Luke Jermay - Reincarnation - The Event 2018 Lecture Notes

REINCARNATION  r  - Jermay’ � � General Pe  r   on Ploy -

THE EVENT 2018 - Lecture Note  � � -

REINCARNATION  Jermay' �  Gene  �  al Pe  r on Ploy CREATED & WRITTEN BY  Luke Jermay

EDITED BY Tara Whittaker

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY  Martin Eder

WWW.JERMAY.COM  2

REINCARNATION - 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' Copyright 2018 (C) Luke Jermay. All Rights Reserved.  All legal owners in possession of an original copy of this manuscript have the right to perform these effects in all performance settings. Conflicting first person  performance rights are withheld. They are not permitted to teach, sell, resell, lecture, manufacture, translate or otherwise use, demonstrate, display or perform the contents.

3

4 

INTRODUCTION  Tese

lectures notes were prepared to accompany my exclusive presentation at Te Event   in 2018. Te Event   is an annual mentalism convention I produce, in association with my friends at Vanishing Inc Magic, that aims to bring the very best performers, thinkers and creators in contemporary mentalism to London to share their wisdom, insights and professional performance material in a day packed full of exclusive lectures, presentations and performances.

 Tis

manuscript could be thought to mark the sixth instalment in an ongoing series of releases in which I aim to document my explorations and expansions on what might be one of the very oldest techniques in all of recorded theatrical card magic; Te General Card Ploy. Te earliest written description I can �nd of this wonderful principle is on page 159 of the Pieper translation of the formally unpublished manuscript referred to as Sloane 424 , dated to the 1600’s.  Te translation of this remarkable historical document can be found in Gibeciere, Volume 5, Issue 2, published in the summer of 2010 by the Conjuring Arts Ar ts Research Centre. For those who are unsure, Te General Card Ploy can be easily summed up as a deception in which the performer forces the same card on multiple spectators, each of whom believe they have selected diff erent erent cards to one another. Later, this forced card and several other random cards are in some way displayed or revealed to the spectators and each verify that their chosen card was among those revealed or displayed.  Te resulting belief in both the audience and the participants is that each person selected a diff erent erent card.  Tose participating believe this 5 

since they assume the other cards revealed or displayed were those selected by everyone else involved.  Tose observing believe this since those participating con�rm their selections have been revealed. It is a bold, brilliant and highly sophisticated deception.  Tose

readers who have been performing mentalism for even a short period of time will instantly recognise the General Card Ploy as being the central mechanism within the venerable Tossed Deck.  Te Tossed Deck is a wonderful example of the General Card Ploy applied to a direct demonstration of mind reading. As a community we often call the General Card Ploy,  when utilised in the context of a mentalism routine, the Hoy Principle due to the widespread exposure to Hoy's performance piece Tossed Deck,  which utilises the principle as its core methodology. Curiously, many have failed to notice that the concept of the Tossed Deck predates Hoy with an earlier, almost identical, routine in print by Orville Meyer which can be found on page 2 of the often overlooked periodical  Mental-Wise, Volume 2, Issue 8, published in March of 1956. Hoy gave no history to his routine when he included it on page 25 of a collection of  his   his fantastic performance performance material entitled Te Bold and Subtle Miracles of Dr. Faust, published by the Ireland Magic Company. While Hoy off ered ered no mention of Meyer it is highly likely that this is where Hoy got the inspiration for his routine from. What is certain is that few realised the power of the concept until Hoy brought it to the attention of the mentalism community with his commanding theatrical performances. Once the power of this simple concept  was recognised the routine spread like wild�re. It became a modern classic with amateur and professional performers, including none other than Orson Wells, making good use of it 6

in their own performance work. History aside, the General Card Ploy and the Tossed Deck have been a constant source of fruitful inspiration for me personally for more than than 20  years. My �rst major contribution to the body of work utilising the Hoy,  which �rst principle was my original routine Touching On Hoy, which saw print in 2002, but was created in 2000, in a set of lecture notes dedicated to it. Touching On Hoy is a prop free mind reading sequence which transformed the General Card Ploy’s scope and expanded it to work not with playing cards but with human beings. I consider this routine as the foundational building block that all of my other related material stands upon. It is included in this manuscript, in its most recent form, to present the reader with a well rounded understanding of the process of exploration I have taken t aken with the core methodology methodolog y. I believe this expansion of the General Card Ploy’s reach and scope to be my original contribution to the body of work connected to the General Card Ploy and one that I am very proud of. Touching On Hoy opened the eyes of many to the �exibility of the General Card Ploy;  Ploy;  something that previously had always been used only in conjunction with playing cards was now applicable to more interesting and further reaching information and performance perfor mance applications. Since sharing Touching On Hoy  with the community it has garnered universal praise, prai se, even being awarded ‘Trick ‘Trick Of Te Year’ from the readers of  Magic Magazine after it appeared in my friend Joshua Jay’s ‘Talk About Tricks’ column. I'm thrilled to say it has become a pivotal piece in many professional performers’ real real world wor ld shows across the globe. 7 

In 2015, thirteen years after Touching On Hoy �rst saw print, I decided to share more of my explorations on the General Card Ploy applied to human beings. I began by sharing Touching On Divination as part of my 4 disc DVD set  Jermay's Mind, produced by Vanishing Inc; Inc; this is a sequence which allows the performer to seemingly answer thought of questions held only in the minds of spectators.  Tis handling is also included in an updated form here in this manuscript.  Tis is my personal favourite of all the routines I have created and the one I use the most in my own own professional professional work. work. It has has a �exibility and an authenticity that makes it very useful and hugely impactful on an audience. Next, I released a PDF and audio training package called Cartomancy  which detailed an entire show themed around fortune telling with playing cards which utilised the concept in one of its central phases.  Tis can be found as a stand alone PDF download at my online mentalism store. sto re.  Te

third release on this theme was Touching On Hypnosis; a sequence of pseudo hypnotic phenomena made possible thanks to the General Card Ploy  which appears on my second 4 disc DVD set Premise And Premonition, produced by Vanishing Inc, available at their website and in magic stores around the world. world .

 Te

fourth was Vibrations; my professional, dare I say, avantgarde approach to Psychometry.  Tis is available as a stand alone PDF download at my online mentalism store. sto re. My �fth release was Folie à Deux detailing yet another manner in which taking the General Card Ploy from playing cards to human beings can be expanded and exploited to produce a radically diff erent erent outcome in performance as it produces an elegant and expanded demonstration of the neoclassical PK premise.. Touches premise 8 

It is my hope, that by documenting the many diff erent erent routines I have created using the single principle as a muse, giving birth to a new approach which I now call 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' , the community will begin to see these routines not as self contained ‘tricks’  but   but rather, diff erent erent disguises for a utilitarian technique. A technique upon which direct and startling miracles can easily be built once the approach is fully understood. In this manuscript you will discover three fully formed professional routines and one universal technique; each built on 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' to produce a wide array of distinct and powerful professional performance pieces. Both ‘Broadcast’  and ‘One ‘One Are All’  have  have never been shared, in any form, anywhere before.  Tey are exclusively housed within this limited edition manuscript.  When I decided deci ded to t o present a lecture lect ure on 'Jermay's General Person Ploy', my biggest challenge was in deciding what not to include.  Te time restraints of a convention lecture forced me to reexamine all of my work with 'Jermay's General Person Ploy', both published and unpublished, in order to select what I felt was the best variety of information for those in attendance. It was, at �rst, an annoyanc annoyance. e. However, it soon becam becamee cle clear ar this challenge was a blessing in disguise. disgui se. In examining my diff erent erent routines, techniques and concepts I soon realised that I could select routines to demonstrate the depth and breadth contained within the principle allowing each of the routines to showcase di ff erent erent techniques and applications in their own right. r ight. Consequently, I have selected the the routines included in this manuscript to highlight diff erent erent manners in which the principle can be exploited, also to introduce many of the 9

previously unpublished additional utilitarian 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' techniques that I use in my own performances, to the community community.. I suggest suggest you read these these notes from start to �nish and do not jump jump ahead. I have structured these notes in such a manner that each routine builds upon the last as they introduce techniques and applications that are transferable to one another. I hope these lecture notes provide you with a new way to look at something very old. It is my hope hope that the work I have done Ploy'  will inspire you not in developing 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' will only to go out and perform these routines but to ask yourself  what unique discoveries you might make as you explore a principle that has, in my experience, only continued to grow, shift and expand as it continues to occupy as special place in my mind.

