OiATER 47-page, Bound Manuscript | In the Hands Wild Card DVD

“I thought Oil and Water was a plot that didn’t need to be revisited.  Turns out I was wrong.  OiATER is a fresh look at a classic effect.  It is well written, contains new moves for the move monkeys, and new plot ideas for workers.  I can’t wait for the sequel”.  –Darren Hart

TOM DOBROWOLSKI AND JEREMIAH ZHANG PROUDLY PRESENT

Extra video performance demos for manuscript purchasers.

“. . . Chicago Winters and Oil and Water are the reason tourists don’t come back. However, the work within this manuscript is a step in what I believe is the right direction for the plot. The key word in that last sentence is ‘step’. Progression is the goal that those who have partaken in this project gazed affectionately towards.” – Jeremiah Zhang

Thus begins “Oiater” (pronounced oy-AHTER) a 47-page manuscript examining theatrical handlings of the classic oil and water plot. Within this manuscript you will find 2 complete routines; Tom Dobrowolski and Jeremiah Zhang’s ROW and Curtis Kam’s POW.

In addition you’ll find contributions from Eric Jones (who provides one of two additional endings), a new handling for “Out of This World” and additional sequences and ideas not included in the routines.

About “R.O.W.”:

• There are no counting procedures during the mixing of the cards.
• The cards instantly separate after each mix with no handling of the cards in between.
• Every card’s color is fairly seen during the mixing stages. The spectators never have to assume the color of a card. (with the exception of the first phase the entire routine is done face up)
• The routine is progressive, modularly moving forward and becoming more impressive with each phase.
• The deck ends completely separated (no culling!) in a clear and defined theatrical finish.

About “P.O.W.”:

• The routine builds from two cards to the separation of the entire deck.
• FASDIU
• Makes things seem less repetitious by adding cards at each phase.
• Makes things seem less pointless by doing separations only.
• All the separations are “instant”. In other words, once the cards are interlaced there is no further handling, counting, or separating of the cards.

What Other Magicians Are Already Saying

“Great routine!!.” – Ross Johnson

“This is the least rigamarolee oil and water I’ve ever seen.” – David Parr

"The only other Oil and Water routine worth learning (that I’ve seen anyway) is Rene Levand’s. I looked at it on YouTube when I went home Saturday while yours was still fresh in my mind. I like yours better because it has a more theatrical structure. Levand’s is presented more as a demonstration of card control than as a sort of “phenomena” intrinsic to the cards themselves. Yours is the more magical while his is disguised control."

"Both routines are clear, but I like the removal of two cards at each stage and the theatrical finale. You spread in two lines at the end, Levand in four. I think yours is clearer and unambiguous routine."

"I’m looking forward to reading through the routine. I appreciate your generosity and admire your attention to the details of presentation." - David Alexander

Reviews

As seen on My Lovely Assistant...

Oiater is comb bound 47 page book. The pages are 8 and half by 11, well laid out, with nice illustrations.

I really wish this was not published. It is simply too good. Oaiter is a very nice working of the Oil and Water effect. I mean really good. Its not simply the card handling that makes this good, it is the theatrical thinking that propels this to a very commercial and outstanding effect.

The crux of the routine relies on a concept of “Regressive Oil and Water” were the performer uses less and less cards to prove the point. It reduces the number of cards being used to…two. If that doesn’t grab your attention then how about the fact that the entire deck ends up separated into red and black. Sure, that’s not a new concept but…this method is within the skill level of a beginner.

There are a couple of “moves” in the manuscript that I think are very powerful and can be used with other tricks. You will smile and reach for your deck of cards as you read them. Additionally, there are ideas for alternate endings, theory, and practical handlings. I really enjoyed the thinking in these pages.

In the back of the book is an impressive list of credits and a website to watch some of the sequences performed. Oh!, and I want to point out the booklet has a nice front and back plastic cover, not the quickly stapled, poorly copied booklets that I usually see.

If you like the oil and water concept or even think you like it, get this book. It is a gem.

Review by Eric Rose originally published on The Magic Pebble (http://www.lancepierce.com/forum/). Used with permission.

