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MAGIC
By
MISDIRECTION

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CHAPTER NINE

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What the performer says is vital to the quality of deception. His speech is as important as his appearance.

In the last chapter stress was placed upon the necessity of conforming to an established norm in what is presented to the eye. A similar norm is established by the performer's manner of speaking. This may be created by the character he plays, or by his natural manner of speaking.

Thus the spectator becomes accustomed to a certain pattern in the performer's speech. He is aware of a certain rate of delivery, of a style of enunciation, of a tempo and cadence. He is conscious of a certain accent, of a specific articulation, of pitch and a variation of this pitch, of tonal quality and of other identifications. This becomes the normal, the usual, the typical speech. It is familiar and regular. There is nothing in it to attract special attention because it conforms to a pattern.

Now suppose, through tension and uncertainty, as the performer approaches a critical phase in the operation of the trick, that some nervous mannerism manifests itself. This might be a rise in pitch, or a noticeable tension that might be revealed in one or several ways. The magician may articulate more precisely. His delivery may be more deliberate. A tendency to hesitate and stammer is possible. He might even slur the syllables together, or he might omit whole phrases. There are so many ways in which such tension may manifest itself that it would be impossible to enumerate all of them. Yet the manifestation could be exactly the opposite to that which would affect another performer.

It does not take the spectator very long to realize that these variations from the norm "telegraph" the approach of some crisis for the

magician. It is an indirect way for the performer almost to say to the spectator, "I am now approaching a critical phase in the accomplishment of this trick. If you are alert and observing, you may catch me.

An audible pronouncement to this effect, it is hardly necessary to say, would be disastrous to the magician. It obviously is not advisable to suggest the idea, even most indirectly. It would be a definite hazard to the deception.

But, like the performer who, as Dorny suggests, is "pull shy"—because he draws away at the impact of the handkerchief pull—or like the card man who winces or blinks as he does the pass or executes a top or bottom change or similar sleight, magicians may acquire bad vocal habits. Some of them cough or grunt, exhale or inhale, clear their throats or make other audible noises at a critical moment, or during the execution of a move. Such bad habits should be eliminated, eliminated not because of their effect upon the showmanship involved, but eliminated because of their detrimental effect upon the deception. These become prominent clues to the spectator.

Should there be something connected with the mechanism of the trick which is noisy, or should some phase of the operation result in betraying sounds, an attempt by the performer to cover this by talking louder would not be deceptive. It would fail to deceive because the spectator would instantly realize that the magician had an ulterior purpose in this. It would fail unless the performer could contrive some apparent alternative reason for raising his voice. This should be a reason which the spectator would recognize and would find natural. Sometimes such difficulties may be overcome by timing the words in such a manner that they coincide with, and mask, the unwonted sound.

Sometimes one may witness a performer who slows down his speaking cadence to conform to a series of secret moves which he is executing. Because it may supply a possible clue, aside from the bad showmanship involved, this and similar habits must be avoided.

Everything a person says in connection with the execution of a trick, every audible vocal sound, must conform to the norm.

What this magician says, in addition to how he says it, is also important. Aside from the sounds made, the performer establishes another norm. This is in a vocabulary, a sentence structure and an idiom he habitually uses. Again the norm must be maintained because variations attract special interest.

The third norm in connection with the magician's speech is the subject matter which is normally usual, generally, to the situation, or subject matter which would seem usual to the particular circumstances. Reference has been made before in this work to the ill-advised use of the word ordinary in reference to any property the performer may be using. The word is an obvious danger flag to the spectator.

If the performer's hands are obviously empty, and are so actually, there is no purpose in calling attention to the fact that they are ' 'absolutely empty" by saying so. The spectator can see this. But if the hands are apparently empty, but not so actually, the direct statement will arouse special attention. And such a declaration, in connection with hands that can not be shown empty, simply concentrates attention upon the omission.

This is not true only of hands. It holds true of all properties. If you have a hat, a box, a tube or any other kind of container, its emptiness is not increased by saying so, as well as showing it. If the particular container appears to be empty, even though a secret compartment, a mirror or something else actually contains or hides a load, undue emphasis upon the emptiness merely concentrates attention upon that phase. There is no need to create additional suspicion. Where the container cannot be shown empty convincingly, a statement regarding the emptiness will merely remind the spectator that if its emptiness is that important, it should be shown empty.

Implication is always stronger than a direct statement. This is true because implication seems to the spectator to be a voluntary decision on his part, uninfluenced by the magician. It is also stronger because such conclusions, reached in this manner, do not seem to be of particular importance to the performer. If the magician can so contrive matters that the spectator seems to reach his own conclusions uninfluenced, he is far better situated that if he seems to be vitally concerned. If the magician is vitally concerned, if it seems of definite importance to the magician, the spectator will usually instinctively resist and rebel. He will oppose himself to the magician, in which event considerable convincing is required on the part of the magician.

