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MAGIC
By
MISDIRECTION
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
In order to lay the foundation for logical approaches to applications of misdirection, it is necessary to study spectator attention. This, of course, must be aroused attention. In Chapter XVI of SHOWMANSHIP FOR MAGICIANS, the matter of interest was discussed at some length. Attention becomes aroused, as is generally admitted, when that which is presented to the spectator's attention appeals to his interests and instincts. The instinct factors, of course, are money, power, comfort, enjoyment, nourishment, sex, laughter, and the great many other stimuli that cause men to respond.
Misdirection begins with gaining the aroused attention of the spectator. As the spectator's attention upon the performer becomes more and more complete, his ability to concentrate upon more than one thing at a time becomes less and less.
So it is vitally essential that the deceptionist have the spectator's complete, aroused attention.
Probably it is because of this basic requirement of complete attention that it is so difficult to cause children to react to misdirection which would normally be effective with adults.
If the magician should succeed in securing the spectator's complete attention, and if he is successful in leading it away from a significant move, it is quite doubtful that the spectator would be able to observe, or detect, anything outside of the immediate location to which the performer has led his attention. It must be thoroughly understood, naturally, that the performer has caught the spectator's complete, aroused attention prior to the act of directing it.
Having led the spectator's attention away from the critical thing or action, the magician may do what is necessary in accomplishing the
deception, providing the accomplishing act is not done in such a manner' that the attention is brought back to the point of danger. This is fundamental.
His purpose accomplished, the performer allows attention to return to the original point. This, of course, does not apply where the spectator's attention has been anticipated.
Among the things which will accomplish aroused attention is a circus parade. Here are such factors as bright color, action, movement, variety, noise, glamour-the very things discussed so thoroughly in SHOWMANSHIP FOR MAGICIANS. All of these excite interest. With the interest aroused, attention follows.
Having captured the attention, the performer's problem is to retain it and increase its intensity. Children are primarily sensitive to anything that excites the senses. Adults retain this sensitivity, but in addition they react to stimulation connected with previous experience and education and environment. Thus, if a person is interested in a hobby-magic, for example-any reference to magic, directly or indirectly, will gain his instant attention.
Whether this attention is retained depends upon several fundamental factors.
The personality of the performer is highly important. In addition, the personal demeanor-aside from personality-has much to do with it. The magician must seem interested himself. There must be animation, color, and entertainment. There must be some suspense. Actually, it must be realized, showmanship factors are the important ones here.
Note the parallel to the circus parade: Interest, suspense, animation, color, and other showmanship factors. These qualities must appear physically and mentally. For any purpose, a variety of these important ingredients, both mental and physical, must be present and recognizable
The quality of appearing to be interested, thus stimulating the interest of the spectators, is best accomplished, obviously, by being so. The performer must show interest in what he is doing, and in any assistant with whom he may be working. It shows in the freshness of his speech. His eyes reflect it. Every movement of his body-the hands, the feet, and the face-presents a different aspect to the spectators, if the performer is interested. No performer can hope to catch and retain interest if he himself does not feel it.
Suspense, naturally, is dependent upon the method of presentation. One performer may go through his tricks in a desultory manner, monotonously, colorlessly, not attempting to build up to his climaxes. Another brings out his points enticingly, seemingly with more interesting things to come. He invariably withholds a little, adding new interests, presenting new phases, as he proceeds. This causes the spectator to follow along eagerly.
The most obvious example of suspense is shown in the popular' pulp magazines devoted to hair-raising detective stories. Note that the reader is gripped right at the beginning. He is literally dragged into the stories by his ears. The hero plunges into trouble immediately. In his efforts to extricate himself from his dilemma, he gets into difficulties that seem more and more insurmountable. The reader is lured into the story because the hero captures his interest. Because he cannot readily solve the hero's difficulties, the reader continues the story to discover how the hero finally escapes.
