5for5_coffee

5 for £5: Coffee by Oliver Meech. Copyright © 2009 Oliver Meech. All rights reserved including manufacturing rights. No part of this may be reproduced for commercial gain without written permission from the author. In other words, like Missy Elliot, I’m copyrighten, so don’t copy me. Or I’ll get my freak on, and no one wants to see that.

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To Ruth, for enduring all my work-in-progress performances.

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ALSO BY OLIVER MEECH

The Plot Thickens Mr. Meech’s Magical Mail-Out (2008-)

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CONTENTS

Intro

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Shaken And Stirred

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Linking Coffee Rings

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The Cup Cavity

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Toffee And Cea

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Tea Brag

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Outro

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INTRO Welcome to the first ebook in the 5 for £5 series. That’s five tricks for a mere fiver. ABOUT THIS BOOK Here we have five tricks for when you’re having coffee, either in a coffee shop or at home. They vary in plot, scale, prep time and performance venue. Hopefully you’ll find some gold in the blend (ok, no more coffee puns; Dan Harlan’s already written the book on this subject, or rather the DVD set). ABOUT THIS SERIES I love publishing full-scale books but, by their nature, they take a long time to produce. The Plot Thickens, for example, took three years from start to finish. In that time my brain continued to churn out tricks, resulting in a big backlog. So, I had a choice. I could either leave the tricks languishing like SuperTed in an old, dark storeroom, or I could release them into the wild for other magicians to play with. Needless to say I chose the latter option, which lead to these ebooks. They’re quicker and cheaper for me to produce, and they’re quicker and cheaper for you to buy. Everybody wins. They’re also themed, so if you’re looking for something to perform in, say, a coffee shop, you can go straight to that ebook. I’ll still be producing full-scale books too, like the Plot trilogy, and hopefully the two formats will complement each other. Anyway, enough preamble, on with the show!

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SHAKEN AND STIRRED This is a fun coincidence effect, using items available at a coffee shop. I originally developed this using cards, but replaced them with objects from the environment for less preparation and a more organic feel. While not strictly impromptu, the set-up only takes a few moments with items at hand, so it can be safely classed as improvised (to use Michael Weber’s useful term from LifeSavers). PLOT The spectator chooses an ESP symbol and the matching symbol is marked out in chocolate powder on the frothy head of a coffee. REQUIREMENTS  A coffee with a frothy head, preferably in a paper cup.  An extra paper cup (optional).  Three wooden stirrers.  Chocolate powder.  Five sugar packets.  A pen. PREPARATION Ask for an extra paper cup with your coffee. When you receive your drink, go over to the ‘extras station’ with the napkins, milk, powder, etc. Tell your friend you’ll meet them at the table. Turn your back to them and get to work. Sip or pour away some of the coffee until it is about an inch below the lip. Balance the wooden stirrers on the lip, so they extend across the cup. Arrange them so they form a triangle. Take the chocolate powder shaker and shake it over the cup. The stirrers will block some of the falling powder, leaving you with the outline of a triangle. Replace the plastic cup on the lid. Draw a triangle on one side of a sugar packet. Hold it with the other four packets, triangle-side down. Keep track of which packet has the triangle. Head over to your friend. METHOD Place the cup aside as you introduce the sugar packets. Draw a different ESP symbol on each packet, making sure that you draw a triangle on the triangle one, so you end up with a ‘double facer’.

