I recently had a request, asking if I could review some sleight free mentalism.
This person explained that he isn’t very good with sleight of hand, hence the need for some sleight free mentalism.
This struck a chord with me as I too am not very good with my hands, due to a serious head injury I sustained at a very young age, which left me with a slight paralysis down one side of my body.
So I set upon a quest to find some sleight free mentalism.
After a quick search I came across the Shaun Dunn Penguin live lecture.
I read mixed reviews online, some people liked it while others were quite harsh in their criticisms.
I realised I had actually purchased this a while ago but like a lot of stuff, it got filed away on my hard drive, which seems to be the digital eras’ version of the classic top drawer!
I decided to finally give it a watch and see if it any of the material would be useful.
First of all, here’s what Penguin has to say about him:
Shaun Dunn has been a major player in the magic industry for over 12 years. His creations have been featured in award winning books as well as part of the monumental True Astonishment series.
He has worked with countless magicians and been an important decision maker in over 1000 individual magic products. His advice along with his sharp eye for what sells has helped many magicians succeed in the magic industry and now he is sharing some of that wisdom with you.
With an introduction like that I had very high expectations for this lecture.
The lecture starts with Dan Harlan introducing Shaun as one of the founders of paper crane magic, now known as P3.
Straight away I was impressed by this statement as paper crane had released some absolute bangers for the magic and mentalism community.
During his performances, Shaun comes across as a little awkward and he makes some pretty wacky comments.
I can see why some people said he doesn’t come across as very professional but this was one of the things I really liked about him. I found that weirdness to be quite endearing, to me he’s like a regular guy who can do some pretty strange things.
Like Dr. Seuss says;
You’ve got to be odd to be number 1
After each performance clip there’s an explanation and yes Shaun’s explanations are a little hard to follow at times and he does get prompted by Dan Harlan on occasion, maybe he’s not used to lecturing and he might need a little practise just like anything else really!
He may not be a great teacher but you have to look past that and realise how much of a creative genius he is, even if it does come with a touch of madness.
Look at it this way: If every creators’ performances or lectures were done the same way, we’d all be running round looking and sounding like each other and that’d be the end of originality.
You get taught 10 effects that are all pretty cool.
My favourites were:
Boob eyes. This is a fun mindreading effect that teaches a way to peek something written down by a spectator, you do this in plain sight using a very clever gag.
The key to friendship. A simple way to bend keys without gimmicks.
Dunns deal. An Out of this world type effect.
Instant knockout. An impromptu imp device.
Memory routine. A memory routine for stage, but this is great even for developing a good memory.
The thing I loved the most about Shaun’s performances was that he made it fun, those silly little jokes and wacky comments had me laughing out loud.
Shaun even makes those dull moments fun, like when a spectator’s counting cards he’ll just casually have a fun conversation with the audience and his combination of music and jokes to kill dead time is absolutely genius.
Just watch his performance of Dunns Deal to see what I mean.
After the effects Shaun sits with Dan Harlan and talks about how he got started in magic this is a really cool and interesting story.
He then discusses the importance of being yourself and this is so true, how many times have you seen someone trying to be like Derren Brown? Or a really bad copycat of Luke Jermay? It just seems odd doesn’t it?
There’s nothing wrong with taking elements of those performers you admire and integrating them into your own character but never is it a good idea to directly copy them.
After that Shaun and Dan talk about the business of magic, submitting tricks to magic companies and the best way to film a demo.
I know Shaun’s act doesn’t seem as polished as the likes Peter Turner or Morgan & West, but there is real value in this lecture once you look past the weirdness of Shaun Dunn.
Although personally I rather like the ‘weird guy who does some cool stuff act’.
If you want some fun, simple mentalism tricks that you can do pretty much anywhere, without the need for expensive gimmicks then I recommend you pick up this lecture.
As always I hope you enjoyed reading this blog, if you have any ideas, tips, tricks or suggestions then please get in touch.
Arrivederci
Ryan