BAIRN STACKED, BORROWED, REMEMBERED Ladies and Gentlemen, Stevie Wonder! On the subject on discovering something new while 'on the spot' here's a situation I managed to wriggle free of. One night I'm in the bar of the hotel I was working at, I'd flown in a day early, and being the consummate show-off, once someone found out what I do, the demonstrations began. Of course I'm a professional. I was prepared. I had my trusty deck of cards stacked into my favourite order (Richard Osterlind's Breakthrough Card System) in my pocket. So after a short while of wowing people with the miracles that are possible with a stacked deck, I retired to my room. The following night I do my show and afterwards I find myself in the same bar in that same hotel, having what you might call 'an after-show skinful: Lo and behold, those same people I'd seen the previous night were there too. Along with some other friends they'd met that day. "This is Kennedy:' I'm introduced, shake hands and kiss cheeks, "He's a mind reader. You wouldn't want to play him in a casino. Show them that thing you did last night with the cards:' Well after a show I have emptied my pockets and am sitting there with nothing of any use on me, let alone cards. "I'm sorry, I just got off stage and don't have my cards with me". I declined.
BA\RN But that wasn't enough for these keen, enthusiastic folks. "It's okay, we've just been playing bridge, here do it with these:' Shit. Well. .. not to worry, these are lay-people what do they know. I can do some'other' stuff. So I ploughed through various mental card effects and they were blown away. I'd dodged it. , Wrong. "Do that one where they look at the cards and you know which ones they're looking at, and the one with the pockets - that's amazing that one is!" 5hitty shit. I had a half-baked idea ofwhat'might'work. "Okay:' I started. "I don't know if your friends told you, but what I do is read people, remember details about them and then use them to my own advantage. A nice advantage though of course. So my memory is pretty good. In fact let me show you this. Call out any card at all, we'll make that as the starting point for this next thing" "5 of clubs" "Okay, take it out of your deck and place it face up on the table. What I'm going to do is call out every card in the deck, in a random order, which keeping track of them all so I never repeat one and I won't leave any out. So when I call out a card, just find it and place it face up on to the previous one on the table in a pile. If they're in a pile it means I can't see all of them so I'll have to just rely on memorising what I've done and what I haven't:' I did it. And they applauded wildly. Then I went on to go right into my stacked deck routines. 248
BAIRN HOW? Because the order I called out, starting with their freely named card, WAS my stack. So as the volunteer is placing the cards on top of each other to prove I got them right, and so I cant see the previous ones, they were actually stacking the deck for me. How cool is that? So that's a nice little bit to have in mind if you're ever caught short and want to perform your stacked deck material, but don't want to have to sneak off to set up.* BONUSl You can see performance clips, receive updates on this and the other routines plus additional, previously unreleased material by visiting: www.mentalunderground.com/bairnbook * Since writing this up and sharing it with some friends, trust Francis Moretti to rain on my parade by telling me that Jean Hugard came up with something similar and published it in his work on the Nikola system. However since I've not heard anyone talking about this before, I've kept it in this book to bring it to the attention of more people, in the hope that it will help more of us out of sticky situations. I hope it serves you well. Proof that great minds think alike? Maybe. More likely that I am vastly under-read in the world of card magic.
