Comedy mentalism routines?

Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
I know i know...use the search function...i did, and really did not come across much...

I have some shows coming up this year and I currently have a solid 20 minutes (normally not the headliner) but I have a few 30 and 45 ones that I need to expand my material...I am a mix of comedian/magician, and have noticed I do not have as much Mentalism stuff as I would like

I cant have 30 minutes of 90% cards for example...

So I am wondering what are some modern tricks that can be manipulated into a comedy routine, thinking some darren brown (some that can be performed by myself, not an entire crew)

Any ideas or advice would be awesome.
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
Let me answer that with another question: Why mentalism? If you're doing shows as a comedian/magician, that's your niche. Why are you trying to be Derren Brown?
 
Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
Let me explain.

Im not trying to be derren brown, im trying to use a mentalism effect in my set, once I know the effect (something hard hitting) i can mold it into my own.

Im looking my stuff over and its too card oriented

I have-
a basic mind reading gag (similar to that of michael kent with the white board)- 2 phases
card catch
card in pants
pressure
air tight
Looking at buying multiplying bottles
dresscode (done without much attention, sorta wait for the audience to realize my shirts different)

also have some bits of stand up- but mostly the comedy is mixed in with these

I have done around 15 shows this past year, most of them going very well, but im at the point where I need to expand my material as im getting longer gigs.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
Let me explain.

Im not trying to be derren brown, im trying to use a mentalism effect in my set, once I know the effect (something hard hitting) i can mold it into my own.

Im looking my stuff over and its too card oriented

I have-
a basic mind reading gag (similar to that of michael kent with the white board)- 2 phases
card catch
card in pants
pressure
air tight
Looking at buying multiplying bottles
dresscode (done without much attention, sorta wait for the audience to realize my shirts different)

also have some bits of stand up- but mostly the comedy is mixed in with these

I have done around 15 shows this past year, most of them going very well, but im at the point where I need to expand my material as im getting longer gigs.

None of that answers my question. Why mentalism?

And for the love of Christ, do not throw one mentalism effect into a card show. Every hack does that, and it always sucks. Do not be that guy. Mental magic for the sake of variety is one thing, but no one is going to buy for an instant a pure mentalism effect that was preceded by half an hour of card tricks.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Also, why are you selling shows you can't do?

What overall effect are you going for with the show? What are you trying to say? We can't really make any suggestions that will mean anything that you can't find with Google unless we know what your ultimate goal is with the show.
 
Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
sigh you mistaken my question for serious mentalism

my show is not serious, at all.

I am looking for a awesome effect, one that ill watch, decide if it fits well in my stuff, buy it, then mold it into my own thing... i dont want to stop the momentum and "get all serious as I read this girls mind", thats not my intentions at all.

Im thinking something like a prediction...something that involves audience participation, something i can change around to make it dirty if needed (show is 18+, usually perform at clubs)
 
Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
Also, why are you selling shows you can't do?

What overall effect are you going for with the show? What are you trying to say? We can't really make any suggestions that will mean anything that you can't find with Google unless we know what your ultimate goal is with the show.

Im entertaining only...im not trying to sell a message. I perform for drunk crowds of 50-300 on stage, lots of audience participation, for the sake of entertainment.

I am essentially a stand up comedian, with magic. Some tricks flow together, some dont, i do not need the entire show to blend seamlessly together.

And to answer your first question.

Money talks...lol
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
sigh you mistaken my question for serious mentalism

my show is not serious, at all.

I am looking for a awesome effect, one that ill watch, decide if it fits well in my stuff, buy it, then mold it into my own thing... i dont want to stop the momentum and "get all serious as I read this girls mind", thats not my intentions at all.

Im thinking something like a prediction...something that involves audience participation, something i can change around to make it dirty if needed (show is 18+, usually perform at clubs)

Then you don't want mentalism, you want tricks. You want mental magic. There's a difference.

Also, I got a sense of deja vu here so I did a search. Not much has changed, has it?

Im entertaining only...im not trying to sell a message. I perform for drunk crowds of 50-300 on stage, lots of audience participation, for the sake of entertainment.

Even a non sequitur needs context. There's lots of different kinds of entertaining and lots of different kinds of funny. If you want give us details, then the only advice you'll end up getting is to buy more crap. Then again, that sounds exactly like the answer you want, so carry on I suppose.

And to answer your first question.

Money talks...lol

That is not an answer that inspires confidence.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,395
8
37
Belgrade, Serbia
I'm pretty sure that Steerpike, Craig Browning and a few other guys will give you a good advice about how, why and when to do what. So I'll skip that part, mainly because Steerpike already explained most of it. But in my opinion, trying to imagine your style and show type, I think that you should look into John Archer's material. He's hilarious, has tons of audience participation (which mentalism routine doesn't?), you can pretty much change the patter easily, and it's almost 18+ anyways. So look into him.
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
Have you considered something like the Tossed Out Deck? Gazzo gets a lot of mileage out of it...

