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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
For those who started off with magic, next switched over to mentalism, why the switch?
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Last Laugh Inner circle Grass Valley, California 3498 Posts |
I was always the most interested in the Mental effects and the magic that was played as possibly real. Mental effects also suit my personality well, I've always been interested in esoteric subjects, different types of spirituality and religion, and psychic phenomenon. So it wasn't much of a stretch to want to do art around that side of things.
If done right, Mentalism is more believable, it allows a stronger reaction from the audience when they're not sure if it's a trick or not. That was what appealed to me more then just presenting puzzles.
My Mentalism Podcast:
The Mystery Arts Podcast Check out my products! Direct from me (PW: cassidy) On Penguin Magic |
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IMAGINACIAN Special user In Your Thots 558 Posts |
More satisfying. Less taxing. More paying. Less luggage. More believable. Less competition.
There is no better freedom than choice and no better choice than freedom.
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Nerdy Wizard New user Derby 86 Posts |
I lost the ability to believe in my magic when performing. I'd always know the audience knew it was sleight of hand, and I would ask things like "If I really could teleport an object why am I here doing it with cards?"
Not wanting to stop entertaining entirely, and remembering that the reason I'd gotten into magic at all was Derren Brown, I looked at mentalism. This was something that was a lot easier to believe (when performed with the explanation of psychology) and the performance of it came more naturally to me. I was enjoying what I did again. I am however currently going through the process of learning and mastering as much as I can, after 14 years of magic I was pretty good at it and was comfortable doing shows. I don't think my library has ever been so large and I still feel I'm just scratching at the surface of what's available. Which for a bookworm like me is fantastic. |
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Mark_Chandaue Inner circle Essex UK 4187 Posts |
Old age! I was losing the dexterity in my hands and finding many of my favourite effects becoming increasingly painful to perform. I figured Mentalism required mental dexterity rather than physical and made the switch and very quickly fell in love with Mentalism. If I'm honest I also enjoyed the challenge of going back to being a complete beginner. I have also found that Mentalism gives me a kind of freedom that I never really felt when performing magic.
Mark |
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IAIN Eternal Order england 18807 Posts |
Less taxing?!
I've asked to be banned
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Craig Logan Special user Michigan 541 Posts |
Yeah, Iain, all we do is "blah, blah, blah... your dead grandma...blah blah (puts hand on temple)" Easy peasy.
"A wizard is not to be made in a day." -Professor Hoffmann (Modern Magic)
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Craig Logan Special user Michigan 541 Posts |
Joking aside, it wasn't the sleights or the believably that drew me to mentalism. It was the effect on the audience. It seemed to have a deeper impact. Maybe just a different impact, but sponge balls got screams and laughs while revealing a thought of card got wows stunned silence. I dove in head first, and books on mentalism only drove me further into the mental realm.
"A wizard is not to be made in a day." -Professor Hoffmann (Modern Magic)
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ibm_usa Special user In Your Mind, Ky, USA 722 Posts |
As I got older it just fit my personality better. I Fell in love with the simplicity of it all - your brain, a piece of paper and a pencil is all you need. If what magicians do is real - why the boxes and strange devices?
"You may think that i only talk of things from the past, you know, history, well magic is history"
-Guy Jarrett "Curiosity isn't a sin Harry, but it should be exorcised with great caution." -Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) http://www.jordanallen-mentalist.webs.com/ |
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ibm_usa Special user In Your Mind, Ky, USA 722 Posts |
On what I said above - audiences do think these things. Don't kid yourself in to thinking otherwise. That's one reason why I don't do a lot of prediction like effects. People in the lay audience do think and they are almost never wrong. That's the problem with a lot of magicians - they tend to think that they are on top and above everyone else on the cognitive evolution ladder.
