On Nov 1, 2014, ash2arani wrote:
This seems to have fallen off the radar. I am not sure if Luca is sold out on these or not. If he is, then this review will be a testament to Luca's approach to mentalism, performing, and to business. If they are still in stock, and one is interested, then I hope this review will shed some light on this product.

Before I begin, I would like to say that I first corresponded with Luca when I wanted to to buy this book and also I paid full price for this release. This is also my first encounter with Luca's material. I know his other releases are praised but I have no opinion on that whatsoever.

Anyhow, here are my thoughts:

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The White Rose is an act. It is not a new trick. It is not a collection of effects. This makes it different from many other releases on the market today. It is a Q&A act in its purest definition: audience members write down questions (Q) and the performer gives answers (A).

My review will be divided into 3 parts: the package, the act, customer service

1- The Package:

The White Rose is a nice hardbound book. It is well produced. The explanations and descriptions are well-written. I did not find any ambiguity and all was explained well.

Along with the book, Luca provides a certificate of authenticity and performing rights. This was a nice touch and it makes this release a lot more personal to the buyer.

2- The Act:

Although good presentation of the release goes a long way in portraying professionalism and care, what really matters is the content of the package. Suffice it to say that Luca leaves no stone unturned in this act. He goes into so much details on both what he does and why he does it. He provides multiple variations on certain aspects of the act to help draw a complete picture and give options to the reader. In fact, personally, I have stumbled upon another 'release' from Luca's description that I somehow missed it. I stopped there and got that. While Luca incorporates it into The White Rose, my head exploded with ideas. It feels like I was going through a treasure chest only to find a small scrap of paper pointing towards yet another treasure.

The act has been clearly worked in the real world. Luca provides a full script for the act. It is a complete script from A to Z. One can memorize it and start doing the act. That is not recommended for sure, but it shows that The White Rose is a complete offering with nothing held back. To my surprise, the opening script was even provided (despite it being something of a niche which may not work for everyone).

Also let me point out that the explanation is not just mechanics and words. Luca discusses staging, blocking, and even show progress.

The effect combines multiple well-known principles that anyone experienced in mentalism will probably be familiar with. The way they are laid out and the way they progress is what makes this a powerful act.

It is clear that Luca stresses the concept of emotional connection. The beauty of this routine is that it can be altered to the performer's style. Now that is more work as Luca offers the details based on his findings and his experimentation. Changing these aspects is extra work for sure.

The 'ending' is something amazing and beautiful. However, it is something that I feel is limited to the context of Q&A. The reason I mention this is because there are performers who prefer to turn Q&A into a mindreading routine (ala, Osterlind's Thought Scan act). The 'ending' would still work in principle but again, work will be required on the performer's end.

But as a Q&A, the ending fits beautifully. In fact, I think it is one of the most elegant endings to Q&A - a routine which usually suffers from the lack of closure. Luca provides closure.

Finally, Luca goes beyond The White Rose act and offers tons of extras that cover a diverse range of topics.

3- Customer Service:

Luca responded promptly to both pre-purchase and post-purchase inquiries. He was very helpful and respectful. I know he has a busy schedule but he is very professional when it comes to customer service.

4- Conclusion:

Simply put, this is a tried and tested Q&A act. It has no language limitations (yes, you will have to translate it from English if you need to), it plays well for 50 or 5000. It has multiple aspects to it that help offer the audience a full experience. You get a full script. You get multiple variations. You get details that do take a lot of time to 'figure out'. Luca has already done that. The act is modular. One can take out pats that do not work for them and/or use pieces that fits them better. Add to that the ending that is icing on cake. Oh, did I mention it packs small? Because it does!

The only hiccup is in adapting the 'experience'. The mechanics are solid and will only require tweaking depending on the performer. The overall experience as presented by Luca is highly emotional, elegant, and artistic. Not everyone doing Q&A wants that. Or maybe someone is interested in the structure of Q&A and not Q&A per se (as mentioned earlier). If one is not into this type of effects/experiences, I would not recommend The White Rose as they will probably end up re-engineering the whole thing (script, staging, and the finer details).

But for me, and to those who are interested in presenting a solid artistic Q&A experience, The White Rose gets my highest recommendations.

Great job Luca and I applaud you for your great work
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