show? More than ever you must internalize the Roots and Branches closing tag line:

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Make Your Magic Meaningful appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Illusion

Paul Harris — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:07:00 +0000

Note From the Editor:

This month’s effect has been generously donated by none other than Paul Harris himself . . . a true magical genius, and the guy who inspired a huge chunk of my work and really opened my eyes to what magic really is . . . a vehicle to end . . . astonishment. If you don’t already own his 3 volume set, Art of Astonishment, it’s an absolute must have. Make it your next purchase.

Today’s offering is from the The Magic of Paul Harris written by Jerry Mentzer

And so . . . ladies and gentlemen, Jeff Stone Presents . . . Paul Harris’s Illusion . . .

Effect:

A selected card instantly vanishes while trapped between two Jacks. The same card then appears face-up in the face-down deck! This is one of the strongest, most magical close-up card effects I know of. The audience sees the selected card up until the last moment and then it’s gone! There are no “excuses” or questionable actions; just a clear, piercing “Illusion.”

To Perform:

1. Place the Jack of Clubs and the Jack of Spades face-up onto the table about nine inches apart. Place the face-down deck onto the table below the two Jacks. Direct a spectator to cut the deck into two stacks. Take, with your right hand, the face-down card which the spectator cut to and show its face to the audience. Turn your head aside to reassure your audience that you didn’t get a peek at the card.

2. Place the Jack which is on your left, face-up onto the palm of your left hand. Drop the selected card face-down onto this face-up Jack. Take the remaining Jack with your right hand. As you take this Jack, extend your right hand towards the audience and give the card a snap. The instant that the hand moves forward to snap the card, the left thumb gets beneath the two cards in the left hand and flips them over. This reverses the order of the cards, putting the selected card face-up on the bottom while the Jack is now face-up on the top.

In a continuing action place the Jack from your right hand face-up onto the two cards in your left hand. To your audience you have sandwiched the selected card face-down between the two face-up Jacks. Your actual position from the top down is: face-up Jack, face-down Jack and face0up selected card. This “reversal” is a very easy thing to get away with. Do it casually and you won’t have any trouble with it.

3. Grasp the packet of three cards from above with your right hand, thumb at the back, fingers at the front with the right hand arched above the cards. Form a break between the top two cards and the bottom card with your right thumb. Slide the three cards back towards your body so that the top edges of the cards rest between your left second and third finger. You are about to “cop” the bottom card in your left hand.

4. With your right hand move the top two cards forward at the same time moving the left hand back to the edge of the table, letting the table edge conceal the exposed corner of the “copped” card. Place the two cards as three squared face-up onto the table. In a continuing action your right hand picks up the right packet from above and places these cards over the face-up card concealed in your left hand. This is done undercover of a “squaring up” motion.

5. Place the face-down packet onto the tabled face-down packet. Direct a spectator to hold his forefinger against the top of the deck.

Time out For this Station Break

Note From the Editor:

As mentioned, this effect comes from the classic Paul Harris book, The Magic of Paul Harris, written by Jerry Mentzer. It’s just a small sample of the brilliance that is Paul Harris’s mind. As many of you know, these days, Paul is focuses his energy on helping to find new young creative talent. Many of his discoveries can be found at Paul Harris Presents. Make sure you take a minute to check out the site. You’ll find a lot of great effects there.

6. The next series of action will very convincingly show two face-up Jacks and a face-down card sandwiched between them. Place the cards, still squared, into your left hand. Grip the cards from above with your right hand in Biddle grip position as your left thumb presses on the face of the top card, sliding it off and placing it still face up on the bottom of the “stack.”

Immediately turn over the two cards in your left hand and slide the top face-down card to the bottom of the stack revealing a face-up Jack. Your patter line here is, “Your card is trapped face down between the Jack of Clubs and the Jack of Spades.”

7. Next you are going to let the back ends of the two cards snap off your right thumb, sounding three distinct snaps. Here’s how. With the cards held against the left palm held in place by your left thumb, grip the cards from above with your right hand, thumb at the back, forefinger curled on the face of the top card and the remaining three fingers at the outer narrow end. Your right thumb separates the two cards at the inner end pressing firmly against both.

