Serendipity – Cris Johnson

$39.00
Serendipity by Cris Johnson Mixed Media DOWNLOAD - Murphy's Magic Supplies, Inc. - Wholesale Magic (murphysmagic.com)

The Hype:

Turn Your Volunteers into Mind Readers with NO Expensive or Electronic Props... (And save $360.99 compared to more expensive options)

Good performers know that making your audience members the stars of the show is the best way to impress your client.

Mentalists know that routines where the audience members do the mind reading are most memorable.

If you want a sure-fire routine your audiences will remember for years, you need Serendipity.

Here's a bare-bones description of the routine:

Two art easels are on opposite sides of the stage. Each has a large drawing pad on it.

The performer tells the audience he's going to try an experiment in serendipity, or strange coincidences. He asks an audience member to pass out slips of paper and pencils. Audience members are asked to write down simple objects that could be drawn.

He then calls two spectators on stage. One is designated the sender. She will select one of the audience members' slips and draw it. The other onstage volunteer is the Receiver. The performer tells the Receiver she will 'free associate' on a drawing pad. Demonstrating, the performer scribbles all over one pad.

The performer gathers the slips and has the sender select one.

Both the sender and receiver stand behind their respective easels with the drawing pads facing them. The performer blindfolds the Receiver to prevent her from catching a glimpse of the sender's slip or drawing pad.

After blindfolding the receiver, the performer asks the sender to look at her slip and confirm there is something written that can be drawn. Both spectators are handed Sharpie markers and then asked to begin drawing.

When they are finished, both are asked to sign their names at the bottom of their respective drawings.

The receiver is unblindfolded and both spectators take center stage.

The performer turns the sender's easel around to face the audience, revealing her drawing. (Let's say it's a motorcycle.)

The performer then turns around the receiver's easel and pad. Her scribbled 'drawing' unmistakably resembles the sender's object!

Here are the important points to consider:

 NO pre show

 NO instant stooging

 NO 'cueing' of any kind

 NO electronics

 NO magic store/website props of any kind

 NO complicated sleight of hand

 NO sleight of hand of any kind

 NO impression devices

 NO dual reality

 NO chemicals

 NO 'hard to find' replacement materials

Serendipity works every time with a bullet-proof method you'll feel secure using in every show.

My Take:

Let's face it. A drawing duplication routine is very powerful and kills the audience. As Cris says, you can buy an expensive one with electronics. Absolutely deadly (but also to your wallet). With Cris', you can stop at an office supply store and with minimal expense, have a show ready for the same day.

One thing I really like about this routine is the fact that it is not complex at all. It is almost 100-% presentation. Almost (but not quite) self working and this is simple enough that you can do a powerful mentalism routine even if you have never done mentalism before.

Cris takes you through every thing from soup to nuts, then backs all the info up with both a pdf and an audio file. I love to listen to files on my phone as I drive and this is perfect for that. You already get all you need from the video but listening will also lock it in better.

One of the videos is for alternate ideas and there is a deadly idea from Cody Fisher that, for me, really strengthens the routine, Cris doesn't use this idea in his performance but includes it in case you would like to and like I said, it really adds some punch to the performance.

Cris does use some ideas I have seen before but not combined in this way. There is one gimmick he uses that I would almost not even consider a gimmick. It is something that will take about 10 seconds to put together.

There are two complete performances included and both take about the same amount of time, roughly seven minutes. The first is a performance at a middle school and frankly, the audience behaves about you would expect a middle school audience to behave. Cris shows them a miracle and they don't go crazy. However, the other performance is with some retirees and it hits big time. Obvious, the second is the one that I liked best. However, by doing this, Cris shows how he handles each type of audience.

He goes over some very valuable items such as staging and angles. Angles should not be a problem but occasionally the audience seating is not conducive to certain aspects of the presentation. You are shown how to get around these problems.

Cris is very personable .and a good teacher. One thing that makes his teaching so effective is that it is obvious how much he loves this routine. It is his baby and he is very proud of what he has created.

You get a very visual and deceptive routine that is both fun and very easy to perform. If something prevents you from having your props with you, a quick trip to the store should take care of it. (I have seen that mentioned with some other routines but this one is truly throw it together in a heartbeat stuff)

Cris obviously wants to give you absolutely everything you will need to know t perform this successfully. There are nine instructional videos, a pdf that covers everything and an audio file that walks you through everything. Most impressive.

The only downsides are that it cannot be repeated with the same crowd and that it is slanted towards the Christmas season but should play good all year. If you are the creative type I am sure you could amend the subject to something else.

I like this routine. Considering the amount of instructional materiel you receive, the deceptiveness and the simplicity, The price is more than fair. And I would recommend this if you are looking to add some mentalism to a show. Recommended/

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