www.cupsandballsmagic.com 1 www.cupsandballsmagic.com Copyright Written by and Copyright © 2013 Brian Watson www.cupsandballsmagic.com Cover design by Brian Watson. Book design by Brian Watson No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may (with permission) quote short excerpts in a review. 2 www.cupsandballsmagic.com Contents Copyright 1 Contents 2 - 4 Forword 5 - 6 Introduction 7 - 8 A Little History 9 - 10 What is a Chop Cup? 10 Bags and Accessories 11 Shot Glass and Silk 11 - 12 Wand Work 12 The Difference Between a Chop 13 Cup and the Cups and Balls Advantage Over a Regular Cups 13 - 14 and Balls Routine Is it a Magic Prop? 14 - 15 The Anatomy of a Cup 15 - 18 The Importance of a Saddle 18 - 19 Material Benefits 20 - 22 Cup Finish 22 - 24 Cup Size 24 - 25 Solid or Soft Cup? 25 - 26 Tables 26 - 28 Mats 28 - 29 Bags 30 - 31 Ball Types 31 - 38 3 www.cupsandballsmagic.com Ball Size 38 - 41 Adjustable Balls 41 - 43 Knuckles To The Edge 43 - 44 Visibility – You are the 44 - 45 Backdrop Placing a Gaffed Ball on Top of 46 - 48 the Cup Dislodging the Ball Correctly in 49 a Small Cup The Basic Sleights 49 - 50 What is the Purpose of the Cup 50 - 51 and Small Ball Sequence? Internal Dialogue and Impact 52 - 53 What is a Final Load 53 - 54 Why 2 Final Loads 54 - 55 In Their Hands 55 Solid or Compressed Final 56 Loads Incongruity 56 - 57 Fake Fruit or Real 58 - 59 Why the Lemon 59 Where to Load From 59 - 60 The Perfect Ball Holder 60 - 61 Bring the Cup to the Load 62 - 67 Holding the Load in With the 67 - 68 Pinkie 4 www.cupsandballsmagic.com How to Reveal the Final Loads 69 Bill to Lemon Final Load 69 - 71 Considerations Closing Thoughts 72 Other Products 72 - 80 5 www.cupsandballsmagic.com Foreword The internet is an amazing thing; just type in what you are interested in and boom there it pops up. It is through the internet that I found others inflicted with the illness of “Cup Fever.” ... it is there that I found Brian Watson. Over the years Bri and I have written many e-mails and PM's sharing our love for all things Cups and Balls. Early on I came to the conclusion that Bri is a very special individual; that he is very talented, very knowledgeable as it pertains to Cups and most things magic and that he is very giving; sharing whatever he can offer to assist someone that he has never met in person, such as myself. It was also early on in our relationship that I came to realize that Bri has much to offer the “Magic World” and that when all is said and done Brian Watson will make his mark in that “Magic World.” I have collected a large amount of writings, books, pamphlets and such regarding the Cups and Balls both old and new. Some are good some are bad, but even within the good there seems to be a lacking of detail. Those small yet important details that goes beyond moves and routines... where is the history, the why as to this cup or another and the balls and loads to be used... yes the small details? Look no further and check out the writings of Brian Watson, where you will find clear and precise information that is easy to relate to and best of all, easy to learn from. 6 www.cupsandballsmagic.com I believe that Bri has only begun to scratch the surface of his wealth of Cups and Balls knowledge and look forward to his future offerings. Thanks Bri for sharing and most of all, thank you Bri for your friendship. Bruce Smith Denver, Colorado 2013 7 www.cupsandballsmagic.com Introduction While my first love will always be the cups and balls, a close second is the chop cup. I think the reason I particularly love the cups and balls because it teaches me so much about performance, sleights, timing, handling, psychology and much more every single time I perform or practice it. I look upon the chop cup as a much stripped down, performance friendly version of the cups. It really does have a lot going for it, there's less to carry, it's easier for an audience to follow (1 cup instead of 3 and 1 ball instead of 3) and it gets to the final loads a lot quicker than a regular cups and balls routine which makes it a lot more commercial. It's also very adaptable to being performed in many situations and conditions and it needs a lot less table space. While many people would opt for only ever performing the chop cup I do believe that solid grounding in the cups and balls is a good place to start before switching to the chop cup and also applying that knowledge to the cup. Just like learning to play an acoustic guitar and learning your theory first before taking up the electric guitar; a good, solid grounding works wonders. With some background in the cups and balls and utilising basic sleights the effect of the chop cup can be replicated allowing you to perform a 1 cup routine anywhere you have a cup and a simple object to place underneath it. Whether that object is a rolled up napkin, a grape of a balled up £10 note. The advantages to a gaffed cup however, are many and those are discussed in this book. 8 www.cupsandballsmagic.com In short, the chop cup is a highly commercial piece of magic that is a blank canvas and can be presented in many ways. I've seen it done to rhyming patter, as a challenge effect, close up, on stage, in bars, highly gaffed and set up and totally impromptu. For me, the chop cup is a beautiful piece of magic that has so much potential. This book is designed to be a guide to the chop cup, balls and final loads; to take someone from not knowing what a chop cup is, to knowing all the ins and outs, how to select one, what type of balls to use, setting up the cup and balls, final loads etc. With that in mind, I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Kindest, Brian Watson 9 www.cupsandballsmagic.com A Little History Before we get into the basic information of the chop cup it is important to give credit where credit is due because we stand on the shoulders of giants. They say (whoever they are?) that there is nothing new in this world and so it is important that we take a moment to acknowledge those who have trodden our path beforehand. I must thank my friend the very knowledgeable gentleman Etienne Lorenceau for the research and facts related to the history of the chop cup It is widely accepted that Al Wheatley created the chop cup in 1954 and that Al named the cup after his Asian stage persona of "Chop Chop." It's also been said that Al wanted to perform cups and balls effects but with less props and so he looked at 1 cup routines and then created his gaff that revolutionized the art. Of course it is very common place for people on different continents to create things independently, which may possibly have been the case with the chop cup as there was a reference to the mechanics of a magnetic cup as far back as the 1930's. In actual fact the method of making a ball stick (with pork fat and wax no less) to the roof of a cup goes as far back as the 1700's (1759 : Geneve chez Henri-Albert Gosse & Comp.) However, with reference to a ball being faked with a magnet, Fred Lodge published (1936) "A Novel Cup and Ball Effect" in a book titled The Mysteries of the Mystic Seven. It was a 2 cup routine (one of the cups being chopped, so it was also a reference to a 10 www.cupsandballsmagic.com combo set too.) Since Al Wheatley there have been many magicians who have featured the chop cup (in no particular order) including Don Alan, Paul Daniels, Ken Brooke and Larry Jennings and every time I perform it I thank all those who have gone before me as far back as the 1700's for everything they have contributed. What is a Chop Cup? In the spirit of being fully transparent and covering every angle I shall explain exactly what a chop cup actually is. While there are a few variations using outside gaffs, variations on the theme etc., the regular chop cup shall be described here. In its simplest of terms a chop cup is a cup containing a magnet that attracts a magnetic ball in order to hold it inside the base of the cup. The cup can then be held mouth down on a table and lifted to show there is nothing underneath. If the cup is gently tapped against a table while placing it back down the ball is dislodged and drops onto the table allowing it to be shown to have appeared under the cup. Of course all of the above (and more) can also be performed using sleight of hand, however most people prefer the chop cup for ease of use and simplicity.