Thought Penetration

Is it any wonder Dai Vernon is affectionately referred to as the Professor? What a mind! I wish I could have seen him perform. Fortunately there is video. Not to mention many, many books and manuscripts. Over the past two weeks I have been working on Vernon's “Penetration of Thought”. An incredibly brilliant bit of legerdemain. It was intended to be last week’s effect. However, one week was not enough time to do it justice. It took almost a week to work out the mechanics. It required another week or so to smooth it all out and make it fair and natural. That's the beauty and genius of Dai Vernon. All great Vernon effects have something thing in common. It is famously referred to as the “Vernon Touch”. It is handling that seems so natural that it appears to be a demonstration to the audience that “all is fair”. Genius. So in keeping with my soloemn oath to the master magicians both living and not, I will treat all effects with respect and perform nothing before I am convinced they would approve.


So what did I perform last week instead? An old stand-by called “Wonderbar”. That floating metal cylinder that lives in a test tube. Pretty effect, and a fine example of legerdelangue. It has always been a winner for me. After my 6th performance of it last Friday, the silvery bar was floating from hand to hand. That’s when the test tube rolled off the table, hit the floor and shattered into many tiny shards. No biggie. Being a science teacher has its benefits. Besides, the ‘ol bar of wonder bought me another week to get “Penetration of Thought” up to par.

The performances of “Thought Penetration” today were fantastic. The first performance was adequate but a little flat. This trick really needs build up and theater to drive the illusion home. By the last performance today I believe I have done the effect justice. As mentioned in an earlier post, my goal these days is to stay true to the advice of the masters. To be so well practiced and confident that the effects could be done practically blindfolded. In the old days I relied on luck or clumsy gestures for misdirection. But now that I have discovered the value of discipline and attention to detail, I am free. I am no longer a slave to good fortune and distraction. I’m not sending signals anymore that something is about to happen. Now that I am confident and have no need to watch my hands, everything is done conversationally. And as a result, effective misdirection, which eluded me in the past, is not as nebulous and mysterious to me as it once was.
Why, Oh why did I have to get old before I was able to grock this fundamental aspect of slight-of-hand. Oh well, better late than never. I will always remember that sign in a shop I saw last summer that triggered my leap back into magic.

“IT”S NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU COULD HAVE BEEN”!