When this idea popped into my head I could not wait to try it out. I had a show the very next day and put this routine in. It was a storming success. You will not find any new methods here, although the principles in use are very well hidden. What you will find is a concept and presentation that I think is VERY special.
Recently thoughts regarding my own act have turned to making the whole performance more of an experience for EVERYONE in the audience. Performers who use any Q&A routine know that one of the appeals of such a routine is that it is a "Macro" effect. In other words everyone participates in the effect on some level. Bob Cassidy was the first person to use the terms "micro" and "macro" applied to mentalism. He uses them to describe not the
size of the trick but size of the EFFECT.
A book-test generally is a micro effect. A word is chosen by someone and you tell them what it is. The rest of the audience are passive observers of this process, they are not actually involved in the effect. Macro effects on the other hand attempt to actually involve everyone at least on one level or another.
"One of the best pieces of impromptu stage mind reading I have ever seen!" - Paul Brook
The Human Equation has instantly become a pet effect for me. As many of you know I perform all over the world and spend a lot of time on planes and travelling. So effects that "pack flat and play big" (as a famous magic dealer used to say) are invaluable to me. This routine uses just a marker pen and a large pad of paper. These are props that I carry with me for my regular show anyway so with no additional effort, just some obscure knowledge, I have a 10 minute piece that can play for a room of 20 or on stage for a 1000.
It starts by actively involving EVERYONE in the room and gives them a "mental gift" that they will talk about after the show. Nine people are then selected and brought up on stage. These nine people plus the pad and marker pen are your props. You can see why this plays so big. Other people in the audience are still involved in making decisions that create some truly random results. These results have been predicted by you in advance and create a solid climax to the routine. The stage volunteers are dismissed leaving the stage clear. You now dramatically link the results back to the very beginning of the effect (the mental gift) and create a second "double wammy" climax.
Trust me this will get gasps, it's that strong!
1st edition 2011, 9 pages.
word count: 3190 which is equivalent to 12 standard pages of text
