Description
IN STOCK NOW
In the Spotlight is over 230 pages of practical, hard-hitting mentalism that has been road-tested for decades. This book represents 35 years of experience working for real audiences. Everything in this book can be performed surrounded, packs flat, and plays big. In the Spotlight contains 28 routines fully described, with nothing held back. As Marc Paul says in his foreword, “Not only is this book filled to the brim with amazing, audience-tested, and honed-to-perfection material, but Chris also shares his thoughts on mentalism through his introductions to each of the routines … he absolutely gets what commercial mentalism for paying audiences is all about.” Here are just a few examples of the effects you will learn:
Scrabble Memories – Chris asks five people to each remove a Scrabble tile from a bag. He asks them to concentrate on the first word that pops into their mind that begins with that letter. Then he asks them to use that word to free-associate a memory from their past, something detailed and personal to them. Once each is concentrating on a memory, Chris begins to describe the memories in detail. It’s pure mind reading with nothing written down.
The Tossed Out Deck – Chris’s opener for many years. Mentalists from around the world have approached Chris about this routine. Chris shares the real work derived from small subtleties and the way they’re combined within a compelling, dramatic structure.
Free-Association Serial Number – The perfect “packs small, plays big” effect. An amazing effect with one borrowed bill and eight members of the audience.
GeoPsycho – The Holy Grail of Design Duplications is one where nothing is ever drawn. Instead, the design is merely thought of. This is it!
Horse Fly – Chris’s amazing handling of Arthur Emerson’s brilliant “Pegasus Page.”
Digital Prediction – Prior to the show, Chris shows a digital voice recorder and explains that it contains a prediction of something that will happen in the show. He places the recorder into a small bag, then closes the bag with a clip. He instructs the sponsor to hold on to the bag until the show and not to open it or listen to the recording. During the show, the participant hands the bag back to Chris, verifying that he has been guarding it all evening. When the recorder is played, it reveals a prediction about… well, whatever you want.
Ring Tone – The entire audience writes their cellphone numbers down on cards. A volunteer selects one card and enters the number into his phone, preparing to dial. Chris locates the person in the audience whose phone is about to ring.
The Broom and The Watch – A psychokinetic stage illusion. A borrowed broom is balanced across an inverted glass so that it resembles the hour hand of a watch. Chris makes the broom rotate under seemingly impossible conditions to match the hands of a borrowed watch.
Q&A – Bob Cassidy has referred to the Q&A Act as one of the “major effects” in mentalism. Chris feels Q&A is the “only effect” in mentalism. Few people have performed the Q&A as much as Chris has, and the true treasure in this book is the insights he reveals to you about the act. Chris shares the true secrets, which aren’t about how you get the information, but what you do with the information when you have it. The techniques in this section will benefit anybody who does Q&A or “Audience Reading,” regardless of the method they use.
Three Billet Routine – Chris’s re-working of a Markus Beldig effect. Chris asks three people to think of the first name of the first person they had a crush on, then to write that name on the paper provided. The papers are mixed, yet Chris is able to determine who each person wrote as their first crush. The last participant simply concentrates on the name, and Chris reveals it in an entertaining and fooling way.
Eyeless in Chicago – Chris’s showstopper Blindfold routine that he has featured for over 35 years and has closely guarded until now. Originally inspired by Glenn Falkenstein, this has become one of Chris’s most important showpieces. Others have featured the blindfold test in their shows including Kuda Bux, Gil Eagles, Al Koran, Ross Johnson, Gerry McCambridge, John Archer, Richard Osterlind, and many more. Chris has developed unique subtleties and strategies from years of use for thousands of people.
