Tule gS nel Dai (Ome a aADedicated to my wife Sarah Adam. Who will never read this. V:NISHING... Designed by Andi Gladwin Illustrated by Tony Dunn Proofread by Andi Gladwin, Joshua Jay, John Lovick, and Mike Vance ISBN: 978-1-954243-26-2 Printed in China First Edition 2024. Copyright © 2024 by Vanishing Inc. Magic and Ben Seidman. All rights reserved. wuUmlwaaptece.act With the exception of short quotations for the purposes of review, no part of this book, text, or photographs, may be photocopied, reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher. No part of these notes may be photocopied, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher. Broadcast performance rights for the material within (including, but not limited to, internet, television, video, or by any other medium known or to be invented), as well as conflicting live performance rights, are reserved by the author. These restrictions include any kind of future media, excluding live performances. Only written consent from the author authorizes permission for any broadcast performance of the material within, excluding live performances. www. funnystore.netCONTENTS Foreword... Preface... Effect Construction... Card Undef Seat... Pre-show.... Performance Phase One...... Phase Two. Phase Three... The Blow Off... Closing Thoughts... www. funnystore.net wuUmlwaaptece.actwww.funnystore.net wuUmlwaaptece.actFOREWORD Ben, I would be honored to write the foreword to your book. You're one of my favorite magicians. Doing this is a top priority, and I'll have this written for you by the end of the week. —Mac King February 2024 wuUmlwaaptece.act www. funnystore.netwww.funnystore.net wuUmlwaaptece.actPREFACE Dear reader, this is my first book, and I am delighted to share it with you. I would like to begin with some gratitude. First, thank you to the kind friends who helped me with crediting: Stephen Minch, Allan Ackerman, Lee Asher, Eric Mead, Patrick Redford, Bill Goodwin, and Richard Kaufman. Second, thank you Mac for that lovely foreword. Third, thank you for buying this book, Unless you pirated ie, in which case, you get no thanks. I'm lodking at you, Steve. Let me begin with some selfeection. Lasked myself, What shagld my first book contain? Sh@uld my first book be The Principlesiof Destruction? Or my Ed’Marlo erotic fan fiction? g I’ve always thought that I would write a book someday. ee honestly that sounded really hard. So, I wrote a book on one sifgle trick. It’s the same reason that I learned to play bass insteadcof guitar. Fewer strings. 5 As I write this, I realize that my tendency to make self-deprecating jokes might be clouding my overall message. The truth is, I am extremely proud of this effect. I am proud of the construction and the combination of methods within these pages. This piece does, in fact, represent my overall approach to magic which is a thorough exploration of principles that when combined, and pushed to their limit, achieve maximum impact. My goal is to share an absolutely dynamite piece of magic. But further, I am publishing this routine in the hope that the ideas within these pages will add tools to your toolbox that can make all of your magic more powerful. www. funnystore.net viiviii I create material for the sole purpose of performing it myself. Then, after some time, I sometimes get the flattering request from fellow magicians asking to use these ideas. I preferred keeping this routine a secret but a realization came to me. If other magicians have access to this routine, then these ideas will share more wonder than I currently can on my own. So here we are. Within these pages, you will find my blood, sweat, and tears. Unless you didn't buy the deluxe version, in which case, it’s just paper. Ben Seidman wuUmlwaaptece.act www. funnystore.netEFFECT Phase One A deck of cards is examined and shuffled by a participant. You fan the cards toward her and ask her to remember a card. For example, let’s say it is the King of Hearts. She shuffles the deck, and the cards are placed into a wineglass. When she is asked, for the first time, merely to name her thought- of card, the selection begins rising out of the deck. Everything is then examined. Phase Two = The King of Hearts is placed aafiGngst a few indifferent cards. It vanishes and immediately ars on the seat of the participagy’s chair, underneath her. g o g Phase Three You take the King of Hearts and tear a corner almost all the way fff. ‘The participant is asked to take the corner and rip it off the res=pf the way, making it clear that the corner is not switched. This cardis then pressed into your palm and suddenly vanishes with no coger. It then miraculously appears in the back pocket of an audiente member sitting across the room. The two participants match up the corner, and it fits perfectly. Pandemonium ensues. The audience begins showering you with gold and fine jewels to show their appreciation for these miracles. A goat is sacrificed in your honor. A statue commemorating your performance is erected in the town square. www. funnystore.netONSTRUCTION “The Principles of Destruction” is aptly named. Three deviously deceptive principles are combined to make this piece come to life. All three deceptions are largely based on one simple philosophical idea: What exists does not matter. What matters only is the perception of the audience. Imagine the most perfect effect you can think of. Seriously, do it. Do you want an elephant to appear with no cover? A real Miser’s Dream? Maybe you would like to bring someone back*from the dead? Imagine your perfect illusion, and imaging at your audience witnesses that perfect effect. ss B S g Now, imagine that this fect never actually happened, but tha your audience truly believes that it did, in fact, happen. 