MODERN MENTALISM LUKE JERMAY
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form of by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Ellusionist.com First Printing, August 2014. Co ver Design by Mike Clarke Edited by Jake Steele Printed in USA
Introduction ..................................................................... 4 Ten Person Drawing Duplication ................................... 6 Instant Memory ............................................................. 24 Touching on Divination ................................................. 38 Synch ............................................................................. 63 Everyday ESP .............................. .. ... ..... .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ....... .. 67 Goodbye ........................................................................ 76
Introduction This is a book to be read, not a book to be collected. It is my hope that within these pages you will find professional-grade material that you will be proud to present to your au~iences. The material I ha ve chosen to feature within this collection has been performed by me in front of real, ticket-buying audience members over the co urse of more than ten years. In that time I have refined the methods, presentations and approaches, as every professional perfo rmer must, to elevate tricks and deceptions into wor~y experiences for modern audiences. It is in the smallest of details that I take personal reward and pride, as it is from these small details performance-ready material is born. A professional performance of mind reading is as much about the connection between the performer and the audience as it is the wo rds that are spoken and the deceptions that create the illusion of telepathy. Mind reading; more than any other form of the mystery arts, can not exist unless it is performed and experienced by an audience of living, breathing humans. With traditional close up magic it is possible to derive reward from the pursuit of technical excellence; and while this is one of the noblest of pursuits, it is one that must be redefined when entering into the realms of mentalism. This is not to say that you should not hold yourself to the highest standards and ensure that you are able to handle the technical aspects of any given demonstration with confidence and precise technical ability, however it should be always remembered that the only thing that counts is the experience and the connection you create for your audience. This is the ultimate desire and challenge for all mentalists. It is not easy; h~wever I assure ~ou when you experience it in performance you will feel a reward hke no other. Connection with an audience; is the pures~ and most noble of pursuits for the contemporary mentalist; techmcal excellence is simply a prerequisite for the greater goal. . This .b~ok will give you the material you need to create a full exp.enence; it is not only a book of routines, but the material could easily be combined to become a full thirty-minute professional 4
show. It requires no expensive or difficult to obtain materials or props and does not take up large volumes of space; it travels easily and with the right performance skills, is capable of filling the largest of stages. I personally believe that discovering a single routine, concept or premise that I find myself excited about makes the time, investment and effort spent on exploring a book more than wo rthwhile. I am confident that by the end of these pages you will discover more than one reward for your effort. In this book you will learn a powerful double drawing duplication routine, complete with professional staging tips that elevate the demonstration to a connecting thread during the course of a performance. You will learn a powerful and easy to perform opening routine that allows your audience to connect with you as a perfo rmer and also allows you to frame mentalism in a nonconfro ntational, easy to accept style that is both contemporary and authentic. You will learn a powerful, easy-to-apply system that will allow you to effortlessly produce miracles with playing cards, as well as a demonstration that is assured to leave your spectator talking about you for a long time to come. You will learn a full telepathy demonstration to close the performance in which you appear to read the minds of many different people; specifically, in detail, with no stooges, cold reading, preshow work or props. A demonstration so baffling it has even the most skeptical audience member scratching their head and so simple to perform it requires nothing more than you, three chairs and a room full of spectators. Now you kn ow what lies ahead; it is time for your journey to begin. JERMAY
Ten Person Drawing Duplication There are few premises in contemporary mind reading that have received as much attention, thought and stage time as the humble drawing duplication. It has been featured by leading performers in live shows, television appearances and even by those claiming genuine psychic power, within the walls of scientific labs. It is easy to see why the demonstration has found such favour with professional performers worldwide. It offers a strong, simple to follow, visual proof of telepathy. The 'test conditions' history that is connected to the test also allows some interesting performance potential, with tailored scripting and it offers a visual element in not only the drawing itself, but in the manner the routine is staged and presented. Over the years I have experimented with literally hundreds of drawing duplication methods and systems running the gauntlet from classic sleight of hand techniques to state-of-the-art technology. After much experimentation and testing in front of real audiences I settled for the tried and true; non-electronic approach, as m.y personal preference. This is also true for this stage drawing dupl~cat10n rout111e. All yo u will need to perform the routine can be ob~a1~ed withi~ any office supply store, anywhere in the world. This is someth111g of which I am very proud and has rewarded me more than once, when upon arriving in a far off country my bags have been misplaced and I have had to source pro s for a ptrforman ce 111 local stores. Do not underestimate the in this a one; one day it may reward you.
val~e
I have constructed a routine that allows D h .or more t an one person to be involved; yo u could if o of ten spectators :ve: extend my entire audience participate 'th . h . er and have the wi 111 t e routme by h · h eac every person in the audience crea t e a d ra w . g The avmg . c and 111 not only the successful dupl · t. f · routme ieatures . 1ca ion o a drawing d . . ma e m secret but multiple revelations of perso 1 . c na 1111ormatwn ·th 111 · h wi t e context of t h e formal drawing duplicat'10n.
pre~erence.
participa~ing
~~~~ed,
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I featured this routine heavily in my 2012-2013 UK touring stage show Jermay's Psychic Cabaret' and used it as a component that ran throughout the show; delivering the setup and reveal phases as individual pieces which I then returned to. As a standalone piece I have used this routine in short performances in mixed bill shows; it plays at anywhere between 12-15 minutes and is strong enough to become an entire short performance. This versatility is, to my mind, one of its strongest virtues. I will describe the routine as a stand-alone piece for the sake of clarity. We all stand on the shoulders of giants, and no routine is born within a vacuum. My drawing duplication routine was influenced and inspired by a routine created by my friend Marc Paul, who created a brilliantly economical and elegant deception in his own drawing duplication called 'The Double Blind Drawing Duplication' published in his lecture notes 'The Fleetwood Notes', which I highly recommend and are available directly from him in both hardcopy and eBook editions. I am pleased to say that after I created my version of the effect and shared it with Marc he now uses my handling and structure in his own performances. It is with great thanks to Marc that I offer this routine to you.
The Audience Experience The performer removes a small stack of blank cards around the same size as common business cards and a handful of 'golf pencils. He distributes a card and a pencil to ten different people scattered around the audience. He begins;
"I would like each of you to draw me a simple picture. Do not worry there is no prize for artistic ability. I just need some simple pictures for a 'test conditions' experiment in telepathy. You each have 30 seconds to completely fill out the cards I have given you. Please make sure you write your name at the top; so we will know who's work belongs to whom; please begin now!" Some music plays in the background as the spectators each make their drawings. As this is happening the performer approaches a woman sat close to the front and continues; 7
"I can sense that you have always wanted to be in showbiz. I can see it in your eyes. Well tonight is your lucky night. I need a mind reader's assistant and it is going to be you. I need you to collect all of the drawings; drawings facing the floor so no one can see them and bring them to the stage. Joking aside I would do this myself but it is important that I do not touch them or go near them. Please do this for me now and everyone make her feel welcome with some applause. " The performer leads in a round of applause for the spectator who then collects the drawings and brings them to the stage. The performer continues directly addressing the onstage spectator with the stack of drawings.
"I would like you to look at all the pictures and pick one that you like the best. One that resonates with you in someway...just be careful that you do not let anyone, myself included, see the image. Keep it a secret." The spectator looks at the images and picks one that she likes.
T~e. performer removes a stack of number 3 coin envelopes from his Jacket pocket and continues:
"You have found one image you like. Please seal it inside of this envelope. Now that was a decision you made consciously. Now I want you to make a decision unconsciously. Please without looking at any of the dra wings, I will hold these drawing-side down and as J drop them to the floor say stop." The performer drops the drawings, drawing-side down to the s~age , one _at.a time. The spectator calls stop and the performer has them seal.it mto a second number 3 coin envelope. The performer t en continues:
"Please hold onto both of those for me Yo h . ch.oices. One consciously and one unc~nsci:us;ve rr:ade two different with your conscious cho1·ce · Pl ease fiocus youry. First · d I want h to work the artist. The name written on th e d rawmgyo . mm on t e name of p ' kd avourite from them all." u ic e as your
fi
8
The performer turns his attention to the audience at large and continues:
"Please if you contributed a drawing stand up." Those spectators who made drawings stand. The performer continues:
"Please extend your arms and act as if you are shaking my hand. In your head introduce yourself to me. Say your name only in your mind." The performer focuses his mind and after a moment or two begins pointing to various people in the audience asking them to sit. He continues to do this until only one spectator remains standing. The performer grabs his pad and writes something on the pad. He asks the onstage spectator to announce the name of the artist they picked. He then smiles. He has the person in the audience announce their name in a clear voice. It is the same name; amazingly, the performer has located the artist the spectator was focused upon. He then continues:
"That would explain this ... " The performer turns the pad around and the name is seen written in bold letters. The performer continues addressing the spectator in the audience:
"I want to introduce you to your biggest fan. It is nice knowing someone appreciates your creative efforts, isn't it?" The performer approaches the spectator in the audience and hands them a large pad and a pen. He has them follow him back to the stage. He has the spectator stand centrestage and back to back with him and focus his mind intently on his drawing. After some moments of pure silence the performer duplicates the image; as the performer makes his drawing he astonishingly, verbally reveals the spectators star sign and exact date of birth. He thanks the spectator back to their seat. He then turns his attention to the spectator who holds an unknown drawing in an envelope. He continues:
"You hold a mystery in your hands right now. You do not know what the drawing inside that envelope is. However you did pick it. Have 9
you ever heard of the law of attraction? The Secret? In essence it.is the theory that what we think about, our preferences and life experiences, will in some way be attracted to us and in some way delivered to us. I am not sure if it works, or if it is just an excellent excuse to be lazy, but nonetheless smarter men than I have said 'the universe provides'. So in theory, whatever is inside of that envelope at this moment should in some way be connected to you as a person. Now this might be a really weak link. It might be a picture of a boat and when you were a child your second cousin had a toy boat. You might have to search for what it is ... but we will see. Before you open that envelope I have a feeling I know something about you that might prove important." The performer picks up his pad and writes something on it, without allowing anyone to see what has been written. He then has the spectator open the envelope. As the spectator looks at the image they react. The performer encourages the spectator to explain how the specific image connects to them on a personal level. The spectator explains; "It is a drawing of a wolf and I want a wolf tattooed on me."
The performer continues:
"'Well that would explain why I felt this was important then." . The performer turns his pad around to reveal the word 'tatt ' wntten boldlYacross t h e page. The onstage spectator is thanked oo th off e stage under the applause from the audience.
The Performer's Experience
This routine is much stron e th h makes use of simple, elegant dg r an .t e sum of its parts. It maximum impact in perform an e;onomical technique to deliver and requires a small ance. tfuses the most simple of props amount o prep f . performance. To begin ' let's t ake a 1ook at ara ion pnor what ill to the or d er to perform this routine. you w need in To perform this routine as I currentl . to construct a simple gimmick d 1 y perform it you will need e enve ope. This will be an update 10
to the classic 'window envelope' you will fondly remember from the works of Annemann and others. The gimmick has one additional quality that is vital; the flap has been removed, thus it becomes a
'Flapless Window Envelope.' I construct my envelopes slightly differently from those you might find in the classic texts on mentalism methods. These modifications were borne from facing a series of problems with the traditional construction of the gimmick in performances namely; I found that a standard window envelope did not have enough structure intact, and felt a lot like a lifeless fish, flopping around all over the place. I also found a constant problem that needed to be overcome; when I inserted a business card sized card into the envelope, often the corner of the card would somehow snag or catch at the lowermost corner of the window, making it cumbersome to insert fully. My modified construction resolves these issues and allows for a longer lasting gimmick than the standard construction afforded. Begin by placing the envelope onto a surface with the flap extended and facing upwards. Next cut a large square from this side of the envelope. Next cut from a sheet of acetate, or overhead projection film, a square slightly smaller than the envelope itself. Insert this plastic film into the envelope. Next using some clear tape carefully stick the sides of the window to the plastic film. Finally cut along the top fold of the envelope removing the flap. This modified construction will take only moments longer than the standard, but I feel is well worth the additional effort. When you are finished you will be left with an envelope complete with a large square 'window' and no flap. In performance this will allow you to both peek and exchange anything inserted into the 'flapless window envelope' gimmick. You will also require as many business card sized blank cards as you wish to use spectators. In my preference I use ten spectators within my routine. The audience believes these cards to simply be white business card sized paper. However each of the cards is actually prepared as shown below. I prepare these cards simply by 11
h d before the show. Each card is writing on blank stoc~ by h and rner running from one to ten. numbered in the top nghtw:~el~: as an example. You could; if Cards one to three ar~ sho d these cards en masse; however I you wished, have a prmter pro uce prefer to use handwritten cards.
10YI NAHl '~ ~----
1m Drn Of i!RT4~
10Ui NAHf ~
~----10U~ DAH Of !li!H~
~----JOUI D!A~IN G ~
I Additionally, you will require two large art pads; one for your drawing and one for your spectator to draw on. These pads should be as large as you can comfortably handle. Remember that a key element to the impact of this routine will be allowing the audience fo dearly see the drawing on the pad. Using a large, white pad is a ltucial part of this. You may prefer to use a large 'flip chart' or even :alarge whiteboard surface. The largest surface you are comfortable handling is the right choice; personally I use A2 art pads, with a strong cardboard backing, as I use these for others things in my show and I personally do not care for the way flip charts look onstage. I will leave the specific choice to you; just remember to use something with as big a surface as you can comfortably handle. You will need two thick black marker pens; again ensure these are as thick and produce as bold a line as possible. I use the 'Sharpie' brand 'Magnum' marker which produces thick, crisp jet black lines; which further helps increase the visibility of the drawing on the pad.