2.50
BAIRN AN ACTVS A STRING OF TRICKS We've all read and heard people talk about having an act rather than just a trick then a trick and then another trick. But how on earth do you do that? I've broken it down, for myself into the following components; a theme, a story, a thread, a target. I think having those four things to a greater or lesser degree will give your audience a real feeling that they are enjoying a show, not just someone doing a string of tricks they like. A THEME What is your show about? That's it really. This is still something I am constantly playing with. One of my acts is very much about testing my abilities under increasingly difficult conditions, with tougher targets. Which leads us on to ... A STORY I was lucky enough to spend time with multi award-winning writer Cherie Steinkeller (TV show Cheers and musical Sister Act), and she taught me that the show has to 'go somewhere: There must be progress. It needs to get tougher, or more stringent, or bigger, or maybe the progression is not about difficulty but about the story, what happens to the character or characters? A THREAD There should be, what I call a 'constant' or a thread. There should be something
BAlRN happening, or back-referenced throughout the show that ties it together. This might be a prediction that is on display. It could be some choice you are having people make between most of the routines. How about a prop. A drink. A game. A joke. A tag line. A TARGET We need to know where it's all going. In grand illusion, we go to see Copperfield and sit through the show eager to see him fly. We love the journey, but that's because we know where it's going. If an audience doesn't know where they are going they can disengage. It's like waiting and not knowing when the waiting will end. A simple device to do this is to have a prediction on display from the start. The audience will figure out that the show is leading to that prediction matching something. The target also locks people in through curiosity. Or at least it can. With a prediction they want to know what it's all about. So they pay close attention to see when you get to it. Will it be now? How about now? I'm excited! Of course character can also create a show. My research on character, even as a trained actor, is still not yet complete enough to offer an insight just yet. I'm working on it though. In closing. An act is not a string of tricks. Instead it moves from one place to another with purpose, with intent and one thing builds upon another. The effects, while not all intertwined are related, and together build a picture. That picture may be of a theme, a statement, a belief or of a person. However you do it, at the end the audience think and/or feel differently about something or someone than before you started. They're talking about the show ... not the tricks. BONUS! 151 You can see performance clips, receive updates on this and the other routines plus additional, previously unreleased material by visiting: www.mentalunderground.com/bairnbook
BAIRN
2.54
CROWD CONTROL BAIRN You bound on stage, just as if you're wearing an Easter bunny costume, talking about your interest in crowd psychology. As a student you played the popular game of having your group of friends all look up at the same time, to see if passers by will follow. " ... And they do. We all tend to follow the crowd, or at least trust it's judgement almost without questioning. That is what this first experiment is about. In a moment I'm going to playa short piece of music. During that time some of you may decide that you are one of the people it is almost 'speaking' to, and that you should stand up:' You playa twenty second clip of some classical music. "If you feel like it might just be you, then please stand up now:' From the small group, you count out loud and everyone can clearly see that there are eight people standing. You tear open the top of the envelope you've been holding and have someone near the front remove the card from inside before joining you on stage. They read out what you wrote on the cardjust before the show started,"lfthe dynamics of the group tonight are conducive, approximately eight people will feel the impulse to stand. If this is the case, then we are in for a fantastic night!" .
BA\RN THE TRUTH Ever since I started in mentalism I've had a fascination with one particular method and 'type' of effect. I've spent a lot of time thinking through presentational approaches to it, the first of which appeared in my first release to our community under the name 'Taxi: Since then, I'm flattered to have been told that UK magic legend, Paul Daniels recommends 'Taxi' as the best routine of it's type. 'Crowd Control' is something that is much more fitting with my style and interest in performance now, a number of years since that release. I've also added some further deception on one very important element of the routine. I perform Crowd Control for dinner party and cabaret-size events of up to perhaps forty or so people. It's simply a nail-writer effect. But to me, this really sets the tone of what is to come for those of us who perform as psychological mentalists. The card is pre-written with all of the information, apart from the number (8 in this example), which you nail write in afterwards. One thing I have done is to play around a lot with the envelope and the best way to handle this for cleanest deception, but also for steadiest nail writing to be executed. What I'm working with now, and have been possibly for a couple of years at this pOint (I'm sure I recall lecturing this for Newcastle Magic Circle at least two years ago), is as follows: I use a pay-size envelope. On the address side, holding the envelope portrait, I cut a slit across the entire width, at about 1/4 of the way from the top. My prediction card is folded into quarters so that the area where the number is to be written is on the outside. It is then hooked over the slit I just cut so that half of the card is inside the envelope and the other half is outside. 256
