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MAGIC
By
MISDIRECTION

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

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Kellar employed the principle of premature consummation in The Flower Growth. He utilized it with the revelation of the small sprout that appeared in the first flowerpot. As the routine was described earlier in this work, you will recall that the first production revealed was this small sprig. This seemed to the spectators to be the production. Consequently their attention relaxed, as far as the cone was concerned, and became centered upon the bush which seemed to be growing. When this relaxation took place, Kellar loaded the cone. This load was an anticipation load. It was made before the audience knew there was to be a second production.

Then, with the second production, the second load was made in anticipation of going back to the first pot. Both of these loads were made in advance of any indication that the cones were to be used again.

Greater skill is necessary in applying the idea of premature consummation in order to cause the spectators to relax their attention. This is because the magician has the spectator's attention. Something must be done to cause it to relax. There was no such condition, where anticipation was concerned. In the latter case, the attention had relaxed at the conclusion of the preceding trick, or else the thing done by the performer had no significance in connection with the trick being done then.

But now, using premature consummation, it is necessary to shake off attention. It is not easy.

The Vanishing Bird Cage, as presented by Stephen Shepard, supplies the best example of applied premature consummation that I can call to mind.

Mr. Shepard vanishes the cage in the usual manner, employing the arm pull. But his arm pull terminates at his wristwatch, strapped to his left wrist. By releasing a pin, the end of the cord opposite the cage is set free.

After the usual vanish, the cage having folded and having gone up the right sleeve, Mr. Shepard pretends to hear someone say that the cage has gone up the sleeve, as indeed they often actually do. Off comes his coat. It is thrown into the audience for inspection. Usually this is the cue for some wag in the audience to shout for the vest, too. If it is not actually called for, Mr. Shepard pretends to hear a demand to that effect. Off comes the vest. It follows the coat into the audience.

Certainly by this time someone will yell for the shirt, as well. Obligingly, the necktie is pulled from the collar and thrown into the audience. Rapidly unbuttoning his shirt, this is shrugged off. It, too, goes into the audience.

By this time there is no need to pretend to hear what the audience demands. No. By this time, without pretense, the spectators are clamoring for his trousers. This seems to be a bit embarrassing to Mr. Shepard. Really, he does not seem to have bargained for this. But the cries increase, of course. So Mr. Shepard continues to disrobe until nothing but his shorts, his shoes and his socks are between him and the most complete exposure ever seen in magic.

I almost overlooked telling you. The birdcage is not found—if anyone cares by this time.

But where does this example of premature consummation come in?

I mentioned that the arm pull could be released at the left wrist. In his club performances, Mr. Shepard carries his properties in a small traveling bag, from which he takes them as needed.

Immediately after the vanish of the cage—just as if the trick were finished—before the episode of disrobing, Mr. Shepard reaches into the bag and brings forth the properties for his next trick. But while he has been searching for these properties, both hands have been inside the bag. While his hands were covered, Mr. Shepard released the arm pull. Then, with his left hand he reached up his right sleeve, grasped the cage, and pulled both the cage and the pull cord from the sleeve. Now he is completely free of the cage and pull.

Then, turning back to the audience with the newly acquired properties in his hands—the time taken so far is negligible—Mr. Shepard pretends to hear the remark about the cage going up the sleeve.

During the relaxation, apparently at the conclusion of the trick, after the attention has become much less alert, the necessary things were done. This resulted in much greater deception than would have been possible were the trick to have been concluded in the conventional manner.

Thus, because the significant thing was done after the trick was apparently finished, or rather after the spectators prematurely believed it finished, it is a true example of applied premature consummation being used to escape the spectator's attention.

Another example of premature consummation applied occurs in The Sympathetic Silks where successive exchanges of the knots, from one group of silks to the other, are revealed. Many performers cause three of the silks to appear to be knotted together with a corner of each in a common knot. This is accomplished by snapping a small rubber band about these corners, as they are folded over together.

In applying this idea, usually one set of three silks, which apparently became knotted together in sympathy with another set of three, are later revealed to have separated themselves, also in sympathy, when the corresponding set is untied. As this second stage is demonstrated, the three silks which were openly tied are openly untied. One by one, the silks of the sympathetic set are picked up and placed in the opposite hand—just as if this were the conclusion of the trick. But, when these three silks are together the rubber band is slipped over them, as the performer bows, apparently concluding the trick. Casually, he places the silks down. Notice that the necessary move is made after the apparent finish. Then, as if it is an afterthought, the performer suggests to his assisting spectator that he might try tying his silks together, a corner of each silk being tied, as a group, in a single knot. Of course, this is the appearance of the sympathetic set that is held together with the rubber band.

