A complete, routined act of telepathy, mind reading, and clairvoyance, designed for two people, and possible of being presented before a most critical audience. The minimum of preparation is necessary for the maximum of effect.
There are several types of "two-person mental acts," but in most instances an exhibition of this kind consists of the performer transmitting information, apparently by means of "telepathic waves," to a "medium" seated a little distance away. The Zanzics, the Sharrocks, and the Ushers were among the leading exponents of such work in the vaudeville field; and Robert-Houdin, Robert Heller, Harry Kellar, David Devant, Harry Rouclere, Karl Germain, Charles J. Carter, and Walter Floyd gave important positions in their full evening programs to two-person acts of "telepathy," "second sight," or "mind reading." Twenty-five years of experience in presenting feats of this nature have convinced this reviewer of their great effectiveness.
The "tests" given in En Rapport are not designed for the theatrical stage, but (according to the author) for "clubs, homes, private parties, and audiences of the intimate sort." However, says Mr. Annemann, these tests make up "the very same act for which the writer has received fees up to $200 for a single evening in private homes and clubs" - and this statement will doubtless strike some readers as ample evidence of its merit! The specific demonstrations explained in the booklet are these:
- The medium "thought reads" the names of three cards mentally chosen by members of the audience.
- The medium predicts in writing the card that will be selected by each of three spectators. (This is an adaptation of an Al Baker effect.)
- The medium reads the name of a "thought of" card by a different procedure from that described in (1) above.
- The medium reads the figures that constitute the number on a borrowed dollar bill.
- The medium discovers the denomination and date of each of three borrowed coins.
- The medium reproduces on a slate (a) a word, (b) a few figures, and (c) a drawing which have been put down secretly by members of the audience.
These are excellent tests, carefully worked out and arranged in a logical sequence which comes to an end with a particularly impressive feat. The program requires some very simple memory work on the part of both performer and medium. The author suggests that the whole routine can be mastered in two evenings. We hope, however, that interested readers will give it a couple of weeks of conscientious practice, for there is no field of mystery in which smoothness and self-assurance (and these qualities are largely a matter of adequate practice) pay bigger dividends than in mental work.
This 24-page booklet, bound in soft boards, has 18 pages of text, two of advertising, and four that are blank. There can be no question about the workability of this material. It is first-class fare in every respect for audiences of the type for which it was devised.