This is probably the principle reason why indirect methods, of all kinds, are usually more effective in skillful deception.

Let us assume for a moment that you are a possible client for an investment house. Two companies seek your patronage. One of them is housed in a decrepit, shabby office. The salesmen for this company are fast talkers. They seem anxious to sign you up. They continually harp upon what a sound investment you are making, what a golden opportunity this is for you and how much profit you will make.

On the other hand, the second company is housed in quietly dignified, expensive and well-maintained quarters. Here the salesmen are poised. They speak quietly and do not seem at all eager to consummate the transaction. They are conservative in their statements and make no extravagant promises.

Suppose they were both absolutely reliable firms. Which would get your business?

Suppose they were both organizations of confidence men, which fact is unknown to you, of course. Which would get your business?

It is a safe assumption that, in both cases, the investment would be made with the second company.

In the first case, direct methods were used exclusively, except for the visual appeal which was indirect. In the second case, the methods were entirely indirect. You reached your conclusions by implication.

Let us apply this to magic. The first magician holds up a tube. He seems to place no undue stress upon it. He simply holds it up so that you may see that it is empty. At another performance another magician holds up a tube. He shows it empty, saying, "This is an absolutely empty tube. I'll even prove it's empty. I'll shove a wand through from this end to this end, and then I'll shove it back in the opposite direction... And so on blah, blah, blah!

If it really is an empty tube, just a simple cylinder, which magician do you believe? If the tube were actually The Phantom Tube, which magician would lead you to suspect it?

This seems to demonstrate clearly how powerful indirect methods actually are.

His manner of speaking and his choice of words easily betray the performer's attitude. Preoccupation, tension, uncertainty and other misgivings or worries on the part of the magician are subconsciously revealed through inadvertent words or by subtle overtones. Sensing the presence of these, the spectator—often subconsciously—anticipates a crisis in the deception. This heightens his alertness.

On the other hand, if the magician has thoroughly trained himself to maintain the same norm throughout his presentation, there is no betraying prominence, a detrimental accentuation, when critical portions of the trick are at hand. Without this warning to the spectator, the latter fails to receive a clue that might assist him in circumventing the magician's attempts at deception.

The spectator is under no illusions about this matter. In decades past, it may have been true that spectators attributed the magician's power to some supernatural or mysterious source. But people are not so gullible now. Maskelyne and Devant recognized this early in the century. In OUR MAGIC, this is their definition: Magic consists in creating, by misdirection of the senses, the mental impressions of a supernatural agency at work. A mental impression, of course, is something that exists in the mind as a representation, an idea induced by some external stimulus. Since a representation is a likeness or a reproduction of the real thing, it is not the thing itself but the mere portrayal of that thing.

So since the magician is merely creating an impression of real magic, it is merely imitation magic. This is definitely realized by the performer, obviously. Not so obviously, but still entirely true, the spectators know this to be imitation magic also. Admittedly, there may be an occasional spectator in any audience who may believe himself to be witnessing real miracles. But there are few of these.

Since the spectator is aware that he is witnessing imitation magic accomplished by natural means, he realizes that the deception rests entirely upon clever concealment of the method. Unless some stronger interest intervenes, thus diverting his attention upon method, his entire mental concentration is upon ferreting out the secret. This is another reason why principles of entertainment and showmanship should particularly attract magicians. They divert the spectator's attention from the secret of the trick.

Here is an opportunity for the performer's voice to assist in the deception. Often what the performer says, and his method of saying it, will divert attention from the secret of the trick by substituting a newer, more interesting subject for the spectator's consideration. This is not done obviously, of course. It is done in such a way that it seems to be accidental in the natural course of events.

This may be done through the sense of sight as well as through the sense of hearing. Some new interest, obtained through tbe eyes, often will divert attention from the method of the trick itself.

Let us see how this may done:

Suppose you were performing for an audience of women. Suppose, right at the crucial moment, you should say, "Oh, by the way, that reminds me to tell you of the hats women are going to be wearing next season…" And from there you go on about hats, or frocks, or something else of interest to women, distracting their attention for the moment, from what you are doing.

Men are usually susceptible to attractive women. A remark in connection with a good-looking blonde, or a red-head or a brunette, will hold their interest momentarily.

And in connection with the sense of sight, pictures of the same subjects, or even models, will attract their visual attention.

Of course, these are not the only subjects that may divert such attention. There are many subjects. These depend upon the audiences and their station in life, sex, objectives, education, and many other diversified factors. In cases such as this, it will be necessary for the magician to select diversionary subjects which will catch the attention and interest of the cross-section of the particular kind of audience he entertains.

Further in this work more explicit discussion in this connection will appear.

Consider this chap:

He borrows a handkerchief, reaching for it with an outstretched left hand, as he guardedly draws back his right hand, a right hand held stiffly, fingers separated claw-like, thumb stiffly protruding from the palm. ' I want you to notice that my hand is absolutely empty," he says. As he draws the handkerchief over his fisted left hand, he explains, "I place the handkerchief over my fist and poke a hole in the top with my thumb." The stiff thumb is rammed at the cloth that is pushed down into the opening at the top of the fist.

As soon as approximately half the thumb is hidden in the fist, the left hand makes a twisting motion as if the performer were removing a recalcitrant cork from a bottle, while the right thumb tugs itself free. A lighted cigarette is borrowed, without particular significance in any of the performer's remarks. Then he drops the cigarette into the stiffly held, handkerchief-encased left fist. "I drop the burning cigarette into the handkerchief, and push it in with the thumb."

The thumb is rammed into the hole, on top of the cigarette. But it comes right out again in a heluva rush, with a gasp of pain from the magician. The scorched thumb goes into the performer's mouth with alacrity. When it is finally pulled forth, it is liberally coated with saliva. The magician's face still shows traces of pain.

Then, obviously shaken and more obviously disconcerted and confused, he rattles along, grasping for whatever words he can find. Finally, he gingerly shoves the thumb into the smoking fist-pocket, saying again, "I push the cigarette into the handkerchief, with my thumb#&131;" Several wary pokes into the handkerchief.

Finally the thumb is shoved inside purposefully. Then it is withdrawn, again held stiffly away from the palm, the fingers spread wide apart. Momentarily this paralysis is held as a pose. Then the right pulls the handkerchief away from the left and the center of the handkerchief is shown to be unharmed. The right relaxes its hold upon the handkerchief and goes back to the protruding-thumb-claw-hand pose. The left holds the handkerchief aloft triumphantly. Finally the handkerchief is returned with the extended left arm and with the reluctant and bashful right withdrawn. As the spectator takes his handkerchief, the performer's right hand is seen to drop something into his right coat pocket.

If you think this is an exaggeration, there are still some magicians you should see.

However, fortunately, the average magician is not like this. The illustration very broadly shows the points discussed in this and the last chapters, in connection with the performer's actions and words. Obviously, it is very bad showmanship. But it is worse deception. There is no need to point out, I am sure, just where the performer was wrong and how he could have preserved the deceptive feature, even with the totally unnecessary and moronic accident.

Nothing the performer says should suggest, directly or indirectly, a clue as to method. If there is a tip on the thumb, the thumb itself should not be mentioned. Special attention should not be drawn to it. If you are doing a rope trick, it is not advisable to mention secret loops, cement, fasteners, substitutions or any other of the numerous contrivances magicians have and do apply to this trick. If you are doing a box escape, do not call attention to secret panels. If you are doing rope ties, do not mention secret slack and the like.

It must be borne in mind that any solution to the mystery, even if it is not the correct one, will satisfy the spectator. It is bad psychology to suggest solutions. If you could actually perform the miracle you are imitating, if you could actually do that which you pretend to do—and which the spectator knows you are pretending to do—you would not bring up these suggestions. You would not bring them up because you would take it for granted that the spectator would appreciate real magic when he saw it. So your imitation of magic ceases to be a good imitation when it begins losing its resemblance to real magic.

I saw quite well aware that prominent professional magicians have occasionally broken this requirement. Eugene Laurant's ring routine, clever as he was and excellent as the routine is, has an example. If you will recall, Mr. Laurant held up a key ring early in the routine, showing the break and demonstrating its different sound. Then he openly discarded this key and proceeded to do the trick with another key ring.

But all performers cannot get away with this sort of thing. It requires superlative audacity and great skill. I continue to believe it to be bad psychology. It does suggest a method. It is actually the basis of the method. Such a suggestion is a stimulus to an idea. That cannot be denied. Who is to say how, or from what direction, a response is to come?

It is fundamental, I believe, that the performer realizes the spectator viewpoint. This spectator finds those things important which seem important to the magician. Things may be made to seem important to the performer both directly and indirectly. This importance is perceived through the senses. It proceeds from what the performer shows and says. Significant revelations may be made consciously or subconsciously. They may be intentional or accidental.

It is necessary that the magician insure that his interpretation, of everything he does, is the interpretation that the spectator gets. If he doesn't insure this, someone is going to be fooled—and it won't be the spectator. <-|!*!|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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