J UAN TAMARIZ

.

THE FIVE POINTSIN

MAGIC

Editorial FraksonMagic Books

Juan Tamariz-MartelFrakson Boo ks, 1988All rights reserved. No pa rt of this pu blication may be reproducedor trans mitted in any form or by any mean s. elect ronic or mechan ica l.including pho toco py. reco rding. o r any info rmation sto rage o r ret rieval systemnow known or to be invented. witho ut permission in writing from the pub lisher.

Tra nsla ted by Donald B. LehnCl Fra kson Book s. 1988

Co ver ar t by Veronic a Herna ndezlIu trations by Belen Franco . Co ncha G6mez Acebo y L uis H. TruebaEdited by Ramon Mayra ta

I .B.N.: 84-86861-o1-2Dcp6 silo Legal: M-L3283-198Printed. in Spain b YG..lama S.

I would like to dedica te this English Editionto the memory of my master,

the beloved and brillian t FRAKSON, whose namewas chosen or our PUBLISHERS,

and who guided me with ab solute clarityalong the correc t pa th toward

the fascinating Magic Rainbow. towardsthe union of magic and love.

TAMARIZ. adrid January 1988.

PROLOGUE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION

In 1982, in one week offeverish work, I wrote this little book, withoutpretensions. To my surprise, it tum,!:, r: a .work therf was excessivelypraised, and that was searched for tn Its limited Spanish; German andFnmch editions, and in afirstEnglish translation. (It Was translated by mygood friend Roberto Giobbi, to whom all Spanish magicians owe somuch).

A fine magician, and one of Spain 's best professional actors, ArturoL(Jf)eZ, wrote that it was a unique treatise, and that it was even very usefulJor actors... ! Michael Ammar, who I greatly admire, praised it without re-serve, and teeommended it, .along.with a few. other works in his "SuccessIn Makic".!frMJ! little brother, Gaetan Bloom, from France, my big brotherRuyard Magaldi from Argentina, and many more, joined their voices in achorus that filled me withj9Y~ not just because it gratified my ego, but be-0flUSe this work represented the fruit ofa laborious process, my experiencetl811 magicimtand movie director, and of my total love for our beautifultlTt.

SevenzJ copies were sold by the super-knowledgable Jeff Busby, towhom Quality-Magic should build a monument, and who wrote in histnIlgnUlCelft, practical, and unique EPOPTICA, guiding light to so manylovers ofmagic books, a deep and extensive analysis ofthis little book (.).

Finally, we have decided to publish a luxurious English edition, with se-veralslight- mOdifications, and revised translation byDonald Lehn, in or-t: to unifY,the style,o! this book with the other two,volumes 01 this tri-ogy...

---M There is an excerp t from this review on the inside flap.

9

INTRODUCTIO

11

To~ with, 1 would like to say a few words about how these lectureJ'.(otes came to"be. In the begining, I wanted to be as brief as- possible butwhile writing, I realized that the subject was rather complex and that Iwould have liked to say much more; even more than I actually do say inmylectute.

So, one page followed another until this booklet came to be. I wantedtodescribe everything in detail and then gather these numerous theoretical8Dcl practical thoughts in an interesting summary of myideas -which 00-iody would ever read. Because of this, T decided on the actual presenta-tiOn withIots of ilustrations and photographs to clari fy and complete the..feU. Bythe way, there are morethan one hundred.

Somuch fOJ:; the lecture notes; but how did the lecture itself get started~ become the basis for these n otes? I had lectured seven times in BuenosAires f~r thg~ dear and patient magicians. I thought I had already over-

~~helT pab~nee and kindness, when r was asked to give another two~\ures - w)uch eventually became three-s- in the summer of 1980 I was=~Qr~g on two lectures: the'first, which I had already finished, dealt8UInm ~Cl&lC and Humour" ; and.the second, not yet completed, wouldO'h;:..~. ~lzeJ my thol1ghts on showmanship , presentation and body Ian-9!'""06e m stage and close-up magic. ..

~~ SUl)pose.d to have at least one week to work on the subject but my~ n end, JUlian E . Saez (Jes), told me that the lecture was to be held;"j;.~j:,*1 ~ry day . So I bad to improvise. I, probably, was not that good,

' 0 0 e tomatoes did not fly.

Yes, trilogy, because that's what it is, three volumes in which I havetried to explain how [see the Art ofMagic. In this first volume, THE FI-VE POINTS OF MAGIC, I have studied how to be a good guide for1hespectator, how to transmit to him what we feel for him (love}, what Wefeel f or our magic (tove), and how to communicate (with love) ourP as-sion.

In the second volume, THEMAGIC WAY, I study how to constructthe path, and how to accompany the spectator along this path, so that hedoesn 't get lost, stupidly searchingfor tricks and secrets, so that his intel-lectual voyage is direct, clear, and leads him safely to our final goal: TheMagic Sensation.

In the third and last volume, which I am still reviewing before Ipublishit, THE MAGIC RAINBO~ I will study in detail, this Magi!:Sensation.. . .Because-if a f ascinating Magician-Guide skillfu lly accompa-nies the spectator down the proper path, the Magic Way, andreaches thebeginning of the Magic Rainbow, imagine the spectator's disappointmentif the magic he finds there is unattrative, is no more than a more or less In-genious puzzle...

