My son was 6 years old and in his first year in Cub Scouts. After they finished the requirements for their Tiger badge, they were on to doing electives. One of the electives was "magic." I had always loved magic. I saw David Copperfield in 1987 when I was in college. So I decided to put on a magic show and teach them a couple of magic tricks. The problem was that I didn't know any magic tricks.
So I set out to research magic tricks. I found a website that had several easy card tricks for kids (one of which was the 21 trick). I also found magictricks.com. The owner, Peter was great to talk to on the phone. I found a bunch of magic tricks I remembered from my childhood such as the ball vase and drawer box. I also picked up a change bag, some gaff cards (
http://www.magictricks.com/7-in-1-packet-trick.html), spellbinding boxes coin trick (
http://www.magictricks.com/spellbinding-nest-of-boxes.html), a thumbtip flag blendo, an invisible deck, a stripper deck, a devil's handkerchief, a magic milk pitcher and a magic candy maker (
http://www.magictricks.com/candy-factory.html).
I put together an hour show for the boys. I knew that merely showing them the tricks wouldn't work. So I developed a presentation for all of the effects involving the boys and making it entertaining.
We started like all Cub Scout meetings start, with the Pledge of Allegiance. But we didn't have a flag. One of the sisters of a scout helped me out. I had a red silk and a white silk but not a blue silk. They boys pointed out that there was a blue silk in my pocket (how convenient). I then stuffed the silks into my hand and produced an American Flag for the Pledge.
I had a card selected and returned to the deck and it appeared as the only reversed card. I then showed the boys how to do the effect by reversing the bottom card (part of the elective was for them to learn some magic). I then went to do the effect again and had the card reinserted into a spread. Somehow, I managed to teach myself to do a side steal palm to reverse the card in the deck. I then followed up by using an invisible deck and having a card named by a spectator reversed in the deck.
I did an effect where two boys (twins) had their parents each select a card and return it to the other deck and the boys, without any coaching, were able to find their parent's cards. The boys each had a half of the deck -- one had all the black cards and the other all the red. I then shuffled the card, repeated the trick and then showed that the deck was again separated into red and black cards.
I had one scout borrow a $20 bill from their parent and we used the drawer box to make it disappear and then reappear. When the boy returned the bill to his dad, it was a $1 bill! I had the boy reach into the Devil's Handkerchief and pull out a card wallet. The dad was told that I thought his $20 bill was in the wallet, but to hold it up to the audience and pull out the first thing he felt. That was a card which was a Joker. I assured him that I wasn't joking and that the next thing he pulled out of the wallet would be it. He then pulled out the "IT" gaff card. Finally, he pulled out his $20 bill to the audience's applause and his relief.
I then found a scout who didn't have a neckerchief. With a blue silk, an orange silk, a change bag and some magic, we made a Tiger Cub neckerchief appear. I still have one of the neckerchiefs in with my silks in case I ever do another Cub Scout show.
I did the ball vase routine but instead of the ball appearing back in my pocket where I had put it (which is what everyone who had the trick thought would happen, it appeared in the shirt pocket of the child that was helping me. It is amazing what a little sleight of hand can do.
For my second to last routine, I borrowed the Den Leader's Campaign hat. You have to understand that this is one of his prize possessions. I then took the milk pitcher and poured milk into a funnel made from the Sunday comic section. I vanished the milk and then produced a rabbit from the hat. Well, it was a wind up rabbit but it really surprised the audience because the hat was in full view at all times (or at least it seemed that way).
The final routine was the magic candy maker. You really can't do much else after you give a bunch of 6 year olds a cup full of M&Ms.
A couple of weeks later, word of my performance spread and I was asked to perform in front of the whole Pack (around 35 kids and their parents). I had the Tiger Cubs help me doing some of the tricks I taught them and added a linking rings routine.
At that point, I was in love with magic and in love with performing. That experience very much influenced my performance style. I knew it was about more than just the tricks, it was about the presentation and interaction with the audience.
So, 7 years later, my son is 13 and in Boy Scouts. Those who know me know that I am an Assistant Scoutmaster and that I go camping, hiking and backpacking every month and for weeks at a time in the summer.
As for magic, it is around 150 books, 25 lectures and lots of money spent later and I'm still in love with magic. I'm just glad that my wife loves my magic performances as much as I do.
