Scott Guinn - Return to the Nest.pdf - Scott Guinn - kitekk9

Return to the Nest

by Scott Guinn

About Scott Guinn, from someone who knows him better than anyone else: himself. "I have been

performing throughout the US and Canada since 1978, full-time for the past seven years. I work 4

nights per week at restaurants, and do 250-300 private shows and fairs, etc per year. I do

strolling, banquet, platform and kids shows. I also have 32 years experience as a ventriloquist. I

have done two lecture tours, and a midwest tour is in the works for 2001. I emphasize strong,

direct effects with entertaining, commercial presentations."

Normally, I'd leave it at that, but I'd be remiss as your humble editor if I didn't point you to the

books Scott has written, full reviews of which you can read here . and which are available from

H&R Books , Discountmagic.com or directly from Scott .

This particular routine comes from Scott's excellent book of coin magic, Great Scott! It's (Coin)

Magic!

Comments: The borrowed ring in nest of boxes is, in my opinion, one of the most powerful

effects in stand-up magic. I often use it as a closer. This routine uses a gaffed nest. The routine

immediately following this one uses an ungaffed nest.

Requirements: You need a gaffed nest of boxes. The set I use is marketed by Samuel Patrick

Smith. It consists of three nesting boxes with a cutout in back, and a Lippincott box (LB), and sells

for around $75-100. You'll also require a small jewelry ring box, a drawstring bag that the ring box

will fit in, and a devil's handkerchief, which you modify as follows. Get a cheap finger ring and

sew it into the inside bottom corner of the pocket and then sew the pocket closed.

Set up: The boxes are nested and closed. Lock up the LB, turn it upside down and open the trap

door. Set this into the cutout of the nest so that the door acts as a slide. Place the key to the LB in

the ring box and the ring box in the bag. The nest goes on the shelf of your table with the hanky

draped over it. Give the bag to an audience member before you start the show.

Method and performance: Borrow a lady's finger ring. Bring up a little boy, about 5-6 years old,

to help you. Show the ring to the boy and then, keeping the ring in full view, get the hanky. Cover

the ring with the hank and pick up the fake ring through the hank as you finger-palm the real ring.

Using the Ramsay Subtlety, show the boy how to hold his hand palm down to take ring through

the hanky between his thumb and forefinger. Point at the lady who loaned you the ring, again

using Ramsay Subtlety, and say, "If anything happens to that ring, you owe her a lot of money."

Address the woman. "Don't worry! If anything does go wrong, I have a lovely consolation prize!"

Reach into the table for the nest, loading the ring as you remove it and set it on the table. Walk

over to the boy, who is still holding the "ring" through the hanky.

Take one of the dangling corners of the hanky between the first two fingers of the left hand, the

palm facing the audience. Show the right hand empty in a gesture as you ask the boy, "Are you

still holding onto Mrs. -----'s ring?" He'll say yes. "Good! Now when I count to three, I want you to

let go of the ring, ok? One, two, THREE!"

The kid lets go of the ring and it apparently vanishes into thin air. Show the hanky on both sides

and then stuff it into your pocket. The kid almost always looks around on the floor for the ring,

which gets a laugh. Pretend to look with him for a second, then ask him, "What did you do with

her ring?" Another laugh. Have him lock his fingers together and put his hands on his head and

then "pat him down" like a suspect under arrest. HUGE laugh. Tell him you're just teasing and

send him back to his seat, leading the applause as he goes.

Look at the lady. "Are you ready for this? Your ring is…back on your finger!" She will almost

always look at her finger. As soon as she does, say, "Yeah, that would have been a great trick,

huh?" (Thanks to Dan Fleshman for this line!) ENORMOUS laugh.

Ask the person who has been holding the bag to stand. Have her open the bag and remove the

ring box. Tell her to open the box and hold the lady's ring "high in the air for all to see, and the

applause will be tumultuous!" She opens the box and holds up the key. In an audience of any

size, some people will begin to applaud, as they can't tell that it is not the ring. Eventually, the

lady holding the key or the woman missing the ring will point this out to you. Ask the woman with

the key, "What did you do with the ring?" Look at the other lady. Well, it's out of my hands now.

It's between you two! No, I'm just kidding. Would you like to know where your ring really is? No

fooling, it's back on your finger!" If she looks: "I can't believe you fell for that again!" If she doesn't

look: "Yeah, you're not falling for that again, are you?"

In any event, have the lady with the key give it to the lady missing the ring. Draw attention to the

nest of boxes. "Remember the consolation prize? I was at K-Mart the other day and they had this

lovely perfume on sell-eau de Pasteur! It was $1.98 a quart! So I picked some up, just in case."

Open the first box, remove the next and so on. Close the trapdoor of the LB as you remove it. Ask

the lady to come up with the key. Have her verify that the box is closed and locked. Ask her if the

key fits the lock. When she replies that it does, comment that it wouldn't be much of a trick if it

didn't! Have her remove the lock, open the LB, remove the ring and verify that it's hers. Lead the

audience in a round of applause, as she returns to her seat. When she puts the ring on, stop

suddenly and say, "Your ring is back on your finger!"

EMPTY NEST

Comments: Here's a version of the preceding routine with an ungaffed nest, although you will

still need the LB. Your only other requirement will be a large Banker's Clasp, available at any

office supply store. You will be using this as John Bannon's "I/O Holdout."

Set up: Get at least three, or even four or five ungimmicked boxes that will nest together. Each

box should be locked, tied or banded shut. Place the key to the LB in the innermost box. The LB,

padlocked and with the trapdoor closed, goes into the drawstring bag. Give this to an audience

member for safekeeping before you start the show. The Banker's clasp is attached to your left

rear trouser pocket. You must wear a jacket, which will hide the clasp. The prepared hanky is in

your outer breast pocket. The nest of boxes should be on your table in full view from the start of

the show.

Method and performance: Follow the same procedures as in "Return to the Nest" with the

following exceptions:

1. After you switch the ring for the one in the hanky (the kid is holding the fake ring), keep the real

ring finger-palmed. As you walk over to your table to call attention to the "consolation prize," your

hands drop to your sides and you load the ring under the clasp. You may hitch up your pants

casually, to help cover this.

2. Instead of having the drawstring bag opened first, ask the lady who loaned you the ring to

come up front. Let HER open the nest to discover the key.

3. Send her to her seat with the key. Turn to the person with the bag. Ask her to open the bag

and remove the box. Go to her and take the box. As you display it with your right hand, your left

hand, which has been resting on your hip, pivots back and gets the ring from the holdout in thumb

palm. Hold the LB so that the trapdoor faces you. Your right thumb pushes the trapdoor open

about halfway. Bring your left hand up to hold the box so your right hand can grasp the lock to

show that it is securely closed. Meanwhile, your left hand loads the ring into the LB and pushes

the trapdoor closed! Take the box to the owner of the ring and let her unlock it and remove her

ring.

Additional comments: I know, I know… It's SCARY opening, loading and closing that box right in

front of the audience! But guess what? They don't know it has a trapdoor! Or that you have a

clasp on your pocket with the real ring in it. Or what a thumb palm is. Practice this until you can

do it without looking at your hands, and I GUARANTEE you'll fool 'em! And you won't have to

shell out the bucks for a tricky set of boxes!

Scott Guinn - Return to the Nest.pdf

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