Idiosyncratic legerdemain blog.

The Extreme Workout Universal Presentation

Drew

Editor’s note: Obviously, this is a pretty old post from around August. We are putting it up anyway since it isn’t only useful for the Enigma Stick, and because that thing is still being sold as is in spite of itself. Stay tuned for another editor’s note.

A recent popular release from TCC called Enigma Stick has been capturing the attention of many in our community. Craig Petty named it his best trick from his FISM convention roundup and review video. It has a lot of praise. I get why. It’s cheap, elegantly made, and incredibly visual. Check out the trailer below.

A picture of the TCC product Enigma Stick with the individual pieces on display in a pretty fashion.

There is only one teeny tiny problem with it. It makes no. Fucking. Sense. What even is that thing? Why is the stick penetrating through the cuffs? I’d even argue it’s a significant step down from doing the traditional linking cigarettes routine. With the linking cigarettes you’re using an everyday, organic, borrowed item to do magic with. With Enigma Stick, you’re using this strange wooden magic prop that is obviously purposely built for magic. I can safely say, no matter how much someone inspects that prop, they’ll walk away thinking “it must be that thing”.

I don’t have an Enigma Stick, but for fun I challenged myself to consider how I’d perform it if I had to. For ease of reading I put actions as italicized, and speech in quotes.

My friend and I are waiting in line at our favourite brunch spot. I pull out a couple of strange wooden objects (Enigma Stick) and start fiddling around with them. Your friend notices and stops scrolling on their phone to check out what you have in your hands.

“Yeah, I’ve been practicing some magic stuff with this thing. What is it? Well, how do I explain… Have you seen the trick where a magician makes one cigarette penetrate through another?”

If they have: Continue your spiel.
If they haven’t: Show them a video of Akira Fuji doing his linking cigarette routine.

“Yeah. That’s the trick I’m working on at the moment. This thing is a training device for that routine. This is our dorky equivalent to lifting weights in magic. This thing’s sole purpose is to make it hard for me. You see how this part acts almost like handcuffs but for fingers?

Assume the position as shown in the photo below and have them tug a little at the stick and cuffs. Then you continue explaining.

Image screenshotted from the Enigma Stick trailer by TCC.

“Magicians have this underground market that sells things like this only to magicians. It’s much lamer than you’re probably imagining it to be. Anyway, I ironically found that people are much more interested in this silly little training device than the actual trick it’s supposed to train you for. Here is one way you can use it.”

Do the first phase of Enigma Stick.

“Pretty neat right? You can probably see how it’d help with the linking cigarette trick. If you practice a bit, you can use the device in a different way. Almost like a ‘level 2’, so to speak.”

Now you do the visual phase of Enigma Stick.

“Not bad hey? There are people way better than me at this though.”

Now you leave them to fiddle with and examine your Enigma Stick (insert sexual joke here).

Thanks to thinking about Enigma Stick, I ended up with an interesting universal presentation that can apply to an array of weird props that would otherwise be the strangest thing to carry around with you.

Editor’s note: I have opted to quit making everyone use American spelling. Whatever.

In:

–

Have a comment? Email Anne at anne@themagicoval.com, Drew at drew@themagicoval.com, Franklin at franklin@themagicoval.com, or Jerry at jerry@themagicoval.com. The editor can be reached at themagicoval@themagicoval.com.
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our email list for updates any time we have new content for you.

3 responses to “The Extreme Workout Universal Presentation”

  1. Marty Avatar
    Marty

    I like the presentation; it’s very Jerxian. However, magicians are allowed to use unusual props and objects. In fact, most people expect us to do so. I don’t think this kind of justification is always necessary.

    Personally, you could say, “This trick is traditionally performed with two cigarettes, but I hate promoting such an unhealthy habit, so I use these instead…” I wouldn’t show them the Akira Fuji routine; it would spoil the surprise.

    However, you can also justify the odd nature of the prop by attaching an equally odd story to it. For example, I’d be inclined to say that the wooden rod is the tip of a broken magic wand that once belonged to a famous magician, e.g., Harry Houdini, Dai Vernon or. Al Baker You could even paint it white or replace it with a metal rod.

    Another (perhaps obvious) way to frame this trick is to say it is a wooden puzzle (or two pieces of a larger wooden puzzle).

    Finally, you could further justify the use of the prop by developing another trick using it, e.g., a Ring on Rope effect. Adding a short length of rope would make the whole setup look even more like a puzzle.

    Marty

    Reply
    1. Drew Avatar
      Drew

      There are weird objects, then there are weird objects that seem to be specifically created for the illusion itself. For e.g, I like the Cylinder & Coins. A piece of cork, 4 coins, a leather tube, these are all things taken from their specific contexts and choreographed together into this strange mystical effect.

      Having a stick made from the same wood as a wooden tablet with two big holes in it, it seems like it was made for that effect, hence leading someone to just think “it must be that thing”. Sure, they could think that with the items in Cylinder & Coins, but at least they have a frame of reference as to what those items are.

      So the idea was to lean into that instead of hiding it, and make it a presentation, more so than a justification. Though your point at the end of using it for another trick would help address my concern above. Thank you for your comment and for sharing your wonderful ideas!

      Reply
      1. Marty Avatar
        Marty

        Yes, I think it is better to lean into the oddness, even in the way you suggest. I’m not sure it would suit my style; however, maybe for that reason I should try it at least once. Any presentation that communicates the time and effort magicians put into learning and practising a trick is a good thing. Eugene Burger has a few presentations of this kind that I’ve always been fond of.

        It’s funny, but I was also thinking of the Cylinder and Coins (probably because of the Tim Conover books and because it’s a favourite coin plot of mine that also uses equally unusual props). TCC make beautiful items that, I’ll concede, look like custom-made magic tricks. I don’t doubt that’s what most laypeople would think they were. I like them because the more substantial and luxurious materials used eliminate the problem often associated with plastic Tenyo tricks (many of which are fantastic from an effect perspective, but literally scream “MAGIC TRICK”).

        I should also mention that the choices we make, e.g., the tricks, props and presentations we decide to use, are closely tied to our performance character or persona. Still, I do think many modern magicians worry too much about using weird props.

        Thanks for the thought-provoking post!

        Marty

        Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe

Sign up with your email address to receive an email when there’s a new post.
We respect your privacy and would sooner die than give your email away. See our full privacy policy here.

Search

Categories

Archive