In a magic act, suspense is achieved by attractive presentation that seems to promise newer surprises, newer interests, more and better entertainment. By apparently using ordinary objects with which the spectator is familiar, the performer increases the immediate interest. Because the spectator is familiar with what the objects seem to be, he realizes fully the difficulties confronting the magician. At first, the entertainer causes the spectator to speculate as to what the former will do with this object. Then, the spectator questions whether the magician can accomplish what he has set out to do. The next interest to the spectator might be whether the magician could perform the trick without detection.
Suspense comes from varied attack. It arises as the result of surprising the spectator with unexpected sallies, by tricks of expression, of the voice, of gesture, of action. Something is held back from the denouement. Individuality permeates the performance so that the spectator really does not know what next to expect.
Animation is achieved, of course, by speaking briskly. It comes from varying the tempo of the delivery, from varying the rhythm of the movements and actions. It comes from using the eyes, the hands, the face, the body. It is revealed in the original ways in which the performer may express himself, through constant variety in the ideas submitted for the spectator s consideration.
With complete attention, the magician's attention control will be effective. This assumes that the artifices selected have been planned and executed skillfully. Without complete attention, control of the spectator's attention is impossible.
If the performer desires to attract attention to his eyes and face, he gestures in that direction. This is not a act of deliberate pointing. Rather, it is a movement of the hand, perhaps, through a line of motion that will cause the spectator's eyes to follow, a movement made in the act of doing something. The magician will so time his movement that, when it is about to reach the limit of its travel, he will carry the attention along to his face by means of a remark. Simultaneously, this performer will actually catch and hold the eyes of an individual member of his audience.
This performer must be careful that he does not merely look as though he is looking at a spectator. Actually, he must be doing it.
Attention is attracted to the hands, first, by looking at them. He must actually see them. He focuses his eyes upon them. Then, he follows this with a movement of his hands. This also holds true for directing attention to any of his properties.
When the performer desires to divert attention away from himself, he uses his hands, his eyes, his voice.
But if there is anything that he does not want attention to fall upon, he does not look at it. He does not move toward it. He does not move his hands toward it. He does not permit anyone to move towards it. Neither does he move it or allow it to be moved. Neither does he allow any inclination of the body, of the arms, or of the head-in any way-to direct attention toward it.
If the magician desires to take attention away from something, he looks at it. He puts the object down. Then he moves his eyes, hands, arms, body-even his remarks, and of course his interest-away from it. If the object is his hand, he starts a line of attention to his face. Then he carries the attention away further with his eyes.
A skillful performer can move attention to and from an article or an object or an action just as he can move the object itself. It is all a matter of motion, direction and the performer's attention.
Such control of the attention certainly is unnecessary where the magician is in position to anticipate it. If he can accomplish what is essential, even something which might be significant, before the spectator's attention is centered upon what he is doing, there is no need to worry about the spectator's attention. Since the vital thing is accomplished, all the scrutiny in the world will not reveal anything.
Generally, long before the spectator is in any position to concentrate any attention upon it, in fact, most frequently in some secluded place, the magician prepares a considerable part of his performance in advance. Loads are concealed upon the body, upon servantes or within the hat. Flowers are loaded into cones or in mechanical arrangements that will bring them in sight when wanted. Rising card packs are strung, decks are arranged, and messages are written upon slates and covered with flaps. Cards are loaded in The Television Frame, or are placed in The Card To Balloon apparatus.
Just as the egg is loaded into the secret compartment of The Egg Bag, so are all preliminary preparations made in order to escape having significant things come to the attention of the spectator. This is true, whether you are tying the silks for The Sympaihetic Silks or helping the girl assistant get within the secret compartment of The Doll's House.
This matter of anticipating the attention of the spectator is much the same. The principal difference is that the preliminary preparation-where anticipation of attention, as a magician's expedient in deception psychology, is concerned-is done with a much shorter interval of time intervening between the preparation and the execution of the trick. Also, this anticipatory move is done out in the open, usually, in front of the audience-not in a secluded place, as in the first case.
