Props to You

Found a set of tripod easel-style plate/plaque holders today.  I’ve been wanting to leave behind a “display” of show highlights, and this will facilitate that.

I have a set of small (15”x15”) whiteboard tiles that are designed to be dorm room memo boards.  Some of the effects will involve writing something that the audience can see, so I’ll be using these boards for that.  Each board will hold the result of a particular demonstration: Ubiquitous Nines will go on the first board, the ACAAN results will be on board two, and Banachek’s Remote Drawing (the finale) will wind up on board four.  (Don’t know yet what will go on board three!)

As each effect is finished, I’ll prop the boards on the easels, so that they remain visible for the rest of the show.  By the end, there will be four “displays” on the head table reminding my guests of some of the amazing things they’ll have seen.

Sent an order to Penguin Magic late Saturday night and got a package in Thursday morning’s mail, much faster than I’d expected (basically four working days).  It was exactly what I expected, good quality, and ready to use.  (They even threw in a package of M&M’s, YUM!)

I recommend Penguin to everyone!

It was a little risky planning to perform an effect when I didn’t own the props yet, but now that they’re in my hot little hands, there goes my last excuse not to practice!

Ubiquitous Nines

Missed yesterday’s post trying to get too much done.

Found an interesting little Math trick that, while technically not Mentalism, can be an entertaining diversion while we’re waiting for everyone to get caught up.

It’s based on the old “nines rule”, but in the right context, and with an admonition of not letting anyone else see your answer, should actually have people laughing.

Using the white card found in their Goody Bags, I have them write down a four digit number, “no, make that five”.  I demonstrate on the white board by writing the numbers 4 7 2 and 3, then adding a 6 on the end (…for example, any numbers will do…)

I then have them take the same five digits and rearrange them underneath the first five.

Now we subtract the larger from the smaller.  This will bring some chuckles as some people will have a larger number on bottom and have to switch them around, and some people will genuinely be bad at Math.

Finally I have them go across the remainder adding all the digits together.  I do NOT add all of mine in the demo, but stop when I get a double digit, and draw a box around it.  They keep adding, while I explain that “if” they get more than one digit they should add those together.  I show them what I mean, and circle that number.

They have directions not to let anyone else see their answers, and while they're finishing up, I casually erase all of my numbers.  When it looks like everyone is done, I ask, “Now, by a show of hands," (while I draw the large single digit), "who got the number nine?”  Everyone should raise their hands, look around, startled, and then start laughing (or groaning).

I’ll use this as a time killer after the instructions for writing the Carnak questions.

Building the Box

Spent a little time practicing with the assistant over the weekend.  She caught on pretty quickly, but we’ll need more time.  In one of the run-throughs she missed the mark by one.  I think that would be ok if it were me doing this, since a “near miss” can actually lend credibility to the effect.  But the way I have this one planned, it won’t be in my hands at all, so it needs to be dead on the mark!  (Can’t say more without giving away too much.)  Any way – MORE PRACTICE!

Playing around with the mechanism for the Billet Box, I discovered that this can be handled in more than one way.  I’m probably going to prototype each of them and see which one best lends itself to the way I want to handle it.  The ideal would be to pass the box around the table and let everyone put in their own slips, returning to me after completing the circuit.  It would probably work in any case, but it only takes one clown to screw it up.  This is where the “hurry” ploy would be beneficial, but that will only work at the end.

Could put in a locking device, but the more complicated it becomes (mechanically speaking) the greater chance of breakdown.  Ah, well…

I’ll keep moving in the path I see, without closing my eyes to possible alternatives.

As I spend time thinking about this, a great routine is developing.  Using the four colored papers, I have an assistant draw out one slip of each color (remember Annemann?).  I do a simple “Carnak” on these: give the answer, then have the assistant read the question.  (And having the assistant handle everything removes the “one ahead” idea, for those who know it.)

That handles the top section, now we move to the bottom.

The assistant chooses one of those four papers and mentally draw an image of what information is there (a la Banachek).  I draw the picture being thought of, and finish by giving the name.  (And out of respect to the man who taught me this, it won’t be a cat!)

A Perfect Match & a Book of Matches

Had to try out the new ACAAN gimmick for real.  It was great!  I had it right out in plain sight and nobody knew what it was!  Called out card after card, never a miss, jaws hanging open…it was COOL!

