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mark lewis wrote:You need something fast and attention getting as an opener. Mentalism is long winded enough as it is. Bank night or as we British call it Just Chance is a very popular opener for mentalists for some odd reason but I consider it far too long winded and takes too much time up. I hate this trend of mentalists to take ten minutes over one bloody trick. I saw Al Koran do 4 tricks in 8 minutes and I think that is far more preferable. However, if you have a certain showmanship then you can take more time. Alas showmanship and mentalism is a very rare combination and 90 percent of them bore me to tears with all that interminable yacking. When someone is doing magic you can at least distract yourself looking at the pretty colourful handkerchiefs while they are boring you to death. Not so with tedious mentalism.
But with regards to an opener I would suggest something with a swami gimmick. Astounding, direct and attention getting. There are a ton of possibilities. You want something that takes no more than two minutes and doesn't require the presence of anyone on stage. Avoid all this c*** (not the best) you hear about yapping to everyone for two minutes or so before you start your opening item in order to gain "rapport". You will far more likely gain inattention and boredom than "rapport". You need to start whatever trick you are going to do within 30 seconds of getting out on that stage before people have a chance to fall asleep.
Audience attention is at its height during the first minute of your act. Don't waste that precious minute and get on with the job.
Grumpy Panda wrote:I would really recommend something from Prodigal by Atlas Brookings a nice propless method for mind reading. Might I suggest the Muppets one. If you have the book you will know what I mean. it's quick punchy and how I opened my show. I can pm you with how I perform it if you are interested.
mark lewis wrote:I have seen some very strong reactions when people have opened with a swami gimmick effect. I wouldn't discount it as an opener. As for "projection" that is within the control of the performer and has nothing to do with the trick itself. The trick can be small but the personality can be big. And the audience doesn't really need to see the props (pencil, notepad etc;) to understand what is going on.
MiKo wrote:Chris Beard's Facebook Opener?
Also: although I agree with Mark, AFTER you have delivered something fast and hard hitting, you can start a Bank Night and spread it over the whole show, keeping the final reveal for the ending. Sort of like a recurring joke.
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