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his project has been a long time in the making. The original concept for this project was created when I was 16 years old. I had been introduced to a video put out by Lee Asher called The Five-Card Stud. This project opened my eyes to the fact that it was possible to add a story element into a standard magic instructional video. I have had a fascination with both magic and filmmaking since a very young age, and that interest has not dissipated through the years— if anything, it has grown stronger. This project for me is purely from passion; it is my first attempt at making a movie. What I have learned from this experience will stay with me and make the next project that much better. My hope is that this project will inspire those who want to create, feed the knowledge of those who want to learn, and entertain those who just want to watch. This movie is not just mine; this is a collaborative experiment between me and all of my friends. Working with those close to you is a privilege very few have, and for that, I am truly grateful. Within the pages of this booklet you will find bios of everyone involved in this project. You will also find the credits for each magician’s tricks, as well as the explanation for two tricks from the movie that were not explained. I hope you at least glance at the booklet rather than tossing it aside, and I hope you read this introduction as well. For those who have, I thank you.

March 20, 2013

Chris Mayhew

Director of Photography:

Art Director:

Misha is a filmmaker friend I met in Toronto. He makes a living by day grinding out slates and tape marks as an I.A.T.S.E. 667 camera trainee, and when he’s not doing that, he’s busy shooting and editing independent documentaries. He is also a former graduate of the Ontario College of Arts and Design.

Johann is a Toronto-based artist and also currently a roommate of mine. He was born in the Philippines, but was raised in Abu Dhabi and parts of Germany. This makes him more Filipino than me. This angers me. Johann has been all over the world honing his artistic skills since he could first hold a paintbrush. He is also a graduate of OCAD, and his art has been featured in several online magazines and various movies, including, The F word, starring Daniel Radcliffe.

When I found out Misha had an interest in cinematography, I knew instantly I had to work with him on this project. We had our first discussion of the matter on the set of my first film gig for the CFC short Rishi’s World. I had no idea Misha was going to be working on the same movie, but when I saw him, we had our first real conversation about movies, and we talked about our goals and aspirations. It was a great moment I will remember forever.

Johann is like a magician with his hands, in the sense that he can build and create anything. I knew the movie was going to be in good hands with Johann on board. He was able to take Alex’s blueprints and make them a reality. Johann also played a key role in figuring out little tricks and techniques for making a shot work, and also juggled multiple roles as art director, set dresser, carpenter, and on occasion, assistant director and sound operator. You will notice in the end credits that both Alex and Johann’s names appear multiple times. In fact, I think at one point their names fill the screen.

Production Designer/1st AD: Alex Clark is, at present time, a roommate of mine. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art & Design and has been working in television and film in Toronto as an art director and set decorator. He has worked on a variety of music videos, television series, and feature films, including the Toronto International Film Festival Official 2012 Selection Picture Day, I Declare War, and the critically acclaimed short film, Frost. When I first developed the script, I had written it with economy of budget in mind. However, the opening and closing scenes still needed a poker room with a bar. At first Ben and I scouted out locations to see if we could find a spot that fit the aesthetics and would allow us to film. We eventually realized it would be easier to just build the damn thing in our basement. I painted the picture in Alex’s head, and the next day he had a blueprint of the entire structure of the bar. Alex played a huge role during production, juggling multiple jobs as production designer, set dresser, assistant director, and even sound operator on occasion.

Designer: Scott is a freelance graphic designer working out of Toronto. He is also a roommate at this current time. Notice a pattern? Currently Scott spends his time at a local music recording studio practicing his craft, designing graphics for a variety of clients around the city. He is also a former graduate of OCAD. Apparently everyone I know in Toronto has attended OCAD? Scott has played a huge role in the post-production of this project. He has laid out and designed everything that you are looking at now, including all of the packaging for the DVD. He is also responsible for the movie poster, and created it purely from scratch. During production Scott was the on-set photographer. However, I was unaware of his designing abilities. It was not until after principal photography was wrapped when I became aware of Scott ’s many talents. He was originally set to score the movie, but soon switched instruments to a computer. He has brought an aesthetic to the project I could have never even dreamed of.