Your left little finger presses against the bottom right corner of the lower card. Your right thumb slowly moves up letting the bottom card snap off the left little finger. The bottom card then snaps off the thumb, and finally the right thumb snaps off the top card. To your audience it looks and sounds exactly as though you had riffled off three cards.

For the final convincer, lift up the back edge of the top card. With your right thumb and forefinger, slide our the bottom face-down card about half an inch towards yourself. Then square the cards up again. This appears as though you pinched the face-down card out from in between the two face-up cards. Your audience should now be convinced that you have, beyond a shadow of doubt, three cards.

8. Now for the “vanish,’ of the sandwiched card. Position the two cards so that they are in the classic palm position in your palm up, left hand. Place your right hand palm down directly over your left hand, trapping the cards between the two hands.

Twist the right hand to the left and the left hand to the right, each hand retaining one card, both hands being palm down. Let the two Jacks drop to the table face-up. Then slowly separate your fingers to show your hands empty.

Toss the two Jacks out for examination. You have just performed a miracle, vanishing a card under impossible test conditions. For the final climax have the spectator who had his finger on the deck this whole time spread through the cards. This reveals the selected card face-up in the face-down deck!

Monthly Prizes, Return of Scarnecky and The Loss of a Friend

Jeff Stone — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:08:16 +0000

Condolences to the Tom Loveridge Family

I’m truly saddened to announce the death of a friend and fellow magi, Tom Loveridge. Tom, a member of the IBM Ring #193 here in Salt Lake City, Utah passed away on Monday (2/6/12) on the day after his 58th birthday. He died during a routine surgery. He was just one of those downright nice guys and will be sorely missed by many. We offer our sincerest condolences to those left behind. You can read his obituary in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Scarnecky is Back!

You may remember about a year ago, Stone Cold Magic stopped carrying one of it’s best e-books, Room 538 by Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon . . .

When we dropped the product, I got some polite “hate” mail asking to bring it back. Many people expressed their disappointment that I was no longer carrying it and that it would be a while before Brad made it available again.

We retired it because at the time, Brad was planning on selling it on his site. However, over time, the focus of his site has changed, so even though I thought Room 538 would be gone forever, Brad has generously offered to let us bring it back to the Stone Cold Magic Family of products!

Because of the demand for it and because of the change in Brad’s focus on his site, we are welcoming back this smooth, serenely styled scroll with a 40% discount.

Get Room 538 Now for only $15 bucks!

This offer ends on Friday (2/17/12) at 11:58 PM PST

As always, however, don’t take my word for it.

Check out what people are saying about Scarnecky’s Super Smooth Room 538:

I envision exciting, excellent effects when employing Envisage by Brad Gordon. ‘Reveal Your Design’ is a particularly promising piece with pasteboards for psychic precognition and readings. Get this!
– Dale A. Hildebrandt

After reading through Toddler Pack, I was really exciting about your thinking behind it. I have 2 girls, a 3 year old and a 9 month old that would create a background perfect for this. Very clever thinking and such a charming, disarming premise to present this cool effect.
– Bosco L

This is great material. I really like the psychological side of what you are doing.
-Jason P

In this day and age, it’s near impossible to come up with a new idea using playing cards. Enter Brad Gordon!
– Don Theo III

Hey Mr. Scarnecky I realy love your material.
– Riley B

There is lots of (ready to drive) material here. You also have 2 or 3 things I can’t remember seeing anywhere else. Unique, a word so corrupted in our public-school culture, certainly applies (in its original dictionary meaning) to these effects. Direct and commercial.
– Kevin K “Magic Doc”

I just wanted to write and thank you for this most excellent book, I love the wallet reading idea and used it last night as it works beautifully with a routine I use with tarot cards. I love monk and found bold matches very clever too, thank you.
– Dean D

I bought Envisage for the Wallet Readings, which I think is an excellent idea! But the Toddler Pack and Reveal Your Design are also great pieces. I rarely find ONE idea in a manuscript that I will use, in Envisage I found THREE!
– Ben Salinas

Luck of Astonishment (windfall): Being an avid Paul Harris fan (I have a framed picture of him under my pillow) I really enjoyed this creative add-on from Brad. Those familiar with PH’s effect “Shape of Astonishment” will really want to try this Scarnecky variation on an audience, and that I did. I must admit, I had never tried the original PH effect, but when done with a “twist of Scarnecky” there was a delightful TANG to the effect which left a bitter-sweet taste in my wife’s mouth. Not sure about others thoughts, but there is an almost spiritual mystery about foil and imprinting objects within it.
– Kambiz

The Butterflower: Very artistic. Zen-like simplicity and beauty
– Sean Waters

Remember gang. . . this welcome back price ends next week.

