rehearsal 2

All right, ladies and gentlemen, my name is the magic James, not to be confused with Magic Mike. I know the resemblance is uncanny. Why is that funny?

Anyway, so scientists have studied the human brain to find out why we like magic. And it turns out the reason people like magic isn't because they're fooled, isn't because they're entertained. What people like about magic is the surprise.

So my job as a magician to foster the element of surprise. There's nothing there. That that wouldn't be very surprising.

I was supposed to be a dove. Oh well. Anyways, magicians can also use their influence to influence your minds to think of a certain thing.

I want everybody to think of your favorite fruit because before we started, I put a fruit in my pocket. Everybody shout out your favorite fruit. Apple.

Cool. Lemon. Who thought of lemon?

>> Liars. Nobody. >> I like lemon.

>> Um, that's okay. Look, cuz this I'm going to use this as an example. Watch.

Hold out your hand as if you're holding a lemon. Believe that you have a lemon there and your brain will make it happen. You can smell it.

Smell your lemon. You can feel the texture of your lemon. Reach into your other pocket.

And pull out a knife. Take that knife and cut down the side of the lemon. If you're really concentrating, you should be able to feel the juices flowing down your arm.

Can everybody can you feel the juices? Taste them. You can sense the sourness in your throat, right?

But all that is just enough to prove that you actually thought there was a knife to begin with when in reality it was just a fork, which was enough to make you think that there was a lemon to begin with when in reality it was just a piece of paper. And on that piece of paper, one word says apple. Apple.

Cool. Yeah, >> that is interesting. Of course, there are magicians you've heard of before.

Houdini, Copperfield, David Blaine. These are household names, and they're well known for doing specific types of magic tricks. But there's one trick that every magician is known for.

And this is the trick that's going to make you remember the magic James. Because as a magician, everyone should be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Boring, right?

But because I'm the greatest magician, I can pull a hat out of a rabbit. Didn't see that one coming. But I don't stop there.

Inside the hat, uh, give me a number between one and five. >> Three. >> Two.

That was close. It's okay. Surprise.

Sorry, that uh that was supposed to be a parrot. Weird. Okay.

Anyways, like I was saying, my name is James and I'm an alcoholic. Hi, James. I used to solve all my problems with drinking.

Now, personally, I don't know if alcohol is the solution to all my problems, but I do think it's worth a shot. Might actually be worth a couple shots. If you really pay close attention, it's okay.

It's just mint tea. Now, for this next part, I am going to need a volunteer. You there, miss.

Thank you so much for joining me. Do me a favor. Come up and join me on stage right here.

Perfect. Stay right there. Thank you very much.

Uh, what is your name? >> Delila. >> Delila.

That's so crazy. I have a daughter named Delila. Do me a favor.

Hold out your hand just like this. Borrow that. I hope you don't mind.

All right. Is that okay? In fact, hold out your other hand, too, because I'll rip it in two.

That way, there's one for each hand. Squeeze that as tight as you can. Squeeze that as tight as you can, but keep your hands apart.

I snap there and snap there. Be honest, Eliza. Did you feel any magic happen?

Open up your hands. They switched places. >> Great.

>> You're right. It's not great. You're right.

It's not great. I'll tell you what. Hold out your hand.

I'm going to put this in your hand. I want you to squeeze it up as tight as you can, as fast as you can. Are you ready?

That was my fault. I went too fast. Not you.

Give you a second chance. Perfect. Hold it high so I can't get there.

Watch. If I take this one, I don't want to come too close, but look. Go ahead and look inside your hand.

Look inside. Don't drop it. Grab them.

Trying to blow yourself up. >> I'll tell you what. Hold out your other hand cuz I'm going to confuse your senses.

I'm going to take both of these. Squeeze them as tight as you can. Pay attention to what we're doing.

Please squeeze them as tight as you can. Oh, sorry. Hold them out here.

Watch. I take another one invisibly. Can you see that?

>> Of course not. It's invisible. But if I put this in your hand, it only hurts a lot.

But you didn't even go ahead and open up your hands. One, two, three. Now, that is pretty crazy.

Now, here's how it works. Look, two go into the hand. One goes into the pocket.

How many do I have in the hand? Right. Three.

Cuz three is a magic number. Hold your hand. I'm going to try it in yours.

Your other hand. One. Two go in.

Squeeze it. Tighten. Tight.

Tight. Tighten. Third one goes away inside my pocket.

How many are in the hand? Should be right. Go ahead and open up.

One, two, three. It's one of those weird things. This time I'll put two in the hand.

What do you keep looking at? >> Oh, >> and it was scary. >> One goes in my pocket.

How many are in the hand? >> Two. >> Two.

>> Yeah. >> But three is a magic number. Would you be amazed if there's nothing in the hand?

>> You'd be amazed. >> Yeah. >> What?

