Defining Mentalism vs. Magic – Part II
Mentalism & Young People
Though the proverbial mold got shattered in the latter 70s and early 80s, there is a traditional view that states that Mentalism tends to work best for older performers. Based on the things I experienced in my early 20’s I’d have to cosign that thinking and for more than one reason.
If you are taking on the image of being some kind of “Expert” then you must be at least in your early late 20s/early 30’s (or appear to be) in order for your claims to seem valid and acceptable in the mind of the laity. We simply can’t be believable at 16 or 17 and claiming to be an expert in NLP or Body Language. On the other hand a 16 or 17 year old could work with an older performer (Magician) doing a two-person telepathy act with the younger person acting as the receiver… a gifted young person discovered by the elder performer, who displays uncanny psychic prowess.
A young person working in this capacity ends up with some tremendous gains; experience being just one, there’s the networking that you will be able to cultivate, introductions to key people within the community who will give you the sort of accolades you will need on down the road. You will likewise have a rather large opening for booking Home Parties in which you do demonstrations and Readings for guests.
If you were just another magician guest in a show of this sort, you MIGHT gain some private party connections. The typical such gig paying less than $200.00 in most markets (though every magician on the planet will swear he gets over a thousand on each gig). As the featured “unique talent” set in a show in this manner, the public will NOT view you as a magician but as what the elder showman introduced you as being; a young person with amazing mental abilities. This sets you well away from the stigma of being a “Magician” but here’s the sweet part…
Guests coming to the home party pay on average $35.00 each (in certain markets as much as $100.00 each) So you end up with about a dozen guest… that’s over $400.00 in your pocket up-front. For this you will offer (hypothetically) a demonstration with your trusty pendulum and then, about 20 minutes later, retire into a private area where guests come for a short 10 minute Reading/sales pitch… that is, you offer them a book on using a pendulum as well as the opportunity to buy a nice pendulum and even other books dealing with other psychic themes.
If you work this right, it is not unusual to walk out with as much as $1,000.00 for a couple of hours of your time.
I’ve deliberately painted this portrait around that novice of Mentalism that only knew how to use a Pendulum and do Readings. So based on what you know now, why do you need all the other stuff… why do you want to work harder than you need to and risk not having that sense of being “the real deal”?
When it comes to this premise I have another reason for bringing it up… because you are young the home party market will prove the best place to start. It’s small groups which will allow you to get used to interaction with people as well as improving your awareness skills; being able to study each patron so that you know how to do the Reading when you get into that private room… and potentially when they call you for a more in-depth follow-up session. But those awareness elements will aid you in other ways, such as learning what a person’s “tells” are shortly after meeting them; how to create a quick and effective “base-line” with the participants you plan on working with so you can actually rely on things like NLP, Body Language and non-contact Muscle Reading skills… just to name a few.
Though it can be done, I would not recommend a young person (15-25) to attempt to work within the high profile (highly competitive) entertainment market, not until he/she has invested a few years in cultivating both, their character and their resume. A young person doing stage magic can get away with this, but not so when it comes to Mentalism; you’ll be eaten alive.
In order to work those big dollar gigs you have to have a foundation; paid gigs, letters of recommendation, newspaper articles, etc. So working the home party market, the shows with your older performer and even some carnival gigs, you get that foundation. BUT, why are you looking at Mentalism the same way you would magic?
Bear in mind, we’re still looking at working with the most basic of skills and yet, you can go to the park, the mall, just about any public venue and start doing Readings or simple demonstrations with the pendulum with a “Pass the Hat” side bit… you could even pitch your booklets in order to bring in more cash. It’s not the same as Busking because you should be focused more on doing Readings than showing off.
I knew a gypsy lady that worked the Renaissance fair circuit. She’s spread out several large quilts, toss some fluffy pillows about and pull a bottle of wine out of her cooler… $15.00 to take a seat, have a glass and enjoy the psychic flow… she would move about the group in a quasi-John Edward manner using Tarot Cards or a Crystal ball and giving people some very basic Readings… in a 10 hour day it was not unusual for her to walk out with over $2,000.00 from the $15.00 fee alone. She had her pitch books and other paraphernalia that could be sold as well.
Are you starting to see the difference?