Order it Now.

This offer expires on Friday (2/17/12) at 11:59 PM PST

Win Free Magic Without Buying Stuff

In an effort to further encourage participation in the Magazine, we’re implementing a brand new contest/drawing. We’ll try it out for the month of February and see how it goes. The February winner gets a Karl Fulves three pack of books:

Self-Working Mental Magic
Self-Working Coin Magic: 92 Foolproof Tricks
Self-Working Handkerchief Magic

The game is simple: post comments on the articles for this month (or any past month). For every substantive post that you make, you’re name will be entered into a drawing. At the end of the month (on 3/1/12), a drawing for the three pack of books will be held. The more comments you make (must be posted before 2/29/12 11:59 PM PST), the more chances you have to win.

The post must be meaningful and contribute to the discussion. Simple statements of agreement or disagreement will not suffice. That’s it. Good luck to all. By the way, I own my own personal copy of each of these Fulves books, and they’re excellent, particularly the Mental Magic one . . . there is a ton of stuff that you’ll use.

Good luck folks! Enjoy The February 2012 Issue of Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

The post Monthly Prizes, Return of Scarnecky and The Loss of a Friend appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Free Stuff!

Jeff Stone — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:08:55 +0000

Help Me Win a Contest Before January 20, 2012

What a headline . . . but it’s true. I entered my effect Quarter Bird into the MagicSeen magazine Master Class Contest. If you liked that effect then vote for me. Of course, to keep things fair, here are my competitors, so if you like their effects better, then vote for them:

From Magicseen Magazine Issue 42:

All the entries for the Masterclass Award 2011 have now been published and we need you, dear Readers, to help us to decide which of the contributions is worthy of receiving the framed Masterclass Award 2011 certificate and the £250 cash prize.

Below you will find listed the entries – what we would like you to do is to send your top 3 favourites, in a 1-2-3 order, via email to markleveridge@magicseen.co.uk. We will then use the votes to help us to declare the winner in the next issue. Your vote must reach us no later than Friday 20th January 2012, and there is only one vote allowed per person. So get your vote in now!

Pene-sational – Ian Adair (issue 37)

It’s Right Ear – Michael J. Fitch (issue 37)

Time Is Of The Essence – Marc Spelmann (issue 38)

Bullet Catcher – John Bannon (issue 38)

X-Change Of Mind – Mark Townsend (issue 38)

4 Coin Production – Damian Surr (issue 39)

1992 – Mike Gancia (issue 39)

A Fine Chance – Wayne Fox (issue 40)

Quarter Bird – Jeff Stone (issue 41)

Spectator-Cut Christ Aces – Paul Gordon (issue 42)

The Sugar Routine – Dave Bonsall (issue 42)

Free Copies of Magicseen magazine

If you’d like a free issue of Magicseen Magazine, email me your mailing address with the subject line of “Free Magicseen Magazine.” The first three emails will be sent a free copy, courtesy of Lybrary.com

2012 Free Tricks

What Do Max Maven, Paul Harris, David Acer, Wayne Dobson, Larry Hass, Jay Sankey and Steve Beam have in common? Answer: Every single one of them have offered a free trick of the month for the year 2012! That’s right, in upcoming issues, you’ll be learning Free magic from Paul Harris, Max Maven, and all the rest of the gang listed above! As you might have noticed already, we’ve started of January with David Acer’s effect, Ghost In The Machine.

Thank you all for your loyal readership! Enjoy January 2012

The post Free Stuff! appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Dedicated To The Art

Jeff Stone — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:04:16 +0000

What follows is a crazy idea that I’m clearly not expecting anyone to do. It’s an essay out of my upcoming book (Working Title: Brain Dump). It’s meant to be a thought exercise as is much of the material in the book. As you read the essay below, however, think of the possibilities. Think of how dedicated to your magic career are you. Are you willing to do what it takes to grow your business? Read some of the past No Stone Left Unturned Articles.