PLEASE DON'T! T.O.D. Used to be a great piece of Mentalism but like so many great bits of mentalism, magicians stole the bit and ruined it! Not only do too many of them do it, they do it poorly.

What our OP is looking for is MENTAL MAGIC . . . routines that kindof look & feel like something Psychic but are in fact, a gag. This is where Instant Stooging proves to be an awesome technique or fun routines like Casino Royale Roni Shachney's GRAFFITI and so forth . . . If you have access to a real Elephant I've got an awesome spin on the old Elephant in Denmark routine that will bring the house down.

But I want to go back to something Christopher asked about earlier. . . WHY?

You already have solid material that is magical and it works, why do you need to venture toward the Mind Reading stuff?

Have you ever stopped to consider how such acts make working Mentalists feel . . . you are after all, doing a parody of what we do for making a living???

Think about that a bit, but if you still think you need to do such material you may want to look up some manuscripts on comedy presentations for mentalism, which can be found through Hades Publishing (you'll have to wade through the on-line listings, Brian hasn't up-dated that site in decades).
 
Aug 17, 2010
411
4
T.O.D. Used to be a great piece of Mentalism but like so many great bits of mentalism, magicians stole the bit and ruined it! Not only do too many of them do it, they do it poorly.

Have to agree to disagree on this.

Have you ever stopped to consider how such acts make working Mentalists feel . . . you are after all, doing a parody of what we do for making a living???

I think it's possible to do such a thing without ridicule. Besides, we can laugh at ourselves, can't we? Surely the field is not so fragile that parody threatens the whole thing, is it? A lot of people present magic in a less than serious way, and i don't find that threatening at all.
 
Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
Thank you toby for answering my original question :)

as for tossed out deck...its yet another card trick essentially...plus my good friend who performs at much of the same venues I do has that in his routine.


and thank you craig

Im not into coin, or rope magic...and for large crowds a good mentalism routine will work wonders.
 
Feb 10, 2013
185
0
You see how Toby gets a thank you all the time when he replies. E is very nice and helpful. Every thread on here asking for advice I see people responding ith "it is way way beyond what you will be able to do" and that is just mean. These magic forums are supposed to help magicians build confidence and get advice to improve, not put down others dreams. The let me google that for you posts are just mean, it is like you are insulting he guy. I see posts with a " I am better than you" attitude and expressing cockiness, rudeness, and stubbornness. I don't like that, it ruins the fun and helpful attitude to these forums. We need more Toby's in my opinion. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all. That does not mean don't give constructive criticism, don't get that confused. Just be more respectful.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
Give a man a fish, teach a man to fish.

Responses like this are why I give responses like mine. I tried to help. I tried to give him the best advice possible. He doesn't want to get the best possible, he just wants something handed to him. He doesn't even want to do the basic leg work of checking around to see if he can find something himself. He doesn't care that he's selling a product he hasn't got.

He believes in "good enough".

I find that insulting.
 
Sep 1, 2007
586
0
Cornwall
you dont think i didnt google this stuff before?

I came across general stuff, and didnt find anything that suited my taste, so I came here to get more answers- answers such as an example of an established comedy magician (tobys reply)
 
Sep 1, 2007
3,786
15
These magic forums are supposed to help magicians build confidence and get advice to improve, not put down others dreams.

Oh, sweet chocolate Buddha... Sometimes people are wrong. It is not immoral to tell them so. And before you go on about constructive criticism, define it.

you dont think i didnt google this stuff before?

You don't want me to answer that.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the greatest performers of our generation still debate whether one can effectively mix magic and mentalism. Why do so many guys think that debate does not apply to them? Then again, as I said earlier, you're not looking for mentalism. You're looking for tricks. And I still question why you think it has to be mentalism specifically. Why? Why will nothing else satisfy you? I swear, you better not be another one of those wannabes trying to ride the coattails of Derren Brown's recent successes.
 
Feb 10, 2013
185
0
Oh, sorry. I thought most people knew what constructive criticism was. Here, to clear things up:


Main Entry: constructive criticism
Part of Speech: n
Definition: criticism or advice that is useful and intended to help or improve something, often with a nice offer of possible solutions
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
you dont think i didnt google this stuff before?

I came across general stuff, and didnt find anything that suited my taste, so I came here to get more answers- answers such as an example of an established comedy magician (tobys reply)

I think you didn't Google it enough. I also am not going to do your work for you. Random suggestions lead to random shows. Random shows are bad in my mind. You didn't want help, you wanted someone to find your material for you. While Toby is well meaning, ultimately giving you that information doesn't correct your path.

Stop selling shows you don't have, put some real effort into writing them, or stop being annoyed if people think you're lazy.
 
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