>> There's nothing in the hand. It says nothing. But don't worry, it's okay.

I had something in the other hand. Anyways, go back to your seat. Give a huge round of applause.

>> Oh, he forgot this. >> Sorry. That one was supposed to be a crow.

Anyways, let's try something a little bit different. Um, let's see here. What was that?

>> Is there hair in your mouth? >> I think you have hair in your mouth. >> Maybe.

>> Oh. Uhoh. Got it in my mouth.

That's stupid. I'm so sorry. I'm so stupid.

All right. Anyways, um Oh, let's do this. Let's do this.

Check it out. How now? Name any animal.

Parrot >> worm. Cool. Worm.

It's not good. I'll tell you what. It's turn into no longer a worm.

You know what it is now? >> It's a snake. >> You can tell cuz it hisses.

>> Yeah. I tell you what, it's actually just a worm. You know what happens?

You know what worms are very famous for >> besides being disgusting? >> Yeah. What?

You take a worm. You take a worm and cut it in half. It doesn't die.

You know what happens? It becomes two worms. That's true.

Look it up. >> It is true. >> It is true.

>> One dies though. >> No, >> it becomes two worms. >> Isn't that crazy?

Go ahead and hang on to them. Yeah. It doesn't happen with balloons.

Just worms. That's okay. We'll do this instead of ch this out.

Take it. Don't try this at home, kids. >> It starts to get crazy.

Watch. >> Yeah, right. You have any idea how dangerous that would be?

You know what? For you guys, I'm willing to risk it. That was tough.

I appreciate the thunders round of stun silence, but we'll continue. Perfect. Thank you.

Oh, man. >> All right. I don't know.

I know we all have issues. We all have our cross to bear. Me personally, I always struggled from ADD.

Anybody relate? >> Yeah. Yeah, I had a feeling.

For me, my ADHD manifests in simple ways. For example, finding a new thing, an obsession, a hobby, an interest, takes up my whole life. All I can do is focus on that one thing.

It's fine. As long as I'm focusing on it, it's not a big deal. But the second I lose focus, even for a second, I lose it.

But doesn't always go far. Oops. Sometimes it goes further than I originally expected.

Ah, there we go. Doesn't always go far, but it's interesting. As long as I focus, I can make those disappearances seem intentional so that it looks like I've got my life together.

But in fact, it's just a new obsession. Now, if it's just one, it's not a big deal because I can just keep it juggle one with no problem. The problem is when it becomes two like that.

Oops. Problem is when it becomes two like that, then it becomes an issue. Of course, I can typically focus on just one by putting one away and trying new things with the one that I have left.

That keeps my attention to it. Not a bad way. Of course, eventually the other one will always find a way to creep back in.

And so, I have to find other ways of juggling my problems. As long as they're manageable, it's not an issue. If I put one away, it gets a little extra manageable, but it'll always become two.

Uh because two uh take it two becomes one, which becomes two becomes two becomes four. And that's when it becomes a little bit unmanageable. Of course, at this point, I really have to learn how to juggle because my interests are getting out of hand.

But if I really focus all my attention on it, I can get them to slip away, which makes life easier to manage. Takes a lot of focus to get them to slip away. However, it's always worth it for me.

Press. Sorry. That uh that was supposed to be a zebra.

Here, catch. That's good. Anyways, and what we're going to do go through the book like this whenever you want.

Just tell me when to stop. >> Stop. Go ahead and look at the first word on this page.

You got it? >> Perfect. All right.

Before we get started with that, I'm going to send a thought into your brain. Are you ready? It's going to be a word.

It's going to have four letters. Now, don't try and help me out. Don't guess what this word is.

You will hear my voice in your head telling you what the word is. And there's no time. So if you don't get it right away, that's fine.

But look at me. Look at me. I'm going to get this word into your brain.

All right. Are you ready? You have any idea what the word is?

What? >> No. >> Exactly.

No. Give her a round of applause. That's pretty incredible.

All right. Now, you're thinking of word, too, right? >> This time, send it to me.

>> Got it. I sense it's a small word. Is that correct?

Think about it in all capital letters. Feel a very round letter to start. Is it a round letter?

Um, is this a word you might use to describe me? >> Is it old? >> All right, we did it, guys.

We did it. All right. Now, calm down, Dad.

All right. Now, my dad is going to help us with a magic trick because I don't know if you knew this, but my dad is dead or dead to me. Like, he's alive.

We just don't talk. >> Um, so the ghost of my alive dad is going to help us. It's a master lie detector.

All right. He's going to be able to help me figure out whether you guys are telling me the truth or a lie. So, do me a favor.

Take a card out of here. Look at it. Show it around to everybody.

Let me know when everybody has seen it. >> Everybody has seen it. >> You got it.

Perfect. Go ahead. Put it back in.

Now, focus on your card. All right. I'm going to ask you a question about your card.