An unmistakable example of anticipation is demonstrated in The Cups and Balls Trick. After showing the cups empty, and before the spectator is aware as to how the cups are to be used, or beneath which cup the ball is to be transposed, the cups are loaded by the performer. Even in the very act of revealing the presence of one ball beneath a cup, that very cup is being loaded with a second ball soon to be revealed. Practically throughout the entire routine, the performer is ahead of the progress of the trick, loading in advance. This continues until, as is the usual finish of the trick, the cups are lifted, one by one, to reveal a ball under each. And as the cups are lifted in what seems to be the concluding series of moves, they are passed to the opposite hand, which loads them one by one, loads them with onions, or lemons, or potatoes, or even baby chicks. The just-revealed ball is picked up, the apparently empty cup being placed back on the table again, and the balls are placed in the pocket. When the three cups are turned over ultimately, the surprise punch load is revealed.
Anticipation is utilized by the performer who continues the trick, using now the baby chicks. The hand that conceals two chicks plunges into the clothing of the spectator. It brings forth one of these, leaving the other behind in anticipation of another production later.
This same stratagem, substantially, is used in producing cards, sausages, and other objects from the body of the spectator. Many performers go into the spectator's pockets with a large load, leaving behind a substantial supply for later production.
Anticipation is used in loading the first ball in The Multiplying Billiard Balls Trick, ordinarily. Often the first ball is stolen in advance of the actual starting of the trick, in anticipation.
Anticipation's use in connection with The Cards To The Pocket has been mentioned.
This principle of anticipation is employed in some of the sponge ball routines as a basic expedient. When the spectator is handed two sponge balls, pressed together as one, the deceptionist is employing anticipation. He is loading the ball to be transposed into the spectator's hand before the duplicate, which is to vanish and subsequently reappear in the spectator's hand, has been introduced. How can the spectator's attention become fixed upon something that does not exist to him at the time? Then, even after the first hall has been transported to his hand, there is no indication that the effect is to be repeated.
The performer, who pretends to look through the deck of cards to see if The Joker is present or to pick out the four Aces, using this pretense as a means of setting up the deck in a certain order, is using anticipation. Perhaps he might be separating the red cards from the blacks. Or he might be arranging them according to some pointer, system. Or he might be placing certain cards where he can get them when needed. Or he might be looking for a key card. In fact, there is no limit to the anticipatory preparation he might be making.
But in all cases, he is getting ready in advance doing something in anticipation of an effect to follow. Certainly, in this connection he is dissimulating also. He is making his move appear to be something dissimilar to what it really is. But primarily he is preparing in anticipation of the trick, before the spectator's attention is upon him in connection with the trick for which the preparation is made.
If, at the end of a card trick, the performer should palm off three cards and place them in his right trousers pocket, later to secure them to add to one packet of cards in The Thirty Card Trick, the performer is anticipating the latter trick. If he should take something from his coat pocket, perhaps the ring box in the burned bill trick discussed before, and place it in his trousers pocket preliminary to that trick, he is employing anticipation. Perhaps, prior to this, that specific pocket had been used for The Cards To The Pocket or Any Card From The Pocket. If, sometime during a prior trick, or before beginning the trick in question, the performer should casually secure possession of something vital to the following trick, he is employing anticipation. Perhaps he is obtaining a load from some hiding place and putting it in position for use in a subsequent trick.
Even the old trick known as The Burning Cone or Fire and Water employs anticipation. The modern version of this trick uses a special pitcher. But the original one, as I recall it, depended upon a celluloid insert that was rolled within the cornucopia. This celluloid insert was equipped with a hook. As the water was poured from the pitcher it went into the celluloid insert. Then, this insert was hooked upon the rear of the pitcher and extracted from the cornucopia as the pitcher was taken away and placed aside. Apparently, the trick had not actually been started. All that had been done was to prepare the preliminaries, as far as the spectators were concerned. Now that the magician held a cone filled with water, he was in position to begin the trick. Attention was upon him, and upon the cornucopia. But it was too late then. The magician had anticipated the spectator's attention by stealing the water, apparently before the trick was actually started.
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