How to and how not to do this?

[Crimson Ace]

Hey guys i'm in a bit of an interesting situation. Last Wednesday I was in my English class and I had too much stuff in my pockets. So when I sat down I took my cards out and placed them next to my notebook. We were going over some essay's and our substitute Professor looked over and asked me if I was going to a Poker game after class. I laughed and told him that they were for another purpose. Long story short it turns out that he is somewhat of a Magic enthusiast. Not one bit is he involved in learning any Magic though. Before I left I ended up showing him something from Daniel Madison's Burn. And he loved it. So much so that he asked me to perform for the whole class this Tuesday before he starts lecturing. Now my problem or problems I should say are:

1) I've never performed for anything really outside of a small group before. But now we are talking on the spot in front of about 30 people. And to be honest I predict myself getting on the nervous side.

2) I plan on showing them Witness by Lee Asher and possibly if things are going well French Kiss by Wayne Houchin. (Although i'm feeling that that is not something for a group of that size.)

Any thoughts as usual are appreciated guys.

 

[Steerpike]

What material do you already know? How often have you performed it? What can you do without even thinking about it?

 

[Aaron.Williams]

People love French Kiss I think you should perform that. I remember I did it last year in September or something like that and almost everyday someone asked me to do it for them, but I built it up until February and performed it with the whole science class in a half-circle around me (I was backed up against the wall so nobody could get behind me.) and they completely freaked out. My old science teacher is like the teacher you described, he loved watching my magic and usually took time out of the end of classes to let me perform. But in a nutshell, you should perform French Kiss, unless you've done it recently, always refrain from doing the same tricks for the people you see everyday, no matter how much they beg. And don't be nervous, a good piece of advise is to basically ignore everyone around you except the one you're performing for, it really helps take away some pressure.
Hope it helped!

 

[Slicke]

Hmm interesting, i had a similar experience myself with a different class ... I would say not to perform "In Front" of the class as it is somewhat awkward, but to perform in the middle with the other students 180 degrees in front of you ... If you are familiar with the other students then go ahead and perform Witness, if not, then i would suggest not to as you may always fall on a tough cookie aka a heckler ... Perform French Kiss first followed by witness if everything goes well ... If you have performed long enough, you will be surprise that you will not be nervous, and would rather enjoy the moment. The invisible deck will also be a good choice, just not with the old school patter, be creative and involve more than one person, this should blow their mind. After this, they will ask you endlessly to perform for them .... well ... don't, let the hype build before you strike again ...


Cheers

 

[Crimson Ace]

What material do you already know? How often have you performed it? What can you do without even thinking about it?

To name a few off of the top of my head: Pressure, Blind, Angle Zero, a lot of the effects from Dangerous actually, sloppy shuffle triumpth, simple triumpth, a handful of Ace productions, Witness, and French Kiss would have to be my most frequent material. And of course a bunch of random little card tricks that aren.t significant enough to really bring up.

My most practiced move would have to be Witness though. I always and I mean always have that one on me along with BURN

 

[Crimson Ace]

People love French Kiss I think you should perform that. I remember I did it last year in September or something like that and almost everyday someone asked me to do it for them, but I built it up until February and performed it with the whole science class in a half-circle around me (I was backed up against the wall so nobody could get behind me.) and they completely freaked out. My old science teacher is like the teacher you described, he loved watching my magic and usually took time out of the end of classes to let me perform. But in a nutshell, you should perform French Kiss, unless you've done it recently, always refrain from doing the same tricks for the people you see everyday, no matter how much they beg. And don't be nervous, a good piece of advise is to basically ignore everyone around you except the one you're performing for, it really helps take away some pressure.
Hope it helped!

yeah thankfully noone but my prof has seen me perform. So i'm going to have fun with them. It's great to hear that French Kiss works in my situation though. Takes a lot of the stress off of me. And i'll try taking your advice about ignoring them as well.

 

[Crimson Ace]

Hmm interesting, i had a similar experience myself with a different class ... I would say not to perform "In Front" of the class as it is somewhat awkward, but to perform in the middle with the other students 180 degrees in front of you ... If you are familiar with the other students then go ahead and perform Witness, if not, then i would suggest not to as you may always fall on a tough cookie aka a heckler ... Perform French Kiss first followed by witness if everything goes well ... If you have performed long enough, you will be surprise that you will not be nervous, and would rather enjoy the moment. The invisible deck will also be a good choice, just not with the old school patter, be creative and involve more than one person, this should blow their mind. After this, they will ask you endlessly to perform for them .... well ... don't, let the hype build before you strike again ...


