Diary

Great Forgotten Garden Party

6/18/2019

I, Smallini, the World's Tiniest Magician, have been engaged to perform at an unusual and enticing event next month. Hosted by Atlas Obscura (the online magazine and travel company), the third annual Great Forgotten Garden Party is held at the Untermyer Gardens Conservatory, overlooking the Hudson River in Yonkers NY.

I am looking forward to performing at this event, as I very much like the Atlas Obscura organization, and I'm intrigued by this interesting location. I will be part of a menagerie of unique performers, demonstrators and purveyors that guests will encounter all afternoon and into the evening.

I am also excited to debut the new version of an illusion I haven't performed for over twelve years - the Princess and the Guillotine. It is much more streamlined and contains an extra effect not in the original version.

I look forward to reporting on this event next month.

Snap!

5/15/2019

A continuing delight of living in New York City is seeing shows at the New Victory Theater on 42nd street. The New Vic is New York’s only theater that presents professional children’s entertainment from around the world year-round: “theater, dance, puppetry, circus, opera, physical theater and other types of performance art from around the world.” [wikipedia]

Two years ago I took one of my sons to see magician Jason Bishop at the New Vic. My son was selected to come onstage, where Mr. Bishop changed a crumply dollar bill into a crisp fifty dollar bill that my son was allowed to keep. Talk about a moment that he’ll never forget! At intermission, I asked him if he was looking forward to the second half of the show. He replied, “Yeah! I hope I get another fifty!”

Last month my whole family attended a performance of SNAP!, an ensemble of young South Korean illusionists that the New Vic described as, “Mixing dexterous sleight of hand, Chaplin-esque vaudevillian comedy, and ingenious visual effects, SNAP! conjures a marvelous, magical cabaret perfect for the whole family.”

SNAP! was a lot of fun. One of the great things about the show was that it contained no dialogue. Magic without patter presents many challenges for performers, in terms of communicating a story and maintaining clarity. I think it’s easier to do when the structure is vaudeville and/or cabaret, like SNAP!. Even so, care must be taken to make sure every movement is understood and does not confuse the audience. I experience this in my own act, which is also silent. There are times when I sometimes wish I could just say something to clarify what is happening or move the action forward. On the other hand, it is freeing not to have to worry about a spoken script, language barriers, and other potential perils that accompany a spoken word act.

Highlights of SNAP! for me included the cigar-box-juggling and magic act, which was probably the best act using that type of juggling that I’ve seen. The boxes were decorated to look like books, which seems like an obvious choice to make given the shape of the boxes, but I’ve never seen that done before. Like most of the acts in SNAP!, the box juggler also used manipulative magic and technical tricks to wonderful effect.

Although a little slow (my kids were futzing in their seats, and my wife yawned a little), the “Alchemist” act had an amazing effect of an appearance and vanishing of a large metal ring. As the magician slowly turned the ring in his hands, it looked like it was slowly dissolving (with sparks flying) right before your eyes.

I was delighted to see that one of the first magic tricks I ever bought was used extensively in this show. The red Dancing Hank was seamlessly integrated into a larger routine throughout the show where the hank escapes from a bottle and flies around the stage. I still own my Dancing Hank and even used it in my act years ago where it appeared out of a mini Chick Pan and danced around my Suitcase (more about this trick in my book, “A Look Into My Act,” available on this website).

Then there was the routine using a trick found in most magic sets today - the DLight thumb tip. Even though most people in the audience probably knew the basic secret to this effect, it was a beautiful and funny routine, which of course, fools you in the moment.

There were other fantastic bits of business throughout SNAP!, including a clever take on the old hand shadowgraphy entertainment, and some cool projection visuals. The show left the children and adults in the audience cheering, and I left the New Vic once again with a warm feeling inside. I’m so happy my kids get to see professional live entertainment of the caliber that living in New York provides, and at a venue as impressive and venerable as the New Victory Theater.

Magic Lecture As Public Performance?

4/24/2019

Max Maven in 2007 (wikipedia)

Recently I attended an evening lecture at Tannens Magic Shop in New York City. It was by the great Max Maven. Although the room was small (accommodating maybe fifty or so persons - packed very close together), it was professionally lit with tasteful displays of magic paraphernalia, both of which contributed to create a wonderfully mysterious ambiance, perfect for a magic show/lecture.

