Genii Magazine - 01-2021 Page : 040

MATERIAL CONCESSIONS
DAVID REGAL

There
WELCOME TO MY COLUMN, (photo 1). On the line draw a small heart, or, if you know
in which I’ll be sharing some effects and the name of one of the spectators who will be helping you,
routines with you. This first one is the
only trick that comes from a book of
mine, Interpreting Magic. I’m including
it in the column as I like it very much, and it serves as a
warm-up for my next installment in this series, featuring a
new, unpublished effect that has the same basic plot—a
transportation—but done in a different way, utilizing a
different item.
For many years I closed my act with my effect “There &
Back” (Close-Up & Personal, 1999) in which a borrowed
ring transported from under one inverted glass to another
a distance away. The name I gave it was appropriate, as
the method allowed the transported object to move back
again, should one choose to do so. The modus operandi
was a specially gimmicked mat. “There” is done with a
2
marked coin, and the coin can only travel in one direction,
yet I consider the method more robust as no special mat is write the first letter of that name on the line (photo 2). Take
required. When I perform it at The Magic Castle I make a a small piece of double-stick tape (photo 3) and place it
point of using no mat at all.

REQUIRED
A coin (I’ll assume you are using a half dollar), an expanded
shell, two stemmed goblets, two high-quality square paper
napkins, double-stick tape, and a Sharpie.
This effect is best performed on a soft surface—a table-
cloth is fine. I like to perform it using a couple, siblings,
or close friends as my volunteers, as the script deals with
connections between people.

PREPARATION
With the Sharpie, draw a line on the expanded shell, in a
location you are able to duplicate easily in performance 3

onto the center of the shell, on top of what you drew. At

The Magic Castle, the host would seat two spectators, a
man and a woman, while I was backstage, then tell me the
woman’s name. I prepared the shell a minute before I was
introduced. Place the Sharpie someplace handy, and the
coin in a pocket where one might keep change.
Place the shell in the left pants pocket or into a clip that’s
pinned under the jacket. I use a little bulldog clip that I’ve
weakened by spreading its jaws with pliers, then lined with
1 felt (photo 4).

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something else, your middle initial, a symbol, a cartoon …

I want that coin to be a reflection of you.
As she draws, turn to the spectator on the left.
She’s marking the coin, in case you weren’t listening.
As you speak, the left hand retrieves the shell. Hold it in
finger palm, its opening facing outward (photo 5).

The goblets and napkins can be on a stool behind the

table or in a case. I often do this trick with a woman to my
right and a man to my left.

PERFORMANCE
Step 1) Establish the premise.
Are you two a couple? You know, when two people spend 5
a lot of time together, they form a connection that no one
really understands. It’s true. We pick up on each other’s Pick up the coin and examine her work, commenting
feelings and things flow from one person to the other. [To on it in a positive way. End with the coin in the left hand,
the woman] You might not believe me, you might tell your slightly overlapping the shell (photo 6).
friends he’s a bad listener … [to the man] and she does …
[back to the woman] … but I can prove it to you. With a
couple of napkins, two goblets, and fifty cents.
Place the napkins and goblets onto the table, to the
left, then reach into a pocket for the coin and hand it to
the woman.
I know, it’s just half a buck. It has no real meaning to the
two of you. Let’s change that.
Step 2) Take the coin from the woman and, with the
Sharpie, draw a line that duplicates the line you drew on
the shell. Hand the woman the Sharpie. What happens
next depends on how you prepared the shell, as you are
going to instruct the woman in such a way that she makes
an approximation of the markings you prepared. So, if you
6
drew a heart, you’d say:
You spend a lot of time with the guy across from you. Now I’m going to tell you something you probably don’t
There are probably a few moments, every now and then, hear a lot from a performer: Choose a napkin, any napkin.
when you like him a little bit. So draw a teeny heart on Step 3) The right hand procures the napkins and holds
the coin. them out to the woman as the left fingers slide the coin
If you drew a letter, you’d say: into the shell, and the left hand opens palm up (photo 7).
Now your name is Leslie, so draw an “L” on the coin. It’s After she takes a napkin, drop the remaining napkin onto
part of you now, isn’t it? the table in front of you, hanging over the inner edge. The
The marking will never be a perfect match, but it doesn’t left hand remains open, the marked coin clearly on display.
have to be. The reason you drew the line on the coin and Have a look. It’s just a napkin.
the shell is two-fold: That element will always be cleanly Turn to the spectator on the left and indicate the coin.
duplicated, and it silently tells the spectator where to write. She does nice work, doesn’t she?
Continue by saying: He will be looking at the side of the coin with random
But feel free to be creative. Turn over the coin and draw markings generated by the spectator. Casually turn the

