Training Brad in his new role as a 'client advisor' had taken a couple of weeks, before Aaron (one of the owners of Intimate Illusions), Emma (the office manager) and I (Candi) had a meeting to evaluate how he was doing. We agreed that he was an asset to the business, with his combination of magical knowledge, creativity and client empathy; we further agreed that we would likely keep him on, if he was willing, when Bethany returned from her maternity leave, especially as it was probable that she would only return on a part-time basis.
During the training period we had grown to like each other a lot and often went to lunch together. One day Brad asked me why he had not seen me on the roster for delivering a magical experience to a client. I admitted that I had recently had a couple of bad experiences with clients and as a part-time magician I was picking the easiest assignments I could to get my confidence back. I did not mention that I had agreed to do at least one gig a month and it had been nearly a month since I had met Brad at an event that had not gone well, so was due to make good on my promise in the next couple of weeks.
A few days later, Aaron called me into his workshop/office. He started with, “Don't worry, it's nothing bad, but I think I need to push you pick an assignment; I know it's daunting, but unless you get back on the horse of performing magic for clients, I fear you may develop a block and in the worst case lose your ability to do magic at all; which would be a bad thing for us all.”
“I have been looking at the assignment lists, but I have not seen anything that I feel all that comfortable to do. But I will be looking to keep my promise; perhaps I'll have to take on something a little outside my current comfort zone, but I hope not.”
“Well, I think I may have something for you, but first I would like to know how you feel about performing small magics for a small audience; you know, cut and restored rope or the linking rings or maybe the bottles and glasses.”
“If you want me to do a birthday party or something like that, I'd be up for that, but we specialise in grand illusion, so I'm guessing that there's a catch.”
“You caught me,” Aaron smiled. “I feel you ought to take this one on, because not only will it be a magically little re-introduction to performing with clients, but it will help you work on one of the issues we identified during your interview to be a magician.”
“Uh-huh? Ok, tell me about it.” I guess I did not sound enthused.
“It's for a client that Brad has been working with. The client, Barbie, has said she would prefer a female magician and given the details I think it is fair. I'll give you the details and you can call her so that you aren't going in blind and can be better prepared.”
“I hope Brad won't feel I'm stepping on his toes, by taking over a client of his.”
“Of course not, he was the one that brought it up to me. Check the files on Barbara Challis, and ask Brad if you're unsure about anything.”
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“Hey, Brad,” I said as I approached his desk. “Have you been talking to Aaron and Emma about me behind my back?”
“Not exactly, but we have talked about you; it's not malicious or anything like that.”
“But Aaron said that you suggested that I be the one to take on a particular client.”
“Well, assuming that was Barbie, that topic did come up. A couple of days ago Aaron called me into his cave of wonders (I've never seen so much enigmatic magical equipment in my life) to see how I was doing, now that I was beginning to work on my own. After a bit of discussion, I asked if it would be possible, to be like you, a part-time magician, so he did some sort of test where he had me put my hand in a box. After about a minute, he told me the bad news; I don't have a single magical bone in my body. When he asked me if I was having any difficulty with the work, I admitted I was still not entirely up on the preferences and capabilities of all the magicians, so that I could suggest assignments that would suit the magicians assigned to them. He asked if I had an example, so I mentioned Barbie wanting a female magician. I knew you would not be particularly comfortable with what the client wanted, but I wasn't sure if Tessa would be ok with some other aspects. He said he would look into it and if he could sort out a list of the preferences and proficiencies of the magicians so that the most suitable could be assigned. He said it would be good for the clients, because they are more likely to get a magician that fitted their needs better, and it would make the magicians happier, because they were more likely to get jobs that they enjoy, which might reduce the number abandoning the company after their minimum contract.”
“And Emma?”
“Other than the usual stuff, like my email not working for half a day, nothing much more than a 'hi!' in the morning and a 'see ya!' in the evening. She did ask how I thought the training had gone; I believe I was complimentary. Nothing more, really. I don't think anyone is trying to do you down, they, we, all want to support you in getting back into the swing of doing magic. Have you done anything about that idea you had about doing magic as the assistant? You know that if you want I would be very willing to help you practise?”
“What with training you and other things, I haven't pursued that idea; I'm almost regretting, in the moment, that I mentioned it.”
“If it's something that is possible, I think it would be another string to your bow.”
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The phone at the other end of the line had rung for longer than I would expect. “Hello, sorry it took so long to answer, I was in the garden and nearly didn't hear it at all.”