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Finally you will need enough golf pencils for the number of spectators you intend to have participate in contributing a drawing. I order these in boxes of 1500 online, as I do not collect the pencils back from the spectators during performance since this simply slows things down . However you can find these in smaller quantities in any office supply store. Now you have collected all the needed props for the routine and also created the single gimmick required for performance, you are ready to set the props for use. Begin by placing the prepared 'drawing' cards in order from one to ten in a stack. I then use a rubber band to hold these together in my pocket. The rubber band allows me an extra insurance that the cards will remain in order while they are in my pocket during the performance. I place the golf pencils into the same pocket as the cards. You will next place whatever 'personal connection' image will be used in performance. We will fully cover the manner in which we will discover a piece of information to use within the show in a separate section from the method, for the sake of clarity. For the moment to properly understand the method, on a blank card simply write the words 'personal connection' and place this into an envelope; on the back of this envelope, in pencil write the word; 'Unknown' and place this on top of a small stack of matching envelopes with the flap extended and open. On top of all of this place the 'fl.apless window envelope' with the window facing downward. When the envelopes are held in the hand, much like holding a deck of playing cards, it will appear as if there is a single envelope resting on the top of the stack of envelopes, with its flap extended and open. In reality the flap that is visible is actually the flap of the envelope containing the previously prepared 'personal connection' image (contained within an envelope with the word 'unknown' written on the back). Finally turn the packet of envelopes over and on the upper-most envelope's back write the word 'known' again in pencil. Have the marker pens and the art pads within easy reach either, in your performance case or on some easily accessed table on 13
the stage. With everything in place and ready we can now look at the manner in which these elements all come together to create a strong, professional demonstration of telepathy. In performance you will begin by distributing the prepared drawing cards to ten audience members. You will need to remember which spectator receives which number card. Rather than attempt to remember each and every person's face and which number card they receive, I opt for a much simpler solution: I always distribute the cards in the same 'pattern' in the audience. In this way I do not need to remember anything as later I will simply know where each of the cards were originally distributed thanks to the pattern always being the same. If we imagine the image below shows a small audience, each card along with a pencil is distributed in the order shown below.
STAGE
By always using this pattern; no matter room I am able to easily locate h. h the style or shape of the which spectator later in the t' w ic number card belonged to . rou me Ith' k th' · '. m is is a much easier solution than attempting to memorise people and numbers. You 14
may well have a pattern than seems more logical and easy to remember than the one I use. If so it goes without saying that you should make use of this! Whatever system is the most intuitive and easy for you to remember under the pressure of live performance is the right choice. This is simply my choice and one that makes sense to me; based on the way my mind works. After the drawing cards and pencils have been distributed it is time to return to the stage and instruct the audience members who have received cards as to what they should do with them. This is a vital part of the routine; it is during these instructions you will actually create a deception in the minds of the audience members who have not received a card. The audience at large will believe that those people with cards are only making a drawing and writing their name on the card. However in reality the people who received cards will write their name, make a drawing and write their date of birth. This is a powerful deception; do not underestimate it and learn to use it well. The secret to this deception lies in the application of ambiguous language. We will give the spectators a set of instructions that will be heard by everyone and yet will be understood by the audience proper, and those with cards in different ways. Lets review the exact scripting I use to ensure those receiving a drawing card understand and fill out their papers completely including their date of birth;
"I would like each of you to draw me a simple picture. Do not worry there is no prize for artistic ability. I just need some simple pictures for a 'test conditions' experiment in telepathy. Please take a moment to look at your card; imagine your drawing in the white space. You each have 30 seconds to completely fill out the cards I have given you. Ma ke su re everything is complete; your drawing, your name, everything on the card. Make sure you write your name at the top; so we will know who 's work belongs to whom; please begin now!" Read the above paragraph a few times to yourself; then speak it aloud exactly as it is written. When you have done this; close the book and say the paragraph out loud several more times; without trying to remember my scripting; instead allow your own voice, 15
t VVhen you have tone and vocabulary express the same concep . done this; meet me back on this page. . . d'd asked· you have returned to this page Assummg you 1 as 1 ' . . h this simple scnptmg expresses two and now full y understan d ow f l Th different meanings to two different groups o _reop e. ?se . b ho received a drawing card will now be fillmg audience mem ers w . h the card out; recording their name, date of birth and also t e drawing. As this is happening you will approach _one spectator close to the staae to assist you in collecting the drawmgs. In truth you 0 will pick your spectator carefully. This spectator will be the spectator v.'ith the personal connection to the image you prepared secretly moments before the show began. VV e will learn this personal connection reveal at the conclusion of this chapter. For the moment, simply imagine you have selected the correct spectator to assist you in collecting the drawings. Be playful in the manner in which you enlist this spectator's help, however, express the reason you are having them do the 'collecting' instead of doing it yourself. We as performers understand that we are asking someone else to collect the images in order to maintain 'fairness ' however if we do not express this to the audience it can appear somewhat lazy! I use the following scripting to enlist both the help of the spectator and explain why I am asking them to collect the envelopes on my behalf;
"I can sense that you ha ve always wanted to be in showbiz. I can see it in your eyes. Well tonight is your lucky night. I need a mind ieader's assistant and it is going to be you. I need you to collect all of the drawings; drawings fa cing the floor so no one can see them, and ~/Jr.ing them to the stage. Joking aside I would do this myself but it is important that I do not touch them or go near them. Please do this jJJr me now and everyone make her feel welcome with some applause. " . Notice how the scripting is both playful and forceful. I do not give my spectator the option of not helping me; however I do this in a manner that ~ppears playful. I also immediately reward the spectator for their wo~k by instructing the audience to give them a ~oun~ of applause; which I then begin by clapping myself. Handled m this manner the spectator will find it virtually impossible to resist 16
your request for assistance as you remove every moment in which they might protest and are simply left with no other option than to do as you have asked them. When the spectator returns to the stage with the drawings you will instruct them to look at the drawings and pick one that they personally like. Instruct them to also remember the name of the 'artist' written on the card. Do not forget to ask them to remember the name of the artist. The first 'reveal' within the routine will be you apparently reading the mind of the onstage spectator in order to locate the person who made the drawing; if the onstage spectator does not know this person's name; all authenticity is lost. Be mindful to ask them to remember the name of the person who made the drawing they pick. As the spectator is selecting the image that they like from the collection of images, you will remove the prepared stack of number 3 coin envelopes from your pocket; with the 'flapless window envelope gimmick' facing uppermost. You may find it useful to place a small mark on the gimmicked envelope so you can visually check you are holding the stack of envelopes in the correct orientation during performance. Without mentioning it or feeling any guilt, you will take the selected drawing, which you have cautioned the spectator to keep drawing side down, and place it into what appears to be the top envelope of the stack you hold, extended from your body just below chest height in your left hand. In truth; thanks to the gimmick, the card is actually inserted into the window gimmick, but the extended flap from the envelope beneath completes the illusion of the drawing being inserted into the uppermost envelope. With the stack of envelopes held in the left hand, much like you would hold a deck of cards in dealing grip, turn at the wrist, as if you were 'necktie-ing' a deck of cards, this movement only need be slight. Simultaneously approach the extended/exposed flap with the right hand, gripping it between the thumb and first finger of the right hand. Finally allow the left hand to drop to your side, resting in a natural position and taking the stack of envelopes, along with the gimmick resting on top with it, leaving (gripped between the right 17
To the audience and the single enve1o Pe · ) fi thumb and mgers a h have inserted the se1ected 1·t appears t at you onstage spectator and removed this enve1ope . th uppermost enve1ope, th b . b the right first finger and um . drawing into e from the stack, gripping it hetweend the spectators selected drawing, r have now exc ange f th In rea ity you 'fl e 1 window envelope' on top o which rests safely i.n t~e d and gripped between the right stack of envelopes m t e 1e an , . h . 1 thumb and first finger is the envelope contai~m~. t e pre~10us y . . the 'personal connect10n image, with the prepared car d , containing "d I n a word 'unknown' written in pencil on the reverse s1 e. continuing action the right hand will move toward t.he onstage them to hold the envelope on their extended spectator as you as k .. . th · palm. Place the envelope, with the wntmg-s1de down, onto eir
;f:ss
palm. Next bring the left hand; holding the stack of envelopes back to just below chest height; you will place the entire stack of envelopes either into your pocket or onto some nearby surface. If you place the envelopes onto a table; as you do so revolve the packet so the uppermost envelope is the one with the word 'known' written on its back. If you; as I do, decide to place the stack of envelopes into a pocket I suggest using either the breast pocket of a jacket or a breast pocket of a shirt. Next take the remaining drawings from the spectator and explain that you want them to select an image without seeing it. To do this, drop the drawing cards, one at a time to the floor asking the spectator to say stop at any point they wish. This is a nice dramatic image onstage and also helps sell to the audience the fairness of the selection process. When the spectator has chosen an image place it drawing-side down onto the envelope on their flat palm. Caution them not to look at the image. Remove the stack of envelopes from the pocket, or pick it up from the table and take the uppermost envelope from the stack. This envelope has the word 'known' written on its back. You will place the selected image into this envelope and finally place the envelope on the spectator's extended palm along with the other envelope. At this point in time the situation is as follows : 18
You have secretly exchanged the drawing selected by and known to the spectator for the drawing you secretly prepared before the show. You have the known image resting in your 'flapless window envelope' gimmick, which is now on the bottom of the stack of envelopes you hold in your left hand. On the spectator's palm are two envelopes; one of which contains the secretly prepared image, and the other, which contains a random image. These envelopes each have writing on their backs: however the writing is mislabelled. The envelope, which reads 'unknown', actually contains the secretly prepared image; the envelope, which reads 'known', contains the image randomly picked moments earlier by the spectator. You will next discover the drawing as well as the artist's name, seating position and date of birth, your spectator picked from the collection of drawings. To do this; instruct your spectator to pick up the envelopes on their palm and 'hold them up to the light, to check they are opaque' in a gesture of example; take the 'flapless window envelope gimmick' which to an audience appears to simply be an envelope and hold it in the air, do this as you explain to the spectator that they should 'hold the envelope to the light' you appear to be demonstrating to the spectator what you would like them to do. However thanks to the large square window cut from the envelope; you are now looking directly at the contents inside. You will first look at and remember the number in the upper right corner of the card. This tells you where in the audience the spectator is sat. Next you look at and remember the spectator's name, then you will look at and remember the date of birth and finally you will look at and remember the drawing and as many of its specific details as possible. I know that this seems like a lot of information to remember under the pressure of performance. In truth; it is. However this is where it is worth the extra effort. I personally do not use any kind of formal memory technique; I simply look at the information, read it to myself and commit it to memory. When I first began performing this routine it seemed like a lot of information; however after performing it just a handful of times I was fully confident with my ability to read and remember 19
, 1 ti·ne a few times and I am sure . t.. . t'1on 1ry t1e rou . · b .f you are not feeling confident m the needed 111 OJ ma . c I h . ne Remem er J • • . ate a drawing and be fm1shed. yo u w11l 1ee t e sai · . d · can sunp 1Y up 1JC ' your m ~m o ry ):ou .· blanket to force yourself to push past any Use this as .i secuJ1ty d eh piece of information, place the fea rs. As soon as you have rea ea ket with the 'flapless window st·Kk of envelopes back into your poc , k f 1 ' I . , tl1e top y ou will not need the stac o enve opes enve ope on · l 11 th a t . I . . . t· · II of the secret work is compete; now a ·1g·1111 At t 11s po rn , a d' ' ' · · · ind readin to the au ience; remains is to prese nt the 11lus10n of m . g . who believe that the demonstration is only 3ust about t~ begm. you are so fa r ahead of the audience that what will follow will ~eave t~em feelin g like they have been hit by a runaway train. Now is the time to enjoy creating as many moments of mystery from the information yo u have acquired as possible. Now all of the work is complete the fun can begin; you will ask each of the audience members who contributed drawings to stand at their seat. Have the onstage spectator focus their mind on the name of the perso n who made the drawing they picked. I have the audience membe rs 'mime' shaking my hand and instruct them to each focu s on their name. As this is happening I mentally connect the number I peeked on the chosen drawing to its position in the audience. I now instruct all the audience members but the spectator who is in the co rresponding position to sit down. I pick p the art pad an d wri te the name I peeked on the selected drawing tn bold, thick letters on the art pad without letting anyone see what it is that I have written. I have the spectator in the audience say his name out lo ud. I have the in-audience spectator announce their name firs t; as this gives me one extra reaction; my onstage spectator will smile and react since this is the person who contributed the drawing th ey selected. A beat afterwards, I ask the onstage spectator to announce the name of the person who made the drawing they picked; of co urse, this will be the same name. Finally I ~urn my .pad. aro und to reveal the name written. By handling the mformat1on 111 this fashion ; I get three moments from one piece of information and really get to squeeze as much of the impact out of the situation .
