Alexander Marsh - Triptych

Trusted by over 1 million members

Try Scribd FREE for 30 days to access over 125 million titles without ads or interruptions! Start Free Trial Cancel Anytime.













Triptych τρίπτυχο [pron. trip -tick]

[ from the Greek : tri- "three" "three" + ptychē "fold" "fold" ]















Contents Introduction Welcoming words from Alexander Marsh.

Philtrum Read the mind of a participant using nothing more than a small stack of business cards and a pen. This ‘peek routine’ allows you to inject a little humour and a chance actually read what what someone has written rather than just catch a fleeting glimpse.

Tel. Divine any four digit number in a direct manner. You will love the simplicity of this cheeky yet deceptive method.

Nine Bob Note Divine the serial number on a spectator’s bank note. Also includes Which Hand? my my ‘almost real’ modus operandi for guessing which hand the participant is hiding an object in.

Outroduction & Thanks Parting words from Alexander Marsh.

Credits Recognition, praise and acknowledgments for those who have helped, knowingly or unknowingly, create the routines you are about to read.

Appendix More methods for performing Which Hand? including contributions from Dale A. Hildebrandt and Sean Waters.

Also by the Author Shameless self promotion by yours truly.















Introduction So, I’m on a train making my way from Cambridge to my home town of Ipswich. I have an over-sized and overpriced coffee to my left and a smaller than I remember Mars Bar to my right; a hearty breakfast I’m sure you’d agree. With precisely 84% battery power left on my laptop I should have enough time to write this brief introduction. This is my first foray in to the world of electronic publishing and I hope you enjoy it. They say (who ever they might might be) that if you find just one effect that speaks to you, one that you actually perform from any book, be it ‘e’ or otherwise, then it is time and money well spent. I hope this and indeed all of my published work offer you more than that. This particular e-book focuses on three mind reading effects for close-up and casual environments. The three routines in question are: Philtrum, a simple ‘peek routine’ that allows you to actually read, in a very fair and open manner, what someone

has secretly written on the back of one of your business cards. So rather than catching a fleeting glimpse of a single word, this routine allows you enough time to read at least a sentence. Tel. is a routine that allows you to divine any four digit number. The meth od is somewhat bold, maybe even cheeky

but it is by no means high risk. If you are a fan of methods that just make you smile, you will love this. Nine Bob Note is is a serial number divination routine built around my take on the classic Which Hand? effect. This

take on the ‘guess which hand hides the object’ premise is a ‘pure’ effect, i.e. does not make use any gimmicks. Of course there is always a chance of failure when using ‘psychological’, or if you prefer, ‘real’ methods but within the context and structure created by this routine, I don’t personally see this as an issue. Go on, be brave! Each routine is written in the usual style, i.e. the effects description followed by its method with the possibility of a little background about each effect. However, I ha ve also added a Breakdown after after each effect which I hope can act as a kind of ‘quick reference’ for you when going back to each routine. Also, I will save the Credits for for each routine until the end of the manu script plus you will also find an Appendix featuring more methods for performing Which Hand? . So without further ado, let’s see what Triptych has to offer you. Alexander Marsh, Somewhere in the Suffolk countryside, December 2008















Philtrum The performer reaches into his pocket and removes a small stack of business cards and pen. He invites a spectator, let’s call her Daisy, to write a thought, any thought, be it a word, a name, or a memory, on the back of a business card. The performer adds that when Daisy has finished writing, she is to replace the card on top of the stack, which rests between them on the table top. The performer faces away throughout the writing process and turns back to face Daisy when she has finished. The performer moves the stack to one side as he asks Daisy to focus on her thought. “If this is a word, just see it written written down inside your mind. If it’s a name, think think about the person whose name it is. If this is a memory, try to cast your mind back and relive the memory now.” There is a moments silence whilst the performer seems to study Daisy. His eyes seem to be looking not at Daisy and yet not quite through her, somewhere in between, somewhere inside her mind. Seemingly snapping out of it the performers says: “Ok, let’s see if I can can get a word into your head. head. Just for fun.” The performer carefully deals the top card of the stack, Daisy’s card, onto the table, takes a blank card for himself and places the rest away in his pocket. The performer writes a word, unseen by Daisy, on this card and asks her: “Daisy, honestly, do you have any idea yet, what short short English word I have just written on this this card? Honestly?” Daisy of course replies “No” to which the performer reveals he has written the word “Know” on his card. There is a polite laugh from Daisy and the gathered spectators as the performer smiles and places his card with Daisy’s on the table top. He immediately retrieves another card from this pocket and begins to write as he says, “Ok, I’m going to write another word, word, another four letter word. This one rhymes with hit and you find it on the bottom of bird cages… that’s right; GRIT!” Again, a few more giggles as the performer performer places this card with the the others on the table. “Let’s do this for real real now that you’re nice and relaxed. In your mind I need you to keep saying this word to yourself… because this is a word isn’t it.” Daisy agrees and begins to focus on the word. Letter by letter the performer extracts the word from her mind until