Enjoy Dedicated To The Art

When I read the Paul Harris trilogy, The Art of Astonishment, I was already very familiar with his work, his effects, etc. However, I had no idea about his thinking on the concept of astonishment, and I had no idea how much of a genius he really is. I knew he was clever, and I even knew that he was a genius, but I had no idea to what level his genius extended until I read those books.

Once I caught up with the rest of the class, I thirsted for theory essays from Paul Harris. Since pretty much all of that was published in this trilogy, I had no choice but to read the essays over and over again. There were a couple of “out there” ideas that he published as just that . . . ideas. Stuff that was never tested or stuff that was maybe even close to impossible in practice, but probable in theory. The next few essays fall into one of those categories . . . untested or merely theoretical.

Let’s start this bizarre journey with a piece I call, Dedicated to The Art.

Imagine a very young magician . . . late teens early 20s. He spends several years becoming a true student of the art. He reads the classics; he studies the masters; he performs and perfects his skill as a technician, performer, and entertainer. He reaches this point of expertise by the age of 25 let’s say.

Then he uproots himself. He moves away to another country or at the very least to another state very far away from where he currently lives. In his new state/country, he takes on a whole new identity.

Using make up, he ages himself by 30 or 40 years. So he looks like a 65 ish year old man. He spends the next 5 years making a name for himself as an entertainer in his new state. He becomes an established performer. People know him. They know his act; he’s been on TV, Radio, etc.

For the five years in his new location while he’s building his show, he never ever removes his make-up. When he goes out in public, he where’s the make-up and is always “in character.” Always. He never breaks character. He becomes a local celebrity.

Then the hype begins. He starts telling the local news and anyone who will listen that he’s discovered a principle that the ancient Hindus (or whatever) used. It’s a secret of wise men that has been lost to the ages. But this faux 70 year old (he’s been performing for 5 years since he “became” 65) has rediscovered it. He claims that it will take some time to fully crack the code and understand it, but once he does he will demonstrate it before a live audience. He spends several months “hyping” this with very little specific information.

He creates several YouTube video journals with his progress report on this new concept. Finally, after several months of building it up, he claims that he’s very close . . . maybe a month away. He’s discovered an age reversing technique. Not only does it reverse the aging process, but it happens instantly. He continues to hype and push this on the media and the news claiming that on X date, he will demonstrate it.

Finally when X date comes, he performs an effect where, right before the eyes of the audience, he goes from becoming a 70 year old man to becoming a 30 year old man. Of course the method is that he just secretly removes the make-up. How this is accomplished, I haven’t worked out yet.

One thing is sure, however. The magician can never leave the site of the audience while he is removing the make-up. He can’t go behind a curtain or do anything that would allow the audience to suspect that he switched places with another person. The kicker of course is that he never puts the make-up on again. He stays at this new young age and continues to age from there. It would be the ultimate scam that would require true dedication to the art.

Of course the hype and the build-up leading up to the main event can be whatever you want, but the key is that it has to create mystery, controversy and draw in the attention of the media and the world in general. It can be spun like a magic trick or it can be spun like science. The effect itself could happen as you go into some sort of meditative state on stage and you de-age all at once. Or you could start the show by performing the de-aging ritual, and then throughout the show, you seem to get subtly younger and younger.

There are many ways to do this that I’m sure each of you could conceive. There are many convincers you could do as well. You could submit yourself to a DNA test before and after the de-aging process to prove that no switch was made. You could do a finger print comparison, etc. The more scientific and test-condition like you make it, the more incredible the illusion will be.

Further convincers can be made by creating phony fliers and documentation of shows performed 40 years ago at theaters that don’t exist anymore. Of course these fliers and so forth would have the magician’s picture on them in full period correct garb at the appropriate age. These documents would be things that the magician collected in a scrap book or something as if it were his history and portfolio of his career.

They might even make an appearance in a news story about the magician while he’s 65 years old. This way, he’ll have documented on film pictures of what he looked like back in the 1970s when he was supposedly performing at a 30 year old. So later when he de-ages, there will be archived footage of what he looked like before he de-aged.

Of course there are many details that have to be worked out. For example, how does this 65 year old who came from nowhere get new identification, driver’s license, etc?

