This is the coins to glass routine that I have

been using in my act now for a number of

years. Although it is not easy to do it does
play very well so in request to all who have
asked, here it is.

You will need four l 0 p pieces and a glass.

The type of glass I use is made by Duralex
and is triple strength glass.
To begin have the four 10s in your right
hand the one nearest the palm in classic
palm position. Drop the coins into your left
hand retaining the palmed coin-in the right
hand. As the left hand takes the three coins
it must thumb palm two and leave the third
at the base of the hand so that it can be
dropped out. (Figs.1,2&3)
Now pick up the glass with the right hand
using the first finger and thumb as in
figure 4. This is a grip that I worked out to
get away from the usual method of holding
the glass, in this position the coins can still
be dropped into the glass by holding it at
the correct angle and also by rolling the
glass between the finger and thumb.
Bring both hands level and let the palmed
coin drop into the glass. At this point toss
the coin out of the glass between the glass
and your left hand then place the glass
below the left hand (Figs.5,6&7) this action
is setting up the movement for the rest of
the routine. The right hand now picks up
the coin stating that the first one has
jumped across, as the coin is displayed it is I
STEVEN HAMILTON
 2

manoeuvered back into the classic palm

position. The right hand now pretends to
drop the coin into the glass but in fact
retains the coin in the palm as the left hand coins into the glass, in actual fact only one coin
drops its loose coin (Han Pin Ching in mid- is dropped the other is retained in a classic palm
air) the right hand continues down its path position, the right hand again continues down
and picks up the glass again. (Figs 8,9&10). so as to pick up the glass and as it does so it
You are now all set to make the second coin shakes the glass (the sound is like two coins)
travel across, repeat the exact same actions (Figs 11,12&13). As all this is taking place the
again up to the point that the glass is again left hand releases one of its coins from the
placed empty below the left hand. The right thumb palm and lets it fall into a relaxed finger
hand now picks up both coins from the table palm. (Fig.14). Once again go through the
and displays them on the right palm, it then motions of the third coin going over to the glass
turns palm down and appears to drop the letting the palmed coin in the right hand fall
 second of the tabled coins, on the third coin
you once again perform the mid-air Han Pin
Ching so that the coin just displayed remains
classic palmed in the right hand and the left
hand coin drops to the glass. (Fig17 ,18,19.)
Build up the last coin as go through the
motions of rubbing it away in your
hand,show that the coin clearly has vanished
the follow the invisible path of the coin with
your head and when it reaches the glass let the
right hand palmed coin drop into it.
Tip out the coins onto the table to show all