Actually, the last time I had been in Tannens at night was for a magic show (Magic After Hours by Noah Levine, who uses the setting of the old magic shop as an integral part of his performance). Credit for the elegant interior design of the shop goes to owner Adam Blumenthal, who is also a professional lighting designer.

So even though this was a lecture, the feel of the room combined with the stature of the speaker made it seem like we were about to witness a performance.

Maven stated at the beginning that the structure of the lecture was to be a performance of a trick, followed by an explanation and questions from the audience about the trick. There were to be three tricks, an intermission, then three more. Some ground rules were established (like not asking questions during the performance part), and a display of items for sale (lecture notes, tricks, books, etc.) was pointed out, to be made available during intermission and after the talk.

Then the show/lecture began!

True to his word, Maven performed an amazingly simple, yet powerful mind-reading trick (followed by stunned applause), then immediately explained the method, before actually teaching the trick to the audience so that they could perform it themselves if they chose to. Questions specific to the trick were then taken.

As this structure was followed for the next trick and the one after, I noticed something interesting. Maven was receiving applause (and “Oohs” and “Ahhs”) not only for his performances but also during the explanations. Owing to how great a performer, historian, and generally interesting person Max Maven is, his comments about subtleties, reasonings, little side facts, and anecdotes, were just as entertaining as the actual performances.

This reaction, of course, is no surprise, given that the audience was comprised surely almost entirely of magicians. Of course, they would be as enthralled by the explanations as to the performances - they’re magicians after all. But I couldn’t help wondering if maybe, just maybe, laymen would also be entertained by the explanations as well. What if a magic show for the public also included the explanations?

I’ll pause here to acknowledge the heresy (in the magic fraternity) of that last statement. It’s the sort of thought that could get one thrown out of magic clubs, derided by professionals and amateurs alike as “exposure,” a magic anathema of the worst sort. The first rule of magic, forever unquestionable, is to never tell the secret. Every magician, heck, every layman knows that! Indeed, the canon of magic literature contains deeply thought out treatises about the myriad ways to ensure, amplify and extend the holy grail of the spectator being thoroughly fooled and remaining so for a long, long time after the trick has ended.

So let me say that first off, I’m not suggesting that every magic performance should be followed by a flat-out reveal of the secret method, ala The Masked Magician. I’m not even suggesting that Maven’s lecture, exactly as I saw it, be presented as a magic show for the public. For one thing, he would not be teaching the magic to the audience, nor would he be selling merchandise related to the learning of the tricks - two staples of a magic lecture. Rather, the “show” might be trimmed to the performance and then the explanation (“This is what I did” instead of “This is what you need to do”).

Many magicians argue, correctly I think, that in most cases spectators do not benefit from learning the secret of a trick. They get disappointed when they find out how simple a secret can be, or they are simply confused or just plain bored. I agree with all of that.

However, magic is an artistic endeavor, and as such there should be no hard and fast rules. I believe there can be cases when an explanation (note: not “exposure” or “reveal”) of a trick is a valid artistic choice, no matter how convoluted that may seem on the surface. Examples can be seen in some of the work of Penn and Teller, performed in their style, of course.

As I reflected upon Max Maven’s lecture, I imagined just a performance instead, typical of basically every magic show - in this case, six tricks performed and that’s it. Of course, it would have been amazing, with the audience left happily scratching their heads in wonderment long after the show, just as Maven intended. What then, if the explanations (just as entertainingly presented) were included? What would the differences really be for the audience? There’s no doubt that the experience would be different - but for better? For worse? Or just different?

Let’s break it down, imagining an audience of laymen. Perhaps the show is billed as (apologies to Max Maven), “An Evening of Wonder and Understanding” or “An Evening of Amazement and Apperception.” The audience experiences a trick - they are stunned. They applause. There is a beat or two and then Maven talks about the method, gently and coying at first, not revealing all the nuances and subtleties just yet. He explains in a way that conveys his respect and thoughtfulness about the method(s) and history and all the details surrounding it. As with the performance of the effect, he builds momentum in the performance of the explanation, where at the end there is a revelation of appreciation, joy, and respect by the audience that mirrors, in a sense, the result of the performance of the trick.

What then? Will the immediate explanation of the effect diminish the experience of wonder from the performance, especially down the road, when recalling the evening one hour or one week later? The answer to this question will differ for different audience members, just as with general reactions from a magic performance - some will be blown away more than others, for whatever reasons. But based on my experience from this lecture informing my conjecture of this hypothetical lecture/performance (and trying to minimize my involvement and love for magic), I can imagine laymen that would recall both the initial wonderment and the subsequent fascination of the explanation with equal enthusiasm. The question then becomes, is that a lesser experience and recollection than just the performance and it’s remembrance?

In other words, can the spectator savor the initial amazement (remembering the feeling/delight of being fooled), and then also love the explanation; the cleverness of the method, the circumstances surrounding development of the routine, the little subtleties the magician employed, the history and personalities of other individuals involved, the stories about previous performances of the effect - all these were included in Max Maven’s entertaining explanations, and most of them, I believe, would be understood and appreciated by laymen.

An analogy that comes to mind is a book reading/lecture. A piece of art, the book, is read by the author (the performance). And then the author discusses the book (the explanation). The audience is at first mesmerized by the reading; They are taken in by the story, swept away in the world the author conjures. That is the magic trick. Then that spell is broken as the author explains his/her motivations, context, history and other interesting information surrounding the writing of the book. But during that explanation, another spell is weaved - one of appreciation, respect, and revelations. Combined, the event is a success. Having heard the explanation the audience still keeps the story within them, maybe loving it even more.

Can the same thing be possible for magic? Since this is a thought experiment, probably never to be undertaken by any reputable magician, we can only surmise. But my takeaway is that the experience of a magic lecture as a public performance (given the right magician, material, and structure) is a legitimate artistic choice, leaving the expected wonder firmly in place, while potentially including a new and exciting avenue of experience for the spectator not yet explored by magicians; one that might actually enhance the value of the amazement and the appreciation of the art.

Wall Update and Secrets of Magic

3/29/2019

I, Smallini, am very pleased to report that excellent progress has been made in the development of my version of Houdini's Walking Through A Brick Wall. With the aid of Mr. P.T. Widdle, we ran through a full "walk-through" (Ha!) of the illusion on the Suitcase of Wonders stage. This included building the wall in real time using a trowel and a bucket of mortar (both mini-sized, of course). The result was a solid and heavy structure of quite an imposing nature, most certainly so for any individuals who might attempt to walk through it.

While the method is complex, it is also progressing well. I should be ready to run this illusion with music and lighting very soon.

I am happy to say that it is still possible to procure a magic book "find" in an ordinary book store these days. Magic books are notoriously hard to come by in used book stores as they are most often scooped up by dealers and collectors before they have a chance to hit the shelves. If you can find a used book store these days, chances are there might be a copy of "Magic for Dummies" (actually not a bad book) or some such title tucked away in the Games section.

An exception here in New York City is the famous Strand bookstore on 14th street. Downstairs they will often have at least a dozen copies of very good used magic books, usually Dover titles. Last week, I saw the spine of this beauty, "Secrets of Magic" by Walter B. Gibson (famous writer of The Shadow radio series). The cover is fantastic, and when I opened it I saw that it was a first edition, published in the year of my birth, 1967.

It's such a fun book to leaf through, containing fantastical dream-like illustrations and wonderful prose from Gibson. And I am happy to have found it serendipitously, the best way to discover a magic book in my opinion.

Magic Cadillac

2/20/2019

It was a rainy night in Astoria, Queens when I first saw it, idling on the street in front of a Greek restaurant. It was so long that it looked like it took up half the block, yet it was so black that it looked practically invisible in the darkness, illuminated only by some orange-colored light from a streetlamp above. As I slowly walked past it, I noticed a small handwritten sign in the back window: “For Sale”

The next day, that 1969 black Cadillac Deville was mine.

I can’t remember if I had the notion the night I saw the car or maybe it was the next day, but by the end of the week I was sketching out ideas to turn this shiny black behemoth into a magic car. What is a magic car, you ask? In my mind, it was an automobile that had some tricks built into it. The first one that occured to me, and maybe it was this image that prompted me to buy the car in the first place, was that of a human-sized rabbit being “pulled” out of the trunk. As it happened, I already owned a pretty nice rabbit costume (how I came in possession of that is another story). I envisioned showing the empty trunk to a spectator selected from a crowd, then closing the trunk. Presto! When opened again the rabbit would appear.