3 gS Now, let me ask you: Which is better? I am suggesting that for ou purposes as conjurors, it does not matter. No, I’m not suggesting: that it doesn’t matter. I’m insisting that it doesn’t. 5 B week I should begin by stating that this routine does not use a stooge. ve never liked audience members being “in on it”. Pethaps before social media became ubiquitous, the use of a stooge was a more viable method. But I'm of the mindset that a single viral Instagram story could bring down my reputation. To be clear, I’m sure that this rumination is obsessive and self-important. But I am precious with these things. And the thought of an audience member telling www. funnystore.neteven a few people about something fishy makes me shiver. Word spreads quickly. If an audience member has the power to tell people that they were “set up”, a certain type of spectator will jump at the chance to throw you under the bus. It feels a little bit like committing murder with a witness on the loose, who could turn you in at any moment. So, fellow magicians, if you ever use a stooge, I highly suggest killing them after the show. If there are any witnesses, kill them, too. This may not lead to repeat bookings, but at least your secret will be safe. (By the way, if I am ever on trial for murder, and this book is being used as evidence against me, I want to clarify publicly that I have only killed audience members at a small handful of shows. And let's face it, they had it coming.) So... I dontt like using stooges, other magicians to do so, either, JeeSntrast, there are three dual realities running simultaneous ring this effect. However, the construction of this routin@ creates multiple moments of mic that are eruly deceptive,for all partes involved. é I dont like encouraging I would describe the dual reality usage in this routine as “nei, bordering on the absurd.” Please do not play a drinking gamhe where you take a shot every time a dual reality is used or referenged in this explanation. You will die of alcohol poisoning. That beiig said, I take great pride in the fact that this routine uses multiple realities without a single moment feeling suspicious or contr ‘The reality that each spectator exists within is impossible. And the perception of everyone else in the room is completely bonkers. So, everyone leaves fooled. I must clarify that utilizing a dual-reality method like this does present some level of risk. A participant could still tell people that they spoke to you before the show, for example. But my aim is to create so many layers of deception that even in this potential worst- www. funnystore.netcase scenario, everyone is still puzzled as to how the effect could work. By utilizing the blow-off technique (more on this idea later), you are drastically reducing the chance that this conversation will ever even take place. Magic methods can be examined under the lens of risk and reward. If the structure described in this routine is utilized correctly, the risk is very low, and the reward is absurdly high. Using a stooge is high risk. Using a complex method like this is not. If magic is properly constructed and executed, you are not performing tricks and hoping for the best. You are controlling the narrative. Although you certainly may perform this effect exactly as written, it should be noted “The Principlgs of Destruction” takes advantage of several different methods°which are very useful in these ideas to design your fotmner should finish this book with their head spinning, excited to apply these ideas to other routines. 5 other contexts. Feel free to bor own effects. The creative per! AS oMK wuUmloaagae: www. funnystore.netREQUIREMENTS & SETUP There are three levels of complexity required to perform this routine, depending on which version you opt to use. For the basic routine, you will only need a few simple props (a deck of cards, two duplicate cards, and a pencil). A more elaborate setup allows for a much cleaner handling of the core routine but does require some arts and crafts to get set up. The first phase, the Rising Card, is optional but is by far the most compligated to set up, and requires considerably more preparation thaft the rest of the routine. It should be noted that I gittmed this routine for years with@lie the first phase, whichis a newer development, but one Bar greatly strengthens the effect and builds the routine into a greager performance piece. If you find the Rising Card setup Jeanie, this phase can be swapped out and replaced with a different fast phase of your choosing. Doing this cuts down on your preparation massively. However, I am including the Rising Card phas¢zin this description because it is my preferred structure for for performances. I still perform the routine without the Rising Card setup when I find myself in situations that are more low-tech in nature. RISING CARD ‘The method behind this first phase is classic in a number of ways. I say this because almost any Rising Card method involves some sort of thread hookup. ‘The rig that I use is my own independent invention, but I lay zero claim to its originality since I am sure that www. funnystore.netmy thinking on this topic reinvents the wheel. Because of this, I must confess that this