****
(This is an opinion-based post. Jus' wanna get my thoughts out, ya know?)
You know, if you take a really good look around the magic community, my God, there's a ****-load of tricks floating about. They flow from so much different sites and artists that it's impossible to count how many there are. And what's more important is the methods for each of them. So much variety can be found with these many tricks, each granting the performer with a variety of reactions; from simple laughter, to them shedding tears. Take for example a coin finger palm: incredibly simple and yet so incredibly deceptive. Now take, for example, an Invisible Pass: incredibly difficult to master, yet so also just as deceptive as the finger palm. Both of these grant you quite decent reactions when used properly. However, these tricks, in my opinion, are nothing compared to my magic trick.
Would you like to know what my BEST trick is?
I'll tell you right now. It's an absolutely pathetic trick. And yet, it always ends up as the finale of my show, whether close-up or stage; also granting the best reaction out of all the tricks (even compared to a trick like Stigmata or Control). So what's my trick?
A coin through the head.
And, technically it's not a copyrighted trick and everybody has the rights to know the method to this trick. I put a coin through a willing volunteer's head by the help of an assistant in the audience who takes the coin from ABOVE the volunteer's head (where they cannot see anything happening) as I pretend to push it through their head. So, basically, only the volunteer is fooled by this "miracle" while everybody else automatically becomes in on it. That's it.
So what exactly does this trick have that makes Stigmata or Control look like ****? (excuse the language):
Entertainment.
Or, at least, in my opinion, a better kind of entertainment. You know how Brad always says that close-up magic grants an intimacy with your audience. Well, for me, this "trick" breaks that intimacy and surpasses it. What it allows you to do, no matter how distant you are from the spectators, you will immediately set an image of yourself in their minds. It automatically allows you to get 10x closer to an audience than you would with say an ambitious card routine. Now that's not to say that an ACR does not grant you any intimacy whatsoever, it's all based on the presentation. However, back on topic:
THIS IS THE TRICK THAT THEY REMEMBER YOU FOR!
The science behind this is that it allows people to bond with each other as they, altogether, watch the secret happen before their eyes. This is, of course, with the exception of the volunteer who is dumbfounded at what happened, thus making him the only one experiencing the "real magic". However, the rest of the audience just sees everything and enjoys it. In a normal situation, they would just blurt out the secret to the volunteer and ruin the fun for everybody. However, that's why you as a magician have that job of subtly suggesting to the rest of the audience that the fact that this trick shows you the secret will prove more fun for everybody than you just concealing the secret to yourself. And of course, you also have to subtly communicate to a random person in the group to be your assistant.
I've experimented with this trick over and over again and nobody has ever said anything as I hand the coin to the willing assistant who takes the coin over the volunteer's head. They all scream and are immediately in on the trick and they all act so "amazed" and "confused" and they keep fuelling the volunteer's dumbfounded face. Thus, they are that much closer to me as a performer. However, there are exceptions with little children, but that's a different story. Besides that, this trick has worked for me almost every single time. The spectator's naturally play along with me, and everybody has a great time with this one trick. That's why it's always my finale.
Now, that's not to say that this trick works just like "that". What this trick requires is masterful presentation skills. Because if the group of people are complete strangers to you, you have to be able to subtly suggest to them to play along with the trick, and be able to do this without the volunteer seeing you. This takes skill and patience. Believe me.
And one of the best things about this trick is:
IT'S IMPROMPTU! Anytime. Anywhere. With Anyone... as long as you have the presentation skills, of course. ; )
So what exactly makes this trick so special? Well again, in my opinion, it's the fact that it connects you with your audience in a much different way than you would with something like Control or Stigmata you with your audience. It shows the audience that you, as a magician, are in no higher status than them and that you're just a "down-to-earth" guy who's just there to show them a good time. You're not there to try to fool them and make yourself feel better. You're there to have fun with them. Just plain fun.
Isn't that the best trick of all, anyways?
****
Matt
