David Beckham – by Paul Ingram
I have been experimenting with signatures on playing cards ever since reading a routine by Jay Sanky entitled ‘Forgery’ from his first book ‘Sanky Panky’ published by Kaufman. I have devised many variations on the following routine however, the routine as it stands at present, is the one that I seemed to have performed the most. I perform this routine for children however, any adults watching will be more then bewildered!
Effect:A basic description of the routine would read that a stick man is drawn on the back of a playing card. The drawing is seen to jump from card to card at will. Combined with vanishes and reappearance’s the routine is lots of fun and builds to a novel climax where the drawing finishes upon the selected card.
Requirements:A deck of cards and a permanent marker pen. I use and recommend the ‘Sharpie’ brand of marker pens. These pens deliver a very black ink and also dry instantly which, in these type of routines is important.
Routine:Begin by having a selection made and upon its return control it to the top of the deck. You now state that you will also select a card and immediately perform a double turnover of the top two cards of the deck. Stating that this will be your card, the double is turned face down. You now take the pen and state that you are going to mark the back of your card so that everyone can easily keep an eye on it so that no cheating can take place. You ask the spectator to think of their favourite football player which, you will try to guess and write the name on the back of the card. You proceed to draw a stickman on the back of the top card of the deck, the spectators selection.
You now use an old gag to start the routine and establish the stickman. The spectator is asked to name the football player which they are concentrating on. Most of the time this will be David Beckham (worst luck).
Regardless of the reply, you display the stickman and claim that it is a rendition of the player as a baby! This old gag is a good one and always gets a laugh. A double turnover is performed as you show that the stickman is apparently drawn upon the back of your selection. You state that the stickman is also a magician to draw attention and focus to the face up double. Assuming that the spectators card is the 2C and your card is the 4H, you remove the 4H from the deck performing Marlo’s KM move. Basically, the face up double is being griped by its left long edge between the left hand fingers and thumb. The right hand holds the deck and the right fingers are contacting the back of the 2C. The right hand makes a wrist turn, turning palm downwards and at the same time steals the 2C to the top of the deck. This leaves the left hand holding only the 4H which, the spectators believe has the stickman on its back.
The hands are now moved to shoulder width apart, the right hand still holding the deck palm down and the left hand holding the 4H face up. The left second fingers snap the 4H and make a tossing motion into the air. The eyes trace an imaginary flight up and over to the right hand. As the gaze falls upon the right hand, the hand turns face up revealing the stickman is there having apparently travelled across from the left. The left hand slowly turns the 4H it is holding face up to reveal that it is no longer there.
The 4H is now inserted anywhere into the deck and is forgotten about. A double turnover is now performed to show that the stickman is now attached to a completely new and different card. The last sequence is now performed again to vanish the stickman from the left hand card and send it over to the top card of the deck. The spectators will now be suspecting a fake pen using special ink, so now would be a good time to let them rub the stickman to check, that it is in fact, perma-nently fixed.
You now state that the stickman is going to dive into the deck and attach itself to the back of the spectators selection. Holding the deck in an overhand shuffle position, the stickman is the top card of the deck. Begin the shuffle by drawing approximately a third of the deck. Next, run a single card onto the stickman and then injog the next card and shuffle off. Take a break at the injog and then shuffle to the break. This will position the stickman second card from the top. Turn the deck face down and obtain a right pinkie break above the bottom card. Transfer the break to the left thumb as the left hand takes the deck into biddle grip. Scissor-cut the top half of the face up deck into the right hand and then place the bottom half on top of it. The right pinkie goes into the break and is now positioned underneath the stickman.
You now say that you have no idea where the stickman is and so the spectator is going to locate him for you. You now simply dribble hold the cards in the left hand biddle position maintaining the break at the rear with the left thumb. Asking the spectator to call stop and timing it so that as they do so, all of the cards beneath the break are released. This is the standard dribble force.
Use the left hand cards to flip the right hand cards face up and then slowly turn the left hand cards face up to reveal the stickman. Perform a double turnover and look happy with yourself stating that the stickman has attached itself to the spectators selection. The spectator will deny that it is their card and think that you have made a mistake. You turn the double face down, remove the top card and partially insert it into the outer end of the deck. Use the left hand to give the card a twirl and then turn it face up to reveal that it has changed into the 2C. If timed correctly, this is a very strong piece of magic to the spectators.
The 2C is placed face down on top of the deck and while the spectators are recovering the left hand side steals the bottom card of the deck. You state that the stickman will now disappear again and perform a colour change to deposit the palmed card on top of the stickman. As you remove the left hand after the colour change use the fingers to apparently pluck the stickman invisibly from the top of the deck. Ask a spectator to hold a hand out palm up and place the invisible stickman onto it. Perform a double turnover to display the 2C and then turn it face down again to show the back is normal. Ask another spectator to hold a hand put palm up and perform a double turnover followed by a KM move to place the 2C face up onto the spectators hand.
