It's really hard to recommend because what is gold to me might be garbage for you. What is your criteria, personal preference and limitations? What are you comfortable doing and what do you want to achieve? Anything regarding Q&A from big names will certainly serve as right foundation for you... but you must first know what direction you want to follow.

If you want propless... Luke Jermay and Jerome Finley will give you a lot. I'm building my own propless system based on Jermay's Mind and Guerilla Q&A (plus some other things like Cold Front by Doug Dyment and Cool Readings), that I'm going to test after my next performance (I need to be comfortable with one method at a time).

I recently purchased Q&A video from Paul Voodini, there's good stuff in there too. Also, I should point out: I have a lot of material on Q&A but I recently had to purchase and to resort to old books (gems of mental magic and it must be mind reading to name a couple) to get insights on problems that the modern material will NOT give you. They're cheap and make a huge difference imo. To read is one thing... to perform is another. I did a Q&A once to test an idea I had (gladly it worked) and now I want to test another method and if everything works out, I'll settle on it. There are things to consider that you'll only discover when you perform.

I agree with the suggested purchases so far. Definitely get Bob's work on the subject, Jermay's Mind is fantsastic, as is Gorilla Q&A (1&2), and Voodini's work on the subject (there's a lecture video that was really influential on what I'm doing now). I've worked with many methods and I now have three different constructs for Q&A that I will use depending on what type of show I'm doing. One of the best influences for me was seeing Kreskin perform it live years ago in NYC. The biggest question for you to answer is if you want to focus on actually answering their questions or creating that illusion while revealing information. If the former then Jermay and Voodini will be especially helpful.

Outside of this it is especially helpful to learn to do readings. And I don't mean "cold reading" or Barnum statements. I mean learn a reading system such as Tarot or palmistry or cartomancy. And give it lots of practice. On this front I would highly recommend Webster's psychometry from A to Z and Neil Scryer's work, as well as
Kenton Knepper's work on Tarot. There is so much to dive into when concerned with Q & A. Currently most things I perform have a Q&A component to them. I'd be happy to chat with you in PM for more depth, there's only so much I can say on a public forum.

Now, if anyone can give pointers on booking Q&A for corporate that would be highly useful. When I perform Q&A it's usually for a show for the public or event that I organise. The bookings that make money usually want a shorter set where things are a bit more fast paced and people don't want to get personal, too much saving face. But truly I think a solid Q&A set is the strongest performance a mentalist can offer. I also highly recommend seeing medium shows and watching things like crossing over with Jon Edwards.

All the best in your studies!

Max Wells, Max Hazy, Jstreiff, Stuart,

Thank you all so much for your feedback, this is more than I could ever reasonably hope for.

I have a tarot system that I really enjoy that I will begin to put more work into, and I am going to study the works of Riggs, Finley, and Jermay to begin with. Voodini will eventually end up on the list eventually as well.

Hi mate

Someone mentioned it earlier and Im going to echo it, but Bob Cassidys Q&A download over at Penguin is absolutely FANTASTIC.

I was writing a huge text here about several Q&As I know, with advantages and disadvantages but I don't think that would be any more helpful than a research for deeper reviews.

Foundation from the right places: You haven't said exactly what you want (I was under the impression that you wanted a propless advice) so I'll highlight things for you to consider. In a first advice, I recommend you get Q&A masterclass by Bob Cassidy (which is the Q&A 2000 I believe... and it's more expensive now) for a hands on approach and Guerilla Q&A from Jerome Finley for a more mental approach. They are the extreme opposites on Q&A styles and will both touch middle grounds so you will have a very wide foundation.

If I were to suggest you an order to get Q&As in a way that you would grow and learn as fast as possible (because Q&A methods can be very similar and therefore not add much to what you know), I would suggest this order:

Q&A 2000 - Bob Cassidy
Guerilla Q&A - Jerome Finley
Perfect Mental Club Act - Docc Hilford
Scorpio Message - Bob Cassidy
Psychic Pad Folio - Banachek
Hull Card Q&A - John Riggs

Up from here, you will pretty much say "oh, I've seem this before" because there are a lot of variations of the same thing.
You can do an Q&A Act based entirely on AN, but it will be pretty much the same idea from the Hull Card... just different technique. In those examples there are advantages and disadvantages: AN is easier to set up but more restrictive. Hull is more "free" but requires more details in the preparation. IMO the AN is more appropriate for close-up performances while hull is more appropriate for Q&A.

Another example would be Banachek Q&A compared to Ted Karmilovich in both of their live lectures. It's the exact same concept used with completely different methods.

That's not to say other works will not be of value. The master billet course from Allen Zing Vol 4 (Q&A) is wonderful. The structure of the stand up version is pretty awesome, looking more and more impossible with each phase. While in Q&A 2000 there's a "dance" going on, in the Stand Up Q&A from Allen Zing there's a build up towards the end. So if methods where numbers, Q&A 2000 would be 1-4-2-7-3-9-6-5-8 while Stand Up Q&A would be 1-1-1-2-2-2-3-3-3-4... What do you think it's better? Personally, I can't take my pick. Both of them have psychology and structure that makes sense and hits hard. Both of them is a joy to watch but only some aspects from them fits me.

You have to realize what methods and concepts you feel comfortable doing when building your Q&A act. That task will be very personal.
When deconstructing the methods, make sure you understand the psychology behind everything. And yes, I encourage you to deconstruct and take a closer look at the "TOOLS" the author is offering you.
One last thing: it will be better for you to make your own mental systems rather than memorizing what works for authors (I'm talking about the mental approach), but you have to make sure you understand what made the author's system work for him to make your system work for you (Luke Jermay will emphasize that in his DVD).

Cheers

Max

Thank you Looch and Max, thank you, this whole thread has been a huge help

With all due respect, I couldn't disagree more about Scott Creasey.
I don't claim to be a Q&A historian by any stretch, but his approach seems unique.
Scotts attention to detail is another reason I appreciate (all of) his work.

Anyway, great topic folks

Agreed!

If you want mechanics for a Q&A act, check out Switchcraft for everything to do with little bits of paper. There is an entire Q&A act in there and Elliott is a genuinely nice guy, which makes purchasing from him even better.

Also, the Millard Longman material on this subject, especially the AN book, is very valuable, though possibly too spendy to start with. Longman is another who has done this a lot and knows whereof he writes.

-Patrick

I've said it elsewhere but if you want a great intro performing Q&A just present Max Maven's Desire but use Questions instead of locations. The challenge will be being ready to answer the questions!

d

So David - I like the idea. Just to clarify, the questions would be written, collected, and mixed. The performer would openly read the question, do your best psychometry style reading and answer. Then identify who wrote the question. Not a classical Q&A as the answers would not be "devined", but rather out in the open, but otherwise very similar and a good stepping stone toward Q&A. Do I have this right?

A lot of shut eye billet reading services will actually openly read the questions. If you can give satisfactory answers in such a situation, there’s every chance that you can give good answers with questions you apparently don’t read. Desire, like Becker’s Sneak Thief, has one card you apparently don’t read, allowing a build to the climax.

I had missed that suggestion previously, so thank you for sharing it again, Dmoses. It is great food for thought.

Patrick

The way I do it the cards are marked so I perform the first one openly asking "Whose question is this?" I sense who belongs to the next two questions and finally divine the last. That way there's a build to the routine as well as built in warm reading.

best

d

Agreed as well. The handling Scott teaches in My Q&A is indeed unique. As is his more recently released Q&A Evolution, which is simply outstanding.