Hi,

I just got a DVD showing Hecklau's Torn and Restored Newspaper. Everything is explained very well, the trick is superb. However there is no real 'story' that goes with the presentation. How do you perfom the trick? What sory do you tell the audience?
Help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks a lot

Dieter (Cologne, Germany)

Hi Dieter,

There isn't a "standard" story that goes with the torn-n-restored newspaper to use, so you'll need to think of one. Maybe something about a "time travel" story where you go back in time before the paper was torn and you show the restored paper as proof of your time travel?

Regards, Steve

I remember years ago seeing this and it moving me so much. I hope this inspires you like it did me. Good luck with your endevors.

The other day I saw a couple of magicians talk about how annoying it was when people read your paper over your shoulder in the train, one read, the other read over shoulder, paper was torn, guy walked away saying something like "Well you can't read it either, (insult of choice)" (show was in spanish), and when the latter walked away the former restored the paper.

Create some ideas of your own, I'v written extensively about presentation and how to develop and create it here: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=41

Magically

Aus

You can see a performance of my script with audience reaction here:

http://jackshalom.net/2015/05/30/magic-saves-the-day/

The sound is lousy, but you'll get the idea. Feel free to use it, but please give me credit if you pass it on to others.

Since it was the first time I've ever tried this, I'd love to have constructive feedback. I'd be happy to keep improving on this.

Yeah that's a cool routine to start with, but I also recommend developing your own. Much more organic and rewarding

You should not just come up with a story, but one that fits your style and persona. That said, here are some idea kick starters that occur to me as I sit here. They won't all fit, but maybe trigger something for you...

Clipping/tearing out articles to read later
Anger over an article (political?)
Practical joke on someone
Do as I do with spectator
You are a news editor and this is how you edit
You are cheap and this is you making a discarded paper readable again
You are a bad strongman. Others tear phone books - you can only tear newspaper

I do a piece of poetry with mine, and generally it get great reviews.

Usually the comic patter consists of tearing the paper while explaining that you really are not tearing anything. Rather, you say, "This is just an optical illusion." while you show the pieces obviously torn. You say, "It even sounds as though I am tearing the newspaper."

Then, stop to read a few gag articles from the paper. For example, you might say, "Here is a bill before congress that will give jobs to more than 100,000 workers. Wow. It's a bill to build a bridge across the Mississippi River....LENGTHWISE." Or try this: "Here's an amazing headline: "Man falls from thirty-story building; survives." Oh he fell from the second story."

You also can disparage the newspaper, for example saying, "I always use the San Francisco Chronicle--there's nothing in it.' In Nick Lewin's comic routine he disparages the USA Today, which is easy to do. (In fact, he gives his whole comic routine on his DVD on the Slow Motion Newspaper Tear." Incidentally, Lewin uses the Alex Elmsley tear, which I particularly like because the restoration is slow enough that the audience can sense the drama as it happens. With the more popular Gene Anderson tear, the restoration is instantaneous, which may be good for TV, but is not as dramatic as the slow motion restoration by Elmsley.

The late Ron Wilson popularized the Elmsley routine in Ron's remarkable book, The Uncanny Scot.
Below is a link to Ron Wilson's performance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7I2bJZITV4

If you don't like the comic approach or any of the above corny jokes, you can do the trick silently as Ron Wilson sometimes did. See The Uncanny Scot.

Below is a link to a performance of the Gene Anderson routine that was made famous by Doug Henning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFdW3ZhMR7M

Good luck.

Jim

My 2 cents is that torn and restore, is ultimately about distruction and the restoration..... if you tell stories this would be a good approach.

Here is a newspaper... I tear it up... its together again!