Magic Tricks

The educational draw to those familiar with the "Piff" character would seem to be character development; but the heavier focus ended up being workers from his time doing close-up in restaurants. He covers many effects that are not revolutionary, but which went over well with lay audiences and earned him tips.

These include VDP (the card trick from his Penn & Teller appearance) and an updated E.T.E. (or "Everything to Envelope")-- both of which are covered in more detail in DVDs also available at Penguin, but are taught thoroughly enough to learn and perform in the lecture.

The lecture ran quite long (about 3.5 hours) and included a bit of joking around and several anecdotes that were both educational and entertaining. The breadth and length of the lecture means it will probably drag a bit when he's covering a topic you aren't interested in, but it also means that at some point he will cover topics of interest. You will be disappointed if you hoped for a couple hours of a guy in a funny costume joking around with a little dog; but he will also entertain and amuse. Beneath the bravado of his stage persona is a humble, thoughtful, hard-working magician who deserves the lucky break of his Penn & Teller exposure.