“Am I speaking to Barbara Challis? My name is Candi, you've been speaking to my colleague Brad.” I hope that would be sufficient introduction to clue Barbie in to the topic of the phone call, without alerting someone else that might be answering the phone to what the call might be about.
“Brad? … Oh! The guy from intimate illusions!?”
“Yes, I'm calling to discuss your booking for a magician with us. If it's not convenient I can call back later.”
“No, no, Now is the perfect time. That bush was getting the better of me and a sit down would be just what I need to get back to it.”
“Ok, so the top-level outline is that you would like to book a lady magician for your fiancé's birthday, to which will be invited some of his friends. And you want to be a volunteer for a particular type of effect, right?”
“Yes, I want to make a bit of a splash. Rob knows I'm a bit of an exhibitionist, but I don't think he realises how much; I've tried to rein it in so as not to scare him off. But now that we have been together for a little more than a year, I feel I can't keep my feelings bottle up any more. So this is something like a statement of 'This is me and the way I am; if you can't handle it better to part now, than carry on with a lie'.
“That sounds a bit drastic. Are you sure you want to do it this way? Surely, there must be a better way.”
“Are you trying to dissuade me from doing it?”
“No, I am trying to be sure that this is what you really want, before going into further details and wasting both our time.” I briefly dropped my professional voice and added, “You see, I have recently had a couple of clients that bailed at the last minute and want to be sure that I was not going to have a bad time.”
“Ok, so what do you want to know?”
“I gather from Brad that you discussed several options for how the effect could be achieved, do you have any preference, or possible some suggestion that I might be able to work with? After all you are the one who is going to be in the thick of it, and I want you to be happy with what we will be doing.”
“I like the simple approach that Brad suggested; some of the other stuff he suggested seemed a bit too wild to be real.”
“Is that the cloth-hoop and the magic hat? It would certainly fit in with the scenario of a lady magician hired for a birthday party.”
“That's the one! Will I need to wear anything specific for that to work?”
“Not really. I would suggest something comfortable and appropriate to the event, but not too many individual garments; we don't want this to take forever or be over too soon.”
“Well, I had planned to wear my blue skirt suit with a blouse and a bow tie.”
“That sounds ideal, just be sure to wear some underwear too, but perhaps not hosiery; that would complicate matters. And what do you want to happen after they are off.”
“I had not thought that far. Do you have any ideas?”
“Well, hang them on a coat-rack, perhaps, or, I guess, I could vanish them, but not really, to somewhere where you would know how to find them, like a handbag. Or I could destroy them; set them on fire, shred them or something.”
“I like the vanish them to my handbag option, so if things get too intense, I have a fallback position. But the destroy them option is slightly tempting.”
“I could make the vanish look like destruction, if you like.”
“That's sounds terrific, especially as I like that suit.”
“Would you like some hypnosis?”
“Why would I want that?”
“If you are feeling nervous, it can make you feel more confident. But there is also the option of pretend hypnosis, so you can reveal that you were not hypnotised and planned what happened after the event. Although no apparent hypnosis might show how unconcerned you really are. But I don't need to know now, but it is something to consider, and let me know at the event.”
“I'll think about it. Do you need to know anything else?”
“Well, how do you want to be at the end? I know what you discussed with Brad, but I have a suggestion that I don't believe he thought of, and if you go for it, we will need to agree a few more details.”
----------
I arrived at the venue about a hour before the party for Barbie's fiancé was due to start. I asked the barman for a look at the room I would be performing in. He expressed some surprise that I was leaving it so late; he mentioned the last magician to perform in the room had spent ten or twenty minutes trundling large packing cases of equipment through the bar area. I assured him that once I got an idea of the performance space I would be done in one trip.
The back room was a squarish room with a low (calf-high) platform and curtains that could make a proscenium. Lighting was three spot-lights mounted on the ceiling controlled from a board in the backstage area, which also allowed the fading of the rooms lights. With the barman's help the curtains were put in place, then I went to get things. True to my word I made one trip, I carried a large case in one hand, a hoop over that shoulder. My other hand held a small (three foot diameter) semi-circular table.
I set up the table so that standing next to it I would be centre-stage, then unloaded my suitcase onto and into the table. I stowed the hoop backstage and checked that the ties that held the fabric tidy would come undone easily.
A minute or two after I had completed my set-up, Barbie arrived. “How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Ok, but a bit more nervous than I expected.”
“It's quite understandable, with a potential effect on your relationship. but don't worry, I won't be hurting you and whatever happens as a result will probably be for the best.”
“You know I said I didn't want any hypnosis, well I think I've changed my mind; can you do something to take the edge off my nerves, without turning me into a zombie?”