Another idea I had for the magic car was color-changing hubcaps. No method was ever devised for that. I also pictured a Pepper’s Ghost-type illusion (seen from the front) involving the slow transformation of someone into some thing in the passenger seat. Finally, I was thinking of an effect involving the car windows going up and down - not really sure where that was going.

But the image of the human-sized white rabbit popping out of the trunk of this giant black Cadillac, that was what sent me to Olga’s Garage in Astoria - that and a need for a new transmission. Olga was beautiful, I remember that, but she delivered the bad news that the piece of metal separating the trunk from the back seat (where the rabbit would be hiding), was too thick to cut through, even with a blow torch.

From there, the rest of the short-lived dream of a magic car vanished. However, I enjoyed owning that boat-of-a-car for another year or so before it broke down in Kissimmee, Florida, where I traded it in for a white Beretta.

Is there a magic car out there? If so, I haven’t seen or heard of it. Has there ever been one? Will there ever be one?

My Magic Cadillac didn’t turn out the way I envisioned, but it did turn out to be magical for me, as it was the car in which I went on the first date with my wife, right after the fire department put out the small fire that was burning on top of the engine as I pulled into the movie theater parking lot to meet her.

An Old Scale

1/28/2019

Just arrived from Bulgaria is this wonderful 1950’s brass scale, made in Germany. Actually, it’s just the balance. It is missing the posture and the grams by which the weighing of an object is measured, but that’s OK. The balance is all I need.

I plan to use this scale in the performance of the Water Cell Escape, one of the pieces I’m currently working on for my upcoming show, “Four By Houdini.” I’ve been performing the Water Cell Escape off and on for years using a small gold Buddha as the object that escapes from the sealed chamber of water. Although the gold Buddha naturally registers as a heavy object (a critical audience perception for this trick), I thought a little visual demonstration of that fact couldn’t hurt. Enter the scale.

Simply by weighing the Buddha against say, a tiny rabbit, the “heavy” perception would be reinforced before the the object is submerged in water. Exactly where in the performance I perform this bit of business I still don’t know. However, I’m glad I’ve finally found a scale that is the right size and appearance, and I look forward to integrating this classy prop into the act.

Ricky Jay: NY, Boston, NY, Boston, NY

12/30/2018

With the recent passing of Ricky Jay, I want to document in this diary the number of times I saw him perform live: Five.

And the cities I saw him perform in: New York and Boston.

The first time I saw Ricky Jay perform was in New York City during the 1994 run of his, Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants show. With all the good buzz surrounding the show, it was difficult to score tickets, but I did. I remember it was a very cold day as I entered the theater with my girlfriend. I had bought whatever tickets I could manage, but that ended up with the two of us sitting in the very last row, up against the side and back walls. I was still excited beyond measure, but my girlfriend was fuming about the seats. The show blew my mind, but her agitated demeanor almost spoiled the experience.

The second time I saw Ricky Jay perform was in Boston during the 2001 run of, Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants. A different girlfriend and I were meandering around Cambridge when I saw the marquee at the Market Theater. I was thrilled to see that this show was around again, and when I approached the box office to inquire about tickets for future performances, I was bowled over to discover that there were two tickets available for the next performance in hour! Our seats were not as “bad” as the last time, but we were still close to the back. The big difference was that this girlfriend didn’t care about that at all. On top of that, who should be sitting right in front of us but none other than David Mamet!

The third time I saw Ricky Jay perform was in New York for his On The Stem show in 2002. Still with the same girlfriend from Cambridge, but now living together in Brooklyn, we were lucky to get tickets to what ended up being my favorite Ricky Jay show. I was in the beginning stages of developing my Suitcase of Wonders act, and Jay’s performance (especially his version of the flea circus) really jacked up my inspiration to another level. It was after that show that I resolved to create something original and meaningful to me. It was also my good fortune that my girlfriend had a five dollar bill in her purse that evening, as that was the cost (exact change only) to purchase one of Ricky Jay’s Treat boxes that he was hawking in the isles during “intermission.”

The fourth time I saw Ricky Jay perform was in Somerville, MA for his, Ricky Jay: A Rogues Gallery show in 2009. My girlfriend from the last two Ricky Jay shows was now my wife, and we (and our young son) were now living in Boston. I had performed the Suitcase of Wonders in New York at various locales, but since having a family and moving away from the Big Apple, the act had been stowed away for the most part until, once again, a Ricky Jay show got my creative juices flowing. Although Ricky Jay: A Rogues Gallery was not the best Jay show I’d seen, he had taken chances and tried new avenues, and that was more than enough to inspire me to pull out my act and try some new things as well.

