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curtgunz Special user Only 99% of users have more than 784 Posts |
Hi guys,
I perform as a clown most of the time. Kids stuff a lot but I have gotten really good reactions to my Invisible Deck routine. I try to do a few things for the parents in my walk around stuff. If you were me and wanted to add a quick, fun, mentalism effect to your walk around repertoire, what would you add? Consider that I'm new to this branch of magic. I'd like to find something that is fairly easy, instant reload, comedy potential.
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Chaz93 Inner circle Texas 1754 Posts |
I don't suggest individual effects, as I'm not a magician and so I don't think like one. I will suggest that you dig into 13 steps to mentalism though. That book is the cornerstone of mentalism. That said, be prepared to put in some work learning the basics.
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Mind illusionist Special user Australia 949 Posts |
For you, I would suggest Osterlinds Easy to Master Mental Miracles DvD. You could go with the premise of mental magic, or if you choose to really listen to the advice Osterlind gives, you can present it as an actual mind reader/mentalist.
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MatthewSims Special user 778 Posts |
I don't think 13 Steps to Mentalism would suit you well. You would certainly find some good material in it, and while it's a classic and an "essential" to those looking to get started in mentalism, I think it would be unnecessary for you. Many of the things in it will require much practice to get sufficient at it.
You stated that you just want something quick and fun, something you could perform for an older crowd, and also something that would allow for walk around and quick reloading. That being said... Have you ever played with Loops? While they are not really my thing and don't fit my persona, they can get some great reactions. I recommend them for several reasons. They are great for walk around. Simply place one around your wrist and you're ready to go. They have an instant reset, and you won't have to practice for weeks to get good at it. The variety of things you can do with them is also very vast. Haunted pack effects, moving pens, pencils, silverware etc. If you decide to buy them, you'll want to get an accompanying DVD to go with it, as the instructions don't give you many effects or routines to use them with. I believe Ellusionst put out a 3 DVD set devoted just for effects that use Loops. I'll be thinking of some more easy, quick and fun effects that would fit your criteria. Hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions Matthew |
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Tom Jorgenson Inner circle LOOSE ANGLES, CALIFORNIA 4451 Posts |
I'd probably try something like this:
With your computer, do up a set of Age cards, with your face and contact on the back. Print and cut. Now, you can get 8 kids together, do the thang with them, give out a card to each to keep. Break out another set for the next batch of kids. You might code the backs, so they can hand them back to you face down. For speed, you might want to use 5 cards to limit the choices to 31 instead of 64. Scarne's Crossed Digit was an old favorite when you wnated someting a little more cerebral. Get the one with the best Math Skills and a few helpers to check the work and it can be fun....have them all agree on the digit, and all of them try to send the mental number at once. Cracks them up, and they're all involved. A short stack of Business cards set up ala OTL.... With this, you can make up your own effects with a something drawn moving from a card on one kids hand, to the card on another. OTL on the bottom, a DL on the top (or vice-versa) and it's done. Show Kid A a biz-card with nothing on the back (OTL), and he holds it back down. Turn over the top card of the stack, (DL) draw a magic fly on it and give it to kid B. You make the fly go from one kid's hand to another and they keep the proof, which just happens to be your business card. Or make a bee fly to the flower. Anyway, you get the idea. Easy, portable, quick. If you've got a buck to spare, Tim Wisseman makes some devious dice that would be absolutely perfect for you. In your case, you'd want the 'colors' variety, but it would work anywhere, anytime and for all ages. It's also usable close up, stand up, stage, and with groups strolling. I used it one season to illustrate a psychic ability, and it was the kid's participation part that segued into an adult doing the next step (in mental projection). The kids loved it. I'd definitely go for Tim's when you've got the money. Hope this helps a bit. Mostly your own magician and clown instincts will be right. You want things that are bright, easy to understand, easy to carry, instruct and execute. If the effect sounds boring to you, it will be to the audiences also. Your own professional instincts will be good. You're not going for Mentalism so you can stay away from long-winded setup stuff...they won't like it. You'll probably want to stay away from anything that can't be performed surrounded. It's not worth the bother messing with the constrictions, you might as well pick something else. The audience will never know what they missed.. Have fun..hope this helps.
We dance an invisible dance to music they cannot hear.