What about his family? In my opinion, for this to work, absolutely nobody can know the truth, so it would have to be someone who has no family, no ties to anybody. I know it’s crazy, but in theory it’s possible.

Until Next Month . . .

The post Dedicated To The Art appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Paper Balls Under The Head

Jeff Stone — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:03:59 +0000

As I’ve mentioned, I’m in the middle of a pretty huge book project containing mentalism, routine ideas, psychological points, essays on a bunch of different subjects. Below is one such short essay right from this new book.

This’ll give you a taste of some of the weird stuff I’m writing about. It definitely fits the purpose of the Roots and Branches column for sure. As you read this, look for the root and the branch or better said, look for the opportunity to improve your magic.

Paper Balls Under the Head

Another one of my all-time favorite concepts comes from new version of War of The Worlds – The one with Tom Cruise. During the behind-the-scenes interviews on the DVD, one of the producers talked about the fact that often when creating a movie, they ask the question, “What if we went the other way?” That was how they came up with the idea of having the aliens come from under the ground rather than coming from the sky. They “went the other way.”

That concept has inspired a lot of journal entries for me as well as routines, ideas and thoughts. One of my routines, Miser’s Nightmare (from Gemstones) comes directly from this line of thinking. The traditional idea, Miser’s Dream, is the old classic routine where seemingly endless coins are produced from nowhere. Ah, the dream of a miser indeed.

Well, what if I “went the other way?” The opposite of a dream is a nightmare. What would be a miser’s nightmare? All of his money disappearing. So I created a routine where I borrow four quarters, and one at a time they vanish into thin air. Some of the vanishes happen in my hand, some in the spectator’s hand and ultimately right after the final vanish, my hands are totally empty. I’m left with nothing. Ah the nightmare of a miser indeed.

This line of thinking lead me to look at other classic ideas such as the Ambitious Card. Of course the old-school presentation was about the fact that this card was very ambitious. He was a go getter; he always rose to the top of everything in life. So what if I “went the other way?” What’s the opposite of ambitious? Lazy? So what would the “Lazy Card” do? Maybe he would always sink to the bottom . . . maybe he would get lost in the shuffle (i.e. he starts on top, but magically ends up in the middle).

I never fully developed the concept. Feel free to take it run (just give me some credit if you ever publish it).

Another one I played around with was Slydini’s Paper Balls Over The Head. What if I “went the other way?” What’s the opposite of over the head? Under the head? What if, instead of throwing the balls over the head of the spectator, I threw them under his head, in his lap?

Well . . . not bad, but it would kind of be obvious to the audience. So what if I “went the other way?” What if I turned the volunteer around and put his back to the audience? Then, rather than fooling the spectator (not the audience) by secretly throwing balls over the spectator’s head to effect a vanish, you’re throwing paper balls under his head (i.e. in his lap) to fool the audience (rather than the spectator).

However, it’s still not quite there because if I’m standing in front of the spectator and apparently performing the effect for him, then the audience won’t really see much. So what if I combined the two concepts?

Then you might have something like this:

Sir thank you for joining me on stage. Please . . . take a seat here. This next effect is just for you sir. I have here a wad of paper that you just have to merely guess which hand it is in.

As you apparently place the ball into one of your hands, toss if over his head (per the Slydini original effect). Of course, he’s baffled, and the audience is laughing hysterically. Milk this until you feel like it’s time to move on.

Sir, I’m sure you’re probably a bit confused. Why are they laughing? And Why are you baffled? Well, let me show you how the effect is done.

Turn his seat around to have his back to the audience.

Here’s a back stage view.

He’ll see the balls on the floor.

Let me show you how it worked.

Then perform the effect just as before, but rather than tossing the ball over his head into the audience, toss it directly into his lap while feigning a toss over the head. Of course, the audience is expecting the ball to come flying toward them, but it never does. As you perform the effect several more times, you continue addressing the spectator as you explain to him the method of the original. It might sound like this:

So as you can see, I pretend to put a ball in my left hand like so, but in reality, I toss the ball over your head so that it lands on the stage behind you. Hence the audience’s laughter and your surprise. But now the surprise is ruined for you because you know the secret. However, the audience is now baffled because even though I tossed the balls over your head, they vanished in midair as you can see if you turn around.

