Volume 1 - Money Magic
There can be no doubt that magic with money has a great appeal to lay audiences, and on this DVD, Mark performs and explains a wide range of routines using coins and bills. While some sleight of hand is, on occasion, required, there is nothing very difficult here. Mark prefers to reduce the handling to sensible, performable levels rather than simply include clever moves for the sake of it, and so viewers should find all the material revealed here accessible and fun to perform.
1. PAPER MONEY - The instant transformation of a piece of blank paper into a real bill. With Mark's version, the bill produced in this way can immediately be spent or handed out for examination. No thumb tips required!
2. THE OKITO AND BOSTON BOX ROUTINE - A multi-phase routine using an Okito Box in which a coin jumps in and out of the box, penetrates a deck of cards, then multiplies up to four before finally changing completely into a pile of completely different coins. A top performance piece.
3. BROKE - A beautiful routine which uses a couple of really great 'complete' coin vanishes which leave both your hands genuinely empty and which do not require any special extra gimmicks. Just a few regular coins and a purse required.
4. MAGNETIC ATTRACTION - How about a matrix using four small coins and two borrowed credit cards as covers? No sleights, no extra gimmicks, yet the coins collect one at a time under one card in the corner. A brilliantly simple idea which fools magicians, never mind lay people.
5. TEARAWAY - A small Post-It Note is folded round the center of a borrowed bill and the center is then torn right out! The damage can be viewed from all sides and in extreme close up-the bill must be torn. Yet moments later, it is completely restored and returned to its owner. No switches.
6. THE DETECTIVE COIN - A marked coin vanishes from a hand held firmly by a spectator and penetrates through a card box and down into the center of the deck where it ends up lying on the back of a signed card. Clever gimmick makes this very straightforward to do.
7. BEER MONEY - Two beer coasters are shown and first one coin, then another, are produced from between them. Then suddenly a large bill appears too. Ingenious method means there is no palming required and no gimmicks to ditch either.
8. THE ROBIN HOOD COINS ACROSS - A carefully constructed Coins Across routine set to a historical story in which, one at a time, three coins magically jump from one purse to another. No shells used; the handling is very natural looking.
9. ATM - A deck and its box become a portable ATM machine. The performer's MasterCard is dropped into the box and moments later, real money appears inside, too. When the same thing is tried with a spectator's card, it unexpectedly vanishes, only to be found in an unlikely and totally surprising place.
Volume 2 - Envelope Magic
One of Mark's very first inventions was a cleverly gimmicked envelope which looked totally normal and yet which could produce, vanish or switch anything that would fit inside. The Leveridge Envelope has since been adapted for a whole range of magic effects, and its cunning secret you will learn as part of this DVD. But that isn't all, because over the years, Mark has made something of a feature of his work with envelopes and has come up with a number of other great innocent looking gimmicks. The Utility Switch Envelope is a small wage-type envelope which is extremely versatile and that too is revealed here for the first time on DVD. This is a fascinating collection of routines in which envelopes play a secret part-it'll open up a whole range of new possibilities for you.
1. THE INVISIBLE DECK ROUTINE - There really is no deck! An invisible card freely named by a spectator is slipped into an examined and signed envelope and moments later, a real card matching the one named is removed from the same envelope. A wonderful stand-up routine.
2. THREE-CARD TRICKY - A different take on the three card trick in which the performer claims to be able to remove a Queen which is trapped between two indifferent cards and sealed in an envelope. He does succeed but in a far more surprising way than expected!
3. CREDIT TRANSFER - An unusual trick which combines mentalism and magic. A borrowed credit card in an envelope is dropped into a book to mark a page selected by a spectator. A second book is shown to have an envelope marking the very same page - and then turns out to have the actual borrowed credit card inside it!
4. PRE-VIEW - A card is genuinely freely chosen and slipped sight unseen into an envelope. A second card is then selected and shown before being lost in the deck. Yet, immediately, the second card is shown to have vanished from the deck and turns out to be the very card previously removed and placed in the envelope! Wow!