20
Next I grab the second art pad and pen and I walk into the audience and hand this to the in-audience spectator who I ask to follow me back to the stage. As I am walking with the spectator to the stage I reveal their star sign. To do this I have memorised the corresponding dates and signs; allowing me to use the date of birth I peeked on the chosen drawing to work out the spectator's star sign. I reveal this piece of information as we walk to the stage; in order to cover any dead time. I choose to walk into the audience to meet the spectator simply because it creates an interesting tension and is an easy way to make the routine feel a little more dynamic with more movement being spread around beyond the stage. When the spectator and I reach the stage I have them stand back to back with me. In this position I instruct them to begin drawing. To ensure the spectator understands they are to make the same drawing as they did earlier I use the following scripting:
"I would like you to focus your mind on the drawing you made earlier. In a moment; when I say 'now!' I want you to make that drawing one more time; only this time you will make it as large as you can on the pad you hold; so everyone can see it clearly.. . now!" I draw quickly in an effort to finish my drawing before the spectator. As I am drawing the image I peeked on the chosen drawing card I also reveal the spectators exact date of birth; verbally. I attempt to reveal this information in such a way that it literally stops my spectator during their drawing. This heightens the visual impact of revealing the information; it appears you have literally stopped the spectator in their tracks. In truth it is somewhat easy to make this happen; since you are asking the spectator who is nervous, to make a drawing and then directly addressing him with further unexpected information. When the spectator has finished their drawing I have them hold their drawing to their chest so no one sees it. I then turn my pad around to display my drawing; to the audience proper. I then slowly turn the pad around to face my onstage audience member; this yet again creates an additional reaction. Finally I have the spectator turn their pad around to show the audience our matching drawings. 21
learning how to reveal is as muc h .. Good t 'on of info rm ation, as it is the 1 t ctu re th e reve a I th information an d s ru . I hope yo u will see that at is . of informat10n. . , y reveals and am azmg moments secret d1scovery . . . we have so man . f l I tried lots of different point m the 1outine . 1.s really power u . of information and after that the structui e . t vealing this sequence I ssure you this structure is solid. structures or re acollective effect of handling the literally hundreds of shows'th You will be very happy W t information in this fashion. I thank my onstage spectator off the stage and th~n turn my . b k t th e onstage spectator who is still holdmg both of atte ntion ac o f he onstage spectator about the concept o t h e enve 1opes. I address t , . . h' 'the secret' or 'the law of attraction explammg that w~at we. t mk about in someway is attracted to us. As I am doing this; I p1Ck up both of the envelopes from their palm; I continue to talk and i:nove the envelopes in my hand as I talk; this ensures the. spec~ator will no longer be able to keep track of which envelop~ is ~h1ch. ~ then remove the envelope that has the wo rd 'known wntten on it and
r menta ism
c::e
state to the spectator:
"This is the one you knew. It was the one you picked. We are not interested in that known drawing anymore; we are interested in the one you did not see; the one you picked with out looking at it. " As this is delivered I point at the word 'known ' so the onstage spectator sees this. I do not make a big deal of it; I simply do it. I then pocket this envelope without opening it. I then continue explaining that whatever the drawing is in the remaining; should in someway be connected to the onstage spectator. Review the script as outlined at the start of this chapter fo r more details on this. I am rel uctant to provide a strict 'script' as this is not useful; far better is fo r yo u to get the core ideas in mi nd and then allow your own voice, tone, style and vocabulary to create what is better and more suited to you. I instruct the onstage spectator to open the envelope and look for. a co n nec~io n to the image they find inside. As they do this I ~nte somethmg on the art pad. This will be a connecting piece of mformat10n that makes the image make sense to the audience and
22
also gives me an extra beat. For example if I had discovered that my spectator wanted to have a tattoo of a wolf; I would prepare the image inside the envelope to be a simple picture of a wolf; and on the pad I would write the word tattoo. I then have the spectator explain the connection to the audience; and finally turn the pad around to display the word I wrote; which effectively turns the situation into a reveal of something much bigger than the image itself; as now we seem to be inside their mind, personal history and desires. I am aware this explanation reads somewhat long. However this is a professional routine with many moments of amazing mind reading. It is strong enough to function as a mini act or even close a short performance. I hope you see the power that awaits in this.
The Personal Connection At this point the only thing that remains is for me to explain how I discover something that can be used for the personal connection image for the final moments of the routine. There are many possible methods; you could simply approach someone before the show and do some preshow work on them to discover a specific piece of information. However it is much stronger to find out the names of some of the people who will be at the performance; and in advance use social media to discover something about them. It is amazing how much you can learn from a Facebook account. It's simple; bold and does require some effort; but miracles do not come to those who are not willing to work hard.
23
~_stem£or Mental Magic With
Playing Cards
The information in this chapter will give you an unfair advantage. Something that will set you above and be~on~ the ra~ks of the run-of-the-mill demonstrations of mental magic with playing cards. With this information you will be able to effortlessly produce miracles. I will only detail one specific uses of this system as to include more would call for a volume of epic scale; I am certain the reader will instantly see how this system could be easily and quickly applied to their existing material and I am equally certain that the reader will immediately be able to put this system to work to produce new and exciting demonstrations that previously required testing sleight of hand or complex mental and memory work. I will teach you how to make a utility gimmicked deck of playing cards that will allow you to produce miracles; whether those miracles be in the traditional style of card magic, or as I personally favour; demonstrations of coincidence. I have made these decks by hand for some of the best known card magicians in the world; until now they resided in the hands of the few; who have used them to create miraculous displays of card control, mind reading and impossible coincidence in their own performances. This is the first time I have ever discussed this tool openly and I intend to give you all of the information you need to rnak~ your own decks of cards; quickly, easily and to a professional quality. . . Before we delve into the details of the deck it is worth me e~phcitly explain~ng what this deck will allow you to do. The deck will allow you to mstantly, and easily locate the exact position of any named card; from a seemingly shuffled deck and bring it under your full ~ontrol and command. You will require no memo work any difficult sleight of hand to achieve this. The deck w11 this remarkable possibility almost automatically. . , Now it is clear exactly what this deck will allo w you to do, let s take a look at how it is gimmicked d h quickly and easily locate an named an ow to use the deck to gimmicked deck you will n:ed· cardd. In order to construct the , one new eck of playing cards and a
n~r
allo~
24
'Whetstone' - this is a block that is commonly used to sharpen knifes. These are available for a very low cost online and in almost all kitchen supply stores and in many of the better department stores that sell specialised knives and knife sets; a quick search online will reveal many possible vendors. Finally you will need a 'nail buffer' used by women to polish their fingernails; again this can be found easily online and in all shops carrying even limited stocks of cosmetic supplies. Begin by opening a brand new deck of playing cards. It is important the deck be new; in order to ensure that the edges of the cards will all display the same amount of wear; you will use this deck for some time before it needs replacing and starting with a fresh deck will further enhance the longevity of the deck. Next remove all of the hearts from the deck. You will carefully corner short each of these cards on the inside left corner. The best way to do this is not to cut the cards with scissors; in fact the best way to do this is to not cut the cards at all; but rather to 'wear' away a small amount of the corner of each card. It is here that the Whetstone comes into play. Place the block onto a surface that is not slippery. Next, place a rubber band around all of the hearts; make sure the tension is strong and is holding the cards as close to perfectly square as possible. Simple run the corner of the stack of hearts along the Whetstone, making a circular action with the wrist as you do so. This will take a few 'sweeps' of the block of cards on the Whetstone; monitor the progress as you continue to repeat these actions. Your goal is to remove only a small amount of the corner to construct a corner short that leaves the card with a perfectly rounded corner. Do not panic if it appears the corners of the cards are splitting; this will happen at this part of the process; we will clean this problem up once the corners have been shortened and rounded to a satisfactory amount. I will leave it to you to decide on exactly how short you wish to make these corners. I will however suggest that you make them shorter than you might think is needed; you can always remove more after testing the cards within a deck, and often it is surprising how even a slight corner short is immediately felt when riffling up the corner of the deck. 25
.th the amount of the card that has \t\Then you are 1rnppy wi . k ' . h of the cards one at a . f10 . 111 its corner· ta e eclc been wor n awa)' . • ' th · back contacting the ,·. hce and t 11en elf ' I time ' and run t 1t ll · ' J t t , five degree ang le, bac kwards Whetstone at appr oximate Y a or ) , , · 1 . . . 1 t. ,5 This will remove any of the waste that and torwarus severcl ime . l k t th has been created in sho rtening the corner. If you oo ~ e corn ers of the cards after this you will notice that what prev10usly ' l"tt · g' has no w been removed and the corners are appeareci to b e sp 1 111 perfectly rounded and short. . . This process will take some experimentation ~ut it is not diffi cult and it is something that will be well worth domg properly. Take yo ur time and really pay attention to what you are doing; no ting the most successful outcomes and what you did differently. In my ow n experience the best results are to be had when using a light to uch; resist th e temptation to speed the process of shortening the co rn ers by applying h eavy pressure; instead, use a light touch and patience. The end res ult will be worth it. Once yo u have fin ished th e second step; repeat the entire process with all of the di amonds; fin all y assemble the deck and use the nail buffer to smooth out any rough edges or corners. To do this, simply move the buffer back and fourth across the edge of the deck. The fin al preparation is to rem ove the two black Aces and make th ese short ca rds; note th is is d ifferent from a corner short but you will use the exact sam e process with the Whetstone to create a card th at has had some of its sho rt edge worn away making it shorter than all oth er cards in the deck. Rep eat the process as you did to corner short the red cards; but instead of appl ying th e corner to the Whetstone; apply the entire short edge of the black aces. Finally mark the backs of the black aces so yo u can tell th em apart; only mark these aces on one end of the card s; as these marks will also act as 'pointers' which will tell you wh ich wa y th e dec k will fa ce during performance. The next page shows an example of the manner in which I mark the backs of the black Aces in a Circle Back Tally Ho deck.
26
Notice the absence of the white 'dot' in the second position along the top short edge of the card. To achieve this I use a Sharpie fine line marker to colour in the white dot that appears on the card. I mark the Ace of spades as is shown in the picture and the Ace of clubs is marked by colouring in the white dots that appear in the outside corners. This allows me to tell the aces apart from one another and also allows the marks to act as 'pointers' during the performance This will all make more sense when we progress into the deck's workings. When you are finished you will have a deck of cards with all of the red cards being short on their corners. You can place the Whetstone, nail buffer and all other tools away! You have now 'constructed' the deck. All that remains before you can start working with it is to stack it. The deck is stacked in the classic Si Stebbins stack arranged with one of the two black Aces on the top of the deck. Eventually; after hundreds of uses, the deck may need replacing. Here are a few tips to keep the deck in is best condition for as long as possible. Store the deck in the box; with one Joker on top and one Joker on the bottom. This will avoid 'wear' showing on the constant top and bottom cards of the deck; from replacing and removing it from the box. Store the cards in a 'Porper Card Clip' to keep them pressed and protecting them from warping due to humidity and changing weather conditions. To get a feel for the process of locating and controlling a desired card begin with the Ace of Clubs on the top of the face down deck; use the marks to guide you to the proper orientation of the deck. Point the marks forwards; away from your body. With the deck held in left hand dealing grip; riffle up the inside left corner 27
of the deck with your right thumb. You will fee~ blocks of cards "click" past as you riffle; these are the cards contamed between :he corner shorts. From the face; each block is equal to one progress10n in a card's value; running in order: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J (11), Q (12),
K (13), A (the top card of deck). With the deck in hand attempt to locate the 6 of Clubs;
Hold the deck in left hand dealing grip; with the right thumb riffle up the inside left corner (the corner closest to your body) of the deck and allow 5 blocks of cards (corner shorts) to riffle off the thumb: stop at this point and give the deck a complete cut. On the face of the deck will be the 6 of Clubs. To begin, it is useful to mentally count the blocks/corner shorts as they riffle free from the deck and pass your thumb; beginning the count on 2. Given time and dedication; you will begin to develop a 'Zenlike' relationship with the deck; you will soon simply riffle the deck and cut. You will find you no longer consciously count the corner shorts as they pass; but instead get a feel for the needed number of cards and on a subconscious level register the corner shorts as they pass. It is important that you do not make the mistake that this process is in anyway related to traditional estimation work; this is pure muscle memory; there is no estimation or guesswork, only precise actions with predetermined results. Now the underlying mechanism is laid bare; we need to turn our attention to the system, which will bring each and every card under your total control. LOCATING ANY CLUB;
Beginning with the Ace of Clubs on top of the deck. Grip the deck in left hand dealing grip; riffle up the inside left corner of the deck with the right thumb; allowing the correct number of short cards to riffle free from your thumb; remember to start your mental count on 2. Cut and complete sending the desired Club to the bottom of the deck. LOCATING ANY SPADE;
Cut the deck at the short Ace of Spades and rotate it 90 degrees in the hands. Use the marks to check the deck is in the 28
proper position. Remember the marks need to point away from your body. Now repeat the actions described above. The desired Spade will now rest on the face of the deck.
LOCATING RED CARDS; To locate any red card called you will need to understand and apply a modified Si Stebbins system. Simply explained; the classic system is a cyclical stack with the suits arranged in Clubs, Hearts, Spades, and Diamonds. The values are arranged in progressions of 3. If the top card of the deck is the Ace of Clubs; the second card will be the Three Of Hearts.
Ace (1) + 3 = 4; Club is followed by Heart. If the top card is the 10 of Spades; the second card will be the King of Diamonds.
10 + 3 =King (13); Spades is followed by Diamonds. A slightly modified version of this classic system/stack; combined with the corner short cards will allow you to locate any desired red card by making use of the black cards' positions in relation to the red cards. Simply mentally link the suits Clubs & Hearts together in your mind. Whenever a Heart is named you will set the deck to the Clubs starting position. Link the Spades and Diamond together. Whenever a Diamond is named; you will set the deck in the Spades starting position. The deck runs in reverse order to a standard Si Stebbins numeric arrangement. This means that you will always mentally subtract 3 from the desired cards value to ascertain your target corner short. At this point I'm certain this sounds very complicated; however it is not. This system is far easier to implement and execute than to describe in print. To be frank even using the word system makes this process sound more complex than it really is. You will, after just a short process of trial and error see how easy this is to apply in real world performance. With the deck in hand; follow the actions below and all will be clear.
29
TO LOCATE ANY HEART; To locate any desired Heart you will start with the Ace of Clubs on the top of the deck (since Hearts are linked to Clubs in the system). If needed, cut to the short Ace of Clubs and complete the cut. Look at the marks on the back of the ace to ensure the deck is oriented the correct way; remember to point the marks away from your body. Ascertain which Club is above the Heart you desire to locate and control; using the modified Si Stebbins' system. With the deck held in left hand dealing grip; riffle up the inside left edge/corner of the deck with the right thumb allowing the needed number of corner shorts to riffle free from the thumb. Cut and complete the cut at this point. You will have brought the desired Heart to the top of the deck. For example; if you desired to control the 9 of Hearts you would cut the Ace of Clubs to the top of the deck, assuming it isn't already in this position from previous uses of the deck and then orientate the deck correctly for the Clubs; using the marks on the back of the ace to check all is correct. Next, you subtract from the desired card (9 - 3 = 6) now by locating the 6 of Clubs; cutting and completing the cut you will automatically locate and control the desired Heart to the top of the face down deck. TO LOCATE ANY DIAMOND;
Begin with the Ace of Spades on top of the deck; cutting to the short card if needed. Rotate the deck to ensure it is oriented correctly to access the corner short Spades. Carry out the same p~ocess outlined above; to ascertain which Spade's short rests directly above the desired Diamond. Riffle to this corner short· cut and complete bringing the desired Diamond to the top of the' face down deck. . You now have full command over each card in the deck. At no p01?t do you need to look at your hands; your control is total and blm~. In performance you will never look at the deck as ou y d are locating the . desired card. These actions wi'll b ecome secon nature; you will appear to casually cut the deck h 'l h . the deck r h ' w i e no eat is on ;u~est aving a spectator name a card while you false h ffl s u et e ec . You then cut the deck to the t bl the cut on the table; immediately after a fals haffle and complete e s u e sequence. In
h
30
this action you have brought the desired card either to the top or bottom of the deck. In the mind of the spectatQr; the effect has not yet begun and yet you are now in a positiont9.produce a miracle. '
..
