On Jul 14, 2020, espmagic wrote:
Oh, David - you're not talking to yourself, as there are many, many students (myself included!) who listen to your thoughts always, and in all ways...RLD

On Jun 27, 2020, David Thiel wrote:
Hello, Dylenium...

Welcome to the forum!

I offer the following thoughts with respect, because you asked:

1) Propless mentalism is among the most difficult to perform. Much of it depends on a basic understanding of how to use words, many nuances that mentalists learn over time. And downloads, in particular, are notorious for covering the basics of THAT effect and nothing more. (And STARTING with Pete Turner??? Yikes!) I suggest you set the download aside for now and get back to it in a year or so.

2) If you are serious about mentalism -- and brand new to it -- I'd suggest setting 13 Steps aside as well. Put it on a shelf beside PME. Performers often recommend books like these to people who are newer to mentalism. But, trust me, they will make MUCH more sense (meaning you'll only be able to recognize all the golden nuggets hidden in them) once you have a grounding in mentalism and have a better understanding of what it is and how it differs from magic.

Let me suggest that you get four books -- that comprise a great foundation building course in mentalism. Study them like you would any university text. THEN dust off the 13 Steps and PME. These books are:

THE PRINCIPALS OF MENTALISM by Richard Osterlind. It's a slender book that has more practical information packed into it than any other. It's a perfect starting resource.

The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy Volume 2. Here is one of the greatest thinkers of all time sharing techniques, real world methods and brilliantly practical advice. I think this is the greatest book available anywhere on mentalism.

Mentalism Inc by Chuck Hickok. No better book has been issued on the THINKING behind formatting a show than this one. Even if you aren't planning on doing stage shows there's a vast amount of practical information and brilliant thinking about mentalism and how it interacts with audiences. Pay particular attention to how he suggest ordering your show. His writing here made a number of eureka moments explode in my brain when I read it.

Maximum Entertainment by Ken Weber is the greatest book on performing the mystery arts ever written. Practical...brilliant advice on how to entertain.

Seriously. Sit on your own reading this material. Immerse yourself in it. Read it with a highlighter in one hand and a notebook at your elbow. REALLY read this stuff. When you come out on the other side you will know more about the mechanics and philosophies of mentalism than most people actually performing mentalism today.

THEN I strongly suggest that you then watch the top performers -- not to copy what they do -- but to get a sense of how different people approach mentalism. Study Richard Osterlind. Banachek. Docc Hilford. Bob Cassidy. Check out the newer performers as well like Colin Cloud and Pete Turner. Seeing these guys work will give you a perspective on how to approach it.

THEN think back on all of the material you have read and the performers you have watched. I GUARANTEE you that ONE thing will have stood out in your mind as something you absolutely LOVED watching. This will be a thing that really resonated with you. It may be a specific set of effects: Prediction, remote viewing -- empathy...telepathy. There is a great pile of options out there. Pick one.

Force yourself to choose just ONE THING and make it your business to learn it. Drill down to the specific information on that ONE effect. Use everything you have learned in the books and the recorded performances to design YOUR routine around the method or discipline you have chosen. Make what you perform exclusively YOURS -- a reflection of how you view your mentalism.

THEN practice and rehearse it to death -- all on your own. Practice the effect over and over -- as much as you possibly can.

And finally? Perform that effect for people you can trust to tell you the truth and LISTEN to what they say.

IF they ask you 'how you did that trick' you did it wrong because they are seeing you as a magician. The question tells you that they think they saw a magic trick on stage and are just trying to figure out the puzzle you've presented.

IF they come and ask you questions like "How long have you had the Gift" -- go home and break out the champagne...because you're now doing mentalism.

Magic and mentalism are two distantly related but very distinct disciplines. Only studying and performing mentalism will teach that difference.



I understand this isn't the answer you were looking for. But it is THE answer. Mentalism is hard. Doing it well is REALLY hard. But with the proper prep, work and study performing as a mentalist IS possible.

Magicians can do effects where the prop does the acting and the presentation for them. The tuh-duh moment is often build into the structure of the effect. They can have showy props and even pretty assistants. Lights can be flashing...effects exploding.

Mentalists step onto the stage with a paperback...a couple of scraps of paper......maybe a writing pad...and themselves. There are no props to hide behind. Shows are powered by the personality, the creativity -- the whole package of the performer -- and how he or she interacts with an audience, the art they present and the journey they take their audience on.

When you've done ALL of this work go back to the download that started all this and watch it again. I'm betting that a) you will have a much better understanding of it this time and b) you will realize you have already have learned some much better material.

I wish you luck. It sounds like you are committed to the course. Feel free to bring your questions and observations here. We are pulling for you.

David