If you're adverse to blatant self-promotion you may want to skip this thread

I'm here to announce that my Penguin Live Act is scheduled to air this coming Sunday (April 28th). Pre-orders receive a 25% discount off retail.

Here's the link: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/11689

Please don't mistake this announcement merely as an attempt to increase sales. My compensation for the lecture is nominal - so much so that I doubt I'll ever approach my fee for one paid performance...

My decision to call direct attention to it here on Penny is two-fold:

First, I tried to provide the lecture that I wish I had 10 years ago as I became serious about constructing a marketable corporate act. If anyone is in the beginning stages of this process PLEASE allow me to help shave off a number of years from your learning curve (I'm also confident that experienced performers will even find nuggets throughout the content).

Second, this lecture is SOLELY focused on mentalism (no cross-contamination with magic here!) built on RELIABLE methods suited for professional performance environments. I think contemporary mentalism needs an injection of solid/classic technique (albeit updated for a modern audience) rather than the hit-and-miss "social material" that's so prevalent these days.

THE ACT: This is a variation on my current corporate after-dinner show. It runs for 55 minutes. There's no pre-show, stooging or electronics but I think some might have a hard time believing those assertions on first viewing it. (Dan Harlan was even a bit surprised to learn that no pre-show was used.)

THE LECTURE: I tried to pack in a TON of value here. I'm not only explaining methods but also stagecraft, my 10 Step Process for Developing an Act, character design, and business tips. The discussion with Dan lasts 3 hours and 20 minutes.

THE BONUS CONTENT: A 24 page PDF of the lecture notes is included along with a very special recorded Skype call with Marc Paul (1 hour in duration).

I sincerely hope that many find a wealth of inspiration and value in this project! Feel free to ask any questions - I'm all about transparency and communicating accurate expectations.

Best,

Drew

I received Architect of The Mind last week and I'm STILL going through it, even though I've read it from cover to cover a couple of times already. I'm still marvelling at the way you combined multiple different principles across a broad range of other effects to create some really awesome routines.

I'm also really glad you didn't go the e-book route as it looks really great in printed form!

I've pre-ordered your lecture and can't wait to see it.

Definitely looking forward to this lecture!

Amazing Lecture!

To be honest, I have watched a lot of Penguin Lives and I think this is my favorite one so far. I love the way he presents his mentalism and a lot of his ideas. There is a lot of brilliant stuff that could be easily adapted to you as a performer. I even loved his take on a two envelope bank night, however, I wouldnt probably do it exactly the way he does it (it would overlap my target number rountine). I cant wait to really digest the material and look for the gems that I can apply to my show.

Ditto on a lot of what others have said. I wasn't super jazzed about the 2-envelope bank night, based on how it looked/was described in the ad copy. Having said that, I also didn't personally prefer his methodology BUT (please read on):

I loved an underlying premise and I already was thinking about how I would do something similar. As such, while I wouldn't take exactly what he did, I will incorporate some of the concepts into what I would rather do. Which is really where this lecture shines, providing ideas, concepts, and approaches that are commercial and applicable to a variety of performers.

Again, don't read anything negative about the above as my intention is the opposite: despite not personally preferring some of the methods, etc., I still think this was an amazing lecture. In fact, it is even more amazing because it was made with the idea of doing what I said, providing tools for performers of all types.

Great, great lecture. And that extra hour with Marc Paul?! Just wonderful.

I would also like to add that Drew provides lecture notes that walks through his whole performance. What I thought was awesome was that many of what Drew referenced were things I had seen/read before. I thought he used the referenced material very well together. In his lecture he states that by combining methods and using them in a new way together is something he tries hard to do. One of the other things I like was he has quotes from other books that really clarify what he is trying to do with his performance from books on performance - this helps to really think about how you can apply concepts to your show.

Definitely looking forward to this lecture!

I appreciate the enthusiasm for the lecture So happy to hear that people are finding the content useful!

For those that are interested in such things...

I have decided to release a LIMITED quantity of Omni-test - the book test featured in my Penguin lecture. The routine demonstrated therein only scratched the surface of what is possible with the set.

Instead of posting all the information here, I've added a page to my site with a complete description of the upcoming project:

www.mindofandrews.com/omni-test

As always - I'm just an email or PM away if you have "sensitive" questions about the set that wouldn't be wise to post on this publicly searchable forum.

Best wishes,

Drew

Apparently I'm not human enough to get on the mailing list. I can't seem to pass the robot test.

No - this is just yet ANOTHER example of a robot being elitist Haha

Apologies Mac_Stone (and anyone else having issues with that form)!

As I mentioned at the bottom of the page an email works too (or even a PM here on the Café).

Thanks for your interest!

Drew

Wow, looks pretty amazing! Must have been an incredible amount of work!

Could you tell us how the text inside is formatted? Is it novel style with indents and no paragraph breaks?

Hi Matt!

Yeah... it was time intensive to say the least haha.

The formatting is exactly as it should appear in all the books: indents, no paragraph breaks, chapter headings, even the correct amount of chapters for each book.

In the four years I've been of using the set I've genuinely NEVER had anyone question their authenticity.

Best wishes,

Drew

Just got the lecture. Looking forward to checking it out today. Looks awesome.

Awesome, wow. I started on creating a book test a few years ago and couldn't find the time and energy to finish it. A ridiculous amount of work goes into formatting a *regular book*, I really can't imagine doing 5 of these...

Best of luck. I'm already trying to talk myself into/out of getting these.

This month's Vanish Magazine (August 2019 edition) contains a product highlight of my Penguin Lecture:

https://view.joomag.com/vanish-magic-mag......64782640

On page 72 you'll find Paul Romhany's thoughts on my book (Architect of the Mind) followed by his review of the lecture on page 74

Best wishes,

Drew

I have Drew's book and lecture and I highly recommend both.

I am VERY selective about what I buy these days, very few releases have anything new to add to my already extensive library of mentalism books and videos.

I like Drew's stuff because it is real world and not based on the latest fad or hot new gimmick of the moment. His post comment above sums up what I like about his material:

"I tried to provide the lecture that I wish I had 10 years ago as I became serious about constructing a marketable corporate act. If anyone is in the beginning stages of this process PLEASE allow me to help shave off a number of years from your learning curve (I'm also confident that experienced performers will even find nuggets throughout the content)."

THIS is why I books and videos from real professional mentalists, so I can save time and learn from their mistakes and lessons to expedite my growth as a professional entertainer.