Audio Mixer/ Composer:

Audio Engineer:

Tony Smith is a composer/producer, arranger, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist working out of Toronto, Canada. He is also another roommate of mine and is a graduate of OCAD. Okay, that one was a joke (although he still might be a graduate of OCAD, I have not asked him. Damn!). Currently Tony writes music for film/television. He produces albums for various artists and has also written music for musicals and live stage performances.

Fast forward a few months, and we are introduced to Michael P. Stavrou. Stav is a different kind of beast. At age 23 he was working at George Martin’s AIR Studios in London recording and mixing music for England’s top hit-record makers, including Chris Thomas, Paul Buckmaster, Mark Bolan, Cat Stevens, John Williams, and was even involved with The Spy Who Loved Me James Bond score. Michael also invented advanced ergonomics for The Smart Console, transforming sound engineers into magicians.

Tony was a fluke who ended up saving the shoot. Ben and I were days away from production and still had not found someone who knew how to record sound. As a last-ditch effort Ben sent out a message to all the magicians in Toronto asking for help, and Tony responded. I had never met Tony prior to filming and was unsure if he was reliable or not. That quickly changed when he became one of the first guys to show up on set every day ready to go. After production Tony was originally slated to edit the sound, while Scott scored the movie. However, that quickly changed when I became aware of Tony ’s musical talent. He was well versed with many instruments, and after the first sample he sent me, I knew he was right for the job. However, this posed an interesting problem. With Scott taking over the design and Tony taking over the musical composition, there was no one left to edit the sound.

I know what you’re thinking: “How the hell could you possibly get someone with a resume like that to help you edit your little project?” To tell that story, we have to rewind several years back. Lee Asher is on a tour lecturing in Australia. Looking around at what appears to be an Aussie-filled convention, Lee filters the noise and pinpoints someone with an American accent. That man was Michael. They become friends, and Lee goes back to America. Fast-forward several years later, Lee now lives in Toronto and we have no sound editor. Lee sends out an article he wrote to a select group of friends. In that group was Stav. The next day Lee gets an email from Stav in response to the article. At the end of his response Stav writes, “P.S. If you have any projects you are working on or involved in and need any sound edited, I would be glad to help out.” Are you shitting me! It was perfect and almost as if it was meant to be. Stav saved the movie; he opened my ears to an entirely new awareness of sound and aesthetics. I knew I was in for a professional learning experience when I talked with Stav on Skype and he asked me if I wanted the poker scene to sound “smoky ”.

The man needs no introduction; he is recognized worldwide for his cutting-edge card work and creations such as the Losing Control, and the Asher Twist. Currently Lee resides in Toronto, Canada, and regularly participates with the local Toronto magic community. Lee was the man who started it all, Five-Card Stud was a project that inspired a whole new generation of magicians, including myself. It was the first magic project I watched that really opened my eyes to the fact that someone could mix a storyline with magic instructions. Getting Lee to be part of this project was such a crucial moment for me. To be able to work with someone you look up to is a gift not to be taken for granted. Lee is the man.

When writing the script, I had imagined Bill as the villain and wrote the role with him in mind, even before asking him if he wanted to be involved in the movie. Bill has been performing since the age of five. He has made numerous television and film appearances and shares his magic with billionaires, A-listers, sports superstars, and everyday people across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Basically, he performs for everyone I wish I performed for. Bill really made the role his own. On set, Bill played the role for his character completely differently than what I had envisioned, but he made it work. So I shut up and let him play the part. It was a great experience and a valuable lesson in character creation.

Wide-Open Travelers Glenn’s Routine is inspired by The Open Travelers by Ed Marlo from The New Phoenix No. 375, page 329 (December, 1962). This type of effect was popularized by Paul Harris, who created P.H. Invisible Palm in Las Vegas Close- up (1978) and was later revised in Art of Astonishment Vol. 3 (1996). The idea of using no extra cards for the open travelers has been explored by many magicians, including Larry Jennings in his routine Lonesome Travelers from his Japan Lecture Notes (1979). Also, Jon Racherbaumer explored the routine with his effect Open-Air Assembly from Card Finesse (1982). Ed Marlo also explored the use of no extra cards with his routine Surrounded Open Traveler, 3rd Method in New Tops Vol. 24, No. 4 (April 1984). Pugh’s Pass can be found in Greater Magic (1938). This is the proper credit for the Venus Flytrap-type move Glenn refers to in the movie, which in turn, is credited to Chris Brown.