into the glass (this is really the second coin

again) at this point the spectator believes
that the third coin has arrived in the glass. four, then scoop them all back into the glass.
To show three coins in the glass you As an after thought pretend to tip the coins into
perform the standard Han Pin Ching move your left hand but retain them in a finger palm
as the right hand tips the coins out of the in the right hand, the left hand closes as though .
glass the finger palmed coin is added to it contains the coins and moves away,
them, the glass is again placed casually meanwhile the glass has been revolved back
below the left hand. (Figs.15,16) into the basic grip, the left hand tosses its
coins? upwards, again the head follows the path
The right hand now picks up one of the
of the coins to the glass as the right hand
coins and displays it on its palm then drops
releases all four coins at once. (This last move I
it into the glass,this is repeated with the
believe is credited to Lewis Ganson)
I hope you like this routine I do use it a lot.
Practise the new grip as I feel that it is far
superior than the old method (Hand cupped
over the mouth of the glass) and gives a much
more open look.
Final thanks to Chris Power of Opus for
letting me use his excellent illustrations.
 EDITORIAL
Hello, and welcome to PRO-FILE, I will ones I know about I will let you know what I
refrain from going through all the usual think. Videos are a good medium but I still
reasons as to why you should be subjected to prefer a book.
yet another magazine
In this issue you will find my own handling of Also I hope to have a feature called
the Coins to Glass, I have been asked many FEEDBACK this will (I hope) involve you, let
times when is it going to be in print, well now it me know anything that is going on, ideas, or
is. You will also find part 1 of a series on thoughts and they will appear in this column.
professional close up.
In an effort to bring to your attention many
great books there is BOOKSHELF, in which I look forward to the issues ahead. Having
reviewers will pick their favourite title and take never done this type of thing before I hope you
you through its contents. The first review is by will put up with all the mistakes I am going to
Douglas Cameron who has chosen Carney make and I look to you to tell me what you
Knowledge like and what you don't.
IN PROFILE is an interview section and will At the time of publishing many of the items
feature interviews with many top magicians. you read will be exclusive to you, if you
photocopy the magazine you are sending it to
an early grave
The plan is to publish an issue every two I will not try to keep up with all the latest
months and should coincide with the lectures news as magazines like ABRACADABRA do
being put on by Douglas Cameron. that already and as this will be a two monthly
journal most of the news will be out of date
On the subject of lectures we are very lucky to If you are not aware, the next lecture from
be able to see many good magicians, this is Douglas will be GARY KURTZ, from Canada.
due to the efforts of many people, the S.C.A. He has been making a name for himself with
who have brought u s Paul Hams, Mike his comedy and offbeat magic. Richard
Ammar, Dan Garret, and Daryl. Gordon Bruce Kaufman published a book of his routines in
with Ray Grismer, Peter Kane, Bob Read and 1990, if you have not read it yet get a copy
Fred Robinson. Recently Douglas Cameron and look up a trick called "CIGAR" I have
has brought up Darwin Ortiz, J.J, Chris Power, been using this for a few months now and it
Carlos Vaquera and Ken Hawes. All of these plays great. See Douglas Cameron for details
organizers deserve our full support so they can of the date
continue to bring these lectures to us.
At the time you get this you should be
attending the DAVE CAMPBELL lecture, Dave GARY KURTZ
is one of the most entertaining magicians I
have ever seen and is a master of presentation, JUNE
all his routines have a wonderful story filled
with humor and mystery. He has been one of LECTURE
the leading lights of Scottish magic for more
years than Im sure he will admit to. You will Gary's book is called
learn much by listening to Dave as he thinks UNEXPLAINABLE ACTS.
very carefully about the effect, rather than on Finally if you have any comments,
the method. presentations or tricks you would like to
contribute, write them up and send them to
One other topic I will cover is the video me (Steve Hamilton) at the address on the
market, I do not own many videos but of the back cover.
C A R N E Y KNOWLEDGE which are more effective. This is more than made up
for by the next effect, Full DeckVanish, which is a