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Chaz93 Inner circle Texas 1754 Posts |
Quote:
On 2013-04-15 23:12, MatthewSims wrote: This is one of the saddest things I've ever paraphrased. What do you mean 13 steps wouldn't suit him well? There are tons of effects in that book that can be done with little to no reset, walk around, and blow people away. I really think you'll get way more use out of 13 steps than any DVD. On a dvd I may get one or if I'm lucky two effects that I'll use, and they have almost no repeatability in watching them. With a book like 13 steps, I've got years worth of material and I get something new out of every re-read. If you are getting into mentalism or mental magic and do not cut your teeth on Corinda and Annemann you are really doing yourself a diservice. |
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Chaz93 Inner circle Texas 1754 Posts |
Oh, also! It may sound lame but you can get a looooot of mileage out of a s*en*a** deck, if you just want something you can pick up at the shop and go to town with. My first year doing mind reading had me going through the things like crazy.
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curtgunz Special user Only 99% of users have more than 784 Posts |
I want it to be clear that I respect what you guys do and don't want to trivialize it in any way.
I don't think for a second that I can learn a quick trick and BE a mentalist. That's why I titled this post "Out of my League" I recognize you guys are doing a great form of magic and I don't want to imply that I want a short cut to be doing what you are doing. These replies are GREAT and in reviewing my initial post I want to clarify that I'm not looking for a shortcut to the quality you've worked years to hone. I figure, go to the experts when you have a question and most of my walk around stuff is really fun interactions and bits of business with a little bit of magic. I'd love it if I could make their jaws drop while we are laughing and having fun. I think you guys are the experts at making people's jaws drop while having natural conversations with people. That's what I'm after. Again, thank you for the great replies so far.
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YouTube channel specifically for family & kids show magicians. Click -- You need to subscribe. |
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MatthewSims Special user 778 Posts |
Chaz, from what he states, he is not looking to "get into mentalism" or make that transition. He is merely looking for a few good mental effects that would be suited for an older crowd.
As he has stated, he is "new to this branch of magic". It would be much easier for him to learn from a modern DVD as opposed to a book that was written in the 1950's. 13 Steps has 424 pages...it's sitting on my desk It takes a great deal of time to read and digest that material. Now, if he DOES ever decide to become more heavily interested in mentalism, then I would certainly recommend 13 Steps along with Annemann...as well as Bob Cassidy of course |
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Chaz93 Inner circle Texas 1754 Posts |
Firstly, I would like to say that if my tone in my previous posts read less than civil, I apologize. Re-reading it I can see how I came off kind of like an ass.
Matthew - I guess I just look at things from a cost to use ratio. For what someone would spend on a ga**ed deck, a few packet tricks, and a DVD teaching a few tricks they could invest in one good book on the subject and have a potentially endless source of material to pull from. But, I'm cheap and don't like to spend money that I don't need to. I also consider 13 steps and PMM to be the bare bone basics of mentalism and/or mental magic, so I will recommend these books to anyone looking to add any mentalism or mental magic to their act, even if they just want to divine the name the audience member gives to a rabbit being pulled out of a hat. When learning any new skill you should start with the basics. Curt - If I gave you the impression that I thought you were trivializing the art I sincerely apologize. That was not my intent, and I hope that I've not offended you in any way. I don't want to be the guy that makes a clown frown. All that said and behind us, what type of effects are you interested in? What would you like to do perform? What feelings do you want to elicit from your audience? Are there any mental acts that you are inspired by? If we can narrow down exactly what types of effects you're looking for we may be able to better suggest material. All the Best, Charles |
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MatthewSims Special user 778 Posts |
Chaz, I agree with you 100 % when you say that you get more bang for your buck with books. That is practically all I buy (it's an obsession)! I'm just about to FINALLY finish TA Waters' massive Mind, Myth, and Magick. I've been reading on it for well over a year. As soon as I complete it I'll be able to start on Bruce Bernstein's Unreal
(Mind Illusionist's) mentioning of Richard Osterlind's DVD's are wonderful. They completely slipped my mind. If you decide to take the DVD route, certainly look into Osterlind's material. He has MANY DVD's, and they are practically all beginner friendly. Curt, you already have some wonderful recommendations in just these few posts. You might also want to consider a Magic Square. They are VERY impressive, especially to older people such as the parents who can understand and comprehend the effect. Hope this helps and gets you started Matthew |
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PhilDean Elite user 445 Posts |
I was kind of looking forward to the first great 'clown mentalist'. You could do an act where you take a prediction card out of a balloon animal and have the card say the same name as the animal or person who wanted said animal (that's if you're the balloon animal kind of clown). Best of luck to you.
