CONTENTS

MISDIRECTION
AND
DIRECTION

2 Introduction 2
3 The Importance of Misdirection 3
3 Visual Noise 3

4 Openness , and the Open Position 4

6 Coord ination of Actions and the Priority of Movements 6
6 Economy of Motion 8

9 Active and Relaxed States 9

11 The Natural Off-Beat 11

Keys to the Amplification

of the Magic Effect

1 2 Creating the Off-Beat 12

13 Regaining Attention 13

14 The Eyes 14
15 Verbal Misdirection 15
16 Naturalness 16

17 Directing Audience Attention 17

16 Principals Elements 16
20 The Prime Focus: The Remembered Effect 20
21 Final Words 21

GARY KURTZ
Entir e contents Copyright 1969 by G ary Ku rt z
All Rights Reserved

14 The Eyes 14

INTRODUCTION
WHY ANOTHER WRI TTEN TREATISE ON THE ART OF
MISDIRECTI ON?

First 01 all , becau se I feel m isdirection an d dire ction of attention

are majo r skills of the magician's craft , skills whi ch unfortunately
are often understood only a superficial level (if not completely
misunderstood) . Misdirection has nothing to do with
distraction. It has everything to do with controlling and
directing attention.
Sec ondly, it has been my experienc e in studying other
performance arts , that on e teacher may repeatedly tell you
something and you might still fail to grasp the concept. Another
teacher might then tell you the same things in a slightly different
way, and it can lead to a revelation, a sudden understanding of
the principles involved . I'm hoping th en , that the way in wh ich I
articulat e things m ight lead you to a deeper understand ing of our
art.
Lastly, part of the emphasis in this manuscript is on the two-fold
purpose of being ab le to manipulate the audience 's attention:
Misdirection aids In deception. Direction draws attention to
Important elements , All the techniques put together give you the
tools to control and manipulate what you want the audience to

see .
For me, thi s has pro ved to be far more satisfying an d usefu l than
competence in manipulative techniqu e alone. As in all the oth er
arts, phy sical techniques are only the first part of be ing an artist.
To cont rol your audi ence's attention, perception and mem ory of
what they've seen - now thos e are the real techniques of magic.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MISDIRECTION

"I have a secret ass is tant...Her nam e is Mis s Direc tion."
-Jo hn Ram sey

Misdirection /direction plays a major role in ele vating the mag ician
from trickster to magician . Personally , I almost neve r do a move
without misdirection , even though I a m technically quite
competent. The reason for this is that , in the words of Erdn ase:
"Not only shouldn 't they see anything, they shouldn't suspicion
anything." For me then, misdirection is not just a cover for the
moves, but a pre caution aga inst su sp icion, to keep suspi cion
from ever entering the audience's minds . Only when there is no
trace of suspicion can there be a suspension of disbelief. Only
when there is a sus pens io n of di sbel ief, can there be magic .
Ah , wh ere to begin?
Visual Noise
Visual noise is a fairly self-explanatory p hrase: Its tiring , and
even anno ying , to watch : A performer who gestures Wildly, as he
shifts his body weight from foot to foot , c onstantly shuffling and
riffling his deck of cards as he talks a blue streak . It creates
confusion , and, it can be detrimental to the proper set-up and
execution of misdirective/directive actions : With a performer
constantly on the move, the audienc e doesn't know what to
watch : Should they be wat ching your hands to make sure you 're
not doing something funn y? Or should they , as soc ial hum ans do
by instinct , look at you when you're talking ?
Its our responsibility to mak e our wo rk as easy as poss ible for
our audi ence to watch and enjoy ; to let them know what is
important and what is unimportant.
You can be an extrem ely energ etic perfo rm er , and still be in
perfect control.

OPENNESS
AND THE OPEN POSITION
What I refer to as the Open Position is one where the audien ce
can see, in their peripheral vision , all of the elements in play. and
they can see that everything is fair and above board.
Example: When perterming card magic, hold the deck loosely in
your motionle ss , extended hand when you talk. This way you can
talk to the audience without their attention being split between
you and what your hands are doing . You can still be very
animated w~h your free hand , face and voice , just don 't be
constanlly riffling and shuffling the cards .
My suggestion is that you handle your props well away from your
body , very openly , and with as little movement as possible ,so
they dist ract attention away from you .

What I call Openness refer s to an attitude of performing

everything as openly and cl eanly as poss ible : showing them
through words and actions that you're going out of your way to
be fair and that you're not cheating on them.
Example: Slydini's Knotted Silks.
The spectator's themselves tie the knots. Tony tugs on them , and
asks "O.K? O.K?" He goes out of his way to make sure that the
spectators are a hundred percent satisfied that the silks are tied .
Then the magic happens !
A more detailed example: An Ambitious Card routine.
The spectator replaces his card into the fanned deck . In closing
the fan , sidesteal the card into your right hand (the Eyes , and the
Name as misdirection) : "Now at this p oint, Steven......" . In
bringing the deck up to the left fingertips, in front of the
spectator's eyes (because you want to be as fair as possible):
The palmed card is replaced on top: "...how far down from the
top of the deck would you say your card is?" He gives his
response , convincing himself.

Very op enly (hands well forward toward s him ) perform a double

turn -over, sho wing an ind ifferent car d on top of the deck : "Well,
one thing 's for sure.../ts not on top, right? .." Repeat the dou ble
turn-over and hold th e deck loo sely on your extended and
motionless left palm as you perterm your magic gesture over the
cards. With all attention on the card s, turn over the top card to
show the selection ha s risen to th e to p .
The e ffect you'll gel out of this handling is much suonq er
than it you held the deck lightly in your hand with your
elbows pressed into your sides and the deck two inc hes from
your stom ach.

The second move is Vernon 's Tilt: Move clos e to a person on

your right , di splaying the selection at your right fingertips.
Pertorm Tilt . with the express intent of showing her that the card
goes into the middle: "Watc h. TI,e 5C.../nto the c entre of the
deck...." Relax your left hand, moving it forward into an Open
Position , with her looking at it from behind : "You saw the car d go
in, yes?...."
In lhis case , you involve one spec tato r spe cificall y. She
verifie s for everyone , the truth of what yo u say.

Perterm a double lift to show th e card is back on top : "And yet it

still comes bac k to the top... "
"One fast tim e..." Pick up the double card and bring it to the right
edge of the deck, in preparation for the turn-over. Draw attention
to it: "..The 5C..." Deliberately, flip it over, take the top card and
move your left hand forward, so several people are seeing the
deck from behind . In sert the car d into the centre of the deck
(supposedly the sam e ac tions you performed the last time) . Very
openly pu sh the card in. They see everything from all sides:
"..Into tne centre of the de c k.... Yes? Yes ?..."
Here. everyone verify the truth of your slatements.

Pertorm your magic gesture, th en turn over the top card : "And
still it comes....to the top."

The abo ve examples illustrate how, by adopting an attitude of

Openn ess (doing nothing different technically) , you can gr eally
amplify the effect on the spectators .

Most moves which require misdirection take only a split second

to perform. The rest of the time you should be in an Open
Position. They miss a few details, but they don't know it. All they
remember is that you went out of your way to be fair and above
board. How's that for a lasting impression?

COORDINATION OF ACTIONS, AND THE PRIORITY OF

MOVEMENTS
The human eye is attracted by motion. Simple fact. But, the
human eye can really only focus on one movement at a time.
Using the principle of the Coordination 01 Actions one action
(secondary) can pass unnoticed in the shadow of another action
(primary).
The basis of this principle (first verbalized by Tony Slydini) is that
both actions begin and stop at exactly the same time. The
other element lies in the choice of primary and secondary
actions.

Examples of the Priority 01 Movements:

1-A hand moving forward will take precedence over a hand
relaxing back.
2-A hand rising will attract more attention than a hand dropping
down to your side.
3-Any action which is active will command more attention than
an action which is passive.
4-Any action which you invest with Importance will take
precedence over an action which you do automatically, without
thinking.
5-Additionally, any1hing colourful, flashy, well lit, will draw more
attention that something commonplace and seemly unimportant.

These are basic principles of theatrical staging, which can be

used for clandestine, as well as overt actions.

A simple example: A billiard ball steal.

The right hand already has a ball palmed. Reach lorward with
your right hand and produce the palmed ball at your fingertips
(twisting your body slightly to the left); simultaneous drop your
left hand to your side> both actions starting and stopping at
exactly the same time. The instant the ball appears at your right
fingertips is the instant you steal the ball from the holder with
your left hand.
Toss the ball into the air, moving the left hand back to its original
position as the ball goes up. Catch the ball, and go into a
flourishy roll of the ball between your extended index fingers.
Properly coordinated and timed, the viewer will be completely
unaware that the left hand dropped to your side. The primary
actions also make lor a good effect.

A more extravagant example: Changing a woman into a tiger.

The cage is centre stage, there are steps leading up to it. The
assistant climbs up the stairs, and enters the cage. A large
colourful cloth is pulled down over the front of the cage. Two
performers spin the cage forward into a brightly lit spotlight right
at the edge of the stage as another assistant quietly pulls the
stairs (the supposedly-caged assistant now hidden inside) back
into the dimly lit upstage area, and offstage. There's a flash of fire
over the cage and the cloth is pulled off, revealing that the
woman has changed into a tiger right in front of the audience's
noses.
The audience completely forgets there were ever stairs or
another assistant involved. The transformation, and final
display position (applause cue), happens right up close to
the audience.

A more complex example

You've just palmed the four Aces from the bottom of the deck
into your left hand and want to produce them from your pocket.
Your right hand moves forward to hand the deck to a spectator
as your left hand relaxes to your side: "Here, give the cards a
shuffle..
If you dropped your left hand to your side, and then moved
your right hand forward, you'd have two noticeable actions

Your right hand rises in a palm out gesture , bringing all eyes up
with it: "Oh. wail.. .." Open the righi side of your jacket and lo ok
inside , as yo u bring your lett hand to your hip .
O p ening yo ur jacket and tookinq in c reates interest.
engaging th an the left hand 's small m ovement.

fO I

more

Look up at the audience as you reach your lett hand into your
insid e pocket , clo sing the jacket slightly around the hand as you
d o . "You may want to..." Reopen your jac ket and look down as
yo ur left han d pulls the cards from your pocket. Display them in
both hands , chest height and forwa rd in front of you : "...m ix these
in there too ..."
A lillie more effective than sim ply diving your
hand into your pock et, wouldn' t you say? The
final display uses the same staging principles
(forward and high) to creat e a strong final
displ ay position .
Movement and strong staging allract attention. The Coordinat ion
of Actions allows you to make secondary act ions invisible.
For every action there is a balanced and opposite reaction . For
eve ry movement you want to pass unn oticed , all you have to do
is find a stronger action to counterbalance it. The challenge is to
find a primary action which Is logical and motivated .

ACTIVE AND RELAXED STATES

When you relax, your audience relaxes.
This is were body language and stage presence playa ma jor
role. This ties in with Staging and The Priority of Movements I've
already discu ssed . If you look at the examples I gave then you 'll
not ice that aside from th e di rections I mentioned there was also
an energy specification (eg : A hand moving forwa rd tak es
precedenc e over a hand relaxing back) .
Slydini' s postures are a gr eat example of this prin ciple {thou gh
restr icted to clos e-u p magic seated at a tab le, and too
exagg erated for anyone oth er than Tony} . Takea loo k at pictures
of Slydini in action . You 'll see how his whole body direct s
attention to the point he 's looking at. Look at a hockey pla yer in
position for a face off . See how his whole be ing is focused on a
single objective. Performing stand-up: Move clo ser to the
audienc e, lean forwar d slightly, ge sture with yo ur hands well
forward , and project strongly forward (or in the direction you want
atte ntio n to go) .
Activ e physicality creates ten sion /attention > < Relax that tension
-and you relax attention.

Economy of Motion
Sim plicity is the ultimate goal. Anytime you can eliminate
something extraneous, do so. Sometimes , its not so much
elim inating move s that you do , its a qu estion of simplifying what
the audience per ceives and remembers that you did . What we
are doing m ay be extremely complex. Misd irection, direction and
lhe Coordinalion of Actions can be invaluable in simplifying whi ch
ac tions the audience see and remember.
The examples given under the last sect ion already demonstrat e
this . Several actions were made imp erc eptible , primarily to aid
deception , but, they also simplified the effects because the
aud ienc e wa s unaware of hall the things which were going on .

Look at Slydini's rest positions for exam ples of this. II you

perform standing: Exhale. Relax . Take a step back. Lei your
sho ulders and chest sink a bit . Relax you r stage presence .
With your fluctuation between active and relaxed states , between
tension and relaxation , the re will be a sympath etic reaction in the
audience. Aud ien ces will intuitively sense and react to your
ac tions, without really being aware of il .
Wh enever , possible I try to structure my work so all moves are
done on a relaxation , in c oo rd ination with one or more of the
oth er techniques des crib es in th is booklet.

If you do a move on an off-beat rela xation it has to be d one in a

relaxed fashion, in transition from active to relaxed state , or the
instant you reach the final rela xed stale, Audiences pick up on
di screpancie s (eg: If your body is relaxed and your shoulder
ten se because you 're palming something , chances are someone
will sense that something is am iss , and become suspicious) .
Example
The One Hand Top Palm and sub sequent Flash Fold of a card
supposedly placed into the centre of the deck .
Lean forward to the spe ctator (deck held in preparation for Top
Palm), and point to the centre of the deck : "The ca rd in tile
middle of the deck, yes?" Keep your weight forward, the deck
forward (open po sition) : "But you're nof going to be satisfied until
I let you shuffle the cards, are you? ... ThaI's what f was afraid all":
As you begin lhe last line , lean forward to address the rest at the
audience, both hands gesturing forward. As you get to the last
word , relax your entire body , and drop your hands to waist level
as you execute the palm.
Immediately take the deck at your left fingertips and ac tively hand
it to her , lett ing your right hand drop to your side (coordination
of actions) . Take a few steps back, miming the action of an
overhand shuffle (back of your right hand towards the audience) :
"Go ahead then...Shuffle, shuffle...."
Walk close to another spectator, making comments on the
shuffling technique/crossing your hands beh ind your back/letting
your body slump slightly. After a moment, to her: "Alrig ht, f won 't
even watch...." Close your eyes and turn your head aside. Peak
at her from the corner of your eye occasionally. You'll have lots
of time to fold the card behind your back .

THE NATURAL OFF-BEAT

You ha ve a natural off-beat whenever the audience is reacting in
surprise to a mag ical oc currence , laughing at a joke , or rela xing
because Ihey think a trick is over. Their attention lulls
momentarily as Iheir mental wheels spin, and then get back on
track ; or their mind relaxes after a build-up of tensi on .

This is the misdirection for the final load s in the Cups and Balls
(the surprise reappearance of the small balls under the cups
creating the moment in which you can load the oranges), or
Blackstone Sr. walking a donkey on stage under cover of all the
wondrous things being produced from a barrel hanging above
the stage ; its Slydini retrieving the co in from his lap during Ihe
momentary surprise created by its disappearance.

I'm an ardent pra ctitioner of improvisational magic , and it is in

improvisation that you can take advantage of the off-beat again
and again .When you don't have a planned series of actions you
can take full advantage of them when their attention is down . You
strike. When they're recovering their balan ce , you're preparing for
the next punch . They recover, you strike aga in.
Th e only way to develop a finely tuned sen se of the off-beat is by
performing , and feeling your audience 's attention on you al all
time s. Like c omic tim ing, you have to feel your audience out , and
sens e the natural fluctuations . After a while you'll know, like a
com edian knows in advance how an audience will most lik ely
react, wh en the natural off-beat will occur, and how long il will
last. Ob viously, certain things will get a stronger reaction , and
thu s give you a stronger/longer ott-beat.

The pa lmi ng acti on is a n e xam ple of 8 sp lit second relaxat ion .

The extend ed relaxed posture (for the fold) works together

with attention being directed away from you- in this case , to
the spec tato r shuffling

Arm ed wil h this knowledge, you'll then be able incorporate lhe

natural ott-beat into the structure of a routine you 're working on,
or use it to eliminate weakness in an already existence routine .

THE NATURAL OFFBEAT

CREATING THE OFFBEAT

You have a natural off-beat whenever the audience is reacting in

surprise to a magical oc currence, laughing at a joke , or rela xing
because they think a trick is over. Their attention lulls
mom entarily as their mental wheel s spin , and then get back on
tra ck ; or their mind rela xes after a build -up of tension.

There are endless ways to create an off-beat. All of th em a

questio n of creating intere st and tension , th en relaxing tha t
tension to create an off-beat (sound famil iar) . This work s hand in
hand with Active and Relaxed States, except her e the emphasis
is on psycholog ical rather that physical means .

This is the misdirection for the final loads in the Cups and Balls
(the surprise reappearance of the small balls under the cups
creating the moment in which you can load the oranges) , or
Blackstone Sr. walking a donkey on stage und er cover of all the
wondrou s things being produced from a barrel hanging above
the stage; its Slyd ini retri eving the coin from his lap during the
momentary surprise created by its disappearance .

The Francis Carlyle Card to Pocket is a perfect example of thi s:

The signed card (which you've secretly glimpsed) is on top of the
deck and an indifferent card is in your pocket. After explaining
that you have made the card appear in your pocket, you cleanly
show your hand empty , then pull the odd card halfway from your
po cket , miscalling it as the selection . Off-beat . You palm the
select ion during the relaxation , then pull IT from you pocket: "And
that was how you si gned your name on it wasn't it ?"
You've created the perfect moment to p alm the card , when
they think its eheedv in your pocket.

I'm an ardent practitioner of improvisational magic , and it is in

imp rovisation that you can take advantage of the off-beat again
and again .When you don 't have a planned series of actions you
can ta ke full ad vantage of them when their attention is down . You
strike . When they 're recovering their balan ce , you 're preparing for
the next punch . They recov er, you strike aga in.
The only way to develop a finely tun ed sense of the off-b eat is by
performing, and feeling your audience 's attention on you at all
times . like c omic timing , you have to feel your aud ience out , and
sense the natural fluctuations . After a while you'll kno w , like a
co med ian knows in advance how an audience will most lik ely
react , when the natural off-beat will occur, and how long it will
last. Ob viously , certain things will get a stronger reaction , and
thus giv e you a stronger/longer off-beat.

Arm ed with this knowledge, you'll then be able incorporat e the

natural off-beat into the structure of a routine you 're working on,
or use it to elim inate weaknes s in an already existence routine .

Another example
Palming a card during my routine Special Delivery.
"At this point you may be expe cting me to lind your c ard, right?":
Leaning forward (active) , with the deck in an Open Position.
"Well, I'm not go ing to.... ":Take a step back (rela xation) , palming
the card . The right hand rises with the deck, the left hand drops
to your side (coordination) . As I drop the deck to the table : "I
don 't have to lind the card...' Shifting attention to a spectator on
my left : ' ...Because Steve has an envelope....Ihe c ontents of
whic h will , hopefully, identify your card....."
ExpectaUons are cre ated by the initial statem en t and po sture ,
and then telexed when you tell them you 're no t go ing to find
their card an yway. Shifting ettention 10 8 sp ec tator who's
been holding en envelope throughout further relaxes ette ntion
on you

One of John Ramsey's favourite techniques for c reating the

moment was to create suspicion , and then dispel it. The
aud ience' s surprise that theirsuspicions were unfounded , created
the moment he needed to do the move for real.

A~ .

or funny line is about the best way to create an off-beat

relaxation. Need misdirection? Try and think 01 something lunny
to say just belore the crucial moment.

establishing an Open Position immediately afterwards (hands well

separated) . Move the card well forward: "It was ?" Focus all
attention on the card as you snap it: "That's righl. it was..."
Dramatically turn the card face up: "... It isn't any more!"

The major concern in creating an oft-beat is the question of

mot ivation; creating a situation which logically lits into the effect
you are performing . and suits your performance style , This is
where YOllr work lies .

You now have another off-beat to perform your next secret

move, be it another Top Change, a palm , whatever .

REGAINING ATIENTION

The first example illustrates how you can regain attention with a
continuation 01 an action , the second , how you reveal the next
climax from an Open Position .

Ideally. you don't want your audience to be aware that their

attention waned for an instant. You want to get their attention
back, with everything appearing to be as it was before their
attention lapse (something I already mentioned when discussing
Openness). On another level, as in comedy, you don't deliver
your next line until the audience is finished laughing at the
previous one . Otherwise they 'II miss the new line. At the same
time, you don 't Y"ait until the laughter has died down completely
either . You-want to stay On a roll.

Its to your advantage to use psychological convincers to

reinforce the idea that all is as rt was before the attention lapse ,
whenever possible. Using mime simulation, miscalling cards.
having the spectator verify the supposed situation , or using
audible illusions can all reinlorce those ideas, giving you a time
delay between when the move was actually done. and when th'e
magic supposedly happens , , -7
""'- : r ,
.:/_H ~

So. you control their attention to bring it back when it best suits
you and the rhythm of the performance .
Example: A coin vanish .
Under cover of the natural surprise of the production of a coin,
you relax your hand a beat and sleeve it (or lap it). Raise your
hand up to chest level again: "Look. Once again..... You deliver
the "look" quite emphatically , drawing attention back . Simulate
tossing the coin into your left hand (ala Goshman), then mime
the action of tossing the coin back and forth at your fingertips ,
the movements getting smaller and smaller until you freeze with
the fingertips louching, then separate them showing the coin to
have vanished again.
You now have the perfect offbeat to recover the sleeved coin .

Another example: The Top Change.

You've just produced a card in a dramatic fashion. Look at it:
"The 6H ... That was you: card, yes?" On "yes you bring your eyes
up to meet the spectator's , performing a Top Change (The Eyes) ,

do

THE EYES
"When

yOll

want the audience to look at something, look at it

yOll, look at them ..."
-John Ramsey

voutselt. When yOll want them to look at

Simple enough on the surface . From the beginning of your

performance you have to establish and then maintain strong eye
contact with your audience. Otherwise , how can you expect them
to look at you , when you look at them .
Anothe!, ~oint.. is thai the human eye takes lime to focus and
register somethin~e're not talking about sitting motioiiless in
front of a video screen, we're talking about live performance
where the eye has to focus on different depths of field). Be aware
of how long it takes the eye to focus on one thing . Only after the
viewer has fully focused on something . can you direct their
attention elsewhere. You also need 10give them time to shift their
focus .

Example : Ring Flight

Lets say you have the spectator's ring alread y atta ched to the
clip/reel. Loo k down at the ring: "Very nic e, very nice ...." Loo king
up at the spectator, letting your han d relax to your waist: "You
obvious ly trust me implicitly..." (releasing the ring so the reel pulls
it back into the key cas e). Bring yo ur hand ba ck up to co ntinue
exami ning the supposed ring : ".. to have lent it to me." Loo k up
and smile at the spectator as you mime tossing th e ring upwards
into your left hand . Look back down al your hands (open
posi tion), as you make the ring vani sh .

Interesting patter: I hate th e word pa lte r, but anyway...lf what

you' re saying is interesting and enterta ining , you'll have their full
attention.
Audience Involvement: This more o r less ties in with the last
point. The fact is, people are sometimes/oft en more interested in
watching their friend s react than they are in wat ching the
entertainer. I ta ke thi s as a plu s, and try to involve as many
membe rs of my audience as po ssibl e (to varying degre es). '
Interaction is the key to a memorable performance. lIs a plus that
we can-also use it for other th ing s.

'VERBAL MISDIRECTION
Its culturally eng rained in us to loo k at someone when the y're
talking to us . In coordination with th e Eyes and everything else
I've talked about so far , you can also d irecting attention to
some thing else.
To us e Verbal misdirection to bring the eyes of Ihe audience up
and away from your hands , the re are several tried and trusted
methods :
The name: Its human nature for us to respond to someone when
they call us by name. We simply can't resist. Aside from its usage
in misdirection, its simply good interpersonal relations to use a
person's name as often as possible.
Questions : Asking someone is almost as good as using their
nam e, espec ially if the question is "You s ir, What's your name ?"
On another level , asking a question al so occupies the spectator's
.mind momentarily , as he interprets, and then answer the
que stion .
Requests: Using a per sons nam e, then ask ing then to do
som ething will also occupy thei r mind. as they interpret and then
carry out your request. Depending on your request. they could
be occup ied for a long time .

Naturalness
Like the sleight of hand moves we might perform , the audience
can't ever be aware, or suspicious , that we are misd irecting them.
"You just distracted us." is as bad a statement as "You had the
coin hidden in your hand , I saw it." They don 't have to kno w
exactly how you distracted th em (as far as they're concerned),
they ju st have to think that's what you're doing , and they 've
found themselves an easy explanation of how you do your
wond erful things. Any hop e at suspen sion of disbelief is lost.
Sad , but true.

PART TWO
DIRECTING AUDIENCE ATIENTION
Its a unique problem that magicians, as performers , are tied
down to their props ; having to share the stage with the magical
occurrences.
Singers and comedians are on stage projecting out to their
audiences all the time. They don 't have to project out/direct
attention to the coins appearing at their fingertips/relale back to
the audience aga in/focus attention back to the magic....You don't
want to be looking at your hands all the time, but at the same
time you don't want to be looking at the audience all the time
either (unless you're performing on a fairly large stage , and your
name happens to be Lance Burton). If we don't draw attention to
the magical occurrences , Ihe effects may be weakened, or lost .

the three coins at my right fingertips : "From here...." I shift my

focus to my left hand as a coin appears at the fingertips: ... /0
her e..... I look up at the aud ience as an applause cue . down at
my hands a second (making sure they appreciat e what just
happened). then back up at them .
Looking at the coin at the left fingertips : "That's the firs t coin ...."
Looking up: "...having gone across..."
Keeping the focus out , but gesturing with the coins in the right
hand : ' Leaving two to go..." Staring at the coins now: .... which as
you stare.... become..... Shifting focus to the left hand as the
second coin appears there : ' ..two that wentt..... Look back up at
the audience again , at the hands briefly, then back up to the
audience.
I won 't go on with the routine , but 1think this should gi ve you
an ind ication of what I'm talking about. It also illustrates one
of my prin ciple int erests in c leating m ag ic : to g et c lose-u p
ma gic away from the table and up into the air. $0 the

a ud ience can clearly s ee you beh ind the magic .

The answer lies in analyzing your performance pieces to know

when to look out , project, and relate to your audience; and when
you need to direct attention to the magic in order to make it
slrong . Every instance is different. Every effect and type of effect
has different demands. Its important to know what you want to
ti, e audience to see and remember as the effect, and direct
attention to those elements. All other times , you should be
concentrating on your audience, so they remember you .
Its a game of give and take.
Example: Fingertip Coins Across
Without getting into any of the technique (which you can find in
my book Unexplainable Acts) . I'll run through my choices at
focus d uring part of the routine.
Looking down at the coins (because I want everyone to clearly
see that I have only three coins) : "Three silver dollars ..." Looking
up at the audience. gesturing with my righI, then left hand:
...whic h will travel from one pla ce to another...' I look intently at

Often magicians are looking at their hands, directing attention to

their actions when they shouldn't or needn't be , simply because
they need to see what they're doing. What 's so important about
tying a knot in a rope, or giving the deck an overhand shuffle, or
rolling a sheet of paper into a tube? If an action is unimportant to
the effect , no sense calling attention to i\.
We have to direct attention to important elements of an effect.
The rest of the time, we should be performers , concentrating on
our relationship with our audience.
THE PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS
Part of evaluating what is important to an effect, is to consider the
elements in play. For example: The coins which will vanish , the
rope in the Cut and Restored Rope Trick , the Four Aces in the
Four Ace Trick , the woman who changes into th e liger, the cage
which will vanish under the scarf. These are the actors , so to

speak . And there are main actors, and there are supporting
actors . A play can be ruined by supporting actors who are
upstaging the leads .
In magic, we 're in control. Make sure the Principal Elements get
all the attention .
Example: The Four Ace Trick
The Aces are the Principal Elements, the rest of the indifferent
cards are secondary (keeping track 01 lour Aces is hard enough.
Sixteen cards?) . As you make the Aces vanish one by one, locus
all attention on the Aces . (treating them separately , makes it even
easier to follow) . After the Aces are gone, completely forget about
the indifferent cards .

A final example
Wouldn't it be much more effective lor an illusionist to treat his
boxes as completely secondary objects? Instead of the big
hoopla about the glitzy painted box, much more focus should be
put on the assistant who's going to vanish, or float, or whatever.
With all attention placed on the important human element, the
actual props would become secondary in the audience's minds .

The fewer the elements the audience has to follow, the better.
There may be many 01elements in play, but. ..Consider what the
most important elements are and see how you can focus all
attention on them .
THE PRIME FOCUS: THE REMEMBERED EFFECT

Example: The Vanishing Bowl 01 Water

The scarf used to cover the bowl is completely secondary . Cover
the bowl with the scarf (flailing the scarf around and showing it
both sides would only weaken the effect) . Pick up the supposed
bowl under the scarf, carrying it lorward (its a heavy bowl). A little
water spills out from under the cloth (yes , the bowl is definitely
there) . You heave it up in the air, and flick the scarf aside as it
descends. The bowl of water has disappeared.
Example: The Cups and Balls
What better example? Three cups, three balls, a wand, two
hands , and your pockets! The way I've dealt with this is to put full
attention on what is happening to the balls . No laney wand spins
or juggling wilh the cups. By making the other elements
secondary, the effect is made clearer and simpler. The wand is
used to make the balls vanish , yes , but the whole emphasis is on
the balls vanishing. The cups are where the balls appear, but its
the balls whi ch appear . It is the balls that keep reappearing under
the cups after they've been put into my pocket (no big deal made
of the pocket) . Its the balls they think will reappear under the
cups, which change to oranges.

What is the effect that you're demonstrating. What is the plot and
presentation .
In some cases it can simply be the magical happenings, objects
disappearing, appearing , changing, levitating. But even here it
would be nice to have some logic and reason for the things
which happen . We have to create interest before we start
performing .~u r m'lliiJ;.- Sometim es you can get by with the
strength of your personality alone. They 'll watch you do magic
because they like you . Even so , we have to create emotional
hooks to get them involved.
Betore we can suspend an audience's disbeliel, we have to give
them something 10 believe in.
By focusing attention on issues outside of the actual props we 're
using , we can engage our audience's on another level. The trick
then becomes the vehicle for whatever else is going on. I take
the assumption that magic is inherently boring (not true - tricks
perhaps, magic no) , and then try to create a presentation which
would interest them even if there wasn 't magic. Add the magic
(which is inherently interesting to people) and you have
something with twice the interest buill in.

In most of my card magic, I endeavour to make the fact that I'm

using a pack of card almost forgettable. What people remember
about Hypothetical Possibilities is that it was about going
backwards and forwards in time, Another effect , they might
remember that I told them when Ihey were lying and when they
were telling the truth . When Eugene Burger does his Haunted
Pack, people want to believe in spirits . When Norm Nielson does
his Floating Violin people want to believe it has a Iile of its own .
When Kevin James presents The Thing , people really believe its
a living decapitated arm. The plol's the thing .
Another point worth mentioning is that , when an audience
becomes engrossed in the plol, thev relax their critical faculties
and stop trying to figure things out.

If you have an effect which you think is strong, but doesn't get a
good response, Iry defining and clarifying you Principal Elements
(making it easier to follow). analyze exactly what you want them
to remember as the effect, and then make sure you have a good
presentation (one which perk the audience's interest) .

FINAL WORDS
Being able to manipulate an audience's attention without them
being aware of it, is, as I mentioned already, a major skill for a
performing magician. " gives you the means to stress important
elements, to amplify the effect, and make the methods
completely invisible.
Every idea I've discussed within these pages is inseparable from
every other. Many fit hand and hand, working together to ensure
that you gel the result you want. In some circumstances I'll use
as many as four techniques simultaneous (I don't take any
chances) .
A performance is a living , breathing thing . The techniques in this
booklet are part of that breathing apparatus .

The principles I've outlined can be applied to anything and

everything you do, or might wanl to do. Unlike magic moves
which have only specific applications, these are the base upon
which our craft is founded. The question remains: Are you going
to learn a few more moves , or learn principles which will make
everything you do more effective and memorable?
Everything is in the details , and the whole is comprised of many
interwoven parts . Be aware of the whole when composing and
refining details . See the forest as you paint the trees , the leaves.
The result will be a helluva picture .
Everything I've talked about is a means to an end . The principles
are simply tools. Every solid structure- architectural, musical ,
theatrical- is build on a firm foundation. Once the foundation is
there. you can build whatever you like on top . I'll leave that part
to you .