On 2011-12-04 19:04, Hugokhf wrote:
Hi.
I want to know what cigarette magic do you guys do. I want some easy one, since I have never done cigarette magic before. I have although done fair amount of card and coin magic.

Btw, I got the linking cigarette DVD, but it is too advanced and I want something easier at first and work my way up.

Thankyou.

Any response will be appreciated.

On 2011-12-08 10:32, Gerald Deutsch wrote:
I posted this on November 1, 2011 on the Perverse Magic thread of the Genii forum:

Cigarettes

Effect

1 My wife and I were having dinner at a client’s home with the client and his wife.

At the start of the meal, my client’s wife took out a cigarette and lighted it. I asked her if I could have one and, since so few people smoke today she was surprised as she offered me a cigarette.

I took the cigarette and pushed it into my nose and “sniffed” as if I had taken cocaine. “Ahhh, that’s good1” I said.

2 At the end of the meal she took another cigarette and I mentioned that I read that they use salt to keep cigarettes together and I again asked her for a cigarette.

I broke the cigarette into three pieces and sprinkled salt on the pieces and then, as I pushed the pieces through my hand, the cigarettes was restored. “I guess they were right. I just don’t understand it.”

Discussion

Cigarettes are rare in restaurants today but here my client’s wife was at home and
felt entitled to smoke.

Number one above is an example of the fifth category of Perverse Magic – the
performer and the audience are on different planes. The magician thinks it’s
perfectly natural to just shove a cigarette up his nose for a pleasant feeling.

Number two is an example of the sixth classification of Perverse Magic – the
Performer explains something will happen but he doesn’t explain why it happens.

I mentioned what I call the various categories of Perverse Magic in this thread
above several times with examples (see December 17, 2002 and December 1, 2005
under David Roth’s Legendary Four Coin Trick) but to summarize again:


1 Something happens without performer’s knowledge.
2 Performer says one thing will happen – something else does
3 Performer says he’s going to do something – it happens by itself
4 Performer is caught – he admits it – then he and the audience are surprised.
5 Performer and audience are on different planes
6 Performer explains something that will happen but he doesn’t understand why it happens. Or in the alternative something goes wrong and the performer looks in a book and then does something meaningless and it happens.

Of course the second effect – the restoration of the cigarette - requires a duplicate
cigarette but the first effect supplies that – and the audience won’t remember that
you have another cigarette. (“Time Misdirection”)

Now the numbers below refer to the numbers above:

1 I saw Eugene Berger do this on a video. The handling is:

* The cigarette is held at an end in the right hand with the thumb on one side and the fingers in the other.

* The other end of the cigarette is placed “next to” the right nostril and the right hand slides up the cigarette in a way to make it look like the cigarette is going into the nostril.

As this is happening the head is tilted back and you “sniff”.

* The head falls back to normal position as the right hand drops to the edge of the table and the cigarette is lapped.

* At the same time the empty left hand comes up and acts the way the right hand did – that is, it presses against the left nostril as the head again goes back and again you “sniff”.

* Shake your head and say “whew!”

2 Later, at the end of the meal, the woman again lit up and again I asked for a cigarette and when I got it I explained that I read that salt is used to “bind” a cigarette. I break the cigarette into three pieces and show them on the palm of my left hand and I sprinkle salt on the pieces.

(Note – a few places on this thread I’ve used salt as sort of a “magic wand” which causes the magic to happen though I don’t know why – the sixth category of magic – See Dice Caper above April 1, 2005 and Perverse Coin and Salt Shaker above April 1, 2009.)

I then perform Slydini’s “Cigarette Re-incarnation” from “Slydini Encores” (page 115).

Basically:

* The newly borrowed cigarette is broken into three equal pieces and the three pieces are put on the left hand one piece behind the other.

* With your right hand, give the salt shaker to a spectator and tell her to sprinkle salt on the pieces.

* While she is doing that, your right hand gets the lapped cigarette (from the first effect) between the right thumb and the fleshy part of the right palm.

* The hands come close together and at the same time:

** The left hand performs the “Revolve” lapping the pieces and

** The right first finger touches the right thumb and both now hold the palmed cigarette.

The right second finger goes BEHIND the cigarette and causes it to swing out (with the thumb and first finger being the “pivot point”) and it goes into the closing left hand.

** The right thumb now pushes the cigarette through the left fist.

Two impromptu Perverse Magic tricks with borrowed cigarettes (though the spectator won’t put the two borrowings together.)