talkmagic.co.uk

It's a shame more pro's don't release more proper performances with their dvds in my opinion...as lot of the time those L&L people just plain get on my nerves..

it would be nice to see less exposed audience reactions to some of the greats...

My question is - do you think there is a difference between the UK and USA audience reactions and indeed the performances in general? Or is it just "character"?

I personally didnt like the way Mr. Osterlind used billets to crack out the answers in some of his dvd series, and i found the audience reactions to Max Maven a little quiet on his ( i think first?) dvd too...perhaps they are less appreciative...i dunno...

So, yes, your thoughts please on how you feel about how mentalism is performed, and more importantly..why...

I prefer more advanced members answer your query, as I cannot because I'm neither American nor British.

Although I'd like to share something about your last statement, and by no means I claim I am correct - I'm just speaking as what works for me by experience (which is not enough)

I'm personally not a very big fan of mentalism, sorry mentalists.
But if I do I think that the build up or presentation is more important than the trick itself.
Also I prefer doing mentalism first, then proceed to my other tricks.

I show a character of mystery, by remaining silent (no comedies yet) and have a strong and penetrating eye-contact with everyone.
I also try to slow down and don't use any jerky body language or blink very often.
All to add a character of a mentalist.

Also in NLP, there is one thing called the hypnotic (or magnetic) gaze.
In this you look directly between the eyes of the person, just above their nose bridge (like a line is connecting their pupils and I look at the centre of that line, above their nose bridge). Also you have to focus your eyes like you can see through them, and focus behind their eyes.

Although it doesn't sound very powerful but any NLP practitioner will tell you how powerful it is.

And I do this before other tricks because I perform with humour, and if I did other tricks first, I'll naturally be laughing. So if I take a step backward and suddenly do what I have explained earlier then it will seem odd. This way people think I have just started to open up now.

I have lived in both the UK and North America and have experienced both types of audiences. There is a distinct difference. UK audiences tend to be tougher and more obnoxious. A bit like British people actually.

In North America audiences are far more polite and responsive. You will even find the drunks are polite!

Well, sometimes anyway.

Well, I'll not got into the NLP debate but I will point out that there are reasons why most Mentalist don't make their performance material available -- THEFT!

Far too many fools on this planet think it perfectly fine to steal material they like or see in another person's act and for that reason alone you will find few in mentalism willing to be put on the spot. We saw how this epedemic spread through magic during the 80s and 90s as well as how so many seem to be able to only perform what they've seen Derren, Criss, David or Gerry do on their broadcasts programs.

Secondly, the majority of Mentalists are boring as hell when it comes to what they do. Especially when you are not in the room with them and "experiencing" what they are doing. I've had to demonstrate this particular ilk to agents and talent coordinators time and again... just another one of those things that kind of seperates the two artforms more than some would like.

Yes, presentation is paramount and though there can be some cultural issues, I've yet to see where that's a tremendous point in today's world. Thanks to the net and the massive communications networks we now have the issues of culture and social "difference" have at least narrowed if not become next to null. I think the bigger issue on this point stems more from the generational perspective than it does cultural. But then there has always been a chasm between the younger & older generations when it comes to communications and acceptance.

The problem with L&L and similar groups, is that they use the same group of magicians as an audience in most every video project. Secondly, they do edit so as to make the stars of their videos look a bit better than they probably are in the real world. The other thing you need to remember is that a lot of these DVDs are featuring veteran MAGICIANS who've merely jumped onto the Mentalism bandwagon in the past few years so as to exploit the trend and take your cash... I'm not naming names but it really could prove obvious if folks would but open their eyes and look at the past contributions of some of these newly invented "starts of mentalism" and compare that to what they do now.

... far too many card workers selling folks on the idea that adding in a bit of Cold Reading to any Card Trick makes you a Mentalist...

Yes, I will agree with the suggestion that the performer's personal energy and attention to presentation is paramount. The fact that much more is required in being a showman vs. knowing the mechanics behind a trick frequently alludes most, but it is in so many ways, the more important tool.... I've watched some of the legends perform, like Albert Goshman and believe me, they weren't smooth or clean in their slight of hand work... they were bold and even wreckless... BUT, their personalities and how they played with the audience is what allowed them to get away with the fubars and go down into the history books as they did.