Eugene Burger - Mastering the Art of Magic

Also By Eugene Burger Secrets and Mysteries for the Close-Up Entertainer (1e82) Audience Involvement ( 1e82) The Secret of Restaurant Magic ( 1e83) On Matt Schulien's Fabulous Card Discoveries ( 1983) Intimate Power ( 1e83) The Craft of Magic and Other Writings ( 1e94) Spirit Theater ( 1e86) The Performance of Close-up Magic ( 1e87) The Experience of Magic ( 198e) Strange Ceremonies (19e1) Mastering the Art of Magic (2000)

Eugene Burger Illustrated bv Earle Oakes Edited by Matthew Field and Richard Kaufman r"o$;hed Kaufrnan and Company

Kaufman and Company publishes many frne books on the art of magic. If you would like to join our mailing list and be alerted to future publications and special offers, please write to: Richard Kaufman 4200 Wisconsin Ave. NW Suite 106-292 Washington DC 20016 Cover and Book Design by Elizabeth and Richard Kaufman Printed and Bound in the United States of America 10987654 @ Copyright 2000 by Eugene Burger and Richard Kaufman. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission.

To Phil Willmarth for years of encouragement and friendship, and for starting it all.

0uilgil$ Introduction: Looking Back 11 $sursts aN lflUslsl,io$ I0r lllg 0h$0-U[ Ellsrlaittur For Phil Willmarth, whose interest, magical knowledge, counsel and criticism have sharpened my own performanc*and whose friendly prodding has now produced two books. Introduction .. 18 Part One: Secrets Drawing the Line 2L Names 23 Contact 25 NotHearing.. 26 Energy 27 Silence 28 Discipline 28 It's Done With Mirrors . . 30 Hecklers 31 Part Tfuio: Mysteries Sponges The Burned Card Glass Production Finger Tip Holder Signed Card in Wallet Signed BilI in Matchbox Torn Card Traveling Card . S6ance INTERLUDE ONE 60 t7 36 39 4L 43 44 47 51 55 56 67 68 69 72 fiuilisrlos lrtrolrsrull Presentation Top Change Brain-Waved oaaaaaaaaaaaaaaoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.aaaaaaaaaaaaaao Brain-Waved Again 75 WaterSuspension... 77 INTERLUDE TWO 80

Itto $suruls ol flsstaurailltlagiu For Danny orleans, a good friend and fine performer who has heard all of this before-because much of what follows has been the subject of an on-going conversation about close-up magic we have been having for the past four years. Point Of Departure . . Table Hopping Hospitality . . . The Real Secrets The Opening Effect Is You Restaurants Attitude Random Thoughts INTERLUDE THREE 96 The Secret Revisited 83 84 84 85 85 86 88 90 92 94 t21^ L25 130 L32 L37 140 L42 L45 0n ltlafl $cllulistl's Falulott$ 0at'il [isuorul'ig$ 99 For Frances Marshall, who has patiently answered my magical questions for over thirty years-and whose writings first introduced me to Matt Schulien and his magic, and for Jay Marshall, from whom I always learn something. Thank you. Foreword 100 The Trick And The Effects 102 A Memory 104 The Card In The Matchbook 106 The Corner In The Glass 109 The Card Under The Tablecloth . 111 Onlmitation... LL4 INTERLUDE FOUR L17 119 For Max Maven, an entertainer who understands the meaning of audience impact, a continuous source of creative inspiration and ideas, and-best of all-a trusted and valued friend. Foreword L20 Chapter One: What's In A Name? Chapter TVo: Creating Interest . . . The Card Cheat An Old Carnival Game A Voodoo Ritual The Spectator is the Star Second-Hand Smoke Chapter Three: A Game Of Wits ltltilalsPousr

Spelling Stunner Fogel's Triple Prediction Out of this World Easy Money Presentation Chapter Four: Precision Dracula and the Sorority Girls . Chapter Five: Confrdence And Power . . . . INTERLUDE FIVE t64 t46 L48 150 L52 153 156 161 193 196 209 2I0 2Lt 2I9 22t Tltg Crall ol ltlagio ilil 0lttgr lIrit]rtgs 169 For Channing Pollock, Magician, Explorer, Kindred Spirit ... with affection.4 Foreword 170 Introductory Note 171 The Craft Of Magic L7l Interest L72 Developing Our Practice 174 LearningtoRehearse... 176 The Tools of Our Craft 177 Critical Awareness and Honesty 178 The Future Of Restaurant Magic 179 Presentational Style 181 EasySpelling.. 183 The Impossible Force 185 The Flying Match 188 Slow-Motion Bill Change A Conversation in Hell INTERLUDE STX 198 New Traveling Match 200 TWenty-First Century Bill Transposition ....................o. 203 lsf,isuorolio$ To Jack Gould, for his friendship, enthusiasm, and support of my magical work. Introduction . . Psychic Sense The Visibly Turning Cards Ashes on the Palm for Non-Smokers A FINALWORD 225

As I reread these booklets my mind was flooded with so many memories. Yet, looking back and trying to understand one's own past, one's own development as a performer, doesn't always bring greater clarity-just as practicing a trick for months doesn't always produce a deceptive piece of magic. I'll begin by telling you two things that I think you should understand. First, I have never viewed myself as an inventive magician-that is, I do not see inventing magic tricks as my particular magical gift and, further, I honestly stand in a certain awe of conjuring's great inventors, both past and present. At the same time,I have never been the sort of person who spends much time lamenting over the gifts that I haven't been given. Ite always prefemed to work to develop the gifts that I do possess. My gift, as I see it, is an inward sense of how to present magic in public. And so this is the gift that I have worked to develop over the years. The literature of magic, as we all know, is staggering in its size. There are thousands and thousands of magic effects in books that lay waiting-waiting for a per{ormer to wake them from their slumber and give them new presence and life. The second thing that I'd like to tell you is that I don't spend my spare time reading the books that I have written. After each of my writings was published,I did sit down and read it through from cover to cover. I rarely looked at them after that. The truth is I didn't even own copies of these first six booklets. I had to borrow them all from my friend Jack Gould. A few years ago, when visiting JeffMcBride in Las Vegas, I did reread his copy of my book, Strange Ceremonies, because I was about to attend a bizarue magic convention in England and knew that people were going to ask me questions about it! (And, when I read it, I had that eerie feeling that I used to have when I reread old academic papers that I had written much earlier: "Did I really know all that stuffthen? Pretty amazing!") The idea for this present book began many years ago when Richard Kaufman suggested to me that we publish a typeset hardcover edition of my six paperback booklets from the early 1980s. Over the years, when he talked about this with me, two ideas emerged that greatly appealed to me. First, he wanted the material, which had been sparsely (but charmingly) illustrated by Marshall Philyaw, to be newly and more plentifully illustrated by Earle Oakes. Second, Richard suggested that it would be interesting to the reader if I reread these booklets and then added new material in the form of a commentary, telling the reader what I think of all this today, almost 20 years later. Well,let's be honest: we rarely, if ever, have an opportunity to revisit and correct our past "sins"-or past anything! Here was an opportunity to do something special. Appealing as the idea was, I never made much

t2 EucpNB BuncER progress with it because my attention was occupied with other projects. As the years passed, however, the idea of returning to these early booklets continued to lure me. What would I say about it all today? Would I feel that everything should be rewritten and presented differently? Probably! tF As a magician, I have always felt that it was exceedingly fortunate for me to have grown up in Chicago. As a teenager, I was able to experience a wide variety of excellent stage and close-up magic. These experiences quickly convinced me that magic is a deep and amazing art. It was a world that, even then, I felt called to enter. From the age of about 14to 17 I studied the work of DonAlan with all the intensity, care, and attention to detail that a student might study a problem in physics or mathematics. Don Alan really opened my eyes to the importance of magical presentations, presentations that caught the attention and imagination of his audiences. He was a master of what I shall call "presentational choreography"-marrying our actions with our words so precisely and wonderfully that the result is a routine that unfolds before us, with no unnecessary steps or words. No wobbling from side to side but, rather, moving straight ahead. Everything, every word and every moment, had been thought through long before. So, when you watched a performance by Don Alan, you saw utterly deceptive magic framed with charming and thoroughly rehearsed and entertaining presentations. More than that, the plot of every one of his routines was clear and simple to follow. As a teenager, I held Don AIan in a certain awe and I was always grateful for his kindness and for the time he spent with me and the encouragement he gave me in those formative years. * I may not need to tell you that these small booklets were tremendously important to me personally, in my everyday life. In quite obvious ways, these short writings literally changed my life. Rather soon after they started to appear I began moving from being a strictly local close-up magician performing solely in the Chicago market to slowly receiving national-and then international-attention. I wrote more books. I began to travel across the United States. John Fisher and Paul Daniels brought me to England and Ton Onosaka brought me to Japan, the frrst of many trips to Europe and Asia respectively. I visited cities in the world that I had only dreamed of visiting. My life took on a genuinely magical quality, a quality of life that I am happy to say I still experience today. None of this would have happened, of course, without the friendly but persistent prodding from my dear friend Phil Willmarth. It was Phil who not only first urged me to begin writing for magicians, but also who published these early booklets. More than that, Phil provided counsel and much needed encouragement along the way. Actually, the first book that I completed was Spiril Theater, but that book remained unpublished until 1986, two years after all six of the booklets had been published. So the

