CARRYING IN WITH MIKE By Simon Lovell
Mike Rogers new column is particularly fascinating to me as this is fundamental to the performance of good magic in my opinion. There are a number of effects I do that play well to magicians but not to lay people and visa-versa. As Mike points out it is the ‘hook’ that makes all the difference to lay people. By asking yourself why you are doing the effect as against how you do it you start to understand this much better.
I’m certainly not the only one who has thought of doing twisting the aces with four chosen cards instead but if you haven’t tried this I suggest you do so – it takes an already powerful effect and adds high emotional content to it! A tiny addition is that the card playing the ace of spades is a signed card from a previous effect while the others are unsigned. I can turn the unsigned ones but can’t turn the one with the signature upon it, “because it has too much of the spectators personality imprinted upon it.” I then give the packet to the spectator who signed it and get them to twist the packet and spread it out to show that they’ve ‘turned’ the card! The reaction is really cool with the added advantage that the climax of the effect happens in their hands – always a powerful syndrome. The routine I use by the way is the classic Vernon one, still the best in my humble opinion!
You can take this several stages further of course. If I am doing a four ace assembly I always use four chosen cards instead one of which has been signed from a previous routine. The signed card becomes the ‘leader card’ and is placed before the spectator who signed it. He or she magically draws the other chosen cards to their signed card. Again the spectator does the ‘magic’ not me!
Another way I add emotional content is to give the cards personalities as with the effect I described at the teach in at DMS. Essentially it is sandwich style effect but the catcher cards are the two red twos with the two of hearts representing the first flush of love and the two of diamonds representing how love can grow. Two cards are chosen one of which represents the male half of a couple I’m working to while the other represents the lady. They (their cards) are lost in the population (the deck). The twos catch the two chosen cards, “Ah they were meant to be together in love!”. A tag line I use is to give them the cards saying, “If you ever feel you are drifting apart or are just having a bad day remember how that first flush of love brought you together and much richer you have become as it has grown.” AWWWWWWW!! By adding emotional content and high interest hooks your magic can only get so much better. Remember don’t ask how – instead ask why!!
All the best for now,
Lemming
