Friday

exTROYdinary part II

.. continuation from this page

The Reproduction

After the two coins have vanished, the hands move immediately into a hand wash sequence. There must be no time delay between the opening of the left hand and a convincing hand wash. At this point, any showing of the hands would work, as long as the coin that begins in right hand classic palm ends up in left hand finger palm.

Troy uses a combination of ideas on hand washing. Specifically, he employs a Bob Kohler sequence from John Bannon's "One is the Onliest" (Smoke and Mirrors, 1991) and a washing technique used in Gary Kurtz's "Flurious" (Unexplainable Acts, 1990). The left hand is turned palm up, slightly above waist level, The right hand contacts the left hand, gripping it loosely with the thumb across the base of the left palm. The right fingers rest below the left hand, contacting the back of the palm. The classic palmed coin in the right hand should not be visible. The right hand strokes the left hand away from the body in a graceful, outward motion. When it reaches the tips of the left fingers, the right hand turns palm down. The left hand also turns half down simultaneously. The fingers of both hands are given a quick flex, extending in a pulse for one second. A decent classic palm helps sell this phase of the wipe. The left hand begins to turn palm up again. As it is turned palm up, the left fingers contact the coin concealed in the right palm, covering all the coin (fig. 7). The coin is released from the right palm as the right hand turns up. By sliding the flat left hand to the right and moving the right hand to the left, the coin is concealed as the right hand is turned over. This hand wash is not extraneous. It is elegant and must be completed at a comfortable but deliberate speed.


Both hands are pulled apart, each hand turning down as it moves. Bring both hands up. The left hand comes up with the fingers curled around the coin, concealing it. The pointer finger is extended (fig. 8). The right hand should mirror the left. Casually open the right hand while pattering. "I'm left with nothing, but that's okay because i keep my change all around me."


Look toward the right sleeve and follow with the left hand. Produce the coin in the left hand at the right sleeve and then transfer it to the right hand. Roll the coin down the fingers, again putting action and motion into the moment. Transfer the coin back to the left hand, gripping the coin at the edge with the thumb and fingers. "There's" a coin on my sleeve.

Reach with the right hand to the left shoulder. Grab the shell/coin that was ditched earlier in the routine. Instead of producing the unit at the shoulder, Troy raises his right hand, producing the coin from behind his left ear.


The hands now work together to transfer both coins to the right hand. The right hand places the shell/coin unit behind and below the coin in the left hand. Without pausing, both coins are transferred to a spellbound position in the right hand. The coins are not squared, but remain jogged slightly (fig. 9).

By easing the grip of the right thumb on the unit, the coin will fall out of the shell and onto the right fingertips. The left fingers now grasp the two coins in view, shell and half, and hold them at the left fingertips, keeping them spread so that they remain in view.

The eyes wander toward the left sleeve. Produce the last coin from the left sleeve with the right hand. Place this coin in a fan with the other two to display all three coins. Naturally gesture out with the right hand to signify the end of the routine.

0 comments: