The Effect
The assistant (usually a woman) is placed in an upright cabinet, her face, hands, and left foot visible through openings in the front of the cabinet. Large metal blades are inserted horizontally in the cabinet's midsection, dividing it—and presumably the assistant inside—into thirds. The magician then slides the cabinet's midsection apart from the top and bottom thirds, giving the appearance that the assistant's midsection has been pulled away from the rest of her, giving her a "zig-zag" shape. While divided, a small door on the cabinet's midsection can be opened to examine—even touch—the assistant's body inside, a duty frequently performed by an audience member brought up on stage to help perform the illusion. At the completion of the illusion, the assistant's midsection is slid back into place, the two blades removed, and she steps out of the cabinet unscathed.
Read more about this topic: Zig Zag Girl
Famous quotes containing the word effect:
“Before the effect one believes in different causes than one does after the effect.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Other countries drink to get drunk, and this is accepted by everyone; in France, drunkenness is a consequence, never an intention. A drink is felt as the spinning out of a pleasure, not as the necessary cause of an effect which is sought: wine is not only a philtre, it is also the leisurely act of drinking.”
—Roland Barthes (1915–1980)