Mental Theater by Vincent Hedan

What if mystery could arise from simple objects, authentic storytelling, and your relationship with the audience?

I performed theater for ten years, and that practice made me realize that, in close-up as on stage, mentalism is also theater. But it is a particular kind of theater: the spectator enters it without knowing his lines, his role, or even the story he has just stepped into. He discovers the play while performing it. This situation creates a very strong responsibility for the artist: he must guarantee the planned course of events, protect the participant, give him clear indications, and make sure that his intervention is always interesting, comfortable, and entertaining.

That is why you must master your text, your breathing, and your choreography, while allowing the improvisation necessary for audience participation. The more precise the structure, the freer the spectator can seem; the more prepared the path, the more spontaneous the encounter can appear. In the end, theatrical mentalism does not consist of reciting a play in front of an audience, but of inviting the audience into a play that they discover with you.

In this book, I have gathered five experiences of theatrical and participatory mentalism. A mental travel for a group, a coincidence between History and my personal history, a fruity prediction, a Russian roulette in which I survive the audience, and an improbable game that I presented hundreds of times at the beginning of my show The Wish.

No playing cards, no memory, no difficult sleight, no electronics, phone or app, no dual reality or risky psychology, no complicated or expensive props, no stooge or assistant.

Some effects are simple and quick, others are longer and more narrative. All of them can be performed with props that are easy to find or make yourself. Despite the title of the book, these effects can be presented just as well in close-up as on stage.

I give a great deal of detail about my text and my presentation: experience has shown me that this makes the difference between a method that works or not, and between an impact that reaches the audience or not. This does not mean that my text and my presentation are sacred; I am simply sharing with you what works for me. By explaining my reasons behind certain phrases and actions, I encourage you to adapt my ideas to your own style.

Travel, memory, offering, cruelty, luck... Each theme was designed to engage the audience, and sometimes to invite the participants to become the heroes, rather than a passive spectator in front of a demonstration of your powers. I hope you will enjoy discovering these effects as much as I enjoy presenting them. It is now up to you to share them with your audience.

5 effects, 130 pages, in English, with 70 illustrations.
5.5 x 8.5" (13 x 21 cm) format, soft cover, glued binding, white paper.