Method: So, you have probably recognized the classic ‘No/Know Gag’ used within this routine and some of y ou may be familiar with the ‘Grit Gag’ too. True, they may not be the most strikingly funny gags in the world but they do add a small element of humor and in my opinion also show your audience that you don’t take yourself too seriously, which can only be a good thing.1 These gags, as simple as they are, are an integral part of the methodology. You see, it is as you are apparently writing the word ‘Grit’ that you will be getting your peek. So let’s take a step back for a moment and start from the beginning. I will assume for this explanation that you are a) right handed, b) sat at a table with your participant opposite and, c) performing whilst wearing a jacket with a breast pocket. Once you understand the method behind this effect, which is not at all difficult to grasp, you can work out your own precise handling to your own performance specifications. In you breast pocket have 20 or so of your business cards. In your right jacket pocket have a single business card with the word ‘Grit’ pre-written on its blank side. You will also need a pen; this should be the same pen that you wrote the word ‘Grit’ with. During performance bring out the stack of business cards and your pen. Place the stack on the table between you and Daisy and give her the pen. Ask Daisy to think of s omething; a word, a name, a drawing, or even a memory. Give Daisy the top business card from the stack to write on and instruct her to place it back, writing side down, on top of the stack when she has finished. Turn away as she writes, covering your eyes with your left hand. Whilst turned away like this, reach in to your jacket pocket with your right hand hand and get the ‘Grit Card’ into a palm. When Daisy tells you she has finished writing and placed the card, the ‘Hot Card’, back on top o f the stack, you are safe to turn back and face her. As soon as you turn back around, reach forward forward with your right hand, the hand that is palming the the ‘Grit Card’, and place your hand directly on top of the stack. Simultaneously ditch the ‘Grit Card’ on top as you move the entire stack to one side. It should seem as if you merely wanted to move the cards out of the way as they are unimportant. The situation is now that you have a stack of your business cards on the table, the very top card of which has the word ‘Grit’ written on it and the card below that, the ‘Hot Card’, has Daisy’s thoughts written upon it. A little time misdirection occurs here as you have a few moments of silence between you you and Daisy as you ask her to focus briefly on her thought. Then, as if changing tack, you very openly deal the top card of the stack onto the table top. Daisy and any spectators believe this to be the ‘Hot Card’. You don’t, and in fact shouldn’t say say something like “We’ll just put your card here” whilst dealing dealing off the top card. Daisy knows it it is her card; she just put it there because you specifically told her to. Just silently deal it off the top of the stack, leaving it on the table and off to one side.

















As soon as you have put the stack back into your your pocket, allow your thumb to pull out the bottom card card of the stack. This card will be blank and will be used to write the word ‘Know’ on. So, as in the presentation, take this blank card, surreptitiously flashing its blank side and write the word ‘Know’ so the participant can not see what you have written. Then all you need to do is ask; “Honestly, do you have any idea yet, what short English word I have just written on this card? card? Honestly?” To which the participant will be hard pressed not to reply with ‘No’. You then reveal what you have written and during the brief titters and moans that follow, simply place this card with the other card (the real ‘Grit Card’) on the table. I tend to slide this ‘Know Card’ under the ‘Grit Card’ so things will be i n the right order at the end of the effect. As soon as you have done this, again reach back into into your breast pocket and remove the ‘Hot Card’ so the writing is facing you. You will now proceed with the ‘Grit Gag’ as you are apparently writing writing the word ‘Grit’ on the face of the the ‘Hot Card’. You will in actual fact not write anything anything but just mime the action of writing, allowing you you finger to make contact with card and not the pens nib. It is during the pretend writing that you will read what the participant has written. Your actions are justified due to the situation; you are apparently writing writing a word so you have to be looking at the card while you do this. You are also apparently writing a secret word, so keeping the face of the card out o f sight from Daisy and the spectators is justified, but best of all, it is justified silently . Another element of misdirection here is that you are speaking to the participant participant (and by proxy the spectators) as you are peeking. What you are saying to them all is something of a riddle so the y must focus inwardly to try and work out what the secret word you’re writing is; ‘It rhymes with hit and you find it on the bottom of bird cages… surly he can’t be writing the word SHIT! Oh, it was GRIT… very clever!’ Now obviously you can’t reveal that you have written the word ‘Grit’ visually because you haven’t really written anything. Instead you just need to say the gag verbally, which personally I think works better. There is no need to prove what you have written; it’s just a silly gag. So, the sequence flows something like this. You are (apparently) writing a word as you say;

















