I would like your opinion on this.
Are chalk slates too old to be used? I've been thinking about doing Osterlind's 'Ultraboard' for some time and was going to make it this weekend when I thought...why a chalk slate? Then I remembered that quite a few mentalists do spirit slates and mental epic (on slate). The thing is, no one uses those slates anymore. Infact, noone really uses chalk anymore.
I guess it can suit your character but I would like your opinions on this.

Cheers,
Rev.

What about those dry-erase types ?

They are more modern.

LOTS of potential with dry-erase. I second that!

I was thinking about designing a dry erase style Spirit Slate. I had the same issues as you, Rev. I can't find a reason to justify using something as old as a mini chalk board which you just can't find anymore, when mini dry erase boards are only a few dollars.

In North Dakota, it is not uncommon to find mini chalk boards. However, we tend to be behind the times. The dry erase boards do work well though, but I personally prefer the chalk boards. However, this is simply because I perform a couple effects that wouldn't work with dry erase markers.

I like the old chalk boards as they look like something from the times of past and were used for mentalism back in the day. You can tell stories of how it was found in an old school and still has the imprints from its' user, this ties in the fact that the person who owned it and the slate itself are old and the persons spirit lives in the slate, if that makes sense!

It depends on your style and what you're trying to get across. If you want someone to think you're talking to the dead, that's probably the way to go. If you're the type of mentalist that uses disclaimers and/or Banachek's 5 senses to give the illusion of the 6th approach, it's probably not going to work for you.

My issue with dry erase boards is that in quite alot of lighting situations for stage and parlor, they act like a reflecter. This means that people on the sides of you struggle to see and some possible get a little blinded if your working with stage lighting.

No one uses chalk anymore? Hmmm, that's the first I heard about that. I can walk into any office supply store and buy a chalk board and chalk. I see chalk boards in restaurants. Newscaster Glenn Beck uses one on his national TV show. They're hardly going away. I see the same argument about pencils, which is ridiculous.



Well they won't be getting blinded, but there is a glare that can appear on a dry erase board, making the writing harder to see.

The advantage to a chalk board over a dry erase board is that the writing in chalk really POPS and is extremely visible in the back of the room. I realize that many of you do not perform for large audiences, but for those of us who do, you want the people in the back to be able to read every word. White chalk on a black board has that advantage over anything else.

I would also add it has nothing to do with style. Richard Osterlind uses one in his corporate shows to reveal predictions. It has nothing to do with old fashioned or communicating with the dead. It has everything to do with visibility and simplicity.