That's why, in volume three ofthe trilogy, I study the Efect, (TheMA-OIC WA Y corresponds to the construction and method, the FIVEPOINTS to the magician's presentation). I will study the classic effects,and their mythical value, the magic of dreams and desire, and how to in-crease their FA SCINATION value, how to make them even morememor-able (the kite effect); that is, ho l!t' to increase the essense oftheir magic.

I hope that these works serve, at least, as a stimulus for thought ana re-flection, jar those readers who, like me, search for the real interior, f orthe soul ofour beloved art, MA GIC.

I invite you all to search with me.

10

There were some ideas and effects which Jes really liked. Am ong Otherthings, he especially liked the handkerchief switch, which he called a littlemiracle. His comments, his criticism, his praise and his ideas gave me theheart to compile at home, months later . this lecture, which I featured onmy lecture tour through France (organized by Mad Magie) .

That is why I dedicate, with great pleasure, thi s modest work to th at greatconnoisseur , exceptional artist and intelligent bon viveur of magic; hewho was like a brother and more than a friend to me: Julian E. Saez -JES.'

Julian. This is for you!

12

THE FIVE POINTS IN MAGIC

en you think of a magician today, you expect him to be dexterous_ble. As magicians, we expect incredible skill in a manipulator, hu-

from a comedy magician and a nice commercial act from a profes-

er, we often forget that all of them, no matter what their special-ii, must have at least two things in common, if they want to be good~Iam and sensible artists: first , they must possess the ability to create

~osphere of the impossible, performing seemingly impossible ef-and second, they must be able to communicate with the audience.

ideas on the first point have already been published; not much, but some good things. Remember Vernon, Fitzkee, Ascanio, Mas-

and S. H. Sharpe.

second subject has rarely been touched, except for Fitzkee, NelmsSlydini. Several years ago, I started to study these authors and to

:their theories to the analysis of the best magic acts today. Thiscomplemented my own practical experience as a working pro (12

) and amateur (25 years); experience which J have gathered througheecontact with all kinds of people, working tables, on stage and on

r these lecture notes, I do not pretend to be' an authority (what a) on the subject but I would like to explain the logical process that,,:,:e to my results. Trying to summarize it all again , I realized that,l to communicate with our spectators and if we want to convey. t e sensation of the impossible, we must rely above all on OUf-

13

~ow, loo~g back. it see~s obvious .u:d even trivial, but I neededqwetand time before I realized that : neither the apparatus nor thtricks, nor the brilliant ideas. nor th e stage decorations, the light or theelectronic devices matter, if we fail in transmitting a magical atmosphere.e

We only have one way to transmit Gill feelings and thoughts to theaudience: our body. I'regard the eyes, the voice, the hands and the feel asthe most important, butwemust not for~e.t'the whole body with its me,e.merits and gestures. In the presen t work, I will talk about these five pointssingly. For each point 1 will descri be one effect, except for the feet. forwhich I will describe a technique . Thisdescription will not be limited tothe modus operandi , it will be rather detailed and I will try to explain howto transmit the magical sensation to the spectator. The feats are effectiveand commercial. and I think that they are high quality magic.

The five points are given below.

--

-

Fi g. l

"' .Fig, 3. D9 not wear dark glasses t,Payattention to the lenses!

Ii

-0

19

D

Fig. 8. Do not break the threads.

c

~\Vara g~, ~ven with-the eyes half closed (in extreme situations),as an mvuation. to enter our h ome. But our home must be

Imaginary threa ds,

'{ou r patie nt audience

--

Fig. 4

/ / / /// ////}0 '0JI 1,- -) L~::::.lII/! 1/11; ///~

- String imaginarythreads from your eyes to the spectators (Fig. 5).- Do not forget the spectators sitting on,the sides.- Do not concentrate exclusively on one sector. all- Do not look only at the first row (row A), look at r ows B C, D" 'the-

the way to the back. When you loo~ at the last I OW, look over heads of the people in front (Fig. 6).

- Keep the threads stretched during the performance (Fig. 7).- Avoid breaking thethreads (Fig. 8).

Place a cloth or a piece of paper in front of your face - leave only youreyes uncovered. Stand in front of a mirror and try to express differentemotions with your eyes. Ask friends or r elatives to guess what emotionsyou are trying to express (Fig. 4).

18

Tecbniqu:es,of expression

2(J

Fig. 14

.Specrators f eel Ioo ked at-and -divide:~eirg~ ~dattl

Follows l.b .with gaze

Looks atI.h.

Looks at theball and themagician atsame time

Looks at Paise Looks at l.h, J.b. is lifted.spect. transfer wbich apparently r.b . drops,

bolds ball gaze follows l.h .

