Tarbell 36: Intimate Magic

Knowledgeable magicians have always been justifiably proud of the ability to perform almost anywhere on a moment’s notice.

The basis of this lesson are intimate magic tricks that seem impromptu, using common objects, performed casually in social situations.

Now, I’ve repurposed them to play nicely in a bigger, structured show, but many still translate to smaller venues and, of course, casual close-up.

You’ll learn nearly two dozen routines with business cards, playing cards, sugar, matches, coins, safety pins, rope, rings, paper napkins, crayons, and more.

For example, I’ve taken one idea and turned it into a modern spirit slate routine where the letters of a thought-of word appear on business card blanks.

In another, I’ve totally transformed a method to completely conceal it, allowing a spectator to visualize a chosen card while everyone else sees nothing.

Also, I give you a sweet way to introduce a favorite old bar trick to the latest crowd by making a less familiar item seem even more magical.

And, I milk a simple coin production and for all it’s worth, making each successive appearance more impossible, until the last one just can’t be believed.

Plus, I show the way I like to perform the quintessential paper match trick, complete with every detail, turning this quickie into a modern masterpiece.

There’s also manipulation with wooden matches, a magical give-away you can make for pennies, and a couple of ways to make paper matches behave strangely.

Then, I tackle a trick that hasn’t been in fashion for many years by giving you an alternate, impromptu version that’s worth remembering.

And I make another substitution, by taking a cute trick out of the bar… doubling its impact… and leaving a spectator with real change.

I also show you a natural-looking way, with empty hands, to instantly clue-in one of your helpers to reveal a card, chosen by another.

Next, with a new presentation, a favorite (little-known) impromptu trick becomes a demonstration of instantaneous travel through the fabric of space-time.

And, I cover various tricky ways to put a ring onto a rope without apparently using the ends, and a quick impromptu bit with a Sharpie cap…

Plus, a neat variation on the torn and restored napkin where… First, the tears move from one piece to another, then everything comes together in the end.

Then, a puzzling color identification effect becomes my favorite comedy mind-reading routine for kids using only a few ordinary crayons.

And we finish off this lesson with a bunch of knots that appear, vanish, double, and do the kinds of unexpected stuff that ordinary rope shouldn’t.

This lesson is packed with the widest variety of tricks to date, and there are quite a few gems among them. It’s time to have fun so let’s get started.