You can either lie or tell the truth. All right. If you lie, bell ring.

My dad's going to ring the bell. So, Your card a red card? >> No.

So, your card was a black card. >> Yes. >> Mhm.

>> All right. Perfect. Remember, you can cancel if you want, but was it a face card?

I don't think so. Let's see. Black.

There's clubs and spades. Would you carve a club? No.

There's a spade. Is it above five? Yeah.

Okay. So, six, seven, eight, nine, or 10. Um, your card wasn't the seven of spades, was it?

Was it the 10 of spades? Yeah, it was. Was your cards 10 of spades for real?

Perfect. Give my father a round of applause. Thank you for helping the lie detector.

All right. Okay. Last but not least, it's going to be one of my favorite tricks.

Now, before I got to a point in my career where where I was able to get booked to perform in places like this for people like you, I did most of my magic on the street for people that didn't even know magic was around the corner. And every street show I've ever performed, I closed with this trick. This is one of my favorite tricks in the entire world.

It's also one of the oldest tricks that's ever been created. So, I'm going to share that trick with you guys because it's my favorites. It uses three copper cups and three little yellow balls.

This trick is called the cups and the balls. Not very original, I know, but it's fun nevertheless. So in China, magician takes the ball, waves with the stick, and that ball vanishes without a trace.

In Scandinavia, they wave twice, and that ball too vanishes without a trace. Probably the longest, most storied tradition of cups and balls. Magic comes from south of the border in old Mexico.

The magician displays the ball in the palm of his hand. Says, I'm going to make this ball disappear on the count of three. Ready?

Uno. Do uno do a uno dose. I think two vanishes without a trace.

Get it? Traces three. Anyways, I still have three cups.

Three balls. No applause. Sorry.

People normally clap for that. I'll tell you what. Put one ball there, one ball there, and one ball there.

I have A, B, or C. Please pick a cup. >> A.

>> A. Look, I'll take the ball invisly from B and drop it in A. Exactly where she said it would be.

Go from here only to appear exactly where they said it would be. Give her a round of applause because that was amazing. When somebody does something amazing, he clap for them.

I'll tell you what, I don't want to be accused of using slide of hand, ladies and gentlemen. I do not want to be accused of using slide of hand. So, instead of using slide of hand, I'll use the cups.

Wait, no, hold on. Not to say I will not use slide of hand. I just don't want to be accused.

I'm sensitive. So, I use the cups instead of my hands. Cover the ball with the cups, hit it with the stick, and it looks like it vanishes completely.

But, we all know it's not gone. It penetrates right down through the center cup. Now, I know what you're thinking.

You think there's a great big hole in the bottom of the cup? Go ahead and take a look. You're right.

We don't have time. Why don't you do something else instead? I'm going to simplify this as much as I know, Hannah.

I'm going to uh cover that ball there. I'll cover that ball there. This ball, take away and put it inside the magical panty pack.

To make things even more magical, I'll eliminate a second ball as well, which if you're paying attention, should give me one ball under the center cup, right? Is everybody paying attention? Yes.

Then how come this ball comes back? >> Don't want that to happen. >> When dog gives you 11.

>> I did this trick one time for Taylor Swift. This is a true story that I made up. She said, "James, every time you say you take the ball, you don't actually take the ball.

And we pretend to take the ball. Pretend to put the ball inside the bag. The ball cleverly concealed in the other hand.

And then we drop on the table next to the cup, making it seem as though it comes from underneath the cup. And I said, "T- swizzle, please. " That would be cheating.

And I don't cheat. Watch. Ball actually goes away.

How many balls into the center cup, everybody? Three, two, three. Yes.

Three. Exactly. Perfect.

Look, I'm going to simplify this again. I'm going to cover the balls with the hat. These balls will vanish.

Watch close. Boom. They're gone.

I know what you're thinking. Not actually gone. But look, how could I do this?

Boom. Bring them all back. You're right.

It's not a good trick. Tell you what, watch close. Oh my gosh.

Look over there. And just like magic, they're still there. You were watching me way too closely.

But I am going to cheat now though. All three balls go away inside the bag. Three taps on the center cup.

How amazing it would be if all three balls were back into the center cut. >> Crazy. >> Pretty good, right?

They wouldn't fit. But if one is good, I think three is better. And I'll tell you what, my job as a magician is to raise this steak.

So what if what if I can produce a grapefruit underneath the bottom cup? Watch. Boom.

Technically, a grape is a fruit. It's not exactly what you wanted. So I do have a grapefruit for you.

Anyways, thank you very much. So glad you enjoyed that. Everyone's going crazy.

No, no, no. Keep your clothes on. No, keep the $100 bills in your wallet.

Tell you what, I used to end my show like that, but now I think it's important to end it with a message. My message to you that no matter what happens, you can always count on one thing. And that thing is word.

And that word >> surprise. >> What is our time?