Again, the trick seems to be concluded. The performer bows, slipping the rubber band from his set as he does so. The set is placed aside again. Subsequently, the spectator is asked to untie his three, and the sympathetic set is shown to have become separated as well.

This time the performer takes all six silks in his hands and bows in conclusion. But as he does so, holding one corner of each silk in the same hand, the six corners are folded over again. And again a rubber band is slipped over them.

Straightening up, the silks are tossed into the air. They fall, having apparently knotted themselves together while in the air.

Practically the entire last portion of this routine is accomplished by applying the principle of premature consummation to secure relaxation of the spectators' attention.

It has been emphasized in this work that the best way to secure attention and interest is for the performer actually to be attentive and interested himself. This is sound psychology. Its opposite is equally sound psychology. The best way to cause attention to relax is for the performer actually to relax his attention himself. This is a powerful assistance in premature consummation. It aids in no small degree.

In applying anticipation, for the same reason, the performer should avoid any evidence of interest or attention in connection with what he does.

The performer must personally participate in the trick in the same way that he desires the spectator to react. Careless beginners may ignore this point. Skillful experts invariably observe it with great care. Just because a point seems abstract and intangible, it cannot be eliminated in effective deception. Deception itself is mostly psychological. The most powerful weapons at the disposal of the deceptionist are his psychological weapons. They are much more potent than the concrete things the magician uses.

To break a hard thing, like a piece of stone, one must use a hard thing, like a hammer. To control an electric current, that which has mastery over that force must be employed. Thoughts and the reactions of the mind constitute a force. But one cannot control this thought force with a hammer. Use it as one might, even though the person involved might seem to have changed his thought, the thought itself is not changed. Neither can one harness this thought force with that which would insulate an electric current. Nothing material will touch it. No material restraint will hold it. No physical force will master it.

The only thing that can touch this thought force is another thought force. A thought may be moved and influenced only by another thought. Psychological problems can be solved only through psychology.

Therefore, since effective deception is possible only by deceiving the understanding, and since the understanding results from the responses to thought stimuli, we can control the understanding only by controlling thought. That which has to do with thought and its control, which has to do with the thought process of the mind, is psychology.

From the material viewpoint, things psychological are completely abstract. From the mental viewpoint, things psychological are completely concrete. The deceptionist must deal with those things that are concrete to the mind. If he does not, if—instead—he deals with those things that are concrete to the material, he will fail to deceive.

Many will say, "No." But if a person wishes to accomplish something in a strange land, he uses the language of that land. In France, he would use French. In Spain, he would use Spanish. In the realm of the mind, one must use the language of the mind.

We have discussed how the deceptionist may act before the spectator has an opportunity to apply his attention to what he does. We have also discussed how the performer may disarm the spectator's attention by seeming to come to a conclusion. Now our problem is to dull the sharpness of the spectator s attention. We do this, as was pointed out before, by creating monotony through repetition.

There is danger of misconstruing monotony as the confusion stratagem. In many respects they are similar. Both involve multiple details. But in the case of an application of the monotony expedient, all of the details are identical. The effectiveness of the artifice vitally depends upon this tiresome sameness.

On the other hand, the effectiveness of the confusion stratagem depends upon multiplicity of details. The individual elements need not be the same. In fact, variety is desirable. The very essence of confusion is disarray, turmoil and disorder. These need not be physical. As a psychological weapon, the disarray, turmoil and disorder are mental. This prevents logical deduction. It hides the significance of operative details. So confusion, to be created effectively, necessitates many and dissimilar things.

In an appended section to MISDIRECTION FOR MAGICIANS, Leslie P. Guest contributed an excellent paper called Misdirection—Open and Covered. In it he described one of the best examples of the application of monotony that magic has ever seen.

Slightly reedited, Mr. Guest's description follows:

Let us consider Thurston's Spirit Cabinet and The Floating Ball:

As the lights dim to black art consistency, George White boldly walks from the wings carrying the floating ball in a black case. He deliberately deposits this package within the cabinet, then walks off on the other side of the stage, trailing the necessary threads behind him. Not one spectator in a thousand is even aware of his presence. I call this the limit of open misdirection. It is effective because nobody knows what is to happen next, nor what the black parcel is for, also because all attention is riveted on Thurston and his dramatic patter.

Mr. White's presence upon the stage, of course, went unnoticed in this case because he had been carrying things on and off throughout the performance. His goings and comings had become so frequent and common, since nothing of particular interest to the audience had happened in connection with him, that the spectators no longer paid any attention to him. If they saw him, they ignored him. To the spectators his presence had no significance whatever.