The fifth, and last time I saw Ricky Jay perform was in New York City at the Paley Center for Media in 2015. This wasn’t a show, rather, it was a talk (with a few tricks) for the premiere on PBS of Jay’s documentary, Deceptive Practices. Now with a second child, my wife and I had moved our family back to New York a few years before. The Suitcase of Wonders came with me, with my intention to perform more often, and create more and different material. I can’t say seeing Jay this final time inspired me like his previous performances. Instead, it kind of felt like a book was being closed on something, although I couldn’t put my finger on what that was. Certainly, Jay’s physical condition at the time contributed to that feeling; He seemed tired, and he had had a recent injury to his hand. However, his appearance was memorable for me, and not just because after the talk I finally managed to snag a playing card he had thrown (after seeing him all these times). After the talk, I posted a summation of the evening to an internet magic forum. I reproduce it here in this diary, for posterity:

Last night I attended a reception and Q&A with Ricky Jay about the upcoming premiere of his film on American Masters. It was at the Paley Center for Media in NYC.

After a showing of a snippet of the film, Ricky came out and performed some Cardini-ilke card manipulations. I have to say that while the audience seemed to enjoy watching the film, there was a palpable uptick in energy when Ricky came out and began performing. It underscored for me (as has been pointed out here in the forum before), magic is best seen live.

Ricky then sat and took questions. I will offer some highlights as best as I can remember them:

In response to a question about keeping his hands limber beyond direct practicing, he informed us that recently he injured his hand pretty seriously in a kitchen accident involving a knife. He said he just took off a "band" from his hand that evening. The kitchen accident sent him to the hospital, and there was plenty of blood. While there he and his wife told the doctor to please be careful because they said Ricky was a slight-of-hand artist. The doctor didn't know what that meant. Later on another third-year resident was preparing for stitches and they told her the same thing. Again, the doctor didn't know what a slight-of-hand artist was. Frustrated, Ricky's wife said, "He's like a surgeon!" I did notice a little stiffness in his hand, and Ricky apologized for not being able to shake hands that evening.

Somehow from that question Ricky also told a great story about an aptitude test he took when he was thirteen years old. One of the tasks involved placing blunt needles into small holes. Apparently, Ricky was the only one who could do it correctly. The overall results suggested he should become a surgeon.

I was lucky to be able to ask Ricky to give some thoughts about Doug Henning. He explained that Doug was not the only long-haired magician at that time, that his hair was even longer! Ricky expressed respect for him and sadness concerning his untimely death. He also talked about the last time he saw Doug.

A question was asked about women in magic, and Ricky bluntly stated that there were very few and he didn't really know why. He offered that it was perhaps a cultural thing with boys getting magic sets and girls getting other things...
Ricky did say that his talented wife (she wrote the Ellen "coming out" episode) was an excellent card manipulator but that she eventually decided she didn't want to perform magic (even just for fun) because she didn't enjoy the feeling of fooling people.

There were other questions about what he thought of current magicians ("I hate them all", then mentioning Tamirez and Levand among many others he said he respected, what he thought of exposure (it's been going on since the beginning of magic), and the internet. On that subject, he admitted that there was more magic learning material available than ever before, and that he knew excellent young magicians who learned from YouTube videos, but he thought there were no more better young magicians today than any other time.

It was nice to hear Ricky say that he loved the questions and that it restored his faith in these Q&A sessions, which he said he was just about to stop doing because all the questions were "sad."

He finished up with throwing cards into a watermelon and left to thunderous applause.

Four by Houdini

11/7/2018

I am very excited to now be actively developing a Houdini-themed show (called Four by Houdini), featuring a performance of Walking Through A Brick Wall.

The other three Houdini stage illusions I’ll perform will be the Substitution Trunk, Water Cell Escape, and Vanishing Elephant.

The miniature cinder blocks for the Wall have arrived from Florida, and they are wonderful to behold. They stack beautifully and look great on the stage. I can’t wait to build a trial wall with them using real mortar and a mini trowel. In the performance of this illusion, I plan to construct the wall, brick by brick, on the stage before dramatically walking through the final structure. During this time, I’d like some live musical accompaniment, perhaps a Cellist. After the trick, I will auction off the finished wall along with a signed poster from the event.