Glenn is a magician from Kitchener. Yeah, there’s an extra “n,” in his name, but don’t worry, it ’s silent, like the “n” in “Damn!” Coincidentally, that ’s exactly what audiences scream when experiencing Glenn’s expert sleight-of-hand. Glenn has spent years crafting a polished touch that makes even the most hard-core sleights defy detection. Glenn’s magic leaves behind a pure, unfiltered moment of clear astonishment, but only if you view it from one angle. Glenn is not only an awesome magician; he is also a fantastic video editor. When I had first written the script for this project, I had planned on editing the movie myself. However, that all changed when I saw Glenn’s work. The guy was a pro, and I knew anything I cut together, he probably could have done 10 times as well. I knew this was going to be a real challenge and true test for Glenn. Glenn juggled his attention between a full-time job, his lovely wife Theresa, his wonderful baby Evelyn, another magic project, and this one. I was worried he was going to just keel over and die, but the man knows how to multitask, and multitask he did, for a year.

Colour-Changing Deck This routine is a series of moves strung together into one visually eye-popping routine. The buckle used in the effect can be found in Farelli’s Card Magic-Part 2 (1933). The first colour change Glenn uses in the routine is based off Ed Marlo’s Snap Change. The second card change is Jack Carpenter’s Impulse Change, Glenn uses Pugh’s Pass for the third change, and a variation on Ed Marlo’s Convincing Control for the last and final change.

Oil and Water Jeff ’s routine is based on David Ben’s version from his book Tricks, which in turn, is based on Danny Dew’s version from Magic and Methods of Ross Bertram. However, the first phase of Danny’s routine is actually P. Howard Lyon’s Wildroot first published in Ibidem. This routine essentially took the first phase, re-tweaked it for the second phase with some Tamarizesque inspiration. The ending was developed independently, though others, such as David Acer (from his lecture in Toronto ca. 2009-2010), John Carney (Carneycopia), and Dani DaOrtiz (Utopia DVD) have also come up with the same or similar concepts.

Harmony The methodology for this effect was developed after a conversation Jeff had with Jason England on The Second Deal forum in 1998. The full routine was inspired by a number of things, including Paul Gertner’s Unshuffled, Tyler Wilson’s Happy Ending, Francis Menotti’s Exdyscically shunfuffled (spelling?), and the sensory notion came straight from Juan Tamariz’s wonderful Mnemonica. Jeff is Toronto’s best-kept secret and one of my favourite magicians to hang out with. Jeff didn’t ascend into magic insanity until the age of 12. After witnessing miracles performed with a Svengali deck, he decided that owning such a pack of cards was more important than buying lunch. For the next 16 years he arduously studied and practiced his craft (and also continued to go hungry). His primary passion is sleight of hand with cards. However, his interests range from self-working miracles, to coin magic, to mentalism. He also has a badass sponge ball routine, which is virtually unheard of. Jeff has lectured and performed across Canada and the U.S., with material published in MAGIC magazine and various notes and booklets. Jeff was the one magician who impressed me the most on set. He had the unfortunate task of being in the first scenes we shot, which meant we were all just getting into the groove and we were all still getting comfortable with each other on camera and off. However, Jeff made it easy. He was on time, and he knew all his lines front and back. Not only that, he never messed up once. Look at the blooper reel; you will notice he is not on there.

Hold’em Seductively The visual change in this routine is based off Paul Harris’ “Seductive Switch” from his book Close-up Seductions in 1984 (pg.10) Westfall’s trick was first published in Tom Frame’s book Hold ‘em Magic in 2011 (pg. 20).

Chris Westfall is a friend of mine that who has one of the most interesting backstories I have heard in magic. We originally had it in here, but it was about 25 pages, so I will summarize it for you in a few sentences. Chris got into a bunch of trouble as a kid,. hHe found an interest in magic, and now makes a living as one of the top performers in Toronto. He has material published in Magic Mmagazine as well as a book by Tom Frame mentioned in the credits below. If you see Chris in person (also don’t call him Chris, call him Westfall), ask him about his story, I’m sure he would love to tell it. A fond memory I have of working on set with Westfall was during his scene when we meet him in his apartment. We shot his scene in his real apartment. However, his place just looked very bland on camera. So I decided to embrace the blandness and get rid of everything in the apartment. It added a shadiness to his character, but the main reason was it just cracked me up to see Westfall’s face when we told him we were cramming all of his stuff into his bedroom. So if anyone is wondering why Westfall has no furniture in his scene besides a stool, now you know.

