Here's the "why" and "how," as well as the results after performing the trick in my restaurants during a weekend.
First of all, some background on the trick. The new trick that I've been working on is Arthur Tivoli's "Ring and Rope Routine" from his Tivoliland 2 DVD. The routine involves a bracelet that is threaded onto a rope and comes off and then back on, which is followed by several rope effects. It's reminiscent of a trick that was published by David Williamson, and the latter part of Tivoli's routine incorporates elements of Tabari, Richard Sanders and more.
Here's how I considered all of the elements that I had previously written about and how they apply to this new addition.
How to Select a Trick for Your Audience
The rope routine is a visual one that has wide appeal to a large range of ages - from kids to adults. No memorizing a card or mindreading, this trick features lots of odd occurrences and visual anomalies that can potentially appeal to all.
How to Select a Trick for Your Venue
While I have long performed a version of the Tabari rope routine in my stand-up act, I have never had a rope routine that felt right for my restaurant work.
I could have shortened the ropes in my Tabari routine and removed the angle sensitive elements that won't work in restaurants, however, I didn't want to have to deal with different length ropes in the same trick depending on whether I was performing walk-around or stand-up.
I once considered "Professor's Nightmare" for my restaurants, which meets lots of my requirements, but felt that it was too widely known (I know that a lot of you magicians out there will disagree with me on this one).
The Tivoli rope routine is pretty much angle-proof so it's great for restaurant work. Ropes are easy to carry around in walk-around, as is the bracelet. Reset occurs as you put the trick away. As an added benefit, I can perform this trick in my stand-up show if I want to. I now have a rope trick that can work in the worst stand-up situations.
Choosing Tricks That Fit Your Act
Until now, I haven't performed a rope trick in my restaurant and strolling sets, so the trick is different from anything else that I perform.
From a theming standpoint, I made a conscious decision not to adapt and repeat the comedy patter that I use in my Tabari rope routine. I wanted to create an entire new presentation with a different feel that talks about why I became a magician and the joys of entertaining with magic.
This rope trick offered something new and different in every aspect.
How to Choose a Trick for Your Skill Level
While learning the Tivoli "Ring and Rope" routine would be rather daunting to a beginner, I already perform "Tabari Ropes" so I have the necessary skill set. More important, I have the confidence to perform the moves and trick.
By the way, "Tabari Ropes" was the first rope trick that I learned and I found it a bit intimidating. I recommend that beginners who want to perform a rope trick start with something such as "Professor's Nightmare" or classic "cut and restored" to get their feet wet and increase their confidence in the methods before tackling a higher-level rope trick.
Should You Choose Tricks That You Like?
At this stage in my magic career, whether I like or dislike a trick has little to do with whether I'll perform it at my gigs. The only consideration is whether I think my audiences will enjoy my presentation of the trick. My instincts told me that the rope routine would be one that could connect with audiences.
Test Ride
After practicing the moves, working up patter and then combining the two with more practice, I was ready to perform the trick at a weekend of restaurant work. I probably performed the trick 15-times on the first weekend for my regulars.
The trick got a good response and spectators laughed where I thought that they would. Also, the visual nature of the rope trick was easy for my audiences to understand, despite the background noise, the arrival of food and drinks and all of the interruptions of restaurant magic.
A plus that I hadn't thought of was that the multi-phased nature of the routine was well suited to restaurants because if a spectator is momentarily distracted by the wait staff or a phone call, they can return to the trick and catch another phase and be amazed and back into the trick.
Interestingly, a couple of tables said that they were impressed with the trick (unsolicited reaction), but mentioned that the trick looked "complicated." The trick is rather complicated and required lots of practice to perform the moves and switches. This is something that I need to evaluate and work on. Perhaps I moved too quickly. I think good magic should look effortless and natural.
Finally, my patter needs to be refined. The routine went smoothly and received good reactions, but this new style of patter wasn't getting the response that I normally get from my Tabari Rope and other comedy routines. I'll have to keep working on this at the scripting level. But perhaps this new style presentation is not destined to get the strong responses of a good comedy set.
All things considered, I think I've got a winner here that can potentially become part of my "A" material that I always rely on. Perhaps a hundred more performances will get it where it needs to be.
