Not if you actually want to be a mentalist as opposed to just another schmuck who does bland Derren Brown rip-offs.
13 Steps is a textbook. Fundamentals actually covers exactly what the title implies.
I would like to note that most of the people parroting getting 13 Steps first and **** everything else are probably not mentalists themselves and just do a cheap mindreading trick if someone takes away their cards.
Actually - no.
Corinda issued a series of courses each dedicated to one skill which made up - what he believed to be - the core skill set need to be a mentalist. How anyone can conclude that Corinda in any way leads to Derren Brown rip-offs is beyond me. Perhaps they have never actually read the book?
If one were to master the skills in Corinda, he or she would be able, at any time, to create the illusion of mind reading/mind control/etc. Sadly, many people never get this far because several of the steps are, quite frankly, hard.
I was speaking with Barrie Richardson a while back and he was amazed at the number of alleged mentalists who had never mastered a single "step."
The thing about Corinda is it is a long haul approach. (As Steerpike has written in other threads, he holds nothing but contempt for such thorough pedagogical approaches.) What I mean by that is this is a book which will take years to really benefit from. It is like a Trumpet player getting the Arban book - it will take years before you can play the etudes at the end.
Also, Corinda may seem a bit dated to some (though I am amazed how funny Tony is in his writing). By that I mean, a lot of the "tricks" will not appeal instantly to today's tastes. However, that does not mean they are bad tricks - this book was written at a time when you didn't need to hype everything before you sold it, while you were selling it, and after it was bought. If you try the effects - even as is - and do a competent job, you will see they come off as the real deal. Sadly, many magicians are not happy to do that - they need videos of screaming idiots and teasers that show nothing before they believe something could be impactful.
But again, the value in Corinda is not the tricks but in the techniques which truly are the fundamentals of mentalism - many lost because few have mastered them.
Having said all of that, allow me to offer some advice from someone who has been down the road.
Get a good book on mental magic and add them to your show. Don't go over the top at first. Get some of the solid Lee Earle/Larry Becker material or even some Osterlind. See how it fits you. Learn the tricks, practice them, and then try them out.
As your experience in presenting this style of magic/mystery arts grows, then start reaching out to the more esoteric stuff.
Cassidy's work is brilliant, but unless you have the stage confidence I do not care how well you execute the technique, you will fail.
Get comfortable in front of an audience presenting mind based material, then start branching out into the harder stuff. Finally, if you feel this is calling you, dive into Corinda and become a well rounded, fully functional mindreader.
Brad Henderson
