Here’s a time-tested nugget of wisdom in the world of conjuring:The best magic occurs right in the hands of the audience.
And here’s the kicker:The more they do, the more mind-blowing the magic becomes.
Now, imagine if it all unfolded in their hands? What if the magician wasn’t even in the same postcode? What if it was just his voice guiding them... from a radio, a telly, or even from miles away? - and the magic was all theirs to perform!
That’s the brilliant conundrum Spain’s top magician, Juan Tamariz, took on. And from this brainwave sprouted a treasure trove of magic that has left audiences in Spain and Latin America utterly gobsmacked, whether on radio, television, or in a live setting. It’s the kind of magic that has managed to stump both the crowd and seasoned pros.
Armed with just a handful of playing cards, bits of paper, and some everyday odds and ends, audiences are whisked through an array of entertaining feats that lead to sheer astonishment. With a delightful mix of clever techniques, both old and new, paired with some sharp psychological insights and inventive strategies, Juan Tamariz conjures magic that happens right in the audience's hands. He’s got them surprising themselves! And guess what? You’ll be fooled too, just by following along with the radio scripts in these pages.
So crack open this book and join the ranks of the amazed. Then, go on and share the wonder and fun with your own audiences, whether they’re tuning in to the radio, glued to the telly, or right there in the room with you.
As you follow along, Juan Tamariz will instruct you to grab a few red and black cards from a deck and mix up the colours in ways that seem random, chaotic, and entirely up to you. Yet, when you’re done, those colours miraculously sort themselves out! Yes, you’ll be performing Oil and Water for yourself, completely baffled by how it happened - just like thousands of others have done while listening to Juan Tamariz on the radio, on TV, or live.
People choose a card, lose it in the mix, shuffle like mad, and then – poof! – they magically find their own selections, all without a clue as to how it unfolded. The magic slips from Tamariz’s hands and lands in their own!
This book compiles over forty such tricks and performances, all honed and tested in the real world. Juan’s close collaborator, Gema Navarro, has meticulously transcribed performances from numerous radio broadcasts under Tamariz’s expert eye. The transcripts are so detailed that they first allow you to fool yourself, and then arm you with the know-how to entertain and astonish your own audiences, plus the tools to dream up other effects that unfold entirely in their hands and minds.
There’s a sparse selection of participatory effects in magic literature that suit radio and television performances; and those tricks are as sought after as a winning lottery ticket by professionals. In Verbal Magic, Juan Tamariz unveils the largest collection of such magic ever presented, while also steering it into fresh territory and sharing new principles with wide-ranging potential for further exploration. He also proves that this style of magic is just as jaw-dropping in close-up settings and on stage. As a cherry on top, Verbal Magic offers the most extensive account yet for non-Spanish speakers of what it’s like to be in the audience of Tamariz. Here’s a deep dive into how a master magician can entertain and mystify all at once.