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Drop the sugar packets in the spare paper cup and hand it to the spectator. Explain that they will choose a symbol by the process of elimination. They will shake the cup then tip out the sugar packets. Any that land face down (i.e. without their symbol showing) will be eliminated, until one remains. After they shake and tip, move the eliminated packets to the side and replace the others in the cup. To minimise the chance of them picking up the triangle packet, return it to the cup first. Repeat the shaking, tipping and eliminating process until you are down to one packet, which will be the triangle. Say that their choice was written in the tea leaves, or rather, in the coffee toppings. Remove the plastic lid to reveal the triangle. NOTES If you can convince them to “grab us some chairs” while you take care of their toppings then you can make the prediction with their drink. Just warn them not to take the lid off their coffee prematurely. While rectangular sugar packets work well, the long thin tube-like packets have a seam on one side that produces a discrepancy in your double facer. To avoid any problems, draw the signs on wooden stirrers instead. You can also do this trick with a china or paper cup without a cover. Just put the cup out of sight behind you, the spectator, or a table tent until the revelation. Or, drape a paper napkin over the top to conceal the shape. Another option is just to relax, and if they see the triangle, act as if it’s an open prediction. You needn’t be limited to five symbols. You could lose the ESP angle and add in more shapes, or use letters. The letter ‘N’ is easy to make with stirrers and with a bit of snapping and balancing you can make most capital letters. You could even make their initials. If you don’t mind a bit more preparation, you could use some card or plastic and a craft knife to make your own sprinkle stencil featuring whatever (e.g. playing card pips). Carry it in your wallet and you’re good to go whenever. You could even try tearing a heart shape out of an in-store leaflet. If you leave the cap on the coffee there’s a chance that the frothy head will collapse, so either perform swiftly, leave the cap off, or just come to terms with a shrinking head. You can diffuse the gaffed sugar packet by tearing the triangle one open, using the sugar in your coffee, and crumpling up the packet. Just don’t hurry this or you’ll be running when you aren’t being chased (thanks Al Baker).

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CREDITS The idea of applying the double-headed coin con to sugar packets, and the diffusing of the gaff, comes from “Client-Confidence Sugar Shocker” in the Art of Astonishment, Volume 3 by Paul Harris, A-1 Multi Media, 1996; page 263.

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LINKING COFFEE RINGS I create a lot at lunchtime. And I spend a lot of lunchtimes in a coffee shop. So it’s no surprise that I create a lot of tricks with coffee shop paraphernalia. I was thinking about the linking rings one day when I looked at my napkin and saw I’d left two ‘linked’ coffee rings. By the end of lunch I had a method for a new trick. It’s perfect for when you’re having coffee with a friend. PLOT Two rings left by coffee mugs are linked. REQUIRED  A coffee mug.  Two napkins. You must be sitting down with a table between you and your friend. If you’re in a coffee shop then this’ll probably be the case anyway. PREPARATION Tilt the coffee mug so some liquid spills over the side then rub the coffee around the base, being careful not to burn your fingers. Press the mug onto the napkin to make a ring, then move it slightly and press it down again so you end up with two overlapping rings (resembling a Venn diagram, for any closet statisticians). We’ll call this the ‘linked’ napkin. Let the marks dry then scrumple the napkin into a ball and keep it in your pocket until you happen to be having coffee with a friend. METHOD When ready to perform, place the linked napkin in your lap. Take a fresh napkin off the table and openly make two rings with the bottom of your coffee mug on the far corners of the napkin. Make sure they don’t overlap. We’ll call this the ‘unlinked’ napkin. Mention that the rings are not touching each other then scrumple the napkin into a ball and place it on the table. Ask the spectator to put their right hand out palm up. As you demonstrate with your right hand how they should hold their hand, let your left hand casually drop into your lap and finger palm the linked napkin. Whilst the spectator is occupied with extending their hand, use your right hand to scoop the unlinked napkin off the table and into your lap. Bring your left hand up to meet it your right at the table edge. In a continuing motion, cup your right hand over the linked napkin in your left hand. Done smoothly this should look like you merely scooped up the unlinked napkin and held it between your hands. Hand them the napkin and ask them to cup the napkin between their hands in the same way. When they do so, request that they close their eyes and imagine the two rings moving together until they are linked. While their eyes are closed, ditch the unlinked napkin into a convenient pocket!

