I am really new to Mentalism and whilst having read 13 Steps to Mentalism by Corinda I wondered is this really 'current'? As a novice, what books and gimmicks would you recommend as a good starting point (and to get a few nice effects under your belt)?
Many Thanks!

Honestly, corinda is pretty much the book there are other sources but none that are going to say that hasn't been mentioned in 13 steps. you can also look at Annimans practical mental effects but it is older as well but between both books contain material that have built careers. my suggestion would be to take the time to really actually learn these books and work on the ones you can relate to. also pick a good card stack and learn it. good luck and have fun!

For now, use Corinda. Try several different things. Work through a few of the chapters and put together routines.

Other books you should eventually have are The Artful Mentalism of Bob Cassidy volumes 1 and 2 (1 is sort of hard to find nowadays, but worth having), George B. Anderson's lecture notes and It Must Be Mindreading, Elliott Bresler's Switchcraft, and Julian Moore's book on palmistry.

There are also a lot of videos worth having, but only once you have a good idea of what you want to do in mentalism. But you could honestly spend your whole life with the above materials and never run out of stuff to perform. Ever.

-Patrick

I agree with the others, I would also add banachek's psychological subtleties as a must read also. With corinda, anneman and this you will have a solid foundation for a mentalism performance.

The key is to actually work with the material, practice, and TRY it. While it may read or sound old fashioned or out of date, I can assure you that with a n***l w****r from step one and a c****e t**r from step six you will astound yourself and the audience with how powerful this is. People often struggle to grasp the concept of mentalism when it is written on a page, especially if it is an old book. Which brings me to my next point. Mentalism is about PERFORMANCE. You are the show. You must sell it. As has been written (and apologies for not remembering who!) mentalism is acting, lying and enjoying it. This couldn't be more apt.

So advice to you.

1. Read corinda and anneman. Practice along with the effects and methods. Understand that simplicity and directness are the key.
2. Work out what you want to portray. Is it psychic ability? A heightened awareness? ESP? Once you have decided on a premise pick effects or routines that would fit on with this supposed ability
3. Practice and rehearse. A careful script is key (this could be said of all magic). Believe in what you are doing and so will your audience. Understand that this is not magic, this is about you, not your props.
4. Perform and enjoy yourself! Once you see the power of some of these 'old fashioned' routines you will see why everyone recommends them as a starting point. Trust me
5. Once you have a grounding, develop your own ideas (for effects, ie what you want to be able to do). Then work on a method for this, this will allow you to be creative and present something personal to you.

Mentalism is a wonderful art, for me more so than magic because it relies on thinking on your feet occasionally, it is direct and to the point (or should be), you can be much more engaging with your audience and really effect them, and you can turn a very simple sleight, move or principle into a blockbuster, huge routine capable of playing for hundreds. And above all it relies on you, not props or gadgets. As everyone will tell you, you are the show, not your props - they should become 'invisible' to the spectators

I see from your other posts that you are studying card magic as well. I would suggest that you choose one or the other and then put all your energy into that. Trying to learn everything is what most do in the beginning but I find its best to study one thing at a time. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Get Cassidy's latest book for practical ready to perform stuff, get TA Waters Mind, Myth and Magick for ideas and possibilities. Get an Imp Pad, NW and learn a CT, decide on and learn a memorized deck - Aronson/Tamaraz. Those are basic building blocks. Then think about the audience you want to perform for (teens, adults, corporate, street, bar) and what kind of stuff it should be - quick one-offs or a complete character with some ability as state above. Before you do anything beyond ESP stuff like metal bending, decide if it fits your character/style. Or find someone whose style you want to be and copy their approach while trying to develop your own. It's what everybody does in the beginning. IMO stay away from metal bending it's overdone. And, learn good card slights, not totally necessary, but comes in handy.

Call Paul at hocus-pocus! He has a lot of knowledge on mentalism and what works and what does not. 1800 407 4040
hocus-pocus has a huge selection in mentalism

Penny for your thoughts has a lot of the real stuff

They keep it real there as well.

As in other sections it's not about method or asking how did they do that.

