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.

Key Ring Linking

Years ago Jay Sankey released Three Ring Circus. Linking Rings with key rings. And this is a wonderfully golden idea within his pile of not so good ideas he has released over the years. So we got normal objects and you link them. Unfortunately the DVD that came with the props didn't really have a well structured routine. And mine is far from it, but I at least tried to come up with a motivated reason to get into the pocket getting the dupes. So I came up with this one handed unlink which I like and use. The angles are pretty good and it freed the other hand to do the dirty business.

It's not a huge mind blowing routine that will make you the star of the night, but it is one of those tricks that is easy to carry around in the wallet. The Bonus is something that I came up with. So you only need the key key ring and you can link two sets of keys. Trust me when I tell you that this plays big. You do some magic to their property. And just like the cellphone everyone has keys. The extra ring that appears won't even be noticed, as each spectator thinks the extra ring is from the other set of keys that belongs to the other spectator.

Getting in and out of the bonus trick is easy enough and the gimmick is so hilariously ordinary you cannot not like it.

Ring and Rope #1

Rope magic is one of those fields that is hard to credit. So many moves are just so darn similar. It is refreshing to us the old "loop through the neck" in a new way. "Cord Through" is the name of the first part of the routine. It's by Shigeo Takagi and was published in the Apocalypse (Vol. 11 No. 10 p.1552). He uses a shoe lace and a bottle opener. But I needed a ring for the second phase, so I used that.

The first part of the second phase is reminiscent of David Williamsons great Ring and Rope routine, making use of a familiar rope gimmick. It doesn't hinder the first phase at all. The second part of the second phase is by me. I found this by accident. If you do what I did in the video and hold your right hand the way I was holding it in the video, you'll end up wit the same result. First the ring will move towards your thumb ten hit it and stop. Pulling some more will pivot the ring around the thumb releasing the rope, while the ring hangs on the thumb automatically.

Steamy Ring

There is a certain loveliness about dry ice. When it evaporates it goes into the realm that people think of when they think of magic. There is a problem handling it though. I found a freaking solution. A thermos bottle. Half full of that. Right before the show you take out a big piece with a pair of tweezers. And just put it on a piece of wood in your close up case. You can touch it. Briefly. The same way you can touch a hot cup of coffee. Of course people know about dry ice, so don't expect them to be all mystified. But it sure gets a great reaction. And if you use the smoke as an effect enhancer instead of an effect by itself, you will still get credit for the actual effect. Garret Thomas ' Ring Thing was the first thing I thought of. And it is alright.

Impro Ring Stuff

Toying around with sleights and stuff always is worth doing. Aside from the practice you might end up creating something. This started out as a cheap gag. Any ring to any cup. If I simply drop any ring into any cup the premise would be fulfilled. From there the sequence of effects started happening all by itself. True improvisation. It starts with the ring jumping back on the index finger. If you recognize Garrett Thomas "Ring Thing" work here you are correct. This is of course a nice application of a pretty damn old thimble color change. The whole sequence has only one purpose, to establish the fact that a ring is being used. This makes the appearance of the coin so utterly "fanatastic" or at least a little bit bigger than it really is. The cheap gag is actually kinda important, as it completely misdirects from the actual effect, making it much more surprising. More later... tired