On 2013-08-22 13:05, David Thiel wrote:
Are you from the "Got It This Morning And Put It Into My Show That Same Night" group?

If so...keep away. Cerebrate isn't a lightweight concept. There's going to be some very hard work involved in getting this wonderful idea from the package into your show. There's showmanship required and a significant amount of learning and memorizing to do.

And -- to be honest -- this system (which is both elegant and very clean) draws inspiration from many different sources, but blends them together into a challenging-but-uber-commercial package.

As I indicated in an earlier post, I purchased this on the strength of the names of it's creators: Marc Salem and Richard Mark. I had, at best, only a foggy idea of what the effect was.

At it's very most base presentation: a number of spectators choose an item from a list. They think of it (no...they don't write it down...they don't share it with anyone. They just think of it.) The performer is able to glean, by some very subtle 'probes', which item the spectator is visualizing.

The method for extracting that thought is at the core of Cerebrate. It's hard to say more about it without revealing the method.

Once the system is learned, the method can be applied to a broad range of things: from Q and A to Character Readings.

I'm learning Cerebrate for the same reason I am studying Bruce Bernstein's brilliant book "Unreal." Both products set a very high bar for the performing mentalist. By studying both products, I am learning some wonderful things -- a different way of thinking about mentalism. I'm learning about subtleties, and staging. I'm learning gentle applications of dual reality and how the things that happen onstage will be perceived by the audience. I am learning from people who know much more about mentalism than I do...so both things are making me better.

I'm glad to own Cerebrate. I'm pleased to be studying it and learning from it.

But it's absolutely not for newcomers -- or performers where "easy to do" is the main criteria for choosing which effects to purchase. (I don't have anything against "easy to do." Cerebrate simply doesn't fit into this category.)

So think hard about this. Prepare to either do the work it demands -- or slide it very quietly into the Drawer of No Return.

David