THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

Introduction The Hans Christian Anderson tale about a very picky prince and an overly sensitive princess makes for a great lead-in to the Smart Ass routine and is absolutely perfect for family audiences. This the very first version of The Princess and the Pea presentation I started performing using the Smart Ass deck. The second version is in my book entitled Cabaret Card Magic and uses an Ultra-Mental (more popularly known as the Invisible Deck) along with some ingenious pre-show work and wordplay from past the master of mentalism, Stanley Jaks. In addition to the Smart Ass deck and the jumbo playing card supplied you can also purchase a small plastic tiara and a fairy/princess wand or scepter (see photos below). I buy them at the local dollar store priced at three for a dollar. You can also add a punch finish to the routine with some throw streamers of a party popper (as demonstrated on the DVD, see photo below). I also buy the party poppers from the dollar store. Because the props are inexpensive, I give away the tiara and scepter at the end of the routine to the “princess” volunteer.

Props & Set-UpSmart Ass deck in my left inside jacket pocket.Jumbo Card in the same inside jacket pocket. Small plastic tiara in my left/right jacket pocket. Wand goes in my inside right jacket pocket. Throw streamers or party popper is in my right front trouser pocket. Make sure there is a chair or tall stool on ready stage.

The Routine (script lines are in italics, physical actions and descriptions are in bold type) Performer: My favorite story as child began like this... Once upon a time. (PAUSE FOR LAUGH) Once upon a time in a very wealthy kingdom there lived a prince. One day the queen told the prince that he had reached an age when he must choose a bride. So the prince took a year to travel the globe in search of a princess. The prince’s expectations were very high and he wasn’t impressed with any of the girls he met on his journey. There were a lot of so-called princesses but not one real princess and he came home sad and dejected. The night after he came home to the palace there was a terrible storm with thunder, lightning and rain. During the storm there was a knock at the palace door and the old king opened it to find a girl. She was a mess with her hair and makeup a mess from the wind and rain. Water was running down her dress into her shoes and out her ankles. The girl said she was a princess and that her carriage had slipped into a ditch and could she spend the night. The king said of course and the queen who overheard everything decided she would put the girl’s nobility to the test. So she took a single green pea from the kitchen, went up to the guest room, pulled the mattress from the bed and placed the pea in the middle of the bed. She put the mattress on top of the pea and then took nineteen more mattresses and placed them on top of that and 20 eiderdown duvets on top of the mattresses. The princess was brought to her room, given a ladder and told that breakfast would be served at 9:00 am sharp! The next morning the prince asked the girl how she had slept. “It was terrible”, she exclaimed. “Even at the top of all those mattresses and duvets there was something hard in that bed that left me black and blue all over!” It was at that moment that the prince realized he had found a real princess. No one but a real princess could have felt a pea underneath 20 mattresses and 20 eiderdown duvets. So without skipping a beat he asked her to marry him, and they were wed that very day. And that’s the story of the princess and the pea.

Now I’m not sure what you make of the story, but for me it sort of redefines the term high maintenance! (PAUSE FOR LAUGH)

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THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA

Introduction

Awhile ago David Regal told me about a Stanley Jaks approach with an Ultra-Mental deck that Max Maven had raved about. It

involved some pre-show work and double-speak that gave the impression that the deck had been handled by an audience

member before the show. A year after this conversation with David I found the Jaks routine entitled One Is Face Up in a

Robert Nelson compilation entitled More Miracles In Mentalism, published in 1959. The Princess and the Pea utilizes Stanley

Jaks! ingenious pre-show work and wordplay along with the Hans Christian Anderson tale about a very picky prince and an

overly sensitive princess.

Props

An Invisible or Ultra-Mental Deck. (see EZ Action Ultra-Mental Deck)

An envelope large enough to hold the cased deck inside.

A small plastic tiara. (see photo)

A fairy/princess wand or scepter. (see photo)

Throw streamers or party popper. (see photo)

Preparation

The tiara goes in your left/right jacket pocket. The wand goes in your inside right jacket pocket. The throw streamers or party

popper goes in your right front trouser pocket. Make sure there is a chair or tall stool on stage for use in this routine.

Pre-Show Work

Before the show take the cased Ultra-Mental deck and envelope and approach a gentleman sitting near the front of the stage.