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Mind illusionist Special user Australia 949 Posts |
Thanks Matthew, I just want to say that I too am a fan of books. However because Curt said he was just looking for a few mentalism or mental magic effects to add to his routines, I thought a good DvD such as that Osterlind would be great for him.
Books overall are definietely more bang for your buck, and hold a much greater wealth of knowledge if you choose to delve deeper into the art of mentalism. All the best Curt! M.I. |
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Chaz93 Inner circle Texas 1754 Posts |
A couple ideas for a clown mentalist:
Clown has a trunk full of animal masks and a stack of cards with pictures and the name of an animal on them, each different. The cards are shuffled and cut, and the audience member takes one and is asked to look at it, keeping it hidden from clown write it down on a card or something similar. Without looking at what has been written, the clown starts pulling out animal masks until he gets to the correct one, puts it, and starts miming the movements and/or sounds of said animal. A clown nose chair test: 4 wigs and clown noses are passed out, a wig and nose to each of the four audience helpers. They are allowed to arrange themselves in a line in any order they want. Clown removes a rubber chicken or something equally silly from his oversized coat, and on the chicken is written in bold permanent marker the order of the color of wigs/noses. Korans Bunny: Clown shows a top hat which is empty, and asks someone in the audience what he would name a pet rabbit, should he find himself with one. The clown writes the name down, does his abracadabra, and pulls a stuffed bunny from the hat. The bunny is of course wearing a name tag that says "Hello, my name is _____" where the blank is the previously called out name. I would pay money to watch that act. |
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IAIN Eternal Order england 18807 Posts |
Mental epic with animals
free will but using toys Kurotsoke using candy you can search for the terms and find reviews... Each of the above will work fo kids and parents and still stay themed...and all are easy enough to learn technique wise
I've asked to be banned
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Trickstar Regular user New Zealand 154 Posts |
I think that you would find a wealth of relevant info in a book by Paul Romhany, Performing Mentalism for Young Minds: Professional Guide for Mentalists and Magicians. It has a bunch of effects and essays by some of the biggest names and hardest workers in modern mentalism. The book as a whole points towards making performances fun as well as amazing and I am sure that you will find a number of brilliant ideas in it for your work. One of the stand out contibutions for me was a prediction effect that pitted superheroes against one another till only one remains, great stuff for kids of any age and/or family shows.
My apologies to any of the the Penny regulars who may be incensed by someones first post being a recomendation and (even more audaciously) offering an opinion. But there does seem to be an air of change at the moment and the idea of being posts being nice and helpful seems to be gaining momentum at the expense of the sarcasm and snideness that has been prevalent for so long. As a non-contributing reader of this forum for approx 4 years I have to admit that I wholeheartedly welcome this change and look forward to posting more in the future.........But am happy to be put under the grill by any regulars via PM if they see the need. Take care |
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dusty Veteran user 352 Posts |
Quote: I agree with Iain, Kurotsoke (sp) from Max Maven's video trilogy will give you lots of potential material that can be customised for "family" use.On 2013-04-16 02:36, IAIN wrote:
Regards,
Dusty aka Max Gordon. "Always give 100%, Unless you're a blood donor!" Exclusive publications available from: www.solutions.yolasite.com |
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RLFrame Elite user 447 Posts |
This may be something that you might think about and develop further than I did. Way back when I was doing a few shows for kids, I was trying to adopt what I called "Batman presentations." The old Adam West Batman show was an exciting suspense show when I was a kid, and then when I watched the reruns in my 20's, it was a comedy. I liked the idea of performing for kids but within the material for kids are a lot of things, most of them funny, that only an adult would "get." Nothing off color or anything like that. But watching the kids and being in on a lot of inside jokes that fly by the kids, is entertaining to the adults too.
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Dr Spektor Eternal Order Carcanis 10781 Posts |
Catwoman is more understandable as an adult.
"They are lean and athirst!!!!"
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Ed_Millis Inner circle Yuma, AZ 2292 Posts |
Curt:
You might want to look at Animental by Danny Archer. Also, I can get a lot of mileage out of Twisted Sisters. Like you, I'm primarily a magician (tho not a clown -- really!!). But TS (and its predecessor B'Wave) have been staples of my shows for years. If you'd like more info on the TS routines, shoot me a PM. Ed |
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