The Zig-Zag Girl illusion is a magic trick akin to the more famous sawing a woman in half

Sawing a woman in half

Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of different stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently sawn or divided into two or more pieces.-History:...

 illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides his or her assistant into thirds, only to have the assistant emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance completely unharmed.

Since its invention in the mid 1960s by magician Robert Harbin

Robert Harbin

Robert Harbin was a British magician and writer. He is noted as the inventor of a number of classic illusions, including the Zig Zag Girl...

, it has been hailed as one of the greatest illusions ever invented due to both the apparent impossibility of the trick, and the fact that unlike many illusions it can be performed surrounded by spectators and withstand the close scrutiny of audience members.

Because of the manner in which the illusion is achieved, it is generally performed with a female assistant, and there are limitations on her height and weight. Some of these issues are overcome in Modern Art, an illusion created by Jim Steinmeyer

Jim Steinmeyer

Jim Steinmeyer is an internationally respected designer of magical illusions and theatrical special effects. His best known illusions include Origami, Interlude, and Walking Through a Mirror. He is also an author, consultant and producer....

.

The effect

The assistant (usually a woman) is placed in an upright cabinet, her face, hands, and left foot visible through openings in the cabinet's front. Large, metallic blades are inserted horizontally in the cabinet's mid-section, dividing it—and presumably the assistant inside—into thirds. The magician then slides the cabinet's mid-section apart from the cabinet's top and bottom thirds, giving the appearance that the assistant's mid-section has been pulled away from the rest of her, giving her a "zig-zag" shape. While divided, a small door on the cabinet's mid-section 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 mid-section is slid back into place, the two blades removed, and she steps out of the cabinet unscathed.

Further developments

In recent years, following exposure of the basic illusion by the Masked Magician, a number of magicians have begun performing variations on the basic illusion. In some, rather than the assistant's face being visible through a hole in the front of the cabinet, their entire head projects out of the cabinet through a hole in its upper surface. In another variation, rather than being divided into three pieces, the assistant is instead divided into five - This variation is commonly referred to as the "Five-Way Zig-Zag".

Method

The method of this trick was explained by the Masked Magician, Valentino

Val Valentino

Val Valentino is an Italian American illusionist, and actor, who gained fame by starring in four magic specials exposing magic secrets on the Fox network, using the stage name the Masked Magician.-Biography:...

, as part of a Fox

Fox Broadcasting Company

Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...

 TV series called "Breaking the Magicians' Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed

Breaking the Magicians' Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed

Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed is a series of television shows in which the methods behind magic tricks and illusions are explained. In its original incarnation there were four shows broadcast in 1997-1998 on the Fox network in the United States, and on Sky...

".

The trick hinges on two things: People will not suspect the woman is actually responsible for the trick, and the box is larger than it appears.

1. The black strips down the sides make the box appear narrow. In reality, all that black space is usable. The box accommodates the woman though it's a very tight fit.
2. The blades are inserted into the right side of the box. It looks like the blades take up more space; when inserted, the handle fills up the width of the box on the outside: but the blade inside only slices a portion of the box.
3. The sliding contraption is not as narrow as it seems. Black paint hides a column that gives extra space for the girl. The designer of the box must give the most space to the woman while making it appear as small as possible.
4. Unlike more conventional magic tricks, this illusion relies heavily on the skill of the woman inside, while the magician outside is just a demonstrator. The role reversal helps the illusion. Because most people assume the woman is just a helpless tool for the magician, few will suspect that she is actually in charge of this trick. The success of the illusion rests on the woman's ability to fit into the smallest possible space.

Cultural references

• A Zig Zag Girl box is featured in the 1979 comedy film A Pleasure Doing Business. Actress Misty Rowe
  Misty Rowe
  Misty Rowe is an actress most known for portraying the perky lisping blond on the American television series Hee Haw for 19 years...
  
   is shown inside of a trisected box, though the trick itself is not depicted.
• In the TV series Monk
  Monk (TV series)
  Monk is an American comedy-drama detective mystery television series created by Andy Breckman and starring Tony Shalhoub as the titular character, Adrian Monk. It originally ran from 2002 to 2009 and is primarily a mystery series, although it has dark and comic touches.The series debuted on July...
  
   (Season 7, Episode 15: Mr Monk and the Magician), a Zig Zag cabinet is used with Adrian Monk inside the cabinet.

External links

• Video, The Masked Magician reveals the Zig-Zag Girl.