 LUKE  L UKE JERMAY

Yorkshire, 2018

10 

TOUCHING ON TELEPATHY TELEPATHY  Touching  Touching on telepathy is a sequenced routine of two diff erent erent demonstrations (Touching On Hoy and Touching On Divination) built on 'Jermay's General Person Ploy'  that  that off ers ers the performer a startling, prop free, demonstration of test conditions telepathy, immediately followed by a prop free demonstration of divination and fortune telling in which the performer answers the personal questions of random audience members that are only 'thought' about. I personally follow these two sequenced routines with my personal approach to George Anderson’s ‘Dynamite Mentalism’   which allows me to present a full, prop free, performance lasting anywhere between 20 and 35 minutes. Nothing is written wr itten down, there there is no preshow work and there is no stooging.  Tis is a true, prop free, demonstration of telepathy that leads to one of the purest, test conditions, demonstrations of true Questions and Answers that you will encounter. I recommend that you read this chapter fully, even if you are already familiar with my work, as many of the principles and techniques that are taught are utilitarian and will be transferred and brought forward in the material that makes up the rest of this manuscript. Consider this a chapter of foundational information.

11

TOUCHING ON HOY  Phase One: Telepathy

 After some introductory remarks about the nature of telepathy, telepathy, mind reading and divination, the performer explains he will begin with a mental warm up and to do so he must work with receptive minds. He has the audience relax and remain remain open minded. He then has the entire room room attempt to pick up on three simple thoughts that he explains he will 'project' to them. Each time he has those audience members who accurately perceived his thought indicate this by standing at their seat in the theatre. He then selects three of the standing audience members to join him onstage. Each person sits in a chair lined up across the stage.  Te performer instructs 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. 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. shapes. Keeping in mind, 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 for me now…and lock those in your mind. From this 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 only only on two simple shapes.” 

12

 Te

performer then moves to the spectator sat in the centre of the three and taps this person several times on their back. He then continues:

“If you just felt me touch touch you, you are player player number number two. I would like you to to focus on a name; a name that you say everyday. everyday. It could be a loved one, a family member, a friend; anyone that is a part of  your life…your task f rom this point onward is to simply focus your mind on that person’s person’s name. Ignore Ignor e what the other players are doing. Simply focus your your mind on whichever name you have decided upon. Feel free to change your your mind a few times if you wish, before  you settle on one, however, however, once you have decided; lock that in your mind and focus all of your attention on it. You are player player number two; focus only on your chosen name.”   Te

performer moves to the �nal spectator sat in the chair furthest right and taps this person. He address this person directly:

“Finally, player number three…If you just felt me touch you…you are player number three. three. I would like you to to focus your mind on a date. A date date that holds some personal signi  signi  cance to you. Maybe a   � cance  graduation year, 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 only on that year, year, you are player number three.”   Te

performer moves to centre stage and addresses all three of the onstage spectators at once, clapping his hands together, he continues: 13

“Please, players players 1, 2 and 3…open 3…open your eyes for me now! All of this applause is yours.”   Te

three onstage spectators open their eyes and the performer leads in a round of applause.  Te performer continues, addressing all three of the onstage spectators:

“Please take a moment to focus your mind on your speci    � c thoughts. You each have one concept in mind. Player number one, some simple shapes; something of a warm up. up. Player number number two, the name of someone close to you and player number three, a year that has some signi  cance to you.”    � cance  Addressing the audience at large the performer performer continues: “I  � nd nd telepathy telepathy is much like any learned skill. It requires a speci    � c  process for best results. Right now this simple test will serve as my warm up. up. If I can successfully perceive the three thoughts of three random people we will begin to move onward…but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet as success is never assured with mysterious matters of the mind.”  In silence the performer walks behind each of the seated onstage spectators. He places his hand on each of the spectators heads, closes his eyes for a moment and moves to the next spectator. spectator. He repeats this with each of the three three onstage spectators. When �nished he walks centre stage and instructs the onstage spectators to stand at their onstage chairs. He pauses and then dramatically continues: 14 

“I believe I have been able to reach inside your mind and  � nd nd the speci  for. I have two simple shapes, shapes, a year   � c thoughts I was looking for. and a name. Strangely, this evening, the thoughts that were normally the easiest, the shapes, were the most di  cult for me to   ffi cult nd.”   � nd.”  Te

performer turns to address the onstage spectator who focused on two simple shapes: “So, Player number one…if I get even one of the two shapes you have in mind, we will count that as a success.” 

 Te

performer then continues, addressing the audiences and onstage spectators at one time:

“ Te name and the year were very clear. Te shapes that came to me were a triangle and a circle. Te name was Tara and the year 1985. Tese were the thoughts that I connected with.”   Te

performer turns to address the onstage spectators. begins, addressing the �rst spectator:

He

“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.  Te performer addresses the audience: 15 

“One out of three, in most scienti    � c circles, would be considered highly signi  cant but right here and right now we are not interested   � cant in scienti  cance…”    � c signi    � cance…”   Te

performer then continues, addressing addressing the second spectator:

“If I successfully named your thought…please, sit down”  down”   Te

performer �nally addresses the last spectator:

“ Te moment of truth…If I successfully named your thought, please, sit down.”   Amazingly the �nal spectator sits.  Te audience reacts with shocked silence quickly followed by intense applause.

16

TOUCHING ON DIVINA DIVINATION TION  Phase Two: Two: Questions & 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, telepathy, its not really the best use use of the gift. Let’s move on to to what really matters the most; the past, the present and the future.  After all, what else is there?”   Te

performer addresses the onstage spectators as a group. group.

“Please close your eyes. Player number one, I would like you to to think about a question; the kind of question you might ask a tarot card reader or psychic, a question about your personal future. Please avoid the temptation to ask a silly question; silly questions always receive silly answers. Tink of a question you personally want the answer to about about your own future. Player number 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.”  Once again the performer walks along the line of the three onstage, seated spectators, brie� y touching their head as he does so. so. When he has made made his way way along the line he returns to stage centre and continues:

17 

“Please, all three of you, open your eyes. I have the answers you seek. Player number three, when it comes to the past you have to be careful not to allow it to in  �  uence the present and interfere with the future.   � uence  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, however, now it is  your duty to move move forward. for ward. Now is the time to to let this go. Player number two, the present, I feel you asked a question literally about the present. Something about you right here and right now; something of a challenge. I believe you want me to tell tell you the colour of your underwear underw ear.. Understand that I normally would not accept any challenge, however, you seem fun; it is blue. Player number one, the future. I believe you already know the 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 to allow a little freedom in reaching this.”   Te

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.  Te audience, after recovering from the shock of what they have seen, applaud enthusiastically.  Te performer then continues by having every person in the room focus their mind on a personal question 18 

they would like to the answer answer to. to. He then works with various spectators, dotted around the room, accurately answering questions.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN Te Core Methodology

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.  Te routine makes use of no preshow  work, no stooges and no props at all. a ll. 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 pure Questions and Answers with nothing more than your  words, mind and body. body. Please take a moment to consider this before you launch into the details.  Tis

is by no means a di fficult 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 togethe r.

 Tis

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.  Tis is a demonstration employing language as its main method.  Tere  will be no sleight of hand but much sleight of mind. 19

Much has been made, in recent years, of the notion of Dual Reality.  Tis is the term given to an eff ect ect in which an audience member has a diff erent erent experience to the performer, and each has diff erent erent 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 Realit y. In truth, for any deception decepti on to take place, the performer must always manage multiple experiences and realities; this routine will highlight that fact.  To  To begin, I wish to present you with a simple overview overvie w of how the demonstration works; this will be terse in detail but will allow you to have a basic working understanding of the demonstration as we progress and explore the subtleties and psychological principles that will all play their part in completing the deception in performance.  Te 'hardware' of this routine is really really simple. Its power is in the fact that ninety nine percent of the deception is complete before the audience is even aware the demonstration has begun.  Te detail and attention is really found within the performance script.  At the very heart is a simple concept, one commonly credited to David Hoy for his now iconic 'Tossed Deck'  routine.   routine.  Tis is often referred to as  T  'Te Hoy Principle' but can, more accurately, be considered an outgrowth of the ‘General Card Ploy’ . So central to this demonstration is the ‘General Card Ploy’  that, in my earlier version of the demonstration, I included Hoy's name 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'.

