"Going Back in Time"
(Ted Lesley)
This particular routine is my favourite one.
I've been performing it for a couple of years
in nightclubs and theatres all over Germany
with sensational success. The trick leaves any
audience entertained, mystified and completely
spellbound. If the conditions are right, this
is one of the most talked about mysteries in
my programme. To keep the routine to myself,
I have never performed it if fellow magicians
or mentalists where in my audience. If I find
that the conditions aren't right, I perform
"The Sough of Horse's Wings" (surrounded version)
out of my book "PARAMIRACLES" instead.
EFFECT:
On the right side of the stage is a table with
a chair behind it. The chair must face the audience.
Stage left and a bit upstage is a small table,
on which an attache-case rests. Its raised lid
is turned towards the audience.
A spectator, preferably a lady, is asked to
come forward to assist the performer in his
next experiment. She is asked to take a seat.
Then the performer takes a book out of his attache-case,
riffles the pages in front of the spectator's
eyes and asks her to call out "STOP!" at any
time she wishes. The selected page is shown
to the lady and to a few members of the audience
as well.
Then the lady is asked to call out her name,
and the performer boldly prints her initials
with a broad RED felt-tipped marker on the upper
right corner of the freely selected page. The
book is immediately handed to the lady with
the request that she tear out the corner with
her initials. This piece is inserted by herself
into an empty envelope, which she in turn closes.
The envelope is never touched by the performer
during the whole presentation. The performer
asks the lady once more to call out the freely
selected page number and after she has done
so, the performer hands her a pen with the request
to write the number on the address-side of the
envelope, which contains the torn out corner
of the book. Then the lady rests the envelope
against a glass on the table so that it is visible
to the audience at all times. The book is placed
between the palms of the lady spectator's hands.
Now the performer recapitulates, what had happened
since the lady approached the stage: A page
of a book was freely selected. The initials
of her name were written on a corner of the
selected page and this corner was torn out of
the book and inserted into an envelope the performer
never touched.
"Is it possible", the performer asks the audience,
"to go back in time? Who knows........., but
with a kind of mass-hypnosis and concentration,
uncanny things are possible! It does not work
every time, but under very special conditions,
it simply happens!"
The performer asks the lady to open the book
at the selected page and she finds, to her consternation,
that the page is still intact with the initials
of her name written in the upper right corner!
Then the performer hands her a pair of scissors
to open the envelope, which was in full view
at all times and she finds, that it is absolutely
empty! The lady is handed the book as a souvenir
and she is escorted back to her seat.
TO PREPARE:
For the performance of this miracle you need
two identical paperback books. (Years ago I
bought several thousand remaindered paperback
books at just pennies apiece, so that I could
do this trick for many years. I enjoy leaving
the spectator with an ungimmicked book to ponder
after the show!)
Before the show, you have to know the name
of a lady in your audience. That can be easily
accomplished in many ways: An assistant of yours
calmly approaches an attractive lady at one
of the front tables during the banquet and asks
for her name. At a convention it is possible
to ask the chairman for the name of a lady.
The initials of the name are written at the
upper right corner of the page which you want
to force in one of the books. Both books are
placed into your attachÈ case, the unprepared
on top of the other. Make sure, that you have
a broad felt-tipped marker containing red ink
in your left outside jacket pocket. One Teleport
envelope is placed on top of a glass and the
whole arrangement is put on the table on stage
right.
TO PERFORM:
As soon as you have the lady sitting on stage
(who's name you already know), walk over to
your attachÈ case and remove the topmost book.
Approach the lady and perform a simple riffle-force.
Any riffle force will serve the purpose very
well. When using new paperback books, I have
employed the old idea of creasing the spine
at the force page which provides a break discernible
to you as you riffle off the pages. However,
more often these days I will use another method
for creating a riffle break, one that allows
you to force almost any page and leaves no trace
of preparation in the book. Place a small coin
in the gutter of the book, near the bottom edge
and between the page you wish to force and its
facing page. I always take the precaution of
wrapping a rubber band around the bottom end
of the book while it is in my attachÈ case so
that the coin cannot accidentally fall out.
As I take it from the case in performance, I
can quickly strip off the band and leave it
behind. Holding the book in your left hand,
near the bottom of its spine, walk to the right
side of the stage to the lady and ask her to
call stop as you riffle through the book. Riffle
the pages off your right thumb until the spectator
stops you. At that moment, let all the pages
above the break created by the coin escape from
your thumb, and raise the outer end of the books
slightly, causing the coin to slip from it and
into your cupped left fingers. Hand the book,
opened to the desired spot, to the spectator
in her seat and direct her attention to the
proper page, requesting that she note the page
number and call it out in a loud clear voice.
Next ask for her name and take the felt-tipped
marker out of your left outside jacket pocket,
leaving the coin behind. Enter the initials
of her name on the upper right corner of the
force page, imitating the writing which you
did in the other book. Hand the lady the book
again and instruct her to tear the corner with
her initials out. When she has done this, take
the book back and draw her attention to the
envelope resting on top of the glass in front
of her. The torn out corner is now inserted
into the empty envelope and it is in turn sealed
shut by the lady herself. Make sure, that you
are far away, as this happens!
Now you instruct her, to call out the page
number again. When she has done so, instruct
her to write it on the address side of the now
closed envelope, but she has NO PEN! Now comes
the moment where the book, which you hold in
your hands, is switched. Thus:
You had the foresight to have selected for
your primary assistant a gentleman in shirtsleeves
or in our example a lady sitting with friends
(she will leave her purse with her friends rather
then bring it on stage with her). You target
one of these types because neither will be carrying
a pen.
"Do you have a pen?" you ask. As she begins
to tell you that she hasn't, continue, "That¥s
no problem. Here is one for you." As you are
talking, you stride calmly to your open attachÈ
case, which sits on the side table, stage left
and a bit upstage of the spectator. Its raised
lid is turned towards the audience, so that
no one can see into the case. You are at this
point, holding the book with the torn out corner
in your left hand. Place both hands momentarily
behind the lid and quickly switch the two books
as you seem to search for a pen. With the duplicate
book now in your left hand, raise this hand
to the top edge of the lid to steady it, as
with your right hand you continue to look for
a pen. The book should be at least partially
in view above the lid. Search for a few moments
more, then pretend to discover the pen, which
is waiting conveniently for you in a compartment
of the lid, and bring it out with the right
hand. Do not rush the switch of the books in
the case. Just exchange them calmly and without
hesitation. It is also vital that you not look
at your left hand at any time during the switch.
All you attention should be focused on your
right hand as it searches for the pen. Another
thing that lends misdirection for this switch
is a continuous line of entertaining patter.
Now walk back to your onstage assistant and
hand her the pen, asking that she record the
number of the selected page on the address side
of the sealed envelope (which she still holds),
and ask her to lean it against the glass, the
side with the page number written on it towards
the spectators.
Now hand her the book, requesting her to hold
it between the palms of her hands.
The "dirty deed" is done by now and you can
concentrate on your presentation of the climax:
She opens the book to her selected page and
finds out that the page with her initials on
is still intact. When she opens the envelope
with a pair of scissors, which the performer
hands her, she finds no trace of the corner
in it.
The routine is very, very easy to do and it
nearly works itself. I can assure you that with
the proper presentation it causes a mild sensation,
so to speak.
AN "AFTERTHOUGHT" FROM MARK GARETZ:
I like this routine very much! Especially the
subtlety with the steadying of the case with
hand and book in view. My only suggestion would
be to hand the lady the book along with the
pen, your body language suggesting that she
use the book as a support for writing on the
envelope. She will probably later swear that
she was holding the book all the time (if you
are bold, you might suggest this verbally when
you recapitulate the conditions). Just a thought.
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