Lu Lu Lemon This trick is based off of Paul Harris’ “La La’s Lu Lu” which can be found in his book Art of Astonishment Vol. 1. In turn, Paul’s effect was inspired by Larry Jennings’ classic “ Visitor” effect. Ryan Pilling has also been a great help in developing this trick. Ryan is a great creative thinker in magic, and I urge you to seek him out if you are ever in Calgary. You can find a more traditional write-up of this effect in the September, 2011 issue of Genii magazine in David Acer’s Magicana.

Well, look at this. We arrive at me, so now I get to tell you all about myself like a narcissistic asshole. I’m even going to say it all in third person, so that we can pretend I’m not talking about myself. Chris Mayhew was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His interest in magic as a kid grew strong at the age of 13 after The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop opened near his house. Eventually the owner, Brent Smith, hired him to help out at the shop, and this is where Chris met Tyler Wilson. Tyler inspired Chris to start creating his own magic. Chris’ first contribution to the magic community was his Booklet called A Clockwork Apple. It was well received within the community and pushed Chris to keep creating. He eventually moved to Toronto to pursue his interest in filmmaking. As an alternative to film school, Chris decided to learn the field by volunteering on set as a production assistant. Chris currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, working as a professional magician as he plans for his next project. What project, you might ask? Perhaps it ’s a sequel? Or maybe it ’s something else? I’m not sure, but here are some credits.

Training Wheels The premise for cutting to the aces as a magical routine is credited to Dai Vernon. Bart Whaley suggests Vernon invented the plot in 1941, and it was later published in the Stars of Magic series (Series 2, 1946) as “Cutting the Aces”. The Double Undercut has also been attributed to Dai Vernon with a more detailed description of the move in Jerry Mentzer’s Counts, Cuts, Moves, and Subtlety, published in 1977. Finally, the clean-up used to hide the double, by pushing it flush into the deck as the aces are removed, is reminiscent of August Roterberg’s “Push In Change”, from New Era Card Tricks (1897). If you haven’t read it yet, stop what you’re doing, put on pants, and run out and buy a copy. It ’s fantastic.

What can I say about Ben? He is one of the smartest people I know, and one of the stupidest people I know at the same time. Like Westfall, Ben also gave me a 25-page manuscript for his bio. Interestingly enough, Ben didn’t write his bio until after reading Westfall’s. Stupid. However, Ben approached me with the idea for making this project with him and some of the Toronto magicians. Smart. I will now summarize Ben’s manuscript for everyone in a few sentences. Ben always wanted to be a magician. He just never realized it until he got kicked out of the house and was introduced to real life. He is now a professional magician in Toronto and has a numerous amount of publications all around the interwebs and magazines, I would name them all, but frankly I grow tired of talking about Ben and choose to stop. To elaborate on how this project was created we need to go back to the year 2003. A young Chris Mayhew comes up with the idea for a story. Around that same time an old Ben (he had hair then) had come up with the idea to collaborate with all his Toronto peers to make a collective of all their material. Fast forward eight years later. I move to Toronto. I move into a random place on Craigslist and meet all of my amazing roommates. Ben and I have lunch one day, and he brings up the idea of making a project filled with magic from a bunch of the Toronto magicians. The story I had lingering in the back of my head from all those years ago suddenly awakened, and the pieces all fell together. Without Ben this project would not be what it is. I love him like a brother, but I secretly plan to kill him because I secretly hate him because I lied about loving him. Luckily he is illiterate and can’t read this.

Detour on 51st Street Many have explored the consequences of faro shuffles with cards at the 26th position, including Karl Fulves, Alex Elmsley, and Ed Marlo. This particular application with 51 cards evolved from a trick shown to Ben by Howard Hamburg. Several people were involved with the construction of Ben’s routine. James Alan suggested the idea to have poker hands dealt out, which would automatically place the selection at the 26th position. He’s a clever cookie, I like cookies. Additional credit goes to Joshua Jay, who originally pointed out that it was possible to locate the extra cards after the shuffle, and Asi Wind, who suggested the ploy of having the spectators decide on whether the jokers go on top, bottom, or even separated in the pack. This trick was originally printed in Josh Jay ’s one-man column in the September 2011 issue of Magic magazine. If you want to see pictures of what his manly hands look like doing it, you can find them there.

