Good evening,

As I am new to posting in this board, please bear with me. I am set on learning the art of mentalism. After I developed the idea of my "stage persona", scripted my first routine with three little effects from, let's say Annemanns PME and getting the mechanics done, the next step must be practising on real audience. Did I miss a thing so far?

Practising on familie and friends might be difficult (because they know my non-stage persona quiet well) and can only be done once per effect or routine. The solution I see for this, is practising on strangers. For a stageshow, an open mice night seems ideal. But what situations exist for practising close-up mentalism? Is there more than cold approaching people on the street? Are there any ideas from performers who started their learning process once uppon a time?

I hope my question is of interest to other novices as well.

Best,
hans

Join social clubs. Go to pubs and places where people hang out. Become a regular. Once people find out what you do, they'll naturally ask you to show them somethintg eventually.

A bit of advice, though, borrowed from Nate Leipzig. Don't perform for everyone you meet unless they ask. (Leipzig wouldn't do anything unless he was asked three times and then he'd only do one effect.) You'll be making contacts, building a reputation and getting your practice all at the same time.

That said, there is little to no difference between close-up and stage mentalism, except the size of your writing pad and markers. I do the same billet routines for audiences of fifteen hundred people as I do for intimate groups. (I just talk louder and work slower.)

I've never been a fan of "ambush" mentalism or hypnotism- that is, approaching strangers on the street and forcing effects on them. More often that not you will annoy, rather than impress them. And it certainly doesn't cultivate a professional image. (Of course, if you have a partner who is a pickpocket, it could be rather lucrative. )

Where are you from? How old are you? What, if any, experience do you have as a magician or mentalist? Have you ever done any paying shows?

If we knew those things we'd be in a better position to offer you more detailed advice.

Thanks for that! I introduce myself in the Our new arrival board.

-hans

Introduce yourself here as well. Most of the mentalists here stick pretty much to the Penny, Inner Thoughts and Mentally Speaking forums and probably won't see your post in New Arrivals.

Hi Bob is there anyway I can contact you through private message?

Yes.

Sent you a message.

Thanks so much

I still go to some local bars and clubs to road test ideas. Try to find a place where people gather but don't get completed fried.

That's always a challenge but it also helps in real shows - choosing the right spectators if possible, and also learning what to do when you pick someone who is either drink off their a55 or they are purposely trying to sabotage you. Either way, you'll learn a lot.

Inebriated spectators are part of the normal course of things. If they forget a written card or name they many times then make one up so as not to look foolish. That makes for interesting trial by fire.

Well,
my name is Thomas, I post under my nickname hans, as I chose this name years ago. I am a novice in mentalism from Germany.

My interest in magic started since I was 10 years old. At this time, "mental magic" bored me and I did not understand what's so fascinating about it. I was more interested in learning to vanish coins and cigarettes. As a teenager, I was too doubtful to perform for other people because I feared revealing the secrets. My appreciation for magic sparked again, when I saw mentalism-shows from the UK televison (years ago). Now ( I am in my mid-twenties), as puperty has gone by ;-) , I fell mature enough to resolve this theme. I decided to give this hobby the dedication it deserves.

Untill now, I have no experience in performing for strangers or performing a well-scripted routine, but I performed one or two effects for a few friends. The positive feedback I got gave fuel to my reborn interest in (mental) magic.

My goal is to create an close-up mentalism act and performing it on my first non-payed gig.
I hope, I could show you where I am and where I want to go and I hope you guys are more of a help to me, than you already are, when I not only read but write here and share my thoughts with you.

(Please forgive my mistakes in grammar and spelling in advance. I'll try my best!)

Best, hans