Blowing away the mother in law - not literally although I wish.

Have any of you set out to try and blow someone that you know away? I have done this before with a few people. I usually go for some setup situation that I contrive to look impromptu and then go for a mega-strong effect that would be impossible without the setup.

My most successful (and scary set up) was a combination of Sean Boginia's card through window and the Intercessor. I was in a CEO's office waiting for the CEO. I knew this other guy played cards a lot and hence I had a pack of cards with me, and we talked a bit about gambling and cards. The CEO came in and took the bait asking to see a trick.

I used the Intercessor to enable him to keep the corner of a card. I then did the card thru window and he could match up his corner on one side of the window with the card on the outside. Why was the setup scary - the office was on the top floor (16th) and the windows don't open. I had to use the window cleaning rig to set it up and I'm not keen on heights. You can imagine the reaction.

Anyway back to the original point - I would be interested to hear how you go about blowing people away. I also have a specific problem. I really need to blow away my mother in law and I want to do it real bad. I don't perform much for family. My mother in law was around recently and was talking about with my wife about magic. My wife wanted me to do something at Christmas (I have done a couple of things before for her friends at party's and they have all raved about them). The mother in law was asking a bit about magic and I thought was taking the **** (so are magicians a bit like stamp collectors or train spotters! - she was trying to understand why I would go to FISM). I might add that she has not got that impression from me.

She also professed that she has no interest in Magic, if it comes on TV she will turn it over and if she sees a trick her usual reaction is, “Why should I care?” I have never done anything for her. I will only bother doing something for her if I am convinced that I will blow her mind. I don't think that the classics will work.

I think that I need something very strong, mix entertainment, visual magic and impossibility and have maximum impact. I also believe that it has to resonate with her. I was thinking of trying to come up with something based on her interests which are the following:

She is Scottish and lives in Brussels - 59 years old. She is obsessed with royalty, reads ok and hello avidly and to an extent is a Mrs. Bucket type of person (concerned about appearances). She is a definite extrovert and loves to be the center of attention and glamour. She loves flaunting designer labels but only buys them if they are fakes. She reads a lot and thinks she knows much more than she does (I have seen her in quiz games be 100% sure of the anser professing her knowledge and 80% of the time she is wrong).

I would be grateful on some thoughts of what I could do. I will only do a couple of things and no longer than 5 minutes.

I have been trying to think of things using celebrity magazines; knife thru her Gucci. I have also been thinking of more dramatic effects such as a bullet catch although I am not convinced it will fit the situation. Anyone been in a similar situation?

By the way I have found out that her perception of magic was top hat and tails or very unfunny comedy magic from 30 years ago. I have a much more modern style so that will help. Thoughts are appreciated (P.S. Fortunately the wife hasn't picked up many of these traits).

Off the top of my head, and not thinking of specific effects, start with something that she likes and is interested in that isn't magic. Take a page from the bizarre magic book. What if you found something interesting in an antique store and wanted her opinion on its value? Perhaps it has unexpected properties...perhaps there is some connection to royalty...

Another possible line is closeup with beautiful, valuable props.

I think the key is in your statement of her opinion, "Why should I care?" in response to stage magic on TV. If you start with something that she already cares about and have a good story line I think you have a chance.

Yet another angle is to do something huge that makes the papers and involves the appearance of danger. Escapes are perfect for this. Since you were willing to hang in the air 16 floors to do a card trick, I think that you have what it takes for the publicity stunt escape. She doesn't have to attend, just reading the papers will make her care. My extended family went nuts with fear this summer when I did one. I didn't know they cared so much!

Good luck!

Yours,

Paul

Perhaps a shot at mentalism?

Revealing to someone the name of their childhood pet has altered the perceptions of many.

Jack Shalom

I don't want to be the nay-sayer here, but if your mother-in-law has expressed such disdain for magic, she may not be impressed with anything magical no matter how hard you try. I have a few people in my family that are like that, and I have worked out a few major effects that I've performed for them, and I've done them flawlessly and had some of my other family and friends watching who were blown away and very impressed. But those few people in my family who just aren't into magic at all, weren't impressed in the least, even though the rest of the people were. What I've found is that some people just don't like magic, and it becomes very frustrating trying to get them to be impressed time and again. Maybe you'll find that one perfect moment for that one perfect effect that will just blow her away, but I've found that for some people it just isn't worth the effort, so I try to do magic for the people who enjoy it. That's just my two cents (and with inflation these days, it's not even worth that!) Good luck!

Have you tried finding out what she finds interesting and important?

There are MANY people who don't think much of 'watch the clever magician' type performance.

Let me get this right; she doesn't care for magic and you want to show her a trick. You talk about her as if her character is offensive to you in fact, you mention relief that your wife doesn't share those traits. The very title of your post and the first line is revealing and quite frankly cliched to death.

I think the real question you are asking is how to stick it to a person you don't like and my friend, if that person is your mother in law, you are beating on the wrong door. Be careful where you tred (its your wife's mother) and rethink how to gain the respect of her - after all, that's what this is about, isn't it?