Looks at Paise Looks at l .h. J.b. is lifted.speer . transfer which apparently r.b . drops,

bolds ball gaze follows l.h.

r.b. reachesover to l.h,

r .h. reachesover to l.h ,

follows r.h ,

Takes first Ufts eyes Takes second Lowers eyes Takes fourth Takes lastcard card (steal) card card

Looks at Looks at Looks atcard cards and cards, again

magician

iDple: Elmsley - Jo rdan Count

Eumple: False transfer of a ball fro m the right hand to t he lefthand (vanish)

e count evenly and rhythmically.eyes are raised and lowered softly and naturally.

in a few seconds, the move will take place ; your gaze should be in-ou can stress the situation by making some remark about the ob-

second before you execute the sleight, shift your gaze to thers eyes (softly, but quickly) and, ifpossible, say something Impor-

ISka question. After the sleight is over look back at the object.

~~~.band holds an object palmed . L.h . is in position A. The.magi-mg towards the spectators, towards point B.

fig . 16.

a) concentrate on object.b) look at audience.c) execute move . Spectators divide their attention because they reellooked at.d) concentrate again on hands and object.

The result is:

The spectators continue to look at hands and object , but they actual11do not seewhat theytlLJc they are looking at the whole time. rm~

2) SHIFT YOUR GAZE

Gaze at your hands or at an object; then suddenly shift your gaze to-wards the audience (or other object) and immediately execut e the moveThe specta tors who gazed at your hands and the .object , feel forced t~shift to the new source of info rmation (Fig. 16).

rubber band

Fig. 19.

Fig . 19.

fold roll qp

1019 rou ~...rote

fold

,lUNTED ON mE HANDKERCHIEF

gician sh~ws.awhite silk with a gre~n border. A spectator rolls~ute:s 1t with a rubber band and finally threads I~ onto a pen-

hieh has been given.to 'him by the magician. A card is freely cho-upectat9I unroUsthesilk which he has held since the begining and

ispri1tted:o~ it.

FJg-. 18FIg. 17

Effect:

1n the photos" my glasses are t90 dark. Usually they are clear, buttbephotos were made in the sun.

Ne;tte:

the spectator follows the stronger of the two movements, which is thO'magician's gaze, and.isthereforeunableto see the palmed object.

Comments:

4) DOVBL~ CROSSING THE GAZE (Tamariz)

Crossing the gaze twice it is possible to conceal two movements. i[hcl~ares~ use is fo.r switching' one object~ for another. In our e~aiIlple., 11will switch one Silk for another (both SIllS are -rolled up and, tixed WIt

'In the photos" my glasses are too dark. Usually they are clear, buttphotos were made in the sun.

- The crossing of the gaze can be used to show empty a hand that conceals a thumb tip on its thumb. For example, see slydini's cut and r~stored.rope, which uses a loop and a thumb tip.

-- The.gaze does not have to go from B to A: it may-also go from.B ~_(i)~espectators, who are seated.'in the same direction as A. The ,gaze Bcrosses.the hand movement and the effect will be the same ., h. '

- Gaze and hand must move atthe same speed.

Fig. 21

The witcb:

4. Without looking at your helper, take the silk (Sl) which he shOuU!~holding in his outstretched hand. You say: "I have here a magi

Fig. 23. .. 0 .. ...

took at and point at the left coat pocket.here.. ." (Fig. 22), the l.h. goes into the left pocket and seizes the

sDk (82) (Fig. 23).haJ1d searches and doesn' t find anything. Astonishment.

osDngaction:Gaze-lUghthand

~ YOUI' gaze from the left pocket to the right pocket. At the sameer.h. goes to the left, in order to get out oj the path ofyour eyes.at 1he rightpocket (Fig. 24).

eousIy, take the l.h . out with the hidden silk (82).ap~arently place the silk in your r.h. into your l.h. -actually the

1ts ~01d on the silk and j ust t ouches the silk in the I.h. The ap-n IS to free your r. h. so as to reach into the right coat pocket

Working:

1. The spectator shows the bite silk on both sides. Shows it d earlythat everybody remembers tbat it is white and unprinted (Fig. 21). so.

2. Instruct the spectator to roll up the silk, more or less in the same wt}as the prepared silk in your pocket. Try not to touch the silk while 8ivintthe folding instructions.

3. After the rubber band has been placed around the silk, you switchkas follows:

26

29

rig.26. .. .. . over here ...OJ

Fig. 27. 'Yes.look."

Eg.2S.

"Ihave finally found the object".,

ediately, take the magical object ou t of your right packet andbut without looking at it (Fig. 26) (Fig. 27).

Fig. 24. .. ... it must. .."

to take out the magical object.At this stage, the silk is seen in your l.h. (actually the printed silk)

the r.h. holdsSl hidden and must get-rid of it in the following Way...

Second crossing action: Gaze Right hand

7. The r.h., with the hidden SI, goes into the right pocket to takeoutthe magical object (Fig. 25).

At the same time, lift your gaze from the right coat pocket to thes~tor s sitting on your left. An expression of satisfaction shows anyone

28

31

Fig. 32.

card is in the middle of the deck where the left little fingerunder it - the deck is face up .

r.h, lifts the top half of the face up deck a fraction of- an inch .of the l .h, enter the gap and side-jog the card to De forced

its width to the right (Fig. 31).32showsan exposedview.

the deck on the table as shown in Fig. 32 and spread the cards

a little subtlety for forcing a card in a ribbon spread dec~. Theis an old one: one card is more exposed than the others in the

the spectator follows the path of least effort and takes pre-card .