13 Steps is very current! You sound like you've dismissed it just because it was written in an older style. I guarentee that most of the "current" stuff you see in TV specials is nothing more than Corinda or Annemann in a grunge costume!!

So - what did you actually try to do from 13 Steps? And why didn't it work for you?

Ed

Check out Larry Becker's Super Mentalism books. Without revealing any specific commercial items, there is a working method hidden in one of the two which has been adapted into many mental/bizarre effects. Good luck!

Hello RossJ27,

Just read and learn form 13 Steps and PMM/PME first, work with them and also PERFORM. Then you will know what you really don't need, which brings you to what you want to do.

Yours sincerely
Prometheus

I think one of the major difficulty when beginning (in magic as well as in mentalism) is to keep focus on a few effects/principles and taking time to learn them well, especially for all the fundamentals. We are lucky to have a huge source of learning with all the books and dvd's available but the downside of this luck is the risk is to spend time reading and watching without performing, and finally just overfly all the stuff. Maybe it's personnal but I know it's still a trouble for me, I like to read books and watching dvd's but I have to "discipline" myself and saying "ok now focus on those effects, learn them and perform them before going any further" ^^.

For example, I think c*****-t*** is a fundamental and a wonderfull tool, I first discoverd it in Corinda 2 or 3 years ago, I knew that this tool was really interesting but I never took the time to really intergate and USE the technique, because I've always found other things to do, lol (and I don't have so much time because I have a lot of activities for the moment). So, recently, I studied several possibilities and I decided to stick with T-Rex, which is amazing to me, and I USE it ^^.

So, just to say that it's important to find this "self discipline" in the learning process, and indeed Corinda is really a good start to have a general view and then moving to other ressources when you find a "step" that you especially like (as I did for the c*****-t***)

And I'll just say presentation presentation presentation.

Hey All - first time poster.

I very much appreciate this thread and advice. I've been intrigued by the mentalist angle of magic for a while and have decided to dive in. I just impulse purchased some of the beautiful looking items from outlaw-effects and realized I need some more fundamental material.

I'll look to pick up 13 steps to get started but I was wondering about videos. As an example with cards, The Royal Road video has been a huge help to me in learning the card moves in the book. Would a video of 13 steps I see advertised in places be just as helpful?

Hi bartleby,

There are many many DVDs of mentalism out there, I would suggest however sticking with the books if at all possible, this will lead you to script ion your own presentations, rather than copying the presentations of those performing on the DVD

That said, I wholeheartedly recommend anything Richard osterlind produces. His DVDs are all gold. Get his easy to master mental miracles and you will see the power of some of the so called 'dates' classics from corinda and Anneman.

Simon

Thank-you Simon. I am taking my son to the local shop this afternoon and will see what books they have available and start with those.

Thanks to all I have picked up 13 Steps and I am devouring it now. Great stuff.

I've only been at this a couple of years, but I would strongly recommend anything and everything from Richard Osterlind. Also, Penguin Live lectures have helped me tremendously! Not only do you learn some great effects, but the theory and advice is priceless. Both Richard Osterlind lectures and Bob Cassidy's will provide more than enough food-for-thought for a while.

Also take a look at the dvd set Richard Osterlind put out on the 13 steps book. He pulled many of the best effects from the book, modernized them, and performed them to a current audience.
Granted they were an L&L audience, but the effects still played really strong.
Worth every penny.

S. Patrick

Another consideration is to determine whether you want to do stand-up mentalism or one-on-one. There is plenty in Corinda for both, but if you want the close up, I would suggest learning at least one form of fortune telling. Palmistry is the propless one, but card reading is my personal preference. Julian Moore has written books on both of these and they are cheap. If you like the psychological angle, check out Rudy Hunter's DVD on tree readings.

Remember that the more types of ability you exhibit, the less believable they all are. You might accept that I can pick up some particular sorts of thoughts in the right circumstances, but if I also claim to be able to see without the use of my eyes, to predict the word you will choose from a book, to determine the change in your pocket when you don't even know how much there is, and to move objects with my mind, that's a different thing. I may be a good performer and make it fun, but I won't be seen as the real deal. If that matters to you, that is.

-Patrick