Alka-Live

History:

On Jay Sankey’s DVD, Supernatural, there’s a fun little effect where you dissolve a signed Alka-Seltzer tablet in a glass of water and then drink it. A moment later, you reproduce the tablet from your mouth. It had some presentational moments that I liked, but it wasn’t quite my style. However, I liked the idea of using Alka-Seltzer because nobody else really does magic with them. Yet it’s an object that everyone can relate to, and it has the potential for casual “impromptu” magic when you’re hanging out with friends at your house.

The effect I ultimately came up with has a more natural feel to it, and avoids having the tablet signed. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it being signed. However, the effect I’m going for is much more “spur of the moment” feeling and thus signing a tablet might be a bit out of place. As you’ll see in a moment, the structure of the routine does not have a place for signing it.

Finally, the method is basically the same as the old torn and restored sugar packets and/or the vanishing salt, etc. So nothing new but a fun presentation.

Effect:

An Alka-Seltzer tablet that has been “inadvertently” crushed to dust is healed again and becomes whole in your magical hands.

Method:

A finger-palmed tablet and a thumb-tip (TT). The basic idea is that you have a TT and an Alka-Seltzer tablet finger-palmed in your left hand. The TT is laying on top of the tablet. You have an Alka-Seltzer package (which is about the size of a sugar packet) in your right pocket. Ahead of time, you’ve broken the tablets while still in side of the package. This is pretty easy to do.

You can easily snap them both in half, and then in quarters while still in the package. Then a a little grinding and squishing and you can get them into a pretty powder-ish state.

Side Note: This is actually how I use them in real life. Then I just pour the dust into the cup of water. It dissolves quicker and more completely.

Anyway, once you’ve got one (or a bunch for repeat performances) ground up in the package, you put it in your right pocket and you’re set to go. The mechanics are simple enough. Tear open the package. Make a fist with your left hand. Pour the dust into your left fist directly into the TT. Place the package aside. Reach into your left hand with your right index finger and thumb in a pinch-like grip.

Show your right hand clearly empty. Then place your right thumb directly into the TT as your right finger grabs the tablet and pinches it against your TT. Open your left fist and display the tablet at your right finger-tips with the left palm as a “backdrop.” Then leave the tablet there as your right hand picks up the package and places it in your pocket while secretly ditching the TT.

Presentation:

Obviously, that’s a simple and relatively meaningless effect. However, a few key lines and moments can make it much more powerful. If you’re at a party and you’re eating a bunch of food, it’s not uncommon for someone to ask for Rolaids, Tums, Alka-Seltzer, etc. when you’re “feeling the heartburn,” so grab an Alka-Seltzer from your pocket, and secretly load the TT and tablet in the left hand. Then casually mention that you hate when they get all crushed up from being in your pocket. You prefer them whole because if they’re not whole, then there’s no “Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz.”

Tear it open; do the effect shown above. Then as you place the, now, whole tablet in the water, you can then say “Plop . . . Plop . . . Fizz . . . Fizz . . . ” Then drink it and continue with “Oh What a Relief it is!”

Obviously if you’re using the above line, you’ll want to have two tablets finger-palmed in your left hand, not one. This presentation makes a small magical moment out of an everyday type of activity.

Alternatives:

If you want it to be more of a performance piece, here are a few ideas for you.

Corporate Scam:

Basically, you point out to the audience that more and more these days, products are becoming more and more of a rip off; more air (less chips) in a bag of chips; Soda bottles are being filled up all the way, etc. Feel free to make up a bunch of other ones, like: sticks of gum are getting thinner and narrower every year, etc.

Then point out that even medicinal products are jumping on the band-wagon. Show a package of Alka-Seltzer that has not been crushed. Let them feel that there are two tablets in the package. Then break them into fourths while still in the sealed package. Then show them how to grind them up in the package. They can even open it if it will help them grind it up better.

While they’re grinding, you’re secretly loading the TT and single tablet in your left hand. You’re also telling them that Alka-Seltzer tablets are 50% air and 50% medicine. Once they’re done grinding, you have them look in the package, and tell them that there’s only enough powder in there to make one full sized tablet. You then show them by performing the restoration outlined above.

Broken:

Using the above premise, you could turn the powder into two half tablets. The routining would be the same, but you would have one tablet that’s been broken in half (rather than a whole single tablet) finger-palmed with the TT in your left hand. At the end, when you’ve ditched the TT and wrapper in your pocket, secretly finger-palm a whole tablet in your right hand.

Then (while holding out the full tablet), stick the two broken pieces together and hold it in position for a French Drop in your left hand. The pieces will hold together just fine while your hold them in this position. Then with the right hand, perform a Spellbound change (or similar moved) to replace the broken pieces with the whole piece as you stroke the tablet in a heal-the-tablet gesture.