This point is emphasized as Mr. Guest continues:

For a more glaring example, take the ending of the same illusion. The floating ball has retired to the cabinet. Thurston exclaims. "Let's try to catch the ghost." At this cue, several assistants rush on stage and proceed to knock the cabinet apart. During the excitement George White strolls out, picks the floating ball out of the cabinet and walks off with it—the large black package being in full sight… This time a series of conspicuous actions conceal the one small theft.

The point is emphasized, as I indicated before, in the above paragraph. The distinction between monotony and confusion is clearly illustrated. When Mr. White first brought on the ball, he was ignored. When he took it off, be was just one of many details, without any particular significance. In the latter case, this was an application of the principle of confusion. The former act was an application of the principle of monotony.

In SHOWMANSHIP FOR MAGICIANS on page 124 is described my routine for The Ball and Tube Trick. It is emphasized that stealing the outer tube requires a peculiar position of the thumb and forefinger. Stealing this outer tube also requires an upward sweeping movement of the hand. Both the hand position and the peculiar gesture would be suspicious and significant, if done only at the time the outer tube is stolen.

So the principle of monotony is employed to cover it. The repetition is accomplished by doing the sweeping gesture again and again, during the course of the trick. The same peculiar upward sweep is used as that necessary when the tube is stolen. In the guise of passing the hand in front of the tube and ball again and again, the spectators become accustomed to this gesture. And they also become accustomed to the peculiar position of the hand, this position being used constantly, as well. Soon the position and the gesture become repetitive. They become monotonous. They lose attention. Then, when they are actually necessary, when they are definitely used to accomplish a vital part of the deception, they are unnoticed and have no significance.

Whenever a peculiar position of the hands is necessary, the spectators may be accustomed to it by repetition.—This has already been mentioned in connection with dealing seconds and bottoms.—But it holds true, as well, of the closed-finger position of the hand in holding a palmed card. Or of a special posture necessary for some purpose. Or of a special gesture, as illustrated, necessary to accomplish some end.

It is equally true, as in the Thurston illustration, where an assistant must contribute a vital part. Repetition of a special position necessary for stealing a billiard ball, an egg or some similar object will cause this special position to lose significance, if repeated often enough before the position is actually necessary.

We had an excellent illustration of the power of confusion in the finale of The International Magicians show. This is fully described in the first book of this series. Substantially, it was made up of many magicians performing many tricks simultaneously. There were several individual tricks in that finale which in themselves were worthy of special attention. At various times individual magicians, who had seen the show before, told me that they had endeavored to concentrate upon one of the tricks, having had a special interest in it. Invariably they failed to follow it. One chap even went so far as to roll up his program in a tube. Using it like a telescope, he centered it upon a particular bowl trick that attracted him. Before he realized it, he had lost the bowl trick, having been distracted by the action and color around it.

Any complex series of handlings brings confusion. This is a standby with some of our best card men. Even experts, having selected a card and having returned it to the pack, soon become confused and lost in multiple shuffles, multiple piles and multiple cuts. In the beginning, they might be able to follow the position of the card. But soon an avalanche of details buries them in confusion.

As a matter of fact, possibly the bulk of the identification tricks with cards rely upon the inability of the spectator to follow confusing details.

Many of the most effective expedients in The Linking Rings are possible because the spectator, confused by the number of apparently similar rings, loses the identity of individual rings he has examined or is watching. Due to this confusion, separate counts are possible, switches are possible. The very disorder runs interference for effects that may be accomplished only by sheer audacity.

The familiar throw-away pellet trick owes some of its ability to deceive to the confusion created in the mind of the spectator. This is true, also, of the sleight-of-hand coin trick where the coins pass, one by one, from one hand to the other. Much of the effectiveness of The Chinese Coin Trick, the one where the coins change color, one version of which is explained in THE TARBELL COURSE, titled The Chameleon Poker Chips is created by confusion.

Marked cards are difficult to detect because of the confused design on the back of most cards. The tiny indications are discovered by the performer readily only because he knows where to look and what to look for.

In the early days of the circus, many a ticket seller added many an illicit dollar to his grouch—bag simply because he was adept at applying confusion in counting out the change to the hapless yokel.

Blackstone employs confusion in the transposition illusion that he calls The Teddy Bear. Several characters are involved in this trick, which goes off into several different tangents, until it is difficult for the spectator to keep straight in his mind as to who is who. These characters are attired in various disguises and at the denouement practically everything, except the theater and the town in which he is playing, has changed—and at times, I am sure, some of the spectators are not even certain of the latter two.

I do think it should be emphasized, in using this expedient of confusion, that the stratagem loses effectiveness if the spectator realizes he is confused. <-|!*!|C|I|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|->
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