Back in the early 1980's I was asked to give a lecture on The History Of Magic, with demonstrations, to a Blind Conference at Loughborough University. It was an intriguing challenge. The History part was easy but the demos??
I began with several billiard balls, passed around, and taught them to cross the 2nd finger over the first and stroke the ball. This creates the feeling of 2 balls(goes back to Aristotle the Greek philosopher) Thus the magician sets out to create an illusion in his spectators' minds.
Other magic followed : Sponge balls appearing to transpose & double in quantity. The old Broken Match In The Handkerchief.( using only 1 match. See my Dear Magician Series last year in Abra for explanation)
The Coin Tubes, with coins penetrating through a metal plate between 2 tubes. The Coin In The Bottle, The Spirit Touch (my 2 fingers approach your eyes and rest there.They then feel a ghostly touch on the back of their heads. They actually held both forefingers until they closed their eyes and I 'Placed'?? both fingers on the eyelids!!
The pocket Glass Penetration. The Light & Heavy Glass. The C & R Rope( feel the 2 ends and the 2 bottonm ends) Davenport's Colour Pencils in Tube (been with me since age 9 in 1943!!) And The 3 Billet Test from Masterpieces Of Magic compiled by Douglas Craggs ( Published ARCAS) One of my favourite mental effects since the early 50's. I used larger billets, about postcard size on this occasion. 3 people were asked (with my back turned) to write, repectively, a letter of the alphabet, a shape, a simple word. This rather than a card, a place & a question in the original effect. The helpers verifed I hadn't seen the billets and verified the answers after opening them. So it's Touch, Feel, & Sound.
PLUS you DESCRIBE every action you are doing. The one thing you DO NOT do in a normal magic Act..I hope.
It was a fascinating project and went over very successfully.
I have friends who have directed Blind actors using aids like a runner carpet to enable them to feel, with their feet, the path to the table.
Once one of these asked if I'd perform my SILENT perverse magic Act, The Great Clutterbuck in a show in aid of the blind. It had a definite 25 laughs in it. NONE came. I went back to the dressing room, white and shaken. The organiser came in to apologise. She had meant to say TO THE BLIND and NOT in aid of the blind. So all these poor folk got was a series of lovely waltz tunes.
I will say, on 2 other occasions my Vent Act went really well. One helper said, "You could have done it without the Doll" I said " NO it would not have worked without the Doll" The Vent needs his own illusion. When will Good Folk ever learn?
Allen Tipton