He turns around and is apparently shocked at the missing balls.

The method I’ve come up with actually reminds me of Paul Harris’s suggested method for a theoretical effect, The Vanishing Man. He proposed the idea of everyone being a stooge. But there were two categories of stooges, the audience, and the “invisible” man on stage. It was dual reality to the nth degree.

Applying that to this effect and, you get an audience who thinks that the volunteer on stage is fooled by the paper balls flying over his head. He’s quite the actor. His act of astonishment gets the audience laughing. Then when you switch gears and turn him around, the acting continues. He pretends like he really thinks you throw the balls over his head even though you’re throwing them in his lap.

Of course, before he turns back around and heads back to his seat, he’ll need to stuff these paper balls into his jacket pocket, but this shouldn’t present too much of a problem because he can do it immediately after each ball is thrown. As you start to throw another one, he’s pocketing the previous one.

Once he turns around and sees that the paper balls are not behind him, he continues his snow job by showing his “genuine” surprise at the lack of balls.

Of course, you could just use a toppit or a pull or some other method of vanishing the balls during the “expose” portion of the effect. In fact, you may even be able to get away with not having your volunteer be a stooge. Rather than tossing the balls in his lap, if you use a toppit or some other method, you may be able to convince him that you threw them over his head when you really toppited them.

That line of thinking got me to wonder if you could do the original effect using a toppit or some other method. Of course in that case, there would be no part 2 expose, and the overall effect (that of a gag with the audience) would change to an effect where the audience and the volunteer have no idea what happened to the balls. Obviously this may not be as fun, funny or even entertaining as the original Slydini effect, but it is a possible effect nonetheless.

I’ve never tried any of these ideas in real life. They were just journal entries that were sparked by simply asking the question, “what if I went the other way?” The real point here isn’t that I’ve come up with a different (better or worse) version of Slydini’s effect. The point is that asking that question lead me to start thinking, brainstorming and coming up with ideas. Some ideas lead to new routines (Miser’s Nightmare). While others lead to fun discussions and possible routines ideas.

Next time you look at adding a routine to your repertoire, ask the question, “What if I went the other way?”

The post Paper Balls Under The Head appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Imprompt-true

Jeff Stone — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:45:37 +0000

Party Goer: “Hey Jeff, show us a magic trick!”

Jeff: “Oh . . . I can’t.”

Party Goer: “Why Not?”

Jeff: “Because. I don’t have my Svengali deck, my sponge balls or my thumb tip . . . duh!”

Party Goer: “Um . . . what are sponge balls? Is that anything like Tennis Elbow?”

Jeff: “Um . . . No”

Hopefully, I’m the only guy in the room who has experienced this. Unfortunately, I know that this just isn’t the case. Obviously nobody expects us to be real magicians and wield real powers. However, even an entertainer/fake magician with fake powers shouldn’t have to be in that situation. Don’t get me wrong . . . I have no problem with keeping a few things handy (thumb tip, etc.) on my person for seemingly impromptu moments. In fact, there are plenty of great tricks out there that seem impromptu to the spectator, but in reality are not – by any stretch – impromptu to the performer. I want to discuss true impromptu magic. Of course, it depends on your location. For example, if you’re at a restaurant, it’s completely legit and “imprompt-true” to use stuff from the table . . . silverware, napkins, salt shakers, etc. If you’re at the beach or a park or something, then it’s “imprompt-true” to use the sand, the grass, the rocks in the environment. I would argue that keeping a gimmick or something in your wallet is impromptu, but not imprompt-true. It’s impromptu, most of the time. However you may not always have your wallet on you. I was talking to a magic friend of mine, and he asked this question:

What if you were an actor who was an amateur magician . . . you were on David Letterman (Leno, etc.) promoting your latest movie. You weren’t there for magic . . . just your movie. But Letterman knows you’re a magician and he asks you on the spot to show him a trick. What would you do? You didn’t come prepared with anything (you weren’t expecting to perform). What do you do?

My answer was to look on his desk and try to find a rubber band or borrow a bill from him or some change and go from there. What would you do?

This question got me thinking. What is truly impromptu and what isn’t? If you have to borrow something, is it impromptu? Honestly, I don’t know if I have an answer. What I do know is that having to make sure you put that extra something in your pocket before leaving the house (e. g. thumb tip, sponge ball, etc.) is not impromptu. Having a gimmick on your key chain or having something in your wallet . . . that’ probably impromptu, maybe even imprompt-true.

