Ring and Rope #2

This routine is not final yet. It has been getting changes over the years. But I think it is a solid routine and it can be done anywhere. All the phases leading up to the part with the extra little bit are taken vom various sources. Willi Wessel, Flip, Daryl and Tabary. The phase right after the steal in which the middle visibly links with the ring is my own. The main bulk following that is almost directly taken from David Williamsons fantastic ring and rope routine. Letting the spectator hold the ring really elevates the trick for some weird reason. And taking off the ends from the rope in the context of a ring and rope routine is something that I have seen Richard Sanders doing.

The routine directly leads into my Rope Routine #1, which leads to solid 7 minutes of magic. That combination is my main opener in my theater show. I've played it so often that I lost count, but I assure you. Packs flat plays big really applies here.

Ring and Rope routines in general are not seen very often these days. I cannot tell you why, but it is a classic and a good one. Unlike the sucker die box.

Mommy and Poppy

So this is a continuation of an effect I've been working on for a long time now. I've been performing it ever since as well. I changed the ending to the original handling. The Original had two nuts being screwed on the bolt. Which was fine, but you basically had to admit to use two nuts to make it logical. The main reason for the original two nuts on the bolt was the source. I took it from Doc Eason's "All Screwed Up" routine. Doc Eason told me that the originator of the routine was the late Christopher Frings of Birmingham in Alabama. So initial credits go to him.

So let's talk about this version. The main reason I call the nut "Mommy" is simple. In German the technical nut is called "Mutter" which is the same word for "Mother". (What is meant of course we see from the context of the sentence.) So in German the thing is called "mother" so calling the bold "Poppy" kinda makes sense in Germany. And it gets a chuckle, do to the phallic nature that is implied. Sure the routine is kind of immature and still lacks a decent premise. That's why it is still work in progress.

Now the routine is not about how your brain is confused if I show you the same two nuts over and over again; it's about the same nut coming back and back again. So method wise the first one is a standard FT which is fine as it gives you hand a reason to go into the pocket. What follows is a series of either flying shuttle passes (popularised and made up by Jay Sankey) and the Sylvester Pitch by Dan Sylvester the Jester also known as the "Intertia Pass".

What follows after the appearance of the bolt is simple a shuttle pass and David Williamson's Striking Vanish in yet another variation.

The setup is really, really simple. Just reconstruct the routine and you know how simple it is and that it really won't hinder your other magic.

Linking Safety Pins

I decided to include this for one reason: Nobody does it. It's a beautiful little impromptu jewel. The needed preparation can be done all in the open and the "soft pin" principle is being used here. The routine you see in the video is quite basic. Just two links and two un-links. Like the big brother - the linking rings - the actual realization of the links are delayed creating wonderful time misdirection from the dirty work. In the end everything indeed can be examined. There is a angle issue with this routine. The audience must be in front of you. When this trick is appropriate the conditions are mostly one on one. And safety pins are all around us. So don't forget this little one.

Coins Through Cork

I assume you are familiar with the god awful plastic version of this. Maybe even the brass version. But all of those scream gimmick. This version is by "Kreis Magic" and is called "Cork Stopper" and is a terrific piece of magic. The prop looks like an everyday item. And the very, very cool thing about this version is that Euros coins, work perfectly for this. I mean perfectly. Other coins have to be prepared with a small iron disc that is supplied with the instruction, but 1 Euro coins are the best thing. And being a "Euro Zone" we have plenty of supply of them.

This is one of those tricks that looks like a bar bet type of trick. And you can celebrate, in fact you have to celebrate, the rolling of the bill and all of that. All of that creates a wonderful impromptu feel. There should be no doubt that there is no way for the coin to go past the cork except through. If you have a notions box, put it in there. In fact my grandma used to stick needles into a cork to keep everything tidy. So having a cork in the box will not be questioned. So you can basically have a whole notions box full of magic. Safety Pins (coming next week), magic with needles, Hindu Thread, Thimbles... you name it.

Coins Through Table

Okay, let's get the basic out of the way. There are tons of ways to accomplish the effect. And it is hard to say which version is the best. Judging from a working performers point of view a few criteria must be met. No setup, reset, angles, anywhere, anytime, deceptive and the possibility to do a big finish.

The routine has no setup at all. You get out the little purse and everything needed is in there and ends up back in there. So there is no reset, as the reset is instant. The angles are great on this one. In fact it can be done surrounded. There is no need to lap or ditch in between. That rules out most version I have come across.

Having performed this hundreds of times, I KNOW that it is deceptive and the audience has no clue about the modus operandi.

The only problem might be the sound. But really? This is a no brainer! The background noise usually cancels out any possible "wrong" sound. And even if, the audience has nothing to compare it to.

The basic routine was developed by studying Milton Kort's Coins Through the Table (Modern Coin Magic page 276) His version uses a glass to substitute the hand in most phases. And as much as I liked it, it is done a little too often for my personal taste. So here we go into the before mentioned possibility to do a big finish. Oh, wait, let me leave it at that. I didn't include that in the video. For a good reason. I don't want it out there. I don't want others to do it, unless they earn the gift, by encrypting my vague ramblings here and make it their own. To those: You got a reputation maker on your hands. To the rest: You don't deserve it.

And to those who say: "What about the last coin? It's so weak!"
The first two coins should condition the audience that you really put the coin on the table. If you fail at that, this is not for you. I've done the routine for years. And dude, that last coin is almost the strongest, if I wouldn't go into the "big finish".

Oh, yeah. Happy Easter

Ball and Silk

I did that routine for years, in my humble days of busking. I can tell you at least one thing. It plays well. The fact that it is not a card trick may play a big part in this. The bit using the Gozinta Box, the Para Box, the Inner Outer Box or the Lubor Fiedler Box is not part of the original routine. I included this to offer yet another magic way to introduce the ball. The gag that nicely foreshadows the effect of the inner box becoming the outer box is by Tom Mullica.

The actual routine consists of three parts. The first one is the penetration of the ball through the silk, which ends with the vanish of the ball. There a tons of methods out there. The most practical I found was in Jochen Zmeck's Handbuch der Magie, the German magic bible. At page 173 it starts. Following that is a pretty classic repeated appearance of the ball. The basic handling for that you'll find in Frank Garcias sponge ball book. That phase finishes with the appearance of the mandarin. Fruit always plays well. In the past I used one of the lemons I would use anyway for the Cups and Ball. So I got less props and you have a nice little element that strings the show together.

The third phase is a reprise of the first one. But this time the premise is extended to the part where the penetration can be seen half way. This is what got people. And it is necessary to have a spectator take out the ball. The thought of MAGNET is just there. You must not ignore that and need to prove that magnets are not the modus operandi. The method here... well Tarbell what do you expect?