by version o f The Card and the Handkerchief from The
John Carney Expert at the Card Table by S.W.Erdnase culminating
with the entire pack vanishing from under the
handkerchief This is an excellent piece o f routining
which can be used by any working professional to great
Although this book is a mere f i f t y seven pages long, I effect.
feel that there is more important information contained Kitty‘s Treat, Crystal Sugar and Crystal Flash are
within these pages than almost any other book on the the last three items in the book and use a variety o f
subject o f magic. Allow me to justify this statement by props with which to create some unusual and off-beat
saying that Carney frequently makes reference to the effects. These I feel would have to be worked on and
classic books in magic (Erdnase, Our Magic and Magic tried out on a lay audience before judging the effects as
and Showmanship) and strongly advises that these texts they don’t read particularly well, but I have enough
be studied. This recommended reading along with the faith in John Carney’s creative abilities to say that, in
theories Carney gives us on presentation, conviction, his hands, I am sure they will be winners.
routining, naturalness and entertainment is without
doubt the basis upon which all magicians should study I would like to finish o f f by saying that although
and perform their magic. Carney has views on other most o f this article is taken up by talking about the
subjects besides the ones mentioned above and all tricks, the most important aspect o f this book for me
should be read, time and time again. Despite the is the theory. I found it very difficult to discuss this
lessons to be learned from these writings he urges us without quoting directly from the book so in closing I
not to ”blindly agree with thesc ideas. Useyour am going to indulge by quoting two paragraphs from
the first chapter, The Logic of Deception, to illustrate a
commonsense and compare opposing approaches,
and decide
which is bcst.” basic philosophy on magic which is pertinent to many
magicians(?) today.
The effects contained within the book mirror his
thoughtson magic in that they are all powerful magic, “Many neophytess of magic have discovered
that
simple in effect and entertaining to watch. The very magic is based on very simple principles. some of
which arc easy to execute. Convinced that they arc
first effect is titled Simple Coins Across however the
’simple” part is the effect, not the method. He believes able to perform. they seck employment to
demonstrate. Theygreatly damag the art to which
hat the effect should be simple to follow and that the
they aspire.
moves should be kept to a minimumin order to create
he desired effect. The level o f difficulty o f those Theart of magic consists of much morc than
moves is not a consideration, just that they are the struggling through the allotted time without a
right moves to get the results. A gaffed version o f this mechanical mistake. There exist many undercurrents
effect follows and it is left to the reader to weigh up the that carry a deception to a successful end. Certain
prosand cons o f both these methods. attitudes must prevail. and your presentation should
be thought out and executed with conviction. It is
Coins continue to be the subject o f the next two
your duty to take theohserver out of his everyday
effects. 1/2and 1/4is a routine whereby a coin is seen
world and into your world of mystery.”
o split into two smaller coins and back again, finally
ending with the two small coins again. TheLogical I f you don’t have this book, get it. I f you do have this
Bill Trickis an excellent effect and although the , it.
b o o kread
instructions are a little bit difficult to follow due to the
act that it is described using a dollar bill, the effect is
DOUGLAS CAMERON.
wel1 worth the effort as will be confirmed by anyone
whohas seen John Carney perform it.
Cards are the next to be given the Carney treatment
and the next two effects are fairly straight forward
versionso f Card in Matchbox and Card in Balloon. NEXT ISSUE: PETER DUFFIE
aIthough these items are both very simple it must be
emembered that it has taken a lot o f time and effort
to reach this final stage. I myself did not fully THE DEVILS PLAYTHINGS
appreciate how good the card in balloon was until I
saw it performed by Carney In theHands is a
Monte by
lever routine but I feel it is the weakest item in the RoyWalton.
book as I am sure there are other versions o f this trick
 examples which Imsure you can think of,just make
sure you put over your ideas in a polite manner: If
you feel that the sell is not going well you could

