LIMITLESS MORE THAN 50 EFFECTS USING THE ROMERO BOX Prologue Anthony Blake This book is dedicated to Antonio Ferragut, Master of the art of wit. BACK TO INDEX BACK BACK TO INDEX BACK TITLE Limitless. More than 50 effects using the Romero Box. CREATED BY Romero Magic. COVER DESIGN Sansón y Dalila BOOK LAYOUT Belén Romero - Sansón y Dalila FOTOGRAPHER Concepción Jurado PRINTED BY Sansón y Dalila TRANSLATED BY Fernando Rosal. Madrid, July 2014. LIMITLESS MORE THAN 50 EFFECTS USING THE ROMERO BOX BACK TO INDEX BACK 4 Index 4 Index 6 Prologue 6 Prologue 8 Foreword 8 Foreword 10 The Box 11 Basic technique. 12 Loading cards. 14 Types of effects. I•15 Romero Box Classics 16 Card prediction/mind reading. 19 Torn and restored card. 23 Card at number. 25 Do as I do. 28 Double coincidence. II•31 Transpositions 32 Card to card box. 35 Signed card to card box. BACK TO INDEX BACK 38 Card to any location. 41 Card to cell phone. 43 Houdini’s scape. 45 Two card transposition. 47 Transposition with a twist. III•49 Coins 50 Coin through card box. 53 Copper-silver transposition. 55 Copper-silver finale. IV•61 Mentalism and other mysteries 62 Business Card revelation. 65 Divination of the serial number of a bank note. 67 The magazine test. 70 The newspaper divination. 71 The matches. 73 The living/dead test. 75 The puzzle. 76 Open prediction. 81 ESP coincidence. V•83 Transformations and strange phenomena. 84 Transformation of a card into another. 86 Transformation of a business card. 86 Transformation of a coin. 86 ATM. 87 Paper to bill. The money making machine. 88 The stapled card. 89 The creation of a card. 91 Alice’s tunnel. 91 Tricks with pictures. 91 Tricks with drawings. 91 The rubber bands. TO INDEX BACK 92 Tempus Fugit. 93 Romero’s Paella. Utilities and alternate box configurations: VI•95 Romero Box Tool and double flap. 96 Switching cards. 97 The vanishing card. 98 Forcing a piece of paper. 98 Forcing a key. 99 Double Flap 101 Romero Box Tool 103 Card throu card box. 105 The close-up sub trunk. VII•107 Bonus: The “same same but different” principle. VII•113 Shop I’ve known Antonio for a very long time, even before he start- ed his professional career in MAGIC, the art we’re both so passionate about. I had just ar- rived in Madrid when he was already a part of the group formed by great names such as Prologue Juan Tamariz, Camilo Vázquez, Antonio Ferragut… all foremost members of the “Escuela Mági- ca de Madrid”(1) of which we both became part of. I saw him advance in the art and show us his cleverness and inventive- ness. His “Transparent Cups and Balls” is a true work of art, a must for any magician who likes Cups and Balls and a won- derful routine for anyone who BACK TO INDEX BACK loves magic. Some years later, already a full time professionalmagi- cian, he performed in a crazy magic event I organized in Ma- drid’s Harlequin theatre every Thursday. We called it “Magic Thursdays”, and once again he astonished both magicians and laymen with his ideas, show- ing his “good aim” by hitting a selected card with a rifle and pinning it to a piece of wood… as all of the cards were stream- ing from a card fountain. It was simply amazing. 6 Some time later we met after possibilities of the Romero one of my shows at the Amaya Box are so many, he’s had to theatre. Polite and elegant, as write this book. Make the most always, he showed me his last of his endless wit, for Antonio is invention. The Im-post-it-ble: A a bottomless well full of creativ- tool that allows the magician to ity. Read this book thoroughly, secretly know what a spectator as it’s full of truly impossible ef- has written in a Post-it note. fects, as well as tiny details that And again, it was such a clever really help to make a difference. idea. I started using it every- Study the effects, perform them where. Theatres, at the street, and you’ll be regarded as a great atprivate shows… it worked as magician. Look after them, re- a charm! Professional magic cre- hearse them and I assure you, ated by a professional magician. you will make miracles. You will by now understand why, when he called me again to tell me he had a new crea- Anthony Blake tion, I was eager to meet him as P.E.A. Dunninger Memorial Award soon as possible. He came home 2003 for lunch, where Javito (Javier Núñez) my secretary and stage TO INDEX BACK technician (and my most trust- ed person) and me where wait- ing for him. He brought out a pack of cards, removed it from its case and let magic start. What an invention! I don’t want to foretell the many uses Antonio’s creation has. I will just hint that I use it both in stage and Close-up sit- uations. I find out cards, force them, do the invisible deck with a borrowed deck, a great Word- (1) Madrid’s magical school, a “school of search puzzle prediction,and an thought” created in the 70’s by some of the most important magicians in Spain, whose extremely long etcetera. The manifesto greatly influenced Close-up magic. 