What Are You Willing to go Prop-less For?

It seems that a lot of the topics I’ve been writing about here on this blog tend to gravitate toward prop-less Mentalism. It’s far from being the only genre of Mentalism I perform and share with laymen. I love billets, love showing laymen certain props/gimmicks that I’ve been able to weave an intriguing narrative around; and, every blue moon or so, I like using the odd bit of digital deception with shortcuts and apps.

However, I think the reason why I find myself writing and sharing my thoughts especially on the topic of prop-less Mentalism is because there’s an interesting series of thought experiments we can engage in to determine if such arenas are worth integrating into our casual and professional work as magicians, mentalists, and psychic entertainers.

With more traditional methods and props, most of the thinking is simple: here’s an interesting billet peek; how can I craft an interesting and memorable narrative around the method? Wham bam thank you ma’am. Job done.

With prop-less methods, we have to factor in additional factors such as psychological short-cuts, reframes, physiological principles, mathematical oddities, and linguistic quirks. And, most importantly, we have to seriously road-test these ideas in order to, without a shadow of doubt, know if the prop-less principle we’re intrigued by doesn’t only read and look good on the page and in our minds, only.

In private discussions and consultations with other magicians, in some of my published works, and even here on this blog, I’ve shared some of my theoretical rules and principles as to what I believe is truly stunning and magical pieces of prop-less Mentalism. I strongly distaste any piece of prop-less that comes across as a game of 20 questions, lacks true emotional and narrative depth, and cares too much about being prop-less solely for the sake of being prop-less.

On the flip side, I strongly disagree with a lot of traditionalists’ thinking of prop-less being best suited for throwaway, casual performances. I’m of the opinion that any stunning piece of Magic, whether it relies on props, billets, or words, can shine in any and all performance scenarios.

Most recently, I began thinking about two important considerations I find important for a mentalist to ponder about before adding prop-less material to their working sets:

What am I willing to go prop-less for?
Can I be authentically expressive with the information I’m receiving prop-lessly in similar ways I could when working with a billet?

What am I willing to go prop-less for?

The answers to this question vary from mentalist to mentalist; and is largely influenced by what plots and premises fascinate you. Me, I’m willing to go fully prop-less on only a few plots: star signs/DOB divinations, memory divinations, Q&A, and, sometimes, general readings framed as mind-reading.

I’ve found that these plots have reliable prop-less principles, can scale from casual performances at a coffee shop to a professional engagement at a country club. For my tastes and preferences, I don’t often go prop-less for plots like names and countries, as a lot of the material shared on things such as the classic Name Divination fall flat on delivering the initial purpose of wanting to divine a name. Because I’m not willing to go prop-less (often) when divining names, fantastic methods such as the One-Ahead principle and billet peeking are the ones I go to when wanting to share such an experience with someone. For any type of information I can’t reliably discover and divine using prop-less methods, I use props and billets.

A great advantage to picking and choosing what you go prop-less for is that it streamlines the flow of divining multiple pieces of information. As a quick example, using billet moves that offer a quick glimpse rather than a solid peek at written information becomes more feasible, as the mentalist no longer has to use more complicated sleights and choreography in order to fully digest the information written on their Additional Information Billet when under the time constraints and extended audience management needed for environments such as table-hopping.

I strongly dislike a philosophy I see pop its ugly little head around when talking to mentalists in person, or casually browsing the forums: this desire to push everything into prop-less territory. There is only so much reliable prop-less principles that are capable of generalizing across different types of information, many of which require a fair amount of fishing. Sure, you may be able to do a 30-minute set with nothing but your words, but your words will be filled with nothing but,

“just repeat this number/star sign/name/country/word over and over in your mind…”

“Can you see your number/star sign/name/country as a word right in front of us…”

“You’re not born in the first of the year, are you?”

“You’re not thinking of a long name, right?”

Picking and choosing what you go prop-less for, and what you decide to divine/predict with prop and billets, diversifies your language and creates different stories for each one of the effects you share.

Can I be as artistically expressive with prop-less as I can be with props & billets?

For me, this is a BIG rule when developing, road-testing, and performing prop-less material. So much prop-less material out there cares too much about the end result. Sure, you divined a name or word without needing a billet, but what journey did you guide your participant through? What’s the story told after you leave their table? For me, the story of “wow! He read my mind.” isn’t good enough for me.

So much prop-less material, because of relying on restrictive fields of possibility and needing to use multiple branches of information-narrowing systems, and fishing, have final reveals that end more like a question than as a proclamation of mind-reading. Working as a Tarot reader, I know the power that asking questions can be when delivering magical experiences. However, like most things in life, moderation is the key. Within our community, we talk a lot of game about wanting to connect with our audiences and gift them with emotional experiences. Seeing how a lot of prop-less material is created, I struggle to see how saying something to the effect of,

“You weren’t born on the… 20th…of June… No! July! right??”

How does the above line match the artistic theory and approach that many claim to deliver when asked by other peers why they got into Mentalism? Compare this to maybe a script like this, after holding a participant’s hand and telling them they’ll allow any and all impressions to flow through them,

“I’m seeing celebration, happiness, and community. A moment that doesn’t happen too often in your life, as you and those closest to you are just so busy trying to manage life. We all talk about finding some time to connect with those closest to us, but many things get in the way of that. Not during these moments I’m connecting with, though. The smiles, the heartfelt hellos, and dreading the goodbyes. You didn’t just feel social during these moments, but seen; truly seen by those who support and care for you. Tell me… why does the date July 20th mean so much to you?”

How much more poetic is that!? It’s still a prop-less DOB reveal, but the second reveal allows for emotional resonance. Add in the fantastic Confirmation Principle during a reveal like this, and you’ll be “divining” emotionally rich moments and concrete facts besides just the marking the date they were born.

Closing Thoughts

Prop-less Mentalism is a fantastic arena to explore. It’s one of the minimalistic methods that I’ve added to not only my box of tools, but to my philosophy of performance that has allowed my creativity to blossom during the last several years. Even if you much prefer the use of props and billets to assist in your miracles, it doesn’t hurt to see how one or two prop-less principles may elevate and separate any notion that the Magic you share doesn’t come from your props… but from you.

Pretty soon, I’ll be curating a Catalogue of Prop-less Mentalism, which will be a free resource for people to find workable prop-less principles and performance pieces. These will be prop-less ideas that I’ve found work wonders in the real world, and don’t just sound sexy when hearing the creator talk about it.

If you found this blog insightful, please let me know by leaving a like and sharing your thoughts in the comments below! If you resonate with the mission that this blog series is on, then it would be fantastic if you shared it with your Magic friends and in forums. My aim for Essay Esse Ese is to evolve into a free resource for performers to learn practical tools and insights to elevate their craft from entertainment to performance art.

Essay Esse Ese