I had them turning over the cards as they “dealt”, so it became obvious (without mentioning it) that the deck was in no observable pattern.  I had them stop on the card BEFORE theirs, to reiterate: random number, random card, nobody touched the card, and so on.  Turning it into a kind of finale, I had them turn over the last card.  When it matched, there were no words necessary.  I am pleased…

Jay Sankey has a new FREE mentalism effect (“Black Market”) on his website that uses a book of matches.  I’m looking for new ways to use things other than a paper and pencil or a deck of cards, but not sure how this will play for my crowd.

Thinking about the logic (ALWAYS try to tie things together, even if the threads are tenuous!):  If there are candles on the table, then having matches becomes reasonable.  However, since I’m not sure of the policy at the restaurant, I’ve already determined that I’m going to use battery operated LED candles in the centerpieces, so suddenly matches don’t seem so logical.  Is there another reason I’d have matches in a non-smoking environment?

Also, I carry a lighter (which people may or may not know) so matches are a smelly alternative.  I’m just not liking the matches, although I do like the effect.

Time to start thinking about other objects that might be substituted: something that is compact, functions as a unit but can be logically separated into parts, familiar enough to everyone that it can be handled behind the back or out of sight.  Wow, drawing a blank.  More thought…

Arts and Crafts

Finally got the material to start making my gimmicks.  With more thought, the ACAAN gimmick is even simpler than I’d first imagined.  I now have a working prototype that will generate a correct answer starting from any point in the deck.  This will be a different card and different number (genuinely random, not forced) every time, a different deck order every time (no Stebbins stack, no memorization).  And it can be hidden inside a man’s wallet or a woman’s make-up thingy.  I’m excited!  I’ve been playing with this thing all morning.  It cannot miss!

Also bought a batch of matching tissue boxes.  All will be perfectly normal except for one, which will be gaffed in such a way that it can be passed around the table without anyone noticing something different.  This will enable me to answer questions, sight unseen, as the next-to-last effect of the night.  Will start building that as soon as I’m done typing here.

I feel a mixture of excitement and trepidation.  This is going to be so much fun.  But I’m also very much aware that the presentation skills will be unlike anything I’ve done before, not for a full show.  Mentalism is so distinct from Magic, even simple “ta ta” flourishes should be dropped from my manner.  I want to keep “illusion” or “trickery” from even entering their thoughts.  This is not a “show”, it’s a “demonstration”.

I’m going to have WAY more fun than the audience, and for them, it will be something they’ll never forget!

More Stuff to Think About

Spent some time explaining (to my new assistant) in more detail exactly what is needed.  She joked that she was kind of glad I wouldn’t be sawing her in half.  Set some practice times, and we’re in business!

I also need to construct the gimmick that she will be using.  In my imagination, I’d made it much more complex than it needed to be.  After turning it over in my mind a few times, I realized that only one moving part is required.  I’ll get it built into something innocuous looking, and that’s an afternoon’s work.

I’d love to leave my guests with a souvenir, something to hang on to, something to remember the evening, SOMETHING WITH MY CONTACT NUMBER ON IT…

There will be a pencil in each “goody bag”, and it just makes sense that it should be embossed with my name.  Shopping around the internet, the cheapest price for something that looks halfway decent is $225 per thousand.  At thirty guests per show that’ll last for several months.

Even at that, it not really much of a souvenir.  Still looking at promotional items, but don’t want to eat up too much of my budget on this.  It occurs to me that a simple brain teaser would be in keeping with the theme, and if it were printed on good card stock…well, maybe we just need to keep thinking…

I don’t want to monopolize the Café, but I might just poll some of the other Magi for ideas on this.  Some very bright guys there, many with MUCH more experience than me.

Also, budget will not be QUITE as tight after the SECOND show.  I’ve decided that the first “show” will be a dress rehearsal.  I want to invite the cast and crew from the stage team I’ve been working with (many of them for years).  They understand theatre (which this is) and will be able to tell me whether I’m effectively “selling” the act.

They won’t figure out any of the secrets (that’s still my domain), but will be able to critique in a way that will be helpful to future shows.

Thinking about a date, I’ve been aiming for the end of February.  Looking at a calendar now, the last weekend nights are 25 & 26.  Much will depend on whether I can get everything constructed, but that looks like a target date to me.  The only hold-up now is…ME!

Value Added Business

Thinking about the “business” aspects of what we’re doing, getting the venue for the price of a meal sounds great, but it adds another consideration to the total cost.  And as is usually the case, it’s all about presentation; how will it be perceived by the customer?

For example, does anybody actually believe it when a company offers you something “free of charge”?  If they were actually losing money, they wouldn’t stay in business very long.

The fact is, the cost of the so-called freebies is hidden in the pricing.  It might be written into the advertising budget, or it could simply be covered by a higher price per unit item, but somebody is paying for it, probably the customer himself, but that fact has been cleverly disguised.

Or sometimes, not so cleverly…

I guess they’ve stopped doing it now, but for a while AOL was sending out “free trial” CDs to almost everyone who owned a mailbox.  While “direct marketing” is a valuable tool, and I’m sure AOL got plenty of new customers with that, the way it was done sent a wrong message to many people (like me) about spending priorities.

You see, the BOX that the CD came in was a VERY nice, pressed wood case that will very likely last longer than the CD it contained.  It served no other purpose; nothing would fit in there BUT a CD.  And it was these boxes, NOT the relatively inexpensive plastic disks that attracted my attention.

My thoughts were always, “If they’re spending THIS MUCH on disposable boxes, in what other ways are they wasting money that could be used to provide better service or lower prices?”

My PERCEPTION of what was essentially the “cost of doing business” was that it could have been handled more effectively.

Now back to the situation at hand: do I include the meal in the price of the admission?  With a regular restaurant, this would not be so attractive, as every menu item carries a different price.  But at a buffet, every meal costs exactly the same, and it would be very simple to increase the ticket price to cover that.

So, the decision comes down to the customer’s perception: what is the better value?  If I included the cost of meal AND drink, it would not be as good value to someone who was only drinking water.  On the other hand, if I specified that the ticket covered only the entertainment, and the meal was paid separately to the establishment, it could cause confusion.  Also, inevitably some would choose NOT to purchase a meal, which is not in the best interest of the restaurant.

I seem to have answered my own questions, at least for the time being.  The entertainment includes the price of a meal and drink.  (If someone specifically asks about a “water discount”, perhaps that can be negotiated on a per case basis, but not mentioned otherwise.)

Also included in the decision is the question of whether the meal is worth the price.  In this case, I think it is.  Buffet King is a well run and very clean establishment with good food in plenteous quantities: a very good value for my customers.

Now for pricing: what is dinner and a show worth in this particular market?

Over the Weekend

Went to Buffet King Saturday night, a “Chinese / American” eatery with TWO back rooms that I somehow had never noticed before.  (Makes me wonder how many others were missed before I started actively watching out for them.)

I like the staff at Buffet King and they treat us well.  My wife has special dietary restrictions, and they always remember and begin cooking her food as soon as we walk in.  I talked to the manager as we were leaving and her only interest is in filling seats, so if I can guarantee 20 paying customers, use of the room is free.  I can afford free!

Last night after church I talked to a young lady who had agreed to be my assistant early last year when I first started talking about “getting back into Magic”.  At the time I was really dreaming about a full illusion show, but realistically, there’s just too much money involved, at least for the foreseeable future.

A “mentalism act” is far from what we first talked about, but she didn’t bat an eye, and agreed to help.  I couldn’t really discuss what I needed, not with so many people milling around chatting, but we’ll talk privately later this week and iron things out.  Cool!

So I tentatively have a venue, I probably have an assistant, I definitely have some mind blowing effects that I’m eager to put into play.  Sounds like we’re approaching the threshold of “really gonna do this!”

I need another egg roll!

Packing List

The order of the effects has to be considered, so that all transitions happen smoothly; I don’t want to jump from one thing to another without some (apparent) sense of reason.  Where there is a change, it needs to be segued by something tangible, most often by words of explanation.  Also, since misdirection can happen in time as well as space, I need to think about what has to be set-up ahead of time so that it can appear spontaneous later on.