Cheers

Yeah my number one worry about Witness was someone getting up and starting a big thing. I didn't thing of having them stand around me though. That's a great idea. And here I was all prepared to start passing stuff around after effects for the people in the cheap seats.

 

[mehar]

since I don't know how any of those effects are done I'll just tell you what I do know. Go ahead and start performing for more and more people to relieve the stress. When relatives are at your house, perform for them. When you're in the halls, perform for people. When you're waiting for a bus, perform for someone. The more you perform, the less stress!

 

[Chrisfecto]

I think both of those effects are absolutely great!!

The only thing i would suggest with both of these effects is consider your staging.

Create distance whenever possible. So for witness show the jack at a distance from them then step towards them as you're doing the dirty work and then back away from them. Same with french kiss put them on one side of the class room and you on the other.

Give clear directions to you spectators. "Stand here for me" "Squeeze your hands together tightly" "Bite down on the card and stand here" All of this will minimize the likelihood of a heckler and it will command attention and show you're in control.

Good Luck and welcome to parlor magic.
PS- Film your performance!

 

[Steerpike]

To name a few off of the top of my head: Pressure, Blind, Angle Zero, a lot of the effects from Dangerous actually, sloppy shuffle triumpth, simple triumpth, a handful of Ace productions, Witness, and French Kiss would have to be my most frequent material. And of course a bunch of random little card tricks that aren.t significant enough to really bring up.

My most practiced move would have to be Witness though. I always and I mean always have that one on me along with BURN

Okay, I don't normally do this, but...

Frame the sloppy shuffle triumph as nerves. Use it as a bit of physical comedy to take the edge off of your real nerves. Finding the deck in such disorder, quickly riffle the pack to create a nice, loud snap. Ask the volunteer what their card was, look back at the deck a moment as if something just happened and you're not entirely sure why or even what it was. Hold it up and ask them to stand slightly behind you looking over your shoulder. With the faces toward the audience, slowly spread through the cards. They can see the faces all put back in order, the volunteer sees the backs all put back in order. You come to the reversed card. The volunteer is going to see their card while the audience will see the back of it only. They will see the reaction of the volunteer first. Take a moment to let that sink in and build anticipation, and then turn the card so everyone else can see it.

The advantage here is that you can play off any nervous ticks as part of the gag and the big build-up and reveal requires no talking on your part. The reaction of your volunteer does all the heavy lifting.

Funny, dramatic, very minimalist sleights: great combo.

 

[Robert//Livingston]

Just read 'Psychological Subtleties' by Banachek ( Just for you Steer XD )

But on a serious note, Steer gave some great advice on the Triumph effect. I also like the idea of using the 'sloppy' shuffle as a nervous mistake. The revelation is also great, because you get kind of a 'double climax'. First your volunteer reacts, builds tension, and then it resolves with the rest of the audience.

I also love laughter, so whenever I can get a little joke in there I do so, BUT make sure that you don't lose that tension you build up, there is a right time and a wrong time for a laugh.

Also, I would use "You Can't Do As I Do" aka. 'the arm trick', as it will get everyone involved.

Good Luck

 

[Crimson Ace]

I think both of those effects are absolutely great!!

The only thing i would suggest with both of these effects is consider your staging.

Create distance whenever possible. So for witness show the jack at a distance from them then step towards them as you're doing the dirty work and then back away from them. Same with french kiss put them on one side of the class room and you on the other.

Give clear directions to you spectators. "Stand here for me" "Squeeze your hands together tightly" "Bite down on the card and stand here" All of this will minimize the likelihood of a heckler and it will command attention and show you're in control.

Good Luck and welcome to parlor magic.
PS- Film your performance!

Thanks for the input. And for the record you hit one of my main concers on the head. I dont want to feel like i'm locked in one spot. I want to be able to move around a bit. So positioning people is a great idea. And i'll try to have someone I know come in and shoot the whole thing. Hopefully people wont be to weirded out by that.

 

[Crimson Ace]

Okay, I don't normally do this, but...

Frame the sloppy shuffle triumph as nerves. Use it as a bit of physical comedy to take the edge off of your real nerves. Finding the deck in such disorder, quickly riffle the pack to create a nice, loud snap. Ask the volunteer what their card was, look back at the deck a moment as if something just happened and you're not entirely sure why or even what it was. Hold it up and ask them to stand slightly behind you looking over your shoulder. With the faces toward the audience, slowly spread through the cards. They can see the faces all put back in order, the volunteer sees the backs all put back in order. You come to the reversed card. The volunteer is going to see their card while the audience will see the back of it only. They will see the reaction of the volunteer first. Take a moment to let that sink in and build anticipation, and then turn the card so everyone else can see it.

The advantage here is that you can play off any nervous ticks as part of the gag and the big build-up and reveal requires no talking on your part. The reaction of your volunteer does all the heavy lifting.

Funny, dramatic, very minimalist sleights: great combo.

Thats a sick idea! Seeing as how i'll really be nervous it will be the greatest performance ever. It will without a doubt take away some nerve's. And that over the shoulder version of the sloppy shuffle triumpth is a fantastic idea!! I'll def be using that. Thanks for the help.

 

[Steerpike]

I also love laughter, so whenever I can get a little joke in there I do so, BUT make sure that you don't lose that tension you build up, there is a right time and a wrong time for a laugh.

This is very true. I wrote a little about this in my blog. Laughter as a physical mechanism is specifically made to release tension. When you laugh, it gets endorphins flowing, it sends signals to the muscles to relax, and it breaks the flow of tension in the brain.

In the case of the routine I suggested, after you do that snap of the deck and ask what their card was, play the ambiguity to the hilt. Something just happened. You don't know what it was or how it happened, but you have a suspicion. You spread through the cards, no talking on your part. Everyone sees the deck straightened out. The spectator sees his selected card reversed and facing him. You look at him with a little smile of the, "I can't believe that worked," variety. After a second or two of letting it sink in and the anticipation builds for the audience, reveal the card to them. After they laugh, then you can laugh. They were the ones to break the tension. They will unconsciously recognize that and see you as the one in control, the man with the plan.

 

[Steerpike]

Thats a sick idea! Seeing as how i'll really be nervous it will be the greatest performance ever.

What can I say, while not a Method actor, I'm pretty close. If you read "An Actor Prepares" you'll get more advice on how to turn real into experiences and emotions into acting chops.

It will without a doubt take away some nerve's. And that over the shoulder version of the sloppy shuffle triumpth is a fantastic idea!! I'll def be using that. Thanks for the help.

No problem. To be perfectly honest with you, I came up with that whole routine in about a minute. I don't normally suggest that sort of thing because the routines are always unrefined and untested. It needs polish, it needs to be performed, but the concepts behind it are sound and I've worked on variations of them individually in different effects and routines. Treat this right and adapt it properly, and you should be able to get some good mileage out of this.

 

[notsoltd]

Dude I am suprised no one has suggested pressure. I did it for a full class of 30+ kids and surrounded. I don't get shaky when I do pressure like I get when I do card effects, everyone can see it, it's so freaking visual and it hits hard as hell when you use someones phone.

When I performed it, the class got so loud and crazy that the teacher got up, and saw the phone out that was in the balloon, and the 2 or 3 phones that were out video taping it and we all got in trouble for having a bunch of phones out lol. It was crazy man like a riot lol

 

[Aaron.Williams]

Dude I am suprised no one has suggested pressure. I did it for a full class of 30+ kids and surrounded. I don't get shaky when I do pressure like I get when I do card effects, everyone can see it, it's so freaking visual and it hits hard as hell when you use someones phone.

When I performed it, the class got so loud and crazy that the teacher got up, and saw the phone out that was in the balloon, and the 2 or 3 phones that were out video taping it and we all got in trouble for having a bunch of phones out lol. It was crazy man like a riot lol

I think that's the reason, you're not supposed to have cell phones out during school, they might get taken up, but he could still use other things, but there will be some hecklers who will go:
"SHOE ME THE BACK!! NO DON'T DO ANYTHING HAND IT TO ME!!!"

so if he will do pressure, I suggest doing it after something else.

 

[Robert//Livingston]

NO DON'T DO ANYTHING HAND IT TO ME!!!"

Exposure much?

 

[Foppa21]

Take two students, your teacher, and perform Con Cam Coincidencia.

No sleight of hand (If you're the kind of nervous people, it will help a lot !), and pure magic

Hope this helps, and don't forget to let us know how it will happen !

 

[Aaron.Williams]

Exposure much?

Not exactly, the majority of people in this forum probably know pressure.