talkmagic.co.uk

Dont be confined by rules - make it up as you go along.

Chris wrote:Dont be confined by rules - make it up as you go along.

Lol, Very philosophical!

Eh, it seems to work for Dynamo or whatshisface. They get flown over the states and to other countries and paid outrageous fees for their card work and other things. Thought I suspect that the whole street/rapper thing will wear down once he hits 29-35. Althought ironically Criss Angel is 44 and dresses and acts likes he's still 15.

Randy wrote:Eh, it seems to work for Dynamo or whatshisface. They get flown over the states and to other countries and paid outrageous fees for their card work and other things. Thought I suspect that the whole street/rapper thing will wear down once he hits 29-35. Althought ironically Criss Angel is 44 and dresses and acts likes he's still 15.

44!, Woah, I would never have guessed that!

and acts likes he's still 15.

What have you got against 15 year olds... Ok, don't answer that.

SamGurney wrote:

and acts likes he's still 15.

What have you got against 15 year olds... Ok, don't answer that.

Haha where do i start?.. Mind you I'm only 17

You could be the most skillful mentalist (or magician) in the world but if your audience doesn't like you, you will be made to feel about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit. I think likeability and charisma are vitally important assets to any mentalist.

pcwells wrote:Mein Gott! I hope elegance really isn't a core requirement!

If it is, I might as well give up now.

And a smart suit?? For half my mentalism gigs, I don't even bother to be clean-shaven!

I do, however, like to think I'm engaging and articulate, and that my work is interesting and entertaining.

Above all else, I think clarity is the most important (and most often overlooked) ingredient to mentalism. Audiences need to understand what is going on. Simple scripts play very well - and work in the performer's favour when audience participation is key to an effect's success. If you can't keep a routine short and simple, it needs to be crystal clear, both for the audience and for the 'volunteers' you call up on stage to make you look good.

Beyond that, entertainment value is all I really care about. I want the audience to leave having enjoyed the show, and feeling that it was worth their time and money. At no point should anyone feel like they were just there to stroke the performer's ego.

As for skills and techniques... whatever's needed to make the show work.

Pete

I agree with this a lot. Of course you have to be professional and present yourself well, but I feel that as soon as you get into over professionalism (a sharp suit, too crisp patter and a glued-on smile) you start to lose the idea of what mentalism should seem to be to the public - not traditional magic. Being too sharp tends to say 'I do tricks'.

It's early and I'm probably not making a lot of sense, but it's a bit like when a card man does a lot of clever flourishes, then goes on to do a few effects, it's all saying, 'Look, I can do sneaky things with my hands, so everything I'm gong to do is going to be all about card-sleights and a trick." For my money, mentalism is at the edges of possibility for the viewer, it should have the 'I am a trick' edges removed, so turning up unshaven and looking as normal as possible is the order of the day for me. I purposely make mistakes, fumble, scratch and stutter, but for some reason, when things eventually do go right the impact is even higher than if I were looking over-practised.

Still not making sense, but you might get the drift:)

Durkini

To hark back to a much earlier post, surely the only important thing is that they audience believes you can do the things you are claiming to? Everything else is just dressing really.

Yep, agreed. But things like clothes and so on serve the function of creating a congruent and believable concept of you, the mentalist- which all accumulates to serve the function of being believable and entertaining.

Randy wrote:Eh, it seems to work for Dynamo or whatshisface. They get flown over the states and to other countries and paid outrageous fees for their card work and other things. Thought I suspect that the whole street/rapper thing will wear down once he hits 29-35. Althought ironically Criss Angel is 44 and dresses and acts likes he's still 15.

Criss Angel is a wannabe in every sense of the word, in my opinion.
So, one skill is essential. That is called basic Ellusionist evasive maneuvers. Essentially, steer well clear of all this weird Criss Angel-y stuff.

SamGurney wrote:Yep, agreed. But things like clothes and so on serve the function of creating a congruent and believable concept of you, the mentalist- which all accumulates to serve the function of being believable and entertaining.

Agreed.

At what point would you say that one could tell when the creation of a persona has become visibly 'too professional' to the point where it does say to the viewer 'I do tricks' (as opposed to 'I do spooky/mental things)?

Durkini

Hmm.. difficult one to answer. It is just a largley unconcious thing, when the performer believes that what he is doing is tricks rather than miracles. The audience somehow picks up on this through the way they talk, the way they conduct themselves, the comments they make. It all comes down to acting. It is something which is growing amongst my interests of late and my list of things to study
But some basic reading and practice and just activley taking an interest in acting an acting at every opportunity, I think, hepls a mile. I'm by no means anywhere near qualified on the topic, but I like to think I'm not too bad at acting. (On a good day, at least )

How you look is clearly important - but that doesn't mean you should look like a corporate mentalist. If your schtick is awkward weirdo who can hear thoughts, you shouldn't be wearing a snappy suit...

Mentalism seems to be the only branch of mystery performance that people believe and therefore secrecy (therefore maintaining credibility) must be important. A lot of the power of mentalism is stagecraft taken from traditional magic. What I find confusing are the ethics behind Mentalism acts.... but thats another thread entirely.