The ultimate effectiveness of any too.l will always be defined by its operator. The tool you have in your hands will become a direct reflection of you; the user. It is down to you to decide what to do with full command over each and every card in the deck. It is not my place to tell you what you should or should not be doing with this tool. I personally use this deck stepped, informed by the style of card magic pioneered by David Berglas. I highly recommend studying the work of Berglas; of great interest will be the techniques David makes use of when working with 'called' cards to blur the timeline of when a choice is made. For further information on the card magic of David Berglas see 'The Berglas Effects' by Richard Kaufman published by Kaufman and Company in 2011. No individual tool is at its strongest in isolation but rather becomes part of a collection of technique that together produce the impossible. It is well beyond the scope of this manuscript to teach the additional techniques I personally use in combination with the deck. It goes without saying that this tool is not a replacement for a solid understanding and ability of traditional techniques, of special value will be an intimate understanding of false shuffles, deck switches and palming. I am sure by this point you have already brought several potential effects and demonstrations to mind with this deck of cards. This deck allows for direct, instant and powerful control over any named card within the deck. In my opinion it is wise to maximise this potential by focusing your efforts strictly on the ability to produce named or thought-of playing cards in a variety of ways. I personally use the deck in this way exclusively. Here is an example routine that will provide a huge impact on anyone you perform it for. This is one of my 'go to' demonstrations with the deck and one that I believe creates an impact that is not often possible with card magic. 31
Instant Memory
udience member name a card. He The performer h as an a . h th d k and cuts it; completing t e cut to e 1 . h h" casually shuffles th e ec table. He addresses a spectator sitting at the tab e wit im.
. t . t' e there is no way you could tell me where that "A t this momen in im card is within this pack could you?" The spectator agrees they could not. The pe,rformer smiles and quickly spreads the deck in front of the spectators eyes.
"There is no way you could have even spotted the card that quickly, is there?" The spectator agrees they did not see the card within the spread. The performer continues:
"Well you did; but not on a conscious level. However somewhere; deep down you know exactly where it is. Find it .... " The performer spreads the deck between his hands and gestures for the spectator to touch one card. Amazingly the spectator selects the desired card. This demonstration is very simple to achieve. You simply locate and control the named card to a position suitable for whichever card force you prefer. I personally make use of an under the spread cull force. This is made easier with the deck since I can control the desired card to rest in the fourth position from the top of the deck, ready and waiting to be culled and forced in the spread on my spectator. With very little technique and no memory work; this simple, straightforward demonstration will pack a strong punch.
Going Further
While teaching supporting technique to use with this deck is well outside of this manuscript's intent, I feel that briefly sharing my own preferences related to techniques that I use frequently with the deck may. a~so reveal some of my current thinking, in relation to the card magic m my own professional performances. 32
- False shuffling; I perform exclusively in stand up and stage settings; while I do not present effects utilising cards in any of my stage shows; in stand up work I favour the use of the Optical Shuffle; while some will feel that there are more deceptive options available, in which the cards truly mix later to be restored to the original order, the optical shuffle is a perfect choice for my performance character. I do not wish my audience to ever consider me someone with any level of skill with playing cards. Many false shuffles appear flashy and stylised in their handling. For me, this is an immediate issue. I want my audience to feel I am unskilled with the deck and therefore would not be able to manipulate the cards easily. I wish my audience to perceive my handling of the cards as being more or less as they would handle them in a casual card game. I try my best to create the illusion of sloppy handling; in this vein I frequently combine an optical shuffle with a Greek shuffle; I also make use of the classic Charlie Shuffle. These three techniques fulfill my personal criteria and each of these techniques are deceptive in their producing the illusion of casual, sloppy mixing of the deck.
- False Cutting; With this deck there is no need to ever give the deck a false cut. Thanks to the short aces; you are able to continually cut the deck either in the hands or to the table. Equally the stack itself is a "rosary" stack and therefor the deck can be cut; providing you will bring one of the black aces to the top of the deck before you locate a desired card. I frequently mix the optical shuffle with genuine in the hands cuts; finishing the process by cutting the deck at one of the short aces and finally using a Greek shuffle in the hands. At this point I am ready to locate a card and cut the deck to the table. This process allows for a psychological "blurring" of the time line of the effect. I handle this process as if I have not yet begun whatever demonstration is to follow; with my full attention only 33
placed onto deck after it had been cut to the table. This combination produced alarmingly effective results.
- Forcing Cards; As mentioned in the effect 'Instant Memory' I favour the use of an under-the-spread Hofzinser cull force. Often I will locate the position directly above a desired card using the process detailed above; leaving the desired card ready and waiting in the 4th position from the top of the face down deck. From here I will cull the card and force it on another spectator. Typically this is the first 'effect' I demonstrate with the deck; one spectator amazingly selects the card called by another spectator. I also enjoy making use of an advanced addition to the deck; I place "negative" breather crimps into the 7 of Hearts and the 10 of Spades. This assures me that I am able to guide my spectator to cut to this crimp easily and with confidence. When either the 7 of hearts of the 10 of spades are desired I will place the deck onto the table and have my spectator directly cut to the crimp. This is a startling and effective demonstration. - Think-A-Card Procedures; Very often I spread the deck on the table in a sloppy wide arcing ribbon spread and have a spectator 'think' of a card. Later I will return to this spectator and have them announce their card; at which point I will locate and control the card. By framing the effect as a 'thought of card; rather than a named card, the audience perceives the end result differently, despite it changing nothing from a technical standpoint.
- Never Pick-A-Card; . I will ~ave audience members name cards or think of cards either from within ~~ spr~a~ deck or simply in their imagination. I c never have a card picked m the traditional style M he h vil · fl · Y pre1erence . re was ea . y m uenced by the thoughts of David Berglas who has shared his own thoughts about this topic in "Th B gl Effects" by Richard J(aufman. e er as
34
_Multiple Selections; In a typical performance I will have many spectators name or thi~k of p~aying ca~ds. I use this to my advantage; I always carry a card mdex m my nght pants pocket; however this index only contains the ace to king of hearts. I am confident that at some point a spectator will name one of these 13 cards. At this point I am able to palm the desired card from the index with great speed. I will leave it to your imagination as to what can be done with this kind of approach with the deck. Enough is to say that the deck itself will open up many opportunistic miracles. By combining your ability to locate any given card within the deck; with other "probable" factors; such as crimping popular choices, or indexing one suit; during the course of a performance you will be armed with unbearable flexibility.
- Jazz Approach; I feel the deck is at its best when you take a jazz approach to the sequence you will present with it. Do not mistake this to mean 'make it up as you go along'. Rather the jazz approach as I see it means to collect a series of demonstrations with the deck, based on different situations that will probably arise during a performance and then jumping on this opportunity as it arises in performance. I personally have a starting point and an ending point that always remain the same; however what happens on the journey between these points is often dictated by the choices made by spectators and the opportunities that present themselves to me throughout. This short section in no way can be considered exhaustive or complete; however it is my hope that by briefly touching upon these techniques and my own uses and preferences; you will see the wide potential that exists within and in connection with the deck in real world performances.
History and Credits
I firmly believe that all good magic is built on the shoulders of the giants who came before us. This deck is no different. I 35
sincerely believe the best investment any magician can make is a · t. t www AskAlexander org I spend hours, weeks and su b scnp ion o . · · . . . . . months exploring the history of magic usi~g this incredible resource gifted to the magic community by the tireless work of the Conjuring Arts Research Centre headed up by Bill Kalush. This deck shares direct connections with the once popular 'Instanto' deck created by Billy O'Connor, introduced to the magic market in 1919. A complete description of how to make the 'Instanto' deck was published in issue 115 of the 'Jinx' in October 1940, authored by Annemann. In this deck the cards are cut in a variety of shapes; this was a fine method for the music hall stage Billy O'Connor created the deck for, and perfected the use of, on. However, for more intimate settings the heavy modification of the deck causes problems. Additionally this deck was stacked in a manner that would not allow the deck to be shown mixed. A note of historical interest is that the first 144 decks of 'Instanto' were released by the Gamages Company in London; and were made by Richard Pitchford, the man who later called himself 'Cardini'. Cardini was often seen demonstrating the 'Instanto' deck in casual performances and used it to create great impact. Descriptions of Cardini using the deck can be found in many magic periodicals; these are a joy to read and can be found by using the search string " 'Instanto' (Cardini) "on www.AskAlexander.org. In January of 1953 Rusduck, known as the 'Cardiste' contributed his rendition of the 'Instanto' deck to volume 32, issue 11 of the Linking Ring Magazine. This rendition made use of the Si Stebbin's stack, however it retained the core concept of each card in the deck being corner shorted. This meant that the deck had to be cu~ in a variety of ways to control desired cards. Interestingly in this wnte up, ~~sd~ck t~kes much of the comment and editorial directly fr~m the . Jmx article with exact phrases and entire paragraphs bemg copied word for word. I believe it is safe to assume that Rusduck was influenced by the Annemann article published some 15 years prior. . In more r~c~nt history the original 'Instanto' deck was remterpreted by Bntish magician Marc Oberon and released as 'The 36
Master Deck' in a self published manuscript/deck combination;· His system is excellent in the fact that it reduces the number of short cards in play; however it requires that the deck be cut in a variety of styles and does not allow the deck to be shown mixed. This approach was once extremely popular with the magic community at large. It was hailed as the greatest gimmick deck in existence. Magic magazines ran competitions to find the 'greatest novel use of the deck' and returning extended columns were dedicated to interesting uses of the deck. Slowly the concept of this deck fell out of favour and became little more than a historical footnote. I would venture this is a direct reflection on the increased popularity of working with a memorised deck in combination with estimation work. I personally favour the use of this deck to a memorised deck and estimation work. This of course is a matter of personal preference; however I do not feel either of these approaches eliminate the value of the other. The memorised deck allows for miracles not possible without its use; as does any of the versions of the 'Instanto' deck. It is my hope that in releasing my personal system I may shine light on this fantastic concept once again. I feel my combination of techniques allows for the best of all of the elements discussed above. While the Si Stebbin's deck will not hold close examination it does allow the deck to be spread and displayed in a casual manner to be shown as mixed and the specific addition of using the system to locate red cards as well as black cards allows for a major improvement over all the existing systems; a consistency in the cutting action. I believe this is vital to the subtle employment of the deck in real performance. In all previous systems the deck would be cut by riffling on the inside left, inside right, outside right and outside left comers often producing odd and clumsy looking cuts with the index ~nger or thumb inserted into the extreme outer edge of the deck. This for. me is a major weakness and it was in wishing .to ~vercom~ this problem as well as being able to display the deck as mixed that gave birth to my personal system. '· 37
Touching On Divination What follows is a prop-free demonstration of 'test conditions' telepathy, immediately followed by a prop-free demonstration of divination, in which the performer answers the personal questions of random audience memb~rs; which they only 'think' about. Nothing is written down, there is no preshow work and there is no stooging. This is a true, propless demonstration of telepathy that leads to one of the most startling demonstrations of pure Questions and Answers that you will encounter. For readers who have some experience with my previously published work, or for those who have seen me present either a lecture or workshop on mentalism the title of this routine will ring a familiar bell in the memory. This sequence builds on a routine I created when I was sixteen years old, which I titled "Touching On Hoy" in my book The Coral Fang. For the first time I am revealing my current thinking on this concept within this manuscript. For those who have read "Touching On Hoy" I urge you to read this chapter in full; not simply skip to the Questions and Answers phase. I am including much information within this chapter that has previously never seen print. I will present the audience's experience in the manner in which I employ this concept to create a full twenty-five to thirty minute performance.