The way it’s shaping up right now, the Zener Board will be the opener, then a short (<30 second) intro speech, and then toss out the napkin for “Silent Running”.  By the time we get here we’ve covered 5-6 minutes, and the audience is scratching its head.  This gives me opportunity to explain the reason for random choice of participants and introduce the goody bags that allow me to set up for the dual-spectator ACAAN and the question reading at the end.

I haven’t described the goody bags yet.  All guests will receive a small gift bag at the door.  In addition to some souvenir trinket, each bag will contain a pencil, a 3x5 file card in one of four different colors, a white 3x5 card, and a small, sealed “invitation size” envelope containing a business card.  Some of those business cards will be blank, others will bear a symbol of one form or another.  This is to allow me to choose “randomly” who will assist with each demonstration.  There are various subtleties and instructions involved, but that’s the gist of it.

While I’m telling them about the stuff in their bags, I’ll go ahead and ask them to use the pencils to write a question on the colored card, using all of the directions from the Banachek lecture (lined side only, folded once only, etc.)

We’ll move on to something else, something simple and not too distracting, then when it looks like everyone’s done writing, we’ll pass around the billet box to collect the cards.  As soon as it gets back to me, I dump the cards into a big glass bowl and shake them around a bit.  Explaining that I want to get to know them (my guests) a little better before answering the questions, I’ll leave the bowl in plain sight and move on to another effect.

That’s not even a skeleton of a routine yet, just a couple bones lying in close proximity.  But it’s a reference that I can begin building around.  The order may change (like packing a room full of boxes, sometimes they get moved around when a better fit is discovered), but right now I like the opening mentioned above, because it’s quiet and believable, it gets attention without being over the top.  It leaves plenty of room to build; and build it will!

Silent Running

Just got done with “Silent Running” by Ben Harris.  I’d heard about it on the Café and it was getting great reviews, so I figured I’d have to find out.  I’ll admit I was very much disappointed as I read it.

It’s too simple.  Actually I think some friends and I tried something like this when we were kids just messing around with cards.  How can somebody not see through this like a sheet of water?  But the high praise from some very notable personalities in the field made me keep reading.

I finally went out and tried it on some living breathing victims.  I went ahead and made up the special deck described in the text.  The first time out, I did the routine where the person “sees” their card dissolving.  Now, this is too much like Magic for my purposes in the show, but I wanted to see how it looked.  The woman went through the deck four or five times trying to find her card.  I was actually afraid she’d spot something, but she never did.

Her friend, with her, wanted me to “do her next”.  (No comment.)  Although it’s definitely not recommended, I went through exactly the same process, got a different card (thinking about it now, I should have “changed keys”, duh!) and just did a straight “mind reading” on her, using the “no fishing” technique described by Devin Knight in the “bonus contributions” section.  She screamed!  Seriously!  It was loud, too!  I wanted to hide!

Needless to say, simple as it is, it works.  I’m going to figure out how to put this in, possibly with the bunched up napkin, also suggested by Devin Knight.

Wow, I’m starting to actually believe I can do this!

Change of Focus?

Learned from my “research” that Zener has always been the name used for those symbol cards.  Zener is the name of the man who designed them, Dr. Karl Zener, a perceptual psychologist who worked with Dr. Rhine in developing the various tests for ESP.

While my focus was on J.B. Rhine, from my reading it looks like Dr. Zener may be a more valuable “icon” for the presentation, since Zener’s work revolved around psychology and the analysis of perception (which is exactly what I want to convey to the audience).  Dr. Rhine, although testing for ESP, was also searching for methods of communicating with the dead, and was heavily influenced by Sir Arther Conan Doyle; this is precisely the direction I DON’T want to go!

Found another online book concerning mentalism, no new material, but a couple ideas for presentations I hadn’t thought of.  A large (poster sized) card showing three of the Zener symbols.  A spectator is asked to choose one, and is always correct.  Of course this is the “multiple out” principle and, while it’s not very strong as a stand alone, it could be a terrific ice breaker.

Concerning the “feel” of the show, I want to stay as far away from magical staging as possible, so a “flash opening” leaves me a little unsatisfied.  I think (at least for now) that a gradual build-up is more appropriate, allowing time for the spectators to become more comfortable with the material.