PROFESSIONAL offer to come in for around half an hour one

evening and perform free o f charge, on the condition
o f a second booking at full rate.
CLOSE-UP I f you have no luck at all leave a card with him,
come Christmas you may well get a phone call. So to
recap:

PART1. Find out the owners name.

MAKING IT HAPPEN Arrange a meeting with him.
Explain to him your ideas.
Within this regular feature I hope to go over what I Tell him what you charge and how long you
feel is the basics o f restaurant magic, what to do and work for
what not to do. I myself have been performing close Make him an offer (One night free, use this
up magic for around 8 years.
asa last resort).
The most frequent question I get asked is how do you
get work. The simple answer to this is you ask, now
that may seem very easy but you have to go about it What I have not covered yet is what you should
the correct way. I was very lucky because at the time I charge, the current local rate is between E60 and
started I was working for a major brewers and came E70 per hour: I f you have to travel then an extra £15
in contact all the time with publicans and restaurant per hour is added on to cover time and expenses. I f
owners so this opened up many opportunities to a client offers you work on a regular basis (weekly)
suggest the idea o f close up magic. This worked fine then he must get a better deal, this comes back to
until l left the brewers, I then had to find other you and what you feel is fair:
outlets, m y good friend Douglas Cameron and myself One final point, if you are aware that another
went on the lookout for good sites to work, most of magician is working a site steer well clear; he may
these pilgrimages ended up at a west end bistro where have worked long and hard to get that site. There is
we became regular customers and well known to the enough work for all o f us. While on the subject do
owner: One evening we got an invitation to a party not undercut other magicians fees, this only reduces
within the bistro and went ready to perform close up your own worth and will do no good in the long run.
for the guests. A few days later word got back to the
owner- about close up magic and we were hired for
regular work. This is a good ploy as it gets you in the Finally a word on the type o f business card you
door but you must know the owner well, after that our pick, at the risk o f offending somebody rabbits and
confidence was boosted if we went to discuss magic hats are fine if you are promoting yourself as a
with another publican we had a place where they could childrens magician, if not spend a bit o f money and
come to see us perform. have a modern card designed and printed at a good
OK, so what if you do not know anybody in the quality printer; also pick the words for your card
restaurant business, what is the first approach. If very carefully, MAGICAL ENTERTAINER is
possible find out the name o f the owner before you overused and is not very good anyway so put some
approach the site so that when you call you know who tbought into it. All this is quite expensive but is
to ask for, there is no point in going through your worth every penny.
whole sales pitch if your talking to the wrong person.
I f you cannot get to the owner make an appointment In the second part o f this series I will cover agents
to see him, and leave a business card (A word on these a n d the first night at your new restaurant,including
later. Having arranged a meeting make sure you turn what to wear and finding your own style.
up publicans are very busy people and you could
damage any chance o f work by being discourteous. At
the point o f the meeting you are no more than a sales Let me finish by saying this,
rep. and as such you must know what you are going to
say also be prepared for questions like "The place is
busy just now why do I need you" you must have an IF YOU HAVE BEEN STUDYING
answer for this, if they sell food talk about the time MAGIC LESS THAN TWO YEARS,
delay between the customer ordering and the meal YOU ARE NOT READY TO PERFORM
arriving, what better and memorable way to fill the
gap, if there isa problem in the kitchen you can cover
MAGIC FOR T H E PUBLIC.
by entertaining at that table. There are many other
 Many years ago I marketed this item, and it was finger. As you pull off and repeat the action with the
available from me at lectures, in order to make issue last Ace, steal the Ace of Hearts below the pack in
one have two tricks (as yet you lot have not sent your right hand. Now casually place the right hand -
anything to me, so get writing.) I give you this. half pack onto the already tabled half.
Although it my read complicated, the effect is very Elmsley count the three cards in your hand as four,
direct, and as for the method it is all but self then give them a twist and spread them out to
working. show that only three remain. Place this packet back
This is a variation of a trick that Paul Harris had in into your left hand as the right hand spreads the
his book Supermagic. pack across the table to show the Ace of Hearts
For this effect you will need a pack of double backed face up in the middle Look at the spectator and ask