The Substitution Trunk (based upon Houdini’s first original breakout stage illusion), will use apparatus created by Angelo Carbone, and manufactured by Tenyo. This trick is no longer being sold by the company, but it is a sought-after item by collectors. Consensus among magicians who own the Sub Trunk is that while ingenious in it’s method, the trick is challenging to perform consistently well. I don’t believe it has even been performed for the general public (outside of kitchen table and office desktop presentations). I look forward to bringing this gem to life inside the Miniature Magic Theater.

The Water Cell Escape is my interpretation of Houdini’s infamous Water Torture Cell. I have performed this illusion off and on since the beginning of the Suitcase of Wonders. I created the water cell myself based on a slightly modified Tannens version of a mini magic classic. I hope some of the drama and excitement of Houdini’s original illusion is represented in my interpretation, even if it is somewhat tongue and cheek. More about this trick is can be found in my book, found on this website.

The Vanishing Elephant remains in my current rotation of magic that I perform in the Suitcase of Wonders. Again, this is an artistic interpretation of Houdini’s stage illusion that he performed at New York’s Hippodrome. My version features an amazing walking automaton elephant, and a bamboo box based on a utility magic trick that nevertheless is strong enough to be a featured fooler. It is consistently a crowd favorite.

These four illusions will make up the Four by Houdini program. I’m in deep development of this show right now, and I hope to bring it to the public at some point in the coming year.

A Performance at the Magic Castle

10/11/2018

Ectoplasm over the Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA

Last week the Suitcase of Wonders (featuring myself, Smallini: The World’s Tiniest Magician), appeared at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, Ca. I was invited to perform at Erika Larsen’s “Spookfest,” which featured, “maniacal magic, eerie entertainers, and ghost stories” down in the Inner Circle sanctum of the Castle. This was a members-only event hosted by Rob Zabrecky. The eclectic lineup of performers included mentalist Max Maven, ventriloquist Jay Johnson, and magician/singer Liberty Larsen.

I performed pre and post-show for guests in the back of the room, as is my specialty. Throughout the night, people would gather around as I performed a set of four, two-minute stage tricks. As the evening wore on, individuals would also stop by to see me perform, saying they had heard about the Suitcase of Wonders by word of mouth. In all, I think I performed close to two hours; It was exhausting but thrilling!

The response to the act was very positive, and Mr. Zabrecky had some kind words, saying it was a “big hit.” I felt the same way, although at the start I was nervous, especially when my very first trick was performed with the legendary Max Maven watching. Of course, I fumbled it a bit in the beginning, but I recovered and finished the trick. From then on there were only a few minor problems. Later in the evening, a magician told me that I was one of many who had fallen to the “Max Maven Curse,” whereby magicians who perform for him tend to screw up. Ha!

After Mr. Zabrecky told me I could wind it up for the evening, he graciously took me on a tour of the Castle. This was the first time I had been to the Magic Castle, a place Mr. Zabrecky called his second home. It was dream-like as he showed me all the various rooms throughout the building. In one ornately decorated and cozy room adjacent to a bar, was the famous player piano haunted by the ghost of “Irma.” As guests lounged, the piano took requests and played them instantly. One young fellow shouted, “play somethiing by R.Kelly!” and the piano did, without hesitation. Later, a slightly tipsy elderly gentleman requested the Armenian national anthem, of which Irma played obediently as the man solemnly held his hand over his heart.

Another highlight of the evening was meeting Thomas Kuntz, the famous automata artist, who had two of his creations on display in a room adjacent to the Inner Circle. His magnificent and eerie “Soothsayer” told my fortune as it whirred and clicked through it’s finely articulated motions. Another automaton had part of its interior visible, so you could see all the hand-crafted brass gears, pulleys, and cams in action.

Finally, some appreciative comments: I would like to thank Rob Zabrecky for inviting me to perform at this event. I would also like to thank Mr. Zabrecky’s wife, Tommi, for making me feel welcome at the Castle. Thank you to BJ Rubin and Martha, for putting me up in their home, and thank you to Arlene Deradoorian, who helped me with a nice breathing exercise. Lastly, thank you to Derek DelGaudio, who seven months ago enthusiastically mentioned that Rob Zabrecky would like my act, thereby setting in motion the events that would lead up this performance at the Magic Castle.