LooxrNc Becx 13 frrst exposure magicians had to my magical thinking was this collection of six short booklets. At the time, I resisted Phil Willmarth's urgings to begin writing for several months. What frnally tipped the scales was my thinking about Robert Parrish's, The Close-Up Magicioz, his book about Bert Allerton. It is a wonderful book and includes several of Allerton's greatest routines. Although I never met Bert Allerton or saw him perform, he has had a tremendous influence upon me and my magical work. First, I found it inspiring that he didn't become interested in magic until later in life and only turned to professional performing when he was in his fifties. Second, I found it fascinating that, according to Robert Parrish, he was the first full-time close-up magician inAmerica. Others performed close-up in public, but they also presented floor shows. Allerton exclusively performed close-up magic. Third, I think it is marvelously curious that, for the past 20 years, I have lived in the same apartment building in Chicago in which Allerton lived. Sometimes, when I am leaving or entering the building, I think of Bert Allerton doing the same thing, almost 50 years ago. The most important thing I Iearned from studyingAllerton, however, had less to do with his tricks and more with the setting in which he did them. This was the source of Allerton's deep inspiration for me. In the 1940s and 50s, the Pump Room in the Ambassador East Hotel, where Bert Allerton appeared, was one of the top two or three restaurants in Chicago-and "the" restaurant if you were an actor or entertainer or politician in town hoping to be seen and written up in the newspapers. The photographs that adorned the entrance way into the restaurant represented a "'Who's Who" of 1940s entertainment, sports, and political stars. Everyone went to the Pump Room! Bert Allerton, in short, performed at one of the very best places in Chicago. He didn't settle for less. Bert Allerton inspired me, as my friend Jeff McBride always says, to get bigger dreams. When I reflected upon Bob Parrish's book about Allerton, as wonderful as it is, I could not help thinking that it would have been so much better if Allerton himself had lived to see it through to completion. There was obviously so much that Allerton knew about his routines that Parrish didn't. How sad,I thought, and how much magic has lost. The thought then came to me that, as a professional magician, it was my responsibility to write up that portion of my own repertoire that I wanted to share with other magicians, do it myself rather than leaving the task to someone else after I was dead. In my descriptions of this material-material with which I was making my living-I would attempt to explain much more than how these tricks worked, but also try to take some steps toward understanding why they worked and why I presented them as I did. Magic, after all,lies in the details. My interest, however, really was not so much in telling other magicians how they should do it but, instead, telling myself how 1 was doing it. I have never forgotten a comment made by Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling Professor of History at Yale University: he said that universities were places where professors are paid to study and do research and where students are permitted to look over their shoulders.

L4 EucpNn BuncER In large measure these booklets represent me talking to myself, talking through my repertoire and telling myself what I think is important. The reader is invited to observe this process, to "look over my shoulder," and, hopefully, take away something of value. Exactly what this "something of value" is would not necessarily be the same for each reader because every person brings his or her own life story to any text. Some readers might be struck by my insistent pushing for a written script, others moved by different themes or magic effects that occupied my thoughts as I wrote and worked as a professional magician in the early 1980s. I really did not think that I was giving advice to people, although I now realize that this is how many people read these booklets. Most reviewers, and probably many readers, did think that they were aduice books-even though I repeatedly wrote that this is not what I thought I was writing. I claimed, rather, that I was really writing spiritual autobiography-that is,I was explaining to myself and to the reader how I do these things and why they work for me as I do them. I certainly was not suggesting that my way is the only way, or even the best way, for others to follow. I think this point is important. Ultimately, whether we wish to admit it or not, I think this is all anyone can do: explain the world as he or she sees it-whether this be the world of conjuring and magic or the larger world of nature and universe that is tackled by philosophy and religion. In the world of artistic endeavor, trnng to universalize our individual understandings and choices for everyone else (as Darwin Ortiz does in his fascinating book, Strong Magic) is to miss the points that everyone really is different and, further, that, as my friend Max Maven loves to observe, "There is only one rule of theater that cannot be broken. And that rule is: There is no rule of theater than cannot be broken." So interwoven in these writings, from beginning to end, is the question of taking responsibility and learning to dare to take some chances with our magical presentations and, in the process, to become our own authorities. I would like to think that I was celebrating the wonder and deep beauty of frnding out certain things about magic for ourselues-and not learning them always second-hand from others. * Although I thought Richard Kaufman's idea of adding new material for this edition in the form of some sort of commentary was exciting, it was not clear to me the best way to do this. I certainly had no interest in trying to rewrite these booklets today. They must stand or fall on their original merits. Nor do I wish to comment on every effect that I wrote about in these booklets. I do, however, have new thoughts and changes for some of these effects, and I believe that my new changes will be of interest to those readers who wish to add these effects to their own repertoires. One option would have been to insert this new material into the original text in a different type font. The advantage of this approach would be that the reader would have my thinking on a specific effect, both old and new, in one place. The disadvantage, however, is that the reader is pre-

Looxrxc Becx 15 vented from experiencing these booklets as a reader did when they were frrst written. I decided frnally that the world of magic already has enough revisionist historians, and so I chose to respect the integrity ofthese texts and leave them as they first appeared, with only a few typographical changes and corrections. One example is my early enthusiasm for putting some (too many!) words in all capital letters and underlining other words. Today, this is more than a little embarrassing to me. I look at it as the excess of an inexperienced writer that I have, hopefully, to some extent outgrown. And so, in this edition, no more underlining and no more words in all capital letters! So, rather than internrpt the reader with my comments, I decided instead to write an "Interlude" between each booklet. In these Interludes I will simply talk to you, the reader, and tell you some of the more important thoughts that flooded my mind when I reread these writings. In addition, for this edition I have decided to include an additional seventh booklet, Rediscoueries, frrst published in L994. Since this deals with my current thoughts on the "A.shes on the Palm" as well as the "Triple Prediction" discussed in Intimate Power, it seemed appropriate to include this booklet as well. Let me say, frnally, that it is a great pleasure for me to re-introduce these booklets to previous readers as well as to a new generation of magicians. I hope you enjoy our magical journey together. Eugene Burger August,2000

r$8?

What is a "Eugene Burger?" That's the purpose of an introduction, isn't it? An author finds an expert or (if he's smart) a friend and induces him to write something'nice" about who he is and what he has done. Well, I qualifu as one of those, at least, for I am enthusiastic friend of Eugene Burger and a sincere, even unabashed, admirer of his performing ability and persona. Eugene is a professional magician. Magic has been his sole means of support for the past four years-and Eugene lives very well, indeed. This is one reason I am excited about his book: Eugene is a hugely successful professional close-up magician and the book explains how he does it. A lover of magic since he was 10 years old, Eugene is a native Chicagoan and had the great good fortune to watch and know and learn from the many famous Chicago close-up workers of the 1950s and 1960s. DonAlan was especially kind and helpful to Eugene and was exceptionally generous in sharing tricks of the trade with him. Throughout high school in Chicago and college in Wisconsin, Eugene was utterly absorbed by magic. Then his interest dropped away, his subscriptions lapsed, his apparatus and books were sold. During the years "away,'he studied at Luther Theological Seminary in Minnesota, at Yale and at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana where he also taught philosophy and comparative religion. He left the university in the 1970s and moved to Evanston, Illinois, where he eventually became Director of General Assistance (welfare), a job which he could only take for some four years. His return to magic was triggered by meeting Erik Counce, whose background did not include magic but did include the technical aspects of theater. They had attended a stage production of Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" back in 1975 and felt that, while the audience had come to see and to experience ghosts and spirits and such, the production was banal and the set embarrassing. They decided they could do it better. Eugene had always been fascinated by ghosts and seances and mediums and ectoplasm (all that) and, while at Yale, found that people generally seemed to love it too. One trial seance at Yale was such a success that "seances" became a continuing series. Basically, they consisted of psyching people up in candlelight and then in total darkness in the basement 'of one of the Yale Divinity School buildings-alone with four unseen "spirits" and not a small amount of "ectoplasm." Eugene says they were "ntouing erperiences" for many of the participants! Eugene and Eric formed the Spirit Theatre Company in 1976 and 20 months later "Hauntings" debuted. "The show played well," as Jay Marshall would say, and they have done the "pseudo-seance" at colleges;

Sncnprs AtrrD MysmRrES FoR THE CLoss-Up ENrpnrArNER 19 at Playboy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and in Chicago; at private parties; and in the attic of a house in Evanston (where, Eugene says, it was really scary!) Eugene details the birth and history of the show (and a good deal more) in a book to be published by Magic, Inc. in L982.It will be called Spirit Theatre.I have seen the show and read the manuscript and can highly recommend both. It was while developing "Hauntings" that Eugene took stock of his life and decided to try being a full-time professional magician. This normally difficult metamorphosis was aided by a benignly malevolent appearance, a sincere love of people, and a highly developed sense of what he was about. Eugene believes that the challenge of performing is to make "that puzzle" into a fun-frlled and entertaining romp or a stunning, emotional experience. His aim is to have "only strong effects" in his repertoire. How well he has succeeded was attested to by England's Bob Read after I had taken him to see Eugene work at a local bistro: "He's maruelous," Bob said. "Every item's a closer!" This book is split into two parts. The frrst explains the "Secrets" behind Eugene's success; those elements of approach and technique seldom even touched upon in magic books. The second part explains tricks or "Mysteries" that Eugene continues to use professionally-in most cases, the complete "script" is given with nothing held back. I'm very pleased to introduce you to a good friend and wonderful magician through this book. I am confident that you will enjoy and benefit from reading it. PhiI Willmarth Spirit Theater was eventually published by Richard Kaufman in 1986.

