How to actually get things done PART III

After having one 3rd of the 90 minutes show being cards I had to add way more non card material. For years I have done a certain rope routine that heavily borrows from Francis Tabary and George Sands. I also had this Ring and Rope routine. It was a nice match up. I knew both would be my opener. But I realized that it may got to the magic too quickly. This is strong stuff after all. I needed some luring in. And then I was reminded of my old days of me doing ball manipulation. A quick one ball routine would do it I guessed. So I got me some bounce no bounce balls and went for it. A ball bounces then doesn't. Then the ball gets tossed in the air a few times and then vanishes. A quick sequence of the ball being placed in the pocket and then coming back a few times followed by a color change. After that the rope act and then cards already?

It still felt too rushed to get to the cards. So was thinking.... this was the perfect time to include a running gag that may get resolved at the end of the first part of the show. Then it struck me. Money! If I would borrow a 5-Euro bill and then transform it into a 10-Euro bill and then give that 10-Euro bill back to the spectator that would keep things a bit unresolved. Why would the magician give out money? I liked that. As I could go back to that and then borrow the 10-Euro bill again and turn it into a 20, then a 50 perhaps.... and always giving it back to the spectator. That would indeed be a magical running gag. So that is what I went for.

And it plays great. "Does anybody have a 5-Euro bill for me. I'm gonna do a trick that makes sense for a change." then I would do the transformation "If that was real magic, you would be allowed to keep it" after a brief moment of hesitant wait I would give it to the spectator "Keep it, it's yours!" suddenly there was a emotional reaction that was worth exploring. "Yeah and all of you others... now you wish you had given me the 5-Euro bill I asked for!" That got such a great laugh so I kept it in the act.

And now I would transition into the card bit with the Chicago Opener and the kings.

Then coins! I have a rather lengthy 3 coin routine, that I split up and part of it made it into the act. It ends with the three coins going under the playing card that was remaining from the last bit. Then I would tear up the card and three quarters of the card would turn into three more coins. With the six coins I would do my coin thief routine, which ends in a transposition of a coin in the spectators hand.

So far the show has been non stop magic. I felt it was too much in a way. The audience needed a break. Then I turned back to my initial idea pool. The history of magic... Wouldn't a magic story give the audience some time to recover? I thought so, so I tell the story of Mary Toft and how she gave supposed birth to 17 rabbits, leading eventually to the rabbit from the hat trick. Then I would explain why I wouldn't do the trick, as rabbits are way too big to fit in a hat and that people believe anyway that magicians do that trick all the time. So there is no need to do it. As some sort of compensation I would do another little bit that deals with birth, death and animals, and the best part people can do this at home. What follows is the famous towel chicken. But mine would lay an egg in the end.

The story had one problem: People still expected me to produce a rabbit now. And then it struck me! What if I would keep that thread loose. And only tie it back together at the very end of the show. And then a few more ideas followed leading into the actual ending I have now.

It's a bit hard to explain. So hear me out. During the entire show I have some bits that feel unresolved and then I drop them. For instance: I tell the audience that there is one specific type of spectator that is the worst. The person not wanting to know how the trick works. No even in the slightest. For those spectators you could do the bit with the fingers jumping from hand to hand and they would enjoy that: "And doing finger magic is the lowest form of entertainment. Whoever enjoys that must really be out of his mind!" This line is important.

In the end, after the last trick I would announce the fact that the show has now come to the end. The scream for an encore always happens. Then I roll my eyes saying "Alright, we'll do it, we do the rabbit from the hat." You cannot believe how things fall into place after the line.

Then I do my routine with my fingers representing a rabbit that would do all sorts of tricks... It's not magic but it ties up all the loose ends. And "whoever enjoys that must really be out of his mind!"

So what about the money thing? Will the spectator get to keep it?

Feels unresolved doesn't it?

More in Part IV