The Audience Experience
Phase One: Test Conditions Telepathy After some introductory remarks about the nature of te~epath:r, mind reading and divination the performer explains he will b~gm w~th a mental warm up; and to do so he must work with re~eptive mmds. He has the audience relax and remain open ~mded. He then has the entire room attempt to pick up on three simple thoughts that he explains he will 'project' to them Each r he has :ho~e audi~nce members who accurately pe~ceived i~: :ough~ mdicate this by standing at their seat in the theatre He en se ects three of the standing audience members to join. him 38
onstage. Each person . takes a seat in a eh,,.; ... lin ed up across the ......., stage. The performer mstructs the spectators to close their eyes. He then openly walks to the spectator in the chair furthest to the left from the audience's viewpoint and taps that person, several times, on the shoulder. He then addresses that spectator directly:
"If you just felt me touch you; you are player number one. I would like you to think of two simple shapes. Baring in mind; that with my artistic talent, a heart or a star would be exceptionally complex, a square is my kind of simple...go ahead and think of two simple shapes fo r me now... and lock those in your mind. From this point onwards your task is to simply focus your mind on whatever shapes you happen to have picked. Ignore what the other players are doing up here. You are player number one; focus on your chosen shapes." The performer then moves to the spectator sat in the centre of the three and touches this person on the shoulder. He then continues:
"If you just felt me touch you; you are player number two. I would like you to focus on a name, a name that you say everyday. It could be a loved one, a family member, a friend; anyone that is a part of your life... your task from this point onward is to simply focus your mind on that person's name. Ignore what the other players are doing. Simply fo cus your mind on whichever name you have decided upon. Feel free to change your mind a few times if you wish, before you settle on one; however, once you have decided; lock that in your mind and focus all of your attention on it. You are player number two; focus on your chosen name." The performer moves the final spectator sat in the chair far right and touches this person on the shoulder. He address this person directly:
"If you just felt me touch you ... you are player number three. I would like you to focus your mind on a date. A date that holds some personal significance to you. Maybe a graduation year, perhaps the year a child was born, whatever it happens to be; a year that holds some special meaning to you personally. Focus your mind on that year; you are player number three." 39
c r moves to centrestage and addresses all three th h Th e penorme d of the onstage spectators at once, clapping his han s toge er, e
continues:
"Please player one, two and three ... open your eyes for me now! All of this applause is yours." The three onstage spectators open their eyes and the performer leads in a round of applause. The performer continues addressing all three of the onstage spectators: "Please take a moment to focus your mind on your specific thoughts. You each have one concept in mind. Player number one; some simple shapes, something of a warm up. Player number two; the name of someone close to them and player number three; a year that has some significance to them." Addressing the audience at large the performer continues:
"I find telepathy is much like any learned skill. It requires a specific process for best results. Right now, this simple test will serve as my warm up. If I can successfully perceive the three thoughts of three random people we will begin to move onward... but lets not get ahead of ourselves." In silence, the performer walks behind each of the seated onstage spectators. He places his hand on each of the spectators' heads; he closes his eyes for a moment before moving to the next spectator. He repeats this with each of the three onstage spectators. When finished, he walks centrestage and instructs the onstage spectators to stand at their onstage chairs. He pauses and then dramatically continues:
"I b~l~eve I have been able to reach inside your mind and find the specific thoughts I was looking for. I have two simple shapes, a year and a name. Strangely, this evening the thoughts that were normally the easiest; the shapes, were the most difficult." The performer turns to address the onstage spectator who focused on two simple shapes:
if!
"So get even one of the two shapes you have in mind; you will count it as a success." 40
The performer then continues, addressing both_ the audience and onstage spectators:
"The name and the year were very clear. The shapes that came to ·me were a triangle and a circle. The name, 'Tara' and the year, 1985. These were the thoughts that came to me." The performer turns to address the onstage spectators. He begins addressing 'player number one';
"If I successfully named your thought... sit down." Amazingly the spectator sits in the onstage chair; indicating the performer was indeed accurate in the thoughts he perceived. The performer addresses the audience;
"One out of three in most scientific circles would be considered highly significant, but right here and right now we are not interested in significant..." The performer then continues addressing the second spectator:
"If I successfully named your thought...please sit down" The performer finally addresses the last spectator:
''The moment of truth ... If I successfully named your thought; please take your seat." Amazingly the final spectator sits. The audience reacts with shocked silence quickly followed by intense applause.
Phase Two: Questions and Answers With the three onstage spectators sat in the onstage chairs the performer continues addressing the three spectators and the audience at once;
"I am warmed up. While I understand the need for tests of telepathy; it's not really the best use of my gift. Lets move onto what really matters the most. The past, the present and the future." The performer addresses the onstage spectators as a group. 41
ayer number one; I would like you to think "Please close your eyes. Pl . . . the kind oif question you might ask a tarot card t l ·a about a ques ton, · question about your future. P ease avoi the rea der or psychic; a . . . . · t k a silly question- silly questwns will receive silly temptatwn o as ' . answers. Player number two; I would like you to focus your mind on a question about your present and playe~, number three; please focus your mind on a question about your past. Once again the performer walks along the line of three onstage, seated spectators; briefly touching their head as he does. When he has made his way along the line he returns to stage centre and continues:
"Please, all three of you open your eyes. I have the answers you seek. Player number 3; when it comes to the past you have to be careful not to allow it to influence the present and interfere with the future. At this point in your life there is nothing more you can do to mend the situation. I believe that Joanne was not in possession of all the information she needed to make the best decisions; however now it is your job to move forward. Now is the time to let this go. Player number two: the present, I feel you asked a question literally about the present. Something here and now; something of a challenge. I believe you want me to tell you the colour of your underwear. Understand that I normally would not accept any challenge, however you seem fun; it is blue. Player number 3; the future. I believe you already know the answer to your question and I believe your own insight into this situation will prove correct; however it would be wise to adjust your time line to allow a little more time for you to get there." The performer looks to the audience and then back to the three onstage spectators and continues:
"If I have given you the answer to your question ... please return to your seat in the theatre." All three of the onstage spectators stand, and walk from the stage to. return to their seat in the theatre . The au dience aft er recovering . . from the shock of what they h ave seen app1ause h . ent usiastically. The performer then contin ues by h avmg every 42
the room focus their Jinin:~: ·. ·:.,. a p..""r· ·s·o··haI··' question ·th·ey Person in . u, .0 11 would like the answer to. He then' works ·~·.;th various · .spectat-ors . .. . n '. t dotted around the room; accurately answering questions.
The Performer's Experience Before we launch into the exact details of the method I would like .you to consider that the routine appears exactly as it has been described above. The routine makes use of no preshow work, no stooges and no props at all. Once you have processed and understood the information I am about to share; you will have ready and waiting a full demonstration of direct telepathy and pu~e Questions and Answers with nothing more than your words, mind and body. Please take a moment to consider this before you launch into the details. This is by no means a difficult routine to learn or perform; however it does require strong audience management; a fully operational mastery of the script and full understanding of the methodology and the concepts that underpin how the sequence blends together. This routine will make use of bold methodology to create a striking miracle in the minds of the audience. Understanding the sequence fully will require a shift in your thinking. This is a demonstration employing language as its main method. There will be no sleight of hand; but much sleight of mind. Much has been made, in recent years, of the notion of Dual Reality. This is the term given to an effect in which an audience member has a different experience to the performer, who each have different experiences to the audience at large. I have always been somewhat puzzled by this notion being new. It seems to me there is not a single example of a magic or mind reading demonstration, which, at its very core, is not an example of Dual Reality. In truth; for any deception to take place the performer must always manage multiple experiences and realities; this routine will highlight that fact. To begin I wish to present you with a s~ple o~erview ?f how the demonstration works; this will be terse m detail but will 43
h basic working understanding of the allow you . to ave a ss and explore the subtleties and demonstrat10n as we progre . t' sychological principles that will all play their part I~ comp.1e i~g P · · c nee The 'hardware of this routme is the deception m penorma · f h really simple. Its power is in the fact that ninety-nine percent o t e . . lete before the audience is even aware the decept1on is comp . . 11 c d demonstration has begun. The detail and attent10n is rea y 1oun within the performance script. At the very heart is a sim~le ~o~cept; one c~mm~nly credited to David Hoy for his now icomc Tossed Deck routme. Often refereed to as 'The Hoy Principle' and found explored by many performers in many different guises over the years. So central to this demonstration is the Hoy Principle that in my earlier version of the demonstration I included Hoy's name in the title. We shall use the tossed deck as a working example of this principle, which I will then transfer to the mechanisms of 'Touching On Divination'. To properly understand this routine it is important that you understand the 'Hoy Principle'; imagine you have a deck of playing cards; of which fifty-one cards are all alike. The remaining card; which is different from the fifty-one all alike cards is on the face of the deck. The complete deck is wrapped in a rubber band. Imagine you were to throw the deck to different people in the audience; accompanied by instructions for them to each break open the deck and look at one, and only one, card within and commit it to memory and then have the deck returned to you. You next would present whatever vision of mind reading process you personally favour and finally reveal that you have several cards in your mind. If you were to now announce the card used for the fifty-one alike cards; along with several other cards; and then ask the audience members to sit; if and only if, you had named their card; all the spectators would indeed sit. They have no other option; since you have announced the card that makes up all of the possible selection fields within the deck. Each person would assume that the other spectators eac? selected one of the other cards the performer named. Here is the Hoy principle in action as published b H · h' 'T d D k' Y oy m is osse ec routine. In many ways what follows is an 44
expansion and elaboration on this:~l~
"If you just felt me touch you ... you are player number one." The extraordinary result of all of this; is the fact that you are now talking to each of the spectators; but the audience believes you are only addressing the spectator that yo~ openly touc?ed. Y~~ have in essence the beginnings of a human Tossed Deck: You will now need to control the choices of all three of the spectators during 45
the scripting so the audience at large believes it is only being actioned by the spectator they saw you openly to~ch on t~e shoulder. I choose to control the choices by employmg a classic psychological force of two simple shapes: a circle and a tri~ngle. Once this is complete; you will move to the second spectator m the row of chairs; you will appear to 'touch' this spectator somewhere on their back; in truth you merely mime the actions of touching the spectator but do not contact them in anyway. You now speak to 'player number two' as if they were on the stage with you. In truth there is no spectator number two. This means that you can create any selection field you desire; since no matter what you say; you are correct. You will repeat this with the third spectator; approaching and miming touching them on the back; in truth not making any contact with them whatsoever. You then address 'player number three' as if they were onstage with you. In truth; again, you are addressing no one. Player three is nothing more than what player two was; a figment of the imagination of the performer. Each onstage spectator believes themself to be 'player one' and each onstage spectator has focused their mind on two simple shapes. Since we offered this selection field using the classic psychological force; all of the spectators will be thinking of circles and triangles. Now when it comes to revealing 'reading their mind' and revealing the information, we simply follow the lessons laid out in Hoy's 'Tossed Deck' by announcing; "I see a circle and a triangle, the name Tara and the date 1985. If I have correctly named your thought please sit down."
The name we reveal and the date can be anything; since no one is really thinking about a name or a date. Since all three spectators were instructed to take part as player one; who we employed the psychological force upon; all three spectators will sit down. To the audience at large; it appears as if we have somehow managed t~ r.eveal n?t only two simple shapes; but also a name and a date. This .1s a ma!or moment; it feels like real mind reading. No props; nothmg wntten down just straight ahead d. . reading. irect mmd 46
I understand that this is a different approach to much of the mentalism most. people will have encountered before. Indeed it may take a while for your mind to wrap itself around these concepts. Take a while to really understand the information I have shared until this point; resist the temptation to move further into this routine until you are fully confident you fully, completely and totally understand the mechanism that underlies all which will follow. As with all great mentalism; the real deception takes place in the mind of the audience. This is the strongest of all deception; and it only happens when we apply the right construction and performance psychology to the mechanisms that produce the illusions. Now I have explained the core method at work within this routine it is time for us to delve further; to explore the subtleties, scripting and finally see how the core method can be expanded to allow for the questions and answers routine. In the final section of this chapter I will cover the manner in which I blend this routine in among other classic concepts to create a twenty-five to thirty minute prop-free mind reading demonstration.
The Real Secrets
Now you have a working understanding of the routine it is time for us to look at the real secrets that will elevate the demonstration to a professional grade mystery. The first detail that will make a huge difference to the success of the demonstration is understanding the proper manner in which to apply the secret touches to the two onstage spectators. A vital element in this process is the positioning of the chairs themselves on the stage. Position three chairs in a line. Leave just enough space in between each chair to allow your left leg to extend into the space between. Your right leg will be planted firmly behind ~e spectator to your right; and your left leg will extend further 1~ th~ gap between the spectators on your left and right.. A~ first this.~ ~eel like a strange way to be standing and that feeling is correct, this is a strange way to stand, unless we are leaning forward to look along
47
\.
the line of spectators. The left leg extending into the space between the spectators allows us to bend slightly at the waist and lower our body into the space between the chairs; all with your right leg firmly planted behind the spectator in their chair, to your right. You will notice that in this position; your arms naturally ride up to waist height; allowing you to easily touch the spectators on the left and right; at the exact moment you turn your head to look up and down the line of spectators; seemingly checking they have followed your instructions and closed their eyes. You will now; straighten your body up; bringing your torso out of the space between the two chairs. You will lead with your right leg as you walk to the only spectator who was not secretly touched. The entire secret touching actions happen as you appear to be casually checking the spectators have closed their eyes. You will walk freely behind the spectators before you instruct them to close their eyes; at this moment you will then take up position with the left leg extended in the space between the chairs, execute the secret touches, and then move away leading with the right leg. This entire process will take a matter of seconds and appears to the audience to be very uninteresting. In the experience of the audience at large nothing has yet taken place; instead it appears we are about to begin. You now move to the remaining spectator and openly touch them on their shoulder. You will now label the spectators all to believe they are
playe~ n~mber one. To do this you will make use of a specific piece
of scnptmg;
"If you just felt me touch you; you are player number one... " ~II three spectators now believe they are player number one. From this moment onward any instruction we offer directly to player number one. will be followed by all three of the onstage pectators. The audience proper believe only the spectator that you enly touched is player number one. We now find ourselves at the second critical junction f th first phase of the routine; the psychological force. o e Many pages in many books have been filled b . . . readers precise scripts, which promise th y ~1vmg aVId em some magical power 48
over t~e minds of the a~d~ences and spectators they work with. The truth; m my humble opm1on, is that this has hindered the ability fi rnany of th?se avi~ readers to successfully perform a psychologic~ force. While obviously the script is of vital importance, little has been discussed about the tone, delivery and vocabulary used in the delivery of that script. A psychological force is in truth not a force but rather an invisible restriction upon the available choices; these restrictions stack on one another until the only available options are those we define prior to the performance. If we examine the force of two simple shapes as an example, we can clearly see what I mean by the idea of restrictions:
"I would like you to think of two simple shapes. Baring in mind that with my artistic ability a heart and a star would be very complex. A square is simple! Do not think of any of those.. But lock two simple shapes into your mind for me now." This is the exact script I use when performing the psychological force. However, for it to be effective for you; it should not be. The reason I have success with this force is that it sounds correct and in character with the manner in which I talk onstage. If you try to rigidly stick to my script; it will not sound natural; it will alert the audience to something suspicious happening; they will not know what it is that is happening, but they will feel something is off and it will cause an internal alarm bell to trigger in the mind of the spectator. This will ruin the force. It will remove the audience member from the moment and they will simply not follow with the restrictions because they will suddenly become aware that this is what you are trying to do; restrict their choices. The challenge for you; is to take the structure that I use; which allows you to remove most of the possible choices from the spectators selection; simply because you have named them aloud in your instructions, but to find a way for you to say it that sounds natural and real in your own words. Do not use my words; do not use my vocabulary; do not use my delivery or tone. Find your own; it is the only way it can work. Since in the scripting we have directly announced a square, a heart and a star; we leave the spectator with only two real choices; triangle and a circle. We will make use of one more subtle language 49
trick during the revelation process which will sky rocket the odds of ·ng the level with which we need to be accurate. success by re d uCl . We will get back to this during the revelation ~rocess. For the moment; the most important thing you can do; 1s spend ~n hour examining the way in which you will use my structure to ~ehver the classic psychological force in a manner than feels authentic and re.al in your own style. Go and do this now; I will meet you back here m one hour. Welcome back; at this point you will have worked out your own unique vocabulary, style and tone for the structure of the psychological force. If you have not done this; and instead ignored my request that you spend some time doing this; I will repeat; this is a critical step in executing the psychological force; or as I prefer to think of it, the 'psychological restriction,' successfully. I urge you to give this some serious thought and really apply yourself to developing your own way. Now you have your own way to handle the language for the force let's look at the exact way in which we will pull together the secret touches and the force/restriction to create the desired outcome; three people all believing they are 'player number one' and each thinking of a circle and a triangle.
