Effect: Imagine if you will, a matrix with
buttons in which the buttons hop about and the climax finds all of the buttons sewn to the
close-up mat! I see that I have your attention, so let's move on.
This idea came about two to three years ago, and I've
bounced it off a number of fellow magicians like Steve Cohen, Jay Sankey, and Joe Givan,
and here's some of what we came up with: instead of performing the matrix with a standard
close-up mat, use a bandanna or silk handkerchief. Instead of using the typical Al
Schneider handling by covering the buttons with playing cards, why not attempt a somewhat
old-fashioned handling by folding the corners of the handkerchief over the buttons (check
your old Tarbell’s for the original effect). Steals and loads would be facilitated by
such a handling.
Lastly, by using a handkerchief, you can sew the
extra four buttons directly to one corner and let that corner hang over the back of the
table unseen by the spectators. Use the other corners for the button transitions and the
hidden corner for the climax. What makes this approach so intriguing is that the buttons
can be dropped into the center of the handkerchief, and the entire kit and caboodle
(whatever that is) into your pocket for a repeat performance.
If you elect to perform a button matrix with playing
cards instead of a bandanna, another idea worth mentioning is to sew an extra button to
the under-side of one of the playing cards. Later, when you explain that you do use an
extra button, you turn over the card and offer the spectator an opportunity to try to
remove it! Play with this matrix theme and do let me know what you come up with.
Magical Roulette
Effect: The second idea I wish to throw at you
is my version of "Roulette." Witness if you will: the magician has a card
selected and returned to the deck. The cards are then partially faroed and the deck is
fanned into a giant circle of cards which are then laid face-up on the table. This becomes
your magic roulette wheel. You then show a small white ball, and after a few bounces, you
proceed to roll it near the "wheel" and it rolls around the circle of cards
until it comes to rest on or near the selection! I see that I have your interest yet
again. Good. How to do this?
First, you have to learn how to make a circle of
cards. Faroed decks are a cinch -- it's the regular-sized circles which are impossible to
hold. See Ganson's book on Card Manipulation for full explanations. As to the actual
working, the best method I could come up with is to have the lightweight ball attached to
the center of the "roulette wheel" with some invisible thread. As to stopping
the ball at the selection, the only thing I could come up with was to work in a thin
refrigerator magnet beneath the selection, and a small piece of steel in the ball.