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7 10

coin over as if wanting to show him the other side, but

raise the hand before he can get a good look at the shell
marking. Turn back to the woman.
Happy with the napkin?
As you speak the left thumb contacts the inner end of
the shell and levers it up so that the shell is held at the fin-
gertips and the coin remains in finger palm (photos 8 and
9). Note that the mark is partially obscured by the fingers.

11
picks up the second napkin and passes it to the left hand,
covering the finger-palmed coin (photo 12). As you do this,
focus your attention on the napkin to the right.

12

I’m not sure that’s the exact center …

The two hands now perform different tasks: The right
hand lifts an edge of the napkin on the right, as if to
double check the coin’s position, as the left hand casually
9 tables the remaining napkin to the left of the first, loading
the coin under its center (photos 13 and 14). The right
For this to work, we need to find the exact center … hand lowers its napkin and taps the shell through the
Step 4) The right hand gently raises the woman’s napkin cloth—this will adhere the shell to the napkin (photo 15).
as the left hand places the shell onto the table (photo 10). … but I think it’s close enough.
The right hand immediately allows the napkin to fall on I can’t stress too strongly that all attention is on the right
the shell, in “diamond orientation” (photo 11). The tape napkin, where the coin supposedly resides. Flashing the
will not adhere to the napkin at this point. The right hand coin one more time does more than direct the audience’s

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13 16

14 17

the above line, discussing the “barrier” must be spoken

with import, the second part, about the glass, should be a
casual afterthought.
Face the audience and take a beat.
There are connections between people. We all know it.
Let’s watch it happen.
Focus your attention on the glass on the right. Make a
magical gesture of removing something from that area.
Gently toss that “something” toward the glass on your left
15 (photo 18).

attention, it reminds them of the state of affairs. This is

a trick where one thing happens. If they do not have a
deep-seated belief of the before, they will not feel the
impact of the after.
Loading the coin under the napkin is not difficult, but
the tendency will be to rush it out of feelings of guilt—this
must be fought. To best load the coin, bring the napkin
forward on the table, release the coin, then bring the nap-
kin back a bit. This is how one would need to lay down a
napkin to keep it from folding over on itself.
Step 5) Take a goblet and place it onto the napkin on the
right (photo 16). 18
We’ll create a barrier around your coin … another glass
goes here.
The second glass is absently placed on the napkin on If it happened, your coin should no longer be here …
the left, over the hidden coin (photo 17). The first part of Lift the glass on the right and place it aside. Sharply

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pull the inner corner of the napkin toward you and off the If it happened …
table—the coin (shell) has vanished (photos 19 and 20). Direct your attention to the glass on the left as the right
Forget the fact that you are using extremely down-to-earth hand tables its napkin. Remove the goblet on the left and
means to bring the moment about—this is an amazing set it aside.
disappearance of a coin. … that coin you marked and made part of yourself,
should be over here.
Slowly pull away the napkin on the left, revealing the
coin (photo 21). Take a step back and raise your hands as
if you are as baffled as the audience.
They did it!
Bring the coin to the woman.
Are those your marks? They are? I think you two should
keep the coin as a little memento of what just happened.
How about these two amazing people?

•
If you do not wish to give away money every time you do
this trick, no problem. The marks on the coin (and the shell)
can be removed easily with rubbing alcohol. •

19

20 21

GENII SPEAKS, continued from page 8 the ship. Ugh. In case Mr. Jennings took a deep dive, my
printer in China. The boat got caught in a terrible storm printer has offered to reprint it. But there will still be a min-
and 2,000 of the containers broke loose and fell into the imum of a month’s delay, and likely more. In the scheme
sea. Many other stacks of containers collapsed. Instead of things—I started on the book in 1983—a few more
of being able to send my book to those who ordered it months is not the worst thing that could happen. And in
during December, the ship is now sitting at a port in Japan. the larger scheme of things with more people currently
The containers all have to be removed, investigated for dying of COVID every day than died in the 9/11 attacks,
their content and potential damage, then put back onto my problem seems but a speck of dust. But still. Really? •

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