From ring reporter Peter Rodgers
Our February meeting was disrupted by a summer storm which often happens this season, but Sydney had missed out on many of them this year. We delayed the start of the meeting, which was a good idea with some members turning up fifteen minutes late drenched to the skin. They had just made a quick walk from the railway station in pouring rain. Our topic tonight was “Cash Conjuring” covering notes, coins, credit cards, casino chips, gambling, betcha’s, pick pocketing, anything that could be loosely associated with money.
With the absence of our president tonight, Peter Wood took charge and ran the meeting. Before the main entertainment commenced at the request of a member requiring some family magic material for a future show in Alice Springs, a town in the middle of Australia, Peter showed a few routines. With a short length of plastic drain pipe with some strategically placed holes and two lengths of rope he tied a spectator up. The spectator then tied Peter up. We could see how secure he was then instantly the shackles fell away. Peter then performed and showed the workings of a very old effect that I’ve always called the paper tree production or the paper fir tree, but Gene Anderson calls the Corn Stalk. Peter then introduced our other Peter, Peter Rodgers who, with a cheating at cards theme, performed John Bannon’s Bullet Party then, encapsulated into a gambling routine, performed Twisting the Aces, The Last Trick of Dr Jacob Daley, The Dai Vernon Poker Deal and Peters own amalgamation of the Walter Gibson and Harry Lorayne’s Poker Deals.
Phuoc Can Hua is a lover of Tenyo Magic, tonight he performed a version of Paul Harris’s Twilight. With the aid of a pocket mirror he made coins appear, multiply, change and vanish. Then with some Japanese music a small plastic pagoda he vanished the center of a 1000 yen note, or did it actually slide to one side like the classic ZigZag lady.
Anthony Dillon then demonstrated a pen through an Australian twenty dollar polymer note which was wrapped in a post-it note. After his performance Anthony was generous enough to explain the full workings of the method which uses a normal pen or Sharpie which can be borrowed. With the assistance of Bailey and Phuoc, Anthony then had a coin wrapped in a silk. The corners were pulled through a finger ring, the silk trapping the coin, however, Anthony succeeded in removing it. Bailey was asked to choose an imaginary coin which Anthony produced. A card was chosen from a pack in new deck order, the pack cut, the card returned and the chosen card was miraculously discovered back in its original position with the cards back to new deck order. Another card was chosen and it appeared under a poker chip using a little bit of word play. It was Anthonys performance of Erik Tait’s Ultra Lucky Coin.
Bailey Baranenko joined our ring about eighteen months ago, however, because of the size of Sydney and his working commitments he has found it hard to get to meetings until tonight. With his phone he took a photo of Anthonys hand, he then drew a small cross with a Sharpie on Anthony’s palm, the cross vanished from his hand only to appear in the photo. With a bit more skullduggery Bailey made the cross appear on Anthonys other palm. The classic cigarette ash trick with smoking generally frowned upon in Australia is now rarely performed. Some years ago the effect was updated with MagicSmith releasing what is now his best selling effect, Double Cross, which replaces the ashes with a Sharpie pen. Only very recently has the digital effect of adding an image to a photo on your phone been added which shows that Bailey is keeping up to date with new magic and technology even whilst unable to attend many of our meetings.
Peter Wood had been introducing the performers, it was now his turn to perform. We were all instructed to grab for an invisible object in the air, but Peter was the only one to produce an Australian hundred dollar note. It was padlocked between two sheets of clear acrylic Perspex. A stand with five keys hanging from different coloured ribbons. With a well thought out comedy routine Peter had various spectators choose keys until only one remained. There was Peter’s key and it was found to be the only one to fit the padlock. Peter as usual with him has created a great routine that he uses for family audiences with the classic Pentalock.
It was now time to retire for tea coffee and supper and plenty of discussion about tonight’s performances and Magic in general.
Peter Rodgers
Sydney Magic Club 