BAIRN This means that the card is high up in the envelope, making the secret writing much easier. Once you've nail written the correct number in you simply need to tear the envelope open at the point of the slit you cut. You'll only be tearing the non-address side of the envelope, as the address side was already cut, but you're also destroying the evidence. Which means you can now reach forward and ask someone seated toward the front to remove the card from the envelope herself and there is nothing for her to discover. Another couple of important points I've found add to this significantly. First of all, she should be handed the envelope BEFORE she comes to join you on stage. This has the appearance of far more isolation. I think the additional time it takes for her to come stand next to you is not only unnecessary, but dilutes the immediacy and almost 'hands off nature you want to imply. Secondly. I say that I made the prediction just before coming on stage. Not a week ago. This is important because, I don't think anyone truly believes that you'll have been writing a prediction a week before the show. However, there is an exception. This does not fit with my 'psychology' angle, but if you're more of a Future Seer, you could mail this gimmicked envelope, with card poking out the back of it, inside of another envelope to someone in advance. Have them bring it to the stage, you remove the smaller envelope, do the dirty work and hey-presto, with no additional work at all you predicted this weeks in advance. That final point there is not my style but it's certainly interesting to consider. BONUS! You can see performance clips, receive updates on this and the other routines plus additional, previously unreleased material by visiting: www.mentalunderground.com/bairnbook II
~5&
STARTING STRONG BAIRN I was recently interviewed for a video podcast of a small magic dealer while I was visiting Singapore. One of the questions raised had me thinking and analysing my act and structure in a way I never had before. I quickly realised that the way I organise the feats in my show is very different to the way that almost every performer I've seen does it. Yet it works fantastically for me. The feedback from the session was that everyone who watched and attended were blown away by this unique approach to structure. For that reason I'm writing it up here, in the hope that it will at the very least allow you a moment to consider your act. Whether you agree with me or not. At least you'll have thought about it. Reading the online discussion groups, most people tend to go with the adage that we should start off with something quick and to the point, and something not too unbelievable. I disagree with this completely. In traditional magic, where you can make things appear and disappear, it's nice to do something quick to get the audience's attention, but the speed of this opening feat is purely to get that all important attention. To my mind, most of the people who are reading this are unknowns, just like myself. Before your show they have never heard of you. So there are a number of important things that I feel we need to do for our audience. We need to answer two critical questions that they have in their mind: "Is this guy any good?" "Do I like him?"
BA1RN For this reason, when I start a show I want to start off with something that displays my personality, as I've mentioned previously, but also something that is so impossible, something so confounding that they are forced to sit up and think, 'Shit he is good!' straight away. With my character and style of presentation, if I came on stage and started off with a one in three or one in five chance, the audience's first impression of me is that, although mildly impressive that I did get it right, it is only a one in three chance. I don't want anyone's first impression of me to be one of being underwhelmed.lnstead I want them to think I'm nice and I'm good. So how do I organise my show? Opening is my second most impossible routine, and in it is a lot of personality. That personality lets the audience know my style, but it also subtly shows them that I am in control and how I will react to their engagement with me. For example, in my case an audience learns early on that if you do decide to try and tackle me, I will put you down and come back with a return serve. I'm experienced and I'm not to be challenged. However, they can feel safe and comfortable that I am going to take them on a little journey into some weird stuff that's going to be light hearted and a lot of fun. I then close my show in a specific way. My big closing routine is usually one of skill. This gives credibility to all of the things they have seen previously. Then, I kick them with one more surprise ending that they didn't see coming that is the most impossible thing they have ever seen. Now they leave having engaged with me, understood that all of this stuff is somehow possible, even though impressive, and have been blown away with a surprise revelation that just can not be explained. BONUS! 2.60 You can see performance clips, receive updates on this and the other routines plus additional, previously unreleased material by visiting: www.mentalunderground.com/bairnbook
BAIRN
BAIRN A DAHEA There's a brand new Mercedes Benz dangling above your head. You're launching their new model and the only thing that will step up to the mark is a oneahead routine. Grab your pad, you're ready to rock it like it's 1999! You calm the crowd down and now have their undivided attention. Handing a small pad of paper to someone you ask that they stand where they are, "At the top of that first page would you write the word ... Number, please? Great. Now on the next page, at the top would you write, 'Name" On the next page let's have the word .... errrr 'Word' yes, 'word' will do just fine. Thank you, and just close the pad up and hand it over here to me would you?" You retrieve the pad and open it up to the front too. You throw a paper ball into the audience* and have whoever happens to catch it stand. "I'd like you to please think of a ... "you look down to check the pad, "number. Make it a 3-digit number would you please?" You scribble something on the page before tearing it out and placing it into your empty water glass. "Please let me know how in-tune, or not, we are by letting me know the number you actually thought of. Please do not change your mind at this stage, that wouldn't be fair on me:'you gesture at the paper ball in the glass. '824: she calls. "Not bad at all. Okay next we have ... "you look down at the pad, "a Name. Please would you think of the name of a celebrity, someone so famous that everyone here would know exactly who we're talking about in a few moment's time?" * See Focused Opener elsewhere in this book.