The “Zener board” (above) may provide the right solution, giving a professional (as opposed to over-the-top) opening, which is light, quick, and interesting.  It provides space for me to begin molding their expectations with suitable “patter” (sorry, my purist friends, but there just is no other word for it) which will shape the rest of the show.  And it allows me to “size up” an individual, to determine whether (s)he is suitable to bring onstage as a “volunteer”.

I think I just found my opener!

Next: The Message

As a sort of parallel to the character issue, another question is “What do I want to say?”

This doesn’t mean in a political sense, although Magic has been used quite effectively to communicate a particular viewpoint, from Christianity to recycling initiatives.  (I’ve already determined that this show will be about the spectators themselves and their abilities.)  Instead, my “message” is about the history of ESP research and the exploration of the mind.

I remember quite a bit from documents I read long ago, but not enough to talk convincingly.  But that previous knowledge will go a long way toward pointing the direction for further research.

Some keywords would be Dr. J.B. Rhine, Duke University, and Zener (which is the name now used to refer to the original 5 symbols devised by Dr. Rhine in his testing).

Now is when the Asperger will be a benefit, because for the next little while, I’ll be compiling data, nothing more.  While some things I find may stand out as obviously being either essential or unacceptable, I won’t be actively applying value to any particular piece of information just yet.  Sort of like “brainstorming”, but with me as the only player.

The snow outside has turned to ice, so nobody’s going anywhere.  Time to fire up the browser!

A Question of Character

One of the most important (and most often over looked) aspect of a performance is the character.  The audience notices when you change mood too quickly or without reason.  That’s not to say you have be rigidly fixed to a single style, but any shifts have to be logical.

One way of expressing this is, “What powers do you have?”  With the show I’m thinking about now, that could potentially include predicting the future, reading minds, controlling thoughts, and so forth.

I really want this to be a pseudo-scientific “demonstration”, so the effects need to lean in that direction.  Many very good bits of magic can be tinted toward one or another style, and the ones that can’t be tinted in my direction won’t make the final cut.

That automatically eliminates almost all “bizarre” type magic (bringing stuff back to life or talking with the dead), as well as anything that “looks” like a magic trick (no bending keys or spoons).

I also want to “teach” my audience to “open” their own minds.  In others words, using appropriate psychological mumbo-jumbo, I will have them performing many of the miracles, like the Berglas effect (a spectator names a card, a different spectator names a number, and the named card appears at the named position), or my version of what I call “Four Suits and a Sharpie” (a spectator correctly identifies each of four different cards).

Years ago, I purchased a “routine” that was designed to be “a scientific discussion of ESP”.  Don’t know what happened to that manuscript, but much of it is still in memory.  Involves early work by J.B. Rhine of Duke University, and could lend “authenticity” to the show.

I also saw a “spoof” article a while back that I need to dig out again; I’m pretty sure it was something by Martin Gardner.  It involved the construction of a “psychic engine” powered by thought.  I understand why it would move, and while it would probably entertain a few of the audience members, it’s getting pretty close to “magic”.  I’ll probably build one and see if I think it will fit.

Finally, I’m thinking about some form of hypnosis: not the jumping around like monkeys bit, but something potentially serious, like a dual Psychic Touch.

So going back to the original question, the character is going to be a “researcher” in the field of the mind.  He’s discovered a few interesting principles, which he’s willing to share, but he’s always left with the idea that we’ve barely scratched the surface of what the mind can potentially accomplish.

The Berglas Effect

Just figured out a method of working the Berglas effect, so called “A Card At Any Number (ACAAN)” in the cleanest way imaginable, using one of the techniques from Devin Knight and Al Mann’s “Crystal Prediction Box”, together with a special something adapted from an old “Card Predictor” I’ve had forever.

Often the ACAAN routines involve a lot of handling and/or memorization, and it’s just not worth the effort for the impact, not enough “bang for the buck”.  By the time you’re done shuffling or recounting or whatever, everybody has it pretty well figured out that you’re either manipulating the cards or it’s a “Math trick”.

In “my new” version (it’s probably been done, but I’ve never heard of it) I hand a deck of cards to a randomly chosen spectator (Mr. A), and have him hold the cards between his palms, enduing it with “energy”.  (This part is true: it’s drawing body heat, if nothing else!)

