Hi!

I got an offer to do a Show for a big crowd of about 650 people on a big Stage.

I always remember Richard Osterlind saying, that it doesn't matter how many people are in the audience, because a Mentalist also has big probs - like a big guy on Stage who reacts like crazy during an experiment!

Maybe some of you can give me some inspiration. What would you bring in to such a show of 45 min and what would be a perfect opener / ending!

Any comments are greatly appriciate!

All The Best,
Jarod

Do your normal show. That would be my thoughts. You might want to think about making it "bigger". Meaning oversized cards etc, maybe getting a projector and screen, so that people in the back can see what is going on up on the stage.

Oh and by the way Congrats on the big show!!!

My mind reading show was designed to be done on big stages- we used 4 foot square easel paper, and large cards and props for visibility. Aside from that, I could do exactly the SAME show with props from any office supply store. Made travelling easy.

Include some pseudo stage hypnosis or a Lu lu Hurst type act if you want something visible and active.

Several people have done Q and A acts that featured audience members dancing or doing actions as it was very visible and could use a group.

Tossed out deck or tossed out book is a good one for a big group.

Long time ago, I did an effect where everyone in the audience of about 1,200 wrote a word on a slip of paper, they were all collected and two were chosen at random (forced) and those later matched a prediction that had been hanging from the ceiling. Honestly, I thought it was rather lame and Much ado about nothing. The audience went NUTSO! I wished I had done it as my finale. PM if you need more details than that.

Mentalism, aside from spoon bending (which I did with wrenches on stage) can be done for big groups as well as small, with only slight alterations to props.

Ouch 650 pax is a lot of people

Yeah I think you need the projector especially if you do effects like design duplication.

It's not always the reaction of the person up on stage that matters but the actual effect to the audience

Congrats on your big show, let us know how it goes!!

Congrats!

Step 1: review your normal act and try to keep everything in it that works for that size

Step 2: reroutine ones if possible using larger props, or thinking of angles, positioning people, sight lines etc rather than toss in a new effect for fun

Step 3: think of getting a peer who does stage work to watch you do a run through on stage for a constructive criticism ASAP with focus on "does this play big?"

Step 4: The look for some extra effects.....

Heck, I often open with a NW/Invisble Deck - it is all important, as you said, that the audience sees the specs reaction and that you always consider making sure things are described for them if they cannot see it...

My 5 cents!

Thank you all so much for the nice responses and the great help on that!

I will spend the weekend to review my current show and then go into more detailed work for larger probs!

Any more input is very welcome!

All The Best To You,
Jarod

I am used to playing to between 450 and 2500 people per show and I find that when it comes to Mentalism and Bizzarre Magick go BIG. I mean this in every sense of the word. You are going to have to capture the attention of some people that are over 300 feet away from you.

I do 45 minutes of Mentalism before going into the second half of my show.... and the one thing I know is the action has got to be fast and to the point. I start the show by making a prediction which I place at the front of the stage so that the whole audience can see it during the whole performance, I do not reveal the prediction until the end of the first half of my show.

I then go into a game of Russian Roulette, this is a great ice breaker and has the audience on the edge of there seat. From there I do a large scale experiment in hypnotism and keep on building up the experiments until near the end of the first half I perform a Seance with a Large table and a couple of spectators from the audience.... once the table starts to fly... I have them in the right frame of mind for the more Bizzare stuff in the second half of my show.

One of the Greatest performers and Orators of our time is Reveen the Impossibilist, if you have ever had the chance to see him work, you will have a good idea about how to play BIG to large audiences. He also did the Auditorium circuit very succesfully. He now manages Lance Burton in Vegas.

I wish you luck, and allthough I may look strange... I have put on large Paranormal Productions as myself, Scott McClelland... and not just as Nikolai Diablo from Carnival Diablo. So I know that its your personality that really has to shine... or you will loose the attention of your audience.

Jarod,

Maybe you could also give us a break down on your present show in order for us to give you better advice.

Best of luck,

BM

See this post for a discussion on how you have to be 'Larger Than Life' when you're working from the stage:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=23

Your normal tone of voice, actions, and gestures may not translate well to a larger group, so they should be reviewed.

Also, do you normally work with sound equipment? I assume you'll be using it for a group this size. If you're not used to it, make sure you practice with it before you go live. If you're NOT using sound equipment and you're used to small groups, I hope you've had the voice training you'll need to speak with authority to a group that big.

License plate divination?

Hello fellow Dr RM... ncie to see another Torontonian mentalist/bizarrist/etc-arist on the forum!

Hi Jarod.

When is the show?

Have you done it already?

How was it? Do you have new thoughts on the subject?