One of the nicer things to happen to me during my two month surgery induced sabbatical was a surprise e-mail from Chicago magician Tom Dobrowolski. Tom’s e-mail included an advance copy of his latest offering – “OiATER.” For those who don’t get to Chicago much, Tom is a skilled magician who can often be seen behind the counter at Tim Felix’s MidWest Magic. This gives Tom some career options should anything ever happen in his chosen vocation of finance and banking. Tom’s “In The Hands Wildcard DVD” caught people’s attention a couple years ago and showed that Tom is willing to invest the thought into classic routines to bring them up to date for today’s performing conditions.

This go-around Tom has teamed up with magician Jeremiah Zhang to create an Oil and Water treatise. At this point in a review almost everyone who is in magic makes a comment about the love/hate relationship with Oil and Water. See the standard literature for those arguments, but don’t cheat yourself by making a decision against this manuscript yet . There’s more here than you have been conditioned to expect from Oil and Water.

OiATER’s centerpiece is a routine called “Regressive Oil and Water.” Regressive Oil and Water (ROW) is a theatrical close-up handling of Oil and Water that successively reduces the number of cards with each phase until down to just two cards, proving that red cards and black cards do not mix. For those doing the math at home, yes, a two card Oil and Water phase is at best, minimalistic and at worst, unnecessary. However, in the context of ROW this phase is a humorous pause before the final kicker, revealing that the previously shuffled deck has fully separated into reds and blacks by itself while sitting on the table through the entire routine.

There are two stand-out gems in Regressive Oil and Water, both have application in many other tricks. The first is the full deck separation. Well within the skill level of the beginner, this subtlety will have thinkers and tinkerers coming up with other uses. Word on the street is that Zhang has started applying the concept to Triumph with good results. The second gem in ROW is called the Dobrowolski Four-Step, a convincing nearly move-free face-up separation of two reds and two blacks. For those that fear this is sounding too easy and chopless, Zhang offers an option for doing a Tabled Four-Step that will have the most dedicated move monsters pulling out their hair over a "hands-off" sleight that looks like trick photography.

On its own, Regressive Oil and Water would make OiATER a good choice for the card man. However, this 47 page manuscript offers far more. After delivering ROW, Dobrowolski and Zhang start adding on ideas turning the trick into a session. Along with the previously mentioned Tabled Four Step, they also offer up alternative endings that were developed before the creation of the full deck separation. Just like any good session, the ideas come from yet more performers. In this case, it’s Eric Jones who offers up a clever ending that has a strong sleight of hand Reset feel to it. Zhang counters with his own handling, aptly called Ending III. As a bonus, Tom includes his follow-up routine, an efficient and logical handling of Curry’s Out of This World that eliminates OOTW’s too-perfect caveat while still maintaining the spectator based sorting of the cards. At this point, in the world of Infomercials, someone would yell “But wait, there’s more!” and in this case, they would be right. After everything else offered up in this book, they add “POW”, the “Progressive Oil and Water” by none other than Curtis Kam. In a private session with Curtis, Dobrowolski found that both he and Mr. Kam had been playing with the concept of Oil and Water with successively changing numbers of cards in each phase. While Dobrowolski was working his way down from a full deck to just two cards, Kam had been going the other direction from two cards to progressively more in each phase. A nice complement to ROW, POW is well suited for this manuscript. Be warned, POW requires access to a moderate magic library with standard references since it is more derivative and relies on the strong work of Carney, Kosby and others for some of its phases. All are clearly called out and the required texts are not difficult to come by.

In all OiATER is not just Oil and Water. It is card magic with an Oil and Water theme. There are new moves, old moves and a fair amount of performance theory. While not a complete encyclopedia of Oil and Water, there is enough to make a nice buffet to pick and choose from. The book’s computer enhanced photo illustrations are clear and appropriately placed. A full bibliography is included and gives the student additional threads to pick through and follow. The writing is clear and the only criticism I can level is that there is a generational variation between Dobrowolski’s and Zhang’s voices that occasionally catches the reader off guard. This is a negligible problem given the content of the material. I recommend OiATER.