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Have them open their eyes and the napkin to discover the linked rings. NOTES Any simple switch could be used here. You could, for example, adapt the $100 Bill Switch. Alternatively, you could do the trick with only one napkin by making a double-faced unlinked/linked napkin and turning it over as you wave it about. If you’re meeting a friend and you get there before they do, you can make the linked napkin while you’re waiting. For once, you’ll be pleased when someone’s running late. CREDITS This switch is adapted from a Marlo move, which I saw on “Sweet Surprise” on Sankey’s Short & Sweet tape.

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THE CUP CAVITY I really like the aspirin tin switch using a recessed deck from Paul Gertner’s Steel and Silver, but for some reason I’ve never used it. Then one day I was staring absentmindedly at a paper cup and realised that the manufacturers had kindly included a useful recess in the base of each and every one. PLOT A sugar sachet is torn and restored. REQUIREMENTS  A paper cup from a coffee shop.  Two sugar sachets. PREPARATION Fold over the end of one of the sugar sachets and place it on the table. Lower the paper cup on top of it so the sachet ends up in the recess in the bottom of the cup. METHOD Sit on the spectator’s right. The best way to get away with the upcoming switch is through a casual presentation, so that they don’t realise you’re performing a trick until the dirty work is already done. Tear open the visible sugar sachet. Empty the sachet into your cup, making sure that the sachet maintains its rounded shape. Drop the torn section inside the sachet then fold over the end, so it resembles the sachet beneath the cup. Drop the sachet on the table to the right of the cup. Don’t make these actions seem important – you’re not doing a trick, you’re just adding sugar to your coffee. Ask them if they’d like to see something weird, and as they look up to answer, switch the sachets as follows: Lift up the cup with your right hand, supposedly to allow your left hand to slide the torn sachet to the left, towards the spectator. In fact, you move the cup to the right so it goes straight on top of the torn sachet, and slide the restored sachet towards the spectator. Since the sachet is supposed to be empty, slide it gently, otherwise people would expect it to be flattened and lose its rounded shape. Begin the motion without looking at your hands, then look down as the sachet is being slid forward. Now for a little time misdirection. Wave your hand over the supposedly empty sachet a few times, then ask them to do the same. Ask them if they know what happened. Respond to their reply then ask them to pick up the packet and discover the restoration.

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NOTES This naturally-occurring gaff can be used to switch any object that’s small and reasonably flat (e.g. coins, folded notes and billets, crushed cockroaches, etc.) The biggest challenge is covering the moment of the switch. This needn’t use a coffee cup. Almost any paper cup will do. CREDITS The aspirin tin switch is in “The Headache Trick” in Paul Gertner’s Steel And Silver by Richard Kaufman, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1994; page 137. Two tricks that influenced my thinking on this are “Bat Fishing” and “Swing Thing”, both in Art of Astonishment, Volume 3 by Paul Harris, A-1 Multi Media, pages 37 and 49 respectively.

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TOFFEE AND CEA This takes advantage of two products that haven’t been heavily marketed and so aren’t well known (i.e. coffee bags and instant tea granules). However, the manufacturer’s loss is the magician’s gain! Unlike some magicians, I quite like tricks that require advance preparation. There’s something deviously satisfying about doing the dirty work before the spectators are even there – they don’t stand a chance! Here’s something you can have set up at home, ready to unleash on unwitting visitors. PLOT Tea and coffee swap places. REQUIREMENTS  A box of tea bags.  A box of coffee bags.  A jar of instant coffee granules.  A jar of instant tea granules.  Milk.  A tea cup.  A coffee mug. PREPARATION Pour out the coffee granules from the jar, wash it out with water (being careful not to wet the label) then let it dry. Once dry, pour the instant tea granules into the coffee jar. Similarly, remove the tea bags from their box and replace them with coffee bags. Hide/chuck the packaging for the tea granules and coffee bags. METHOD A friend/acquaintance/Jehovah’s Witness has just popped by for tea. No mention of magic has yet been made. Offer them tea or coffee. Whichever they choose, say that you’ll have the other option. We’ll assume that the spectator chooses tea so you choose coffee. They need to have watched you make the drinks, so tell them to come through and chat in the kitchen if they aren’t already there. Now you want to point out the tea box and the coffee jar without being too obvious. A simple question is fine, like “I’ve only got Tetley – is that alright?” Place a (coffee) bag in the tea cup. Take out the coffee jar and spoon some (tea) granules into the coffee mug. Pour in the water, remove the bag and add milk to both. Announce that you will cause the coffee and tea to change places.