 20 

 To  To properly understand this routine it is important that you understand the 'Hoy Principle’ , imagine you have a deck of playing cards; of which �fty one cards are all alike.  Te remaining card, which is diff erent erent from the �fty one all alike cards, is on the face of the deck.  Te complete deck is wrapped in a rubber band. Imagine you were to throw the deck to diff erent erent 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 would present whatever whate ver vision visio n of mind reading process you personally favour and �nally reveal that you have several cards in your your mind. If you were to now announce the card used for the �fty one alike cards, along with several other cards, c ards, and then ask the audience members to sit, if and only if, you had named their card, all the spectators would indeed sit.  Tey have no other option since you have announced the card that makes up all of the possible selection �elds within the deck. Each person would assume that the other spectators each selected one of the other cards the performer named. Here is the Hoy principle in action as published by Hoy in his 'Tossed Deck'  routine. In many ways,  what follows is an expansion and elaboration on this classic routine, only we shall not make use of playing cards c ards but instead,  with bold methodology, methodology, create a human 'Tossed Deck.' Now you understand the 'Hoy Principle'   in its classic guise. Let’s see how we can apply that to three living, breathing human beings on stage.  You  You will invite three spectators to t o each take a seat onstage.  Te chairs will be arranged in a neat line across the centre of the stage.  21

 With the spectators sitting, you stand behind the spectators in the space between the second and third chair as you instruct the onstage spectators to close their eyes and for them to keep their eyes closed until you ask them to open them again. You appear to lean forward to look up and down the line of spectators to check that they have each closed their eyes.  Tis action, while benign and uninteresting to the audience proper,  will allow the cover you will need for the major deception  within the routine. While you appear to simply be looking up and down the line to check the spectators have closed their eyes, in truth you are doing something else. With the body leaning forward your arms are in the perfect position to secretly 'touch' the spectators who sit to either side of you. You will secretly touch the two spectators roughly in the middle of their backs.  Tis is over in a split second and the larger action of leaning forward to check that the spectators have closed their eyes is ample cover for the smaller action of secretly applying the touches to the spectators’ backs.  You  You have now, now, unknown to the audience at large, secretly touched touc hed two of the three onstage spectators. spectat ors. You will now openly walk to the remaining spectator and openly touch them on the shoulder. You will say: “If you just felt me touch you…you are Player number one.”   Te

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 you openly touched.  You  You have, in essence, the beginnings of a human 'Tossed 'Tossed Deck.'  You  You will now need to control the choices of all three of the spectators during the scripting that the audience at large  22

believes is only being actioned by the spectator they saw you openly touch on the shoulder. shoulder. I choose to control the choices by employing a classic psychological force of two simple shapes: a circle and a triangle. Once this is complete you will move to the second spectator in 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 were on the stage with you. you. In truth there is no player number two.  Tis means that you can create any selection �eld you desire since no matter what you say, you are correct. correct . You will repeat this with the third spectator, spectat or, approaching and miming touching them on the back, in truth not making any contact with them whatsoever whatsoe ver.. You then address 'player number three' as if they were onstage with you. In truth again, you are addressing addressing no-one. Player number three is nothing more than what player number two was; a �gment of the imagination of the performer. performer. Each onstage spectator believes themselves to be 'Player number one' and each onstage spectator has focused their mind on two simple shapes. Since we off ered ered this selection �eld using the classic psychological force all of the spectators will be thinking thinki ng of circles circ les and triangles. tria ngles. Now, Now, when it comes to '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 name Tara and the date date 1985. If I have correctly named your thought, please, please, sit down.” 

 23

 Te

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 number one,  who we employed the psychological force upon, all three spectators will sit down.  To  To the audience at large it appears as if we have somehow managed to reveal not only two simple shapes but also a name and a date.  Tis is a major moment; it feels like real mind reading. No props, nothing nothin g written wri tten down, just straight ahead direct mind reading. I understand that this is a diff erent erent approach to much of the mentalism most people will have encountered encountered before. before. Indeed, it may take a while for your mind to wrap itself around these concepts. Take a while to really really understand the information I have shared until this point; resist the temptation to move further into this routine until you are con�dent you fully, completely and totally understand the mechanism that underlies all that will follow.  As with all great mentalism the real deception takes place in the mind of the audience.  Tis is the strongest of all deceptions 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 �nally see how the core method can be expanded to allow for the Questions and Answers routine. routin e. In the �nal section of this chapter I will cover the manner in which I blend this routine in among other classic  24 

concepts to create a twenty � ve to thirty thirt y minute prop free mind reading demonstration.

THE REAL SECRETS Te devil’ devil ’s in the

details

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.  Te �rst detail that will make a huge di ff erence erence to the success of the demonstration is understanding the proper manner in which to apply the secret touches to the two onstage 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 �rmly behind the spectator to your right and your left leg will extend further in the gap between the spectators on your left and right. At �rst this will feel 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 the line of spectators.  Te 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 �rmly planted behind the spectator spectat or in their chair, chair, to your right. 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  25 

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  You will lead with your right leg as you walk to the only spectator who was not secretly touched.  Te 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.  Tis 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. shoulder.  You  You will now label the spectators to all believe they are Player number one. To do this you will make use of a speci�c piece of scripting: “If you just felt me touch you, you are Player number one…”   All three spectators now believe they are player number one. From this moment onward any instruction we off er er directly to player number one will be followed by all three of the onstage spectators.  Te audience proper believe only the spectator that  you openly touched is player number one.  26

 We  We now �nd ourselves at the second critical junction of the �rst phase of the routine; the psychological force. Many pages in many books have been �lled giving avid readers precise scripts which promise them some magical power over the minds of the audiences and spectators they work with.  Te truth, in my humble opinion, is that this has hindered the ability for many of those avid readers to successfully perform a psychological force. While obviously the script is of vital important, little has been discussed about the tone, delivery and  vocabulary  vocabular y used in the execution 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 de �ne 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. Bearing in mind that with my artistic ability a heart and a star would be very complex. A square square is simple! Do not think of any of those…but lock two simple shapes into your mind for me now.”   Tis

is the exact script I use when performing the psychological force. However, for it to be eff ective ective for you, it should not be.  Te 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. Tey 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 i n the mind of the spectator.  Tis will ruin the force. It will remove the audience member from the  27 

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.  Te 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 and �nd 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, 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; a triangle and and a circle. We will make use of one more subtle language trick during the revelation process which will sky rocket the odds of success by reducing the level with which  we need to be accurate. We will get back to this during the revelation revelat ion process. For the moment, the most important importan t thing  you can do is spend an hour examining the way in which you  will use my structure to deliver the classic c lassic psychological force in a manner than feels authentic and real in your own style. Go and do this now; I will meet you back here in one hour.  Welcome  Welcome back. At this point you should 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. successfully. I urge you to give this some serious thought thought and really apply yourself to developing your own way.

 28 

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, you you are player player number one. I would like you to think of two simple shapes. Bearing in mind that with my artistic ability a heart and a star star would be very complex. A square is simple! simple! Do not think of any of those…but those…but lock two simple shapes into your mind 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 up here are doing. Focus only on your chosen shapes.”  It is of great importance that you instruct 'player number one' to ignore what the other players are doing.  Tis single step will ensure that when you later pretend to touch the second and third spectators, each time off ering ering some further instruction, that all three of the onstage spectators ignore these instructions and only think about two simple shapes. It is also important for the second phase that the players are told to remember their number. number. Once you have successfully executed the psychological force/restriction, instructed the onstage spectators to remember their player number and to ignore what the other players are doing you are essentially home and dry.  Te major deceptions have been taken care of.  You  You will allow a slight delay to let that sink in. say something along the lines of:

 Ten

you will

“…and now moving on…”   29

 Tis

simple piece of scripting e ff ectively ectively informs the three onstage spectators spectators that something new new is about to come. In a moment they will understand this 'new thing' to be the introduction of the second player player into the game. Since they are now thinking of themselves as 'player number one' they will naturally ignore the instructions you off er er to 'player number two' exactly as you instructed them to earlier. After the pause has passed you will move to stand directly behind the spectator sitting in the middle of the three. three. You then appear to touch this spectator on their back. In truth simply mime these actions; do not contact the spectator at all.  Tis literally is the simplest of all possible method; you are simply pretending to be doing something when you you are not. When I walk and openly touch the �rst spectator, after having secretly touched the other two spectators, 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!  Tis 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 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 off er er 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 touch you, you are player player number number two. I would like you to think of a name; a name you you say every every day. Maybe a loved one, a family member, someone close to you.” 30 

It is important that, after you have labelled the spectators as player number one, you instruct the spectators to ignore what the other players are doing and focus their mind only on two simple shapes. It is also important that you do not 'linger' behind any of the onstage spectators for longer than than is needed. It is common that  we can, even with our eyes close, sense when someone is standing behind us.  Te longer you stand behind any of the spectators during the pretend touching sequence the more chance there is for one of them to become confused; they might sense you standing behind them off ering ering instructions and requests.  Te

solution is simple: as soon as you have executed the false touches move away from that spectator and continue issuing instructions and requests from a diff erent erent position.