I have him call out a number from 1 to 52 inclusive.   Let’s say he chooses 29.  I turn and write this number on a white board so that everyone can see it, and it can’t be changed.

Then we randomly choose a second person (Ms. B) and have the two people briefly touch just the tips of their index fingers together for a moment and draw a breath.  This “aligns” their spirit and “tunes” them to the same frequencies, yada, yada.  It also provides time for the “miracle” to work.

(Looking at this again, maybe they shouldn’t touch.  Others might think they’re passing notes or something, which is NOT the case!)

I then ask Ms. B to name any card, just call out the very first card that comes to mind.  Let’s say she says “Jack of Hearts”.  I turn and write this card on the white board next to Mr. A’s number, 29.

I now ask Mr. A to deal the cards onto the table face up, counting as he goes.  I stop him at number 28, to recap.

I remind the group that I have not touched the cards, that the helpers were randomly chosen, that the deck has been in Mr. A's hands and completely un-altered from the beginning, and they can plainly see that the cards are in no particular order.  Ms. B said “Jack of Hearts” and Mr. A said “29”.  The very next card to be turned over is card number 29.

I ask Mr. A to turn over the card, and it is indeed the Jack of Hearts.

The deck may be examined as there is nothing to find.  At every showing the number and the card will be different, because it truly involves a free selection.

This one is DEFINITELY going into the show!

-----

Addendum - 18:35:28

Something just occurred to me that will make this effect foolproof, repeatable, and absolutely mine-all-mine.  I’ll need to manufacture a specific gimmick which I can see in my mind.  Will start drawing plans tonight. Would say we’ll shop for materials tomorrow, but Chattown just got socked by the heaviest snow fall in 20 years, so it could be a few days.

Dice & Dominoes

A few months back, I had an idea for a simple “synchronicity” demonstration, using dice and dominoes.  I bought the necessary gimmicks (had to build one of them because they don’t exist in the outside world), and started practicing.

The effect is this: I hand a pair of dice to one of my spectators.  Another gets a box full of dominoes.  By repeatedly dumping the dominoes onto the table, they are eliminated until only one remains.  Then the first spec rolls the dice.  The pips on the dice exactly match the pips on the dominoes.  Amazing!

Problem is that even with the necessary “special” items, it still requires quite a bit of handling on my part, including a servante to switch in and out the necessary props.  It’s definitely a sit-down effect, but lapping isn’t practical.   If I proceed with this for the restaurant show, I’m going to have to design something portable that can be locked unobtrusively onto whatever surface is available.  That will also affect where any volunteers can be positioned, as I don’t want them seeing anything they shouldn’t.

In my testing, the effect has been powerful in the minds of the participants.  The dice and the dominoes are black with white pips, as nearly alike as I can get them, and that greatly helps the image.  When the dice are held side by side, the top sides very much resemble a domino.  This can’t be missed by those who see it.

Another thing is that it allows for discussions of probability.  For rolls of the dice the odds of most combinations of numbers are 1 in 18.  For a particular domino, it’s 1 in 28.  When considered together, that’s one chance in 504, which can be stated as an impressive sounding “less than two tenths of a percent!”

I really like this effect.  Now I just have to determine how (or if) it can be used in the restaurant show.  In other words, if the positioning of the necessary equipment for this one effect will alter the positioning of other things (including volunteers) for the rest of the show, it may not be worth the sacrifice.

Still thinking…

Location, Location, uhm...

In thinking about a venue, the most important point (to my thinking) is that it has a private room. Obviously, I can’t take up half of Chili’s and tell everybody else not to look. I’ve eaten in most of the restaurants in this area, and it seems to me that almost all of the ones that have private dining areas are the buffet/smorgasbord type eateries.

This brings up another point. With a wait-staff, I could probably arrange to have the tables cleared or a final course served at an appropriate time, and then seal the room, so to speak. With buffet dining, I have no control over someone who wants to get up and get another dish of ice cream. It draws attention and loses the mental/emotional inertia we’ve been building, and if it happens at an inopportune moment, could completely lose the climax.

But I’m dependant on what’s available. To my memory, only the East Ridge Shoney’s has a partitioning wall. The fare offers a choice of menu or buffet, so I still have the same issue.