“How did you do that? I need to learn it. Please teach me... I will do anything!” Steve got all giddy. Not wasting any time, he began to teach Chris the entire trick.

Chris sat down on a quiet Sunday evening to eat his dinner as he enjoyed the ambient sound of a distant radio. Chris cut the first piece of chicken and stabbed it with his fork. He brought the piece up to his face, but before he had a chance to open his mouth, his dad Steve walked in and asked him a question.

“ Want to see a magic trick?” Chris sat in silence, startled for a brief moment, but snapped out of it quickly. He responded with an uncertainty in his voice.

“Uh, I was just about to eat, but when I ’m done eating maybe I...” Steve interrupted him, disregarding everything Chris said.

“As I riffle down the side of the deck just say stop.” Chris sat on the couch, confused as to what just happened. He calmly looked around thinking of a way he could possibly get out of seeing the trick, then came to the realization that he had no choice but to watch his dad muddle his way through an attempt to be a card conjurer. To Chris’ surprise, the trick fooled him. In fact, so much that Chris burst with excitement.

“It ’s super easy. All you need is a regular deck of cards. First thing you do is give the deck a good riffle shuffle. You want to have a slight bow in the deck so that you can obtain a natural break much easier at the end of the trick.” Chris looked around for a deck of cards; he managed to find one hiding in the crevices of the couch. He pulled out the cards and stared at them for a second, then asked,

“What if I don’t know how to do a riffle shuffle?” Steve grimaced at him for a brief moment.

“Then just bend the deck, I don’t care. Shut the fuck up.” Chris froze in shock, suddenly remembering the reason he never took any lessons from his dad since bike riding. Steve was a decent, normal, contributing member of society, but had one terrible flaw. He was a very impatient teacher, and his temper was short and hot. Chris bent his deck and started to follow along. His dad continued to talk.

“Hold the deck in left-hand dealer’s grip and use the thumb to riffle down the side of the deck. Time the riffle so that the spectator says stop when you have riffled about one-quarter of the deck. F lip the top quarter of the deck face-up, out-jogged for half its length. Pin the packet to the face-down deck with your left thumb. Fan the deck with your right hand.” (Fig. 1)

“How do I fan?” Steve looked at him stern in the eyes.

“Did I not just tell you to shut your mouth?” Steve used his right hand to remove the top card from the lower face-down packet. He inserted the card into the middle of the fan for half its length (Fig. 2) and continued to teach Chris, regardless of his shitty fan.

Steve fanned the deck perfectly with elegance and grace. He looked over at Chris who was holding a monstrosity undeserving of the word “fan.” Chris looked down at the mess of cards in his hands.

“Once the card is in the fan, you can push it flush and close the fan. This will look like you are just inserting a card face down into the packet and closing it, but what you are actually doing is setting the trick up for a switch. When you close the fan, close it by rotating the cards clockwise. This will cause the face-down card to jut out the back.” (Fig. 3)

“Check out this interesting position I’m in. The spectator thinks I simply placed a face-down card in the fan and put it on the table. But I really only placed half of the face-up packet on the table, the other half is hiding under the face-down card on the top of the deck. All I have to do now is switch the facedown card with the spectator’s selection and you are set. Isn’t that awesome?” Chris gestured to say something, but was cut off by his dad’s hand creeping up to his face and covering his mouth.

“Don’t speak; it was rhetorical.” Steve turned the deck face-up.

“The way we are going to switch the card, which is at the bottom of the face-up deck now, is ver y simple. We will switch it by a series of Biddle switches and steals. The first thing you need to do is get a pinky break above the bottom card. Transfer this break to a thumb break as your right hand grasps the deck from above in Biddle grip.” Steve grasped the face-up packet with his right hand from over top. He pushed down on the in-jogged card with his right thumb, and pushed it flush with the bottom packet as he grasped the upper face-up packet in end grip. Steve placed this packet on the table. He made sure the tabled packet was situated so it was off to the right and behind the cards held in his left hand. Steve continued to talk.