 At this point you will have appeared 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 spectators are thinking of two simple shapes. No-one is thinking about the name of someone close to them.  You  You will now repeat the actions of the false touch. You will approach the third spectator and pretend to touch them on the shoulder. should er. You will, of course, as you did with the second spectator, simply pretend to the touch them but in reality make 31

no contact with them at all.  Te moment after the pretend touch has been executed you will move to the left of the entire row of onstage spectators and off er er the following instructions: “If you just felt me touch you, you, you are player player number three. I would like you to focus your mind on a year. year. A year that holds some  personal signi  cance to you. Maybe an anniversary, maybe a   � cance  graduation year, year, maybe the year you decided to stop counting how old you really are…whatever you want.”  I handle the scripting exactly as it is written above. My motivation for this is simple but subtle. Many times, by off ering ering the instructions as they appear above, the onstage spectators will smile at the somewhat humorous notion and tone at the end of the scripting.  Tis is designed to raise a smile; smile ; not cause caus e a laugh. We do not want the onstage spectators laughing, however, if they smile something amazing happens.  Te audience will only notice that the �nal spectator smiles, this is simply due to the fact that this is the spectator we are placing all of our attention and focus on. on. Regardless of  whether or not the other spectators onstage smile, the audience only see the �nal spectators smile.  Tis further cements the notion we are talking directly to this person in the minds of the audience.  Tis is a very subtle but hugely hugely powerful deception. I am constantly amazed amaz ed by just how deceptive a smile can be.  At this point the audience believe you have touched the �rst 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 �nally touched the last spectator on the back and ask them to focus their mind on a year that holds 32

some personal signi�cance to them. In truth you have have touched two spectators secretly secretl y and one openly. openly. You have then labelled all the spectators as 'player number one' and forced each of them to think about a circle 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 repeated this to create another invisible/pretend person on the stage who is apparently thinking about a year that is important impor tant to them.  At this point you will ask the onstage spectators to open their eyes. You will then go through whatever theatrics theatr ics you wish to frame the 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  We now �nd ourselves at the conclusion of the �rst phase of the sequence; successfully revealing the thoughts of the three onstage spectators. At this point we have the human tossed deck we spoke about earlier. We will simply reveal the two shapes and then reveal any information we wish to cover the two pretend pretend players in the game. Each spectator believes they are player number one therefore believing that the other two spectators onstage are players number two and three.  We  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 e ye contact between each of them you will say something like:

33

“I have three thoughts. Interestingly tonight, the thoughts that are usually the easiest were actually the the most challenging; 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, However, the name and the year came to me nice and clear.”  Read this once more. You have now created a situation situat ion in  which you only need to accurately reveal one of the two shapes for the spectators to consider the information accurate.  Tis sky rockets the eff ectiveness ective ness of the force. Remember Rememb er,, we eliminated a heart, a star and a square during the language we used to execute the force.  Te only remaining 'simple' shapes are a circle circ le and triangle. tria ngle. However, by using this additional additi onal 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 correctl y. 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 here and there. After adding this moment into the script, I have never failed. faile d. You  will now announce all of the information at one time: “ Te thoughts that came to me were, a circle and a triangle, the name Tara and the date 1985.”  Obviously you may substitute the name Tara and the date 1985 for whatever you wish, providing providing it is logically set up during the earlier phases.  Tere is nothing stop you having the second and third players thinking of other pieces of information; remember these spectators are strictly imagined therefore whatever you decide they are thinking will be correct. 34 

 You  You will wi ll ha have ve the th e spec sp ecta tato tors rs con co n�rm the information individually thanks to a wonderful notion from Wayne Dobson  who published the idea 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.”   Te

spectator will sit down. Make some comment about being right with one out of three.  Tis is only to provide a slight time delay. delay. Next, address the spectator specta tor sitting in the centre of the row and say: “If I successfully named your thought…sit down.” 

 Te

spectator will sit down, quickly address the �nal spectator. Increasing the speed here creates a feeling of pace and builds the reveal to more of o f a punch, address address the spectator: “If I successfully named your thought…sit down.” 

 Again, the third spectator will sit. si t. All three spectators have sat back in their chairs indicating that you have accurately revealed their thoughts. Accept your applause applause graciously before moving on to the second phase of the routine. Allow the �rst phase to sink in before launching into the second phase of the routine.  When you feel it is correct continue to the audience by 35 

explaining that while tests of telepathy are all well and good,  you are not interested in tests; you are interested in people. people. Position yourself to the right hand side of the seated onstage spectators, from this position you will off er er all of your instructions. You will instruct the onstage spectators to once again close their eyes. Begin by instructing the onstage spectators: “Player number one, I would like you to think of a personal question about your future. Te type of question you might ask a psychic or a tarot card reader reade r. Resist the temptation to ask a silly question; questio n; remembering that silly questions questions will receive silly answers. Lock a  personal question into into your mind relating to to your own future.”   Tanks

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 �rst 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 player number one. However, the audience believes that only one of them is.  Tis is remarkable.  Te entire second phase requires nothing more than your words and yet is as close to the real thing as anyone  will ever see.  Afte  Af terr you have hav e comple com pleted ted givin gi vingg 'pl 'playe ayerr number num ber one' one ' instructions you will move on by off ering ering instructions to player numbers two and three: 36

“…Player “…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 question about your past.” past.” Remember Rememb er,, there are no players two and three. At this point in time we once again have the human tossed out deck situation I have used as my example throughout. However, this is a more complex situation since we have not used any kind of psychological restriction, instead we have allowed people to think of any question questi on relating to their future. However, we will take this complexity and cut it right to the bone with an answer that each of the spectators will accept as being accurate, no matter what question they focus on. But before we get ahead ahead of ourselves there is much to be exploited in the current situation; we can make the answers to players two and three  very interesting indeed. Revealing the information is the really fun part of the routine.  You  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 with player number three who has seemingly been instructed to think of a question relating to their personal past. “Please, all three of you open your eyes. I have the answers you seek. Player number three, when it comes to the past you have to be careful not to allow it to in  �  uence the present and interfere with the future.   � uence  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, however, now it is  your job to move move forward. for ward. Now is the time to to let this go…”

37 

 Tis

answer is amazing to an audience. It appears we we know the the detailed information about their life, including details as speci�c 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 believe you want me me to to tell tell you you the colour of your underwear underw ear.. Understand that I normally would not accept any challenge, however, you seem fun; it is blue…”  Tis

language allows me to create an apparent challenge situation. Houdini proved once and for all the power of accepting and meeting a challenge.  Tis also, once again, gives us credit for revealing deeply personal but factual information and also breaks breaks the heaviness 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 number one: the future. I believe believe you 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 to allow a little more time for you to to get there.”  Read the answer answer several times. You will see that it really really says nothing; essentially I say that I think they already know the answer and they will be correct. Test the e ff ectiveness ectiveness of this answer by thinking of several questions about your own future.  Ten read the answer and see if it works. It always alway s will. We 38 

 will once again ease away any potential problems when we come to having the spectators con�rm the information.  Allow the answers to hold in the air for a moment. address all three of the onstage spectators at once:

 Ten

“If my answers made sense to you. If I answered answered your question…  please return to your seat in the theatre…”   All three spectators will stand and leave the stage con�rming the accuracy of your telepathic impressions and your answers.  Te key thing here is i s beginning the scripting with the words: “If my answers made sense to you.”   Tis,

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. questi on. You have successfull succes sfullyy read the minds of three randomly selected audience members and then successfully performed a pure demonstration of the classic Questions and  Answers premise, all with no props, nothing written down and no preshow work. Being a true mind reader, I can sense and understand your thoughts though ts at this moment as you read. You are thinking: wow, 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 and I have given you all the information that will ensure you never fail. I have faced the trial and error and the re�ning for you; you have the ready to work, magic bullet. 39

