“Think outside the Amaze Box”

A routine from the Review of Mark Shortland’s “Amaze Box” by Lee Alex and published in Vaninsh
Magazine

Currently the “Amaze Box” has pride of place in my one man corporate show “See – hear” (I am
based in Istanbul, Turkey where I do a lot of my work for international companies. The Turkish word
for “magic” is “sihir”, which sounds like the English “see – hear”. The motivational show encourages
the audience to interact using all their senses, and most importantly to react to what they visually
and audibly perceive in the work environment). I use the “Amaze Box” purely as a utility in such a
way that the information provided by the audience cannot be remembered, nor can it be disputed at
a later point should spectators confer amongst each other. The box becomes so superfluous in the
routine that it becomes forgotten. I read a question to Mark Shortland online which went something
as follows: “What if none of the audience members have written the information that you later wish
to force?” This situation may well arise in a small group when the spectators are asked to write the
name of a film for example. What I share with you now eliminates all doubt in the spectators’ minds,
and it is almost impossible to trace back the information and realize that a force has occurred.

My routine takes the form of a classic book test plot. A prediction has been written and is on view
from the beginning enclosed in an envelope, box or anything else you desire. On a table is a selection
of nine different books. Eventually from these nine books, a single word will be “chosen”, which of
course, is your prediction. Each book is displayed upright (you might want to use a card stand and
have all the books displayed together, or I use individual plate stands to have the books standing
upright). Each book is contained within a clear acrylic bag, and each bag has a large sticker which
clearly shows the numbers 1 through 9.
The spectators are asked to write down any eight digits from 1 to 9 on their slips of paper. This is
done near the beginning of the performance, or if you wish the slips may be handed out as the
audience enters the room and collected later into the Amaze Box. The earlier this is done, the sooner
the spectators forget the digits that they have written. It is important not to ask the spectators to
write “an eight digit number”, but rather to write “any eight digits from one to nine”. In this way the
numbers written will become more random, and more difficult for them to memorize.

The eight digits that you wish to force lead to the word which is your prediction as follows:

This is supplied as an example, and your own eight digit formula will of course be determined by the
word you eventually wish to be the prediction. You may of course also change the arrangement of
the digits according to your own outcome. The first single digit in any case is the number of the book
as indicated by the sticker on the outside of its bag. You may add more to the confusion by arriving at
11th line (by adding 8 + 3) as in the example above, and the 6th word (by adding 1+5). This formula is
entirely up to you. The important aspect is to get the audience to come up with 8 digits which have
no significance to them, are totally random, and that are not easily remembered.

From there on the result is of course already guaranteed and you know yourself exactly in which way
to manipulate “the random digits” in order to reach the outcome of your prediction. I always use a
white board and marker to make the process more visual for the spectators. I have the number
“chosen” from the “Amaze Box” and write the number on the board as the spectator reads it off the
slip. In this manner you have come nowhere near neither the box nor the paper and the whole
situation appears very legitimate and completely out of your control.

However you use the “Amaze Box” I believe that this will (if it has not already) become a strong
utility prop in the arsenal of any variety of magicians, not just mentalists. Mark Shortland should be
very proud of this product, and we as magicians should be more than grateful that he was generous
enough to share it with us. Thank you Mark!