Push It
by Dan Paulus

I am indebted to my friend Randy Naviaux for some sound advice, and after reading this article you may be too. A couple of months ago we were at a magic gathering discussing some of our favorite routines, when I happened to mention a routine that I love, but my audience doesn’t seem to like at all. It’s a routine for a rubber dove production. In my routine I would produce a dove from a handkerchief and just as I am receiving a smattering of polite applause from the audience the dove falls over and lands with a thump on the floor, dead. The audience laughs and groans, then I follow with the words, "It’s okay. No really it’s not that bad, especially with ketchup!" I then produce a large bottle of ketchup. Now I think that’s funny, very funny. However, the routine has yet to have the impact I was hoping for and indeed envisioned in my practice sessions.

At first I thought it was the "animal cruelty" part that killed the routine, or maybe it was the thought of actually eating the dove. "Perhaps I’ve gone too far.", I thought. "Or perhaps," Randy continued with my thought, "you haven’t gone far enough?!" Wow! That, I must admit, had never crossed my mind! Randy continued his sagely advice by pointing out that some of our greatest comedians would take a funny premise and push, and push, and push some more, until it just got wildly funny!

Let’s take classic example; George Carlin’s "7 dirty words you can’t say on TV." Right off the bat Carlin went for broke, not a couple of words, or one biggy, but SEVEN! He then reads the list off with vigor. Already the premise hits the funny bone, because he is boldly speaking in taboo. But then he goes on, describing each word in turn, defending some and agreeing with others. "Those Ks are aggressive sounds." The laughter gets stronger and stronger. "And "Tits" doesn’t even belong on the list!" HILARIOUS! But it doesn’t stop there, he follows with MORE WORDS, that could be said sometimes, but not all the time. "You can prick your finger, but don’t… " - you know the rest.

So let’s look at some magic examples of pushing a joke or premise farther than normal for good results. A great example is Kevin James’ Snow Animator. James has taken the classic Snow Storm In China and pushed it farther, so far it becomes a grand finale that’s hard to beat, as the entire theater fills with snow!

Or how about Tim Ellis’ Card Rapp. Tim brilliantly turned the classic Six Card Repeat story line into a fun, hip-hop/rap routine, complete with costume and music – It’s a mini, musical play. Keep it real Tim!

One last example that everyone will know, David Blaine. Love him, hate him, or just don’t care, you have to admit that he has mastered the art of pushing a routine to it’s limits. How many days was he buried alive, sealed in a block of ice, or trapped in a box over London? You don’t know? How about this, how many times has his publicity stunts been mentioned to you by your spectators as you are walking from table to table performing your little card tricks?

So, back to my dead dove production. How far can I push it? Then how far shall I push it again? What if I picked up the dead bird with a spatula and saved it in a lunch sack? Or produce a large hot dog bun, put in the bird and take a bite? Maybe I could bring it back to life, or I could just cook it up and serve it to a spectator? I’m sure there is a point where I’ve pushed too far. Which brings up an important question, how far is too far? Your first clues of course will be your persona, your skills, your audience, and your own since of good taste. Otherwise, I suggest pushing all the way to that jagged edge of disaster, then back off, just a little. Not with every trick you own, but push a couple of them farther and you could have a reputation maker in your repertoire. I’ll let you know what happened to my dove. But for now, I’m revamping a routine with my little dog, hmmm.

Thanks Randy.

Dan Paulus