|
|
Caleb Strange Special user Manchester UK 676 Posts |
Let me start this thread with this combination of ideas. A simple raven vanish from the spectator's hand could be considerably enhanced if you took your time, and talked of the coin dissolving through the flesh. 'Look', you'd say, 'the lines of your hand are becoming plastic'. Do Luke Jermay's brilliant but challenging effect, and let them see their hand going haywire, as the coin melts through. THEN vanish the coin, or better yet have it pass through the palm.
What else can bizarrists do with coins? Let's have a companion thread to the rope magic one. Regards, Caleb Strange.
-- QCiC --
|
Jonathan Townsend Eternal Order Ossining, NY 27297 Posts |
A recent email suggested a novel approach to presenting 'winged silver' or coins across.
The suggestion is that the performer stops time, moves a coin and then continues. IE there is no coin flight. Just the performer stops time, moves a coin, then starts it again. Right out of Sapphire and Steel. And this guy does not know from Sapphire and Steel. This chronofracture is to be cued by jumps in the continuity of patter and perhaps some minor discrepancies in the clock on the wall. Designing the patter is quite a challenge and imbedding some non-sequitors (take whole presentation and edit out a few sentences for when the jumps happen) is also tough. Then delivering this patter without giggling is another challenge. Guess it's going to be an actors only trick? Okay, now for the very spooky and bizarre part of this story... This came almost in response to a suggestion I made to another magician about using Alzhiemer's disease as a cause of external continuity gaps. This in turn was inspired by the PKDick story 'Flow My Tears the Policeman Said'. Which by the way is a wonderful story with a most human anti-drug message.
...to all the coins I've dropped here
|
ptbeast Special user Oregon 831 Posts |
In my voodoo routine, I ask a spectator for a coin as an "offering" and drop it into a glass of water, stir it with a bone. The water turns to blood, which I sip, then back to water. The coin is gone and the offering has been accepted. We can now proceed.
A very simple effect, inspired (really more of borrowed) from a routine by Stephen Minch in Lovecraftian Ceremonies. While simple, it does demonstrate the possible versatility of using coin magic in the bizarre. Dave |
cmwalden Regular user Cedar Park, TX 150 Posts |
There's a simple routine in BoBo called the "bent Penny." Basically a spectator holds a borrowed Penny in their fist and when they open their hand it's bent.
Copper is an important element to magic and channeling power. Perhaps discuss the idea of channeling power through a couple of other demonstrations. Then offer to prove to the spectator that they can do this to, with your help, and only if they believe. Have them take out a Penny. Ask them to hold it in their fist. Help them to breath properly and think of all of the energy around them being focused into their hand, through the Penny. As they concentrate, they will feel the Penny growing warmer. "Continue to breath, continue to concentrate. Feel the energy flowing through you and through the Penny. Do you feel it?" When they open their hand there will be a permanent token which they can keep.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
- William Shakespeare |
Dark illusionist Loyal user pough town new york 253 Posts |
Wow. I'm flattered that my rope magic thread now has a companion.
I don't do a lot of coin magic, but I met another young magician at a lecture once. I don't remember his name or where he was from but you never know he might be at this forum. Anyway, he took a coin and pressed it against his forehead and it stuck. He then asked me if I could do it. So I took the coin from him and before I could press it against my forehead I noticed a nail was sticking out of the coin. I was shocked and then I realized that he just made a simple switch when I was trying not to laugh about the cheesiness of the initial gag. I'm sure this could be adapted to bizzare but I just want to put it out. Also just to remind you it's not my concept. cheers Jonathan
Check out my brand new website:
www.ovationmagic.cjb.net if you like it sign the guest book, if you realy like it then realy sign the guest book. If you hate it then go away. |
tiptophat Loyal user Wesley 269 Posts |
There is a really interesting Bizarre coin effect in Docc Hilfords Band of the Hand called Nightmare coins. The effect has a story line of and English Penny (Jack the Ripper), Chinese coin Genghas Khan), and a Kennedy Half (Kennedy). It is a very interesting effect.
|
Graham_Salisbury New user UK 68 Posts |
Quote:
What else can bizarrists do with coins? Caleb, as you and I both seem to love effects with a time travel theme; - I believe Docc Hilford has a time travel coin effect in Wonder Words (volume 2 I think). You could have a lot of fun with this sort of thing combining it with other routines such as the 'Chronofracture' idea discussed above. It would also sit very well in your "Tempus Fugitive" idea for example. If you weren't careful people could think you were a real Time Lord. |
Caleb Strange Special user Manchester UK 676 Posts |
Graham, thanks for the reference. That's a good idea. As for being a Time Lord, I'm more like Sylvester McCoy than Tom Baker, I'm afraid! Though Tom's character WOULD make a great starting point for a bizarre persona. Actually, the Doctor regeneration thing would give you a perfectly sound excuse to completely transform yourself and your act every few years or so. Sort of like Madonna, but without that funny bra.