 Approach each performance with the utmost con�dence; in  your mind visualise the success that will follow. follow. I assure you,  your fears are the only things to be fearful of. However, However, with that said I have developed a series of 'outs' for when the worst does happen. happen. I have have only ever used these outs in the re�ning process of the routine, the script I have presented you with here has never, ever failed me. I have even performed perfo rmed this exact handling with someone translating my script into German, Italian and Fr French ench and never ne ver had any failure.  Te

out for the second phase is simple. Should one of the 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. Tank you.”  Usher the spectator off   the stage and lead in a round of applause. If you you handle this this with con�dence and do not appear phased or bothered by the situation the audience proper will not register this as a failure of any kind.  Te outs for the �rst phase are a little more complex. We will need to navigate the complex realities we have created with the language we have used. Let’ Let ’s examine all al l the possible situations. Imagine we �nd that after revealing the information and asking the spectators to sit, none of the three sit.  Tis has never happened to me. Not one single time, however, if this were to happen I would say: say :

40 

“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. myself. Let’s start start over…”  over…”   Addressing the three onstage onstage spectators I would say: “We will do this di  your mind mind to go totally   ff  erently. Please allow your blank. Remove all the the previous thoughts you had in mind. Tis time I would like each of you to think of something very simple; a two digit number…”  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 infor mation.. I would then reveal each of the numbers number s quickly quic kly,, in the style of the tossed out deck. I would would then repeat the secret touching process and continue with the second phase,  which is assured to work and bring the routine to a satisfying �nish. If only one of the three spectators were to sit down, again, this has never happened to me, however, if this were to happen I  would say: “I have found the person person I am able to connect with. It is you!”  41

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. spectator.  Te audience proper do not know what my intention is; I could simply have been doing this in order to �nd the person I need for what follows! Con �dence and guilt free delivery of this script would be essential to its success. I will repeat that that in my ten years of performing this routine, in its many less re�ned states to the one you now have in your hands, I have never had either of these situations happen to me. Early in my re�ning 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. Let’ Let ’s imagine two two spectators sit down, leaving one spectator standing. It appears as if you have successfully revealed the thoughts of two spectators on stage. stage. Addressing the standing spectator: “Well “Well I thought we might have have a little problem. 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 di    ff  erently this time. I want you you to to think of…”  of…”   At this point I would ask them to think about whatever the audience believed they were thinking about during the �rst phase.  Tanks to the language above the onstage spectator will not be confused; I have told them I will try something diff erently erentl y. In their mind this 'diff erence' erence' is that previously they  were thinking about two shapes and this time they have been asked to think of either a year or the name of someone close to them. It goes without saying that if the spectator was the one the audience believe was thinking of a shape I would not have 42

them think of a shape again: this would alert the other two spectators to something being amiss. In that situation I would 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 con�rms they have something in mind I would off er er 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 you have have all the 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 chapt er,, you will not need them. As a �nal note to the 'what if' questions, this routine is not suited to performance in small rooms. I personally only perform this routine to more than �fty ft y 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 diff erent erent parts of the audience to assure they are likely to not know one another and compare notes after the performance. It is possible to use Touching On Telepathy   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.

43

For a large collection of psychological forces see 'Psychological Subtleties Volume Volume One' by Banachek. I then use these three spectators for the routine as explained. 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  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 �nd your own voice, tone, vocabulary and style.  You  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 an eBook, it will give you all of the information  you could need. You can see a performance of this full sequence on my DVD set ‘Jermay’s Mind’   available from Vanishing Inc.

44 

ABRACADABRA I am often surprised that magicians and mentalists shy away from the word Abracadabra. It carries within the community a great sense of collective shame. It seems to produce the idea that magic is in someway trivial bringing images of bad birthday parties to minds of otherwise cool and interesting performers. I do not feel the same way. Te word has a long and interesting history all of its own that began long before clowns and birthday parties.  Te

word, translated from the original ori ginal Aramaic, means ‘I Create  As I Speak’; literally Speak’; literally by saying out loud the thing you wish to see manifest in the world that very thing is manifest; let there be light and there is light. What a remarkable and magical concept. It also seems to me to perfectly describe the true power and the biggest secret to mentalism.

In mentalism, more than any of the genres of magic, the words  we use are the most powerful weapons in creating the experience of a miracle. It also serves as a powerful piece of inner game for me. I even wear a small pin that has the word  written on it hidden beneath the lapel of my jacket. It is not there for anyone else to see; only I know it is there. However, it reminds me that the words I use are my greatest resource. Both in practical terms in successfully concluding demonstrations but also and arguably more importantly, inside my own mind. If I can truly believe that ‘I Create As I Speak’ then I am acutely aware that the words inside my mind are producing the reality that I experience. experi ence.

45 

If I believe that I will stand onstage and produce astonishing demonstrations of telepathy and divination with nothing but my body and mind. Providing my internal belief and experience are in line with this thought then that will indeed become reality.  Tere

is no room for any other outcome in my mind and that leaves no room for any other outcome in my reality. I am often asked questions that begin with ‘what if ’ quickly followed by a series of potentially disastrous occurrences that would ruin a routine. In almost every case I have never had any of the occurrences actually happen in performance. In most cases I have not even imagined such things happening. I believe this is  why I so often am described by other performers as ‘lucky’ ‘lucky ’ with strange things happening in performance. I do not believe anything about this is lucky. I believe this is the result of a series of deep, inner game exercises that allow me to communicate the power of the miraculous in such a manner that the atmosphere of the impossible is alive and felt and in that atmosphere only miracles are welcome. Tis is why I am so comfortable with the types of processes and approaches in professional performance that are often labelled as scary or bold by others. If you do not feel the same, if you are not able to place yourself in that position of internal power, these processes will seem mysterious and frightening. Spend some time making your mind believe in the truth of the deception and you will soon �nd yourself comfortable and powerful with such things. Before you know know it routines such as ‘Touching ‘Touching On Hoy’   and ‘Touching On  will be as commonplace and comfortable for you as Divination’  will  your favourite pair of shoes.

46

BROADCAST  Te

usefulness of professional grade performance material that requires no specially prepared or gimmicked props can not be overstated. For the professional performer who travels, such material is veritable gold dust. Broadcast   requires only three pieces of ordinary paper and an ordinary pen, items so commonplace I believe they can be sourced pretty much anywhere at any time with no eff ort ort at all. Astonishingly I have  yet to �nd myself in the uncomfortable position of arriving at a far �ung destination without my luggage. I do, however, believe that one day I will.  Tis fear is somewhat comforted with an arsenal of "prop free" material that can be called to action  whenever needed. I de�ne Broadcast   to operate within the parameters of the fashionable borders of "prop free"  mentalism.  mentalism. I believe the papers and pen are utilised in such a way that the audience will perceive and experience the demonstration itself as focusing on only the performer’s and the audiences’ minds. By this result, the routine is indeed prop free. However, personally I believe the real usefulness of prop free material is not in the simple absence of visible props onstage but rather in the fact that such material can be stored safely in memory for the dreaded day that I arrive somewhere without my luggage. It could be said that such routines "live in your head"  meaning   meaning once you have mastered them, at any time that seems right, they are available to you.  Tis thinking has inspired me to create many routines that "live in my head"   where they wait ready for use at the right time. Broadcast  is  is such a routine. 47 

Once it is mastered it is always waiting and ready for you to call upon it to assist in creating the experience of mystery for those  you perform for, for, under almost any conditions.  As a teenager I �rst began exploring the use of psychological forces, sequenced together, to create a demonstration of thought projection. I was inspired by the master Bob Cassidy  who used such a routine wonderfully in his seminal ‘act’  detailed in his towering contribution to the art " Te Art Of  Mentalism Volume 1"   in which he seemed to project thoughts into the minds of the audience as part of the opening phase of his performance. I always liked this theme and the openness and ease with which a sequence of this nature was achieved but was never taken with the use of a series of psychological forces that, in my opinion, are not speci �c enough to build to an amazing outcome worthy of its own feature status in performance. Ordinarily such routines are used as introductions or supporting aspects to a larger routine that will follow, I believe this choice is often made in an eff ort ort to mandate against the lack of impact on the audience due to a lack of speci �city in the information used to form the sequence of forces themselves. With themselves.  With that said I do not doubt that the process of audiences receiving thoughts, even if those thoughts are the commonplace statistical psychological forces, is one that is highly engaging and fun for an audience to participate it. Better  yet, such routines are easy for the performer and interesting even to those who do not succeed in receiving the thoughts projected. Tese factors made me search for a manner in which I could retain all of these positive qualities but add something extra to the demonstration to end on a really amazing demonstration of very speci�c thought projection. 48 

Broadcast showcases a manner in which it is possible to perform most of my previously shared performance pieces utilising 'Jermay's General Person Ploy'   technique, without the need to touch audience audi ence members openly or secretly. secretly. Indeed this simple approach can be adapted to allow you to exploit the central mechanism of many of my routines, including ‘Touching On Hoy’   and ‘Touching on Divination’ ,  without having the audience members leave their seats.  Tis is a very useful utilitarian technique to know, especially if you �nd  yourself in a situation which makes it difficult and time consuming for audience members to join you onstage.  When performing Broadcast in formal settings such as theatres, I use an A6 sized spiral bound pad, with some minor preparations made to it and a special handling to add what I believe is an additional layer of deception to a central method at play. However, I have performed this routine with nothing but a pen and a borrowed stack of paper. paper. My formal handling of the pad  will be explained at the conclusion of the information that follows as I view it as an advanced addition rather than a foundational aspect of the routine. Broadcast   is a fun, easy and compelling routine that can be presented in a deeply theatrical manner in a formal theatre, or stripped down and presented simply and plainly. plainly.  Te real value and beauty of routines like this lies in their versatility for the professional performer per former.. Even if your luggage doesn't arrive and the venue has a power cut and you break an arm, you will still be able to present an engaging and powerful routine. I believe this makes Broadcast 49

not only another interesting expansion and exploration of my original eff ect ect Touching On Hoy but also a worthy addition to  your memory; memory ; worth the intellectual space if for no other reason than the comfort it provides when you face the fear of lost luggage.