"You may think that i only talk of things from the past, you know, history, well magic is history"
-Guy Jarrett "Curiosity isn't a sin Harry, but it should be exorcised with great caution." -Albus Dumbledore (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) http://www.jordanallen-mentalist.webs.com/ |
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IMAGINACIAN Special user In Your Thots 558 Posts |
Hi IAIN,
'less taxing' as in less knuckle busting and lesser toy handling.
There is no better freedom than choice and no better choice than freedom.
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E.E. Inner circle Look mom, I have 1533 Posts |
I have never been too good at sleight of hand... and I think Mentalism exemplifies a quote from Eugene Burger: "There's great magic at every level"
You don't need to be a master at sleight of hand to fool and entertain an entire teather... That's what I like about mentalism and that's why I decided to drop the magic 100%
Professional mentalist and digital artist for mystery performers. check out my work at www.facebook.com/EverElizaldeArtStudio
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
The realm of believability and the fulfillment that comes from mentalism.
Magic is no longer the art form it once was. The mystery has been greatly removed from many magic performers these days. In many cases the amazement factor is gone and not the same as it once was. Of course to kids it is, but to most over 14 it takes much more to impress and entertain. This is why you will hear mentalist often say mentalism generates much more authentic and amazing responses form audiences. I've always thought today's magicians often are performing for themselves. In this day of short-attention span and skeptical generations, magic does not seem to hit the hot buttons. The mystery has been removed from magic performances these days. I'm not talking about the big names, stars of magic, but the working level performer. From the booking client's point of view, they want something different than magic, something more real or believable. It takes more to entertain people these days. They don't want to be tricked, fooled, played or deceived, they want the plausibility of believability. Also let's also be clear that most magicians that come to "mentalism" aren't really coming into and commiting to mentalism (and separating themselves from their magic) they are coming to mental magic. Big difference. |
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bevbevvybev Inner circle UK 2672 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 16, 2016, Dynamike wrote: Because it was easier than a peek. |
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Last Laugh Inner circle Grass Valley, California 3498 Posts |
Badoom tsh!
My Mentalism Podcast:
The Mystery Arts Podcast Check out my products! Direct from me (PW: cassidy) On Penguin Magic |
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Alexxander Elite user Frankfurt, Germany 423 Posts |
Because I had a lot of trouble to make magical effects meaningful or interesting..
To me, making cards or coins teleport or change is more like a puzzle... it can be very entertaining in the right hands, of course, but it wasn't really for me. So I tended to perform mostly mental-themed magic anyway. Think about it. Mind reading is such an amazing and interesting concept, it is inherently meaningful. Then, as I read Absolute Magic, I immediately switched to straight mentalism, and I haven't looked back. Sometimes I still do magic for friends and family for the fun of it and because mentalism doesn't really work for them.... but for strangers I only do mind reading. |
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David Thiel Inner circle Western Canada...where all that oil is 4005 Posts |
I'd been doing comedy magic for twenty years. I was doing well with it, but I was bored to death. My infinitely better half got frustrated with my grey approach to my job. She told me to take $500 out of my PayPal account and buy anything I wanted...her hope was that there would be something that would ignite my interest again since my work philosophy was "go. Do the show. Get the cheque. Go home."
