This week, we focus in the wonderful insight from the Master Mindreader Bob Cassidy, a line that you can watch and hear in this video:
As we can read, Bob in here offers a typology of three different approaches to Mentalism: A Mental Magician, a Pseudo-Mentalist and a Mentalist.
If we study in a deeper manner the work from Bob, we can see a clear distinction between Mental Magic and Mentalism.
Basically, Mental Magic is done by a Magician. Someone that offers a demonstration of mental illusions, in which the audience will suspend disbelief (as in any theatrical setting) to entertain them.
If you want to do this, is fine! Any approach, done with love and passion, is valid, but this is not Mentalism.
Mentalism cant be done by a Magician. Mentalism is done by a Mentalist.
You can be a Magician and a Mentalist, as soon as you realize that both Mystery Performance paths ARE indeed different.
In Mentalism, we are constructing a reality, not an illusion. We are not alluding that our acts are a miss-perception and everything that we do is under the cover of suspension of disbelief, quite the contrary (as Lee Earle says), in Mentalism we create "Activation of Belief".
We ARE reading minds, we ARE creating everything that we claim.
So, if we dont create a credible mind mystery, we are alluding an illusion, not a reality.
Whats your subtext in performance?
A "non-claim" is still a claim!
If you hear between the lines, he never alludes that his performance was an illusion, or "just a trick" (like sadly several Mentalists nowadays)
If we read the original quote, we can see that in the middle Bob refers a "Pseudo-Mentalist"...
What do you think that this means?
Personally, I think that Bob refers to someone who starts to understand the differences between being a Mental Magician and a Mentalist, but doesnt still get the small subtleties of realism and credibilty, so his acts are still unbalanced.
This performer still has the bad habits to act like Magician (sleeves rolled up, showing the hands empty, etc) being to explicit with "justifications" and others small details that are still communicating doubts about his premise as performer.
If you think about it, a Mental Magician can perform the same routine that a Mentalist and get different results. Why is that?
It is because is not what you do, but HOW you do it, and that "how" is completely about the PERSON.
YOU are the Mentalist that can transform a simple, bold method in a mental miracle. Is not what you do in your inner reality, but what you express in your outer reality.
A Magician can use a TT to make a silk vanish, a Mentalist can use a TT to do his Bank Night. The mechanical tool is invisible, but the results are highly different because of the person.
I hope that this ideas and reflections can move your week, so you can have a little more light and clarity about your goals.
If you want to be a Mental Magician, be the BEST
If you want to be a Mentalist, be the BEST
Have a wonderful week!
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