Mentalism in clowning

[Dylan]

What are the groups feelings on mentilism magic and clowning? Is it appropriate? Any instances where you have used it or think that it could be used?

[Paboberto]

I like mentalism a lot. I think it is the coolest of all the sub-branches of magic. I am still not sure how to make it actually funny, and not freak people out but I think these might work:

1) Get the answer it totally wrong and then try to cover it up making it worse and worse like "you are thinking of a man, I mean a woman, mammal? fish? something that exists... ect"

2) do number one, and then give up, and get it right completely by accident. There was a epsiode of the Muppets where Fozzy bear (one of my comic heroes) is going to preform a feat of um... er... acro... no... presci... no.. no... memory! that's right! and memorize what everyone is wearing in the theater. Then his assistant is supposed to describe what someone is wearing and he will tell without looking who it is. So she describes the person as wearing only a small brown hat, and a big polka dot tie. Then Fozzy shocked says "Only a hat and a tie? Why that person would have to be bare" and she goes "Yes that's right! Fozzy Bear!" bu-dum ching.

3) You can make the process which the answer is divined ludicrous, and the bigger the difference between how hard you make it to figure out and the easier is it actually is to figure out the funnier it would be. If you have a partner, one can do the hard way after explaining in great length what it is you are going to do, and the other in the middle of the process, can do it the easy way.

4) get caught in the act of cheating... and still get it wrong.

5) Now I will ask the spirits for number five, by channeling the ether through my hands, they will reveal to me the fifth secret of making mentalism funny... I must have silence please... you too mouse... ah here it comes... [writes on paper with eyes close] aaahhhhh... yes... "O-U-T-T-O-L-U-N-C-H" which spells of course, Outto Lunch the name of the great German mentalist I must seek... what? "Out to lunch?" oh... never mind.

6) ooo ooo I almost forgot. I want to get a magic eight ball, and read absurd, long, specific answers from it for questions pulled out of a hat. So it would go something "Does he like me?" and the answer would be "Well, it depends on who you ask you see, some classify them as mammals, and others as furry birds, while there was one scientist a few years ago that said what it really was was an Incan experiment in gene splicing gone wrong."

[Dylan]

All awesome ideas, thanks

[saphireSue]

well I guess this would fall into mentalism [or just plain mental]
I've seen several who do the story line about predicting what some one is thinking. For example they'll have a person think of a farm animal [then they pull out a stick draw of a critter with four leg and yes it the , cow, goat, horse whatever the person called, Oh and price of something then pull out an oversized bar code.

[Fitzwilly]

I think that some mentalism could very well be done, especially with one of your character clowns you have talked about developing. Snugglesnort had some great ideas. I may work on incorporating a couple of his ideas into a routine or two myself. They are just too good to pass up.
I had an idea but it ran away suddenly and I can't catch it right now.

[Paboberto]

I am glad that helped! I was just thinking it would be interesting to make a show, or perhaps busk, as "The man who can make anything funny." kinda more of an improv thing then a clown thing, but still...

another classic comedy mentalism thing is to with the "power of the mind" levitate things... like your feet, knees, hands and so on. Also if you have a partner there are almost no limits of funny mental feats you can do on eachother. You can levitate eachother, control eachother, hypnotize eachother, and read eachothers minds very easily.