cards (don’t be put off),four aces and a double faced them if they know what suits that leaves in you
card with the Ace of Clubs on one side and the Ace hand, as you say this the left hand cards are
of Hearts on the other. transferred back to the right hand, the left hand
scoops up the spread pack and places it to your
To start place the double facer on the bottom of the left, turning it over in the process.
pack (Hearts side up) also place the four Aces face
down in the middle of the pack and hold a little Show the three cards you hold face up, spreading
finger break above them This can be easily got if them between your hands and place the Ace of
you mark the top Ace, then as you spread the pack clubs between the other two. Again hold the packet
between your hands just get the break above the from above in the right hand, draw off the top Ace
marked card and square the pack. and as you draw off the second one (Clubs), steal
the first on square below the remaining Ace in your
You are now going to force the four Aces on the right hand. Now place this double on top of the Ace
spectator using a psychological stop force Now let of Clubs but injogged for half its length. Draw
me say a few words on this, if you time this correctly attention to the Ace of Clubs, then push the double
you will never miss, I have explained this at many card square and pull back again but only on the top
lectures and performed it hundreds of times and it single Ace, the Ace of Clubs seems to have
has not failed m e vanished. Use the injogged card to flip over the
To begin tell the spectator to callstop as you cut double then flip the single aces face down on top of
small packets of cards from the top of the pack onto it. Take the packet back into a right hand, holding
the table, when you have tabled three packets (on them face down in the Biddle grip, now as you do
top of each other) they will call stop, if you don’t this get a thumb break under the top card at the
believe me try it, on a rare Occurrence they will stop inner end. The left hand now spreads the pack
you as you place the forth packet down, it does not across the table to reveal both Hearts and clubs
matter in this trick, after three the Aces are on top of face up in the middle The left hand reaches to
the packet you hold, after four they are on the top of remove them and as it does so the right hand
the tabled half, either way they have stopped you on positions itself over the top of the pack and drops
the Aces. For the sake of explanation I will assume the two cards below the break onto the right hand
they lie on top of the half you hold. side of the spread, the left hand drops the two face
Turn over the top four cards to reveal the four Aces up Aces on top of the pack, the right hand casually
and as you show them get the Ace of heart into the moving back out of the way. The left hand now
position third from the top. With the Aces still face returns to the point in the pack where the Aces
up transfer the pack into a right hand Biddle grip were before and scoops up this half (including the
(from above). The left hand thumb now draws off Aces), then the left hand already holding half the
the top Ace into the left hand and as it comes off, pack scoops up the remaining half on top of it so
the right hand uses the pack to flip it face down. buying the aces again. After this it again places the
This is repeated with the second ace Repeat the pack to the side, again turning it over. The action to
action with the Ace of Hearts but as it falls face cover this is to flash the face of the right hand card
down obtain a break below it with the left little (supposedly two) and ask the spectator if they would
prefer Spades or Diamonds, this should provide ample Ace having vanished the left hand casually turns over
cover or the turnover. and drops its half on top of the tabled half, all attention
Whatever they name squeeze the card between your should be focused on your right hand which supposedly
palms, then turn them over and reveal the the suit they hides the last Ace below it. Go through the motions of
named is gone (or the only one left, depending on what rubbing the card into the table then show it has
you are holding). Leave this card face up on the table vanished After a beat spread the pack across the table
The right hand now spreads the pack to show three to reveal all four aces face up in the middle
Aces now face up in the middle, break the pack above This is a very clean sequence of events and although it
the Aces leaving the lower half with the Aces on top, has taken. some space to describe the routine moves
squared on the table, and take the upper half into your along very quickly.
left hand. Show the last Ace as you flip it face down At this point I wanted to d o a further trick in order to
on top of the left hand cards, now perform the Rub-A- clean up, in issue two I will give a method of Twisting the
Dub-Dub vanish from page 301 of Expert Card Aces, that uses the Aces you are left with at the end of
Technique (Hardback edition) and before you show the this trick.