Chris began to mumble to himself.

“I prefer the term end grip.” Suddenly a bare foot kicked Chris in the face, sending cards flying everywhere as he fell to the floor grabbing his face in pain. His dad stood over top of him yelling obscenities.

“I warned you, boy, the only person who’s allowed to say that is Stephen Minch, and maybe John Armstrong. Regardless, I’m pretty sure you’re neither of them.” Without skipping a beat, Steve got right back into teaching the trick.

“Using your left thumb, peel the top card of the deck into left-hand dealer’s grip. When you peel off two or three cards, secretly unload the bottom card of the right-hand packet onto the left hand. This is done under the cover of peeling off another card. This should all be one fluid motion. Ask the spectator to call out stop any time she would like.” Chris eventually made his way up from the ground, rubbing his eyes as if he had just finished crying. He cleaned the cards off the floor and continued to follow along with his dad’s instructions.

“ When the spectator stops you, peel the card she stopped you at onto your left hand, but this time maintain a pinky break below the card. Tell the spectator she could have stopped you anywhere. As you do this, give an example by peeling off a few more cards. However, as you peel off the next card, secretly add the selection to the bottom of the right-hand packet. This is done as the left thumb peels another face-up card onto the left-hand packet. Continue peeling a few more cards as you reiterate the fairness.” Chris’ dad dumped the remaining cards in his left hand on top of the right-hand packet, and turned all the cards over so they were face down in left-hand dealer’s grip. He continued to blurt out more instruction, ignoring his son as if the teaching was purely for his own benefit.

“So you have just replaced the random face-down card for the spectator’s selection. You now have the selection face-down on top, followed by half the face-up cards from the tabled packet, followed by the rest of the deck face down. This is where that natural break comes in handy.” Chris looked down at his deck only to discover there was no natural break of any kind. He hesitated briefly and then spit out another question.

“What if I have trouble getting the natural break?” Steve froze. He slowly looked up at Chris, anger smeared all over his face. He raised his finger and took a deep breath as if to yell obscenities at the top of his lungs.

“That ’s a good question. If you can’t find the natural break, just aim lower than the face-up cards and get a pinky break there. It won’t matter in a second. Using your right hand, grab the packet sitting on the table and bring it up towards the deck. This is why the placement at the beginning was important: You want the natural path of the tabled packet to coalesce with the deck in your left hand. Once the right-hand packet reaches the deck add all the cards above the pinky break to the right hand’s packet (Fig. 4). This happens as the righthand packet continues for ward until it is out-jogged in the same position as it was at the beginning of the effect.” (Fig. 5) Chris realized he didn’t even need to be following along. He sat back down on the couch and started to eat his cold dinner. The sound of his dad’s voice could be heard in the background.

“Fan the face-up packet using your right hand. If you couldn’t get the natural break, just don’t fan the bottom few cards. You can now cleanly pull out the myster y card and show it to be the selection. Close the fan back up, and spread through the deck turning all the face-up cards face down. Now you are clean and reset. Pretty cool, right?” Chris swallowed the piece of chicken in his mouth. He scurried to get a drink of water so he could clear his throat and respond to his dad’s question. Chris gulped down the last of the water, then placed it off to the side. “ Yeah, def initely. Let me f inish my dinner, I ’ve got to go pick up Ben for the Poker game.”

Coming up next...

After Chris and Ben finished at the restaurant, they needed to figure out where Hinchliffe lived. Chris noticed the subtle scent of Ocean Flurry aromatizing near Hinchliffe at the Poker game the night before last. Ocean Flurry is an exclusive scent sold only at Gunther’s Sweatshop BBQ Equipment and Scented Candle Emporium, the only store of its kind to sell both barbeques and scented candles, for the times when you want to eat meat and relax while doing it. This store was located near Yonge and Eglinton, a good lead in finding the ever-elusive Hinchliffe. As Chris looked for his keys to unlock the van, Ben casually and discreetly probed Chris’ reaction to his card trick.

“Did it fool you?” Chris stood there for a moment pondering what Ben had just asked.

“ What?” Ben was stymied.

