The "Magician in Trouble" Plot

I have eliminated all "Gee, I can't tell. Is the Magician in Trouble?" plots from my working sets. They just don't work for my character.

What does work for me is when I tell them in advance, with a wink and a smile, that I "always mess up this trick." That way they can develop a reasonable expectation of what's about to happen. That way they're aren't going to feel "tricked" when I magically save my own sorry butt. That way I can act out the piece assuredly, elaborating on the facets of the "magician in trouble" (yeah, right!) plot.

I figured out how this works for me by actually messing up a trick that I "always mess up." Does this sound familiar? Does this sound ironic? It sure didn't feel either of those ways when I messed it up.... but I digress...

I was doing the Spectator Spells to His Own Card After the Magician Couldn't Find Water Even If His Ass Fell Out of a Boat trick. I was using a break and just a break to keep track of the whole thing, and while during the shuffle, I lost the darn break! The break vanished into thin air. I knew I was in deep doo-doo.

I remember the wave of emotions that washed over me. I remember the heat. I remember the sweat on the back of my neck and palms of my hands. I remember the speechlessness and my eyes wandering, flicking around the layout while my mind raced for a solution that was nowhere in sight. I remember the tunnel-vision. I kept saying, "Really, guys, I goofed this one. It's gone. I goofed. It's gone." We sat there a good two minutes (a lifetime!) with nothing to say or do.

And then, as fortune would have it, the stars lined up, the clouds opened and the sun shone down on the deck still in my hand. The deck split open in my hand and I was able to look at one card. That one card told me instantly where the other card was, and I was able to bring the trick to a successful conclusion, flying by the seat of my pants. I can attest that it was the strongest trick I did that night. They talked about that one, not the others, for the rest of the night. They said, "I really thought you messed that trick up!" I told them, "I did! I did!" We laughed about it until sun-up.

That experience taught me how I should do this MIT plot. It is the only way I'll do it. Ever. Nothing else works for me.

What's this got to do with the price of Bicycle decks at Wal-Mart? I'll tell you. The Magician in Trouble plot is a strong plot. It is a powerful plot. It is a plot that will get people talking for a long time. The only problem with it, (and it's a doozy..) is that there are infinitely more ways to mess it up than there are ways to get it right. When it's right, it's a KO. When it's wrong, it's, at best, contemptuous, and at worst, downright insulting.

Guess which card I saw.