- by Enrico Varella
(Based on Bob Chua's Lecture on the 3rd February 2007 SMC Gathering)

[Enrico Varella is the founder and editor of The Quantum Ring, the official newsletter of IBM 115, Singapore since 1995. He has been published in The Linking Ring, and The Encyclopaedia of Card Forces (by Lewis Jones). He has received credit for his creation, the Tiepit (a jacket-less topit) in Bob Fitch's The Topit Workshop 3-DVD set (Kohler Magic). He is currently completing his omnibus of his Tiepit principles and application.]

Magic without misdirection: can this premise work? Can we perform magical effects without the principles of misdirection? The answer seems YES. However, can misdirection enhance the impact of the magic being presented?

• To distract from a secret move (namely, a sleight)
• To direct (attract) attention to something more important
• To provide new focus for the audience

Bob Chua, in a lecture (3 February 2007) for Singapore Magic Circle members, described his approach to misdirection as, essentially, a practical-based thing. Not just a performer or lecturer that confuses and obfuscates, Bob shared his direct approach to misdirection in the following nine ways:

1) Be yourself
2) Never challenge or antagonize your audience
3) Hecklers guess - at best
4) Understand working world conditions
5) I dare to get away with it
6) Define your character, yet be polite
7) Capitalise on opportunities
8) Some effects have built-in misdirection
9) Nothing too complex

BE YOURSELF
To paraphrase Jean Robert-Houdin (albeitly, inaccurately): 'A magician is an actor, playing the part of a magician!' Bob reiterates this point several times. You know your self between than most people will, so just be. Emulation may be useful at times, but imitation (however flattering) may be useless. We can't be another magician even if we have access to their scripts, music, choreography and effects. However, we can be the best WE can be.

NEVER CHALLENGE OR ANTAGONIZE YOUR AUDIENCE
Challenging your audience can be anathema; you will get caught eventually. Our arrogance or cockiness will do us in, as we are blind-sighted by our carelessness. When Slydini challenged his audience, he was doing it tongue in cheek, and he did change his method for every phase. His audiences appreciate Nate Leipzig because 'he was a gentleman'. There is a difference in approach when you say 'Watch, watch? versus 'Try and catch me' versus 'You no see because you no watch!' Audiences tend to be forgiving when we are nice. If you do intend to challenge, you better be darn good! Remember they are the reason why we are there, and we get paid because of them. Respect our audience.

HECKLERS GUESS - AT BEST
Bob assured us that hecklers usually have some clue about what is happening, however they do not know for sure. There are many ways to deal with hecklers; this is usually the most popular topic among amateur and professional performers. Local magician, Nique Tan handles this deftly in one chapter of his recently released his book, WORKING THE CROWD (Redefine Magic), a clever title with a double entendre. How do you work the crowd? Bob caution us to work with hecklers and not marginalise them, as they are part of your larger audience. Speak nicely to them to keep the secret; you wink at them as if they are one of us. Hecklers may be those of us wanting of attention, and so they seek it elsewhere. They can be our biggest ally. Bob relates how 'heartlander' audiences tend to be more scrutinizing of his gambling demonstrations. Bob appreciates the attention given to him by his audience during these times, and nails them accordingly with what they are most familiar with. He performs gambling demonstrations with cards and dominoes, and timely con-men classics like Three Card Monte and the Three Shell Game.

UNDERSTAND WORKING WORLD CONDITIONS
He cites a case where he used one of Vernon's tricks which utilizes a locator, however not where it is expected to be. Bob showed us his repertoire of effects he uses for real-world conditions: Card on Empty Card-Deck, Climax Production of Jumbo Coin, execution of the Top Change, the Last Trick of Dr Jacob's Daley (or the 4 Ace Trick). Bob also feels that the principle of 'Larger movement covers smaller movements' does not apply exactly to his close-up work.

I DARE TO GET AWAY WITH IT
Bob's sometimes, boldface approach to managing his audiences may appear brash and shocking, however I believe that it is purposeful. His developed charisma, honed from thousands of shows over the last 30 years, allows him to venture beyond his comfort zone. You won't know how far you can go until you test your limits. That is what we mean by audience-tested, timeless classics. Now, you don't have to be Bob unless you share his similar sense of extraverted personality. You can dazzle your audiences with just your hands, and minimal dialogue. The Best Conversationalist in the World as described by Dale Carnegie (HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE) is the one who listens (and asks questions). Interact to influence; involve others to impress. Otherwise, we are no better than the armchair magicians on Internet Forums who gripe and groan at their own ignorance, or at the achievements of others. I recall a conversation between magicians at an American magic convention where a magician was asked why he chose the more difficult sleight over a simpler one, and he replied with conviction: 'Because, I CAN!' Just do it!

DEFINE YOUR CHARACTER, YET BE POLITE
Your stage character is a reflection of your personality and intent. You can be boisterous, but not obnoxious. You can be talkative, but not toxic. Your character suggests to your audiences your style. Think of crazy magicians and Juan Tamariz and David Williamson come to mind. Think of serious and mysterious magicians and Eugene Burger and Max Maven invade our psyche. Think of devilishly charming debonairs, and Jean-Jacques Sanvert and Martin A. Nash infiltrate our thoughts with the warmness of a vodka martini (shaken but not stirred). Think of whacky and offbeat, and the Amazing Jonathan and Sylvester the Jester pervades our funnybone. Romance equals David Copperfield. Gothic equals Criss Angel. Magic Babe equals Ning. 

CAPITALISE ON OPPORTUNITIES
Bob mentioned occasions where you perform an accidental miracle, such as you call out correctly the spectator's thought of card. Enjoy the stuporous silence, or the accolades, and then move on. This is an instance where THE TRICK CANNOT BE EXPLAINED (Dai Vernon). When I jazz (free style) with my deck of cards, I make mental bookmarks of where key cards are, or set up a small stack as I am talking to my audience. Culling a bank of four-of-a-king to the top or bottom of a deck can be useful, either to have them select a card or produce a four of a kind using Gary Oulett's Three Second Wonder, or consecutive Piet Fortran's Pop Out Move (as in David Copperfield's Grandfather's Aces on his TV special).

SOME EFFECTS HAVE BUILT-IN MISDIRECTION
Self-working effects are great because they telescope few suspicious moves, i.e. the execution of sleights. Sometimes, the spectator will neutralize the moves when they take over the procedure (shuffling, dealing into packets, etc). While squaring a deck neatly, one can carry out a Bottom Palm. The sudden appearance of a second sponge ball gives us ample time to steal a third one. Cups & Balls have built-in misdirection for loading the balls as others return under the cup. Tommy Wonder's Two-Cup and Balls routine was constructed to load the pom-pom balls as well as the bag during the OFFBEAT. Allan Ackerman cleans his full deck Brainwave by doing a face-up, face-down shuffle down. He then requests a spectator to undo the mixing, and then leads into Triumph. He times the spectator for his efforts, and then shows how a magician undoes the disorderly arrangement of his strange shuffle instantly!

NOTHING TOO COMPLEX
My favourite quote comes from Dai Vernon. 'Keep things simple', which is a paraphrasing of Albert Einstein 'Keep things simple, but not simpler.' Bob's routines are hard-hitting because they are direct. Avoid complex, multi-phase routines that involve laborious dealings and separations. Bob's opener tends to be Vernon's Triumph, which happens to be the favourite of several of SMC's moderators. There is a reason why Triumph is heads and shoulder above many close-up effects: it is clear, direct and you have restored order from disorder (quoting Eric Mead in his fabulous book, Tangled Web, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, page 87-120). Bob's Professor's Revenge is a lesson in routining where three unequal ropes adopt different personalities. Sometimes, bubble-gum for the mind and eyes is all we need; let the audience chew on it long after we have completed our set. In my published version, NOCTURNAL FANTASY I begin with one short rope that lengthens visually, splits in half, joins a third strand, which then fuses into one long piece, eventually distinguishing themselves as three distinctly different pieces. The misdirection is provided when the ropes 'split' or lengthen.

 I did interrupt Bob's lecture, briefly, to give credit where credit is due. Bob does use misdirection, and in massive doses, however it has become second nature for him.  He mainly uses the misdirection principles touted by Scottish magician, John Ramsay (known for his Cylinder & Coins and the Ramsay Subtlety):

• If you want your audience to look at you, look at them
• If you want your audience to look at your hands, look at your hands
• Smile and they will smile at you

These are my addenda to the Bob's approach, in more technical terms which I hope clarifies and enhances your appreciation of this system of Integrated Deception.

Integrated Deception, my own jargon for the 'Misdirection Package' (coined by David Williamson), is a holistic combination of method, influence and applied psychology. It combines verbal and non-verbal language. The use of a magic wand gives you reasons that are theatrical as it is methodical. Firstly, the magic and is symbolic as it is the magic stick. Secondly, it can be used as a reason for shielding a secret move. For instance, you can perform a Vanish of a coin so that you can reach for the wand under your arm (which you will wave over the closed hand). Or, you can steal a ball as you reach for the wand under that arm (consider the Vernon Wand Spin or Williamson Drummer's Spin).
Create conviction. If you believe in it, they will believe in it more. Remember, eager audiences predicate their intentions of wanting to be fooled, by their own volition. They have given us an unspoken permission for us to fool them; they do so by suspending their judgment.
This treatise of misdirection is by no means exhaustive, so the astute Student of Magic is encouraged to read assiduously the classical texts in magic and to apply himself/herself thoroughly. Direct, and misdirect.

Perhaps, in a latter essay I can present my thoughts about using Sound Misdirection, Light Misdirection, Ahead/Behind Principles, Vertical/Horizontal Misdirection, Misdirection by Conditioning, as well as Misdirection on the Offbeat.