Richard Webster was the one that pointed this out to me; how the Mentalist has no excuse when it comes to having cash in pocket. With the most basic skills associated with the craft you can make a fair and HONEST living. But for those under 25, these skills also lend to you the opportunity to learn and grow as both, performer and human being.
The first time I did a full-evening (90 minute) Mentalism show I was 22. The post show reaction of the patrons scared the hell out of me.
Why?
Because I wasn’t ready to become a guru.
When you do this work right, you WILL get this kind of reaction, which is why the old timers offered mini-readings after the show. Many performers today actually hire Readers from the towns they move through during a tour, so patrons have the opportunity to get a Reading after the show.
Of all the skills available to the Mentalist, being a solid Reader is the most important. The public could care less if you can bend spoons, stop time or replicate a drawing; they come to see a “Psychic” for the Reading. This is why the Q&A reigns supreme of all routines featured in a Mentalism program. I’ll refer you the closing paragraph on page 360 of Corinda; ”…let me say that I firmly believe that of all the Arts & Crafts of Mentalism, there is nothing more advanced, more difficult and yet more satisfying than one who is a first-class Reader. It is the ultimate in Mentalism and if you can reach this standard – you will never get any higher, nor will you have to.
And while I’m at it, there is one other quote I am compelled to share here, also from Corinda; ”No writer can ever give you as much as actual experience from practice. I would assert that half the qualification you require for success – is worldliness and that comes from meeting people and going places. A Reader cannot be a Dreamer, he is a man who knows the facts of life and he has to be prepared to drop any Victorian niceties, and admit (at least to himself) that sometimes, some people do nasty things. Life can be very vulgar in reality and the Reader will meet with every vulgarity that has been conceived. You will have to be prepared for all types and every situation and must therefore study all types and different situations… you cannot learn about life unless you study it…”
I’ll deal more with this topic a bit more, possibly in a second essay, in that it always brings up a ton of misunderstanding, ill feelings and contempt; the cynic not understanding that there are honest and legitimate ways of being a Reader and even doing professional Readings without being a charlatan.
One point in closing however; if you are not willing to exercise this particular skill, you will be limiting yourself as well as your income potential – the public will view you as being little more than a magician trying to convince the world he’s not.
{End of Part II}
Mentalism & Young People
Though the proverbial mold got shattered in the latter 70s and early 80s, there is a traditional view that states that Mentalism tends to work best for older performers. Based on the things I experienced in my early 20’s I’d have to cosign that thinking and for more than one reason.
If you are taking on the image of being some kind of “Expert” then you must be at least in your early late 20s/early 30’s (or appear to be) in order for your claims to seem valid and acceptable in the mind of the laity. We simply can’t be believable at 16 or 17 and claiming to be an expert in NLP or Body Language. On the other hand a 16 or 17 year old could work with an older performer (Magician) doing a two-person telepathy act with the younger person acting as the receiver… a gifted young person discovered by the elder performer, who displays uncanny psychic prowess.
REMEMBER: this is a business and if the product isn’t packaged properly it won’t sell.
A young person working in this capacity ends up with some tremendous gains; experience being just one, there’s the networking that you will be able to cultivate, introductions to key people within the community who will give you the sort of accolades you will need on down the road. You will likewise have a rather large opening for booking Home Parties in which you do demonstrations and Readings for guests.
If you were just another magician guest in a show of this sort, you MIGHT gain some private party connections. The typical such gig paying less than $200.00 in most markets (though every magician on the planet will swear he gets over a thousand on each gig). As the featured “unique talent” set in a show in this manner, the public will NOT view you as a magician but as what the elder showman introduced you as being; a young person with amazing mental abilities. This sets you well away from the stigma of being a “Magician” but here’s the sweet part…
Guests coming to the home party pay on average $35.00 each (in certain markets as much as $100.00 each) So you end up with about a dozen guest… that’s over $400.00 in your pocket up-front. For this you will offer (hypothetically) a demonstration with your trusty pendulum and then, about 20 minutes later, retire into a private area where guests come for a short 10 minute Reading/sales pitch… that is, you offer them a book on using a pendulum as well as the opportunity to buy a nice pendulum and even other books dealing with other psychic themes.
If you work this right, it is not unusual to walk out with as much as $1,000.00 for a couple of hours of your time.
I’ve deliberately painted this portrait around that novice of Mentalism that only knew how to use a Pendulum and do Readings. So based on what you know now, why do you need all the other stuff… why do you want to work harder than you need to and risk not having that sense of being “the real deal”?
