From the introduction:
In this manuscript we are going to examine three routines. The first, “Three Questions,” is something that I have made use of in casual settings for a while now. I think it really showcases some interesting thinking that creates a very pleasing outcome. I really hope you enjoy this and use it in your own casual performances and walk around settings. The second routine, “The Ultimate Add A Number,” is something with which I am very pleased. I think this routine really illustrates my drive in recent years.
I have become known within the magic community for coming up with new premises and plots that I have achieved in performance, with the employment of unusual methods. As flattering as this reputation is, it is not actually where I find myself in my more recent creative explorations. In more recent times I have found my drive to be in finding new and interesting ways to re-examine the classics of mentalism.One of the standards of mentalism, “The Add A Number” routine (in which the performer predicts the total of seemingly random numbers) has long been a mainstay within mentalism performances. It has, however, pretty much always left me feeling cold and unimpressed.
I set out to change that and in “The Ultimate Add A Number Routine” I have found something that makes me excited about the classic routine. I hope you will share my feelings on this.
The final routine detailed within this manuscript does indeed include a touch of the unusual methods I have become known for. However for the most part these methods are mechanical in nature and are not based only in suggestion.
This final routine is my rendition of the classic “Light & Heavy Chest,” for a walk around situation. With that said, it could easily be staged for a larger performance. Nothing more than a deck of cards and a few minutes of one time construction is needed.
The effects in more detail are:
- Three Questions: You will discover the star sign of a spectator by asking three seemingly unrelated questions. The method has nothing to do with progressive anagrams, which Luke doesn't really like much. This is fiendishly clever thinking. There is no risk or hit and miss.
- The Ultimate Add A Number: Four spectators write four numbers. A fifth adds them and the number matches a prediction as well as every spectator's result who participated in the experiment. A combination of methods cancels each other to make this an unexplainable mystery.
- Strength: A spectator is unable to first remove the cards from a pack, although another one can easily do so, then he can't lift the deck of cards off the performers hand, and finally he is too weak to hold a single card. (Illustrations for this effect provided by Michael Paehler.)
word count: 12381 which is equivalent to 49 standard pages of text