Fig. 30.

Fig. 29.Fi g. 28. " Please.hold... "

9. Give object and silk (S2) to the assisting spectator and ask hiJnthread the silk onto the tring (Fig. 28) (Fig. 29) with the rubber band.

10. The m agician turns to the audience and forces the duplicate ofprinted card.(the next page shows a method of forcing).

11. Point out that the card is chosen while the silk is in the SPectato~hands. After an appropriate build UP. ask the spectator to unroll the silk.Printed on it is the chosen card! Climax! (Fig. 30).

80

32

Fig. ) ;;,

3:5

tell the

"Please, pick a -eard, any

. 37

39

~ are techirically simple: the performer does not have to do any"SIn tricks ate ideal for practising voice and patter for many rea-

:fu asthe patter is;concerned, we-must know exactly what we are talk-ut and how we want to say. it; when and where we want to misdi-

S~ator's thinking; in what directions; how strongly; how we$0do it and which words we will choose.at the critical moment, in or-Cfeate lbe right atntosphere, to communicate what we wish.

tt fOF-get that our voice and patter will lead the spectator's~Ughts where we want and need them. It is one of the magician'sst power-ful weapons for deceiving his spectators both intel-uallyand emotionally.

'"say it with different intonations and record it each time on tape.,aysayit" e.g.: .'king afavoUf, exaggerating, imploring: submissive.an order: hard , sharp.ent min

41

Fig. 46.

Fig. 4S.

43

beC8.use, of course, it is impossible to guess the exact word .ith the left thumb riffle down the upper left comer of the dictio-d ask a spectator to stop you whenever he likes. Stop. You say: " I

the-spot by placing my hand between the pages (Fig. 45) ... or:still withthis playing card... no ... too small... (Fig. 46) ~ (put it backpocket and take out the postcard).. . it may be better to use this .. ."look at the postcard).

Fig . 44.

the 7th word on page 106(in ourexample).4. After memorising the word, give the book back to the spectator t

hold .5. Take the di~tionary. Exp~ain cl~ly wh~t you are going to do ant

what the effect will be. Try to give the impression that you are going todosomething really unbelievable: guess thoughts related to a freely select

Fig. 43.

42

Fi~: 49. The fl,unib squaresflap anddictionary j)ages.on tile side.

46

while the right hand lifts the dictionary and calls attention to it (Fig. 52).

Put the postcard away and hand the dictionary to a spectator. 4Wouldyou please make sure that 'no page appears twice in this dictionary"

14. Ask ano ther spectator to open to page 106 and concentrate onH~~8th word (1+ 0 +6 = 8). Somebody will interrupt you : ' . ~.7.'course, you are right. . . excuse me. It does not matter: the 7th word' .

15. This is the first stage, and it must ?~ done quickly and clearl ~;must be so clear that the spectators forget It Immediately, so that theyconcentrate on the second stage which is as follows:

47

16. The rtmgici~ s dramatic attempt to receive images of th~ freely.se-'til ordf.. . Build up atmosphere, create suspense, gr e.the nnpresslOD

possibility, that .ou are not ing~ shape today, say th~ the specta-is not a good medium, etc., bur without becommg confusing, slow or . Your voice is very important here. The secret work has already

done so you can DOW take time to build up the effect with your voice.Jfthis second par t were broadcast, it would have to be totally e ffective,

\Ill of suspense. Thus: BOOM!

Fig. 52F~.51

THIRD POINT: THE HANDS

49

2. Beautiful , relaxed hand with closed fingers .

Fig. S4.

1. Ualy,crampedhand;

Fig. 53.

...- You can move with grace, beauty._ at everybody has the ability to move their hands gracefully, bu . .. we

can try to:a) make am: hand movements broad, open.b) make them smooth and Dot jerky (Fig. 53).

c) move the hands independently from one another (Slydini).._',,,' ; ,"-, ~~ keep the fingers closed (withoutexaggerating or cramping) (Fig. 54).

~ lllS helps te hide palms, sleights and is more elegan t.

50

Fig. .i &.

Fig. 57.

2 froin here tothere " 3 : in this'area "

Fig.59.

Ugly pe rso nal gesture.~

F ig. 64.

Stopl

Fig . 63.Lyrical Tam ari zian heart .

53

etc... (Fig. 63).

at the spectator ' shoulder shake hands put your hand on his shoul -apparently hit him ..in the stomach (threatenin g) hold his arm his

.Stop!: Open, outstretched hand (Fig. 64).

. &Ster: rotate hand~ower : move hand up and downl 0 : move forefinger forward and backward

agree, (O.K. in theUSA) (Fig. 65).

fig. 61.Hairy. scary spider.

Fig. 60.

A do e in.fiighl

Fig . 62.Laughing little.man,

Put thumbs toger',...

... two fingers m ake a little man who helps us doing ma gic (Fig. 62).

.. . place your hands on the ta ble like a spider or a crab (Fig. 61).

Imitate objects and animals

52

55

Correct:Elbows sep ara tedfrom body hands apart.

Fig. 67.

G1,

Wrong: Elbows pressed againstthebody, hands together.

_ It is not a good idea to "overhandle" your magic objects (deck, ball)while you are per forming or explaining, because it makes you appearnervous and irritates the spectators; they will not clearly remember theeffect. (Do not continuously cu t and shuffle the deck). Do not mani-pulate coins or balls between your fingers, if this is not necessary.

-- Hold your hands away from the body (golden rule for the stage. .. andclose-up) (Fig. 67).

- lIandle ob jects delica ely, with a light touch, without tbe hand beingcramped. canio says: ( If the hi t our wrist the cards hould fall tothe floor"