The Suitcase of Wonders, courtesy of The Magic Castle

Peter Ross, Arlene Deradoorian, and BJ Rubin

Fake Cigarettes

9/18/2018

I don’t smoke.

But I like fake cigarettes. Not the kind that are sold to wean you off smoking, or any of those vape devices. I’m talking about the cheap novelty cigarettes that are sold in magic shops (if you can find one of those). They’re the ones that come in blister packs that hang off the rack and look astonishingly like a real lit cigarette. They contain a little powder substance in them, kind of like the white sugar dust found on Bazooka bubble gum pieces. When the fake cigarettes are in your mouth and you gently blow, a puff of the white powder comes out, looking pretty much like a puff of smoke. You can get about thirty or so “puffs” out of one fake cigarette. The “lit” tips of the cigarettes are made of a red crinkly foil that’s very realistic, especially if you keep the cigarette in motion (waving it around with your hand, for example).

I don’t walk around with fake cigarettes in my day to day life. I’m not interested in making people think I smoke, nor am I using them to satisfy an oral craving or calm my nerves (like a fidget spinner). No, I mostly use fake cigarettes precisely as intended by the manufacturer - as a joke.

It started back when I was working at a costume and magic shop in Manhattan called Abracadabra. Bored one day, I opened a pack (two per package) of Puff Puff brand fake cigarettes and popped one in my mouth. I kept it there while I gave over the counter demonstrations of magic tricks. Every now and then I would take a “puff” while showing a trick to a customer. Some people were surprised, wary, or a little incredulous (“Would you please put that out?”), and some people didn’t even mention it. Personally, I thought it added a little old-school New York charm to my magic shop demonstrator persona. Many times I would sell a package of fake cigarettes after someone started asking about mine. You’ve got to demonstrate the joke in order to sell it, right?

One day, I saw in the news that the mayor of New York City had finally outlawed smoking in all restaurants, bars, and most public spaces. A light bulb went off in my head - “Hey, now would be a great time to run a promotion on our fake cigarettes!” I made small, two-sided paper flyers that I put inside the free weekly newspaper boxes around town (Village Voice, New York Press - both publications now extinct). I didn’t notice an increase in sales of fake cigarettes, but then again, that wasn’t really the reason I made the flyers. The whole thing was always about fun.

My fake cigarettes mostly sat in a drawer for years after that Abracadabra job, occasionally coming out if I was going to some event that I wanted to provoke a little reaction for laughs.

When I built the Suitcase of Wonders and started to practice it, I pulled out the Puff Puffs again. I thought it fit the character of P.T. Widdle, the “owner and operator” of the miniature magic theater to have a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he maneuvered the props within. The fake cigarette signals that this is not really a children’s magic show, and it lends the character a sort of weary gravitas; He looks like he’s been doing this act for a long time. That was the sense I wanted to convey, so that the action of what was happening inside the theater seemed even more fantastic.

Now when I perform, I wait until between tricks to pull the fake cigarette from a side drawer of the Suitcase and pop it in my mouth, apparently already lit! It hangs from my lips for the two minutes or so as I set up the next trick. If there are children watching, I may leave it out of the act, but sometimes I don’t, as I believe the cigarette is part of the character, and I feel weird censoring myself for the sake of political correctness. I’ve never had a parent say anything; I think they recognize that it is part of the performance.

Magic using real cigarettes used to be a staple among sleight-of-hand magicians for many years. Obviously though, cigarette magic has long since been retired from magicians’ repertoires. That’s a shame, as it is mesmerizing to watch the manipulations of a master magician using this small cylindrical object, especially when one end of it is dangerously hot! I believe the magician Teller still does a smoking routine with real cigarettes, but I am not aware of any magicians using Juuls in their act these days, at least not yet. Come to think of it, I haven't seen anyone eating cigarettes for years either, and I don't expect to ever again.

I am not in any hurry to add fake cigarette sleight of hand magic to my act, but I might someday, if only as a nod to the forgotten art, but also because it seems like something the character P.T. Widdle would do. Until then, I’ll continue to use fake cigarettes as a simple prop, and as the occasional joke at a dinner party or in a public space. Those looks on people’s faces - priceless.

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