“Of course.” I sat her down and helped her relax. I did no actual hypnosis, just some calm words, having her breath deeply and thinking positive thoughts; the placebo effect is real.
With Barbie calmer, I asked if she had decided on the end of the trick. She told me what she wanted and I agreed that it sounded like a good plan. I took a chair and said that I would wait backstage until the party was ready for me to do my show. She asked if I would get bored, so I assured her I had a book to read.
----------
“So, I hired a magician, because I know Rob likes magic. So, please welcome, Candi!” It may have not been the most praiseful introduction, but it was the first time I did not have to introduce myself.
I gave Barbie a moment to leave the stage and sit with Rob, before I stepped on stage. I felt I looked every inch the femme-fatale magicienne. It took most of the audience a few seconds to take in my costume which converted polite applauds to something with more enthusiasm.
My main costume was leotard with a design on the front meant to suggest black shorts, a white shirt with an open collar and a red waistcoat. Over this I wore a short sleeved (to my elbows), short waisted black jacket. My legs were covered in fishnet tights and I stood in three inch heels. To top this off I had a top hat perched on my head.
I paused before speaking to allow the audience to collect their dropped jaws. I particularly noticed that Barbie was as flabbergasted by my appearance as anyone. She had not seen my costume before, because I had set up wearing a long, light overcoat and no hat.
“My name is Candi; and I am here to provide some magical entertainment.” I began the routine I had planned. First a cut and restored rope routine, then the multiplying bottles. Throughout these routines I made several clutches at my top hat, giving the impression that it was not as secure on my head as would be ideal.
I followed these with a little bit of audience participation for a Three Card Monte, except the giant sized cards were not on stands but pegged to a rope which was held at each end by a volunteer. While it seemed impossible that I could switch the cards unless I had two in hand at any one time, I still managed to confuse the participants and the rest of the audience when I switched two cards (a black king and a red queen) and included a 'funny' move, only to reveal that the red queen was the card that had remained pegged to the rope while I switched the other two.
After what I felt was a so-so performance of the linking rings, it was time for the finale.
“We come to the final item of magic this evening, for which I shall invite Barbara to step up onto the stage. When she hired me she said that she wanted to take part in some magic, but did not want to be involved in anything dangerous. That eliminated sawing her in two or more pieces or sticking swords through her. Vanishing someone leaves with the problem of how to bring them back without them reappearing from the box they just vanished from or providing somewhere else to come back to. We'll just have to see how it goes. Barbara please come up and we'll see what happens.”
While Barbie came to the stage, I took a few steps backstage to collect the cloth hoop, return with it, place it on the floor in a position, then squat down to loosen the ties. I positioned it in a placement that mirrored where the table was.
“Hello Barbara.” I offered a hand, which she shook nervously, but I also felt her resolve to follow through with the events she had started by booking a magician from Intimate Illusions. “Please stand inside the circle, then we can begin.”
“What are you going to do to me?” This was the only pre-arranged dialogue.
“Well, I have already said that I won't divide, penetrate or vanish you, so there is not much left except quick change.”
“What about levitation?” she asked. I could tell from this that I had to keep my generally underestimated wits about me; she was not going to give me an easy ride. I was guessing that she was feeling outdone in the looks and bust departments, so she would try to retain some of the attention due to her by driving an interesting conversation.
“I don't think you want to be four or five feet off the stage if I lose concentration, do you?” She seemed to accept this justification, although in most cases during a levitation it is only movement that requires concentration.
“Before we start, I think I had better lose the hat; it keeps trying to get away.” I removed the hat and placed it brim upward on the table.
Someone in the audience commented, “I think she plans to produce a rabbit.”
I picked up my hat again and showed it to the audience and Barbie. “Nothing in there, but a pretty pink silk lining.” I made sure to spin the hat in my fingers and ensure that the entire audience got a chance to see the pink-lined emptiness of my hat, before placing back on the table.
“I'm not going to vanish Barbara completely I shall be vanishing parts of her,” I announced. I turned to Barbie, “To keep the secret of how I do this a secret, I need you to pick up the hoop. When I said 'Up!' lift it above your head, and when I say 'Down!' lower it to that it touches the floor in front of you, but so you are still holding it; we want everyone to see what has happened, but we don't want the hassle of picking up the hoop each time.”
“Got it!” Barbie confirmed and stooped to pick up the hoop. She stood and lowered the front to touch the toes of her shoes. The back of the hoop was at waist height contrasting her blue knee-length skirt and bare legs below against the dark red of the fabric attached to the hoop.
