Last night Deceptions Unlimited hosted Banachek himself for a lecture in Pittsburgh. I'm a little embarassed to admit that the first time he addressed the audience, I was trying really hard to place his accent. A mixture of South African, English, and... Jersey, perhaps?
Anyway, the lecture was very fast-paced and he covered some of his most popular material and a Q&A act. Before he went into actual methodology, he described the psychology behind the presentation, which I appreciated a lot more than the actual methods. If you're familiar with his work, you know that he sets himself up so that there's no way he can lose. He has an out for everything. I mean literally everything. He's thought of every contingency. It's the kind of analytical thinking that comes only through years of experience.
He spent a lot of time covering the psychology of PK Touches, explaining how it wasn't a routine, it was a tool and a principle. The routine presented in the manuscript was simply to contextualize it. He performed a different presentation for it, and rattled off examples of a few others. The important thing was that the principle had to be used creatively to be effective.
One thing I thought was particularly powerful was an old mentalist concept he uses constantly that very few people do anymore. No, I'm not going to tell you what it was. I'm keeping this one close to the chest because it's that good. Suffice to say that it's going to be one of my top priorities in practicing and rehearsing for the next couple weeks. Shame there's a clothing restriction...
Unfortunately I had to get back home by 11 to get up early this morning so I missed the last half-hour of the lecture, but I don't feel too bad because I got so much out of it anyway. If you ever get the chance to see Banachek lecture, go for it. Sell blood to pay for the fee if you have to, just do it.
The next Deceptions Unlimited lecture is Bruce Bernstein this August.
Anyway, the lecture was very fast-paced and he covered some of his most popular material and a Q&A act. Before he went into actual methodology, he described the psychology behind the presentation, which I appreciated a lot more than the actual methods. If you're familiar with his work, you know that he sets himself up so that there's no way he can lose. He has an out for everything. I mean literally everything. He's thought of every contingency. It's the kind of analytical thinking that comes only through years of experience.
He spent a lot of time covering the psychology of PK Touches, explaining how it wasn't a routine, it was a tool and a principle. The routine presented in the manuscript was simply to contextualize it. He performed a different presentation for it, and rattled off examples of a few others. The important thing was that the principle had to be used creatively to be effective.
One thing I thought was particularly powerful was an old mentalist concept he uses constantly that very few people do anymore. No, I'm not going to tell you what it was. I'm keeping this one close to the chest because it's that good. Suffice to say that it's going to be one of my top priorities in practicing and rehearsing for the next couple weeks. Shame there's a clothing restriction...
Unfortunately I had to get back home by 11 to get up early this morning so I missed the last half-hour of the lecture, but I don't feel too bad because I got so much out of it anyway. If you ever get the chance to see Banachek lecture, go for it. Sell blood to pay for the fee if you have to, just do it.
The next Deceptions Unlimited lecture is Bruce Bernstein this August.