[rawlttglltu L[uN Can you keep a secret? Do you think I'm joking? I'm not. As one who, as we say, "earns his livingi'entirely from the performance of close-up magic and sleight-of-hand for adults-in cocktail lounges and restaurants, and at corporate and private parties-I think secrets are important. Please don't treat them lightly. I have long suspected, however, that t}re real secrets of close-up magic as aperforming art have little to do with the position of your frrst finger and thumb during some sleight-of-hand maneuver, or with the latest card force, or even with some wonderfully exotic new way to "lap" an object (hopefully, not with your tongue hanging out!). These things are important, to be sure, for the performance of magic has a technical dimension which performers ignore at their own peril. Fifteen minutes spent with a performer who is unable to conceal the fact that he is doing "secret things" that one is evidently not supposed to know about-no, you don't know exactly what it is that he or she is doing, but you know in your heart-of-hearts that he is doing something "funny" if not downright sneaky-and you'll discover that frfteen minutes can be an eternity. (A friend once defrned "eternity" as traveling from Minneapolis to Houston on a Greyhound Bus-but, then, he had no experience watching magicians.) Such performers are exhausting for audiences because a good deal of the fun of watching magic is the element of surprise. As you watch a performer who constantly seems to be "messing around," surprise itself begins to disappear from the scene. But doesn't a magician need to "mess around?" How, after all, does one get a selected card to the top of the deck without, as you say, "messing around?" True. Yet if your performance is to be perceived as being magical (as opposed to feats ofjuggling), your audience simply must not be aware of these secret maneuvers-and that is the challenge of close-up magical performance, isn't it? Performers meet this challenge by employing a variety of strategies that conjurors unfortunately have tended to lump together under the single name "misdirection." These strategies-and there are many-are designed to so involve the audience in the theater of what is going on, in the dramatic plot and character that is being created, that they do not olso perceive the "secret maneuvers" that the performer must invariably execute. I am saying, then, that the real secrets of magic as a performing art have

Spcnnrs Ar{D MysrpRrES FoR THE Closp-Up EwrpnrAINER 2L to do with making the effects that you already know really magical and entertaining for your audiences. These secrets deal with the ways in which you work with people so that your (hopefully, subtle) control over what they perceive is strengthened and your impact upon them is, thereby, sharpened and intensifred. There are many such secrets. Those that follow, while perhaps not even the "most" important are, nonetheless, strategies upon which close-up performers might do well to reflect. But, first, you'ue got to draw the line somewhere! By this I mean: As a magician you know the workings of a great many magical effects. But as a performer, you need to know exactly which effects you are capable of performing in an entertaining way before living, breathing people. These latter effects constitute your performing repertoire. Those other effects, while part of your knowledge and thinking, your mental accumulations, are not part of your performing repertoire. The frrst step, then, is to frnd out exactly what your performing repertoire is. I am convinced that the easiest way to do this is to write it out and put it in your notebook (You do have a notebook, don't you?) This listing of one's performing repertoire is a tremendously therapeutic thing for most magicians to do. By writing it out, you see it in black and white. No confusion. And, in the process, yott cut out all of the material that does not have much impact as you perform it. Granted, Jay Marshall's "Lefty" is a classic routine from which you can learn every time you see it. If your routine with "Lefty" isn't that good, drop it. (And if you don't think that there ore magicians who have ripped off Jay's creation-and who perform it in the secret recesses of church basements at Father and Son Banquets, you have a "purer" view of these things than I do.) You need to know exactly what your performing repertoire is. The easiest way is to write it out. When I became a full-time professional magician some years ago, my performing repertoire consisted of si* effects! Now where did those six "new" effects (or "tricks" as we used to say in less racy times) come from? They weren't new effects which I had purchased or which I had recently found in a book or magazine. They were, rather, effects which I had performed as a teenager and which I upgraded-that is to say, for which I worked out entertaining presentations-so they could become part of my performing repertoire. The frrst and very basic step is to write out exactly what your repertoire is-in black and white-so you can see it. Once you've done that (and really do it), ask yourself what, from the material you have just cut, do you now want to work on and add to your repertoire. Start with the material that you have reluctantly cut as you listed your repertoire. (You see, we haven't even gotten to the books yet, have we?) As an aside,let me add that two of the greatest needs of all speaking performers are a blue pencil (to edit your script or presentation) and a wastebasket in which to throw all the paper that will quickly begin to accumulate. Our aim here is to have in our repertoires only that material which is strong; not items that are passable, but only the strong.

This Cut and Restored Silk trick is the creation of Phoa. 22 EucnNp BuncER This really is a challenge because, in magic, there is a great deal of junk: dreadful, awful, non-magical or even puzzling material. There is so much that is stupid and dumb and which doesn't fool people or sometimes even entertain them. Why do it? Why be seen performing magic of this caliber? When Doug Henning was performing his marvelous show in Chicago in August, 1981 (a show,I might add, that was far more wonderful than any of his TV specials-especially in communicating Doug's personality which, on the TV shows, too often seemed to me to be buried in "Happy Valley" children's magic scripts), he did the usual round of local television talk shows. On the NBC affiliate, he was interviewed by Jorie Lueloff, a bright and tough lady who isn't at all shy about interrupting performers and asking to check out that deck (as I discovered from personal experience at a party I worked which she attended) or asking some other, potentially embarrassing, question. Doug performed a cut and restored pocket handkerchief effect wherein the handkerchief was twirled by its diagonal corners, Jorie cut it in half, Doug put the pieces together and pulled the (opposite) diagonal corners and twirled it again-showing the handkerchief "restored." Jorie immediately asked: "Aten't you going to open it out?" Silence. She repeated: "Aren't you going to open it out?" Doug replied: "I only open it out when I use it." As I watched, I could only think to myself Why didn't he do the torn and restored cigarette paper---{r any one of the sleight-of-hand, miracles that he has done on TV and is tremendously capable of doing so very well? This version of the cut and restored handkerchiefjust isn't that strongparticularly for a close-up demonstration where a spectator's questions can be as spontaneous as breathing. Perhaps on a stage where your audience can't talk back. Perhaps. I tell this story not to embarrass Doug Henning, who, aside from being a most excellent performer, is also a very real part of the reason that I and many other close-up magicians work as much as we do. I tell this story because we all can learn from each other's experiences. And so I would say throw out the junk! Never, ever do it again! You might, of course, reply that one man's junk is another man's treasure. Really? When I look back over the years on the many packages that I received in the mails from magic dealers,I begin to wonder. In any event, throw out what you perceive as junk and keep in your performing repertoire only what you perceive as treasure. Youte got to draw the line somewhere. When you select material for your performing repertoire, always choose items that you frnd challengrng enough to keep you from becoming bored by repeated performance. And always select material that you frnd entertaining. As a rule of thumb: Always entertain yourselfl The simple fact is, if you are being entertained by what is happening, your audiences will "catch" your enthusiasm and energy-somewhat like catching measles or chicken pox from a carrier.

Sncnprs Ar.rD MysrnRrES FoR THE Ct osp-Up EwTSnTAINER 23 If there are effects that make you newous when you perform them, sfop performing them! Spare your audiences! If you really want to do them, start working on them until you reach that point where you can perform them without being uncomfortably nenrous. And, if that point never comes, never euer do them before an audience! The impact of a close-up performance is cumulatiue. One bad apple can spoil the bushel. One or two weak effects (and you performing them) will weaken your impact. And "impact" is what performing is all about. Draw the line! ilUo$N When I sit down at a table to perform magic for strangers, the very first thing I want to do is find out their names-just their first names. Knowing a person's name is power. If you examine the history of the occult tradition-especially its manifestations in the areas of sorcery voodoo, or ritual magic-you will find this age-old principle of identification. The microcosm is identifred with the macrocosm. The individual is identifred (in a strong rather than weak sense) with his or her name. Thus, what might happen to a piece of parchment upon which the person's name is inscribed is believed by some to have influence over the person himself. In much the same way, what might happen to a lock of the person's hair or to his fingernail parings in a voodoo ritual is believed to have influence over the person himselfbecause the hair, the frngernail parings, the name, whatever, are identified in this strong, magical sense with the person. In ancient Israel, the name of God was never spoken because, it was believed, to do so would be to assume power over God-which in Jewish, like Christian, theolory is considered blasphemy. I remember when I taught university courses in philosophy and comparative religion how many of my Jewish students, when writing the word "God" on an examination, would write "G-d"-a carry-over from these beliefs about the power of names. Knowing a person's name is power. Consider, for example, the art of card palming. A good deal of my card work hinges on being able to palm a card off the top of the deck. Even a few cursory glances through the conjuring literature will convince you that there are many, many, many different ways of doing this-with your fingers in all sorts of positions. What does it all mean? It means, I suggest, that there isn't any or;.e ri.ght way to palm a card--or, more precisely, while there isn't any one right way in general, there may be one or two right ways for you.

