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Amirá Inner circle MentalismCenter.com 5131 Posts |
From Homer Arcana
"Do you want to LEARN: How to be a REAL psychic medium? How to read minds DIRECTLY? (no writing, no cards, no preshow) How to Facilitate RELEVANT Mysterious Phenomena? How to do an entertaining propless Q&A show close up or on stage? How to incorporate this practically within your own professional repertoire? How to understand the most REAL component of our craft? Have you searched the gamut of mentalism ideas but are still looking for some way to set aside your props for a moment and link yourself DIRECTLY to the MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENA which is the very essence of what we do?" http://deepersecrets.com/its-here-guerrilla-qa-part-ii/ Personally , VERY interested in this new offering. This ideas really can create an everlasting reputation. Best
Pablo
Performer and Author Mentalism Center: The best online space to get quality Mentalism www.mentalismcenter.com Arkanosophy: The Boutique for Mystery Performers www.arkanosophy.com |
writeall Special user Midland, Michigan 930 Posts |
This doesn't seem like anything a magician/mentalist who is primarily an entertainer would do. In the psycho-spiritual mentalism stuff, the description runs like this: "The focus of this book is on public and private readings, hypnosis & CMR, contemporary spiritualism, energy work, ancestral healing traditions and legitimate shamanic techniques for self-healing, positive change and personal empowerment."
Do you want to cross that line and do a John Edward/Sylvia Browne kind of "show"? It might be for some people, but this stuff makes me very uncomfortable - too close to "belief." An everlasting reputation is fine, just be sure it's the kind of reputation you really want. |
bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
Writeall thank you for sharing your perspective.
If you are a mentalist doing a Q&A act you have to choose how you come across. I just reread the description of this book and did not find the description you posted above. What I did find was this: "With nothing more than a basic understanding of this QA system (and the ability to present it as taught and instructed here for the first time) professional mind readers and stage psychics EVERYWHERE have the means to walk out in front of an audience or group of any size and, without the need for props, gimmicks or having anything written down and begin to wow and entertain, enlighten, help, aid and assist others under ANY conditions, venues or performance situations and in the most powerful and direct manner possible." So it does cover some of the areas you mentioned. And certainly CMR, Hypnosis, and some energy demonstrations have been a part of mentalism for a long time. Readings are also closely associated. So again it comes down to how you want to be perceived and how you interact with your audience. The material in this book from what I have read actually gets you closer to direct interaction with audience without resorting to tricks. Surely that is a positive direction to move in. One question I find many performers have a disconnect on is the difference between "how you want to be perceived" and "how you are perceived". I have seen many incongruities in people trying to be mysterious and bizarre and magical over the years. But I don't think anyone is suggesting going the Sylvia Browne/John Edward route. But it is possible to do many things in mentalism that let you demonstrate what you are actually doing and entertaining at the same time. "Guerrilla Q&A Part 2" is a positive step in that direction. How you use the material is up to you. |
writeall Special user Midland, Michigan 930 Posts |
Bdekolta,
I've been thinking about this a bit, mostly because I couldn't put my finger on just what the difference was from my perspective. I mean the difference between fooling people with magic tricks and other kinds of "fooling people." I was trying to figure out why I generally react quite negatively to this kind of thing. The best I could come up with was that it sometimes drifts too far into the self-help or therapy realm and does so by way of leveraging people's existing beliefs. I absolutely don't want to tap into that. In fact, I'd studiously avoid triggering someone's existing beliefs about God, the Devil, Ghosts or any other "out there" topic - to that person, it's too real and I feel like I'd be doing something tainted. Granted - magic is a big tent and we have mentalism and hypnosis under the canopy as coin sleights. Plus, I'm certainly not the arbitrator of such stuff. All I can say is that if I see someone doing a comedy magic act, I can distinguish it from a regular comedian. Would I be able to tell the difference between a magic-inspired psychic and a regular psychic? Again, all I can say is that it's not for me. But if it's a postitive thing to entertain without tricks, why would it be magic instead of something else? Isn't the distinguishing feature: entertaining with tricks? |
bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Quote:
Would I be able to tell the difference between a magic-inspired psychic and a regular psychic? That would be entirely up to how things are presented. I think it is important to help frame the expectations for your audience rather than leaving them entirely up to their own devices. Quote:
Isn't the distinguishing feature: entertaining with tricks? Take Houdini. He entertained with tricks. Did people believe he was a magician or an actual escape artist? David Blain same thing. Derren Brown - do people believe he uses tricks or psychology? Whether comedy or serious. You pick your frame and play to that. This book gives you systems for doing certain types of demonstrations. How you frame it is up to you. ~ Dan |
bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
I just added a review I received via email to this thread:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......=8074178 Key sentence "This all new collaboration by two of the finest minds in the business contains sophisticated, high impact routines, techniques and tools that will help take your performances to new heights and in new directions." So the first section of the book would have the system you could apply to many performance styles along with some of the material in the back. If you haven't taken advantage of the free book Jerome is giving away grab a copy now. It is good and has lots of ideas to chew on. Will also give you an idea of how to play some ideas both with magic and mentalism and in hybrid form. Get it here: http://deepersecrets.com/random-acts-of-kindness/ ~ Dan |
writeall Special user Midland, Michigan 930 Posts |
I think you are right. The proof's in the pudding. Any clips of what "guerilla" mentalism looks like? Or, if not that, any examples of well known performers who do it? Perhaps I've mischaracterized the form.
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bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
There are several who do it including the two authors. Only problem is one of them performs under a psuedonym and the other isn't easy to track down. There are reasons for that. I will say that I am 99% sure you have seen one of the authors at least once and possibly more in the past.
The real key to this, at least in the case of "Guerrilla Q&A Part II", is that it is taking an act that in the past involved various methods and removing those methods. If you search out Homer Arcana on Facebook he currently has a few threads discussing the reasons and thinking behind this direction. Whether you are interested in this book or not those threads may be of interest to you. withnail - I perceive you as someone who gives consideration and reasons things out - I appreciate that. Sorry I can't point you to some performances directly. That would be up to the individuals to decide if they want to go that route. My personal involvement began many years ago when my normal performances were being accepted as real. I was merely doing my normal magic act but people we taking me as real. At the time, several decades ago, I had to work through and make decisions. I welcome the more recent input in this area. Earlier you emphasized entertainment as the goal and I agree. But how you define the entertainment is the key. This more recent information is a chance for me to continue things that I thought through many years ago from performances with effects you would recognize. Related - probably 80% of my current act involves no deception. I do what I say I do. On the whole the "Guerrilla Q&A Part II" book is about ways to connect and communicate with your audience in the context of a Q&A demonstration. That really simplifies it but in an increasingly digital and personally disconnected world I think these sort of techniques will be more and more important moving forward. Hope that helps. ~ Dan |
bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
Just posted a few email snippets from last night here:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......tart=0#2 |
bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
Added a review from Luke Jermay at the link above.
To see exactly what is included in Guerrilla Q&A Part 2 take a look at the free preview: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......tart=0#3 |
bdekolta Inner circle Texas 1636 Posts |
Free conference call tonight with me and Homer Arcana about this book at 9 PM Eastern. Not sure if Jerome will make it. Details here:
http://archive.aweber.com/deepersecrets/......urs_.htm Dan |
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