BA\RN She is thinking of one, and you focus on her. You scribble something down on the page, before tearing it out too and adding it to the glass, with the previous scribbling. "And who did you decide on?" 'Alan Sugar: "Ha, much better, Thank you. We're getting somewhere now. Okay, let's get on with the actual test now. Here take this book, I want you to think of the first word from one of the pages. Call stop as I flick through the pages:' 'STOP: "As you wish. Please grab the book and think of the first word at the top of that page:' It is done. "Please focus on it. Okay, and miraculously you wrote Word on this page too" you say sarcastically before writing something on the page, screwing it up and putting it into the glass. While the glass is still in your hand you walk over to someone sitting near the front and tip all three papers out. "Please straighten out all three papers. What was the number you thought of earlier? 824, what did I write?" '842' comes the reply. 'Close. But not a bad start, just getting warmed up. Who was the celebrity you named? II.lan Sugar. The very rich and powerful Apprentice star. Who did I guess she thought )f?" A.lan Sugar: Spot on! And finally what was the word you were thinking of at random?" )octors: I did write the word doctors, did I not?" (ES!' ,64
BAIRN THE TRUTH What is new here is another subtle way of eliminating the thought of the one-ahead, when we are using one-ahead. I use a simple add a number switching pad. I adore the Kozar pad and recommend it unreservedly. Prepare the pad by opening the 'Switch Out' side and on the first page, at the top I write the word 'Word; on the second page I write 'Number' and on the third page I write 'Name: Notice that this is using the pad in reverse. I will start off having the switched 'in' side passed to someone to write down the categories of the thoughts. They freely open the pad and write the titles on each page. It is important, in order to have maximum effect, that you appear to be making up the categories as you go. After all, if you're just creating the titles now, you couldn't have possibly prepared anything could you? So you have the participant write the titles in the order Number, Name, Word, before having the pad closed and passed back to me. You now open the pad to the locked, 'switch out' side where your own preparation has been residing this whole time. You are now set to do a one-ahead in a fair-appearing way. One thing I do like to do is get the last two digits of the three-digit number the wrong way around. This just gives almost a reason for you to proceed. Of course the final 'Word' from the book is forced. I've explained elsewhere how I prefer to do this*. I hope you agree that this little extra subtlety for the one ahead has a lot of great potential when mixed with your other material. Naturally, in the absence of one of these switching pads - such as when your luggage has been delayed by British Airways, you can simply use a regular spiral-bound notebook where you prepare the front of the note book with the words in the order Word, Number, Name. Now you proceed as described, just without the fancy-pants locking mechanism of the Kozar pad. Just keep a closer eye on your volunteers to make sure they don't start playing with your pad. * See Bookend in this book. II
I =1==-----====--- ==~t===-----=======- ---- .... =E========== =t===-====-}~ =t==-----====- -+===~=-=====I - - - - - - ;, - - - _ I
CLOSING THOUGHTS BAIRN Look, I know few people read this bit so it's the perfect place to hide a gem of a routine. Which means I should have held something super special back from the main book - which I didn't do. Maybe next time ey? I would just like to thank everyone who has helped, inspired and been my friend in this crazy stuff that is mentalism. Forthe most part, the stories ofthese routines are fictional, ridiculous and purposefully written to offend, upset and enrage. Which are in my top ten methods of keeping people engaged. I hope it worked. The idea here was to write up these routines that were less prescriptive where possible, to make it enjoyable and entertaining to read. After all, this is all about entertaining and nothing else matters. A person who sits and reads mentalism without performing it is no more a performer or mentalist than someone listens to Whitney Housten albums for years is ever going to be a real drug addict. Please don't take any of it seriously. I'm just having fun, mainly at the expense of others. Special thanks to Colin McLeod, Banachek, Bob Cassidy, Michael Murray and Nique Tann for our brainstorming sessions over the years. Thank you to Phill "The Beard"Smith of Sushi Design, for the artwork and layout of this book. "Nobody does it better': Additionally, I would like to thanks Steven Bridges for his tireless work editing this book.
8A\RN 8