Notes & Closing Comments: So there you have it, a somewhat bold and very simple peek. One thing I like about this is it allows you plenty of time to actually read what the participant has written. You’re not catching a sly glimpse that will possibly be too brief for you to register fully. You have the time it takes to supposedly write the word ‘Grit’ and deliver the gag to get your peek. If this kind of jovial presentation doesn’t suite your style, which is fair enough, then you do have other options open to you. For example, I have performed the ‘No/Know Gag’ but instead of the word ‘Grit’ I have written a force object and then performed an equivoque sequence using borrowed objects. Psychological forces could also replace the ‘Grit Gag’ or perhaps both an equivoque and a psychological force could be used together. So instead of the ‘Know Gag’ you perform a psychological force and then go for a more s ure fire force to replace the ‘Grit Gag’. In fact, replacing the ‘Grit Gag’ with a written prediction allows you even more time to peek as the pre-written prediction could read something like; “Tonight I will influence you to be left with one object from three. That object will be… a WATCH!” If WATCH!” If you made it any longer you could have enough time to read a brief biography about participant but it’s best to keep it punchy and entertaining. In case you are wondering; A Philtrum , also known as the infranasal depression , is the vertical groove in your upper lip located right under the nose . As the peek for this routine is done right under the nose of of the participant, I thought it was an apt title.

















Philtrum Breakdown: 1. Preparation: In Preparation: In your jacket’s breast pocket have a small stack of your business cards. In your right jacket pocket have your ‘Grit Card’ i.e. one of your business cards with the word ‘Grit’ written on its blank side. And somewhere on your person, have the very same same pen that you wrote the word ‘Grit’ with. with. 2. During performance, remove the stack of business cards and the pen. Give the participant the pen and the top card from the stack to write their thoughts on. Request that they place the card back on top of the stack, writing side down, when they have finished. 3. While they write, turn away from the participant and obtain your ‘Grit Card’ in a classic palm. 4. When the participant has finished writing and placed the ‘Hot Card’ back on top of the stack, turn back to face them. Immediately reach for the stack (without explaining yourself) and move it to one side simultaneously ditching the palmed ‘Grit Card’ on top of the stack. 5. Create a little time misdirection by engaging the participant and asking them to concentrate on their chosen thought. Then very openly deal the top card of the stack, the ‘Grit Card’, onto the table (or somewhere convenient) and then place the remainder of the stack back on to your breast pocket. Make sure the ‘Hot Card’ is furthest away from your body, with the writing facing you. 6. Remove a blank card and write the word ‘Know’ and perform the classic gag, revealing what you have written. Place this ‘Know Card’ with the other on the table. 7. Remove the ‘Hot Card’ (being careful not to flash the face) and mime writing the word ‘Grit’ as you perform the gag. Whilst pretending to write, read the information the participant has written and, without showing the face of the card(!), place it with the others. 8. Reveal the peeked information in any manner you see fit.

