“Do you want to practice the raising and lowering before we get to the serious stuff?” In answer to her nod, I said, “Up!” She raised the above her head, but her fingers were still visible holding the hoop. “Very good! Now, down!”
It took most of the audience a second or two to notice the change. Her jacket, that matched her skirt, was nowhere to be seen. I was surprised too; under the jacket, what I had thought was a white blouse, was actually see-through to a black lacy bra; the only white parts of the blouse were the button strip and the collar.
Barbie took the audience's reaction as a cue to look down and notice that her jacket was missing. “Where's my jacket?” she asked. “I thought this was supposed to be a practice run and you weren't vanishing anything yet.”
I mimed looking round as if I had no idea where the missing jacket was, until I spotted the cuff of a blue sleeve draped over the edge of my hat. I pulled on the cuff, dragging the rest of the jacket from the hat, held it up by the shoulders to show it was the same jacket that Barbie had been wearing.
Barbie spotted it and asked, “What was that doing over there?”
I played dumb. “Magic?”
“Can I have it back?”
“If you can put it on without letting go of the hoop.”
“Of course, I can't do that. So what are you going to do with it?”
“Well, I can't stand here holding it all evening, so I'm going to do this.” Holding the jacket in one hand, I pulled a gas stove lighter from a pocket in the tail of my jacket. A quick squeeze brought forth a small flame on the end. I waved the flame under the jacket, then vanished the jacket behind the sheet of flame that erupted from the lighter at the touch of a hidden button. There were various cries of 'Woah!” and 'Wow!' from the audience. The jacket reappeared inside Barbie's handbag, which was sat under her chair. “Neat little magic wand,” I commented, as I dropped it onto the table beside the inverted top hat.
“You didn't say that you'd be wearing a see-through top, but given that I think I'm going to change the order of things a little. The nett result will be the same, but it will seem a little more magical.” I whispered, leaning in to Barbie, to give the impression of giving unheard instructions. Back to the audience. “Now to see if I can vanish something a bit more important than Barbara's jacket. Up!”
Barbie raise the curtain, then a few seconds later lowered it again in response to 'Down!'. She looked around to see what had changed, to the audience it might have looked like she was looking to see if a leg had gone, but she was checking where her skirt was, as the plan was the skirt would be the next thing to go.
It took the audience several seconds to spot the change and a few more for a murmuring to circulate to inform those less observant. Barbie still seemed in the dark, until I reached into my hat and withdrew her bra. She saw this and looked down again to confirm that the garment was missing from her body. I took a moment to think that it would be nice to have breasts small enough and firm enough that the loss of a bra went unnoticed. I balled up the undergarment and squeezed it between my hands; once I had vanished it, I brushed my palms together to show my hands were empty.
“Are you ok if I have another go, Barbara? My aim seems to be a bit off; maybe I shouldn't have had that vodka before I started.” Some of the audience giggled; even Barbie seemed to relax a bit more. “Up!”
I reached into the hat and dragged out the skirt that had appeared there. I showed the audience and then folded it and tucked under my arm on the side nearest the table. “Down!” I commanded.
Barbie lowered the curtain and made some show of noticing that her skirt was no longer hanging from her trim waist. She turned to me expecting me to pull it from the hat, but I picked up the hat and showed her and the audience that it was still empty. The audience's reaction clued her in to the prank I was pulling, so I allowed the skirt to drop from under my arm, catching it and bringing it forward with my other hand to where she could see it. She reacted as if I had produced it from nowhere, much to the amusement of the rest of the party.
Barbie's see-through blouse hung to her high thigh, covering, but not hiding, her g-string panties.
“Given we seem to be doing a completely different trick from the one I planned, do you have a preference for which of your clothes disappears first?”
Barbie seemed to ponder the options, then said, “I guess if my panties disappeared, I might still be considered decent by some stretch of the imagination.”
Instead of telling her to raise the curtain, I swung the skirt that was still in my hand so that it concealed her hips for less that a second and then her hips were revealed without the g-string, showing that she shaved or waxed herself.
While Barbie and our audience were getting used to Barbie in nothing but a see-through blouse, I ripped the skirt in my hand to shreds as if it was made of paper, which it was and not the right shade of blue, but nobody was really looking; her shirt was with the rest of her clothes in her handbag.
“Up!” I said. Barbie gave the pretence of being shocked at the idea that I planned to vanish the last scrap of clothing from her body, before seeming resigned. “I guess it's my fault for volunteering,” she muttered audibly. Slowly she raising the hoop and the attached curtain.