24 Eucoxn BuncER You have to discover them for yourself. You can't look to an author to do it for you. But, if you enjoy these things, discovering what is best for you is a good deal of the fun of doing it all. You can relax because it all depends upon you rather than in trying to imitate what someone else says or does. It is interesting and sometimes instructive to see how other people do it, of course, but in the last analysis it all depends upon you, upon the size of your hands, upon the situation which you are creating, and upon how much you as a performer can (or can't) get away with. The important thing about card palming is that you relax (really!) and not make a capital "P" problem out of it. What you are saying and what your eyes are doing is more important than what your fingers are doing. Think about it. I want to palm a card and one of the spectators is really watching the deck. I wait. Malini said to "vait a week" if necessary. Interesting in theory: diffrcult in practice. If you're working in a restaurant, or lounge, or at a party (and you're gettingpaid to perform),Jou don't haue two weehs! Sorry. Your audience wants you to get on with it. Here comes the point: Use the spectator's name! Ask him a question:"Well, Joltn, did you see the card?" John looks up. His eyes meet your eyes. You palm the card. The deed is done. John always looks up when he hears his name. (Remember Pavlov's salivating puppies?) People deeply enjoy hearing the sound of their own names. It's very predictable. Knowing a person's name is power. Not only that. Using spectators'names helps generate a sense of familiarity and fun in this space between the audience and the performer in which magical things are being created. Using their names contributes to the ambiance and people begin to relax and have fun. And, -vou've got them! Now there is, of course, what I shall call theAg,e Factor: a twenty-year-old performer asking a sixty-ish woman her first name might very well be perceived in certain circles as being in poor taste. It's a bit too familiar. You need to be alert to things like this. Even now, in m5r forties, when performing before individuals who strike me as being rather formal,I might very well not ask their names. Generally, however, as one gets olden one can get arvay with a good deal more rather than less. (How exciting!) One of the very real problems of younger (under 30 1'ears of age) close-up performers is that their presentations are often designed for (and would be much more effective for) an older performer. One evening a year or so ago, Jay Marshall, Phil \4'illmarth, and I took a reporter ftomChicago Elite magazine on a tour of Chicago magic bars. We started with the inimitable-and, unfortunatell'. generally unknown to the magic fraternity-Ernie Spence. It is our loss. for I can't even begin to tell you about this unique and most wonderful perfonner. He runs and "owns" (as a concession) the bar in a popular and large suburban restaurant. Ernie's routine with "Glorpy" and a young man and woman is "fall-off-

Spcnprs Ar{D MysrpRrES FoR THE Closn-Up ENInnTAINER 25 the-bar-stool-laughingi' material. Really! Much, much later that evening (actually, the next morning) Jay and I frnished up with a nightcap at the New York Lounge. One of the younger performers there did Ernie Spence's routine (which, he said, Ernie had taught him). It just didn't play that well. The performer was too young. Another great danger for the younger performer is appearing to be a show-off or being perceived as an egotistical brat. Most people (parents excluded) just don't frnd show-offs or brats entertaining. Younger performers need to reflect upon the implications of the Age Factor. In any restaurant,lounge, or club where I have been employed any length of time, people sooner or later comment on the number of people I know. Every such establishment has "regulars," some so regular you wonder how they can take the monotony of the same place all the time. I can't tell you how to remember their names. I like people generally and tend to remember little things about them. If you need more help than that, start with Harry Lorayne's book, Remembering People, the Key to Success. Remember, knowing a person's name is power. 0oltaot^-' There is mental contact. Contact between your mind and the spectator's. To a great extent in close-up magic, I see this as a function of two elements: your script or presentation (what you are saying and what the spectators take this to mean) and your eyes. Need I tell you that magical power resides in the eyes? If you don't understand this, look at the portraits of any one of a number of famous individuals in occult history and you'll get the picture (as it were). Eye contacl is extraordinarily important for successful close-up entertainment. Learn to look at your spectators,look into their eyes. Make contact! Smile when you do. If they are looking back, they can't be "burningl' your hands, can they? Remember, it is a magical maxim that spectators will look where you do. Are you shy about looking people in the eyes? Many performers appear to be. Their gaze is frxed, rather, on their own hands. Or, they stare offinto space. ("Spacey?") They avoid meeting their audiences at what are potentially the most powerful points: the eyes. Learn to look into their eyes. Further, there is physical contact-/ouching. A few years ago, I conducted the following experiment. When I performed at tables that included two ladies, I would lightly touch one of them and not the other-a light touch on the hand or arm, innocent, done for emphasis, not sexual-and I found that those who were touched seemed to become much more involved than those who were not.

26 EucpNn BuncER Now I touch almost everyone! One day at lunch, Phil Willmarth pointed out that a visitor rarely leaves Schulien's Restaurant in Chicago without Charlie Schulien touching him in a natural and friendly way. A pat on the shoulder. Shaking hands. Some form of non-sexual physical contact. Of course, there are those magicians who say that you shouldn't do thisthat you should never physically touch anyone, never enter into that very personal space-much as there are those who say you should never ask to borrow money from a spectator. It's all just loo personal. Well, I for one don't believe it. As far as physical touching goes, you con gear your work to the neurotics out there who have hidden fears regarding human contact, but do yo:u want to? (If you are the one who is hung up about touching, however, of course you shouldn't do it. Too bad.) The television program Noua told of an experiment conducted with the staff of a public library. People were surueyed leaving the library on two separate days. Every effort was made to treat people the same on both days-with one exception. On one day, each librarian or staff member who checked out a book, accepted a payment or fine, etc., was careful to casually touch the person involved in the transaction. On the other day, equal care was taken not to touch them in any way. When the two surveys were checked as to people's impressions of the friendliness of the library stafi, significantly more people rated them higher on friendliness on the day when people were being touched. Makes sense to me! The vast majority of people really are no longer up-tight about this kind of touching at all. In fact, as I have said,I personally frnd that people get caught up in my work all the more through using this strategy of gentle touching. And, if you should end up with someone who seems to react negatively after you have innocently touched the back of his or her closed hand with your extended forefinger for emphasis (or whatever), then draw back a bit in an easy way that isn't obvious to anyone else, retain a pleasant attitude, and continue on with the effect. If you are at all aware, you will spot the people who don't want you to enter into their space at all. Respect them. Again, please remember t}re Age Factor. You don't want the gentleman to think that you're tryrng to make offwith his date. Gentlemen seldom frnd that entertaining. il01 [|uu]1gN I have long thought that foreign-born performers-performers whose primary language is not English-have a certain built-in advantage over native-born speakers of the language. The foreign-born person can "not quite understand" what has just been said, as he leans forward, and the sleight is accomplished. As native-born speakers of the language, however, one can always not

SBcnprs At.rD MystpRrES FoR THE Closn-Up ENTnTATNER 27 hear what has been said. Like any strategy, this one needs to be used prudently. You ask a spectator a question. He responds. You didn't quite hear him. You ask him to repeat it. You lean forward toward the spectator. Asyour attention thus focuses on the spectator and what he is being asked to repeat, the attention of the other spectators becomes so focused as well. Your hands recede in the audience's awareness and the deed is done. Try not hearing sometime. EnsrUUN One of my favorite television programs is WilliamAlexander's "The Magic of Oil Painting" on PBS. I have not personally done any oil painting probably in 25 years, but I watch this program quite regularly because I find it "educational" in the deeper sense of that word. Alexander is a wonderful teacher and he has much to say and, show that ought to be of interest to close-up magicians. Basically, during each half hour "class," he paints a complete picture in oils-typically, a grand nature scene in which there might appear waterfalls and mountains, great pine forests, thunderous rivers, and always the mawelous sky. In his teaching, he is anxious that his student get on with it and not take years to complete one painting. Too often, he says, students ruin t}neir paintings by not knowing when to stop. (Getting the message?) While painting, he talks about light and color, depth and movement, about the tools of his craft, about the creation of illusion through various visual techniques, and about life in general-about pain and suffering and about enjoyrng what we haue as opposed to putting our enerry into what we want. Alexander himself is a wonderful performer. Not only does he complete his painting in the 28 minutes allotted, he does this with tremendous energy and enthusiasm. He is a delight to watch. He quite obviously loves painting and he invests his canvases-and the nature scenes they suddenly begin to depict-with very great importance. The secrets of the cosmos loom in those rushing waters and Zet laughter must be lurking in those wind-blown pines. A magical effect is much like a painting that is being created. There is, at the beginning, a blank canvas. Then the artist begins to work his wonders with his material, and the result is a finished painting. You should invest your work with importance. lf you don't, no one else will. As a field trip in the development of your craft, go to a liturgically "high" Roman Catholic orAnglican Church and watch the priest handle the various objects. Or go to an Orthodox service (Russian, Greek, etc.) And go

28 EucrNe BuncER on a feast day or day that is liturgically "special." In such religious services, the objects are displayed and handled with great reverence. They are not just tossed about or handled roughly. When I perform "Card W""p," for example, I begin by saying, *This is one of the greatest card tricks of the Tbentieth Century." I'm investing the proceedings with importance. Spectators move a bit closer. They want to see this. Yet one of the problems with a good deal of the close-up magic one sees is not the magic but, rather, the fact that the performers themselves don't seem to have much energy, much enthusiasm, sometimes even much interest in what is happening. The pace of the show begins to drag. Magic-as-performed, to be magical, needs to be invested with importance. A little urgency, please! Something is happening here! When magic is performed as a "throw away," the result might be comical, but it is seldom magical. If you invest the proceedings with a sense of importance, with energy, you may find that your audiences become much more enthusiastic as well. And that is the beginning of impact. $ilgruur--' Sometimes just being quiet for a moment ... slowing down ... stimulates increased audience attention. Expectations are generated. Drama is born. Woo-Woo. (An American Indian term referring to the cosmic, mind-shattering, and earth-shaking dimension of the Unknown.) Audiences love Woo-Woo. Heavy breathing, a mystic pass, a deep gaze. They want you to be a little "farther out" than they are. The dramatic pause. Silence. One shouldn't talk too much about silence. One should use it. [isul[l|1rru Discipline means putting what we know into practice. All those ideas and theories about the philosophy and psycholory and performance of magic-putting them into practice.

Sncnnrs AI.rD MysrBRrEs FoR THE CLosB-Up ErqtnnrArNER 29 When I was growing up, magic dealers'catalogs very often assured the budding performer with the following words: "No Practice Necessary" "No Skill Required" How ignorant! Ignorant-in the word's real sense of ignor-ing the critical importance of presentation for "magic tricks" to play well before an audience. Presentation always requires both practice and certain theatrical skills. It doesn't matter whether one is talking about doing the"Zig-Zag" or your favorite card trick. Practice is always necessary and skill is always required. Magic, after all, is an art. Let us distinguish between practice and rehearsal. We practice the parts. We rehearse the whole. We rehearse a routine whose component parts have been practiced. Each part of a routine is practiced-each sleight or move. Practice involves repetition: the sleight is done over and over until the fingers can do what they need to do without effort or strain, without signaling to those spectators who have not dozed off that you are doing "something funny." You might-and probably do-conduct practice sessions without talking, without speaking your lines (your script) that you will use when you actually perform the routine. My script? Yes, your script. I have never personally believed in the "inspiration-onthe-spot" theory of performing. According to that view, what is interesting about watching magic performed are the sleights themselves and how well or poorly they are done. As far as the words the performer might utter while performing his sleights, he can just as well leave them undecided upon until the moment of performance itself-and he will be "inspired on the spot." Stated in this way, I can't imagine that too many performers would subscribe to the "inspiration-on-the-spot" view. Very few would subscribe to it in theory at all. Personal observation has convinced me, however, that many close-up performers subscribe to it in proctice because their words do not seem to have been thought-out much, if at all, before the performance. Close-up magic is a theatrical art. Art requires a certain precision. For this reason, I have always personally favored a written script for every effect. Write it out or put it on tape. Then you have it for future reference and, you might also find, as material in your repertoire changes and you drop certain routines, years later, when your memory fails, the routines will not be lost should you wish to work on them again. Rehearsal means starting at the beginning of a routine and doing it exactly as ifyour audience was present-speaking out loud to those imaginary spectators. Starting at the beginning and continuing to the end.

30 Eucexr BuncER Without stopping. But what if I mess up? Don't I stop and start over again at the beginning? Absolutely not! In rehearsal, you deal with any problems which arise just as if you were performing before the President and First Lady. You invoke whatever stratery seems appropriate. What will you do now? You keep going. (What else can you do?) If this distinction between practice and rehearsal is understood and appreciated, we can see why there are so many awful magical performances. The reason (sadly) is that dnfrequent performance is the only rehearsal that many amateurs get. Many amateurs practice-but they seldom rehearse. Rehearsing requires discipline. Magic is a performing art, but it is also a solitary art which is learnedif it is learned-in the quiet hours spent alone with your props and your mirror. All art is solitary whether it is painting a picture or playing the piano. Art is always a solitary endeavor-even when it is culminated in interpersonal performance. Try this. Put yourself on a practice and rehearsal schedule for two months-times set aside specifically for practice and other times specifrcally for rehearsal-and, at the end of the two months, see how much you have learned and how your confidence has begun to grow. It really works. If you do. Repetition, when done with awareness, produces polish. But, it requires discipline. ll'$[0t10 llilllfiirrurgru In the days when I was studying the history of oriental and western philosophy, I came across the following-very possibly apocryphal-story. It concerns Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure, two saints of the Roman Catholic Church who lived in the Thirteenth Century. Both died, in fact, in 1260. Thomas had written shelues of books on the intricacies of theolory and philosophy (speculating on such questions as, "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?"), while Bonaventure was the more deeply contemplative, if not mystical, monk. One day, so the story goes, Thomas visited Bonaventure in his monastery and eventually asked Bonaventure to show him his library. Bonaventure reportedly took Thomas into a small cell which contained a fairly uncomfortable-looking bed and, on the wall, a crucifix. Pointing to the crucifix, Bonaventure said, "That is my library!"

Spcnnrs ArvD MvstpRrEs FoR THE Ct osn-Up ENInnTAINER 31 The most important item in a close-up performer's "library" is his mirror. Your mirror, in fact, carr be your library-particularly if you are interested in striking out in your own direction. Sleight-of-hand is done with mirrors. Your mirror allows you to practice without looking at your hands directly. You look, rather, at the reflection of your hands in the mirror. Later, when you move on to rehearse, your eyes are lifted to meet the imaginary spectators' eyes. Your mirror is a tool. To use it properly, you must look into your mirror with "ruthless honesty"-to borrow a phrase from the German theologian, Rudolf Bultmann. That, of course, is not easy to do. As the T'ang poet, Po Chu-i (8th century) wrote: In judging others, even a fool can see very clearly. But, in appraising their own situation, even sages can make mistakes. The performer needs to look at his work with ruthless honesty. Is this the way I really would do what I am doing? Do my movements appear natural? One needs to see clearly. A university professor once visited a Zen Buddhist master to inquire about the meaning of Buddhism. The master invited the professor in for tea and began pouring the tea into the cup-until it spilled out onto the table. "Stop!" cried the professor, "the cup is already too full!" The master replied: "Like this cup, you are frlled with your own opinions and ideas. How can I show you Buddhism if you won't fvst empty your cup?" To see clearly, one must look with a deep honesty and without too much ego. llguflurgn--, Few people do close-up magic for very long before they come face-to-face with the "heckler." At least this is what, in current jargon, we call a person who wants, at the very minimum, to take the spotlight for a few moments and, at the very worst, wants to steal the whole show. What to do about them? There is what I call the "traditional approach" which has been popular for the past forty-plus years. This is the "rude/comic retorUput down" approach popularized in the writings of Robert Orben among others, as well as in the antics of countless numbers of stand-up comics. My friend Danny Orleans, a most talented Chicago-based performer, refers to this approach as "out-heckling the heckler." Is it beginning to sound g'rlm? It is, I submit, a risky business for several reasons. First, for the tradi-

32 Eucnxn BUnGER tional approach to play well, one needs to be very good/fast with comic retorts. Second, there arises the question of character: Do you really want to be cast as a Don Rickles type of character? Third, the traditional approach is presumed to work for the following reason: the heckler is expected to be so devastated by the performer's tacky remark that he is stunned and/or embarrassed into silence. Perhaps this was true in the good old days but today the traditional approach to dealing with the heckler can easily generate endless combatiueness: He says something. You say something. He replies. You reply. And on and on. And the danger is that the whole show begpns to fall apart. Members of the audience become uncomfortable and/or bored-and wish they had gone to that movie instead. I would suggest, in other words, that the traditional approach really isn't all that entertaining-unless, of course, the character you are creating is somewhere in the stand-up comic mold. People don't appear to mind being insulted by an expert, but if the performer doesn't have this authority, this presence, or this inclination to insult people, he would be wise to look about for another set of strategies. Why not begin by scrapping the very name "heckler?" The word is part of thLe problem. Why put a label on those people? The problem with labels, after all, is that we begin to believe them: Do you see how this happens? Here's a scenario: I am performing, let us say, a more seriously presented effect and someone interrupts and makes a joke which happens to be funny-and several other spectators laugh. What shall I do? What shall I do then? Shall I say in my mind:'A heckler!" Is that what I should do? If I do this-if I jump to apply a label-what happens? Doesn't my mind begin to flip through its memory-bank of things to do when confronted with a heckler? Lash out! Always be the center of attention. Put him down! Never share the spotlight. Say something that "tops" what he said. Heckle him back-only better! Out-heckle him! Isn't it just too crazyl Once my mind applies the label, it begins to scan the label's associations and stored memories (all those one-liners to use on hecklers) and I am

Spcnprs AI.ID MysrpRIES FoR THE Closu-Up ENTTnTATNER 33 suddenly dealing with the post, with memories and concepts and theories, and not with the present: with this living, breathing person who, for a short time, is with me as my audience. If it was funny, why not laugh at his joke? Don't be a sour puss! Join in the fun (even if you didn't start it). What, after all, do these people want? What are they looking to achieve? The answer, clearly, is recognition. They want to interact with the performer. They want to be a part of the action, part of the show. They want to be involved. Is that bad? Hardly! What the close-up performer needs to realize is that people will talk. They will make jokes. This is part of the fun of it for them. Don't frght the inevitable! Don't swim against the stream! In close-up magical performance, spectators are so close to the magic that they very often do not maintain the aesthetic distance that they might obsenze in a legitimate theater-where shouting out comments would get them lots of negative peer pressure. Things are different sitting around a table with four or six friends who are drinking and watching a close-up performer. People will talk in such an informal setting-unless your style is exceedingly hypnotic. With your friends, of course, there is always Nate Leipzig's sage advice that one should never perform unless begged. If they have asked you twice, and you have reluctantly agreed to perform, you can pretty much be assured that your audience will be ready-and hopefully eager-to watch you. If you work professionally in a restaurant or at parties, you simply can't wait until they beg-anJrnore than your landlord would wait for the rent. And, even among our friends, waiting until they have begged us might require more patience than some of us are capable of mastering. The best weapon against internrptions, I submit, is polished, wellrehearsed performance. People respect the flow of an artistlc performance as it is being unfolded by the performing artist. (This means, if your style is brash, expect some flack.) By knowing exactly what you are going to do-and exactly what you might say (what you do say is conditioned in large measure by the situation and by those particular spectators for whom you are performing)- you lay the groundwork for not being interrupted. In other words, the well-rehearsed performance often simply does not provide an opening for the interrupter to internrpt. But even speaking of "weapons" against the intermpters is to use language which is itself part of the traditional, combative approach to these people. A far wiser course is to work with them.let them have the spotlight for a few moments (you can afford to appear generous), join forces with them, and allow the situation to develop as fun for everyone. Some of my better