5. LOCATOR - A spectator writes any number from 1 to 52 on the back of a business card which is slipped into an envelope unseen. The performer writes a prediction on another card and puts that into the envelope too. The predicted card is revealed to be actually lying at the spectator's number in the deck!
6. CUT AND RESTORED CARD - A single card is slipped into an envelope just big enough to hold it. The envelope is sealed and shown all round. The performer then cuts through the envelope, yet the card is removed totally unharmed leaving the envelope in two pieces. Great, practical method.
7. INTUITION - An act closer! This is one of those routines in which the spectator appears to do everything and which leaves such an impression on those who see it. Do this well and you won't be able to follow it. Mark uses this regularly in his table-hopping shows.
8. INSTANT CARD FLIGHT - A fantastic, visual vanish of a card from a window envelope. One moment it is there, then instantly it visibly vanishes, the envelope is torn up, and the signed card is found reversed in the center of the deck. A really strong routine for a close-up or parlour show.
9. DEVIL'S ISLAND - An entertaining mental routine in which you predict which spectator will find treasure buried at a random location chosen freely by a second spectator. Can be done in close up, or with larger versions of the props, in stand-up or stage work. Simple to do.
10. EASY JUST CHANCE - Just one routine which is possible with the outstanding Leveridge Envelope which is fully described and which will produce, vanish or switch anything that will fit inside. One of those "worth the price of the DVD" items.
Volume 3 - General Magic
There's a bit of something for nearly everybody on this DVD as Mark explains a varied range of performance magic. There are effects for close-up, strolling work, stand-up, mentalism, business events and even one routine which he uses for children as well as adults. With such variety on offer, viewers are bound to find at least one item they can use, and in some cases they may discover many! The props required are either readily available or easy to make or collect together, and the effects themselves are entertaining to watch.
1. HOLIDAY - What would happen if a magician was a travel agent? Answer - he would successfully predict both a completely free choice from five airlines and a holiday destination from somewhere round the globe! A fun and fooling effect which is easy to do.
2. MISSING THE POINT - A bill is wrapped around an examined plastic membership card and then a needle is visibly pushed right through both. Having displayed it both sides, the needle is removed leaving the bill with two holes, yet the card completely unharmed. Very cunning method.
3. ARE YOU A WINNER? - A highly versatile, simple effect using just six cards which can be adapted to many different types of shows, including trade shows and product launches. As used by Mark in his own commercial work.
4. 1-2-3 JUMBO CARDS ACROSS - Really easy Cards Across effect using just six jumbo cards and two window envelopes. Great for stand-up shows, plenty of audience participation. A classic "packs flat, plays big" type routine.
5. SILI-COIN CHIP - Five coins each have a different colored sticker attached to them. The performer removes one sight unseen and places it into a brass box. A spectator then manages to read the performer's mind and accurately reveals the removed color.
6. COUNTDOWN PREDICTION - A clear example of presentation counting for much and method for little. A spectator eliminates cards from a deck in a random manner and yet the very last card matches a jumbo prediction which has been in view at all times. Very easy to do.
7. MY CARD, SIR (VERSIONS 1 AND 2) - It's great to be able to incorporate your business card in a surprising way in your tricks and here, Mark reveals two quick simple effects which leave your business card in a spectator's hand at the finish.
8. THE MAGIC RING - A real stunner! A spectator pushes a ring onto the performer's ring finger and then holds the end of that finger while a handkerchief is draped over the top. Reaching underneath, the performer magically removes the ring leaving the spectator holding the now ringless finger. Great strolling trick.
9. DIARY OF A NOBODY - The Mark Leveridge version of the classic Danson's Diary trick. Only one deck and one diary used. A selected card not only matches the one written next to the spectator's birthday date in the diary, but also turns out to be the only card in the deck with a red back!