50 

BROADCAST Tought

Projection

 Jermay introduces the routine by brie� y discussing the nature of sending and and receiving thoughts. He then proposes a special test with random audience members who will attempt to receive Jermay’s unspoken thoughts. Jermay removes a small pad of paper and a pen from his pocket. He writes the number 1 on the top sheet of paper and tears it from the pad, screwing it into a ball throwing it to a spectator in the front row, who he cautions not to open the paper but rather to hold onto it for the next few moments.  Tis is repeated writing the numbers 2, 3 and 4.  Jermay instructs the spectator to mix the papers and throw them at random into the audience. Jermay continues instructing those who catch the papers to throw them once again. He then has each person who has caught a ball of paper paper stand at their seat. He continues explaining that this experiment will be conducted as a "blind" test meaning no-one else should know which player number anyone is, apart from the player player themselves. He cautions the spectators not to tell or show anyone their number and then instructs them to open their paper and read which player number they are. He explains that once they know their number they should screw the paper back into a ball and throw it to the stage as a signal that they are ready to participate in the t he experiment. Once all the spectators have learnt their player number and have thrown the paper balls back to the stage Jermay continues, instructing the audience members to: “close their eyes and open 51

their mind”, he then guides the audience members through a quick hypnotic process as a way to connect his mind to theirs.  When this is done he begins projecting his thoughts to each spectator at their seat in the audience: "Player 1: I will send to your mind a simple thought. A colour. Focus now and receive this colour as I send it from my mind directly into  yours…now!”  Jermay dramatically snaps his �ngers and then continues: “Player 2: I am sending a more complex thought to you. A number; it has 3 digits. Receive the  � rst rst digit now…”  Jermay dramatically snaps his �ngers and continues: “…and the next…”  Jermay dramatically snaps his �ngers and then continues: “…and now the last digit directly from my mind into yours…”  Jermay dramatically snaps his �ngers and continues: “Player 3: I am sending a thought to you now, a feeling, a sensation,  pay attention to what you sense and feel at this very moment… right now…remember what you feel…”  Jermay dramatically snaps his �ngers and then continues: “Player 4: I am sending a thought you. A speci    � c place on earth, allow a country to come to your mind as you receive this thought  from  f rom my mind to to yours.” 52

 Jermay dramatically snaps his �ngers and continues: “Now, the moment of truth…please open your eyes. All that remains is for us to discover if you were able to receive the thoughts and ideas I was projecting to each of you… Player 1…I was sending a simple thought to you; a colour. Te colour blue but I did also, for a moment, think think about red. I apologise  for not thinking clearly. I made your life harder. harder. So, player one, whatever you received; let’s say you were successful in receiving my thought. Player 2…I was much more precise precise in my thinking with you. I was careful to only focus my mind clearly and powerfully to ensure there would be be no room for ambiguity. ambiguity. I was sending the the number number 128. 128. I sent it precisely and with great focus. 128. If you received 128 you succeeded. Nothing but but 128 can be considered successful! Player 3…I focused on a sensation and feeling. It was the sensation of rain falling on my face. If for a moment you felt the sensation of rain on your skin you succeeded. Player 4…I focused on a country; it was India. I sent the image of the Taj Mahal into your mind. If you saw that image or thought about India you succeeded.  If you successfully received my thoughts; if you were successful, please, sit down now!”  Amazingly all four spectators sit down, con�rming they received Jermay's mental broadcasts.

53

BEHIND THE CURTAIN Tools and Utilitarian Techniques

I am certain that you will already be well ahead of me in understanding the method for this routine. It is a natural outgrowth from what has already been explicitly explained in this manuscript. manusc ript. In short, short , just as in  in  ‘Touching On Hoy’ and ‘Touching On Divination’, Divination’,   we will create a hidden reality in  which all players are actually player number one. Just as in ‘Touching On Hoy’, if we are able to control what Player number one thinks, we can create the illusion of knowing what the remaining players apparently think in the minds of the audience audie nce proper.  Tis

routine showcases a diff erent erent manner in which we can create  create  'Jermay's General Person Ploy' in real time.  Tere is no need for us to use any secret touches or indeed to have the audience members leave their seats.  Tis is made child’s play simply by fake writing on the pad. When the performer seems to be writing the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 on pages which the tears from the pad and throws into the audience, in truth he is not doing this. Instead, Instead , before the performance perfo rmance begins, on the second, third and fourth pages of the pad you have already  written the number 1 on each page. In performance you will open the pad and display casually the uppermost blank page. On this you will write the number 1. Tear this page from the pad and screw it into i nto a ball, being careful not to expose the next page in the pad which has the number 1 already written on it.  You  You will now pretend to write the number 2 but in truth not  write anything at all. To do this bring the tip of the pen close to the page but do not not allow it to touch. Instead, extend the tip of your �rst �nger, of the hand holding the pen, to contact the 54 

surface surf ace of paper. Now, Now, trace the outline outli ne of the number 2 allowing the �nger to scrape along the surface of the paper making a sound as if the tip of the pen were contacting the paper. Tear this page from the pad, again being careful caref ul not to expose either what you have written on it or the page beneath and repeat this process twice more to apparently write the numbers 3 and 4 on screwed up balls of paper.  Tis

is a very bold approach but one that is time tested. Providing you present this with no sense of magicians’ guilt or fear it will be accepted by the audience. I must must confess that  while I have used this approach many times in performance I do think it can be made better providing you use your own pad in performance. For my preferred handling with my own prepared pad see the additions section of this chapter. Once the papers are screwed into balls have them thrown into the audience to select four audience members randomly. randomly. Once this has been completed have those randomly selected audience members stand and open their papers to learn which player number they are. Just before they do this caution them: “We “We are going to create a blind test test situation. One in which I do not know who is which player. player. So, I want you to open your papers and be careful not to let me or anyone else see which number you are. Keep this private and secret. We won’t won’t look; in fact, we will all look away while you open your papers. Once you know your your player number screw the paper back into a ball and throw it to the stage so  I know we are ready to begin…”  Tis

is a very direct instruction to not only the spectators but to those around them! I have have found that this particular approach  works very well. It has enough justi�cation built in that the audience do not �nd it odd or suspicious. It may read read bold but 55 

give it one try and you will be more than happy with the result. Once all the papers have been thrown back to the stage you are ready to begin with your apparent thought projection process. Personally I have the four audience members each close their eyes and then engage in a simple visualisation process that has a slightly hypnotic feel to it, in which I claim they are connecting  with my mind, before I move on to the formal thought projection. I will leave this to your own presentational preferences as my motivation in this manuscript is not to share my own scripts but rather to share utilitarian methods and techniques you can c an make your own.  You  You are now able to begin the thought projection process process in any manner you prefer. In the eff ect ect description I used a failsafe technique that I apply to 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' eff ects ects  when the theme is that of a spectator receiving or reading another persons mind. I will return return to this shortly. shortly. I decided to include this approach in the eff ect ect description as this technique is utilitarian in nature and can applied to any demonstration  when I can take the blame for the apparent reason of confusion. However, you could use exactly the same method of forcing detailed in ‘Touching On Hoy’, apparently sending the thought of two simple shapes into the mind of the audience member and later exploit the same concept of doubling your chances of success as in ‘Touching On Hoy’.  You  You could indeed use any of the standard psychological forces you you are comfortable comfortable with. All options are available to you within any single presentation using 'Jermay's General Person Ploy'   and since I do not recommend using more than one routine exploiting the method in one performance you have many di ff erent erent options to pick from.

