How I First Met Kelly

Andrea Kelly Mossup is not conventionally pretty, but she does have an innocence and charm about her.

My first encounter with her was on a TV talk show, where I was a guest magician; there to publicise my 15 date national tour. As inevitably happens when a magician is a guest on a talk show, he is asked to perform some miracle.

I surveyed to first few rows of the live studio audience, looking for someone to perform my intended illusion with. The pickings were slim; I was looking for someone wearing trousers and, with the weather being hot that day, most of the women were wearing skirts or shorts. I chose the petite, but chubby, late-teens young woman from the second row near the aisle.

While I went to persuade my chosen volunteer that she was willing to take part in the requested miracle, a member of my crew bought out a low wooden table, about three feet square and standing about eight inches tall. As instructed, he handled the table in such a way that the audience (live and via the cameras) could be confident that it was exactly as described.

I addressed my target, "Hello, would you mind coming down to the front and helping me perform a small miracle?"

She looked a little surprised to be spoken to. An older women a couple of seats further along whispered sharply, "Andrea, No!"

The young woman's face seemed to set into a more rebellious frame and she asked, "You don't want to saw me in half, do you?"

"No, I shall not be sawing you in half."

It was difficult to tell if her expression changed to disappointment or relief. She rose and holding out her hand, partly in greeting and partly for support, she pushed past the knees of the two other girls between her and the aisle. "My name is Kelly."

"Hello, Keli," I said (yes, at that point I mentally spelt her name k-e-l-i) "You are willing to be part of a piece of magic?" I find that with audience participants it is important to establish for the rest of the audience that the volunteer is freely consenting.

"My name is Kelly, not Keli," she stated (I do not know how I could tell the different spellings, but somehow I did) "And yes, I would like be in the magic."

"Ok, Kelly." She smiled that I was spelling her name right in my head now. "Please come with me."

I led her down the aisle to the studio floor, still holding hands, then across the floor to the table. "Please sit on the table." She sat on the edge of the table. I addressed the audiences, "This young woman, Kelly, I have never met before and I picked from the studio audience, because she is quite small (I'm guessing five-foot-two) and she is wearing trousers, which will become important in a short while."

Kelly was looking a bit uncomfortable with her knees higher than her belly. "Ok, Kelly, by sit on the table, I meant, sit cross-legged on the table, please." She adjusted her position to end up with her shins resting on the plimsoll-clad feet. She rested her wrists on her knees, allowing her hands to flop palms forwards in front. It was the perfect pose; the one I would have had my assistants adopt if I ever did this illusion with an assistant.

I looked into her eyes to determine how much I needed to do to get her to the point of being sufficiently relaxed that I could proceed. She gave me a smile that told me that she was ready. I went through the motions of stroking arms and shoulders, which I usually used combined with whispered hypnotic phrases to relax the subject. I went behind Kelly and I asked her to sit with her back straight. Her head rose an inch as she straightened her back; again I went through the motions of positioning the subjects head, except there was nothing to do; Kelly's head was perfectly positioned.

"I am going to put a hand on top of your head," I warned, adding, "Please remain cross-legged until I ask you to do something else." I placed my right hand lightly on her head towards the left-hand side so that the right edge of my hand was lined up with the centreline of her head. She did not flinch, which is unusual; I normally have to mutter a few more hypnotic phrases before carrying on.

I pressed my hand against her head until I made contact with her scalp through her brown hair. Then I minutely lifted my hand experimentally; usually I need to press my hand to the scalp of the volunteer several times before it happens, but this time I could tell that it was happening immediately.

I lifted my hand an inch, then two inches and then a third inch, before the audience in the studio reacted. They applauded as a gap developed between Kelly and the table. Soon she was levitating under my hand six inches above the table. I gave a glance and a nod to where my crewman waited.

The crew member who had placed the table in the first place came and took it away; sliding it from under the floating Kelly, before picking it up and walking off with it. Further applause followed.

With my left hand I made a 'Quiet, please!' gesture by touching my forefinger to my lips. The audience stilled, waiting in anticipation of what might follow lifting Kelly into the air with just my hand flat on her head.

They did not have long to wait. I took a deep breath to aid my concentration and began to turn my wrist to the left. The audience responded in a muted manner once they noticed that Kelly was floating at an angle and that the angle was increasing. It was not long before I had my fingers in a vertical row and Kelly floating with her torso horizontal. I paused there and to allow what quiet applause there was to come.

I continued to rotate my hand and Kelly, until my hand was palm up and Kelly was resting, inverted on my hand.

"Now you see why the volunteer wearing trousers is important," I commented. "This is the difficult part." The audience took their cue and became quieter than before.

I raised my left hand so that it cupped top of Kelly's head beside my right hand and then making an expression of intense concentration, I lowered my right hand leaving Kelly supported on my left hand.

A scattering of claps and then I began rotating my left wrist, gradually returning Kelly to her former upright position. I placed my right hand back onto Kelly's head and raised both hands until she was suspended with her head at my head height.

"Kelly, please unfold your legs and point your toes!" She soon had her legs pointing straight down.

I lowered my hands until the toes of her plimsolls were touching the floor. "Kelly, please walk out from under my hands!" She took two slow steps forwards, before she turned and took two rapid steps back towards me. She gave me a big hug saying, "That was wonderful; I loved it," repeatedly.

Fortunately, the show's host began his wind up of this show (expressing his wonder at the magic I had performed) and trailing the guests that were planned for the next.

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Once the closing credits were rolling the older woman came bustling from audience. "Andrea, leave the man go!" she said before prising Kelly from my body and dragging her back to the rest of the group that the older woman seemed to be in charge of.

The host came over to congratulate me on 'such a masterful piece of magic'. Then I was whisked away to do my bit for the trailers that would precede the airing of the show the following night.

I was kept busy for an hour of two, before I had the leisure to wonder:- Who is Kelly/Andrea? How could we tell how we were spelling two names that sound identical? And why was it so easy to perform the magic with her?