Mailbag #25
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I have this idea of combining two tricks, one you don't really like and one I'm not sure how you feel about.
BRANDED by Tim Trono + Kolossal Killer by Kenton Knepper
so the idea is quite simple, if you have a custom made BRANDED gimmick that has: the suits on one side (like the original) and the number 3 - 6 and Q on the other side, you can brand 16 different cards. The 6 and 9 being the same basic shape.
and adding the off by one you can cover the 48 cards, like KK. you get this, not sure why I'm writing it down.
The "off by one" can be basically placed anywhere. My initial idea was to write it in the same hand in which you "brand" the fingers, and just keep the hand closed if you don't need it and open it as a "tada" moment if you do need it.
Another idea was to make the Branded gimmick easy to release from the lighter and place a sticker or just sharpie in "off by one " on the lighter. You could take the lighter gimmick out, brand the fingers, hand the lighter- gimmick to the spectator and they hold the lighter while you burn your fingers.
The whole point was just an idea to carry only 1 object for this without doing the pocket index like third degree burn.
I'm aware this is more clever than strong. But just wanted to share with you the idea. —DM
Yes, it’s a clever idea. But my issue with it is—while the tricks work together methodologically—I don’t think they make a cohesive performance piece. The blister trick (and its variations) is a very organic/elemental trick, but the “off by one” part of KK is a sort of “cerebral” revelation. “My prediction was off… but I predicted my prediction would be off.” The two tricks don’t really mesh well, in that respect.
It would sort of be like doing a stigmata effect where you make your hands bleed, and then asking the spectator if they know what word you’re thinking of and when they say, “No,” you open up your hand and show the blood has written out “NO.” Yes, you could do it, but I don’t think those things really go together.
You mentioned having dry hands in the past. What’s your current solution to deal with this? —ER
I have a feeling there is no one solution that works for everyone, I’m sure it has something to do with your own personal chemistry. So take that into consideration. What I’m currently using is O’Keeffes Working Hands cream. It gives me a few minutes of better grip/tackiness. And that’s generally all I need for my purposes (intermediate sleight-of-hand and/or jacking off).
One difference between performing magicians and amateur/social magicians is that the former usually have a stage personality. And if you are The One And Only El Magico, I think it is perfectly fine to take the "look how powerful I am" approach. But if you are uncle Harry, the guy from the Spanish evening class or just a friend, your approach is much more natural.
Do you think you have some sort of "stage personality" when doing social magic? If you do, I bet there is some sort of smear effect between this personality and your everyday just-Andy-and.nothing-magical personality. But maybe you don't change personality at all when doing magic. —AS
My goal is to have no performing “persona.” Occasionally I will play dumb during a magic trick for laughs, but occasionally I play dumb in real life for laughs, so that’s still congruent with who I am.
I don’t want my spectators to recognize a shift in personality when I go into a trick. I want them to recognize it’s a trick (maybe not immediately, but at some point) due to the subject matter and the strange thing that is happening. But I want them to feel like they’re going through this experience with me, the person they know and care for, not with Andy the Magnificent. That grounds the effect, even if it’s completely fantastical.
The feeling I’m striving for is that they’re the same person, and I’m the same person, but we’ve drifted into a different reality where weird shit happens.
This is sort of the underlying theme of the next book.