Lord Alfred's Rings

by Shane

This is, without a doubt, the most confusing effect I will ever try to write up, but it's worth the
effort. A recent posting in Meeting of Magical Minds asked for some help with effects using
borrowed finger rings, and this little gem (Get it? Ring? Finger rings? Gem? Gemstone? Ahem.
Let's move on) is one that I perform whenever I get the opportunity. It's more confusing in writing
than when actually performed, so don't let that put you off.

It's also one of those routines that, while involving very little technical skill other than acting and
audience management, is fun to do and fun to watch. It also doesn't run the risk of having a stone
fly off and end up in another county, along with your reputation.

This is also one of my favorite routines for utilizing suspense to heighten the payoff, ala Hitchcock
(the Lord Alfred in the title).

Effect: A finger ring is borrowed from an obliging lady in the audience. As quick as a thought, the
ring vanishes. After a couple of attempts to make the ring reappear, both of which fail miserably,
the spectator is handed a wrapped gift box. She unwraps the box, revealing a small ring-box. The
ring box is opened, and a ring found inside. However, the spectator is quick to point out that it is
not her ring.

After much cajoling, another finger ring is borrowed from another (much more suspicious) lady.
This ring is taken over to first woman, who confirms that this second borrowed ring is hers! Now
completely confused, the performer takes the ring from the ring box and gives it to the second
woman, who confirms that this ring is actually hers!

Setup: Not much, actually. Buy a cheap little ring, put it in a ring box, then inside a gift box, and
wrap it up nice and neat. Put it somewhere you can get to it easily enough. Get your thumb tip
out, dust it off if need be, and put it into a convenient pocket so you can get to it easily enough.
Summon up your courage. You're all done.

Performance: The effect is really nothing more than a series of switches of finger rings and
being, in effect, one ahead thanks to the ring in the ring box. Yes, that's all there is to it. But, as
you'll see, everything is well covered and actually makes sense.

For this to play, the women you'll borrow the rings from must be quite some distance apart; sitting
at the same table together will not work, for obvious reasons. They don't have to be in different
hemispheres, just far enough apart that communication between the two is difficult and unlikely.

1) Borrow a finger ring from a female audience member. Make sure that the ring will fit
comfortably inside of your thumb tip without damaging the (possibly expensive) ring or your
(usually cheap) tip. While you're getting the ring from the lady, get the tip into your left hand, in a
finger palm position, opening toward the fingertips.

2) Take the ring in your right hand, display it, make a few comments about it. Put it over in the left
hand, letting it fall into the thumb tip. Put the tip onto your right ring finger, very gently. Don't force
it! You'll need to retrieve the ring in a moment and that will be remarkably hard if you've made the
tip and the ring become one. Make a gesture or two, blow on your left fist, whatever else comes
to mind, then show the ring has vanished.
3) Here's where you get to act, so go for the gold here. Show your hands empty -- thanks to the
tip, this is quite easy -- then reach into a pocket with your left hand. Fish around for a bit. Act a
little worried. As you're doing this, put the right hand -- and the tip -- into your right hand pocket,
ditching the tip and then dumping the ring out into your pocket. Now act very worried -- the bloody
thing isn't anywhere to be seen!

4) Now act like the whole thing was just a joke. Tell the adorable lady you were just kidding. This
is a gentle time; be a smart-aleck at your own peril. Have her look in her pockets or somewhere
around her. While she's looking around, bring out the gift box. With an attitude of "Well-if-you-
don't-have-it-either-I-wonder-if-it-could-be-here", hand her the box. Call attention to the fact that
the box is sealed completely, that there's no way anything could be somehow snuck into the box,
etc. You know, all the stuff that, in reality, you'd be a fool to call this much attention to. Buildup the
impossibility of the ring somehow being in the box. Ask her to open the box.

5) As she starts unwrapping the box and opening it, get the ring fingerpalmed in your right hand.
This is not a big move; you're just putting your hand in your pocket. The misdirection is decent
enough; the folks will be watching the woman unwrap the box and checking out that whole bit.
They're also conditioned to spend time checking out the box and the wrappings as much as they
can thanks to the setup you gave about the "impossibility" of the ring being in the box.

6) Ask the spectator to verify that the ring is hers. Of course, it isn't. It's time to act a bit, but don't
overdo it, otherwise borrowing the second ring may be totally impossible and this effect ends way
too early.

7) Go to a second spectator and borrow her ring. She will be hesitant, but decent audience
management and a bit a psychology (along with a wink and a slight smile) will work wonders.
Once she has given you her ring, switch it for the first spectator's ring (which you've got
fingerpalmed). I use a simple Bobo switch here, but any switch will work as long as it's even
halfway convincing.

8) Give the ring to the first spectator. Ask her if she's seen it before. She'll say it is hers, naturally,
and probably be quite relieved. Act confused (if you have to), but call attention to the fact that the
second woman had it... somehow.

9) Take the ring from the box and, again, switch it for the second spectator's ring. Again, a Bobo
here is sufficient. Hand this ring to the second spectator, and again ask her if she recognizes it.
She will. Recap a bit that the ring was in the box... somehow.

10) You're feeling a mixture of confusion and relief here, so portray that and you're done.

Notes: The biggest thing here is keeping the spectators up-to-date on what's going on. I play this
rather quickly once the box is opened, so my lines are rather pointed: "No wonder I couldn't find
your ring, she had it all along!" "I found yours a long time ago and she's got it!" That kind of thing.

This routine is not one that will bring down the house; it was not meant to play that way. It was
meant o be slightly ridiculous, a bit of a mystery, and slightly offbeat. It accomplishes those easily
enough, I think. And the response is fairly solid.