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OiATER
47-page, comb-bound manuscript

$20 plus S&H
($4.95 in the US and to Canada,
$8.95 to the Rest of the World)

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IN THE HANDS
WILD CARD DVD

“There are only a few of published close-up routines that are specifically geared to the standup performer that do not have the luxury of a table. If you like Wild Card and you often find yourself working in a walk around situation then this routine is for you. The routine is extremely visual, has no apparent discrepancies, and no awkward moves. I really like this handling and have added the routine to my repertoire.” – Allan Ackerman

"That's a great trick Tom. Looks very magical. Where is it available?"
- Aaron Fisher

Why right here, Aaron! Or, at better magic dealers everywhere.

“I've always felt that 'Wild Card' was one of the greatest visual card tricks of all time. My good friend Tom Dobrowolski has made a great contribution to the magical fraternity by creating and sharing his special version that can be performed without the need for a table. I look forward to adding Tom's beautiful routine to my strolling repertoire.” - Daryl the Magicians Magician

“Knocked the s * * * out of me!! Nicely routined.” - Charles Gauci

“Have I ever shown you my card collection?”

So begins In The Hands Wild Card one of the most visual and practical Wild Card Routines ever developed. Tom Dobrowolski has taken this classic routine and raised it off the table and put it into the magician's and spectator's hands making it a great routine for the walk around and table entertainer.

In The Hands Wild Card uses the standard Wild Card set of cards, a set of cards you probably already own or that is available through any magic dealer. This is a routine you will learn and use.

DVD editing and
authoring by eq37.com

Above (left to right): Tom Dobrowolski (performing), Paul Harris, Paul Wilson, Earl Nelson and David Solomon. Below (upper): Tom demos it for Gregory Wilson. Below (lower): Tom does his magic for Joshua Jay.

Tom Dobrowolski's In The Hands Wild Card is getting rave reviews!

"Very clever, commercial trick!" - Joshua Jay

“I thoroughly enjoyed the routine.” - Bill Malone

“Great job Tom! Very visual and practical. I love that it's in the hands too. I'll be using this one.” - Mike Powers

"I had the pleasure of seeing Tom perform his in the hands wild card at 'Midwest Magic" a few weeks back. It's great!" - Jon Stetson

"I generally look at wild card routines with an enormous sense of indifference. But after having seen Tom's, I've been forced to change my mind.This is a great routine that makes sense, can be done with out using table space, the spectator is managed in the routine, so that he/she handles the cards without any sense of gimmicked cards. Truly great stuff, Tom! " - Denny Laub

"It doesn't suck!" - Kevin Burke star of Broadway's "Defending The Caveman"

"Tom's handling of the classic powerhouse 'Wildcard' is totally professional, totally baffling, instantly resets and happens in the performers’ and spectators’ hands. In my book that's the conditions that make a routine totally professional." - Bob Kohler

“Beyond belief. You have to teach me that one.” - Marshall Brodien

"Let me add my voice to those praising "In The Hands." Tom has done this for me several times now, and it is always very entertaining and engaging. Practically speaking, it's great because it doesn't need a table. Magically, it has a terrific build and payoff. The script is tight and clever and the fact that the cards end up in the spectators hands for most of the routine is a major plus. This is well worth the investment. When you learn it, you'll be doing it all night." - Fred Zimmerman

In the Hands Wild Card
A Review by David Acer

Tom Dobrowolski (pronounced “Dobrowolski”) has cobbled together an excellent, stand-up, in-the-hands version of Wild Card that makes use of the standard set, available at or through your local dealer (but not included with this DVD). After having a card “freely chosen” from a regular deck, he discards the pack, then reaches into another pocket and brings out his “card collection,” which consists of eight Jokers. The ch! osen card is brushed against, touched to, or waved over each of these Jokers, causing them to change, one after the other, into eight duplicates of the selection! The spectator is then directed to retrieve his selection, whereupon the remaining eight duplicates instantly revert to Jokers!

Tom’s routine is extremely magical, very visual, and highly interactive, making use of two spectators, one on either side of the magician, who are asked (and required) to hold their hands out like tables as he delivers cards onto their palms after each successive change. The end result is a Wild Card routine that is performed in mid-air, and loses nothing for having been elevated (both literally and figuratively) from the two-dimensional world of tabletops.

It’s a shame this DVD isn’t packaged with a Wild Card set, but regardless, if you do walkaround work, Tom’s routine is well worth your attention.