When it comes to this premise I have another reason for bringing it up… because you are young the home party market will prove the best place to start. It’s small groups which will allow you to get used to interaction with people as well as improving your awareness skills; being able to study each patron so that you know how to do the Reading when you get into that private room… and potentially when they call you for a more in-depth follow-up session. But those awareness elements will aid you in other ways, such as learning what a person’s “tells” are shortly after meeting them; how to create a quick and effective “base-line” with the participants you plan on working with so you can actually rely on things like NLP, Body Language and non-contact Muscle Reading skills… just to name a few.
Though it can be done, I would not recommend a young person (15-25) to attempt to work within the high profile (highly competitive) entertainment market, not until he/she has invested a few years in cultivating both, their character and their resume. A young person doing stage magic can get away with this, but not so when it comes to Mentalism; you’ll be eaten alive.
In order to work those big dollar gigs you have to have a foundation; paid gigs, letters of recommendation, newspaper articles, etc. So working the home party market, the shows with your older performer and even some carnival gigs, you get that foundation. BUT, why are you looking at Mentalism the same way you would magic?
Bear in mind, we’re still looking at working with the most basic of skills and yet, you can go to the park, the mall, just about any public venue and start doing Readings or simple demonstrations with the pendulum with a “Pass the Hat” side bit… you could even pitch your booklets in order to bring in more cash. It’s not the same as Busking because you should be focused more on doing Readings than showing off.
I knew a gypsy lady that worked the Renaissance fair circuit. She’s spread out several large quilts, toss some fluffy pillows about and pull a bottle of wine out of her cooler… $15.00 to take a seat, have a glass and enjoy the psychic flow… she would move about the group in a quasi-John Edward manner using Tarot Cards or a Crystal ball and giving people some very basic Readings… in a 10 hour day it was not unusual for her to walk out with over $2,000.00 from the $15.00 fee alone. She had her pitch books and other paraphernalia that could be sold as well.
Are you starting to see the difference?
Richard Webster was the one that pointed this out to me; how the Mentalist has no excuse when it comes to having cash in pocket. With the most basic skills associated with the craft you can make a fair and HONEST living. But for those under 25, these skills also lend to you the opportunity to learn and grow as both, performer and human being.
The first time I did a full-evening (90 minute) Mentalism show I was 22. The post show reaction of the patrons scared the hell out of me.
Why?
Because I wasn’t ready to become a guru.
When you do this work right, you WILL get this kind of reaction, which is why the old timers offered mini-readings after the show. Many performers today actually hire Readers from the towns they move through during a tour, so patrons have the opportunity to get a Reading after the show.
Of all the skills available to the Mentalist, being a solid Reader is the most important. The public could care less if you can bend spoons, stop time or replicate a drawing; they come to see a “Psychic” for the Reading. This is why the Q&A reigns supreme of all routines featured in a Mentalism program. I’ll refer you the closing paragraph on page 360 of Corinda; ”…let me say that I firmly believe that of all the Arts & Crafts of Mentalism, there is nothing more advanced, more difficult and yet more satisfying than one who is a first-class Reader. It is the ultimate in Mentalism and if you can reach this standard – you will never get any higher, nor will you have to.
And while I’m at it, there is one other quote I am compelled to share here, also from Corinda; ”No writer can ever give you as much as actual experience from practice. I would assert that half the qualification you require for success – is worldliness and that comes from meeting people and going places. A Reader cannot be a Dreamer, he is a man who knows the facts of life and he has to be prepared to drop any Victorian niceties, and admit (at least to himself) that sometimes, some people do nasty things. Life can be very vulgar in reality and the Reader will meet with every vulgarity that has been conceived. You will have to be prepared for all types and every situation and must therefore study all types and different situations… you cannot learn about life unless you study it…”
I’ll deal more with this topic a bit more, possibly in a second essay, in that it always brings up a ton of misunderstanding, ill feelings and contempt; the cynic not understanding that there are honest and legitimate ways of being a Reader and even doing professional Readings without being a charlatan.
One point in closing however; if you are not willing to exercise this particular skill, you will be limiting yourself as well as your income potential – the public will view you as being little more than a magician trying to convince the world he’s not.
{End of Part II}
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