- If YOu have a deck (or coin, ball) in your hand an d you do not have to

_ Whenever possible, show your hands empty._ Try Dot to play with the magical object while talking or explaining

what you are going to do. (A deck of cards, a ball, a coin, etc .) Putthem down while you are talking and use your hands to communicate(while sh owing them empty, as explained in the preceding paragraphs)(Fig. 66) ~ At the end of the performance people will remember.

a) " he didn't touch the deck, the coin... "b) " he didn 't have anything hidden in this hands... 'c) " everything was so clear and interesting!" (expressivity).I think it is important for the magician to recognise the enorm ous expres-

sive power of his hands. Skillfully applied , adapted to our personalitY',they are a great help in communicating with the au dience (to transmitth oughts, suggest things, communicate feelings, cause reaction etc..

ig, 66

There are a many that it would take too long to name them an (touchgrab, feel for something, bide something, fix your hair , cover your eyes'touch your hear t to showemotion, touch your chin to show do ubt, etc.:etc .).

In hort

Other.Functtons

hand, car ess it, feel it. (My imagination runs wild: Boing! Boing!).

FrOJll top to bottom in symbolic notation (Fig. 69). (1)

Fig. 69.

2. Put the deck on the table and explain that yo u ar e going to make abet. While talking show your hands empty. Th e deck is face down.

Working

1. Take out the deck. Shuffle it without disturbing the bottom stock(riffleshuffle, overhand shuffle .. .).

keep breaks. steps , etc., then it is a good idea, for t he sake of clarity,to let the deck rest on your outstretched open hand (Fig . 68) . '

Fig. 68.-Cards resting on open hand: clarity.

- Avoid cramped hands, bulging muscles, ten sed tendons ...,.- Strive for economyof movement. Eliminate superfluous movements.

3. Charlier cut the deck at the crimp, bringing the set-up to the top .Keep a break under the set-up with the left little fmger. The r .h. does nothelp, but isshownempty.

THE POKERDEMONS~TION (1. Tamariz)

Exampie: How to use your bands with clarity

Effect

Two hands of poker are dealt. The spectator has a full house of Jacksand Tens; the magician only bas three Kings, with an Ace .kicker .

. KiP inThe magician announces that he will now change the Ace into a . tuoorder to obtain four Kings = Poker. H owever , the Kings changeAces, and the magician wins with a Poker of Acesl!!

57

4. Deal two hands of poker starting with the spectator. Use the specta-tor's fifth card to scoop the other fo ur cards and drop the packet in frontof the spectator . The m agician's fifth card is actually fou r cards held asone, whichare used as a scoop to pick up the tabled four card packet. Thedeck is placed aside and the squared packet placed in the left hand (whichhas been een to be empty).

S. Ask the spectator to p.!ace his bet (his .ring, watch . ..) . The magiciansees the bet , explainingthat it is only a game. ..

6. The eight card packet is resting on the opend left palm, fingers half-open, and the hand til ted to wards the table to .hide the thickness o f thePacket:.

. The spectator shows his hand : ful l house of Jack s and Tens. The magi-CJan smiles triumphantly.:::---(I) "ME'rODQ 51MBOllCO" 2 olums . Madrid 1978.

JuanTamariz. ' 4,EfTomilJar" ChaJet 16. S. Lor~J1'{O del EsCQrial, Madrid, SPAIN.x ,l O,A, J ,A,J ,A.J ,A, lO,K,K,K. 8 } INfS.ET-UP

JD SUP ~ x.x,x,...56

60

18. The right hand puts the seven card packet back on the face of the

,,

1."'*'._--~- - 1:1fl .

FOURTH AND Fn-IB POINTS

Fig. 74.

Fold thecorner o f a newspaper upwards and put your feet 0 0 the axis.

61

e will treat them together, because they form a unit.

e ewspaper-rule (Fig. 74)

This posit ion is basic for a comfor table, aesthetic and balanced pos tu re.will call it "'the basic position ' ').

Your feet form a 45o angle, "basic position" .~~ain manipulations apparently require the magicians to be in.profile.

IS wrong because,a) it is an 'ugly pos ition,b) We tum our back on half the audience, breaking our threads ofcom-

fig. 3.Fig. 72.

16. After a short pause, bring the ~ce~th the hidden Kings to secondfrom the face of the packet. Square. Situation: A,A,K,K,K,A,A .

17. ASCANIO SPREAD without looking at the cards. The quadruplecard goes to the bo ttom: A, A,A, A,K,K,K.

deck. Put the 8 and the full bouse on top of all.

Send 50070 of your: winnings to Juan Tamariz, address at the end of thisbooklet.

Fig. 78.

movements every step of the way, and recreate them exactly when perfor.ming,

D oing this too much may cause affectation and stiffn ess.Short way: Think, believe and be completely convinced that ~ou are tel.

ling the truth. visualize the coin in your hand, perfect the lappmg action,so tha t you can do it unconsciously, without having to t hink about it .

This method is totally sure and art istic.

Postures - Positions - Movements

A good tip: Study elms thoroughly (Magic and Showmanship) (SeeBibliography).

And furthermore ._ If you perform sitting at a table, do not speak o~y to the people In

Fig.71.

.. t t you as weD. (Fig.fr ont of you, speak to the spectators SItting n ex ,a 011 ply77) (Fig. 78). The rules for body movements. tummg, etc. , als Pif you are sitt ing down.

. . ded positioJ1Aside from the upright position (Fig. 79) there IS the exten.. (leaning-(forward. not bent) (Fig. 80) and especially the relaxed pOSItion

64

backWards), which are basic for performing while sea ted. (See Slydini 'sbOOks,his photos and above all. his performances).

