There is a booklet called D’Angelo’s Touch that I am about to write about. It is 6 inches by 8 inches and has a picture of its author, Rafael D’Angelo on the cover. The pages are not numbered, so I counted. There are 28 (including the foreword by Dee Christopher and a few pages of pictures and diagrams). The booklet refers you to a password protected link on the www.murphysmagic.com website that gives you access to 15 performance and instructional videos. D’Angelo teaches a superb PK touch routine that is impromptu and relies on the performer only – no thread or other gimmick needed. This must-have routine sells for $35 and is worth every penny. I extend great appreciation to Luca Volpe for his role in bringing this beautiful piece of magic to our community.
Basically, you pick a subject and tell them that every time they feel themselves being touched they raise their hand on the side of their body that they felt themselves being touched. For example, if they are touched on their left leg, they raise their left hand. They close their eyes and all they know and experience is that they get touched a few times and raise their hand each time. What the audience sees is something completely different; they see the performer walking around the subject and touching them a few times in response to which the subject raises their hand. As explained above, the performer may touch the subject on their right shoulder and the subject raises their right hand. Then, the performer steps back and merely points at the subject, several times and each and every time the arm is raised. It is just incredible.
So many magic projects get ringing endorsements from fellow magicians and so often they are false endorsements lent from one friend to another. Here, D’Angelo’s routine is praised by Banachek, Marc Salem, Ian Rowland and others. The praise is not only true, but well-deserved. Before anything, I watched the 15 videos. They were short and to the point. The production was excellent and the videos clearly convey the power in this PK touch routine. After watching the videos, I wondered if in fact the routine would look so good and so clean in real life. Well, it does. There are several performance videos which is key for a routine like this. The video instructions are very clear and easy to follow. The writing in the booklet is also excellent and it is a quick and easy read. So, how easy is it to perform? All you really need to do is try. You do need some space to walk around your subject and the guts to try a big performance piece. This routine can play to 3 people or to hundreds on a stage.
After watching the videos and reading the book, I had put it on my “return to this project” pile. But, before I was able to do it to really study the routine, I had a family event. What the hell! I pulled my sister as the subject and had my mother iPhone video record an attempt at a performance and had a few additional critical eyes watching. Well, without having done the work I feel I needed to perform this piece, it slayed everyone! The reactions were amazing and my sister, the subject, had no clue what had just happened. She didn’t understand the reactions and when she watched the video she was freaked out.
D’Angelo’s version of the PK touch routine is fresh and powerful and absolutely incredible. Because it is totally impromptu and there is no need for anything other than yourself, this amazing routine can be performed at any time. A total winner!!
You can find this baby at any Murphy’s Magic dealer.
