Lately I have been fooling around with ways to ditch a gimmick at the end of an effect when I know the heat will be on from a particular group of spectators standing in front of me. Typical end of an effect (I don't wear a coat while performing): I place the examinable items down on a table if it is available, or hand them to a spectator, if appropriate. I have a gimmick in my hand that needs to be ditched. I then place my hands on my hip with my forefinger in front (horizontally) and my thumb to the rear. My hands apparently don't go near a pocket and show no movement from the front. With my other fingers I slide the gimmick into my rear pocket. It simply looks like I put my hands on my hip while I am talking to the spectators. Works very well for me. I bet someone has written about that before. I am curious if others have subtle ways of ditching gimmicks at the end of an effect (no coat), if it is necessary to do so.
Thanks.
Richard

There's a gimmick called Switch-a-roo that's made for that. I'll try to find the website, it's made by the same guy who did Just Passing Thru.

Hi,

The Switcharoo was created by Russ Niedzwiecki.

Hope this helps,

Mike.

I believe Russ' gimmick is mainly for cards and other flat objects the size of cards.
Richard

Whoops, this is the rings, strings, and things section. One nice way to ditch something is cross your arms and stick it under your arm. You can keep it there for a long time and still use your arms.

Steve Bedwell mentioned a very valuable lesson WHEN to ditch. Not at the end of a routine, but when the next routine is already in progress!

Tommy Wonder on his tapes teaches the phenomenon of a ditching move being psychologically invisible if a strong forward move of the other hand directs attention.

Hi Dan,
Good advice. Thanks.
Richard

Or turn your body slightly so that the one hand is hidden. Then drop it in your pocket.

Here is a good one.
Lean up to the table and wedge the item between the table and you. This frees up both hands as you show them clean and move on to the next effect. This may sound strange but it does work. It has to look natural. This is apart of my lecture but not in my notes because it really has to be seen to appreciate it.
Play with it. Cheers -Chris

Misdirection is absolutely the biggest help when ditching gimmicks. Here are a few examples of how I ditch things using misdirection:

- If an extra coin is in my left hand and a visible coin is in my right, I turn slightly to the left and then flip the visible coin up into the air. Simultaneously, I drop the L hand coin into my L pocket, and then catch the falling coin in my (now empty) L hand. I've never been caught on this... really follow the coin with your eyes as it's in the air, and the audience will look there, too.

- Ditch a hidden coin/gimmick/etc. in my pocket as I pull out a different prop to use for the next trick. For instance, if I have some cards palmed in my right hand, I ditch them into my R pocket as I reach in there to pull out the empty card case (the trick is over, so now I'm going to put the cards back in the case, makes perfect sense). If it's the last trick in your set, ditch the gimmick as you reach into your pocket to pull out a few business cards.

- If I'm dressed in casual clothes (e.g., a sweatshirt or light jacket), I stand with my hands in my jacket pockets whenever I'm chitchatting with the audience. When I need to ditch something, nobody is suspicious that I put my hands back into the pockets as I chitchat between tricks.

Hi C Christian
Your ditch sounds very good - very nice idea. However, I usually work without a table in front of me. So, I am looking for ideas that would fit my style.
Richard

Wait for the moment... lose interest in what you are doing... relax, put your hands in your pockets as if it doesn't matter.

There should never be a pause between one effect and the next. While the jaws are hung you should be with new props and ready to begin your next effect. The dirt is left behind during the change.

I have seen some folks circle the area they are working in and ditch on the cover side, but this always seemed like they had too much coffee to be performing. I have also seen a guy using a dump bin for props during the show, actually dump the dirties right in front of everyone and nobody seemed to notice, because he had struck up some small talk with a gal in the front row. The opposite end of the spectrum is making black art cards appear, over and over, and getting totally dirty in front of the crowd on each appearance. Some big name folks even do this.

In your case, slipping the item into the waistband with hands on hips is far less obvious than trying to reach the back pocket.

I can't agree about "no pause" ... you need to have up and down, fast and slow, time to rest the audience’s reactions, to enjoy a moment. You shouldn't just rattle on and on without change of pace.

Simply put your hand into your pocket and take a coin out and do a trick with the coin.
Another $.02 idea.

A chair servante would work well in some situations. I have not seen anyone use that utility for a while, but angles are a problem.

Jason's idea of flipping the coin for misdirection is one of the best ways I ditch a gimmicked coin. Folding coins, copper/silver, magnetic, etc., all can be switched and ditched using the Bobo switch, and flipping the real coin in the air, while ditching the gimmick. Great stuff!

Doug

Especially in strolling situations, I've noticed you can be pretty blatant and bold with the ditching.

A slight body turn or handing out prop A for examination while ditching prop B.

It all works.

When all else fails, do what Paul Harris does.
Go to your pocket for fairy dust, "made from dusty fairies."

Quoting Frank:



Good one!

How about using something as a "magic wand", as David Roth would say, "… giving the hand something to do…"

In putting the magic wand away, you "ditch"...

Just another idea…

Doug

I just stick my hand in my pocket. No one has been suspicious of me before.

I agree that the Bobo switch is a beautiful way of switching out coins. I then hand them the regular coin and while they are examining… I ditch the gaff.

Also the one hand switch works very well. (Roth speaks on that.)