In close-up performance, there are many other postures that can beused besides sitting and' standing, e.g , sitting on the edge of the ta ble,kneelingon the floor (favourite position of FRED KAPS), etc .. ._ In.some cases, depending on the circumstances and on the magician's

personalitY, unusual postures may be ju stified (standing on a chair ,standing on the table, sitting on the floor ; sitting 0Il the arm of a chairwith YO.UI feet on the sitting area. . .) .

Don't forget that there are als-o moments when we can jump , dance,bend down , kneel. fall over, Jean on tables. chairs. columns, walls, peo-ple, ete. (Remember Richiardi Jr. and his leaps. twirls and dances).

Energetic and lively body movements attract the attention more thansoft slow movements.. . But th at doesn'tmean that they should be violent,

Ig.80.

Uord .;Ul oes It mean th at we should not use soft or delicate rna ements wheney are app:mpriate .Changes in rhythm, when justified and appropriate help to maintainerest and are very expressive, E.g.: Fast regular movements with sud-

65

67 .

the world with your signature".Turn to the spectator on your left.Tak e the coin as in Fig. 82 and hold it, getting the audience used to this

position of your bod y, as you will use it later. Say: "And this coin is theon ly coin in the world with your signature, isn 't it?" The spectator an-swers: " Yes". Smile. Shake your head. " 1 wouldn't be so sure of that. .. itis possible, that while the card was being shown, I was copying your signa-ture on a dup licate coin with a sticker on it under the table". They will

starr to thin k: "Perhaps... who knows.. . well, this is really an honest- nwgician !" (poor devils!).

Say: " For that ' s why I would like you (give the coin to a third specta-tor) to sign the sticker again (or initials, etc), while my hands are in fullview all the time. Obviously, I can't sign it with my feet , can l?" (Laugh-ter , depending on the mood).

Take the coin in the fingert ips of your right han d, the sticker sideshowing (Fig. 83).

Throw it in the air and catch it in the I.h . (Fig. 84). The r.h . droPS~~rest position at the edge of the table (Fig. 84). Your body is turn ed to.1 lsleft. The l.h. shows the coin, but the signed sticker does not show (thlS1enot very clear in the photo, but the spectators will see it). PerhapS50 111

68

wise g~y will think you have already switched the coin ... so you look atme com. Pau.se. Look at the spectators and at the same time tu rn the coinover so the sticker can be seen (Fig. 85).

Fig. 85.________ ee _

70 71

Fig. 89.

Fig. 91.Fig. 87.Fig. 86.

Once your l.h. is 'under the table. it bends at the wrist to the right (Fig.88). The middle finger and forefinger of the r.b. are extended and get holdof the coin which is held by left forefinger and middle finger (Fig. 89). Atthis moment look up towards the front. Say: " Can I do it?" (Fig. 90):Spectators' .point of view. They will not suspect that the coin is passed, beicause of the distance between the two hands. This is an adaptation 0Slydini' s Imp-Pass (Chapeau, maestrol )... but with the hands furthetapart ... Bend the fingers of the r .h . inwards (the sticker facing the floor).

Reach furt her under the table with the left arm . You lean forwar.d,which forces the right hand and arm to move forward , out of the w~yDuring this movement (not before), the r.h. classic 'palms the coin (Fig.91) (Fig. 92) (Fig. 93).

.Smile. Say: "TJ:1e only coin in the worl~ with two signatures on a halfsticker. The deck IS well away from the com now... pay attentionI Scm .thing marvellous is going to happen. The half-sticker on the coin feels ~_tracted by the half-sticker on the.card . it doesn't matte r what obstac~esare between them. I place the com under the table.. ." Look at the coinand start to place it under the table, the sticker side showing all the time.

"The path of the l.h. is in line with the deck (Fig. 86) (Fig. 87).

Fig. 100.

posed to tum the coin over and show the sticker to the audience , Thespectator willlean forward and tum over the coin (Fig. 101).

Depending on your style and personality. you can now make a conclud-ing remark (the CLIMAX has been reached) with a confident voice, e.g." This is it I" , "Wonderful!".

Fig. 101.

74

At this moment, I usually start to yell loudly, which instantly cau sesdram at ic tension - with the already existing excitement. t his borders onhysteria.

Fig. \02.

If the spectator turns the coin with the st icker towards you . make your-COmment anyway (or yell), as soon as you see the sticker. Then, grasp the

Spect~tOF-fSWrist and tum it towards the audience (Fig. 102).

SHORT PAUSE..

Let the effect sink in. Relax. Smile. They will prosably applaud now.Before you lose their attention, stet' in again. look at them, make a

stoP'-aesture with your r.h. and say : "Ab. .. . and this half-sticker.. . Withthe clearly empty r .h, lift the card under the coin. tum it face up so theycan see that iUs the ch osen card (Fig. ] 03). Finish your sentence " .. . h.asioined the other half" .

75

Fig. 103.

Climax

Relax without changing the direction ofyour body . Let the effect sinkin (Fig. 104).

Although this feat doesn't last m ore than a few minutes, the audiencewill remember this impressive effect, you can be sure, for days, years, cen-turies, for ever. Amen .

Fig. 104.

76

rtlSIJMUP

