Double-award-winning member of The Magic Circle James Ward shares NINE amazing new routines and invaluable tips for making your magic more meaningful.
The recent surge of popularity in magic on social media has amplified a unfortunate trend that has plagued magic for centuries. Many magicians simply purchase a trick and then perform it straight out of the box. Little or no thought is given to altering the patter or making the effect more personal.
In Magic With Meaning James Ward looks to get you thinking about not just what you present to your audience but how you present it. Following up on the successful Creating the Impossible lecture notes he co-authored with Chris Wardle, James hopes that Magic with Meaning will encourage magicians to more actively seek out opportunities to be unique.
This booklet contains the following easy-to-perform routines, each of which is presented in a way that will hopefully get you thinking about how to weave stories around your own magic:
Blind Fate
A light-hearted triple forecast in which, you not only predict a choice of silks and cards but also make a chocolate bar they chose at random appear in a previously empty box. A delicious and memorable souvenir.
Business Design
Using an easy-to-make gimmick, you'll be able to transform your business cards into a mind-reading tool and perform one of the easiest drawing duplications ever.
Always Hold On To Your Dream
Through a series of different card productions, your helper is given a lesson on the importance of holding on to their dreams. After finding their own card (and dream) again and again, it finally vanishes from the deck (with no complicated sleight of hand or palming required) only to reappear in an envelope that has been in full view throughout the entire routine.
Vote for Me!
A "Truth and Liar" effect themed around a general election that has been described by legendary mentalist Mark Elsdon (creator of the beloved "liar/truth-teller-themed "which-hand" effect "Tequila Hustler") as "hands down the absolute BEST presentation for the liar/truth teller plot".
My Big Night Out
A delightfully fun and VERY British "Sam the Bellhop" style story-telling routine that recaps a an unforgettable evening at your local night club.
Name That Tune
Your spectator makes a completely random and fair selection from a list of more than 20 songs. Yet, despite these impossible odds, you're still able to "name that tune."
Basic Instinct
In this stage/cabaret mind-reading routine, your helpers are shown lists of some of the best and worst people from history. Everyone from Vlad the Impaler to Nelson Mandela. Four helpers make a free choice of a 'bad' person while a fifth chooses someone more noble. Every choice is a free one and, after being written down, is sealed in envelopes (handed out by an audience member, not you) which are then mixed up. The helper who chose the 'good' person now chooses one of the five envelopes, while you write something down on your pad. Not only do they somehow locate their own choice, you now turn your pad around to show that you have successfully read their mind and knew who they would choose.
The No Memory Diary Trick
A date in a diary is chosen, and the card on that date remembered. Your helper imagines removing their chosen card from the deck. When the deck is shown again, their card is the only one missing. They then mime returning their card to the deck and, when spread again, their card is miraculously back. This trick was originally published in The Magic Circular and came about after James had corresponded with the late, great Simon Aronson who kindly gave permission to use one of his fabulous ideas in it.
The Wife Always Knows
A lighthearted routine in which a wife finds her husband's freely chosen card, despite him trying to hide it. The trick can be adapted for any type of "couple" (parent/child; teacher/pupil etc) and demonstrates not only the value of introducing humor into magic, but also the importance of making the magic itself have a reason for being performed.
58 Pages | Softbound