"If you just felt me touch you; you are player number one. I would like you to think of two simple shapes. Baring in mind that with my artistic ability a heart and a star would be very complex. A square is simple! Do not think of any of those ... but lock two simple shapes into your ~ind for me now. Remember you are player number one; your task is only to focus on two simple shapes. Ignore what all the other players up here are doing. Focus only on your chosen shapes." ,
~t
is of great importance that you instruct 'player number one to ignore what the other players are doing. This single step will ensure that when you later pretend to touch the second and third spectators; each time offering some further instruction that all three of the onst~ge spectators ignore these instructions and only think about two simple shapes. It is also important for the second phase that thefuplayers are told to remember their number · On ce you h ave success lly executed the psychological force/restriction, instructed 50
the onstage spectators to remember their player number and to ignore what the .other players are doing you are essentially home and dry. The ma1or deceptions have been taken care of. you will allow a slight delay to sink in. Then say something along the lines of: ".. And now moving on ... "
This simple piece of scripting effectively informs the three onstage spectators that something new is about to come. In a moment they will understand this 'new thing' to be the introduction of the second player into the game. Since they are now thinking of themselves as 'player number one' they will naturally ignore the instructions you offer to 'player number two' exactly as you instructed them to earlier. After the pause has passed, you will next move to stand directly behind the spectator sitting in the middle of the three. You then appear to touch this spectator on their back. In truth simply mime these actions, do not contact the spectator at all. This literally is the simplest of all possible methods; you are simply pretending to be doing something when you are not. When I walk and openly touch the first spectator after having secretly touched the two spectators, and touch that spectator on the shoulder; I make this action look like it is large and laboured. It almost appears like I am doing the infamous Saturday night fever dance move! This is basic magic psychology; whenever we can do something secretly; when performing the same action openly we should make it look more difficult to hide. By making the actions of openly touching the spectator appear large it only further creates the notion that it would be impossible to sneak around secretly touching people. After you have pretended to touch the spectator sitting in the centre of the row you will offer the following instructions; again in your own unique vocabulary and tone; after you have moved to the left of the entire row.
"If you just felt me touch you; you are player number two. I would like you to think of a name, a name you say every day. Maybe a loved one, a family member, someone close to you." 51
This is why it is so important that. you instruct the spectators to ignore what the other players are domg; after you. have offered 'player number one' the instruction t~ focus on ~wo s.imple sha~es. Since you will be moving around at times s~andmg ~irectly ?ehmd two of the spectators in their chairs. To avoid confusion; which can easily set in; since it is very common for people to sense you are standing behind them, you must tell them to ignore what th~ .othe~ players are doing. Also it is important that you do not hnger behind any of the onstage spectators for longer than is needed. The longer you stand behind any of the spectators during the pretend touching sequences the more chance there is for one of them to become confused as they sense you standing behind them offering instructions and requests. The solution is simple; as soon as you have executed the false touches; move away from that spectator and move to the side of the row of spectators and offer the continuing instructions and requests from this position. At this point you will appear to have touched one person on the shoulder and asked them to focus their mind on two simple shapes and then moved onto the second onstage spectator who you appear to have touched on the back and instructed to think about the name of someone close to them. In truth; the second spectator is merely an imagined person. All three spectators are thinking of two simple shapes. No one is thinking about the name of someone close to them. You will now repeat the actions of the false touch. You will approach the third spectator and pretend to touch them on the ~?oulder. You will of course, as you did with the second spectator 's1mply pretend to touch them but in reality, make no contact with them at all. The moment after the pretend touch has been executed you will move to the left of the entire row of onstage spectators and offer the following instructions: "!f you just felt me touch you, you are player number three. J would ltke you t~ Jo.cus your mind on a year. A year that holds some personal. significance to you. Maybe an anniversary, maybe a graduation year, maybe the year you decided to stop counting how old you really are ... whatever you want." 52
I handle the scripting exactly as it is written above. My
motivat~on for this is simple but subtle. Many times by offering the instructions as they appear above; the onstage spectators will smile at the somewhat humorous notion and tone at the end of the scripting. This is designed to raise a smile; not cause a laugh. We do not ~ant the .onstage spectators laughing; however if they smile something amazing happens. The audience will only notice that the final spectator smiles; this is simply due to the fact that this is the spectator we are placing all of our attention and focus on. Regardless of whether or not the other spectators onstage smile the audience only see the final spectator's smile. This further cements the notion we are talking directly to this person in the minds of the audience. This is a very subtle but hugely powerful deception. I am constantly amazed by just how deceptive a smile can be. At this point the audience believe you have touched the first spectator on the shoulder and asked them to focus their mind on two simple shapes, you then touched the second spectator on the back and asked them to think of the name of someone close to them and then finally touched the last spectator on the back and ask them to focus their mind on a year that holds some personal significance to them. In truth; you have touched two spectators secretly, and one openly. You have then labelled all the spectators as 'player number one' and forced each of them to think about a circle and a triangle. You have then pretended to touch the spectator in the middle of the row and instructed an invisible person labelled as 'player number two' to think of the name of someone close to them; you then repeated this to create another invisible/pretend person on the stage who is apparently thinking about a year that is important to them. At this point you will ask the onstage spectators to open their eyes. you will then go through whatever theatrics you wish to frame mind reading as. You may decide you wish to present your mind reading skills as body language, contact mind reading, the real thing; whatever best supports your style, personality and vision. we now find ourselves at the conclusion of the first phase of the sequence; successfully revealing the thoughts of the three 53
his point we have the human tossed deck we onstage spectators. At t d h . We will simply reveal the two shapes; an t en d l · spo ke about ear1ier. · £ ti'on we wish to cover the two preten payers m revea1 any m orma . the game. Each spectator believes they are player number one, and therefore believe that the other two spectators onstage are players number two and three. We will also incorporate a small but massively important language trick in the way we reveal the information, facing the row of onstage spectators, and shifting eye contact between each of them you will say something like:
"I have three thoughts. Interestingly tonight, the thoughts that are usually the easiest were actually the most challenging; the shapes. So player number one; if I get even one of your two shapes correct you will count it as a success. However the name and the year came to me nice and clear." Read this once more. You have now created a situation in which you only need to accurately reveal one of the two shapes for the spectators to consider the information accurate. This skyrockets the effectiveness of the force. Remember we eliminated a heart, a star and a square during the language we used to execute the force. The only remaining 'simple' shapes are the circle and triangle. However, by using this additional insurance we are covered even if the spectator wished to think of a circle and a hexagon or a triangle and a pentagram. We now have two chances to guess one of the shapes correctly. I assure you; use this language and the trick will never fail. Before I changed the script to . incorporate this concept I faced the odd psychological force failure e an~ there. Aft~r adding this moment into the script; I have ver failed. You will now announce all of the information at one
~
e:
"The thoughts that came to me were; a circle and a trian le. The name Tara and the date 1985." g Obviously you m~y substitute the name Tara and the date . the earlier phases. There is nothing stop ohgICa yhset up dunng you ave t e second and 1985 for whatever you wish. Providing it is 1 . 11
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third players thinking o~er piece~\ of bxf'o~ati~t .#e•d~:-· the~e spectators ~re .stnc~y imagined and therefor wnate\rer .you decide they are thinking; will be correct. · · ·· ·
?f
You will have the spectators c~n~...i..;_ . ~t.e·;· ';l.J.'i:xr· --_-·_...,. -.,.. "' llUil W.t UU\:1 fnauOll individua~ly thanks to a wonderful notion from Wajt1Je I)(;)'bson who published the notion of having each spectator sit down one at a time in his version of the tossed deck. I think this is a great concept as it further strengthens the idea that each person is thinking of one, distinct and separate thought. To do this address the spectator furthest to the right of the row and say:
"If I successfully named your thought. ..sit down." The spectator will sit down. Make some comment about being right with one out of three. This is only to provide a slight time delay. Next address the spectator sitting in the centre of the row and say:
"If I successfully named your thought...sit down." The spectator will sit down; quickly address the final spectator, increasing the speed here creates a feeling of pace and builds the reveal to more of a punch, address the spectator:
"If I successfully named your thought...sit down." Again the third spectator will sit. All three spectators have sat back in their chairs indicating that you have accurately revealed their thoughts. Accept your applause graciously before moving onto the second phase of the routine. Allow the first phase to sink in before launching into the second phase of the routine. When you feel it is correct continue to the audience by explaining that while tests of telepathy are all well and good you are not interested in tests; you are interested in people. Position yourself to the right hand side of the seated onstage spectators from this position you will offer all ofrow: instruction~. You will instruct the onstage spectators to o~ce ag~ close.thm eyes. Begin by instructing the onstage spectatOJ;'~:
SS
"Player number one; I would like you to think of a personal qu.estion about your future. The type of question you might ask ~psychic ~r a tarot card reader. Resist the temptation to ask a silly question; remembering that silly questions will receive silly answers. ,,Lock a personal question into your mind relating to your own future. Thanks to all of the work you put in at the very beginning of the routine; with secretly touching two spectators, openly touching one spectator and labelling them all as 'player number one' as well as during the first phase instructing the spectators to remember their player number; you are now in the astonishing position of talking to all three spectators at once; they are all aware that they are 'f.. l1;ayer number one. However the audien~e believes that only on~ of p em is. This is remarkable. The entire second phase reqmres nothing more than your words and yet is as close to the real thing as anyone will ever see. After you have completed offering the 'player one' instructions you will move on by offering instructions to player number two and three:
"... Player number two; I would like you to focus your mind on a question about your present and player number three; please focus your mind on a question about your past." Remember there are no players two and three. At this point in time we once again have the human tossed out deck situation I ve used as my example throughout. However this is a more mplex situation; since we have not used any kind of psychological .· · . striction; instead we have allowed people to think of any question /, · rela~in~ to their future. However we will take this complexity and cut it nght to the bone with an answer that each of the spectators will accept as being accurate; no matter what question they focus on. However before we get ahead of ourselves there is much to be exploited in the current situation; we can make the answers to player two and three very interesting indeed.
l
. Revealing the information; this is the really fun part of the You get to play the part of the real mind reader; and trust me it really feels like you are. I begin my answers with player rout~ne .
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number three who has seemingly beeh · instruaed to think ·~f ·i question relating to their personal past. · . .. . . .
"Please all three of you ~pen your eyes. I have the answers you seek. Player n~mbe~ 3; when it comes to the past you have to be careful not to allow it to influence the present and interfere with the future. At this point in your life there is nothing more you can do to mend the situation. I believe that Joanne was not in possession of all the information she needed to make the best decisions; however now it is your job to move forward. Now is the time to let this go ... " This answer is amazing to an audience. It appears we know detailed information about their life; including details as specific as names. Next I answer spectator number two as follows:
"... Player number two: the present, I feel you asked a question literally about the present. Something here and now; something of a challenge. I believe you want me to tell you the colour of your underwear. Understand that I normally would not accept any challenge however, you seem fun; it is blue... " This language allows me to create an apparent challenge situation; Houdini proved once and for all the power of accepting and meeting a challenge. This also once again gives us credit for revealing deeply personal but factual information and also breaks the heaviness of the answer that preceded it. I complete the answers with the third answer; remember this is the answer that each spectator onstage believes is aimed directly at them; and them alone:
"... Player number one; the future. I believe you already know the answer to your question and I believe your own insight into this situation will prove correct; however it would be wise to adjust your timeline to allow a little more time for you to get there." Read the answer several times. You will see that it really says nothing; essentially I say that I think they already know the answer and they will be correct. Test the effectiveness of this answer by thinking of several questions about you~ own fu~re. Then, r~ad the answer and see if it works. It always will. We will once again ease
S1
bl hen we come to having the away any potential pro ems. w spectators confirm the information. Allow the answers t o hold in the air for a moment. Then, address all three of the onstage spectators at once:
"If my answers ma de sense to You' iif ,,I answered your question ... please return to your seat in the theatre ... All three spectators will stand and lea:e the stage; confirming the accuracy of your tel~pat.hic impres~10?s an? your answers. Th e k ey th I.ng here is begmnmg the scnptmg with the words:
"If my answers made sense to you." This, combined with the nature of the future answer, will create a situation in which you will always have three spectators leaving the stage. Of course this answer makes sense no matter the question. You have successfully read the minds of three randomly selected audience members; and then successful performed a pure demonstration of the classic questions and answers premise; all with no props, nothing written down and no preshow work.