This book has been an attempt to introduce the subject . I have tried nottoTepeat what has already been said by the au thors mentioned ill the fore-word, but rath er to show new aspects, with a slightly or very different ap-proach. I have tried to connect each thought with the next, because I thinkit is iIttpo~tan t to see the five poin ts 1 have dealt with as a unit. A coordi-nated and harmonic-applica tion of the whole will make it possible for usto reach our goal of creating an " atm osphere of the impossible".

Of course, there are various other and perhaps better methods toachieve this communication than the ones mentioned here.

Perhaps some deeper, more complex work will be written on this sub-j.ect, following the same path or even taking a completely differentapproach.

Those ofus who try to make ou r audience vibrate with us , those who donot want to show tricks but who want to of fer the spectators th e REALMIRACLE of the fusion of performing magic and the participation of the

~ators; all of us, I think, want to 'have successors . 1 would even say,that we need them. When they arrive, and th ey will arriv e, th ey will bewelcome! .

77

BIBLIOGRAPHYAbout the Presentation of Magic

_ OurMagic (N. Maskelyne) Ed. G. Rou tledge and .sons.This book is cons idered the bible of magical theory. It contains ex-ceptionally good ideas about patter, practice, presenta tion, stage man-ner and personal and mental at titudes. It is absolutely necessary toread and study this book . The years have not diminished its value; it isstill verytopical .

- Magic andShowmanship (H . Nelms) Dover Publ., NY , 1969.It 's the work that deals most directly with the poin ts I have dealt within this book. The author, theatre director and active magician, sumsup many theatre r ules and applies them to m agic. A basic work foranyone interested. in my ideas.

- Showmanship for Magicians (D . Fitzkee) Ed . Magic Limited Cal .1943.Third part of the famous Fitzkee trilogy . Very intelligent treatise onthe magician's stage manners, dressing, light s, character, personality,sex appea], music, clothing , etc. Remember th at Kaps highly recom-mended this book.. . and so do I, very modestly . Ole!

- GreatMagic and Neo Magic (S.H. Sharp e) G . Johnson, London, 1938.and 1932.Two little known and forgotten works, which continue Maskelyne'stheodes and look into the field of artistic poetic and dramatic magi .Original and provooative thoughts on presentation, whether the magi-cian is a showman or not . etc ... very interesting.

79

80 81

_ Teatro Close-up (Jules Lenier) Trans. A. Badet in the Escuela Miigicade Madrid, Noviembre 1978 y Misdirection, Nov. Dec. 1978.The editor of the Review Talisman tells us how to enter on stage, talksabout eye contact, building your character , the close-up ta ble as astage, etc. Short but very interesting.

_ Pensamiento de H.R . Mu lligan (H.R. Mulligan) Trans. A. Badet inthe Esc. Mag. de Madrid, Marzo 1979, y Misdirection, Sep. 1978.These are the ideas of this California-based Doctor and Magician. In-teresting advise on how to contro l your nerves before and during a per-formance.

- El Lenguaje del Cuerpo (Bascon Jones Jr.) Tran s. A. Badet in the Esc.Mag. de Madrid, Abril 1979, y Misdirection, Feb. 1979.Short but interesting article by the Editor of the Review Magick onbody language, the eyes, and a series of typical gestures and theirmeaning. A fairly superficial work , but a tasty introduction to thesubject that might serve as an ' aperitivo' to more complete works. .

- Venous Ideas on Presentation (AI Schneider, Jerry Andrus, Bill Si-mon, Fred Lowe, A. Ascanio, J . Tamariz, A. Ferragut, Jose Franco,Flip, DeRoth , O. Welles, J. Merlin, J. Tejerina ,.. .)In several numbers of the Review Escue/a Magica de Madrid , duringthe years 1979, 80, 81... art icles with the ideas on presentation of thesemagicians have appeared in Spanish, taken from "Effective Card Ma-gic" (Bill Simon), " Stars of Coins" (AI Schneider), " Lowe Magic"(F. Lowe), GENII Sept. 80 (Interview with D. Roth), "Mad Magic" ," Flip's Notes" , etc. If you are interested, search in the Spanish MagicUnderground.

- Esto es Magia (A. Moline) Ed. CYMIS, Barcelona, 1978.An exceptio nal boo k with an intelligent theoretical and practical studyof rehearsal, performance time, interest and how to maintain it, :hesession, improvisation, performance, rhythm, etc. This is accompan.lcdby excellent tricks explained in comic strips, which are very pracucalexercises for learning to apply the theory. Highly recommended.

- Magic in the Voice (K. Roberts) in " Genii" ed . W. Larsen Jr . HollY-wood, October 1974.Short but very good article on howto speak clearly on stage.

- TheDai Vernon BookofMagic (I. Ganson) London 1958: . 1MThe chapter "The Vernon Touch" reveals the masterly thinking ofProfessor; what he means by magic and how he performs it.

- The Card Magic of Ed G. Brown (Trevor Hall) Pub . Magic CircleLondon , 1973. .The second part has six excellent lectures given by Brown in the Four.ties. Good appropriate remarks on magic for magicians and -magic forlaymen.

- La Magia de Ascanio Vol 1 + 2 (A. de Aseanio y Navaz) publ. by "Bs-cuela Magica de Madrid" , Madrid 1977 and 1980.Ascanio presents here his famous treatise on " How to create a magicalatmosphere" and "Analysis of a trick" . These and other theoreticalpractical contributions of incredible depth, very intelligently thoughtout and presented by one of the greatest geniuses of our time, describethe real secrets of magic. Simply fantastic.

82