Tel. The performer removes a pen and half an index card, folded into quarters, from his pocket. The performer gives both of these simple items to a spectator, whom we shall call Dave. Dave is asked to write a four digit number, specifically the last four digits of a phone number he knows ‘off-byheart’. The performer looks away throughout this process and requests that Dave re-fold the card when he has finished writing the number. That done, the performer turns back to face Dave and takes both the pen and the folded card from him. Dave is asked to keep repeating the number in his mind; he is to forget about whose phone number it is and to focus solely on those four digits. The performer gives Dave back the folded paper and requests that Dave hold it up to his forehead. The performer then removes the other half of the index card from his pocket and uncaps his pen. He asks Dave to focus on the first digit and after a few moments of silence he writes something on his piece of the index card. The same procedure is followed with the second number, the third and finally the fourth, until the performer has apparently received all four digits. The performer places his card onto the table and says: “Now, I’m not one-hundred percent sure sure about the last digit… it’s either a 6 or a 9, I’m not not sure but I have committed now to what is on that piece of paper. Can I take a look?” The performer takes Dave’s folded paper from him, opens it up and reads it silently to himself. “Ah, it was a 9. 4 – 1 – 5 – 9 to be exact. Well, it’s not always easy to get this right one-hundred percent of the time, but I did my best…4 – 1 – 5 – 9. Take a look at what I got.” A spectator is invited to open the performer’s performer’s half of the index card and read what he has written, which needless to say is the numbers 4 – 1 – 5 – 9, an exact match! The performer shakes Dave’s hand and adds a somewhat chilling, final comment:

















About Tel.: This effect first appeared as a supplement to Elliot Bresler’s excellent e-book Switchcraft - The Billet Work of Elliot J. Bresler . The inspiration for this effect came from two places: firstly, the classic Your Number Ploy , but I wished to perform the effect (or a similar effect) without it being a throwaway gag or ‘instant stooge’ effect; and secondly a brief but amusing gag in an episode of British TV sitcom Spaced (staring (staring and co-written by Simon Pegg before the brilliant films, Hot Fuzz and Sean of the Dead). The ‘gag’ transpired thus: Daisy: “How Daisy: “How was your night-out last night?” Tim: “Not Tim: “Not bad. I met a lovely girl. She’s a psychic, psychic, she gave me her number.” Tim hands Daisy a piece of paper. Daisy opens the paper and reads it. Daisy: “This Daisy: “This is our number!” Tim: “Really!? Tim: “Really!? Man, she’s good!” It may not read brilliantly, but it tickled me at the time. When I first started developing this effect, I intended to ask the participant to write his or her PIN Number (although the ‘N’ in ‘PIN’ does stand stand for ‘Number’ so it really should just be ‘PIN’) but I soon realised that this was a foolish and impractical idea as I certainly wouldn’t be happy writing down my own PIN and then handing it to a stranger, let alone allow a mind reader to divine the information! So, I replaced the PIN with the last four digits of a friend’s telephone number but decided to keep the notion, and hopefully the gravitas, of using the participants PIN by adding the final line: “If only I got you to think of your PIN PIN number!”



















Method: As it stands, this is quite a direct and impressive impressive piece of mind reading: the participant participant thinks of a four digit number, writes it down and holds the paper against his or her forehead. Mr. Mind Reader then then asks him or her to think of each digit, one by one, and writes each digit as he ‘receives’ them. He is 100% accurate. However, I feel adding the final, somewhat cheeky, line about their PIN adds a slightly dark undertone to the effect. It acts as a kind of loaded pattern interrupt that will get them thinking about your mind reading abilities as real and perhaps even a little scary, due to the potentially invasive nature of being able to pluck important numbers from people’s heads. Hopefully this elevates the effect from being a puzzle to be solved or just a trivial piece of entertainment. The modus operandi for for this effect is really quite simple. Firstly, you will need to know a good billet switch. Unfortunately, I have nothing new to add to the fraternity regarding billet switches, so I’m going to have to ask you to use your favourite method such such as the classic Annemann Billet Switch, the Al Mann Switch or even one of the brilliant variations from Switchcraft - The Billet Work of Elliot J. Bresler.

The other piece of business you will need for this effect is a Twin-Tip Sharpie Marker . This is a sharpie pen with the classic ‘fine point’ marker tip at one end and an ‘ultra-fine point’ at the other.



















carry one pen instead of two and they can be found in most stationery shops so you won’t have to shop around too much to find one.