34 Eucrxr BuncER lines, after all, have been stolen from spectators who made them during my performances. And, don't forget the way of judo: using your opponent's aggression against him. Say, for example, a spectator comments, '7 know how you did that!" First of all, accept the fact that perhaps he does-and so you don't want to get into it with him unless you want to encourage him to explain his theories to everyone else. And, then, you're in the theatrical pits! I/e wants recognition. Give it to him! Roll with the punch. Flow with the stream. Give him the recognition that he wants. Try being gracious and not cutting. Sometimes a wink and a smile in his direction is suffrcient to quiet him. The wink says, in effect, that you do not doubt what he is saying-and it is, therefore, a kind of peace offering to get him to join forces with you instead of working against yort. If he doesn't seem to get the message, you might continue as follows: "Don't tell the others-sell it to them later when I'm finished." This is said lightly, with a smile, and not in a superior way with a look that could kill. Now I might not say all of that sentence. Each additional phrase in the sentence is added only if you want the statement to be stronger. I might, for instance, stop with "Don't tell the others." On the other hand,I might add, "sell it to them later," and, perhaps, "when l'm finished." The sentence--or that part of the sentence which I choose to use-most often produces smiles and, more important, allows me to continue on with my work. Sometimes when someone interrupts, it is enough simply to stop, to freeze,to not m.oue until the disrupter becomes quiet. This is also effective for a group of interrupters. Basically, it is an old technique which has been used for centuries by school teachers to get their classes quiet. Under no circumstances would I personally want to make nasty glances toward the interrupter; nor would I want to lecture him. Not only is this anti-entertaining, there is simply no way you can look good following this approach. Better to giue up! Really! Finish the effect that you are doing, thank everyone, and sfopor go on to another group who will probably be most eager to see what you can do. As I see it, the important thing is to be perceived as being a warm and pleasant person. (In fact, why not try being such a person?) Close-up magic, after all, is brought to a party to facilitate fun and good times. When the performer starts insulting the guests and giving lectures on good behavior, he is skating on very thin ice indeed. "Hecklers," if you insist on using that rather dreadful label, arc people too. Don't forget that. Try listening to what they are saying. (It might be more amusing than what you are saying.) Don't be afraid to allow people to join in the funeven if they should do this verbally. Close-up work is not platform work. The distance to the platform has been replaced with intim.ocy. The end result is that your audiences may enjoy your close-up work all the more

SncnBTS AND MvsrBRrES FoR THE Cr,osB-Up EurnnrArNER 35 if you let them talk, if you talk with them, and if you don't act annoyed and try to shut them up with rude one-liners when they interrupt you. They are, after all, the customers-and as the retailing giant, Marshall Field, wisely said: "Give the lady what she wants." In other words, now that you've learned your script and rehearsed it to the point where you can do it perfectly, don't be afraid to depart from it if that's the way the situation is developing. You have nothing to lose and much to gain. As Lao Tzu wrote in his Fifth Century, B.C. classic, Tao Te Ching: An army without flexibility never wins a battle. A tree that is unbending is easily broken.

$loluo$N I have never cared much for sponge balls. On an "Elegance Scale" of 10, Id give them a 2. But when, in early 1978, I suddenly found that I had been engaged to perform close-up magic four nights a week in an opening Chicago "Magnificent Mile" restaurant-and I had a performing repertoire of sir effects-I knew that "repertoire development" needed to be high on my list of priorities. I had three weeks before the restaurant opened. I looked for material in my own past-that is, in the material that I had performed while a teenager. And who hasn't, at one time or another, performed sponge balls (or "rabbits")? The following routine, while quite simple, is entertaining and the frnal unfoldment has real impact-and, I frnd, will even produce smiles and nods of approval when performed before magicians. Most often, I use this as my opening routine. Too much talk here at the beginning can be deadly. During one's opening effect, spectators frequently want to see what this self-proclaimed magician is going to do that is magicaL This is what they want. What.I want is this: I want them to relax ar;Ld have a good time. I want them to get caught up in the magic and have fun with me That's what .I want. This routine allows me to frnd out the frrst names of up to four spectators, the plot is easy to follow, the pace is fast, and there is one surprise after another. Usually, there is much laughter and, since no one is embarrassed, people will begin to like you. (Spectator embarrassment, I must add, really is used much too much in close-up work. While it might make performers feel good, it usually doesn't do much for audiences unless administered by a master-something infrequently seen.) The ending of this routine-18 one-inch sponge balls in a spectator's hand-well, just think about it for a minute. Early in my professional career, I confess, I attempted to drop the effect from my repertoire. Not only am I not that fond of sponge balls, but to perform the routine smoothly (and how else would you want to perform it?) requires that you donate your entire right trouser pocket (or left, if you are left-handed) to this one effect. I say I "attempted" to drop it because, once I had stopped doing it, people who returned to the restaurant or who began booking me for parties began requesting it. Hostesses as well as corporate secretaries have told me over the telephone: "And be sure to bring those little red balls!" I bowed to this larger wisdom and now I always perform the routine-at a table, behind a bar, standing out in the open at a party. This latter performing situation-standing out in the open at a party without a table-is my favorite. I ask a gentleman to be the "table"-

Spcnnrs ArvD MysrBRrES FoR THE Closo-Up ENTBnTATNER 37 adding that *it isn't exactly a challenging role." I ask him to hold his hands together, palms upward. I begin by placing two balls on his outstretched palms. Not only is this a good way to provide yourself with a performing surface, even more important, the table becomes the center of attention, the focal point, the place where the magic is happening-and the back of your hand is free to rest on your hip and your proverbial first finger and thumb can pluck balls from the top of your trouser pocket (frg.1). To steal the balls without detection requires that the table, rather than your hands, remains the focal point of attention. At the two points in the routine where spectators themselves actually hold balls in their own hands, I move their closed hands about one inch above the "table" so that the balls will drop down when the spectator opens his or her hand rather than spring up.lf t}re balls spring up they will inevitably fly all over-and you will frnd that the routine ends on the decidedly offbeat note of "helping the magician try to find his sponge balls." At the conclusion, when the spectator opens his hand and the 18 balls begin to appear, it is usually impossible for the two spectators to contain them all-and afew will invariably drop to the floor. This, of course, heightens the uisual impact of the effect. The spectators perceive that there are so many balls that they can't hold them all. (If performing this routine while sitting at a table, I remove all 18 balls from my pocket and wedge them between my legs, near the crotch, remove two balls and place them on the table.) Routine: "I like to begin with this because it is a gan?e of obseruation. It will tell me how obseruant you are. You see, if you're not uery obseruant, this is considerably easier for me to do." Turning to a spectator on my left, I ask his/her first name. "Well, Betty (or whatevei, hold your hand palm upward like this (demonstrate with your own left hand). Now if I were to place one ball in my left hand (do so, actually retaining it in the right hand) and one ball in your hand (pick up the ball on the table, adding the ball in your hand and place both balls as one into the spectator's hand and close her hand and, hold it closed). Hold it tightly! Now, if I threw the ball in my hand ouer to you (mime actions) how many balls would I haue in my hand?" The spectator replies. I show my hand empty. It drops to my side and then, if I am standing, rests on my hip. I ask:'And how many balls would you haue in your hand?' The spectator replies and is told to open her hand. As the spectator does this-and as everyone else is looking to see what is in Betty's hand, I steal one ball from the top of my right trouser pocket (ftg.2). Don't make a big deal out of this-just do it. Turning to the next spectator, I find out his or her name and say with a smile, 'Your question ls a bit more difficult. It ls a question of addition. One plus one equals?" As I say this,I place the two balls into my left hand, one at a timeadding the extra ball with the first. \ \

38 EuceNn BuncER The spectator replies. As I open my left hand to show three balls, I steal another (fourth) ball. Turning to the third spectator, I say, "Your question is euen more diffi.cult. It is a question of addition and subtraction, no calculators allowed. One plus one plus one, minus one-which I place back into my pocket equals?" Here I have placed the three balls into my left hand, again adding the extra ball with the first. I pause and openly remove one ball with my right hand and return it to my pocket. I gesture with my left hand as my right hand picks up all the remaining balls in my pocket, compresses them, and comes out of the pocket and remains at my side or on my hip. The spectator replies and I show that I still have three balls in my hand. I dump these onto the "table." I ask the fourth spectator her name and ask her to hold her hand palm up. I pick up the three balls together and place them-along with the 15 others-into her hand, holding it closed. I look her in the eye and ask, ? I gaue you all three balls and didn't do anything at all, how many balls would you haue?" The spectator replies and is told to slowly open her hand revealing the 18 balls (frg.3)! Notes: The recurring phrase above, "spectator replies," is important. I reply to what they say. My aim here is interaction. Dick Cavett was interviewed on the subject of the art of good conversation (in The Arnerican Express, a newsletter for card holders, August, 1981) and replied to the question, "What mistakes do people make?" by saying: "You have to learn to listen to what others are saying-instead ofjust waiting for the pause so you can jump in with your comment. You know what I mean. One person might say,'I opened the trunk, and you'll never guess what I found.'And the other person says, 'Do you have any hobbies?'" Personally, I perform this routine in an almost conversational manner. I reply to the spectators and laugh and joke with them even though I have a definite script to which I can (and do) return. One other comment by Dick Cavett in that interview should be considered. Talking about ways to keep people's interest, he says, "Mention their names-frequently. It's magical. If you can develop the habit of remembering and using the other person's name, you almost don't have to worry about anything else in conversation." Remember what I said about using names? This routine is a fine example of how I do it.