56

Since my aim in this manuscript was to showcase diff erent erent techniques I have chosen to use a fail-safe method in Broadcast  to use the routine as a vehicle to introduce not only the manner in which I have labelled audience members without the need for secret touching but also present another manner to control  what all Player number one’s one’s think. I have Player number one prepare to receive the thought of a colour from from my mind to theirs. I then present a visual of concentration and snap my �ngers claiming I have sent the thought from my mind to theirs. I then continue continue with sending sending thoughts to each of the other players; these, of course, can be anything  you wish.  Tey can be as speci�c or vague as you  wish.  Tese pieces of information are never going to actually be anything other than what we say they are since there are no players 2, 3 or 4. Once this is complete complete I begin to explain the thoughts I was sending: “Player 1…I was sending a simple thought to you; a colour. Te colour blue but I did also for a moment think about red. I apologise  for not thinking clearly. I made your life harder. So, Player Player number one, whatever you received; let’s say you were successful in receiving my thought.” Read this a few times. Basically we have taken the blame for any potential failure of any of the four spectators engaged in the process as Player number one. We have also told each each of these people that regardless of what they received they should count it as a success.  Tis builds on the manner in which I double my chances of success with the triangle and circle force detailed in ‘Touching On Hoy’  but   but transforms it to a totally failsafe method. All that remains now is to explain what the the other apparent thoughts you projected were and �nally instruct the spectators: 57 

“If you successfully received my thoughts; if you were successful,  please, sit down now!”  All four spectators will sit down indicating indicati ng they have amazingly received the thoughts you have sent to them.  When I perform this routine in stand up settings I use a prepared pad. It is an A6 sized pad bound at the the top with a spiral of wire.  Tese are commonly available in stationary stores across the world. Begin by ensuring the pad you are using looks identical on both the front and the back. You may well �nd such a pad available commercially but more often than not I buy two pads and carefully remove the back cover from one and replace it with the front cover from the other.  We  We will now use u se both sides of the pad in i n performance per formance without the audience being aware of this. We will call one side of the pad A and the other side B in the following explanation. Page 1 on side A is left blank. Page 2 on side A has, pre written, a number 1. Page 3 of side A is blank and trimmed short on its lower edge by around half a centimetre. Page 4 of side A is torn almost all the way out of binding and has a pre written 1 on it. Page 1 on side B is blank but trimmed short, page 2 on side B is almost entirely torn from binding and has a pre-written 1. Once this preparation has been completed you are ready to follow the instructions instr uctions below with pad in hand.

58 

 Tis

all reads as far more complex than it actually is with objects in hand, so I suggest taking the time to prepare the pad before reading the handling below.

Begin with the pad open to side A and openly write the number 1, casually allowing the audience to see this happening, now tear off  and   and screw the page into ball, being careful not to expose the pre-written 1 on the page now on top of the pad.  Tis is exactly as you might do with a deck of cards; simply necktie the pad to keep the pre-written number 1 hidden. Next, fake write 2 on the top page of the pad as detailed in the formal explanation earlier, tear off  and  and screw into a ball. As you do this casually �ash the top page of the pad which is blank. Now openly write the number 3 on it, necktie the pad and remove the page beneath this; this is easy thanks to the secretly trimmed page page and the pre-torn page beneath it. Screw this page into a ball.  As this happens lower the pad to your side allowing the cover to close and turn the pad over in your hand; this is much like ‘rolling the deck’ in traditional card magic. Providing you execute this smoothly and con�dently the larger action of throwing the screwed up paper ball will cover any smaller movement of turning the pad over in the lowered hand at your side. Now, open the pad, now on side B and �ash the blank page,  write, casually allow the audience to see you writing the number 4 on it and repeat the action of removing the page from beneath using the secretly trimmed section of the page as explained earlier. earlier. Screw this paper into a ball and close the pad  without exposing the top page. I am aware that this reads as 59

something very challenging and complex, however, I am con�dent that after a single attempt with the prepared pad in hands it will make perfect sense. I believe this sequence to be  very deceptive and well worth mastering and including when  you are performing ‘Broadcast’ formally with your own props.

A BESPOKE SUIT Many tailors say that when commissioning a bespoke suit there are more than 300 measurements and choices to be considered before the �nal cut is established. When all of these choices are in harmony with the client’s body and personal style preferences the result is a suit that �ts the client so well it feels like an extension of their body and personality. personality. While this might be interesting what does this have to with 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' ? I believe that it is very easy for you to generate your own bespoke eff ects ects utilising 'Jermay's General Person Ploy'  with far less to consider than a skilled tailor cutting a suit. Rather than  viewing the demonstrations in these notes as stand alone e ff ects ects I hope you can begin to see them as a connected body of work  with utilitarian methodology. methodology.  Te speci�c outcomes and resulting eff ects ects really are just a matter of the clothing being  worn on the body of this utilitarian method. No matter how I dress it up, underneath it is still all ‘'Jermay's General Person Ploy'.’ In these notes I have presented you with eff ects ects that produce the illusion of telepathy, fortune telling and thought projection. 60 

In my other published work I have presented e ff ects ects that produce the illusion of hypnosis, cartomancy, divination, psychometr psychome tryy, PK touches and more. All of these premises are simply new ways to dress 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' to produce new and surprising performance pieces for modern audiences.  When creating your own bespoke eff ects ects there really are only a few things to consider: Secretly Grouping & Forcing:  Te �rst

is how you will secretly ‘label’  the   the participants as one group among what the audience believe is a group of individuals.  Tis is possible in a variety of ways, some shared in these notes are bold; secretly applying touches to people combined with psychological forces. Other options are more traditional; fake writing numbers on the pages of a pad and telling people directly what to think. When grouping individuals we can work either in two steps; �rstly grouping them and then later controlling their choices with a force, as demonstrated in ‘Touching On Hoy’ or we can combine secretly grouping with forcing to achieve both objectives at one time.  An example of this type of approach can c an be seen in my release ‘Cartomancy’ in which one phase has the performer force the same playing card on three diff erent erent spectators.  Te audience believe each person has picked a diff erent erent card from the deck. In this manner I have now created a connected group at the same time as forcing the information. Diff erent erent premises and eff ects ects will better suit one one or the other of these approaches. I do not believe either to be superior to the other but rather  judge them equally as tools to be selected for the proper job at the proper time. 61

Te Premise & Outcome:

Once you have established a deceptive method to group the individual participants as one and constructed a method to ensure that all participants within the secret group are thinking of the same thing all that remains is to work out what you will do with that situation!  Tis might seem easy but in truth this is the hardest part of constructing material using ‘'Jermay's General Person Ploy'.’ Much like the tailor cutting a perfect �t, the real challenge is not in �nding the mechanical solutions to the problems, the real challenges hide in the tricky subject of aesthetic and feeling. Some methods lend themselves naturally to certain themes and premises. As an example let’ let ’s pick back up with our three spectators who have all been forced to hold the same card while the audience believes they have each selected a diff erent erent card. A natural natura l �t for this situation might be to produce a resulting eff ect ect of divination and fortune telling using cards. If the performer were to off er er the same information presented in ‘Touching On Divination’   but apparently based on the meanings of the cards themselves, he  woul  wo uld d succ su cces essf sful ulll y br brin ingg ab abou outt a deva de vast stat atin ingl glyy dire di rect ct demonstration in which the cards themselves seemed to answer thought of questions.  Tis is where your unique vision of mystery will come to life in your creations. I like to think that constructing material using 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' is �fty percent craft and mechanical understanding and �fty percent personality and artistic expression. Once you begin to see the material I have shared, not as stand alone demonstrations but a body of work which continues to 62

dress a utilitarian method in new clothing, you will be creating  your own uses u ses for 'Jermay's General Person Person Ploy' in no time at all.

63

ALL ARE ONE  Te �nal

secret contained in these notes is not a fully formed routine but rather a utilitarian u tilitarian technique tec hnique that, I hope, will spark something creative in the reader. 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' is a technique that allows the creative performer to produce remarkably powerful eff ects ects with very little e ff ort ort in performance. Each of the routines routines I have shared, shared, not only in these notes but also across my published work to date, focuses on applying the concept to a small number of participants  working directly with the performer. However, However, the technique is not restricted to working with small numbers numbers of spectators. spectators. In fact, it is possible to use the technique with an entire audience. au dience.