Preparation: Preparation for this effect is minimal: all you need is your Twin Tip about about your person and at least two billets in your right trouser pocket – assuming of course you are right handed… and have not, of course, forgotten to put on your trousers. As for the billets themselves, I prefer prefer to use two halves of one index card card i.e. a single index card cut exactly in half. half. I then fold both halves in to quarters and put them in my pocket ready for performance. I will now explain the basic, bare bones methodology methodology behind this effect, after which I will explain a few nuances that both hide and strengthen the working.

The Bare Bones: Begin with your two, pre-folded billets in your right trouser pocket along with your Twin Tip Sharpie Marker at at the ready. During performance you will give one of these billets to the participant, whom we christened Dave, to write his four digit number on. Dave will write this number using the ultra-fine point end end of the Sharpie; this is the end which writes with a FINE line. As he is writing you will look away and as you do so, casually reach into your pocket and palm the the other billet. This billet, your dummy , will of course need to be palmed in a manner suitable to whatever billet switch you will be



















That, as simple and as bold as it seems, is the core method for this effect. You will literally write over the the numbers Dave has written whilst apparently writing on a blank billet. I said it would make you smile. Now, because Dave has written with a FINE line and you are re-writing over the top of his n umbers with a FAT line, you will destroy any evidence of Dave’s original numbers. I will admit that this is quite bold but there are a number of nuances and subtleties that are used during the routine to both disguise the method and ‘ visually visually distance’ Dave’s numbers from your own, despite the fact that they are essentially the very same numbers written on the very same billet.

Subtleties: The first subtlety I would like to share with you is this: at the very beginning of the routine, when you reach into your pocket and remove a billet for Dave to write on, don’t just take out one billet, take both out. out. More if you have them. You don’t need to point out that there are are two (or more) but let it be silently seen and understood that you have more than one folded billet in your pocket. The reasoning behind this is to stop an y potential alarm bells ringing later when you go back into that same pocket and pull out what is apparently another, different billet to write on. You may think of this as running when you’re not not being chased, but I still feel it’s worth worth putting in this minor piece of extra effort, and anything you can do to make an effect stronger, I feel, should be done. So, you are now holding a couple of billets in your hand. Take one of them and open it up, placing the others away in your pocket.



















real billet in finger palm. As stated earlier, I then reach into my pocket and apparently remove a new, fresh billet to write on but of course this is actually Dave’s original billet. I will then uncap my Twin Tip from from the end that writes with a FAT line, FAT line, open up the billet and hold it flat against my palm, ostensibly to steady it for writing but also to hide Dave’s original numbers as they may be seen through the card by Dave. Now we come to the act of tracing over the original numbers. In terms of presentation, I think the effect works much better if you remain silent through out the apparent mind reading process, only speaking to ask Dave to focus on “the next digit”, rather than calling out the numbers verbally as you apparently receive them. Just tracing over each numbers with a fatter pen is not quite enough to hide the method, so there are a number of other things I like to do. You will notice that some numbers, such as 1, 4, and 7, can be subtly changed to look different, and by ‘different’ I mean ‘not like Dave’s handwriting’. For example, a numeral ‘1’ can be written as a single vertical line ( | ) i.e. ‘sans-serif’ or with an added diagonal dash at the top with the possibility of a horizontal line at the bottom. See the examples on the left for clarification. So, if Dave has written his ‘1’ as a single vertical line then you trace over that line but also add the diagonal dash and the horizontal at the base, making the number not only appear different due to the change in thickness of the writing but also in the way it is written. The number ‘4’ can either be written so that the vertical line meets the horizontal line, or it can be written in such away that the vertical line does not meet meet the horizontal.



















The last nuance comes in the form of presentation. Once I have done all of the above, i.e. traced over Dave’s numbers, changed them in any way I can and drawn a box around them, I will say the following:





















Tel. Breakdown: 1. Remove two or more pre-folded billets from your pocket and your Twin Tip Sharpie. Uncap the pen from the end that writes with a FINE line. Take one billet, placing the rest away, unfold it and draw four dashes to indicate where your participant is to write his or her four digits. 2. Turn away as the participant writes and get your dummy billet in finger palm ready for the switch. 3. Once the numbers have been written, ask for your pen back and recap it. Request that the participant’s billet is refolded. Take the billet from the participant and switch it for your dummy under misdirection of explaining that you wish the participant to hold the billet to his forehead (or whatever you deem appropriate) 4. Give the participant the dummy to hold to his head and reach in to your pocket and appear to remove a new billet. Actually remove the original billet, open it and uncap your pen from the end that writes with a FAT line. FAT line.





