7 Foreword I couldn’t start this book without thanking before all the friends that have helped me through this magical adventure. First and foremost, there’s Greca de Blas, whose endless patience and price- less collaboration have been key to the Romero Box’s develop- ment. This couldn’t have happened without him, his support and his generosity. THANKS GRECA! I should also thank Belén Rome- ro, my patient sister, always ready to give me help and warm sup- port, the very intelligent David Bravo and his awesome designs, Angel Simal, whose accurate advice has helped me greatly, Lau- rent Vadel, who did a great job translating the book into French and to all of the magicians who, with their tricks and ideas, have contributed to the making of this book. And, last but not least, the amazing Rafael Benatar. Your advice and unquestionable friend- ship give me a much needed support in every project I undertake. I’ve been a professional magician for many years. I’ve had to per- form in a wide variety of conditions, in front of many different (1) audiences. And, as the great Ortega y Gasset said, “I am the sum BACK TO INDEX BACK of myself and my circumstances”. And, although circumstances can affect the way you perform an effect, or the way you execute a certain trick, magic always comes first to me. I think the effect is sacred. You cannot mess with magic in your show. I cannot think of a magic show as a comedy show. I love to have fun and entertain the audience, and comedy is an element of my shows. But if I have to decide between magic and comedy, I will always choose magic. It’s in my DNA. It’s a personal choice. This “school of thought”, added to the exigencies of professional magic performance, always makes me try to find the best methods for the effects I perform in terms of magical impact and practicality. The Romero Box is a perfect example. An object that the audience perceives as common, a card box, will not raise any suspicion, thus making it the perfect weapon for a magician. I love gimmicks. They always add value to my magic and, what’s even more important, they give me tools I can use to create my 8 own routines. My drawers are full of them. Some I haven’t even used. Some others I’ve toyed with, without ever fully understand- ing them. And finally, there’s a few I’ve extensively used. But I know they’re there, full of possibilities, waiting for a spark to ig- nite in my brain and make me rush to my room, open the drawer, look at a gimmick and say “That’s it!”. The Romero Box fits this category. It’s a gimmick full of possibilities that will always be there, waiting for you in order to help you make that magical idea in your mind become reality. The Romero Box has many possibilities. It will help you to per- form tricks with cards, coins and many other objects. It’s also a very useful tool for mentalism and it’s specially designed to exchange one or several cards, a feat that solves many problems commonly found when performing close-up magic. In this book you will find a huge variety of tricks. In many cases, they will be accompanied by tips on how to use the Romero Box in a way that will make it go unnoticed by the audience. The Romero Box has taken its first baby steps as a magic tool. I’m sure that, little by little, people will come with new ideas. To- TO INDEX BACK day we can communicate in many ways, and the communication range is practically limitless. The Romero Box is not an excep- tion, as day by day its applications grow thanks to the generous contributions of many magicians who share their experiences and ideas. If you wish to become part of the community, please visit www.facebook.com/RomeroBox where any idea about the box will is welcome.