Sncnnrs At.rD MysrnRrEs FoR THE Closp-Up ElrrnnrAINER 39 TluBu[g[0arilru I have long believed the old adage that if you want to learn something, you should teach it for a time. Consequently, I would urge you, at some point in your magical development, to find a good student. (A good student is one who is sefmotivated, who really wants to learn, who is willing to worh, and-need I add?-who knows a bit less about the subject than you do.) I have found that some of my best ideas have come to me during sessions with students. This effect was developed in such a session. The original version did not require any sleight-of-hand though it did require a bit more elaborate preparation. Should you be interested, that version (using Tarot cards and a more bizarre presentation) will appear in Tony Andruzzi's forthcoming book, The Scroll of Masklyn ye Mage. For table or bar work, this routine has much to offer: there is a strange ritual, a tiny candle, arcane symbols, a flash of fire, and a personalized souvenir for the spectator to take home.In a restaurant or lounge setting, flashes of frre are especially good since they alert other patrons of your presence and create interest in what you are doing. Effect: A card is selected and returned to the deck. Pentagrams are inscribed on two small pieces of paper and the name of the card is written on a third. The spectator holds the deck between the palms of both hands. The performer lights a small candle and mutters a few barely audible mystic words. The paper goes up in a flash of flame. When the spectator looks through the deck and removes the chosen card, it is found to have been burned through with the mark of the pentagram! Working: With an Ex-acto knife or a single-edged razor blade, cut a small pentagram in the card. Burn the edges of the cut (frg.1). The best way to do this is to lower the card over the flame of a candle, allowing all of the edges to be sooted and burned slightly. Remove the duplicate of this card from the deck. A black, three-fold, construction paper folder is made to hold the smallsize sheets of flash paper. My folder has a pentagram on it inscribed in a circle. This is done by hand with a white China Marker (frg.2). This "book," The Legendary Scroll of Masklyn ye Mage, was published in 1982. lt is a hand-antiqued and calligraphed scroll wound on wooden dowels, handmade by Andruzzi an a limited and long-ago sold out edition. A photograph of it and an excerpt may be found in Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine, Vol.63 No.1 0, October 2000.

40 EucpNB BuncER The burned card is placed on top of its duplicate and both cards are slipped into the folder until needed (fig.3). A small birthday candle, a holder for the candle, a small envelope into which the card will frt nicely, and a marking pen complete the props. Place them all into a small box. Routine: I hand the deck out to be shuffled. While this is being done, I reach into the box and remove the two cards from the foldea palming them in the right hand, and bring out the folder and place it on the table. "One of the irtteresting things about being a magician ls that you meet some pretty weird people." Sometimes I smile and add, "Present company included." As I begin this speech, I place the folder on the table, pentagram side up, pick up the face-down deck and add the two palmed cards to the top. Since the top card is now the burned one, the pack must be handled with awareness of the spectators' lines of vision. Almost immediately, a break is obtained under the top card and the deck is double undercut. The burned card is now on the bottom and the unburned duplicate is on top. While doing this, I have been delivering the following monologue. "Recently I met a wonl.an who said she was a witch. She gaue me this: a small folder inside of which are these small papers-somewhat the size of marijuana papers, I am told-that are used in a bizate ritual. You're interested already, aren't you? This is called the Ritual of the Pentagram, as in the old werewolf mouies, and so on two of the papers I shall inscribe the mark of the pentagram. The next thing we need to do is to select o victim."This usually creates abazz and I will go with the responses that are produced. When I say the word "victim," I will look at one particular person and smile. nNo, no, you're not going to be the uictim. You will select a uictim." If the person now points to one of the other people in the party, I will turn to that person and say, "How quickly they turn on you!" Then: A card, u'ill be the uictim----otherwise you might find this a bit too heauy."The top card is forced and the spectator is told to show it to everyone present. 'Being good sports, we're going to let the uictim hide." Holding the deck in my left hand, I riffle the outer-left corner with my left thumb and have the spectator stop me. I lift all the cards above the stopping point rvith my right hand. The card is returned and the top portion replaced-a break being held above the card with the left fourth frnger. "The next thing we need to do is to make o representation of the uictim. We're going to use one of the oldest methods known; using the uictim's nanle. Would you write doutn the name of the uictim on this blank sheet and place it between the two sheets marked with pentagrams."Duing this speech, I bring the forced card to the top and the burned card to the center. If the lines of vision allow, I will do this with a pass. If not, I double

Spcnprs AI.rD MySTBRIES FoR THE Ct osp-Up ENInnTAINER 4L undercut the cards to the table. (With the right hand remove half of the cards above the break and place them on the table. Remove all the cards above the break and place them on top of the tabled cards. Then place the cards which remain in the left hand on top of those on the table.) The spectator takes the paper and pen and I add: "You can obbreuiate if you wish. If you selected the Ace of Spades, fo, ucample, simply write AS.' As I say this, I palm the duplicate card from the top of the deck and reach into my box to remove the candle, candle holder, and the small envelope-leaving the palmed card behind. I take the papers from the spectator and ask her to hold her left hand palm upward. I place the deck upon her palm and ask her to place her other hand on top ofit. "Of course, you can't have a bizarre ritual without a candle." The candle is lit and the paper taken in the right hand. Muttering some indistinct words, as if in a foreign tongue, I make the sign of the pentagram with the papers over the candle, and then let the papers touch the flame. After the reaction to the flash has begun to subside, I look at the spectator and say, "Flashy, isn't it? What was the narrle of the uictim? Look through the deck and remoue the card.' The card is shown. After the reaction to the card has subsided, I usually add,'I did this once and a lady asked,'Can we do that with people now?"' I place the card in the envelope and write the spectator's name upon itusing the technique described in Bert Allerton's book The Close Up Magician (published by Magic Inc.). As I give the envelope to the spectator, I add: "But don't sleep in the same room utith it tonight." 0hssPruf,uu[UN You are standing in the middle of a cocktail party and someone comes up to you with a friend. He introduces the friend to you. You shake handsas you do this, you gnp his forearm with your left hand. Not only very macho, it also demonstrates that both of your hands are empty-without saying anything. You look the man in the eye, repeat his name in a sentence (in the best %P/f This lettering technique is also described on p.32 of The Performance of Close-Up Magic (Burger, 1987).

The glass is secretly obtained from the holder by the right hand while you're standing. with the bottom against the fingers and the open end near the palm, it can be quite securely held in place. You are standing to the right of the spectator, touching the upper part of his right arm with your left hand-this misdirects him. 42 Eucnxp BuncER Dale Carnegie fashion) and, suddenly, reach under his coat and produce awhiskey glass frlled with ... I leave that to you. This was the effect as perceiued by the spectator that I wished to achieve. The device illustrated will, I dare say, "do the trick." It was inspired by a creation of Sam Berlanfl's-though this device, unlike Sam's, retains the cover within itself. You are left, therefore, with a glass of liquid in your hand and nothing else. No rubber covers are in the hand at any time and so there are no disposal problems. Start with a Stainless Junior clasp inches long and a half inch wid tionery stores) and bend the long en with a pair of pliers. Keep this i cloth or plastic tape around the pr the hole thus formed, thread a lengt of the ribbon are attached to the (which has also been sewn-if you u here, you might frnd yourself embarrassingly nret one day) which fits snugly around the top of the glass. The glass in its holder is illustrated in figure 1. A rubber sink stopper is obtained at the local hardware store which frts snugly into the glass. Illustrated is a standard whiskey or shot glass. Since larger stoppers are available, I suspect a larger glass could be found and used, though I have never personally experimented along those lines. A length of ribbon is attached to the stopper's convenient metal ring. The other end is tied through the opening formed in the clasp. One last piece of tape is wrapped around the ribbon just under the clasp-and the device is frnished. The stopper, you wiII discover, can be wedged into the glass very tightlyso that it can be carried in one's pocket or close-up case lying on its side. Worn in this way, you could do somersault ri la Long Tack Sam prior to the production. The glass is immediately brought into view at the tips of the fingers. Reach rapidly beneath the left side of his open jacket.

Socnnrs AND MysrnRrES FoR THE Cr,osp-Up ENrpnrArNER 43 Alternately, the stopper can be in the glass and only lightly pushed down. In this position, a sharp downward pull and the glass will be in your hand. I have worn the holder in two ways. First, hanging from my belt on the right side-the glass hanging an inch or two above the bottom edge of my coat. Because of the clasp, the device is very easily slipped over the belt and does not require the use of a safety pin which can easily damage your clothing. Second, I have slipped the clip over my inner breast coat pocket so the glass hangs inside the jacket. For a brief period I included dice stacking in my work and finished the routine with the production of the glass from under the dice cup.In the act of returning a pen to the inner pocket at the conclusion of the previous effect, a downward pull on the glass would release it. It was then held between the knees until needed. With a bit of work, you can learn to adjust the stopper from the tightlywedged-in to the lightly-in-place right under their noses. Holding the stopper between the thumb and first frnger, push the glass against your body with the fingers so that the thumb and first finger can easily and slightly dislodge the stopper. There is little more that can be said, because devices such as this are things that you must put together and play with for yourself. That is the fun of it. You will see that it is quite simple to steal the glass while standing or sitting. It takes but a fraction ofa second. You can devote your energy to constructing the choreography ofthe situation so that the steal occurs on a natural off-beat-as everyone is looking at something other than your hands. Repeating the spectator's name as if confrrming it---or asking the spectator a question, prefacing it with his name and looking him right in the eyes-works well for me. F[UopIll|olilerru When one considers the very real popularity of thumbtips, it is a bit surprising that so little has been done with devices that can hold them until needed. Putting a (loose) thumbtip on your thumb in your pocket requires at least /a.ro movements; the first to grasp the tip and the second to slip it on. This is one movement too many. Further, if there are other objects in the pocket beside the tip, one or more additional movements may be necessary before the thumb emerges triumphant from the pocket with the tip in place. This all adds up to fumbling-the great enemy of magical presentation. First of all, I must tell you that I have never used a thumbtip. And I cringe every time I see a performer drape a handkerchief over his first and make a well in it using his thumb! How "out of it!" It is a movement that would be made only by a very small child, an uncoordinated or hand-