There is a Chinese place I was in a while back, that is menu only, with a serviceable back room. I don’t remember the name, but I drive past it several times a week. I should go check that out.

Time for some field work! :)

-----

Addendum - 23:25:04

Added a couple Google gadgets for time and date; it's a fixation of mine.

Just got back home from dinner.  The name of that Chinese restaurant with the cool back room is Mandarin Garden.  Very nice.  That goes on my list.

Made a couple see-through change bags using freezer sized zipper seal plastic bags.  They look pretty good, but I have only the vaguest notion of what will be done with these.

Thanks to a home-schooling friend, I have an almost limitless supply of little pieces of card stock in various colors, just about business card size but obviously different.  Some of these may get symbols drawn on them for use with the bags.

Now where’s that book with the fifty card picture deck?!?

Where we are...

Been looking at just about everything I can find to generate ideas, from old Annemann manuscripts to the latest lecture notes by Banachek. A lot of ideas floating around, but can’t possibly use them all; some won’t fit my personality, others require equipment that is hopelessly out of date.

Finally started putting pen to paper. I had eight routines right in a row, a couple are absolutely killer (probably first and last), and a couple are sleepers that will dawn on people just about the time we’ve moved on to something else.

I want to have an odd number (artistic balance?), so this will be added to. Always watching the clock, right now what I have would run less than 30 minutes, not enough to call it a show.

Some will probably be dropped or added to keep the pace level. We can’t be jumping from channel to channel. If an energy level changes, then something bigger has to stay the same. People will swallow a lot, up to and including girls appearing from thin air, but they won’t tolerate a change in my personality or in the “feel” of the show.

I did have a flash of inspiration earlier tonight; not sure why I didn’t see it sooner. Banachek does an amazing routine where he draws an image being thought of by a volunteer. His method involves a device that he teaches how to build, but even at that, it’s more money than I want to risk on my craft skills right now. End of the line for now right?

HOWEVER…I was looking at ways of constructing an Otis Manning Billet box for another effect, described by Theo Annemann in “Practical Mental Effects”, which would use colored paper for audience members to write their questions on. Manning’s first device was constructed from a candy box; mine will be a Kleenex cube, but with an adaptation so that it can safely be passed around the room.

Light Bulb! Why not use the OM (Kleenex) Box to gather the same two pieces of information Banachek used and use THAT info to draw my picture from. It’s too powerful an effect not to drop it in; it’s astounding to the audience, and (with the right volunteer) can be pulled out to probably fifteen ENTERTAINING minutes of run time.

Plus, by using Annemann’s idea, I can do it four times in a row (although in actuality I’d probably do it once, possibly twice, then do something else with the remaining data.)

Still looking for potential venues. It’s striking that we have hundreds of Chinese and Mexican restaurants, but very few Italian ones, and none at all (that I know of) close to my home. When Brick Oven Grill shut down that left only Olive Garden, and they don’t have private rooms. I am NOT going back to Wally’s. Period.

You Are Cordially Invited...

Working on creating a new show, it occurs to me that beginners might learn something by watching my progress. It’s one thing to “look back” over a completed project and identify the points of decision, but quite another to watch first hand as the mission develops.

I’ve built performances before, but always in the arena of Stage Magic, which might or might not include some “mind reading” effects. This is the first time I’ve tried putting together a full show of Mentalism, where the entire purpose is to eliminate the idea of “magic tricks” from the thoughts of my audience.

Some work has already been done (didn’t think of blogging right away), but we’re near enough to the beginning that very little will be missed, and I can make up those items as they become relevant.

Here you’ll see my thoughts, plans, procedures and (hopefully) progress as we move toward a full evening show of Mentalism, Mnemonics and Mind Control.

What you won’t see is an expose of how to do “tricks”. As a member of the I.B.M., I made a promise to guard the secrets of the magic fraternity, and more than that, I personally believe it’s counter-productive to the audience’s enjoyment of Magic when the secret is known.

The simple fact is, some the most amazing illusions are at their core so elementary as to be insulting to the intelligence for being fooled at all. The key to Magic, you see, is not in the “secrets”, but in the performance, and Mentalism especially follows this principle.

So, with the final thought that no one can turn away from a train wreck, you are hereby invited to watch me work.

Welcome!