Almost immediately I pulled the sheer blouse from the hat. I showed the garment to the audience. I then balled it up and squeezed it tight in my hands, then showed it to the audience again, but this time it was about a quarter of the original size. I tossed the shrunken top in the air where it dissolved into a puff of smoke.
Barbie asked, “How long do I have to keep holding this curtain up? My arms are getting tired.”
“Sorry I assumed that you would want to hide behind the curtain, until I was ready for the finale of this trick, but if you want to, you can rest the hoop down, or hang it on your shoulder, or something; whatever you are most comfortable with to give your arms a rest.”
I had not completed that sentence, before Barbie had lowered the hoop to its resting position and was displaying her naked body to her friends and acquaintances, with a broad smile on her face.
“What do you think would happen if we made another try at vanishing you or a part of you?” I asked.
Barbie eyed me with a 'You won't dare!' look. Then she cottoned on that I was getting her back for the levitation comment earlier and testing her imagination. “Almost anything, I guess. Maybe, I would end up dressed again; that could be in some other clothes or back into my own. I suppose you could actually vanish me, so I had to come back in through the door; or you might really vanish a bit of me, because you've run out of clothes to make disappear.” I read her expression as defiance in a 'do your worst, I can take it!' way.
“I think we should find out. Up!” She lifted the hoop.
I opened the drawer in the back of the table and pulled out three large cylinders each taller and larger in diameter than the depth of the covered section under the table top. I held my hands together and produced a screwdriver, which I used to lever the tops off the cylinders. The undersides of the lids were stained red, yellow and blue, allowing the audience to identify the cylinders as paint tins.
I first picked up the red tin and poured the contents in a red stream into my hat. I quickly followed this with the entire contents of the blue paint tin, and then the yellow. Because of the size of the tins it was clear that the paint could not be sloshing about in my hat without overflowing. I conformed that the paint had vanished from my hat, by showing the audience that it still had its pristine pink lining.
Some of the audience had guessed what was going on, so I saved Barbie's arms by calling out 'Down!' and confirmed the suspicions of the fast thinkers and amazed the slow.
As Barbie lowered the curtain the audience saw a blue top with a distinctive 'S' in a sort of hexagon. When she got to her waist there was a yellow belt and a short red skirt, then her bare thighs above calf length red boots. It was easy to identify the costume as Supergirl. It took the audience more time to recognise that the costume was not fabric, but entirely paint. Barbie was totally comfortable in her painted skin.
I had her drop the hoop and turn on the spot, to show that the paint was all over and the added detail of the red cape painted over her upper back. She then leapt from the stage and rushed to her boyfriend, Rob, arms wide ready to hug him. He stood to welcome her, but seemed hesitant, explained by the question “Is the paint dry?”
A brief touch on Barbie's shoulder confirmed the paint was dry and he folded her into his arms, with ever appearance of being glad to do so.
While the party crowded around Barbie to congratulate her on her bravery, or get a better look at the naked woman in body-paint in their midst, I collected my equipment together, put on my overcoat and left.
As I crossed the bar area, a man stood and started to walk beside me. I was worried until I recognised him as Brad. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Nothing much. I just thought that if the gig had gone badly, you might need some support from a friend. And if it went well, I wanted to be the first to congratulate you.”
“What if it only went ok?”
“Then I would be here as someone to tell about what went well and what didn't go so good; maybe offer some constructive criticism, or tell you that you're being too critical of yourself. So? How did it go?”
“Ok, I guess. Not a disaster like last time or the time before, but I feel that it could have gone better.”
“Do you want to go for a pizza, or maybe a Chinese, and tell me about it?”
I did not get to answer immediately, because the party left the back room, led by Barbie and Rob. Barbie was still in her painted on Supergirl outfit. She spotted me and hurried up. “I'm a bit surprised to see you still here. We're going to the nightclub a couple of blocks down from here; would you like to join us? And who is this gorgeous man?”
“This is Brad; you initially spoke to him about the magic you wanted. And flattering though it is, I think, I shall decline your invitation, but have fun, and, if you need to, remember where we arranged for your vanished clothes to reappear.”
“Hi, Brad, thanks for putting Candi my way. Well, you two have fun, I'm going to enjoy the rest of the night.” She turned with Rob and left the bar.
“Well, she seemed happy. And that was a very good paint job; I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few people here that did not notice. It sounds to me like you are being too hard on yourself. So, let's go for something to eat and I can tell you that you did a great job, despite your doubts. Pizza or Chinese?”