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Wave your hands over the cup and mug in a dramatic manner then look disappointed when they don’t change. Eventually give up and suggest that perhaps only the liquid swapped. Have the spectator taste each one to confirm that they’ve swapped places. NOTES For the über-paranoid, you could place a gaffed bag on top of normal bags and a layer of tea granules on top of coffee granules, so if the spectators check them afterwards they won’t find anything. Or you could avoid all that effort by accepting that you’re just being paranoid! If you have a nose for tricks involving different senses, hear me when I say that I feel you should look up my upcoming ebook 5 for £5: Senses. CREDITS Apparently Michael Weber has a flavour transposition that pre-dates mine, using different objects and a different method. After writing this up, I discovered a flavour transformation using coffee and sugar; “Bitter Sweet” in Tricks by David Pen, Squash Publishing, 2003; page 11. Dale A. Hildebrandt, who has his own taste transposition effect called Flavorswitch, sent me some further credits. Here they are, in his own words: Michael Weber seems to have popularized the taste transposition effect. In 1998, Volume 5 of “Jim Taylor’s SHOCKED AND AMAZED! On & Off The Midway”, there was a chapter titled “Fakir You” by Joseph Ovette. This chapter contained a section titled “Controlling Power” (the chapter started on page 70, the subsection started on page 75 and went to page 76). That chapter contained an effect where an audience member was convinced that the flavor of candy had turned into the flavor of bitter medicine. Morgan Strebler next came out with “Taste Conditions”. Finally, Sean Fields has released “Tasteicular” in his “1337” ebook. I have also found a very early reference to a flavor transposition of two sticks of gum titled “Gum At Large” by Jack Vosburgh in The Jinx No. 101-151, page 102 of 234 as published by Theodore Annemann (1940) and found in the “Ask Alexander” Database.

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TEA BRAG This challenge trick is not so much against-the-clock, as against-the-kettle. Because of this, it’s ideal for informal performances at your home. However, with access to a plug and a little thought, you could also do it at a house party or on stage. If you want to perform something similar when out and about, there’s a suggestion in the Notes. PLOT The magician attempts to find the selection in the time it takes to boil a kettle. He seems to fail, but then the selection is found stapled to the tea bag string. REQUIREMENTS  Stringed tea bags that come in individual sachets, like Twinings.  A stapler.  A mug.  A deck of cards.  A duplicate card (we’ll assume you’re using the Two of Hearts).  A craft knife.  A staple remover (optional).  A kettle.  Milk and sugar (optional, depending on how you like your tea!). PREPARATION Using the craft knife, make a slit in the sachet near the top. Remove the tea bag on the string. Now replace the tea bag with the duplicate Two as follows: Fold the card into quarters face outwards. With the staple remover, or your nails, prise open the staple on the tea bag. Remove the string and tag and staple them to the card instead. Insert the card-onstring-with-tag into the sachet. METHOD Say that at this point in the show, after all the excitement, you like to pause for a nice cup of tea. As you say this, tear open the sachet, thereby diffusing the gaff, and remove the card on the string, keeping the card concealed behind your fingers. Drop it into the mug as you continue. Provided you act like this is a break from the magic, the audience shouldn’t place any importance on the ‘tea bag’. Say that while everyone’s waiting for the kettle to boil, you’ll do one more trick. Force the Two of Hearts by any method that’s quick. I tend to use the under-thespread force (there’s a good description in Cardshark by Darwin Ortiz, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1995; p33). Hand the deck to the spectator to shuffle. Retrieve it when they’re done and announce that you will find the selection before the kettle boils.

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Now you embark on an epic but unsuccessful attempt to find their card (this part is the same as in my “Well, Blow Me” trick from my newsletter). Here's your chance to use all those card revelations you've probably collected over the years. If you don't know many, you can always consult Card College or one of Daryl's 5 DVDs full of them. The good part is that you don't need to worry about which card you reveal as any cards will do. Well, any apart from their selection, so it's worth double checking before each revelation in case you've accidentally found their card. When you hear that the kettle is about to boil, go for one last revelation. If you have the space, attempt a card stab by throwing the cards in the air and trying to catch one. Obviously, you miss. Look crestfallen as you gaze down at the scattered cards. Act as if you’ve given up and say that you need a drink. Do a double-take at the cup, then lift the tag to reveal their selection dangling from the string. NOTES For a more soggy prediction, you could pour boiling water over the card and change the challenge to finding their card in the time it takes the tea to brew. Given how strange it is for any card to appear on the end of the string, I don’t think having the card marked or signed adds that much. However, if you disagree, there are a couple of options: Torn corner version: in this case, tear off the corner and have it finger palmed. Force the Two (a riffle force would be good here), then tear off the corner and switch it for the other corner. If you had an indifferent card in your pocket you could ditch the switched out corner in your pocket as you remove the indifferent card as your first (wrong) guess at their card. Since the card is obviously missing a corner, it should be easy to find, so either attempt to find it blindfolded or tear off the corners of some other cards to mix it in with. You may wish to have some double-sided sticky tape on one of the whole cards so you can stick the three-quarter card to it, to prevent it appearing at an awkward moment. Signed card version: for this variation, staple the card to the string back outwards. Staple the corner of the duplicate card, covering the staple with your thumb as you have the card signed. Control the card to the top, keeping the deck necktied, then turn the deck face up and fold the selection using the Mercury Card Fold. Show the string with the card attached then pretend to pull it off but actually switch in the signed card. This kind of resembles Sankey’s “Paperclipped” switch. The staple makes everything look as it should. Hand out the stapled card as your other hand ditches the string (with hidden card) in your pocket or the cup. While we’re at it, here’s yet another version, this time for when you’re in a coffee shop: Carry the folded card stapled to the string in your pocket. There’s no need to have it in the sachet. Order a herbal tea in a paper cup. Go to the extras station, remove the plastic lid, ditch the tea bag, replace it with the ‘card bag’ and put the lid back on, trapping the string in the process. Now perform the trick as before, except say you’ll

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find the card in the time it takes your tea to brew. The only thing you have to worry about is whether to use a normal playing card, which may wilt, or a plastic one, which may melt! If the card’s on the string, where’s the tea bag? If this question intrigues you, try applying Scotty York’s internal logic to the trick to make it a transposition of sorts. In other words, put the de-stringed tea bag in the card case and close it. Then finish your attempts to find their card by scattering the deck over the case. Have the spectator open the case and tip out what’s inside. Instead of the card, they find the tea bag. Join in their surprise for a moment then look towards cup until they twig. Remove the string to display the card. CREDITS “Well, Blow Me”, which has a similar structure but uses a party blower, appeared in Issue 11 of my Newsletter. For a different routine using similar props, check out “Tea Party” in Steel And Silver, page 125. Scotty York’s transposition appears in “The Signed Card In The Watch” in his book For Your Eyes Only. An old “Proving The Impossible” challenge on Online Visions got me thinking about tea bags and now I can’t stop fiddling with them whenever I make a cuppa. This has gotten me some odd looks in communal kitchens!

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OUTRO I’d like to raise a latte glass to James Pritchard for his proofing and Karrie Fransman for her perusing. If you want more magic, you have a few options:  Get The Plot Thickens or more 5 For £5 ebooks from http://stores.lulu.com/olivermeech  Sign up for my free ebook and newsletter by dropping me a line at [email protected]  Read the tricks, essays, updates and thoughts in my blog at www.olivermeech.co.uk  Re-read this ebook and use the routines as a springboard for your own creations.  All of the above! Right, I’m off to put the kettle on.

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