What If? Being a true mind reader, I can sense and understand your thoughts at this moment as you read. You are thinking; 'Wow! This is great... but ... what if it doesn't work? What is the out?' I assure you; at this point I have performed this routine for over ten years 1.U1d I have given you all the information that will ensure you never t ail. I have faced the trial and error and the refining for you; you have the ready-to-work, magic bullet. Approach each performance with the utmost confidence; in your mind, visualise the success that will follow. I assure you; your fears are the only thing to be fearful of. However, with that said; I have developed a series of 'outs' for when the worse does happen. I have only ever used these outs in t~e refining process of the routine; the script I have presented you with here; has never, ever failed me. I have even performed this
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exact handling with someone translating my script into German, Italian and French and never had any failure. The out for the second phase is simple. Should one of the spectators not accept the answer you give them for their question simply say; "Trust me; in a short amount of time you will understand my answer. Thank you."
Usher the spectator off the stage and lead in a round of applause. If you handle this with confidence and do not appear phased or bothered by the situation the audience proper will not register this as a failure of any kind. The outs for the first phase are a little more complex. We will need to navigate the complex realities we have created with the language we have used. Let's examine all the possible situations. Imagine we find that after revealing the information and asking the spectators to sit; none of the three sit. This has never happened to me. Not a single time; however if this were to happen I would say: "Mind reading is hard... "
I would smile and allow the audience to release any tension with this simple aside. I would then continue: "I think I got a little ahead of myself. Lets start over.. "
Addressing the three onstage spectators I would say: "We will do this differently. Please allow your mind to go totally blank. Remove all the previous thoughts you had in mind. This time I would like each of you to think of something very simple; a two digit number... "
I would then have each of the spectators write their thought of number on a blank piece of card and using any number of possible techniques I would peek and remember the information. I would then reveal each of the numbers; quickly in the style of the tossed out deck. I would then repeat the secret touching process 59
and continue with the second phase; which is assured to work and bring the routine to a satisfying finish. If only one of the three spectators were to sit down; this has However if this were to happen I would never h appened to me . ' say: "I have found the person I am able to connect with. It is you!" I would then ask the other two spectators to leave the stage and I would present another direct mind reading demonstration with the single onstage spectator. The audience proper do not know what my intention is; I could simply have been doing this in order to find the person I need for what follows! Confidence and guilt-free delivery of this script would be essential to its success. I will repeat that in my ten years of performing this routine; in its many less-refined states to the one you now have in your hands; I have never had either of these situations happen to me. Early in my refining I did face the last situation several times; however with the script outlined in this book I have never had to use the out I developed for this situation. Lets imagine two spectators sit down. Leaving one spectator standing. It appears as if you have successfully revealed the thoughts of two spectators on stage. Addressing the standing spectator: "Well I thought we might have a little problem. I think I know what the problem is and I think I know how to solve it. Please take a moment to let your mind go blank. We will try this differently this time. I want you to think of ... "
At this point I would ask them to think about whatever the audience believed they were thinking about during the first phase. Thanks to the language above the onstage spectator will not be co_nfused: ~ ~ave told them I will try something different. In their mmd; this difference' is that previously they were thinking about two shapes and this time they have been asked to think of either a ·h · year or the name of someone close to them It th ·f h · goes wit out saymg at i t e spectator was the one the audience believed was thinkin of a shape; I would not have them think of a shape again: this woul~ alert the other two spectators to somethi"n b . . g emg amiss. In that 60
situation I would use the same scripting above; but instead of asking them to think of either a year or a date I would ask them to think of their favourite song, movie or book. Once the spectator confirms they have something in mind; I would offer them a card to write down that information. I would then acquire the information using a peek or even a centre tear and reveal it in the most dramatic way possible. After this I would have them sit and I would continue with the second phase, which is assured to succeed. Armed with these outs you have all the information you will ever need. I assure you; while understanding the outs is useful; if you follow the information as I have shared it in this chapter you will not need them. As a final note to the 'what if questions; this routine is not suited to performances in small rooms. I personally only perform this routine to more than fifty people. You do not want people exchanging their experiences after the demonstration with each other; much like the tossed deck; it is best to pick people from different parts of the audience to assure they are likely to not know one another and compare notes after the performance.
A Full Experience It is possible to use 'Touching On Divination' as the main centrepiece within a performance of thirty minutes. To do this, as it is detailed in the 'audience experience' section at the very start of this chapter; I use a series of classic psychological forces with the entire audience to bring three people to the stage. I explain that I can form a connection with these three people; since they correctly picked up on the simple thoughts I was projecting to them. For a large collection of psychological forces see 'Psychological Subtleties Volume One' by Banachek. I then use these three spectators for the routine as explained. After these spectators have returned to the audience I have the entire audience focus on personal questions, which I then work with. For this I make use of my own handling of George Anderson's seminal 'Dynamite Mentalism.' To explain my personal handling of this concept would actually .do you a disservice. Much like my feelings toward psychological forces; 'Dynamite Mentalism' requires you to find your own voice, tone, 61
vocabulary and style. You will not use the same style as me. Instead, I highly recommend you study the George Anderson manuscript titled 'Dynamite Mentalism' which is available as both a hard copy booklet and eBook. It will give you all of the information you could need.
Going Further
I have been exploring the concept that underpins this sequence for over ten years. In that time I have collected a vast number of concepts relating to it. I have published some of my other concepts and uses in my earlier works; 'The Coral Fang' and '3510'. I have never before shared my personal routine; which is detailed here, exactly as I perform it. I hope this will inspire others to pick up this concept and put it to work in their shows. If you are interested in what else might be done with this method I would suggest exploring my earlier work on the subject.
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Synch Of all the things in this book: this wru· ~Mte ,die.". ~~ft number of words to describe. It will take less pages ~!ii: ~n;t ·fie~ any pictures at all. This might lead you to think that this'·is the easiest item in this book. This would not be true. While Synch. is certainly not difficult to perform it does require you begin tQ think about a different set of 'methods' at your 4i.s.posal. I use this as a 'moment' of mind reading within a longer routine. It could be used as such within any of the routines presented within this book; or that you already perform. It is simply a presentational hook that serves as the 'process' for the mind reading itself. I have been performing Synch for over ten years; it grew out of my pulsestopping sequence called 'For Andruzzi' which was published in my first ever book '7 Deceptions' many years ago. Since that time I have shared the concept with some dose friends; who have put it to work within their own performances almost immediately, but it has never been shared in anyway with the community at large. I included it as part of a book test sequence in my 2012 U.K touring show 'Psychic Cabaret'. I will describe the moment as I have used it within the '10 Person Drawing Duplication' routine described elsewhere in this collection.
The Audience Experience
The performer has a woman onstage with him. She is asked to focus her mind on the image she has drawn a few moments earlier. The performer addresses the onstage spectator:
"Please take your hand and place it to my chest. I want you to feel my heartbeat..." The spectator places her hand to the performer's chest and the performer continues: "You can feel my heart beating in my chest, correct?" The spectator confirms that they can indeed feel the performers heart beating in his chest. The performer continues: 63 '
.
··~
"Now want you to pay attention to your own hear_tbeat. . It is 1 unusual; a little bit like breathing; until you pay attention to it, you can not feel it, however the moment you begin to really pay attention to it it becomes the only thing you can feel. Take a moment to pay atte~tion to your own heart beating in your chest." The performer stands in silence for a few mom~nts; with the spectator's hand contacting his chest. After a short while passes, the performer continues addressing the audience proper:
"What is about to happen is either the most boring thing you will see here this evening, or the most amazing. It is entirely down to your perception; however I will tell you, it is the reason I do all of the things I do." The performer takes a deep breath of air in and exhales. He then addresses the onstage spectator. He talks to this woman intensely as if everyone else in the room has vanished.
; "You can feel my heart beating in my chest. You can feel your heart · beating in your chest. You can feel that at this exact moment they are not beating in time with one another. They are out of synch, correct?" The onstage spectator confirms that her own heartbeat is out of synch with the performer's. The performer then continues:
"I can not tell when it will happen; I can only tell you that it will happen'. a.nd ':hen it does, I will be able to connect with you, I will be able to ;am w1.th you for a moment, allowing me to see the things that I want ~o see in you. At some point our hearts will beat at the exact same time; they will become perfectly in synch with one another When you feel that happen; I need you to tell everyone here jus~ clearly and loudly say the word 'now'.,, '
!he
~erformer stands with the onstage spectator's hand contactmg his chest, in silence for a short while H 1 h' and ·t H · e coses is eyes wa1 s. e appears to change his breathin sli h moment it becomes very heavy and then suddenl g g tly, for a Yvery calm. After a short period of silence the onst says: age spectator loudly and clearly
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"Now." The performer opens his eyes and holds i"nt ·th h ense eye contact w1 t e onstage spectator. He then takes her hand fr hi h om s c est, h olds 1·t an d 1ead s h er across the stage to a chai·r th . ; as ey move h e exp1ams:
"For a moment we were connected. Literally in synch with one another. That is all I needed." The performer picks up an art pad and amazingly duplicates the image in the spectator's mind.
The Performer's Experience This is a wonderful, powerful moment within a mind reading demonstration. It carries an obvious but intense metaphor and allows for a theatrical 'hook' - the exact moment the performer seemingly 'connects' with the mind of the spectator. The method is devastatingly simple; you simply lead the spectator with your script; you will always lead and control them; after all, they are visitors to your world; the stage. Be confident with your tone and delivery as you lead them to hold their palm flat on your chest. Lead them into agreeing that they can feel your heart beating and then lead them to feel their own heart beating. When it comes time to allow the beats to synch; simply wait in silence. The silence will cause the spectator to feel every second as an hour. It will feel that way to you as well; but hold the silence! Do nothing to break the silence. Do not even breathe! Instead you will be still; as still as possible, waiting. This places an unbearable pressure on the spectator. After no time at all they will begin to think they feel their and your heart beat in time with one another. I am not able to tell you whether they really, truly, believe this; or if they simply can't bear the weight of the silence anymore. Whatever the mechanism, the result is the same; a wonderful theatrical moment. I warned you this moment would take very little space to describe. It took more words to describe the experience of an audience watching it; than to teach it. Do not let this trick you into 65
thinking this is a 'throw away' bit. Try it ~nee; I suspect this will be enough to get you hooked. It is a small, simple and ea~y to execute presentational hook that can transform a s_mall _reveal ~nto a strong moment. Begin by trying it with somethmg simple like a peeked card in a deck and you will see its power firsthand.
Final Words
Since I published my pulse-stopping routine in my first book '7 Deceptions' many other performers have explored the use of 'suggestion' to affect the apparent beat of either a pulse or a heartbeat. I developed 'Synch' sometime after I published my pulse stop routine 'For Andruzzi' and kept it exclusively for my own performances. As is often the case, several performers saw my show and decided they would simply 'take' the idea with no permission from me. It is here this concept sees print for the first time. In discussing this concept with my friend Jerome Finley he shared with me his own thoughts and ideas on a similar but bigger premise which will be included in his soon-to-be-published manuscript 'Birdsong'.
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_everyday E.S.P Mentalism; far . more so than traditional co·nJ'ur;ng .....,. , ·requ·1res a flai~ for ~he the~tncal. Often the modern mentalist is making use of d1sarmmgly simple methods to achieve his demonstrations. Consequently, it is required that you pay close attention to the scripting and delivery of concepts within the script. The routine that follows is an example of that. In performance, this routine will garner a very strong response. However it makes use of some very simple deceptions; some would say the simplest and possibly the oldest of all deceptive techniques we have available to us. Before we venture into the effect and the method; I will caution you, after reading you will feel a strong temptation to replace the method with something 'more clever.' I know this; as I had the same temptation. I can tell you, from hard-earned experience with real, living, breathing audiences that this is a fruitless task. This really is one of those examples of how the presentation is everything. This routine incorporates one of my all time favourite tools; a pendulum. I often perform this routine as the very first thing I offer in a casual or close up setting. In this position it actually allows me to frame the mentalism that will follow. For performers wishing to present mentalism in the scientific style made famous by Derren Brown; this routine can offer a logical and easy to accept scientific mode for telepathy. I presently do not perform in this style; I prefer to inject my performances with a more mystical flavour. I, however, understand that I am in the minority with this choice; understanding and acknowledging this, I will present this routine with a script that follows the scientific model of mind reading, which I feel will be more useful to more readers than the more mystical approach I favour.
The Audience Experience The performer is sat at a table with a ~mall n~mber of people. The topic of conversation moves onto nund reading. The performer comments: 67
mean fiar more easily than tell you. Do you can show you wIw t I ?" want to see the three types of te lepathY· "I
Those at the table all enthusiastically agree they .would like to see a demonstration. The performer seems to be lookmg around for some suitable objects to begin the test. After a mom~nt he removes his wallet, taking a handful of business cards from it and also a pen. He lays five of the business cards out in front of h~m and draws five symbols; one on each of the business cards; a circle, a plus symbol, three wavy lines, a square and a star. He places these cards symbol side up onto the table. He then pauses and looks around the group; he appears to be looking for something. After a moment it appears he has an idea. He removes his shoe and unthreads the shoelace from it. At this point all present are very intrigued as to why the performer is doing such a strange thing. Locking eyes with a female spectator at the table he asks to borrow her wedding ring. He then threads the borrowed wedding ring onto his shoelace. He smiles and begins:
"Good. This should work. Not the most slick, professional set up but it will allow us to do something interesting. I have drawn five symbols on these cards. These are the classic symbols used in testing ESP or telepathy. Chosen by researchers, as they are distinctly different from one another; and yet easily imagined regardless of any cultural differences between people." As he talks the performer casually mixes the business cards in his hands. He then hands the packet of business cards to one of the spectators and has them mix the cards. He instructs the spectator to remove any one of the symbols, look at it and remember it, then to mix it back in with the others. When this is complete the performer continues, picking up the ring threaded on the shoelace:
"This is a pendulum; the ring acts as a weight. However it can do something remarkable. Let me show you the first type of mind ~ea.ding."
