I have mind ball for which I use Blake Vogt’s six outs, frozen in time, license place prediction, astral traveler, Adrian Vega’s The Opener, and The Gift by Angelo Carbone. Is this too much? Would the audience get bored? Maybe I should put some non mentalism tricks between these to vary it up? Anyone with experience or advice, please help! I want the best show possible.

Do less but make the pitch very entertaining and use many audience members.

Many tricks is not the key. You could have a 45 minute show with 3 routines if performed correctly, meaning make them entertaining

Experience will get you the best show possible. You will need to not only perform but asses the audience at the same time. It takes many performances to get to a good show place.

I mean at least rehearse some routines and perform a show. See how it goes. If it goes OK then do the same show again. Bring your friends. Ask them how the audience looked. Etc etc.

Oh if you are going to be a mentalis don't use koolmagicguy. Haha

Instead of your collage. Just buy Mental Miracles by Bob Cassidy, perform the same show 100 times and then you will be able to come out with your own show.

Regards

It depends on the combination of the style of the performer and the make-up of the audience...and obviously the amount of time allotted to the performance.

If your audience is seated, sober and attentive...you do fewer effects -- but are able to move much more deeply into them. If it's a drinking young-ish audience, I tend to move the show along faster and keep the effects basic and to the point. There have been times when I misjudged the audience one way or another and have had to adapt the show as I perform it.

I draw from a pool of 14 effects that I've worked on and am very happy with. All of them are audience tested and can be added to the show as necessary. I work from a predefined show model, of course. But I can plug in certain effects as the situation demands.

But to answer your question more specifically: flat performers bore audiences. The number of effects have nothing to do with it.

Hope this is helpful.

David

If you are a good mentalist, you can script a show around just one effect.

If you are a great mentalist, you can do it with zero.

If you want the greatest show possible, I suggest you watch some of the great’s shows.

Indeed, I wouldn't describe myself as a great mentalist, but doing psychic evenings they often revolved around a single effect or sometime no effects and just playing with clairvoyant experiments like ESP card testing, followed by readings for the rest of the evening. Then within one effect there may be multiple stages and revelations. The aim, though, wasn't to perform a continual string of effects, the aim of the evenings was to entertain, connect with people and engage them. There was time to allow discussion as it was a very casual situation to perform.

I like David's advice on changing the speed based on the situation you are performing. I did the psychic evenings, which usually involved drink, but were quite sedentary in the grand scheme of a career largely working with drunken women. I could perform a single extended piece, where I could rely on the attention being there. But then I've also done hen parties and done pre-wedding entertainment doing effects and readings for the bride and entourage while they get ready. This was more short pieces with people coming and going.

The initial post names a lot of marketed effects, so maybe look at developing mentalist skills next. Readings, billet work, etc. Then you've got a lot more freedom to extend or shorten effects as needed. There was also the suggestion throwing in non-mentalism effects inbetween. There are plenty of discussions around this already on the forum, but if that's the way you're going it creates different challenges to routining.

YOU, and your engagement with the audience, are the essence of the show, even more than the effects. Obviously, you need to perform strong effects.

Pay the price to master a few effects rather than very Manny. David's report that he carries about 14 effects in is arsenal is a great example.

For a specific gig, consider three effects for a 30 minute performance, five effects for 45. Until you are really good, you may not hold an audience's interest longer than 45 minutes, maybe less.

George

7

LOL

I typically run 6 effects in a 45 min slot. It's not a hard fast rule as some effects tend to run longer than others. I look for effects that work well together. Effects that complement each other. Maybe similar types of "powers"...mind reading, mind control, prediction. I also look to create contrast in the show. Meaning it changes in terms of pacing and the feel. For example a piece with several people on stage and then maybe a more intimate piece. Magic could work but it has to be carefully chosen and framed. It surprised me that Derren Brown did card to box, but he framed it in a way that worked in the context of the whole show. Boredom for me comes from very monotonous pacing, too many similar effects, lack of emotional dynamics and a show that doesn't build to a strong final climax. Each performer is different and that is a good thing. What works for one person might not work for another. But that is how we grow. You will notice that certain effects work for you while others fall flat. That feedback allows you to tweak the show to get it to be the best version of that particular show possible. I also tend to experiment... a lot. I typically have my solid material and throw in the experimental one before a strong piece in case a falls flat. I tend to ramble but these are some thoughts that come to mind. Hopefully you can find something useful. Best of luck...

Depends on the show, how long you have etc. But I would suggest that when writing your show don't worry about the effects. Get the premise and script down, and then add in the effects that help tell the story. If you just want to do mental-magic then no less than tricks will suffice. If you want to do mentalism you may need only one effect.

A Q&A act for instance could be considered to be one effect, yet you can do a full 30 minute performance just based on that.

A spectator as mind-reader effect may take 15 minutes when you include the calibration and synchronization of both participants and teach them how to, even just momentarilly, engage in their empathy and allow the thoughts and feelings of another to come through. 15 Minutes might be a little long for a magic trick, but we're in Penny so we're talking mentalism.

It really depends on your show and your script. I have done corporate shows where I've performed up to 10 effects rapid-fire in 1 hour, recently I did a one-man show surrounding the topic of racism where I only did 4 effects in an hour and a half.

I really like the half magic in the first half, half mentalism in the second half.

Then you are not doing mentalism.

What a new-fangled idea!

You might want to ask Alexander, the Man Who Knows (or any of his contemporaries), what he thinks of that idea.