talkmagic.co.uk

As you might understand from the headline, I was (and might still be considered) a newbie in magic and mentalism, seeing as I only began studying it in earnest a year ago.

About a year ago I wrote a review in this forum ofmy first mentalism show, which was somewhere between horrendous and fabulous. Suffice it to say that at that point I knew nothing about billets, for example, and close to nothing about stuff like misdirection or the importance of lighting / microphone. The show had its strong points, but there was lots of things to fix, most of which I mentioned in the previous review.

Ever since that time, I didn't really do mentalism shows. I do plenty of popular science lectures to the public, but still have some sort of fear of doing magic / mentalism in front of a large audience. I kept on reading any mentalism book I could find in my local shops, borrowed books from my crazily-like-minded friends, ordered a few devices, and had lots of fun working 1-on-1 and astounding people with my amazing abilities. I was still cautious of doing mentalism to a large group, one exception being demonstrating real memory magic, like Corinda's system for memorizing 15-30 items. I was mostly trying to assimilate mentalism into my popular science lectures, which I found quite hard to do. Amusing, really, since I do research as a futurist, talk about future prediction, and an amusing obviously-fake future-reading can be a nice ice-breaker at some point in my lectures. But still.

Two days ago, I had a science lecture scheduled at a high-school. The day before the lecture, a very good friend who also teaches physics at that school, asked me to do a mentalism/science show for his students as well (40 students, 9th and 10th grade, with a few 11th/12th). So, with just one day to prepare myself, I came up with a relatively quick mentalism show revolving about memory, the brain and the body. This review summarizes the show and my lessons from it, in the hopes that other folks new into mentalism would be able to learn from it. I will not talk much about the personal stories, jokes and others that I put in the show. Mostly the effects.

The review might contain exposure into methods. I honestly do not know for sure what counts as an exposure, or as a break in the etiquette of magic/mentalism (I never had formal training in the art, if there's even such a thing). If there's any exposure, please tell me so I can alter the phrasing, or move the entire thread to the secure forums.

Before the show:
My friend, the teacher, has his students re-organize the chairs in a U shape, with me at the empty part of the U. I ask him quietly who is the most serious student, and he points to one of them and tells me his name. I go to that guy, tap his shoulder from behind. He turns to me, I concentrate and let my eyes look through his head, then ask him by name to come with me. He comes with me, befuddled. I take him to a corner, and do the preparation for the Chuck Hicock's exercise of letting a spectator read other people's minds. I won't expand on it. I will say, however, that after the show he came to me and asked me if there was a special reason I picked him. I would only say that he looked like someone people place their trust in.

First effect: Corinda's / Osterlind's memory game
I ask for a smart, handsome volunteer who never said a lie in his life. I settle for some random kid. I give him a writing pad and a pen, and explain that he needs to write down all the items people say, along with the number. He does this diligently. After 7 items, I let the students start picking the next person who will call-up an item. After 15 items I deem it enough (I know Osterlind says you should go up to 20, but in the two times I did this effect, it seemed to me that 20 will constrain the patience of the audience). They call out a number, and I say the item. This is repeated a few times, then I say the items backwards. On the first item I 'forget', turn to the guy who wrote the list, tell him to think about the first item and pluck it from his mind. The crowd bursts in applause. Where's the Emmy Award when there's finally someone who actually deserves it?

Lessons: Great effect to open with. You get crowd interaction and get them to laugh about some of the items. The final where you're acting that you forgot the item is incredibly dramatic, and makes them feel you're in a real challenge – which obviously adds a lot to the tension and the applause.

Lessons for the future: Every crowd says table. Find a few funny things to say about tables. Do so for other common items as well (chair, pen, wall). The idea is to be funny and flowing, so it won't feel to them like you're actively trying to remember all of the items.


Second effect: Explaining how to get a super-memory
This one is easy, and more of a workshop exercise than mentalism. I explain the concept of association with images, then demonstrate it by having a slideshow with a list of images for each number (1=coin, 2= monastery, etc), ask them to throw up items again, and work with them on creating a new image combining the new item and the old image for each number. After ten items I call it quits, start throwing numbers at them – and they yell each memorized items.