..· · •. . The performer works with the spectator who moments ago telected a symbol card and then mixed it back within the small
68 ..f·, ·~ .
packet of sym~ol cards .. He has the spectator hold the shoelace by its ends, allowmg the rmg to slide down to the middle, hanging freely. He takes the symbol cards and turns the packet drawing side upward. He holds the packet of the symbols below the suspended ring for a moment; after a pause he removes the symbol on the face of the packet and places it aside. He seems to be studying the wedding ring on the shoelace. He continues instructing the spectator to remain relaxed but to focus their mind on their chosen symbol. The performer cycles through the entire collection of five symbol cards; he then instructs the spectator to relax and place the ring and shoelace back onto the table. The performer holds the symbol cards to himself and removes one of them. He places this onto the table drawing side down. He has the spectator name aloud the symbol they selected. The tabled card is turned over to reveal the performer is accurate. It is the same symbol. After the reaction sinks in the performer continues:
"That's not really mind reading; at least in the sense that there is nothing supernatural happening here. Let me show you what I mean. Please hold the shoelace again, allowing the ring to rest in the middle. " The performer then holds the symbol card with the circle on it beneath the ring. He has the spectator imagine their wedding ring moving in a circle. Amazingly; after a short time, the ring begins to move in a circle. The performer th~n pl~ces the sym~ol card with the plus symbol beneath the weddmg rmg; he explams that the ring will begin to move in a straight line. Sure enough; the ring begins to move in a straight line. The performer ha~ the itself; spectator confirm that the ring is movin~ seemin~ly swinging in a wide arching circle, and then m a precise ~ne. The spectator will be astonished along with all those watching. The performer continues:
?Y
"Here is the amazing thing; even though it feels for the world like.You are not moving that ring; in truth you are. You see every sin~le thought we have in some way affects o.ur b~dy. When you thin~ about the circle; you send millions of micro-signals along your ar:n, those micro-signals are amplified by the string, which causes the ring 69
to move. I t is. ea lled the i'deomotor response and I think it is amazing. . . re looking at exactly what you are thinking. a . I n a very rea I sense; We By .understanding the Literally the invisible is made visible. movements; it can look like I am reading your mind. However there is a more challenging form of this ... "
While the performer has been talking he has removed the borrowed wedding ring from the shoelace and handed it back to the spectator. He places his shoelace into his pocket as he comments: "We will remove all of the visual clues."
The performer has another spectator remove a symbol card and mix it back within the packet. He then has them focus their mind on the chosen symbol. He has them place their hand flat on top of his own hand. He closes his eyes and quickly names aloud each of the symbols. As soon as he has named all five of the symbols he pulls his hand away and instantly announces one of the symbols aloud. Amazingly the spectator confirms that this is the symbol they were thinking about. The performer continues: ''That was something called 'contact telepathy.' Instead of using the visual movement of the pendulum, I was literally trying to feel and understand the tiny movements happening. Some people call it muscle reading; which is probably a better name for it; since that really is what it is in many ways. However, there is one last form of telepathy. One not as easily understood or explained away.... "
The performer has one more spectator pick a symbol card from the packet and remember it. They then place this card back within the packet. The performer places the cards off to one side and continues: "Please focus your mind intently and only on the symbol."
The performer is silent and still. He closes his eyes. After a moment, still with his eyes closed, he announces one of the symbols. The spectator reacts; the performer opens his eyes. He comments: "I wont tell you what that was; instead I will leave you to decide... "
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Ihe Performer's Experience I have chosen to present this routine in the context of a seem.ingly impro~ptu performance situation. In such settings I do not like to look as if I had anything prepared. I want to produce the illusion that my ability to read minds is in no way connected to the 'props' that I use to demonstrate the ability. I personally enjoy the process of 'gathering' and 'creating' the needed props for the demonstration in front of the spectators. I do this without really saying anything; I find that this creates a great level of interest. Also more importantly it allows the group to begin to focus on what it is that I am doing; simply making the objects causes people to pay full attention. By the time I remove my shoe and remove the lace from it; they are all hooked into the demonstration with full interest. With this in mind; it is worth remembering that this routine can also form an excellent walk around demonstration. In that setting it would be strange for me to not have the needed props. In such a setting I would use a set of ESP cards and a ready-made pendulum. I have already given several clues to the working of this routine; despite it appearing seemingly impromptu it is not; a simple preparation is needed. I carry a set of my business cards, which I have marked on the printed side with five different marks. Each mark corresponds to one of the symbols from the standard ESP testing cards. I always keep them in my wallet in the order circle, plus sign, wavy lines, square and finally star. This is easy for me to remember since a circle has one line, a plus symbol has two lines, there are three wavy lines, a box has four sides and finally a star has five points. When it comes to performance I remove these marked cards and draw the symbols in this order from the face of the packet. I have now created a marked set of ESP cards right in front of the spectators. The fact that this appears to be a decision I have made 'spur of the moment' really helps create the feeling that no special preparation has taken place. I then remove my s~oel~ce and borrow a ring from one of the spectators. I thread this rmg onto the lace to make a pendulum. There is little more information needed to fully understand the manner in which this routine works. I simply watch to see 71
which of the five symbol cards has been chosen by the spectator; reading the mark on the back of the business card. This gives .me all the information I need to reveal the chosen symbols. While the method is simple; it is the structure and delivery of the information that makes this routine play so well to an audience. Spend some time studying the script. If you have never encountered the magic of a pendulum before; you are in for a treat. All of the amazing movement of the ring on the shoelace is real. There is no special magic method to this; you simply have the spectator hold the shoelace and concentrate on making it move. Given a short amount of time the ring will begin to swing seemingly by itself. In truth the small movements created by the spectator's focus will cause the ring to move; what I say in the script is really true. This is really astonishing to watch and spectators really love this experience. Gasps will be heard as the pendulum moves in accordance to the circle and plus symbol. Much information is available on the pendulum; a simple Internet search will provide you with all the information you could need. I also highly recommend reading 'The Magic Pendulum' by George B. Anderson, published by Magic Inc. Simply read the scripting and the structure of the routine a few times; and you have everything you need. To conclude the routine I often hand the cards to different people. I do not want to have all the cards kept by one spectator since they may compare the1? at a later date and discover the marks on their backs. By havmg the cards split; one card per person, no one person is able to compare the collected group and discover the markings. Bonus Material - The Pendulum
. Mu~h information can be found on the pendulum by making a simple online search. However I wanted to include some very ba~ic information here to get you started. This is by no means exhaustiv~ or complete; instead it is the very first steps to get you starte~ with the pendulum. If you are a seasoned 'pendulum user' there is really no need to read this part of the book.
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A quick Google searc~ will reveaJ: ,many 1differ-ent ·type81fof p~ndul~ms. that ai:e commercially available. · From these.,proudtf d1splaymg impressive crystal and even diamond weights atta&ed to hig?ly decorative chains. to simple brass weights tied to string. Ultm~ately a pendul~m .1s ~ pendulum. Providing the weight is sufficient and the strmg is tied and lengthened correctly; the rest is little more than window dressing. In many ways, the best option is probably the simplest option. Simply tie a weight in the form of a nut onto a piece of cotton threaded cord. The string itself is cut to exactly 8 inches, which is then tied to the nut. After having tied the string firmly I apply a small drop of super glue to bind the knot further. This is simply to reduce any possibility of the nut working free from the string during the course of the routine. I finally tie a small knot at the open end of the string and apply one final drop of super glue to this. This forms a 'bead-like' lump at the end of the string, which is easy for the audience member to hold onto during the course of the routine. This also allows a highly cost effective method of producing pendulums allowing you to leave them with the spectators if you wish. In its most basic form the pendulum movement is created by the ideomotor effect. This is a naturally occurring psychological phenomenon in which the participant causes motions or movement unconsciously. The audience member really is causing the pendulum to move using their subconscious mind. They will swear they were not moving or swinging the weight and honestly believe this. The audience member is simply unaware that their focusing upon it is causing the movement. The string itself acts as an amplification tool causing the small unconscious movement to become larger and is displayed in the weight swinging and moving. . . . . The ideomotor effect is often credited to English scientist Michael Faraday but the first reference I ea~ find appears ~ a paper discussing the workings of the (at the time) popular pastime of the 73
Ouiia board by W.B. Carpenter in 1852. With this knowle~get~n rni1;d we will instruct the audience member to be~t gnp ~ pendulum to make the most of this naturally occurnng state o mind. In order to get the most movement out of the p~ndulum ~ou must instruct and insist that the audience member gnps the stnng correctly. Begin by handing the spectator a pendu~u~ and visually demonstrating how they are to hold it. By combu~mg both ver~al and visual instruction we reduce any chance of m1sunderstandmg on the part of the audience member. Grip the beadlike end of the string between your first finger and thumb with the finger pointing downward directly toward to the floor. Ensure the arm is extended fully and held at a chest height. This will, over the short time the spectator will grip the pendulum, help you to extend and amplify the movement of the pendulum due to the arm beginning to stress. While the goal is not to take advantage of this, we do not wish to tire the audience member's participating to the point in which the audience at large becomes aware of this. In order to reduce the chance of this happening, be sure to instruct the spectators to 'rest' their arms at appropriate times during your routine. The final instruction is that the audience members do not wrap the string around their fingers but rather grip the string by the bead at the end allowing the full length of the string to hang. Causing the pendulum to move in the hands of an audience member is a rather simple feat. One need only instruct the &pectator to correctly focus upon the weight moving. Your goal as a . performer is to offer these instructions as clearly as possible to cause i:•ose participating to form a vivid mental image in their mind and ;~s increase the movement. ·,.. ·'
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. After havin~ ensur~d the spectator is gripping the pendulum m the correct fashion, ~till the weight by holding it steady for a moment. What follows is the exact scripting I have made use of in my own performances. I cannot say it is highly original but rather a combination of many instructional scripts I have found during my research of the pendulum routine. I have simply combined those moments I found to be most effective into one script and added a few touches that I find useful. "Please hold your string in front of you between your two fingers and thumb at about an arms length like this ... "
The performer removes a pendulum from his pocket and visually instructs the audience member on how they should hold their pendulum. He then continues: "To begin with, make sure the weight on the end of the string is more or less resting. Do not swing it side to side or anything like that; just try to relax. In a moment I am going to ask all of you to do something that will seem crazy, however please try to enter into this imaginary game with a spirit of open-mindedness. I want you to imagine you are a superhero. Your superpower? You can move things with the power of your mind. Imagine for a moment you can cause that weight to move side to side, using nothing more than your own mind. In your head, see the pendulum beginning to move side to side in a nice strong arc. As you begin to clearly exercise your sense of creativity and control, that weight will begin to swing from side to side."
In order to cause different directions of movement simply continue in the fashion above but replace the direction of movement with that which is desired. Personally I have found the causing the weight to move left to right and then in a circular motion is the most effective onstage. The change in direction is visible to a large room.
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GOODBYE We find ourselves at the end of this excursion into the world of modern performance mentalism. You now possess all of the information you need to put these audience tested performance ready routines into your own work. I am excited to hear, see and experience what you make these routines into; fusing your own unique performance style, presentation and personality with my creations. I have made my best effort to present a variety of demonstrations suited for a variety of performing settings; from the formal structure of the theatre stage, to the casual setting of a restaurant table. While each demonstration is presented here in isolation; there is a bigger secret in the material I have included in this collection and now as we part ways; it is time for me to share that secret with you. Within the pages of this book is also an entire thirty-minute performance. You have a routine perfectly structured to serve as an 'opener' introducing yourself; and mentalism to the audience in 'The Intuitive Pendulum' this routine flows excellently into the performance of 'Ten Person Drawing Duplication' and finally you can close the performance with 'Touching On Divination' these routines delivered with authority and confidence are enough to provide your audiences with a world class experience of mind reading. Now you have all the information it is time for you to close the covers of t.his book and take the words, secrets, concepts and demonstrat10ns contained within and breathe life into them in performance. ~agic, mentalism and the mystery arts only exist when there . is an audience to experience them. Get out there and perform and I hope that one day I will find myself in your audience! Luke Jermay York, 2014.
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LUKE JERMAY MODERN MENTALISM I. Ten Person Double Drawing Duplication: a powerful routine to perform in almost any setting from a large theatre to a living room . This routine featured in my 2013 stage show; and has never been shared in print or any other form . 2. Jermay's ESP card routine/pendulum phenomena: A three phase routine with the 25 card Zenner deck and a pendulum, with a drawing duplication kicker. This is the opening routine I use whenever performing in a close up setting. Very strong, very simple; so easy anyone could do it; but it teaches many basic lessons about modern mentalism. 3. A System for Mental Magic with Playing Cards: This is something I've shared only with a select few of the best card magicians in the world, who have used it to create miraculous displays of card control, mind reading and impossible coincidence in their own performances. In it's most base form, this is a utility that will allow you to instantly and easily locate the exact position of any card at your whim. In the effect I describe within, the deck is spread in front of a spectator who is asked to name any card they sec. The performer discusses the idea of instant memory - the subconscious memorisation of objects and their position - as the deck is shuffled, then cut and spread - face down - before the spectator. The spectator is told to touch a single card, which is removed and turned over ... to reveal it's their card named only moments before. 4. Touching On Divination; this is a prop free, anywhere, anything mind reading routine in two phases. It is based (partially) on a routine I published many )'Cars ago in a book called 'Coral Fang' but has so many new additions that have never been shared on mass with the community developed over the past I 0 years; that it is really brand new. I have featured some of these ideas in my live lectures; Daniel Madison recently saw this sequence in action and can talk about it with you as an independent party. This chapter would without a doubt be the 'talking' point of the book as it will gain attention from all levels of mentalism fans . It is probably the most 'clever' thing I have ever created and something that really shows my thinking in a good light. This single routine would be enough to fill a feature length DVD download in the future - which is something I would very much like to do. 5. Bonus Routine: The Heart Connection: this is a deeply powerful presentational hook that has never been shared in any form, in which the performer causes a spectators heart beat to perfectly synchronize with his own. ,,,,
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