Nine Bob Note The performer – handsome, debonair and with something of the night about him – asks the gathered spectators if any of them have a £10 or £20 note on them. A couple of people oblige but only after being told that no harm will come to their hard earned earned cash. From those obliging spectators one is selected and now becomes the participant . He is asked his name, it is Josh. J osh. Josh is asked to fold his note in half, then i n half again and once again, making a folded note roughly a 1 i nch by 1 inch in size. The performer explains that he will try an experiment in thought reading using Josh’s note but before that he must





















About Nine Bob Note: This is a routine that I have been reluctant to publish. It was originally meant to be part of my first book, Hybrid Mentalism but but I pulled it at the last minute. My reasons were not due to an overly personal fondness to the routine, although I really do think of it as one of my babies, but because of how it might be received by the fraternity. You see, the ‘guess which hand hides the money,’ or as I prefer to call it Which Hand? element of the routine is ‘pure.’ By ‘pure’ I simply mean that you are not wearing a special ring, there’s nothing up your sleeve, there are no batteries that might die, you don’t have to put a small thing inside inside any kind of orifice, in short, it is gimmick free. The method is an amalgamation of various ‘tells,’ ruses and ploys which I will tell you now are not 100% acculturate, 100% of the time. If the occasional failure or miss is the kind of thing that bothers you, then perhaps this routine may not be for you.





















Method - The Serial Number Divination: Preparation – If you haven’t already guessed, you will secretly switch the participant’s original note for your own, so in your wallet (or purse if you are of the female genre) you will need to have a £10 note and a £20 note both of o f which 2 contain serial numbers that you have memorised. It shouldn’t be too difficult to memorise the serial numbers, no different from remembering a telephone number, and beside which it’s a good way to practice your mnemonics but there is no s hame in using a crib. Just find a place to hide it that’s easily accessible but hidden from your spectators.3 These notes do not have to be pre-folded as they will be prepared during performance. So with your memorised notes in your wallet, you are ready to perform.





















I then apparently put my folded note back in my wallet but in reality I retain it in finger palm, putting the empty wallet back in my pocket. 4 We are now ready to perform the ridiculously simple switch.

The Switch – I will assume you are finger palming your memorized note in your right hand. “Josh, I’m going to try a little experiment in thought reading with you and your money, but first I need to try a little test with you, just to help me tune in to your way of thinking. OK? It’s actually more of a guessing game than a test. A game of Which Hand? ” Calling the game/test Which Hand? is is purposefully ambiguous as it doesn’t really help the participant know what you’re talking about. So you are ‘forced’ to clarify what you mean.























Of course if you wanted to, you could just ditch Josh’s note in your back pocket when you take it behind your back. However this may add an unwanted pause or suspicious dipping of your hand which may be noticed and cause a few alarm bells to ring. For a very open and fair feel to the switch, you can take Josh’s note from him and perform a billet switch. So, using something like the Baker Switch , it would seem you take the note from him with one hand, place it in the other





















Method - Which Hand?: So let’s get it out the way now, this routine relies heavily on suggestion, psychology and an ability to observe ‘tells’. It is not 100% sure–fire but I don’t really see this effect in terms of reliable or unreliable. Instead it was my goal to make it a workable and entertaining routine, so with that in mind, let me put a few things in perspective for you.





















Notice the use of ‘We’ – “We’ll use it as a kind of warm-up game…” – this is something you are doing together , not against each other. Also note the blatant suggestion: “…it doesn’t mater if it goes wrong.” Why doesn’t it matter?... because you said so! You are are the expert and you should should know!





















I try to observe and be on the look out for this ‘tell’ at the beginning of every round. I find it helps to imagine a vertical line running down the participant from the top of their head, right down to their toes, directly in the centre of their face and body. If the nose moves into one side, if there are any movements or ‘tells’ on one side when compared to the other, it is probably the side with the money. This is not the only method at play, but some people’s noses will automatically drift over to the side that hides the





















Round 1 – The Pulse Tell So, Josh has just brought out his closed fists in front of him. Reach forward and hold Josh’s wrists in su ch a manner that you can feel the pulse in each. 5







































































































































































































































































Alexander Marsh - Triptych

Recommend Documents