Lee Earle - Out of Syzygy.pdf - L - animga

Contents

3 Foreword

4 Taking Stock (was: Clip Sheet)

11 Puzzling Perception

13 Digital Kicker

16 Go Weigh

17 Poor Man’s Room Service

18 Future’s Window

19 Aura-Matic

20 Mentalism Goes Postal

24 Duplicitous Business

26 Korano Blanco

27 Brain Book

29 L.E.X.I.Con Revisited

32 Opus Conversam

34 The X-Cards

36 Keys Royale

41 Topologo

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in

any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

permission of SYZYGY Press

Printed and Bound in the United States of America

Typesetting by Macintosh

Layout by PageMaker 7.0

Portable Document File (.pdf) by Adobe Acrobat

Foreword

It’s often been said that the way to

hide a great routine is to publish it in a

periodical. According to that advice, the

sixteen performance pieces in this book

have been well and truly hidden - all were

contributed over the years, under my own

name, to the publication SYZYGY - The

Journal of Contemporary Mentalism .

For those routines which remained in

my personal repertoire the changes from

the original writeups occurred naturally,

evolving and growing as any routine does

when performed regularly. After deciding

to assemble that collection of material into

one book, I revisited some of the original

presentations and did some editorial

tweaking.

One of the most noticable adjustments

was the addition of color to the TopoLogo

routine. Now the array of corporate logos

simply jumps from the page and it’s yours to use - just run as many copies as you like on

your color inkjet printer.

Additionally, many of the illustrations are now color enhanced as well.

One routine was rewritten entirely – Clip Sheet , now retitled Taking Stock . It’s

updated and super topical, with a couple of laugh-producing bits of business written in to

put a lighter touch in your performances.

Keys Royale is the routine which changed the most,

beginning with a great idea and developing into solid

selection which is still one of my ‘go to’ presentations.

Mentalism Goes Postal is a routine which was first

considered as a commercial release, it’s that good. It

may still be marketed as a stand-alone presentation

one day.

I know you’ll get as big a kick out of performing

these routines as I have.

Lee Earle

Phoenix - July, 2002

P.S. Might as well recycle another old idea...

Taking Stock (was: Clip Sheet)

The original concept as written for SYZYGY ages ago has been

updated with a new premise, a very topical routine and, thanks to a

telephone conversation with Larry Becker, a clever title too! Full size

copies of the five stock certificates are included following the routine.

“Today’s headlines are full of

financial scandals and corporate

bankruptcies,” begins the Mentalist.

“Stock certificates which were once

worth thousands are now going for

pennies. It would take a psychic to

know when to buy and sell these

days. Someone like Martha

Stewart.”

“One of my hobbies,” continues the

performer, “is collecting old stock certificates.

What once represented the capital to keep our

economy humming is now, basically, wallpaper.

Worldcom comes to mind.”

Bringing a small folio of the sort used to hold

important documents into view, the mindreader opens it and

withdraws several colorful replicas of stock certificates, saying,

“The real thing, even if worthless as an investment, has value for collecters. So for this

little demonstration, we’ll use copies. Here’s one for Atlantic Richfield, and another for

Wisconsin Edison. This one, for the Clear Fork Oil Company was a winner in its day.”

Then the Mentalist pulls a handful of paper shreds from the folder, shrugs, and says,

“Enron, of course,” and tosses it into the trash. Going ahead, he removes copies of

certificates from Pan American World Airways and United Aircraft and remarks, “At one

time, all of these companies were up and all were down. The million dollar question is one

of timing, which is more a factor of public attitude than of value. Let’s test that premise.”

Handing a nearby participant the folio and five certificates, the performer instructs,

“Mr. Auditor, you have been examining the accounts, market reports, and balance sheets

of these companies and have decided that one of them is going bankrupt. It’s your choice -

just write “BANKRUPT” on the face of the stock, then fold it several times so no one can

identify it. While you’re at it, use a paper clip to hold it closed.” A box of paper clips is

handed to the participant.

When the packet is clipped, the helper is instructed to drop it into one end of the folio

and to fold and clip the remaining stocks, dropping them into the folio as well but

separated from the ‘bankrupt’ stock at the other end of the folder.

“Now,” begins the Mentalist, “you are the only one who has any idea as to which

investment is about to turn belly up. One by one, you’ll reach into the folio and bring out a

folded stock certificate. You can bring out one of the ‘safe’ stocks or you can display the

‘Ken Lay’ special, as you wish. When you are showing one, it’s important for you to think,

to yourself, either a positive thought, such as ‘This is a great investment’ or, for the

‘bankrupt’ stock, ‘Stay away from this turkey; you’ll get gobbled up’. It will be up to the

rest of us to determine, from your nonverbal cues, which is the investment to avoid. Be

sure to put on your best ‘poker face’ though.”

One by one the folded and clipped stocks are held up by the participant. The Mentalist

has no problem ‘reading his body language’ when the ‘bankrupt’ stock is offered!

While straightening out my desk one day (take note: this is a rare occurrence!), I

sorted records, receipts, invoices and the like

into separate piles, clipping the papers in each

pile with those jumbo two-winged clips which

are correctly called paper clamps .

When I was sliding one of the clamps onto a

stack of papers, a burr on the clamp scratched

at the upper sheet in the stack. Not wanting

to discard a perfectly useful paper clamp, I

unbent both legs and reversed their positions,

which put the annoying burr on the outside of

the clip, away from contact with the papers.

Sort of like uncrossing your legs and

recrossing them the other way.

Only after I slipped the clamp onto the

papers did I discover this interesting anomaly.

The re-bent clamp, when clipped to the papers,

was a mirror image of its twins from the same

box, providing a visual clue which can be seen from across a room!

Since the paper clamp is the key, it’s important that your audience already be

comfrotable with them. Find ways to use the clamps earlier in your show so they are no

longer remarkable. One of the best ways is if some of your prior props, papers, etc., have

been clipped with them. Remove the clips and place them in your pocket.

Obviously, the first clip you supply to your participant to put on the folded ‘bankrupt’

stock certificate, is the re-bent one. I wouldn’t recommend getting too clever, though. For

example, if the packet of stock certificates is held together with a single clamp when you

show them, pull it off and place it in your pocket, but in the little small section intended

for coins or matchbooks sewn into coat and trouser pockets. Later, when the ‘bankrupt’

stock is folded, you ‘remember’ the clamp in your pocket and hand it to your helper.

An alternative is to have 5 or 6 re-bent clamps on top of all the others in the box. After

your helper selects one of them for the first ‘bankrupt’ stock, helpfully dump the contents

into your open hand. This puts the re-bent clamps at the bottom of the pile so the

remanining clamps taken will all be the normal ones.

If your performance allows for a little humor, try this: Link all the paper clamps

together into one long chain, with a re-bent clap at each end and place the chain in the

paper clamp box. Because you’re standing some distance away, when it’s time to offer a

clip, dump the contents into your hand and trap one of the end clips under your thumb.

Then toss the handful of clamps toward your participant. He’ll duck, expecting a shower

of paper clamps and you can look pleased with your boyish humor. Naturally, the first clip

he’ll take is the one on the end.

Final line: “The last time I spoke with my stockbroker he asked, ‘Do you want fries

with that?’ “

Lee Earle - Out of Syzygy.pdf

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