44 EucpNn BuncER icapped person, or a magician up to some mischief. I am a believer in fingertips rather than in thumbtips-but I wouldn't want to arm wrestle you over that preference. This holder was originally designed to steal a fingertip from the outer breast pocket as I replaced a small pair of scissors. The finger entered the tip and with one movement the tip was on the finger. I then discovered that the holder works equally well in the right or left jacket pocket. Further, if it is about an inch narrower than the width of your pocket, it makes a handy diuider for the pocket. The holder itself is simply constructed from cardboard, cloth or plastic tape, ribbon, a short length of one-half inch wide elastic, and a stapler. First the tip is placed on the cardboard in the center and the elastic is held over it and stapled in place on both sides of the tip. A piece of ribbon goes over the front of the elastic and is held in place with tape at the bottom of the tip. Alternatively, a piece of cloth or plastic tape can be doubled over the elastic (so neither side is sticky) and then held in place with tape at the bottom of the tip. The entire device is now covered with tape (fig. 1). You might find that your various jackets have breast pockets which are of different depths. No problem. Simply take another piece of cardboard and, with some rnore tape, put an extension on the bottom of the hold,er. I have also used the fingertip as a nail writer. A small hole was punched in it with a metal nail and a piece of crayon inserted and held in place with household cement. I obtained it as I returned a pencil (which used a crayon as "lead") to my breast pocket. Note:lf you use this device to hold a thumbtip, the thumbtip is placed into the holder with the'hail" of the thumbtip facing the back of the holder. $igt1sil [aril It1 llallr[ ru Relax! This is not yet another method for the card-to-wallet. It is, rather, a presentational strategy for what is, I believe, the finest of the many fine card-to-wallet options which are currently available. My vote goes to the fabulous Mullica Wallet created by Tom Mullica. Why? I perform at a large number of corporate cocktail parties throughout the year-doing what I call "walk around." This means, as I tell prospective clients, the guests do not need to stop talking and watch the entertainment;the entertainment, rather, flows into the party.After all, not everyone wants to stop talking at a party and trying to get everyone quiet so the magician can do his tricks can often be a pretty dreary business. Most prospective clients "grok" (cf. Stranger in a Strange Land) immediately and, I am happy to say, I am kept quite busy doing this sort of work. At such an event I may perform a routine consisting of five or six effects perhaps 30 to 50 times for groups of two to eight persons.I will have addi-

Sscnnrs AI.rD MvsrpRrES FoR THE Closn-Up ENInnTAINER 45 tional material available, of course, but for the most part, I will work my way through the party using the set routine. The Mullica Wallet fits into this performing situation perfectly. Not only is it designed for performance without a performing surface, it is best done with spectators standing around you looking down at your hands. Further, when I return this wonderful wallet to my pocket it is ready to go again. No reset. I must say that at a party I have neither the time nor the inclination to perform material that needs to be reset in some special way-not because I amlazy but because I work fairly quickIy at such parties and my goal is to perform for euery interested person. (This means I stay clear of those who are obviously discussing business deals,lost or found love, etc.) The effect of the Mullica Wallet is quite stunning. If you follow the presentational strategy which I suggest, you may find that spectators' mouths will literally drop open. I do. What more could you ask? Owners of the Mullica Wallet will understand the following routine. Others might ask themselves how this stratery might be applied to effects in their own repertoires. Let's call the strategy "Leading Them Down the Garden Path" because the audience is led to believe that the effect is a prediction of a card freely selected. When the actual signed card makes its appearance from the pocket of the inner wallet, the effect upon the audience is one of complete surprise-and surprise, as I have already said, is one of the major elements that makes magic fun to watch. Routine: "Wouldn't it be wonderful to know in aduance what was going to happen? Here, you take the deck in your own hands. Spread the faces of the cards toward you so that I can't see them and remoue any card you find sexually intere sting." To another spectator I say, "Nou) we're going to find out what's really going on here." To the first spectator I say, "or a card that you find itteresting or unusual. Here is your first question. Do you want to keep that card or do you want to change it?" Th'e spectator keeps it or chooses another. "You keep the card and I'll take the deck. Now, on the face of that card write your first nar"ne. Show the card to eueryone. Now return it to the deck. Here is your second question. Do you think that I could haue known, before I gaue you the deck, what card you were going to take out?" The spectator says "No." I say,'Ye of little faith!" or The spectator says "Yes." I say, "GoodlYou're beginning to get the picture here!" Either way, I continue, "You see, my hand is empty and, in my pocket, I haue this wallet. Inside the wallet is one red-backed card. Here, you hold the deck." The spectator is handed the deck-which is blue-backed. "Wouldn't it be amazing if this red-backed card matched your blue-backed card? What was your card?" The spectator names the chosen card. One evening while performing in the Close-Up Gallery at lhe Magic Castle I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Larry Jennings' eyes grow wide when I removed the Joker from the wallet because the spectator had, indeed, taken the Joker from the bluebacked deck.

46 EucnNn BUnGER 'Well, this is my good luck card, it is a uery old, red-backed Joken I keep it right here for good luck. On this side of the wallet there is a pocket. Do you see it? Inside the pocket is another wallet and inside this wallet there is a blue-backed card.What was your card?"I look at the blue-backed card and act surprised, "Not only does this match it, this is it!" The signed card is handed to the spectator. Notes: The red-backed Joker has been treated with brown shoe polish on both sides and creased and folded so that it looks very old. The selected card is brought to the top ofthe deck via a pass as I say the words, "before I gave you the deck," I lean forward and look at the spectator when I do it. Once the secret deed is done, the deck is immediately handed back to the spectator. When I say, "Wouldn't it be amazing if this red-backed card matched your blue-backed card,'I am holding the open wallet in my left hand so that my right first finger can point at-and almost touch-the deck as I say, "yolt blue-backed card." The trickiest part of the routine is to act surprised yourself. This is what separates the men and women from the boys and girls. The frnal line is spoken wit}:.force as you look the spectator directly in the eyes. After all, something really uncanny is being revealed. In the blue-backed deck that I hand the spectator, there are two Jokers. My own experience is that, with the above script, I have about a 40%olikelihood that the Joker will be selected-most often by women, but also by men. By asking the spectator to select a card that he or she finds "sexually interesting," you are not simply saying something amusing, you are also asking for something incongruous-and, for a moment, the spectator is thrown off guard. The spectator's place on the hot seat is intensifred when I immediately say to another spectator, "Now we're going to find out what's really going on here." To the frrst spectator I then add, oor a card that you find intercsting or unusual." This takes him off the "hot seat" a bit-and, if he has spread the faces of the cards so that he sees one or both of the Jokers, you might be surprised yourself how often the Joker ^IS selected. It is all quite psychological, of course, and these things are diffrcult-possibly, impossible-adequately to express in written words on a page. You need to work with it yourself. If I told you there is an element of the performer "willing" the spectator to select the Joker, you might think I am a bit strange. But there is. (And I am.) Psychological forces, I submit, are much more psychological than many performers seem to believe. The success of such forces, from my own experience, depends to a great extent upon the performer's attitude-which must generate a presumption of success along with a pleasant confidence (authority). When the spectator does select the Joker, need I tell you that you have a real miracle on your hands? (Don't get giddy or begin to salivate!) Slowly turn over the red-backed Joker as if this were, indeed, the point of the proceedings and let the impact of what has just happened sink in. Don't

Sncnprs Ar.rD MvsrnRrES FoR THE Closp-Up ENrnnrArNER 47 be in a hurry here. Then, smile and say, "I'm glad you liked that, but that wasn't euen the best part. You see, on this side of the wallet there is a pocket, and in the pochet there is another wallet and in the pocket of this wallet there is a blue-backed card, which is your signed Joker/" What I want you to see here is how the performer's impact as a worker of wonders is intensifred when he is able to produce real surprises. Lead an audience to expect one thing, and then do something else-that is as strong or stronger than the spectators' original expectations-and you will see that the effect of this stratery can easily be to leave your spectators dumbfounded. Personally, I use this strategT of "Leading Them Down the Garden Path" in several effects in my repertoire-especially in my renditions of two of Matt Schulien's classics, "The Card in the Matchbook" and (what I believe is one of the strongest card plots yet conceived by magical brains) "The Signed Card Under the Tablecloth." Finally, this is a routine which has earned me a reputation and a lot of money. If you do it well, it will do well for you. Let's have 15 seconds of silent appreciation for Tom MuIIica and his generosity in putting his wonderful wallet into the hands of his fellow performers. $imof, Bill h flaluffiorru The title tells the story: A borrowed, signed bill mysteriously (please!) vanishes from the hand and reappears in a matchbox. If you like this routine, thank Phil Willmarth. Left to my own devices, I certainly would not have included it since it is one of my favorite routines-and one which, in a restaurant or lounge, happily gets the money out on the table! Preparation: In my close-up box are two matchboxes. One is frlled with matches and the other contains a ten dollar bill folded four times so the corner denomination does not show, since sometimes this bill replaces a borrowed twenty dollar bill. Routine: I borrow a ten (or twenty) dollar bill and ask a lady on my right to mark it by writing her first name over Mr. Hamilton's (or "Old Hickory's") forehead. As this is being dor€, I reach into the close-up box and remove the matchboxes. The one containing the matches is placed on the table and the other is left in the lap. I remove the duplicate bill from the lapped matchbox and place it next to the matchbox which is left in my lap half open (fig.1). Both of these routines are described in my booklet On Matt Schulien's Fabulous Card Discoveries, and are explained on pps.106 and I 1 1 of this book.