Tell him that you had a gentleman shuffle these cards (refer to the cased deck in hand) turn one upside down without looking

at it and placed the deck into the card box. Explain that you would like to have him seal the deck inside the envelope and hold

onto it until you ask for it during the show. Wait until he seals the deck in the envelope and then verify with him that he is not to

let anyone else handle or open the envelope. Once this is confirmed thank him and make a mental note of where he is seated

in the audience.

The Routine (script lines are in italics, physical actions and descriptions are in bold type)

Performer: My favorite story as child began like this... Once upon a time. (PAUSE FOR LAUGH) Once upon a time in a very

wealthy kingdom there lived a prince. One day the queen told the prince that he had reached an age when he must choose a

bride. So the prince took a year to travel the globe in search of a princess. The prince’s expectations were very high and he

wasn’t impressed with any of the girls he met on his journey. There were a lot of so-called princesses but not one real

princess and he came home sad and dejected.

The night after he came home to the palace there was a terrible storm with thunder, lightning and rain. During the storm there

was a knock at the palace door and the old king opened it to find a girl. She was a mess with her hair and makeup a mess

from the wind and rain. Water was running down her dress into her shoes and out her ankles. The girl said she was a

princess and that her carriage had slipped into a ditch and could she spend the night. The king said of course and the queen

who overheard everything decided she would put the girl’s nobility to the test. So she took a single green pea from the

kitchen, went up to the guest room, pulled the mattress from the bed and placed the pea in the middle of the bed. She put

the mattress on top of the pea and then took nineteen more mattresses and placed them on top of that and 20 eiderdown

duvets on top of the mattresses. The princess was brought to her room, given a ladder and told that breakfast would be

served at 9:00 am sharp!

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It also takes the notion of women’s intuition to a whole new level. It’s been argued that women have a more developed sense of intuition than men do, directly influencing every decision they make. Tonight I would like to test this intuition. So if there’s a princess here this evening I would like her to raise her hand.

IT HAS BEEN MY EXPERIENCE THAT MANY YOUNG ‘PRINCESSES’ WILL RAISE THEIR HANDS AT THIS POINT. INVITE A PLEASANT AND AGREEABLE LOOKING ONE SEATED NEAR THE STAGE. MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE A PARTICIPANT WHO IS AT LEAST EIGHT YEARS OF AGE, SO THEY CAN RECOGNIZE AND IDENTIFY PLAYING CARDS. LEAD HER TO THE CHAIR/STOOL THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE/PLACE CENTER STAGE. AS AN ADDED COMIC MOMENT I WILL “DUST OFF” THE CHAIR WITH A POCKET HANDKERCHIEF. Performer: And now fair maiden, what is your name?

Cathy: Cathy.

Performer: Princess Cathy. You don’t look quite like a princess, but I think I can fix that. Please take a seat.

SEAT THE PARTICIPANT AND STAND DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE CHAIR AND FACE HER. REMOVE THE TIARA FROM YOUR POCKET, SHOW IT TO HER AND CAREFULLY PLACE IT ON HER HEAD. TAKE THE WAND/SCEPTER FROM YOUR OTHER POCKET AND PLACE IN HER RIGHT HAND. TURN TO FACE THE AUDIENCE AND GESTURE TO THE ‘NEWLY’ COSTUMED PRINCESS.

Performer: Ladies and gentlemen...Princess Cathy! (APPLAUSE)

Performer: Cathy we are going to perform a special test to see, if in fact, you are a real princess. I have a very big playing card here from a very big deck of cards...

REMOVE THE JUMBO CARD FROM YOUR JACKET POCKET BEING SURE TO KEEP IT’S IDENTITY FROM YOUR PARTICIPANT AND THE AUDIENCE.

...that I would like you sit on, please stand...

ONCE SHE STANDS DROP THE JUMBO CARD FACE DOWN ONTO HER CHAIR.

Performer: Wonderful. Now sit back down. Ladies and gentleman just like like that little green pea underneath all those mattresses and duvets, there is one card out of 51 others that is now resting underneath the um...royal derriere. (PAUSE FOR LAUGH) Tonight Cathy will use her womanly intuition or her princess powers to deduce what card that is. Cathy, they say that intuition is thinking without thinking. So this should be quite easy. I have full deck of 52 cards here...