-- A Manual ofMagic,Psythoiogy (Michael Ammar) PlIPl. ,by the author, 198(). This booklet, written by the very intelligent Ammar, contains newthoughts 90 how' to Isolate parts 9'Mhe body which are performing se-cret.aetions. how to practise, how to -communicate non-verbally; etc.

- Juegos de Manos,(~tof. Boscar) Eg. GustavoGili, Barcelona, i9S.6.Tlfis ' book by',R. Cellier, hidden behind the pen name Professor Bos-CaE; wi~'translated 'into Spanish.and, was the first magic book of such

"magician s a'S Arturo AScap.io. The two chapters (1 + ~), dealing withpI~mlfirig the magical performance and the performance itself, arevel'.'interesting.

8.B

_ La Construction du Personnage (Stanislavsky) E d . P errin , P aris 1966.How to USe the famous method, to achieve a good psychological des-cription of the character your are going to interpret.

_ El Metoda del Actor's Studio (R.H. Hethmon) Ed . Fundamentos Ma-drid 1972 .These are, actually. conversations between the author and Lee Stras-berg, founder of the well known Ac tor's Studio in .Y. where, follow-ing the Stanislavsky method, with Strasbreg's modifications, suchactorsas James Dean; Marlon Brande, Montgomery Clift and Mar-ilyn Monroe, were formed. Very Interesting , because it contains chap-ters on .relaxatiori, how to stimulate the imagination, or stop it whennecessary, and on various other expressivity problems.

- Acting and Stagecraft Made Simp le (Derek Bowskill) London 1973.Very useful handbook for the magician. It deal with the actor s powerof imagination, memory, expressivity and communication, expres-sions of feelin gs, restr ain ts and how to overcome th em concentrationbefore .and during the performance, spontaneity, creativity, the gaze,improvistion, how to speak calmly and clearly rhythm in speech , astudy of p auses, and many other things. About 440 pages of extremelyinteresting material

- The 'atural History of the Mind (O.R. Taylor Martin-Seeker andWap bnrg Ltd. 1979.The most recent scientific data about bow tbe mind works. Very excit-ing and very useful for magicians, especially the chapters ;' It '5 all inthe Min d", "Seeing is Believing" , "Sensational News" , "Thanks forthe Memory" (with a study of the Inandi case an d other stage calcula-tors and memory experts) and Altered States of Consciousness",with some very clear ideas on suggestion and hypnosis.

- L 'A rt du Comedien (Andre Villier s) Collection Que sais-je " Nr. 600.Deals with the actor in theatre and film , art, profession, how to createan a:ctor,his tal ent, etc.

- VariousThere are lots of loose articles in magazines and short chapters in booKsth rough-the history of m agic that deal with presentation. It is impossibleto list (or even know of) all of them. Given my interest in the subject 1would appreciate any information not contained in this list. (Address atthe end of this book) .

Further Topics Related to Magic

- Manwatching (Desmond Morris) Publ, TriadlPanther Books UK.1978.Wonderful and richly illustrated study about gestures and their sign~cance in man' s history. Everything in this book is useful for the magi-cian who wants tostudy body language in depth. Actions, behaviours,body signals. etc., are thoroughly analysed . Moreover it cont ains a de-tailed bibliography listing about 400 books and essays on the subject.

- B ody Language (Julius Fast) P an Books Ltd. London 1971. .Ra ther superficial but it contains some, interesting ideas ~aIl1 1~chapters 8, 9 and 10, which deal with postures, the eyes, nnrnerY angestures..

84 85

INDEX

Prologue , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Jntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11The Five points in magic '. ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13First Point: The Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Second Point: The Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Third Point: The Bauds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Fourth and Fifth Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61Bibliography ... .. . .. .. ........... . .. . . . .... . . .. . ~ . . . . . . 79

FRAKSON BOOKSI Talking of CARD EXPERTS... Ascanio, CarTol and TamSTizare allnatives of Madrid. These three are all extremely talented expo-nents and I DOUBT IF ANY OTHER CITY IN THE WORLD BOASTSTHREE OF EQUAL TALENTn The Vemon louch, Genii, September.1985.

Frakson Books was formed to make the high quality magic nowfound in the Spanish speaking world available to all magic lovers,and to make fine magic books in other languages avail able to Spa-nish speaking magicia ns.

We choose book s that don ' t just explain methods: they teach MA-GIC - subtle, astonishing, entertaining magic. In our Magic- FromBoth Worlds Colfection, we choose the tinest routines by th~ finestSpanish and Latin American magicians and present them fa youwifh all the details, and the details of the details, so that when youperform them, they will be your finest routines, too.

FORTHCOMIN.G TITLES

emotion, as one of his pr incipleweapons in Mis"dire

Do you want more information about these books or otherEDITORIAL FRAKSON Publications?

Do you have any questions?Do you want to send us valen t ines?All you have to do is write to us at:

EDITORIAL FRAKSONCI Lope de Rueda, 3

28009 MADRID (Spain)

INCLUDE YOUR:

NAME , . . . .. .. . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . .

A DDRESS . .. , . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. ... ... . . .

CITY , . . . ... . . . . . .. . ... . .

STATE OR PROViN CE ,

COUNTRY . . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . . . . . , . . .. . . .... .

Easy !