I’m admittedly not much of a restaurant worker (I’ve done it a couple times, and it went… fine? I’m much better on stage), however I’ve shared this idea with a few experienced restaurant magicians and they seemed to like it, so y’all get to have it.

I love incidental magic. The kind of magic that isn’t meant to be focused on or acknowledged, but clearly still happens and is impossible. It brings a fun vibe to any performance, this sense of casualness that makes the world feel magical for a moment. A deck production is a classic example of this, in certain presentations. I need a deck of cards, I don’t have a deck of cards, I make a deck of cards appear, problem solved. But what can be done with the end of a set to bring about this feeling?

My idea for this: Hanging Coins. Really any version you like to perform. The important thing is that you don’t do the final phase (the catching of coins from the air). Because, within the narrative of the magic, hanging a bunch of coins in the air in front of a table you’re going to be working at is just a practical solution. It saves space in your pockets, it makes sure your props are there exactly when you need them, and it means you get to start with a surprise production of three coins. Here’s how I would structure this effect:

“Thank you so much for letting me perform for you. If it’s okay, I just need a moment to set something up for the next group that sits here that I perform to. Feel free to continue your conversations, I’ll be gone in a second. Deal?”

And then, you just… do Hanging Coins. Take coins out of your pocket (or off the table, if you were just performing with them), make them invisible, and hang them on an invisible hook in the air. Don’t explain it, don’t try to make it a thing. Your body language should be sufficient to show what you’re doing. If the guests notice and are amazed, wonderful! If they move on, that’s fine. Because you’re “not performing” at that moment, you don’t need to slow yourself down, and so the whole routine can take 15-30 seconds.

Like I said, I don’t have a lot of testing on this idea. But if it seems fun to you and you wanna try it, feel free to share the results with us. And if you have any other routines that work as incidental ones, let me know, I wanna start a collection.

E-I-C’s note: As The Oracle notes, Hanging Coins is based on Bob Ostin’s brilliant ‘Sky Hooks’ concept. Curtis Kam then changed it and made the coins vanish in the beam of light from a flashlight. Rick Holcombe updated it and uses the light from a phone, as discussed in this VI interview from last year.