Most of the stuff I bought went directly into the Drawer of No Return. But one of the things I bought was Osterlind's DVD series on the 13 Steps to Mentalism. I'd been peripherally aware of mentalism...but really thought of it as a subset of magic. But when I watched these DVDs my jaw hit my chest. I couldn't NOT think of how much was revealed about people...how utterly cool it would be to set aside the arm chopper and concentrate on effects that brought me closer to people and people closer to me. I literally fell in love with mentalism in that one afternoon. I started hanging out here...but in those days the Café's mentalism section was a lot tougher. People who came in here asking stupid questions got shot down in flames. So I lurked for two months, I'd wait for someone to ask one of the stupid questions and swoop in to eat up any morsels of real information had been dropped on the charred earth. I started working mentalism into my magic shows, but it wasn't working like I wanted it to, (I am one of those who absolutely believes a performer can't present mentalism and magic in the same show with the expectation of being taken seriously as a mentalist...) I made the decision to transition away from magic and into mentalism. Since I was making my living as a performer, I had to do it very carefully...but it worked and I've been full time in mentalism for nearly six years. Why mentalism? It's elegant. It's beautiful. It's personal. It's an art form where there's nothing to hide behind. No props. No assistants. No dragon motifs...just me and a few scraps of paper. A chalkboard. Maybe a book or two. I have learned more about performing in these mentalism years than in three times longer doing magic. I love the adventure of it...and I love that every show is an adventure. I love not knowing exactly what's going to happen in any given night. I love the laugher. The shocked silences. The sounds of people making the sounds people make when they've just brushed up against something truly amazing.. I can't imagine earning a living any other way. David
Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Except bears. Bears will kill you.
My books are here: www.magicpendulums.com www.MidnightMagicAndMentalism.com |
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Mindpro Eternal Order 10586 Posts |
Well said David. I miss your writing here as much as previously. I understand your plate and mind is full.
The problem is most magicians never experience what you've expressed. Even you didn't fully when you were trying to do both. To me mentalism like hypnosis requires the full commitment, not just something you can drop into your magic act. Most will never experience it and therefore have difficulty understanding it when mentalists do and try to explain it. You expressed it very well. |
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David McCall New user 76 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 16, 2016, Dynamike wrote: I believe we've discussed this before, but if not... Before I knew it was a thing a person could specialize in, a lot of the magic I did had more of a mentalism feel to it. The patter would still be with a kind of "psychological manipulation" feel to it as opposed to doing a "cute trick." I think I was more focused on the "this is really cool, (or strange) have a look" aspect. Now, I was 3 or 4 and into magic... didn't really do mentalism then, obviously. I quit mainly from lack of support or interest... then picked it back up again around 9 or 10 (as many boys do), and haven't stopped since. I think a part of it developed from an interest in science fiction - a lot of stories involving reading minds or being psychic... I think a part of my interest developed along with that, and so it made sense. It wasn't because it was hip or popular. I never intended on sticking with the whole "kids game." If I was to be an entertainer, I would want to be the best... and I just didn't see where I could get there without getting burned out. I have a lot of respect for the family entertainer thing (especially if they're genuinely great at it) I got tired of the teachers and parents (the kids were usually really great - but I got tired of the disrespect from the parents and other adults in their parental or teacher roles). It's a different dynamic, and I prefer the dynamic of being sort of on equal footing with them. I also like how it bends the expectations of magic. It seems like so many adults outside of magic treat magic (and other "kiddie stuff" like animation or puppetry) with so little respect. A lot see magic as "kid's stuff" and it's not something to be impressed by. Even if that person was fooled, they're not to react as if they're amazed, because they're fooled by "a stupid little kid's trick." Many get "stuck" in their heads over a name or a concept... it's odd how much some adults become like the "too cool" (usually preteen) kid who wants to let everyone know that (s)he's not a "baby." I know of several "adults" who refused to come to a local restaurant because it happened to share the name of a comic book super hero, and was therefore "kiddie fodder." I know of a bunch of adults who refuse to watch ANY animation because it's "all stupid kid's stuff." - and yes, they are DEAD wrong. But coming from an animation background, I know it's STILL difficult to get people past those "stereotypes" (though becoming less so). You generally don't have to wade through all those obnoxious preconceptions and fight tooth and nail to change it, just to show something. |
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saysold1 Eternal Order Recovering Cafe addict with only 10794 Posts |
Quote:
On Mar 16, 2016, Dynamike wrote: To meet chicks. Is that wrong? But in all seriousness - it generally hits harder and that is makes it fun.
Creator of The SvenPad Supreme(R) line of aerospace level quality, made in the USA utility props. https://svenpads.com/
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