REMOVE SMART ASS DECK FROM JACKET POCKET, TAKE THE CARDS FROM THE CARD CASE AND DISPLAY THE CARDS FACE UP REVEALING THE MIXED AND RANDOM CONDITION OF THE DECK.

Performer: ...Please hold up both hands palm upwards like this (DEMONSTRATE WITH YOUR HANDS) I want you to take half the cards in one hand (CUT THE DECK AND OUT HALF IN ONE HAND). And half in the other (PLACE THE OTHER HALF IN THE OPPOSITE HAND).

Performer: Cathy, in a moment I’m going to count to three and snap my fingers and I want you throw the cards in your right OR left hand right over your shoulder. The choice is yours and yours alone. Are you ready? Remember just go with your gut feeling. Okay, one, two, three...

SNAP FINGERS. SPECTATOR THROWS EITHER HALF AWAY BEHIND HER. FOR A YOUNGER ASSISTANT I WILL TAKE THE CARDS BACK AT THIS POINT AND CUT THE DECK AND PLACE THE REMAINING HALVES IN BOTH HANDS.

Performer: Cathy, please cut the cards you have left and place half in one hand and half in the other.

PARTICIPANT DOES THIS.

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Performer: Once again Cathy, when I count to three and snap my fingers I want you to throw the cards in your left hand OR your right hand up and away...Ready? One, two three...

SNAP FINGERS.

Performer: Okay we’re down to the last few cards. Cathy I need you to hold your finger in the air like this..

DEMONSTRATE THIS WITH YOUR RIGHT FOREFINGER HELD IN THE AIR, POINTING TOWARD THE CEILING.ONCE THEIR FINGER IS IN POSITION, SPREAD THE CARDS FACE DOWN SO THEY CAN SEE ALL THE BACKS.

Performer: Now just touch anyone of the cards with your finger. (SHE DOES THIS) That’s great hold out your right hand...

WHEN SHE DOES THIS REMOVE THE CARD SHE TOUCHES, SEPARATING THE DOUBLE CARDS AND PLACE IT IN HER RIGHT OUTSTRETCHED PALM. PLACE THE REMAINING CARDS IN A CONVENIENT POCKET.

Performer: Before you look at the card you’ve come to using your intuitive princess powers(!) Let me reiterate the situation here. If Cathy’s card is the same color as the big one she’s sitting on, it is a fifty-fifty chance. If she has the right suit it is one in four. If she has the right value it is one in thirteen. If she has the exact card it is one in fifty- two. Almost impossible odds, so if she has it I want everyone to get up out of their chairs and give this princess the loudest round of applause ever. If Cathy doesn’t have the right card, even if she is off by one card, I will have to rip the tiara from her hair, break her wand in half and throw her physically out of your chair. You may even be banished from Toronto forever!

BE SURE TO DELIVER THESE LINES WITH A WINK AND A SMILE!

Performer: Let’s see what your fate is ... Please stand. (PARTICIPANT STANDS) Pick up the big card and hold both so only you can see it...okay let me take a look.

WITHOUT ANY VISIBLE REACTION WHEN YOU SEE THE CARDS CONTINUE. STAND DIRECTLY BESIDE THE PARTICIPANT READY FOR THE “KODAK MOMENT” TO DIPLAY THE MATCHING CARD. NOW YOU CAN MILK THE LAST DROP OF SUSPENSE AND BUILD UP TO THE CONCLUSION.

Performer: Ladies and Gentleman we have a real princess because the cards are AN EXACT MATCH!

HAVE THE PARTICIPANT TURN THE CARDS AROUND TO SHOW THE AUDIENCE AND ASK THEM TO STAY THERE FOR A MOMENT. WHILE THE AUDIENCE IS REACTING AND APPLAUDING PULL OUT THE THROW STREAMERS OR PARTY POPPER FROM YOUR TROUSER POCKET AND WHEN THE APPLAUSE IS STARTING TO LEVEL OFF SHOOT A BURST OF CONFETTI OR THROW THE STREAMER UP AND OVER HER HEAD. THIS PROVIDES A BIG FINISH AND IS A SECOND APPLAUSE CUE. THANK THE PARTICIPANT AND LET HER KNOW SHE CAN KEEP THE TIARA AND WAND, SHE IS A REAL PRINCESS AFTER ALL!

THE END.

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