LECTURES
DAN
GARRET
MIXED
ROUTINES

Well the Blackpool convention has come and gone, This was followed by the Richard Kaufman lecture,
it really is a great day if you are not in the habit Richard is well known for his excellent illustrations
o f going do yourself a favour and register for next and the numerous books he has produced over the
year: The 1992 Blackpool convention should be years, it would be fair to say that his company has
something special as it is also the 40th one they changed the way magic books are produced. On the
have held, anyway this years was very good, with lecture he gave I would have to say it was very
performers like John Kennedy, Dan Garret and poor, and on a technical level his handling also left
Richard Kaufman. Im sorry to say that I did not a lot to be desired.
get to many of the organized events onthe Sunday It is possible that the size of the venue took
mainly because I was meeting with old friends. On Richard by suprise (it was a very large room), but
the night before I ventured into the lecture rooms still the general content o f the lecture was poor, all
to watch the Dan Garret lecture, very enjoyable it cards (all very fine if thats what your into) but
was too much the same material he performed from what I saw the mainframe o f the audience
when he visited Glasgow Here is a list of what he were not, and after a short time began to leave. For
did: the record here is a list o f what he performed:
Four Ring routine (using 2 key rings), Ace cutting (two at a time),
a balloon trick (removing a portion which was Phoenix Aces (see Cliff Greens book Professional
inflated) this also included some sound effects card Magic),
using a bird walberer, Card and bangle routine (Cardmagic by
his routine and handling of the finger mouse, R.Kaufman),
the banana trick (continuous production o f Human slot machine with cards (don't ask),
bananas), Card catching over head,
the professors nightmare, and the Laughing card trick (without the laughing).
sponge balls
linking pins (looks amazing).
I
KEN HAWES'S
SOMETHINGS
AFOOT

I f you were at the Ken Hawes lecture you will

remember Ken doing his sponge ball routine,
now within that routine he uses two small hands,
one which is open and the other which is closed
into a fist.
Later in the night Ken showed me a gag he
sometimes uses instead o f the hand closing.
For this you need a small hand and a small
foot The small foot is finger palmed in the right
hand and the small hand is on the table. Pick up
the hand on the table with your right hand and
as you pretend to place it into your left hand,
thumb palm the small hand in your right hand The sad news of two of magics legends
and let the foot that is finger palmed fall into has just reached these shores, both
the left hand as the left fingers close over it. SLYDINI and ALBERT GOSHMAN
Look at the spectator and say to him “Oh, you havepassed away.
think somethings afoot, well it might be” as you
say this open the left hand to show the small
foot. This is a good gag which must be included
within another routine, on its own it is not
strong enough.

GAG FILE
Ask spectator to ”Raise their hand a little lower”
???

“Pay as you go, unless you’re not coming back.

"I’ve got one o f those new microwave-fires, you

can lie in front of it all night in 20 minutes.

”I need to learn to spell, last night it cost me £50

to spend the night in a warehouse*

“My credit rating is so bad, my cash is’nt even

excepted.”

”Lean against the wall, its plastered as

well.”(Heckler Stopper)
 KEN HAWES in profile
has found himself in and stresses that you must be
prepared for anything> for example he was told that
one of the guests at a function wanted to propose
to his girlfriend and could he bring them together
and produce the ring in a magical way, the first thing
h e did was to perform some general close up so he
could get to know what they were lie and decide if
it would work, as it turned out they were fine and
when the time came he got the two of them
together and arranged all there friends around, he
then performed a copper silver transposition but at
the end the silver coin changed into the engagement
ring "This is for you" he said to the girl,"frorn him,
may I be the first to congratulate you both" and
with this he left them, but the impact this had
created was unforgettable especially for the girl. He
has also had to pretend to be members of the
company, at one he was pretending to be the
designer of a turtle, which he had never seen in his
life before, so he is standing, praying that no one
would ask about it, when the man next to him said
"It must have taken you days to do that" Ken
retorted "Yes,I don't care if I never see a bloody
turtle again in all my life"
Ken has many storys like this but what he points
out is that he made sure that he met the people
first, so that by the time the big moment came he
knew how they would react.
Ken Hawes was up in Glasgow recently to give a 1 asked Ken for his thoughts on card tricks, "The
lecture, and on the Saturday before he spent some trouble with card tricks is that everybody knows
time talking to me I first met Ken more that 10 one and they want to show you it, and for that
years ago, at that time he had already made some reason I tend not to use them" this can be true,
reputation for being an expert at coin magic at that many times having asked for a card to be selected
first meeting he floored me by taking a copper coin the spectator has said "Oh, I know this one" before
and throwing it into the air, in mid air the coin you do anything, as he points out, once they have
changed from copper to silver, I had never see coin selected a card they know you are going to find it.
magic that was so visual, this has stuck in my head Ken sums it up in one word "UNEXPECTED" if a
ever since Over the years Ken has moved into the card is selected and you find it that is what they
commercial world of magic and is kept busy expected you to do, but if at the end of a sponge
entertaining all over the south of England. He has ball routine he produces a jumbo sponge then there
performed for personalities such as Sting and Joan is a big surprise as it was unexpected.
Armatrading. On talking to him the first thing you His first paid performance was the annual dance .
notice is that he is very quite spoken, but even with for the local Co-op, nervously he approached a
this he takes full control of the situation and has large table and began to perform some flawless coin
definite views on magic and the performace of our work, he admits himself that at the time he kept
art. looking down watching his own performance, half
As you will have seen at the lecture he picks his way through he heard a voice say "Hey, thats our
tricks carefully so they carry the maximum impact. dance" whereby the whole table left and headed for
We got to talking about the various situations he the dance floor. Make contact with your audience,
 don't just let them see the top of your head, Ken attention and reaches for a spoon on the table
feels this was the mistake he made early on, "I The last section of his lecture concerned the Cups
learned all the clever coin stuff, but most of it was and Balls which he uses regularly in his table work,
not commercial enough for the lay public". he tells the story of when he got a booking to cover
Ken continuously names two books that are his three tables at a gourmet evening in a local
bibles, The DaiVernon Book of Magic and Bobosrestaurant "The first and third table were great but
Coin Magic, and along with these his main the second was a real problem, one girl was
influences are Dai Vernon, Ken Brooke, Albert determined to ruin the act, he caught them with the
Goshman and Bobby Bemard. When he was just Cups and Balls and when I reached the third table,
starting magic his father took him to visit Harry tables 1 and 2 had both followed me too watch
Stanleys magic shop where he first met Ken Brooke again, when performing the routine at the last table
and it was he who recommended the Vernon book, this girl was giving a running commentary from
and even today Ken still uses many of the routines behind, I solved that problem by bringing her round
within its pages. front, but the loads were EXPECTED, for most of
Ken admits that the influence of Ken Brooke was the audience when I asked if they knew what was
so strong that at that point his own personality under the cups someone said, Golden Delicious'
changed and he started to perform in the same style Ken realised that he should have had an extra set of
as him. Years later he realised what Ken Brooke had loads so that on the last performance he could have
written on a photograph to the young Ken was retained the surprise element because of the change,
some great advise "Always be yourself", from this they were expecting apples they got oranges, this
point on Ken started to work on his ownpersonality goes back to what Ken says about the unexpected.
"Not changing my own personality, just being Ken has produced a set of lecture notes which
myself but inflating it so as to become larger that although contain no tricks are full of good advice to
life" the working performer.
Having seen Albert Goshman, Ken immediately
went through the Bobo book and learned everything Kens humour was in evidence during the lecture,
that Goshman had put in it, again to this day Ken "This is an Okito box, named after its inventor
uses the Goshman Pinch to great advantage, (how Theo Bamberg.
else could the copper coin change to silver). In
Goshman,Ken saw for the first time a completely "This is a chinese coin given to me by an old
structured act and this had a very big impact on chinese magician One Long Pong, who lives in a
him
junk, if you don't know what junk is take a look at
Dave's (Dave Robertson)car.
"Dai Vemon, has written so much of value" says
Ken "But my favourite is the Dai Vemon Book of
Magic, the first two chapters tells you everything NEXT ISSUE:
about being yourself and performing magic in a
natural manner, if you are at all interested in magic
you must read these chapters". PROFESSIONAL CLOSE UP PART 2
"What about humour ?" I asked "Yes it has it's (THE FIRST NIGHT)
place" said Ken "But I again comes dawn to your BOOKSHELF PETER DUFFIE ON
personality, I don't go for big belly laughs, just a light THE DEVILS PLAYTHINGS BY ROY
giggle, the magic is strong enough and really dosn't
need big laughs, just enough lies to cover the dead
WALTON.
points"
PLUS MUCH MORE.
If you attended the lecture you will realise that Ken
also makes use of a Topit, and uses it to perform a
variety of effect from a pack vanish to ending a
paddle routine, Douglas raised a very good point Steven Hamilton
about using the Topit close up, the problem being
that the jacket opening sits at eye level as you stand 20 Southern Ave,
at a table, Ken agrees that it could be a problem, but
he only vanishes a black paddle at the tables and
this is covered by ample misdirection as he draws
Glasgow G73 4JN.