“ You serious? The trick I just showed you in the restaurant!” Chris stood there for a moment pondering what Ben had just said.

“ What happened in the trick?” Ben realized the conversation would go nowhere and decided to just show Chris the trick again. Ben repeated the routine word for word, and move for move, only this time he used the hood of the van as his table, which proved to be a difficult

feat that failed on every level. The cards slid down the hood due to the curvature on the first attempt. On the second attempt the hood suddenly just popped open and flung the cards everywhere, forcing Ben into a deep state of self-loathing and defeat. But Ben powered through from sheer will alone. After 20 minutes of collecting every card, Ben attempted the trick for the third time. The effect would have worked if not for Ben fucking up the faro. By the fifth attempt, Chris was doing the trick for Ben. Chris decided to re-teach the trick to Ben who had given up on all hope for accomplishing the trick one last time.

“Chris, what do you need for this trick to work?” “Good question, Ben. You need exactly 51 cards, plus two jokers.” Chris pulled out his deck and continued to explain the rest of the routine.

“To begin the trick, remove the two jokers and place them off to the side. Hand the deck to the spectator to shuffle, and ask him to deal down five hands of Poker (Fig. 1). Each pile should have five cards, making a total of 25 cards dealt. Pick up the rightmost packet and turn it face-up, drawing attention to the card fourth from the face (Fig. 2). Put this pile back down and pick up the pile at the opposite end, drawing attention this time to the card second from the face (Fig. 3). Place this back in its place and ask the spectator to look at the card on top of the deck in his hands and remember it. Collect all the cards together, making sure you start with the rightmost pile and end with the leftmost pile. Drop all the cards on top of the deck, losing the spectator’s card in the middle. Introduce the Jokers and place them face up on top of the deck. Have the spectator cut the deck as much as he wants. When he is content, take the deck back and give it one straddle faro (Fig. 4).

Spread the deck on the table; you’re now set up for three powerful reveals. The first two are treated almost like a throw away. The first card you pointed out will lay three cards to the right of the Jokers (Fig. 5), and the second card will lay four cards to the left (Fig. 6). Due to the nature of the cards when doing a straddle faro, the jokers are 26 cards away from the selection when starting, so they will sandwich the card during the weave. The selection will be between the jokers for the third and final reveal. If it ’s not, then you fucked it up, but you will know this well in advance when the first two reveals are wrong and you look like a fool.” As Chris finished explaining the trick, he realized Ben had fallen asleep in the van with his headphones on and an eye mask wrapped around his face. Upon waking up, Ben squinted drearily at Chris.

“BEN! You didn’t hear anything I said? You just slept through it?!” Ben yawned.

“ Yeah, when I eat meat, I like to relax while doing it.” Chris jolted up, “Oh yeah, Gunther’s Sweatshop BBQ Equipment and Scented Candle Emporium! Let ’s go find Jeff !” Flooring the pedal, Chris sped off down the freeway. “ Meat?

But... you had a salad?!”

Huge thanks to the entire cast and crew for helping make a unique project see the light of day. Melanie Mayhew, Brent Mayhew, Carl Tate, Kevin, Theresa Recchia-West, Evelyn West, Shayne Train, Leslie Train, Ahron Train, Golda Train, and Faygle Train for the support and patience. Dr. Leslie Train for funding the catering. Tyler Wilson, Tony Chang, Bobby Motta, James Harrison and Peter Mckinnon for being the first group of people to watch and give feedback about the movie. The entire Toronto Magic Community for their support, including everyone at the Browser’s Den, Morrisey ’s Magic, and The Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp. Also a special thanks to the entire Calgary magic community, including The Vanishing Rabbit Magic Shop. The Dadushes, Benjamin Israel, Tom and Judy Dawson, and Jon Sandler for allowing us to film on their property. Joshua Jay and Andi Gladwin for allowing us to hold the first screening in front of 500 people at MagiFest in Ohio. Alex Pandrea for showing interest in the project from the beginning. Special Thanks to Glenn West, Scott Pearson, Tony Smith, Tyler Wilson, and Michael Stavrou for their dedicated efforts in the post-production process. It is greatly appreciated.

Thank YOU for supporting magic and moving this art form for ward for a new generation to come. May our community grow and prosper in ways we couldn’t imagine.