Rising Card method is significantly less interesting than the rest of this book. But, let’s get it out of the way before we dive into the really fun stuff. After all, the real juice of this routine comes with the other methods and the phases that follow. Sit down, kiddos, let’s do some arts and crafts. You will need to track down: + Anextra deck of cards + Atable + Asecond chair * A doctor’s bag, close-up case, or lunch box * Awineglass that can hold a deck of cards * Alength of strong invisible thread ( ximately 10 feet long) * A pair of scissors, Scotch tape, mages tape * A small piece of copper tube) with a 90-degree bend or a reusable drinking straw + InstaMorph moldable plastic * A safety pin and a neodymium magnet or magician’s wax * Several days per diem and a tiny house for an imp who wil travel with you (optional) Jol i foaarrtose.ack ‘The Rising Card effect is said to have been performed by Abram Colorni. This attribution is based on a statement in La Piazzdé} Universale di Tuttle le Professiononi, written by Thomas Garzonu: in 1626. However, Garzonus wrote only that Colorni “made a card freely named by one of his spectators come out of the deck.” A method that fits one interpretation of this effect was published nearly a century later by Henry Dean in The Whole Art of Legerdemain or, Hocus Pocus in Perfection, 1722. However, in the effect Dean describes, the card was made to jump or crawl from a ribbon-spread deck. Methods in which the card actually rose from the deck, either from the base to the top of a column, or from a houlette, were being performed no later than the early www. funnystore.net1700s. If you're ever feeling too bullish about how original you are as a magic creator, try grounding yourself with the reminder that the Rising Card plot predates pendulum clocks, carbonated water, and the candy cane. It was also 150 years before the invention of the flushable toilet. Do you feel humbled? I do. History does a great job keeping me modest on a regular basis. First, you need an elbow. This is a small tube which allows the thread to shift 90 degrees (fig. 1). g a 3 : a & You can find this sort of thing at a hardware or craft supply ste¥e. Or, pethaps, you are like me and have some copper pipe lying around which you can carefully bend into a smooth 90-de curve. The trend of reusable straws made out of hard plastic or metal also gives you many options for making this elbow. Next, cut a small hole in the back of your doctor's bag, the width of your tube, and tape the elbow in such a way that one arm of the elbow sticks out the back of the bag (fig, 2, next page). T like to ensure that the side of the elbow that stays in the doctor's bag is pointing slightly upward. www. funnystore.net‘The angle is dependent on the height of your table and chair, but don’t get too caught up in making this, perfect. As long as your doctor's bag or case has a smooth edge that will not damage the e exact. The edge that must be 1's bag, which is indicated in fig. 3: a ° www funnystere.netNext, you will make stands to hold a deck of cards and a wineglass next to each other in your case. This does not need to look pretty because no one will see it. You can use cardboard, foam core, or ABS plastic. My preference is InstaMorph moldable plastic. If you order InstaMorph, you will receive a bag of solid plastic beads which will melt when dropped into hot water. This miracle product allows you to mould the hot plastic into any shape, and it solidifies when it cools. I use it constantly when building gimmicks. ‘The stand should hold your deck of cards diagonally in this fashion (fig. 4). wots .Aoaagaece.ack ‘The card stand and wineglass stand are positioned so that you are able to pick up both of them easily in one smooth motion, with the cards in mechanic’s grip and the wineglass pinched by the thumb and first finger (fig. 5, next page). www. funnystore.net10 5 Tape one end of your thread to the face of the guarantee Joker, ensuring that you wrap the thread around the tape so it cannot slip out (fig. 6). Next, add a few additional pieces of double-stick tape to the face of the Joker, then stick the second Joker to the face of the first, sandwiching the end of the threaeP between the two cards which are now stuck together o. ‘Take one single card (I preféi’ a court card) and make a small C-shaped cut in the wnt . 8). 8 Now is an appropriate time to tell you that this routine ae a card force. If that bums you out, it should not. It should excité TOC www funnystere.net8 you. Within the routine, it will appear to your audience as if the participant merely thinks of one card they see in a fan of cards. This breaks open a world of possibilities and supercharges what is possible versus what your audience thinks could be possible. More on that later. Remove the King of Hearts, and set it aside. Then loc: together in the center. nother force card of your choice, the black spot cards and place ¢ pack. Place the deck into the wineglass in order to prepare for the é Add the C-cut card to the face of the pack and the threaded Jaler to the top with the thread pointing up. Bring the thread overthe OM. www funnystere.net Il12 10 cards, and split the deck in half, Then carefully push the King of Hearts into the middle of the pack (fig. 9, previous page). Finally, hook the thread around the C-cut (fig. eS Place the card and wineglass stand is? your doctor's bag. Carefully set the Rising Card deck int stand with the back of thes deck facing the audience,