Regards, Caleb Strange. CMWalden has written up the Bobo 'bent Penny' routine he mentions above, and posted it at bizarremagick.com as 'Power Channel'. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a big favour, and get over there right now! Chris' routine is absolutely wonderful, and is rich in subtlety. Truly magical. Many thanks for sharing, Caleb Strange.
-- QCiC --
|
Graham_Salisbury New user UK 68 Posts |
Quote:
Tom's character WOULD make a great starting point for a bizarre persona Indeed. The Doctor character is a superb persona and he also, in some incarnations, enjoyed magic tricks as well as having a keen understanding of psychic phenomena. So you could argue that the character is almost taylor made for this type of performance. As mentioned before on various threads, there are many illusions that one could "explain" by ones ability to travel through time. A Docc Hilford effect, 'Mephisto's Journey', revolves around the theme of bilocation. Very easy to adapt that explanation to one of Time travel/manipulation. Quote:
the Doctor regeneration thing Ah yes - conquering death. Maybe room for a pulse stop effect or two. However, I'm sure if you tried to use such a well known character, the BBC copyright machine would spring into action faster than you could say "reverse the polarity of the neutron flow" |
Covernton Regular user Vancouver 124 Posts |
An interesting tale related to (possibly) coins was of Alexander Seaton who supposedly recieved "magical fairie dust" from the Selkies (sea fairies). He would perform miracles such as changing various metals into gold. The described method in the reference I am getting this from is to drop the metal into a glass of red wine, and over the wine sprinkle the fairie dust and when the wine is poured out, LO! The metal has turned to gold!
The man insisted that the fairies gave him this dust but alchemists of the time believed he had found the famed Philosopher Stone. When word of this reached a certain Elector who's name escapes me, he sent for the man, who sent his apprentice, William Hamilton in his stead. William performed the miracle, but would not divulge the secret behind his transmutations. The Elector who had invited Seaton then had Seaton himself placed in a jailcell and tortured until he would reveal the secret of making his magical dust, but Seaton refused even under terrible physical trials. One night a Moravian chemist named Sendivogius broke Seaton free from his confinement and they escaped, fleeing to Poland. I love it when I run across amusing historical references to sleight of hand =D -Sean Covernton |
Caleb Strange Special user Manchester UK 676 Posts |
Covernton, that's a great story. Thanks for sharing it. Lots of great alchemical methods have been employed. Wands, cigarette ash, and so on. Amazing what greed can do to people's perceptions.
Regards, Caleb Strange.
-- QCiC --
|
hackmonkey Inner circle England 1093 Posts |
I do a variation of Derren Brown's trick where you divine the date on a 10p then bend it. I have taken it futher where I now know how to do it with a different coin (which I will keep secret for now). But the presentation I use is that I tell the spec about 'remote viewing' and out of body experiences. I get them to look at the dates on the coins while I turn my back and say I will look through their eyes and into their hand. I slowly begin to reveal the date on both coins. Then I will nearly collapse and say I have a headache, the specs will start running arundgeing me drinks and such. I sometimes do the bend, but I mostly do it impromtue as I have found a method to do it with to other value coins.
|
Caleb Strange Special user Manchester UK 676 Posts |
I love that headache and collapsing bit. This creates what I call 'an explanation gap', and the audience is left to infer what has happened. People, and I include myself in this, like to have explanations for things, and will happily prefer the wrong explanation, to no explanation. We will also often choose the exciting, but wrong, explanation, over the dull, prosaic, but correct one. Someone recently mentioned Kenton Knepper removing watches and rings etc., before doing a metal bend. We don't need to explain such things. The 'explanation gap' does it for us.
Regards, Caleb Strange.
-- QCiC --
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The spooky, the mysterious...the bizarre! » » Bizarre coin magic. (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |