How often do you use misdirection in your performances and how to use it? When do you use it?
Believe it or not Mac King blatantly asked for my friends watch up on stage while standing right next to him.
How did he ask the friend for the watch and the audience not notice?
Thanks Craig. I remember reading that Harry Blackstone used to do the exact same thing.
I think it was in Hiding the Elephant if my memory serves me correctly.
Harry Jr's dad had a bit of misdirection that was priceless and latter borrowed (kindof) by Franz Harrary. . .
Mr. B would do a classic silk strand production to one side of the stage, producing a huge number of silks that got balled up between he and an assistant... when they were tossed into the air and fell to the floor a Burro would appear. The audience would gasp and applaud when a sudden boom and whoosh of smoke filled the other side of the stage. When the smoke cleared a full grown elephant was seen.
The burro and silks were the misdirection; the elephant was walked onto the stage without any sort of concealment.
I used this same concept in a short lived club act I did many years ago; The act opened with me in a high backed leather chair with me doing misc. manipulations with cigarettes, pipes, cigars and Champagne bottles ultimately leading to the girl appearing in a huge glass of champagne. . . we moved into and Asrah levi and while the audience was watching her float into the air, etc. the real assistant walks out in a very flashy white dress, lights a cigarette as she sits in the chair, turning it away form the audience to face the back curtain. . . no one ever saw her do this because of the Asrah.
These are extreme examples of stage-craft misdirection but they each show just how powerful the ploy can be.
Here is the thing. If you were just shown that video without being told to count the number of passes, would it be as effective?
If what you SAY engages the audience's minds your misdirection will be much more effective. Good patter has the audience drawing connections between what you are doing and what you are saying RATHER than trying to catch you doing something sneaky.