Lessons: exceptionally satisfying, both for me and for them. Some students actually began checking if they can recall items even before we reached item number 10, and soft cries of "wow, I can actually remember it!" began filling the room. There is no better feeling than to make young people believe in themselves and in their abilities.

Lessons for the future: none, really. This serves as a very real proof that there is no trickery so far, makes them believe when you say you understand how the brain works, and in general makes them fall into a 'trance' where they now believe anything and everything, because they've just performed the impossible.


Third Effect: Brian Brushwood's 'planted memory'
See here a nice clip of the effect. I don't know where he got the method from (possibly he thought it up himself). I really like his show, by the way – it's amazing how much effect he manages to put into very simple methods.

I did similar effect on the students, with two lists I devised myself, and about 50% thought about the four words I planned for, that weren't in the lists. Not as good as Brian's 90% success, but decent enough. This led to an explanation about fake memories, and how memory is fluid.

Lessons: Nice effect, but the following explanation wasn't so good so I lost them a bit.

Lessons for the future: I need to improve the lists, and also to work on the explanation of fake memories using the slideshow.


Fourth effect: Ideo-motor Effect with Pendulums
I brought out five pendulums consisting of a nut of a bolt (I hope the translation to English is correct) hanging on a thin string used for sewing. Five volunteers were picked by me, and stood at the open end of the U. I stood in front of the volunteers (at the closed end of the U), and demonstrated the effect of the pendulum changing directions as I willed it. I then gave them the pendulums, and did everything the good residents of this forum told me to – I established out relations by going through them, telling one to spread his legs a little, another to straighten him other arm to the side, and being generally bossy and authoritative (or suffering from a slight OCD. Either way). I then told them –

"As you stand here, your legs straight, your other hand dangling in the air, looking at the end of the pendulums, they will move back and forth like the pendulum of a huge grandpa clock".

And what do you know, they did. I told them to switch to circular movement, and again they did. Woohoo.

Lessons: Worked very nicely. Thanks to all the people here who helped me with the effect - Tomo, Mr. Grue, DaleShrimpton, Sam Gurney, TheMagicWand and Mandrake!

Lessons for the future: For a large audience, the bolts need to be replaced with red balls, the size of a tenis / ping-pong ball. Otherwise, the visibility is lousy.


Fifth effect: Mind Eraser by Joe Brogie
I saw the clip advertisement of Buragio's Mind Eraser, and thought I understood what he did and could repeat it as well. I told the girl who performed the best with the pendulum to stay with me, and took the cards on the table. I fumbled with them a bit, complaining that people always mistake me for a magician but that I'm pretty clumsy with the cards (straining quite hard NOT to do card fans with my two hands while saying that). I then took the five of clubs and showed it to the girl. She didn't know the name of the shape (in my country, many people don't differentiate between clubs and spades), so I told it to her, and had repeat the name, then turn the card over in her hands, with its back to her, and it's face to the audience.
I did the stuff Buragio's doing in his clip, then asked her for the name of the card.

And she couldn't remember. I asked her again. No luck either. I let the understanding sink in, then told her I'll bring back the memory, and did it just like Buragio did.

Well, now.

There are times when you feel magic is real. That the impossible can happen. It first happened for me when I hypnotized a friend of mine into a deep trance, completely by mistake.

This was another of these times. When you understand that the human brain is so much more complicated than you dared believe. That fairies, and ghosts and sandmen actually do exist, if only you grant them leeway to burst forth from the nether parts of the mind. The students felt the same way. This was definitely the most dramatic effect of the show. The Magic of the Mind.

Lessons: Wow. Just wow. But also – pick the right girl for the job. And if it fails, have a getaway in place ("great, now that I see how your memory works, we can go on to THIS" move on the another one-on-one effect).

Lessons for the future: Buy Mind Eraser. I did the trick just by emulating Buragio's actions, but I have a feeling I can improve the reliability of this amazing mental magic by actually reading his thoughts. Plus, it seems only fair.


