Hi there! Not sure if anyone really remembers me, but a quick re-introduction:

My name's Nick! 18, live around the Chicago area. I was active on the website probably anywhere from 6-8 mo's ago. Anyways!

Back then I was a beginner (still am, but I was really really ignorant about alot of magic and how things work in general back then; now I'm just semi-ignorant ), and upon asking for advice, got some great pieces of it from Bucky and some other great users, everyone basically told me to buy 13 Steps.

I've since read that (some of it more than once, I know we're supposed to read it twice ) and am now trying to build upon some things. I'm thinking of getting a routine going, and maybe even trying to get some small stage shows going over the summer. Over ambitious? Probably. But hey, dream big or go home.

For right now, I've got a few really hard hitting stuff (some of it from out of 13 Steps itself) into my act, and am developing it along with patter, etc. I'm interested in buying some effects that will really increase my knowledge base and my routine's "omg" factor.



I'm torn between Jeramy's Fingertip Reading, E.I., and 3510.

Questions I have:
If you own three (or even two) of these, which ones do you own and which is your favorite. Why?

I know the method for the FIRST part of E.I. and am not a big fan of how it is accomplished and am also unsure if this could be adapted to stage. I am NOT asking for exposure, just a general nod yes or no if I should buy E.I. (as in, are the other two steps done with a similar method to the first? If this is the case I'm not sure it's for me).

A quick rundown of my routine (so far, I realize it is not anywhere near ready) is:

The Seven Chairs Routine with an added color twist / prediction

A "pick a city on a map of the world while blindfolded" prediction / routine.

Some other quick games to entertain that are "mentalism" geared that I created.

Liar / Truthteller Routine for alot of money to end with.



Which of these effects would best be incorporated to the routine?
Is it worth the money to buy both E.I. and Fingertips Reading?
Or would one be best suited for the routine?
Is 3510 really all it's hyped up to be? Is it actually worth $50 in your opinion?

Thanks so much for taking the time to read all this!

-Nick

I really like E.I. It was devised as a way to "safely" practice cold reading. You will have a routine with three guaranteed successful outcomes and it gives you the liberty to practice cold reading without getting egg on your face. I don't have the others yet, though they are on my wishlist. Here is something that might interest you.

http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1902

If you can save up $100 you could get all of the Luke Jermay material that you are currently interested in and two more DVDs to boot. For a mentalist type(provided your not opposed to cards and mentalism) I'd suggest Gazzos tossed out deck.

I have both E.I. and 3510.
E.I. was good as it was designed - as mentioned - as a way to practise cold reading so that no matter how many times you miss, you'll have a big hit. For that reason, I feel the routine - though it's not the best out there is good. It can be performed straight, and no doubt people will be fooled and entertained but once you litter it with Cold reading, you get a really powerful display. I like it because it helped me develop my cold reading skills with confidence and for that, it was worth the money.
3510 is good. There were only two things I feel I took from the book.
The first would be Jermay's trick 'Touching On Hoy' which is a marvelous piece of mentalism. You have three audience members up on stage on three chairs facing the audience, they all close their eyes and the performer asks each person one-by-one to think of something and then simply names all three. No props, nothing written, just a performer and three chairs. There is an entire chapter devoted to it and Luke goes into every detail. He then include little side things that you can do or different ways you can present it. Then their is two effects (not by Luke) based on the principle - a drawing duplication and a hypnosis style routine. The basic trick is a really great prop free piece.
The second thing I got out of the book would be Luke's approach to pre-show work and how to use this to make miracles on stage. Very interesting.
Those to things were - for me - worth the $50 but of course its up to you and what you expect and desire from the material.
Feel free to ask any questions of either of those,
Peace,
Rev.

Thank you to both of you for your responses! I know this sounds so lame, but this is why I love Penguin. The mutual support and help base from among fellow performers :]

What are your opinions on E.I. becoming adaptable to the stage? Consider that I'll be working on a small scale production level, so I probably won't have cameras or things to enlarge the business cards so that the audience could see them on a screen or anything like that. Can it be done as a stage effect? On a similar note does anyone think that Fingertips could be adapted to stage? My guess is probably no?

From your comments Rev I think I will probably end up purchasing 3510. I've read through the chapter descriptions and Touching On Hoy sounds absolutely fantastic, and there is a lot of other things (like I mentioned, I'm still pretty new to all this) that interest me / I have no idea about.

Thanks again for all the help guys! Means the world

Nick

Depends on the size of your venue. Luke performed EI for a good size crowd at the Magic Castle. I think both can be done you just have to find ways to enlarge the info without a camera. For instance have the spec write the card she selected on a dry erase board, show it to the audience, then wipe it clean. You can adapt almost all closeup to stage just get creative in how you enlarge and amplify the effect and communication from stage to crowd.

I hate shopping! I can never make up my mind. After seeing Evan's post (and his review) I now have a strong leaning toward's buying Barrie's "Theatre of the Mind" book along with 3510 and just be happy with that. I think a billion amazing effects (and Touching on Hoy which I'm very excited about ) in books for double the price of one effect is a much better bang for my book.

I've studied all you've mentioned above, and they are all really good! However I would suggest that to give you some more background into mentalism along with other great effetcs, buy some Osterlind Mind Mysteries DVDs along with perhaps Sleight of Mind or Training Trances.

Paul

Speaking of Sleight of Mind, Harling and Nyrup have just put out a new release. It looks to be both SOM and Geist; another release of theirs put together. Looks good.
BTW good to see you back, Paul

Thanks Rev! Yeah took a break from internet forums for a while.. been busy though!

Paul

Does 3510 say much about walk around mentalism not on stage. It says it has a section on prop free mentalism is that any good? I want some good routines or effects that can be done pretty much anywhere. Would E.I. be better?

I just finished reading 3510 and I would say that E.I. might better suit your needs. Don't get me wrong, 3510 has some great principles in mentalism that are well worth exploring but many of them are more geared towards stage performances.