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I have been requested to perform at a university charity gig doing walkaround. I have a few months to prepare, I want to perform quick and powerful close up mentalism/pk. Any suggestions for tricks that you particularly recommend?

What's your style / persona?

PK is a magicians' trick, not mentalism. Work on a good centre tear or acidus novus (a peek). Also pick up Paul Voodini's Palmistry for Magicians. Combine centre tears and palmistry and you will kill.

it's going to depend on your style. There's plenty that can work well in close up, as Tony said plam reading is great if it suits you. If you're after more of a performance piece then my close up set includes a book test, a little bit of billet work and a drawing dup.

My personal is a mysterious and introverted man with hints of supernatural senses (ESP, pk powers).

All of the above, plus (if you want to spend some money) Original Kolossal Killer and BIP Book.

BTW, if you want to get into billet work, Elliott Bresler's pdf "Switchcraft" is essential reading.

Barry

for PK effects, Metal bending always gets good reactions

I'd suggest it doesn't really matter what you perform as well as you perform it correctly and in an entertaining fashion. Palm reading, Pk work, billet reading and all the suggestions are wonderful. But they are just tricks. Find something you enjoy. What pushed you towards mentalism? Figure that out and then go with that.

The 'it's not a trick' perception from laymen that pushed me towards it so everything that's 'real' which to be honest could be everything :p

That's the problem with this sort of thread. Half a dozen answers and little overlap between them!

Have you checked out Mobile Mentalism by Mark Strivings?

One of the first books (and the largest) ever written dealing exclusively with the topic of walk-around mentalism. Sixteen effects and routines, all designed for the demanding world of the strolling performer. Included are several routines by Mark Strivings as well as some of the top performers in the world of mentalism.

As usual, the problem with suggesting things to people you don't know is that nothing might suit . You might buy the book and find nothing in it you can use! Ultimately, bmat is right and the only person who can make this decision you.

Another possibility is some form of star sign or birthdate divination. You can add a reading to this, if you wish (or make the reading part of the method for how you get tothe sign). You can also follow up with the day for any date routine if you get the actual date and not just the Sun sign.

May I also ask how your "introverted" character is going to cope being a hired mingler at a social event? I'm sure you can come up with a way round this, but it struck me as a little odd.

johnnyryanUK wrote:The 'it's not a trick' perception from laymen that pushed me towards it so everything that's 'real' which to be honest could be everything :p

And how did they arrive at the 'it is not a trick' perception? Presentation I tell ya, it is all about presentation. Pulling a handkerchief out of midair could be just as much as 'its not a trick' as knowing which geometric shape they are thinking of.

Yeah I completely see where you are coming from bmat, however unless it is a telekinesis act performed seriously I believe the specs always have this thought at the back of their minds (there's got to be a trick to it surely) for example shuffling up cards front to back then making them all turn one way. But with the mental side of things, I think you are tapping into something that isn't perceived as trickery or deception, they genuinely see it as NLP, psychology, real mindreading or however it is interpreted. Of course, you are completely right, depends on presentation!

Most of the classic magic textbooks which include a mentalism chapter make the point that it's often perceived as real. See Hugard's "Modern Magic Manual" (another plug), for example.
Barry

johnnyryanUK wrote:Yeah I completely see where you are coming from bmat, however unless it is a telekinesis act performed seriously I believe the specs always have this thought at the back of their minds (there's got to be a trick to it surely) for example shuffling up cards front to back then making them all turn one way. But with the mental side of things, I think you are tapping into something that isn't perceived as trickery or deception, they genuinely see it as NLP, psychology, real mindreading or however it is interpreted. Of course, you are completely right, depends on presentation!

Even if you're trying to put across the psychological or NLP story, it's still very difficult to actually get your audience to believe you and not to start looking for a trick. With this sort of thing, it really does come down to your presentation to make it believable. That's even harder when you're doing close up metalism as you often don't really have the time to really connect with you r audience in a way that is going to convince them that what you're doing is real. When you're doing close-up, quite often you're restricted to mental magic, there's nothing wrong with that in my opinion but it is very difficult to put across as real.

johnnyryanUK wrote:Yeah I completely see where you are coming from bmat, however unless it is a telekinesis act performed seriously I believe the specs always have this thought at the back of their minds (there's got to be a trick to it surely) for example shuffling up cards front to back then making them all turn one way. But with the mental side of things, I think you are tapping into something that isn't perceived as trickery or deception, they genuinely see it as NLP, psychology, real mindreading or however it is interpreted. Of course, you are completely right, depends on presentation!

Just to keep things going because I like this topic, or at least what it has turned into.

It goes without saying that one has to choose the tools wisely. If you wish to be a 'mentalist' then you must present your magic in that way, you must choose effects that you can present as a 'mentalist'. Make no mistake I classify mentalists as magicians, same as illusionists or close up performers, bizzarists. It is all a genre of magic. If you really want people to believe on the basis of the effect you are performing then I suggest palm reading or anything in that ilk.

You mention telekenises in a serious vein. Okay to me that just says levetations or animations. Get out your IT, your magnets and plate lifters and have a blast. If you present as a trick then that is how it is going to be percieved, present like Uri Geller and that is how it will be percieved. But at the end of the day it is the same thing.

A prediction and a pick a card trick are pretty much the same thing. All that changes is the object and the presentation. In both cases the magician has an audience pick an object in some fashion, and then that object is revealed under seemingly impossible conditions. Both use methods of deception. There is no better or worse, only a better or worse magician.

In both genre's like any performing art one must make a connection, without that all is lost.

The key in all cases is figure out what you like to do and find a way to perform it in the genre you wish to perform in. A great magicial perfomance is just as strong as a great mentalism act, as is a great juggling act...and I've totally lost my train of throught. Except it all comes down to your performance, not the effect.