Root:

Let’s remember our roots. This month’s root: Be ready to perform at a moment’s notice. The question we must all answer is what is the definition of impromptu for me (for you)? I would argue that if you’re at work (or school) and someone says, “show me a trick” and you do something – say Gregory Wilson’s Recap with a pen that was sitting on the desk, then you’ve pretty much achieved imprompt-true-ness. I think, for me that true impromptu (imprompt-true) is not being limited to your own “stuff.”

To do magic, there are always other things involved unless you do Meir Yedid’s Vanishing Finger stuff . . . or Paul Harris’s ridiculous Biological Vanish. Otherwise, you need some object to act upon whether it be a borrowed ring, coin, pen, lipstick, a wandering salamander, etc. So, my contention is that if you can perform a trick in any environment using things native to that environment, you have achieved imprompt-true-ness. The only caveat I would add is that you must be able to perform the trick without having to have brought with you anything extra.

Some examples:

Outdoors: pick up some rocks and do two-in-the-hand-one-in-the-pocket.
Beach: classic-palm vanish a sea shell
Swimming Pool: vanishing nose-plug (I’m serious)

Obviously the ultimate imprompt-true state is basically impossible (other than vanishing your own fingers as mentioned. There are other effects (e. g. Balducci Levitation) that meet the perfectness I’m theorizing about. However, were I truly a master of the unnatural and I were at a beach and someone told me to “do a trick,” I’d likely part the ocean or cause a small wind storm to blow sand all over the place. So barring real magic, I want to get as close to that illusion as possible. Let us attempt to approach a state of imprompt-true-ness.

Branch:

Let’s build our branches. For the next 30 days, I want you to consider 5 or 10 effects that you could do without having to carry anything with you. What could you do on the spot with no preparation with something in the environments you spend the most time. If you never go to the beach because you live in Montana then don’t think about the beach. Think of the places you frequent and imagine what you would do if you were put on the spot to perform an effect. This month, I reviewed Max Maven’s Nothing, Steve Gore’s Trick Photography and Paul Harris’s SuperSlim Hip Pocket Mullica Wallet. Each of those products demonstrate a different level of what I’m offering you as a challenge. The Harris/Mullica wallet is something that I carry with me everywhere I go. It has about a 25 minute show packed into it. As long as I have my wallet (which I pretty much always do), I’ve achieved a fair level of impromptu-ness.

The Nothing DVD is more about putting together a complete formal show (or at least the hypothetical challenge of it) by stopping at a drugstore on the way to the show . . . sort of. That again is a level of impromptu-ness – nowhere near the Harris/Mullica level, but still a level. Finally, the Trick Photography effect – this one can be done using 100% borrowed items as long as one of those items is an iPhone. In my opinion that’s pretty darn impromptu.

My challenge to you is to come up with at least 5 effects that you can do in an effort to approach the highest level of imprompt-true-ness. They don’t have to be effects you invent. For example, I would seriously consider the Balducci Levitation. Obviously the angles are an issue. However, this effect can be done buck naked. Based on the places you frequent and the things native to those environments, come up with those five or so effects that do not require you to have any extra stuff with you. Good luck!

Now go study the classics and go discover your true magical self.

The post Imprompt-true appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Free Paul Harris/Richard Turner Mandolin Back Bicycle Cards

Jeff Stone — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 06:16:03 +0000

Here’s your chance to get a free deck of the Paul Harris/Richard Turner Mandolin decks. I just got them in stock, and surprisingly they feel and handle quite differently . . . there’s a definite noticeable difference.

I really like them. I was able to do a Faro right out of the box. For me, that’s a miracle!

So here’s the deal, order any DVD from Stone Cold Magic and use the coupon code below. When you do, you’ll get 25% off of your order plus a Free deck of Mandolin Back Bicycle Reds (that’s the only available color for the time being)

Coupon Code: MANDOLIN25

This Coupon Code Expires Next Tuesday (8/31/10), so don’t wait!

Order Now!

Mandolin Backs Ad Copy:
Standard Bicycle playing card deck with a Brand new look from United States Playing Card Company!

