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completely obedient volunteer and your delivery must be such that he would never
dream of taking the wrong gun.
A blank shell, as long as it has no wadding, will not kill you. But believe me,
it can knock you to your knees. Or blow out an eardrum. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO TWO
QUALIFIED MENTALISTS WHO LEARNED THE EFFECT FROM ME! (They allowed themselves to
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be distracted while setting up the effect and inadvertenly put the loaded gun in
the wrong place.)
The blindfold turn is the modus operandi of Annemann's "Mystery of the
Blackboard" and was the inspiration for this original version of Russian
Roulette. Review the details in Practical Mental Effects.
Now for the variations: I originally considered the turn of the performer's
head to be the weakest part of the routine. So I tried to eliminate it. This can
be accomplished by having a confederate in the audience convey the number which
has been placed on the empty gun. If the houselights are up, this can be done by
a simple hand signal. With the lights down, hand signals, though, are useless.
Audible signals, such as a well-timed cough or sniff could be used, but these
would be unreliable in a crowded room where other people could possibly cough or
sniff at the wrong time.
My initial solution was to have a confederate in the audience armed with a
flash camera. After the numbers were placed I would say, "Now concentrate on the
sequence of the numbers. Look at the 'one' and think of its position. Look at the
'two' and its position; now the 'three;' now the 'four. 
At the moment that I referred to the number which had been placed on the
empty gun, the confederate would take my picture and I would see the flash
through my blindfold.
The method appealed to me because I knew the flash would be easy to see.
Further, the signal was so bold and so obvious that I knew it would go
undetected. It seemed to be an ideal solution.
It wasn't. How was I to know that at least eight different people would
take flash pictures of me during the critical phase of the routine? And at least
two of them were seated in the same area as my confederate. But, did that stop
me? No. I took a guess at which flash was the right one and called gun number
three as being a loaded one. The spectator aimed in a safe direction and
proceeded to fire the empty gun.
I suppose I was lucky. If I had guessed correctly twice I would have really
been playing Russian Roulette on the final selection.
Yes, I got out of trouble. I took off the blindfold and told the audience
they weren't concentrating enough. I mixed up the guns on the easel and started
over again. This time I used the original method. While the mistake greatly
heightened the routine, I don't ever again want to experience the sick feeling
that went through me when I realized I had made such a stupid mistake.
There is another, more important lesson to be learned here. Very often, you
will read effects by modern writers on mentalism that depend on sound reading and
remote cueing. They all look great in print, but under actual performing
conditions they have a way of failing miserably. Avoid them unless you have a
sure-fire back-up method.
(There is one book in particular, often referred to as a modern classic of
mentalism by arm chair enthusiasts, that is filled with such effects. I never met
a full time pro who thought the book was any good, and yet it continues to be
sought after by the uninitiated. I guess they will learn the hard way if they
ever perform in public.)
My second solution was more practical and has caused some debate as to
whether or not it is preferable to the original method. I use it as a variant at
repeat shows. I first introduced it at The Magic Castle to throw off the
magicians in the audience and those who had read the effect when it first
appeared in Invocation.
The turn-around move is still employed, but this time on the off-beat.
Instead of telling the spectator to mix up the numbers, you tell him to switch
the positions of any two. For example, he can switch number two for number one,
or number three for four, etc. He does so. You now tell him to switch the
positions of the other two numbers-the ones he has not touched.
You know for sure that the number which originally covered the empty gun is
presently covering a live one. This enables you to make your first selection
without turning around. After the spectator has fired the gun you make the turn
move and say, "Now place the gun on the floor." You now know the number which
covers the empty weapon.
Undoubtedly, the misdirection of the turn is stronger in this variation.
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But at the same time you probably increase the possibility of spectator
error. If a mistake is made, your first selection will be the empty gun. You'll
have to bail out the same way I did in the flashcube fiasco.
So do it the way you prefer. In either case the method is so bold that it
will go undetected. Dai Vernon put it this way in a limerick he wrote after
seeing me perform the routine:
A famous mentalist named Cassidy
most decidedly has the capacity.
He lacks any fear
when they fire a gun in his ear.
It certainly takes great audacity.
That it does.
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THE ETHICS OF MENTALISM
Earlier, in "The Presentation of Mentalism," I briefly alluded to the
subject of ethics. There are many individuals, particularly magicians, who
believe that mentalism is wrong because it fosters a false world view. But, if [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]