Hi Craig,

As in "Flipped Out" a lot of workers are putting the flipper in the spectator's
hand. Have you had any issues with them seeing something strange in their hand or the coin that exploded on impact with the floor?

Tom

Tom I can honestly say I have never had a spectator discover a flipper whilst in the spectators hand either open or closed. This is actually one of the many reasons I love the flipper. Normally when you are using a gaff you have to switch the gaff in and out in order to make the effect you are performing examinable. With a flipper there is little to no chance the spectators are going to discover the gaff if you hand it out. However to further reduce the chances of 'being caught' I hand 3 regular coins and a flipper out at once. If you do not place any importance on the coins the spectator will give the coins a brief glance and be perfectly happy they are normal.

I take an approach with my magic where I genuinely don't care if the spectator catches what I am doing. This attitude means that I try a lot more than a lot of performers, which is the reason I developed Empowerment where an open flipper is being placed in the spectators hand several times. I take this same approach with other gaffs as well. For example if I need to lift a shell off a coin in the spectators hand (like you would at the end of a Shell Coins Across routine) I have the spectator take the shell and pass it to me. This is an idea I first saw Garrett Thomas use and it really adds to the power of the routine.

I think as performers we should try to push the boundaries and expand our comfort zones. I will purposefully try things that are risky just to see if it will work. There is only so much you can try out in practice before you HAVE to see how a real life spectator will react. Eric Jones has some great ideas with placing flippers in a spectators hand. Have you seen his new DVD set - it's great.

Just so you know I did once have a slipper break in the middle of a routine - one time in over 10 years isn't bad. I was performing my coins through table and I dropped the coins on the table and the flipper just slip into two parts. Due to the routine I had a coin in classic palm in the right hand. I look at the broken flipper, picked up the pieces showed them the the audience and told them I must have slammed the coins down too hard and they don't make dollars the way they used to. I then performed a spellbound switching the broken flipper for the regular coin and handed it to the spectators. At the end of my set all they could take about was how I broke a coin in half and fixed it!!! This is what I mean about not caring if I get caught. As long as you have the ability to think on your feet it doesn't matter what happens you can get out of it with ease.

Craig