Russell, I sincerely doubt we need to discuss whether the audience needs to feel certain about where the objects in question
are in context of the performance.
It may strike you as odd that someone who does a fairly competent and convincing retention pass, and having more than two such sleights in print, would argue against drawing attention to the action of placing a thing when
congruent context does not make that action
self evidently ordinary, as when carefully adding a coin to a collection of objects already in hand.
Out of simple respect for our audiences I feel it appropriate to give them credit enough to
know when we contrive to seemingly convince. To presume that by simple experience they
know when we could as well have simply picked up the item with that hand instead of performing some awkward action. They know. Why do some here insist on pretending not to know?
By way of contrast I'd like to point you and the group to Al Schneider's Coins Across where he starts by making a fist of one hand, and keeping that hand in place as he brings the coins over to the top of that fist, sets them down and watches them sink in. That, IMHO, is a motivated placement procedure.
As a means to help avoid doing much of what is shown, taught and poorly imitated outside of its natural context I would encourage folks to install a small sound clip to play whenever you catch yourself (or are looked at by others innocent eyes as doing something awkward ) in an awkward position. From the song by Madonna - the phrase
Strike a Pose. That will likely serve as both reminder and an amusing way to shift into director's mode and ask whether the action and it's presence in context of the routine actually adds as far as the audience is concerned.
Don't just stand there, let's get to it
Strike a pose, there's nothing to it
Vogue, vogue
Vogue, vogue
With a nod to the other divine ms. M,
-J