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Bananafish Elite user Simon Shaw, Suffolk, England 415 Posts |
Telep-A-Three by Jeff Pierce
I have now had this for a few weeks now, and have consequently tried it out tried it out in various settings, so I thought I would add my own review. I appreciate that it has already been reviewed here, but for some reason under the Magic Tricks section, whereas I feel it would be better situated here at "A penny for…", so rather than add to the existing review, I have started a new one. What the Audience Sees Having spoken a little about the sort of testing Dr. JB Rhine did at the Dukes University back in the 1930's, you introduce a deck of the kind of ESP testing cards that would have been used at that time. The cards are given to the spectator where they are repeatedly cut and thoroughly shuffled (by the spectator) until the resulting pile is a mixture of face up and face down cards. Remember, that as soon as the cards are out of your hands, you do not touch them again until after the whole routine has been completed, whereby with very little work it is almost completely reset for the next performance. In phase one, with your back turned, you ask the spectator to cut the deck, and you name the symbol that they cut to. In phase two, you make a prediction about the orientation of the cards, and in phase three, they hold a selection of the cards, and you manage to successfully name all the cards that they are holding. In fact if you wanted, phase 1, 2 and 3 could all be done blindfolded. The instructions It has to be said that initially I found the instructions a little confusing. I think it helped that I already new the main principle, but I suspect that anyone new to it would have struggled with the lack of clarity in places as to what was meant to be taking place. There is also one bit in the instructions that state something can be repeated, which I would argue can not be, or at least not at the point it is mentioned. Having said that, with a deck of the supplied cards in your hand it doesn’t take long to work out what is required, and I was soon able to run through the entire effect to my satisfaction. The patter in the instructions is very good. Naturally there is no reason why you should feel compelled to use this patter word for word, but it is a great bonus having it included, and if you want to perform the effect as an extremely credible and authentic ESP test from the days of Dr. Rhine then frankly I doubt there is a better effect than this out there. The Effect: Phase 1 As already discussed it is a three phase routine. After my initial quick read through, my first reaction of phase one was of disappointment as there is no guarantee that you would get a perfect hit each time. After thinking about it though, and finally performing it (now on numerous occasions) I have re-evaluated my initial thoughts, and not only firmly believe that this first phase cannot be improved upon, I would argue that it is stronger for exactly the same reasons I initially thought it weak. The first phase adds a level of credibility not only to itself, but also to the other two phases. It proves that this isn’t one of them fancy tricks, this is in fact a REAL ESP test. It is interesting to see the audiences faces after that first phase, and whatever the outcome, it is fun to watch them genuinely get more attentive about what is happening and what is going to occur next. The Effect: Phase 2 From this point on it is all self working, and there is nothing else to worry about other than presentation. The second phase builds on the “one in five chance” of the first phase, and you can almost feel the buzz of the audience as you get it right. The Effect: Phase 3 So when you finally get the last phase correct – it really is quite astonishing to watch, and great fun to see all the open gaping mouths Thoughts In an ideal setting, and according to the instructions you should be doing the majority of this routine with your back to the testee. Unfortunately what you are asking them to do at the very beginning is quite complex, and frankly prone to potential mistakes that could cause problems. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a problem as long as you run through the instructions with them first and show them exactly what you want them to do, before turning your back and talking them through it step by step, but it is something to be aware of. I am contemplating producing (for myself) an authentic looking, BIP book style pamphlet with all the relevant Duke University Logo’s on the front and explaining that we will be doing test 43b (or whatever) from the official “Duke University Paranormal Experiment” book, as written by Dr Rhine himself back in the 1930’s. Of course this pamphlet could also be padded out with other effects from my working repertoire, like ODDS, Mental Numbers etc, and consequently add a level of consistency to the whole act. The main advantage, though is that after I walk them through what I want them to do at the start, I can have the instructions clearly laid out (in big writing) in the booklet, so that they can just follow along. I hasten to add that at this stage this is just an idea and I haven’t actually tried it yet. I read somewhere that there weren’t many sleights with this effect. I would argue that there are NO sleights at all and that the only complexity would be making sure they understand what they need to do at the start. Having said that, the more you perform it the easier that gets, and once this has been completed, you are left in the relaxing position where the vast majority of the routine is a self worker. As with many mentalism effect, the true art of mind with this effect is pure and simple presentation, and with the supplied patter I have found it flows beautifully. Bottom Line This is NOT a Mental Magic Trick, and imho should not be performed as such. This is a mentalism at it's purest. It's a very strong and very credible example of how paranormal testing took place back in the 1930’s. It can genuinely be remembered that you didn’t even touch the cards throughout the whole process. I know I may have sounded a little critical in places, but I wanted to ensure that it was an honest review that included both good and bad points. Overall though, I hope that it's fundamentally (I even make myself groan sometimes) clear that I really do like this effect a lot. Maybe it's just because it fits in perfectly with how I perform mentalism, but it is for me a very strong piece of mentalism. |
Tom Lauten Special user 689 Posts |
I agree with your overview Bananafish. I think phase 1 is very elegant...sly even. Its' "flaw" is its perfection...sweeeet.
I think it is a great effect but leaving that much work for the spectator to do is indeed a double edged sword. Convincing? Yes. Fraught with hazards...Oh GOD yes! Clarity and control are important factors to get hold of here. If your spectator seems nervous, clumsy or scatter brained...you may want to think hard before running the risk with them...bless them! I have been experimenting with variations to the spiral pad such as an "*** a N*****" pad and I feel this smooths over one issue of "clean-ness" that, although minor, can leave me feeling a little nervous around "grabby fingers" and "fuss-pots". What's more this prop is very helpful as it is pocket size, "examinable" and works well with the rest of the routine and many other effects in that it is a convincing ...well...pad of paper!
Living at and loving Loch Ness!
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