Sixth effect: Psypher's Mind Reading
I call forth the burliest student of them all, and ask him to think of a word. Not too long, not too short.

"Don't tell it to me, obviously, but do write it down. Yes, right here, so you can't change it at the last moment. Got it? Great. Show it to everyone except me. Now, press your fingertips to mine, and just imagine you're typing on the keyboard, again and again."

And then I play it out, slowly but surely. Heavens praise Psypher.

Lessons: Picking the bully of the class for this experiment lends it extra-credibility.

Lessons for the future: None, really. Great routine.


Seventh effect: Chuck Hicock's effect, where you demonstrate how you can turn one of the spectators into a mind-reader (body-reader, in my case).
I really don't want to say too much here, as it might lead to an exposure of the method. All I can say is that it worked perfectly.

Lessons: when my mind-reading-spectator wrote a prediction, I showed it first to everybody in the room who didn't already know the shape/number/word. That way the tension really built up.

Also, when the super-spec wrote the word, the students could see that he wrote the right word by looking after the movements of his pen and wrist. That spoiled the big WOW effect just a little bit, but not too much.

Lessons in the future: Ask the volunteer to write close to his body. Other than that, great finish effect.


There was a bit of a glitch at the end. The students were all ready to hail the super-spec, but I asked them to sit down, explained that they need to be careful what they believe in, and not to follow false prophets, astrologers and the likes blindly because they all make use of similar principles of reading. AND, if they ever run into real super-natural event, they should call me so I can come investigate it. (throw visiting cards nonchalantly on the table)

It's a nice ending in essence, but it should've come before the big finale where the spec managed to body-read the word from the audience. I should've let them keep on wallowing in their adoration, rather than making them sit down again and listen to old boring me.


Summary:

To summarize things up: it was an event of 60-70 minutes, but felt much shorter, full of energy, laughter and excitement. It was magic to the extreme, made much better by the knowledge that anyone can do it, if they only develop their skills properly. I felt much more confident at the end about my magic, than I did throughout the entire last year. This is one show I'll try selling to schools and general audiences whenever I can.

I'll be very happy to hear constructive criticism and advice!

(Did you actually read all this? OMFG, what an amazing mind you have!)

I read it all yes.

Everytime I read about a successful early performance it's putting me one step closer to getting the confidence to one day do the same.

Really, really nice post.

It was an entertaining read and...I'm now considering buying Mind Eraser. I've seen Jermay's effect where he makes the spec forget a card on the Skullduggery DVD. I've also seen James Brown do it brilliantly too, but this looks a step above those for reasons I may not be able to say without saying too much.

Anyway...yes, agreed, heavens praise Psypher. I've used it with cards, magic squares, names, the lot. It's brilliant.

Keep us updated!

Teknohippy -
I hope your performance would come about soon. I honestly don't know if one can be confident for a first-time performance in magic/mentalism. I know I wasn't. Maybe it just takes a leap of faith.

Grimshaw -
Jermay's card-forgetting was supposed to be my out, if the Mind Eraser happened not to work (and I wasn't really expecting it to work).

As for Psypher, we should open a cult of worshippers and have it done with.

Thanks for both of your replies. I'm glad you liked it.

I happened across this video on the subject of confidence while looking for a sticky hands routine. (bingo)

It resonated with me quite a bit. I "displaced" a séance that I had wanted to do at the end of last year to gain some performance experience because I felt I wasn't ready. Last month it occured to me that I was in danger of never considering myself ready, and that really I should just "do it" (to quote a well-known faerie). The only way to stop "becoming" and start "being" is just that; to be.

So wish me luck for the 13th of March!

Good luck!

Also, this looks like an interesting channel. I'll have to look more deeply into it.

just commenting so i can find this thread again later when I'm not at work. Great post, sounds like it was good fun I echo tecknohippies sentiments entirely!

Lovely post, mate.

Glad to see you growing in ability and confidence.

Lovely post and great to hear that your show went down well. It's so true that you really do learn more by getting out there and doing than you will from any number of books.

Well done to you!

Glad things went well.