Have fun
ROi

Doctor;

After viewing your videos, I'd be curious as to what type of venues you play the most.

I just got back an hour ago from performing through the weekend at a large old Vaudeville Theatre in St.Thomas. Our show plays yearly in many of the large Auditoriums in Canada and we also play some of the more intimate theatres of 250+. I am not sure if your question was retorical... and if it was, check out the 'Articles' section on my website and you can read tons of reviews about our show.

Does it seem so incredulous that a person can make a living off of doing Large scale Bizzare type shows... if it does, then maybe you should look at where you view this material the most.

I have spent over 14 years in this side of the industry... and make a great living at playing LARGE scale shows across Canada. Don't take my word for .... research and check my history.

*Sigh*.... this board seeems to love its drama.

"doctor"

It seems that you are trying to dig for the drama with your answer. Spinnato was simply asking you a question. You are the one questioning his motives. Anybody I know that is on the "bizzare" side of magic always has the same defense set up. It is like the guy at a public place that has a 3 foot bright green mohawk (sp?) spikes coming out of his neck. Tat's all over his face and is wearing some shirt that says **** yourself. And then when anybody looks at him he says "stop staring at me". Yet he is the one begging for the attention. I don't understand.

Look for Acting-it and Stage-it from Bob Cassidy. Very good advices about this inside

First of all – Thank you everybody for your thoughts and ideas in regards to my post! I really appriciate it!

To let you know about my current Shows. There is a Mentalism Show of about 90 min. and I mostly play it in Theaters for about 100 – 250 people. I don’t do walkaround Shows.
I start with an Opener, kind of Just Chance, sometimes a variation of Gold Mine from Max Maven. There is also a presentation of a pseudo hypnotic type of element, where an audience member can read minds. I use a classic version of an Annemann effect with a N***W*****. Always plays strong.
My Picture Duplication is also an Version of Annemann’s Extra Sensory Perception with a big Slate. The Bergson Effect “El Numero” plays well too, but not to a bigger Audiecne. My Book Test is a combination of three different Prediction, some sort of “Phone Psychs” Effect from Banachek (such a great Idea and handling!). I also like the Idea of the “Invisible Palm Top” which went straight into my Show. The Show has also a Number Devination, a Q& A Act, the Koran Classic “with the Medallion and some Forkbending. Since I do 90 min. there is also a Chair Routine (Marc Spelman – just great!) as well as the Classic Clip Line Effect from Spackman. In an more intimate situation I bring in things like “the trick that fooled Einstein” or “the ring of truth”.
I have to say, that I love Tervil from Meyers. I present it just straight away like Richard Osterlind showed it on ETMMM, Vol 3. – Always a Winner! My Encore is always the perfect Presentation of Richard Osterlinds “Magazin Test” from the Mind Mysteries Series.

I’m taking part in a second show which is a “Comedy Nightlive Show” with different Characters. There is a crazy Orchestra, a Poetry Slam Winner with own Storys, a totally crazy Host, me with some crazy Magic and a Comedian. In this Show I only play two sets of about 15 min each. Showact contains Razor Blade Swallow, eating glass, Knife through coat and stuff like that. I always bring in one or two stunning Mental Effects and added the great Effect from Andrew Mayne – Gut Buster – perfectly right for this kind of Show!

The big show will take place mid September and there is still enough time left to think about it. Maybe some of you come up with more ideas or suggestions. I really like to read it!

All the best,
Jarod

PS.:
Leaping Lizard, we stay in touch – I love the Idea with the Cane!
Chichi, I agree with your comment – doing the “normal” Show with bigger probs seems to be the best!
Fbnc – sure I let you know about the show when it took place!
Dr. Spektor, thanks for your suggestions of reviewing the current show!
Doctorrigormorto – The Russian Roulette is something I maybe consider to do! And Thanks for your wishes!
Airship, thanks for the link!
Scott Xavier– tell me more about the License Plate Divination if you like!

Dario,

is it a DVD or a book and is it about the Presentation or more Effects?

Hope to hear from you!

Jarod

They are 2 e-books from his site http://www.mastermindreader.com
Some people have had problems getting the Mr's Cassidy items soon but I have recive them very soon.

They are about presentation, how to adapt the mentalism for big audiences, theory about presentation, acting in mentalism, etc.

I'm interested in know how you 90 min. show works for a big audience. I belive that if you perform in theatres you won't have any problems if you present the effects in an entertaining way.

I belive the problem with mentalism (in more than a 30 min shows), comes in outdoors shows, informal settings, etc. but not in a theater or in a place with a good stage, sound and lighting. Well done it can be great!!

Good luck