Design:
Paul Harris directed the development of the new 809 Bicycle back with USPCC. Paul worked with three world class artists (including Garrett Thomas) to create a soothing traditional looking back that’s instantly trusted as part of the Bicycle family. And yes, this classic looking deck even features the trademarked Bicycle Ace of Spades, Joker and the traditional box.

Quality:
Richard Turner worked directly with USPCC manufacturing to ensure the new Bicycle 809 Mandolin has a superior cut and quality. These are exquisitely crafted decks! Once you feel these cards you will never want to put them down.

Order Now!

Check out what others are saying About SCM DVDs:

Stone Frixion Fire:

“Jeff Stone’s new ‘Frixion’ dvd features an entire world of ideas and will undoubtedly inspire many viewers to create their own exciting variations. Very fun stuff!”
– Jay Sankey

I had a chance to watch your DVD today . . . would you consider letting me write one up for Genii magazine? At the moment, I’m thinking of “Burnin’ Time.”
– David Acer (Genii Magazine)

Ive already watched the performance section and was blown away. I never realized how powerful these things can be. My head is already spinning with ideas and ways to use them.
– Brandon S.

I just got done with . . . Stone Frixion Fire. WOW! You and your cohorts are some creative guys, there are some great ideas there, it really has my wheels turning.
– Jay Best

Gemstones:

I’ve been a big Jeff Stone fan for a while now. Not only is he a good friend, he creates powerful, direct and -most of all- commercial close-up magic. I also really respect Jeff as a teacher. He really knows what he’s talking about. ‘GEMSTONES’ is the perfect opportunity to get to know Jeff and learn how his very clever mind ticks!
– Jay Sankey

Got this yesterday and took a look at it this morning. One word: COMMERCIAL! Really good stuff on here. My personal faves were Quarterback, Doctoring Daley & Safe Key Ping. All stuff I could see myself doing. Another one I like as well! When working for lay folk, I only do coin stuff that’s easy to do and easy to follow. Misrer’s Nightmare truly fits the bill. Pick it up!
– Cameron Francis

Every single trick on it is worth practicing and performing, I think my favorite effect on there is probably Quasi-Photo, I can’t wait to practice it. I can really tell you put a whole lot of thought into this project.
– David M

Stone Cold Magic:

If you are looking for a fresh dose of commercial, audience-tested card magic, look no further than Jeff Stone’s Stone Cold Magic. There’s plenty of useable card effects presented in a wonderfully friendly, casual and straightforward manner.

My only criticism is that Jeff came up with the idea of using the Erdnase-Houdini Color Change as an invisible palm. It looks so darn good, I wish to heck I had thought of it!!
– Jay Sankey

Jeff is a real worker and tips his mitt in this DVD. There are some great ideas that are really USABLE. In addition, it’s just a fun watch as noted by others. Jeff is really a funny guy. I enjoyed the DVD a lot.
– Tim Trono

Order Now!

Remember, this offer expires Midnight Tuesday Night (August 31st, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST)

Get a 25% discount off of ALL DVDs and a free deck of Mandolins:

Order Now!

Remember your Coupon Code: MANDOLIN25

Thanks!

Jeffro

The post Free Paul Harris/Richard Turner Mandolin Back Bicycle Cards appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

paul harris Archives - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

The Art of Astonishment

A Letter to My Clients

Root:

Branch:

Stuck

Introduction:

Effect:

Method:

Presentation:

Extras:

Final Thoughts:

Make Your Magic Meaningful

Building Your Show

Root:

Branch:

Illusion

Note From the Editor:

Effect:

To Perform:

Time out For this Station Break

Note From the Editor:

Suggested Presentation of Patter:

Monthly Prizes, Return of Scarnecky and The Loss of a Friend

Condolences to the Tom Loveridge Family

Scarnecky is Back!

Win Free Magic Without Buying Stuff

Free Stuff!

Help Me Win a Contest Before January 20, 2012

From Magicseen Magazine Issue 42:

Free Copies of Magicseen magazine

2012 Free Tricks

Dedicated To The Art

Paper Balls Under The Head

Paper Balls Under the Head

Imprompt-true

Root:

Branch:

Free Paul Harris/Richard Turner Mandolin Back Bicycle Cards