The situation is this; One spectator will be holding onto the 2C which they believe has a normal back but actually holds the stickman and the other spectator is holding onto the invisible stickman.
To finish, tap the underneath of the hand and follow the fight of the invisible stickman up and over to the hand holding the 2C. Have the 2C turned face up to reveal that the stickman has returned.
Comments:The routine reads long but only takes 3-4 minutes to perform. There is lots of visual magic happening to an entertaining and fun presentation.
The presentation renders the routine suitable for children but, as I mentioned earlier, the adults will be baffled. To change the presen-tation for use with adults, simply sign your name on the back of the card instead of the stickman. At the finish you can also write your phone number on the card and leave it with the spectator. When using the stickman routine, I always make an origami frog with the playing card and give it to the child to keep.
For details of my own four legged origami frog design, ask me personally.
My Botania- From – Lecture Note File of Magician Gora Datta.
You can call it as a Poor man’s Botania. Here production of a bushy plant with flowers is created by simple means. It is no less mysterious than the standard mechanical prop available in the market.
Effect – A small pot is lying on the table inverted. The performer shows a cardboard tube empty by stretching it open from two sides.
Then he closes the tube and holds it in his right hand (R.H.). With left hand (L.H.) he picks up the inverted pot from the table holding it at bottom and shows inside of the pot empty. Now holding the pot up in left hand the performer inserts a part of the tube vertically inside the pot (with R.H.) and immediately lifts it up and away from the pot. The onlookers are bewildered to notice a bushy plant with flowers has grown in a flash on the pot.
Requirements – a) A bushy feather flower bouquet with a circular tin plate attached firmly to its central stalk.
b) A small flower pot (I use an aluminium pot) painted outside red and inside matt black. A wooden cylindrical rod (about 1″ height) which can easily enter the tube is fixed with glue and a screw on the inner bottom floor of the pot in central position. A strong magnet is glued on the free end (top) of the wooden rod.
c) A cardboard made Massall Tube (thanks to Peter Worlock) which is a well known prop.
Preparations – Keep the pot inverted on the table. Load the inner secret tube of the Massall Tube with the flower bouquet and hold it in R.H. (in erect position) keeping the tin plate towards the floor.
Performance – Please have a close look on the illustrations (which are self-explanatory) and follow the steps already stated in the effect. The only special care to be taken is for properly placing the Massall Tube (with loaded flower bouquet) inside the pot, so that the magnet on the wooden rod comes in contact with the tin plate of the flower bouquet.
© 2000 – Commercial manufacturing rights reserved by Magician Gora Datta (Calcutta).
Four from Clown Saileswar
Ribbon Fountain Flower Basket
Performer shows an empty basket. Magically it becomes full of flowers. He removes the flowers from the basket. Suddenly a fountain of ribbons comes out of it.
Take a flower basket. Set the ribbon fountain at the bottom of the load chamber.
The size of the ribbons should be such so that it does not fill the whole load chamber.
There must be some space on top of the ribbons for the flowers. Place the flowers
there and lock the chamber in usual way.
Rest is easy. First produce the flowers and remove them. Then produce the fountain of ribbons. It is a good climax for the flower basket.
Poor Man’s Card in Balloon
Spectator selects a card from a shuffled pack. Performer displays two jumbo size cards, one with a picture of a blue balloon and the other with a red balloon printed on their faces. He places the cards face to face. Spectator selects any balloon, say red. When performer separates the cards it is seen that blue balloon is alright, but the red balloon has “burst” with the picture of the selected card printed on it.
You need three jumbo size cards, which are as follows: 1) Picture of Blue Balloon, 2) Picture of broken Red Balloon with picture of a card and 3) a double faced card Red Balloon on one side and Blue Balloon on the other. Place the double faced card on the broken balloon card Red side showing.
Force the card on a spectator which is printed on the broken Balloon card. Show Blue balloon card and Red balloon card (hold this double card as one). Cover the double card with face down. Blue balloon card. Let a spectator select the Red balloon by the help of Conjurer’s Choice. Slide the bottom card to show the broken Red balloon with the selected card. Turn the double card face up (again hold them as one) to show the unharmed Blue balloon.
Milk Pitcher Climax
After vanishing the milk from the paper cone by using the Evaporated Milk Pitcher, you can open the paper
cone and show a picture of a funny looking cat. As if the cat has drunk the milk.
If you use a paper with a flap, you can show the paper blank before making the cone, then turn flap to have cat appear.
Mixed Up Letters
Performer shows a big size silk hanky with some letters printed on it. The letters carry no meaning.
He shakes the silk in the air and shows it again to the spectators. The letters rearrange themselves into the name of the performer.
The silk is made like a Leopard Silk or Polka Dot Silk. Now the working is obvious. You have to prepare the silk with the mixed up letters and your name on it.