Magical literature is resplendent with interactive material that is designed to work work with an entire audience at one time. Many of these creations are mathematical in nature and have the  whole audience participate in some process of selection and apparent randomisation to select one thing from amongst a set group. group. At the conclusion, the performer performer reveals that he has predicted whatever the �nal selection each person in the room has made.  Te audience are startled and surprised to �nd that everyone has apparently freely chosen the same thing. Personally Personally these these types of demonstrations do little for me. I believe that, in revealing that everyone in the room has come to the same ending point, the mathematical and formulaic nature of the demonstration is instantly apparent.  Tat is not to say that these contributions to the art are not fun and engaging for an audience to take part in. I just prefer prefer to look a little deeper into what might be possible with them. 64 

By now you will have probably realised a connection between these types of mathematical demonstrations and 'Jermay's General Person Ploy'. Simply put; these demonstrations open up a remarkably efficient opportunity for us to exploit the possibilities of 'Jermay's General Person Ploy'  with larger groups of people. Imagine an entire audience being engaged in a process of selection which secretly forces them all to one known outcome.  Te audience believe everyone in the audience has a di ff erent erent �nal choice, from those available, in mind when in truth they are all thinking of the same thing. In this moment you can now have the entire room label themselves based on the their decision. Of course they are all now ‘Player number one’  and  and we can use this in interesting, unexpected ways. I have many unpublished exploitations of using 'Jermay's General Person Ploy' on an entire audience at one time. However, for the moment, these will remain with me. I will, however, share one of the presentational approaches I have enjoyed for a mathematical forcing process that opens the door to labelling every audience member as ‘Player number one’  in  in an engaging fashion that is congruent within the framework of a mentalism performance.  Te

example I give is my personal dressing for a sequence I �rst learned from Jim Steinmeyer in his wonderful ‘Impossipuzzle’ series. It now looks and feels very diff erent erent from Jim’s sequence but the mathematical mechanism that produces the forced outcome remains the same. All I have done is give it a new dressing and a cool new name.

65 

SUPREMO CABARET PERSONALITY TEST Great title right? I miss the days of mentalism releases releases being titled supremo or ultimate   and personally I mourn deeply the disappearance of the confusing trend to add the letter ‘O’ to the end of words. words. As we live live through the the obsession with one word titles for products and performances �lmed in underground car parks I �nd myself craving an additional ‘O’ on the end of a superlative. I hope hope my decision here here may have quenched the the thirst for some of my like-minded readers. I decided to call this particular routine the ‘Supremo Cabaret Personality Test’   not just because I am an old man su ff ering ering from bouts of whimsy and rose tinted glasses but rather since it cannot be performed in an underground car park. Maybe that  wasn't as clear as I hoped. I will try again. You can not, not perform this routine in an underground car park. I am not sure sure that has made anything clearer. clearer. One last time; this routine is designed to be performed in a formal settings and not in a car park. However, it could well be performed in a car park with the addition of visual aids in place of a video screen. screen. As I type this I now realise my title isn't really doing the routine full  justice.

SUPREMO CABARET & UNDERGROUND UNDERGROUND CAR PARK PERSONALITY TEST Better? I think so. Now that has been cleared up we we can continue.  Tis technique is very easy to perform and I believe is well suited to a cabaret setting. It can be customised as you you 66

see �t. I personally think it makes an excellent addition to a show if it plays as a connecting line throughout the longer program. I will leave the performance choices to the reader and present the technique as simply as possible. On a large video screen the performer displays � ve diff erent erent images.  Tese images appear to be mysterious and ancient occult symbols. Play along with the text that follows imagining  yourself in the audience. “ Tese symbols have been used for hundreds of years to reveal interesting things about people. Tey come from a tradition of  fortune telling and divination. Now, I do not claim they hold any mystical power themselves but they do o  ff     ff  er an ancient personality test that is remarkable accurate accurate.. Let’s all play together and discover what the ancient occultists know about us…”

“Begin by starting on the far left end of the line of symbols. In a moment I will ask you to move  � ve ve times. You can move right or left, one symbol at a time. You can go back the way you just just came or move in a progressive line; whatever feels right to your intuition… make  � ve ve moves now! One, two, three, four and  � ve. ve. Now you should have ended up up on a random random symbol. symbol. A symbol that has come to you you based only on your your own intuition. Your choices were guided by your intuition…if you are now on the triangle with the circle inside you are what the ancient occultists called an ‘intuitive’ you are  people person, maybe not in the obvious way but you have a real ability to understand others and you will be happiest when working 67 

with people on a deep and connected level; there is no point in small talk with you!  If you ended up on the cross cro ss with the circle cir cle above all the way on the left of the line you are the what they called the ‘Vessel’, someone who needs new information and experiences to live a fully engaged life,  you will be happiest seeking out new experiences. You would be at  your happiest working in an industry that brings you into contact with new people and challenges as often as possible.  If you landed on either of these symbols you can stop playing the  game. Remember your symbol for later. later.  Everyone else…those still in the game, let’ let ’s continue and  � nd nd your symbol. Starting again f rom wherever you were I want you to move to move one time. Trust your intuition in making this choice…move once now!  If, right now, you are on the crossed arrows you are what the ancients called the ‘V ‘ Voice’ you need to share your ideas with the world w orld and help others by connecting them with on an intellectual level…  you can stop playing having found your symbol. Remember it for later but for now you are out of the game.  Everyone else let’s continue…again start f rom wherever you were and move one  � nal nal time! Move one  � nal nal time now trusting your intuition…if you are on the symbol that looks like a cruci    � x on a triangle with two dots on either side you are what the ancients called the ‘W ‘ Warrior’, arrior ’, you are someone to have on side, when the going  gets tough you respond to a cause,  �  nd something you believe in and   � nd  you will move heaven and earth to to bring it to the world. Remember  your symbol for later later..

68 

Finally, if you are on the spiral symbol you are what they called the ‘Creator’, the type of person who needs to make an impact on the world that will outlive them; you need to leave something behind to mark your time here. Tis is your symbol and you can stop playing the game now. Remember your symbol. We will use you personal symbols this evening in our tests of telepathy, telepathy, intuition and prediction. So, I wonder how accurate each of those personality traits are to each of you? It is an an interesting game and one that that naturally naturally intuitive intuitive  people can use to learn a lot about a person. However, However, right now, I want to continue working with some of you chosen at random to see how much we can learn about each other without speaking a word.”  Te

performer has various audience members chosen at random. He instructs them:

“If you are the Warrior, I want you to think about something you want to change in the world. worl d. If you are the Voice, I want you to to think about something you want to tell the world about; something  you are passionate and energised about f rom your own life. If you are the Vessel I want you to think about some exiting new thing you want to experience in your your future. If you are a Creator I want you to imagine a simple image. Begin by by seeing two simple shapes in  your mind. When I say simple I mean something like a square; nothing complex and then put those two shapes together in some way. Finally if you are the Intuitive Intuitive I want you to think think about someone you feel connected with from your personal life.” I am con�dent that if you played along with this game you are currently thinking about two shapes and they are probably a circle and a triangle. As will everyone else in the room. A simple process given a diff erent erent tone, style and meaning has 69

allowed us to elegantly label every single person in the room  within one group. We now have a version of ‘Touching On Hoy’  that can be worked with an entire audience. I suspect you already have ideas for how you might put this to work in your own performances. If you do not, I suggest starting to consider how this might open up the routine detailed earlier in this manuscript in which the performer seemingly answered thought of questions of three onstage audience members.

70 

FINAL WORD Now we reach the end of this instalment of my ongoing documentation of what I have come to call 'Jermay's General Person Person Ploy'. I hope that in this collection you see and feel why I think of these routines not as a series of isolated, unrelated eff ects ects and demonstrations but rather as a utilitarian approach that has resulted in a series of interconnected routines that form a collection of explorations on a single theme.  Te possibilities that exist for your own performances perfor mances are limitless. For example, you might like to present Touching On Hoy not as a mind reading demonstration but instead as a display of prediction. All that need change to bring about such a desire desire is  your presentation and script. Instead of revealing the information verbally in a cloak of telepathy you could reveal the information to have been recorded prior to the performance; in bold thick ink on a large banner which was locked in a box from the outset. A simple change to premise and presentation unlocks almost any demonstration you desire.  Tis is the mark of the utilitarian approach and one that I know will yield hearty rewards for you in your own performances. My love aff air air with this deceptive principle began when I was 15 years old. Now, Now, 18 years later, I am no less enamoured enamoure d with the potential that exists exists within it. Time and time again I see a new way to apply this concept to create something new from something old. I suspect this will be the same for you. Enjoy exploring! Luke Jermay  71