Questa

THE EFFECT:
The performer asks an audience member to pass cardboard
slips and pens to the audience. Everyone is told to write
down a question they want answered. For those who don't
have a question in mind, it's suggested they wrtie down some
information that the performer couldn't know such as an
address or telephone number. The mentalist NEVER TOUCHES
THE SLIPS.

The performer explains that he needs to warm up his
telepathic talent by using the thoughts from a few selected
people. The helper selects four random slips. Four
different people read their slips and concentrate on the
various random thoughts.

Without anything in hand, the mentalist correctly reveals
what the first person is thinking. The next person has a
word in mind. The mentalist writes letters in a notebook
and reveals the word. He sets the notebook aside and names
people in the room and answers their specific questions.
Thought after thought and question after question is
revealed and answered. Finally, he duplicates a drawing of
which another person thinks. In fifteen minutes the psychic
has addressed about a twenty questions, drawings and
thoughts.

But he's not finished yet. Before leaving the stage, the
mind eader identifies one man by name. He then gives
personal details about the stranger including the person's
address, phone number and mother's maiden name!

Comes complete with gimmicked notebook filled with
approximately 375 blank pages and 14 page instruction
manual.

Dimensions Approximately 10" x 7 1/2" (25.5cm x 19cm)

MY COMMENTS:
Docc Hilford is always an innovative thinker and I've never
been disappointed by his thinking, despite his producing
some products that may not be quite what was expected from
the advertisement or the instructions. This falls squarely
into that category. It's an impressive Q&A routine that is
certainly worth the price, however the instructions and ad
blurbs mislead the purchaser into what they're getting.
And, admittedly, when I first looked through this, I was a
bit disappointed. But, after close examination, I've
concluded that my issues are all with his advertising and
semantics.

First, let me discuss the manual. With all the 5.5" x 8.5"
booklets that Docc has been producing, I was a little
surprised that the manual was printed on 15 single-sided
8.5" x 11" pages. This doesn't detract from the invaluable
information contained within the pages, though. In
fairness, the manual is almost a master class in how to do
Q&A. I say "almost" because Docc recognizes that there is
an incredible amount of information necessary to pull off
this act which is far too much to be able to include, yet he
still provides an incredible amount of insight into the Q&A
act which is valuable, especially to one not experienced
with Q&A.

The first three pages are titled "Lesson Number One."
Subheadings include "How to Not Answer Questions" and "Old
Wine in New Skins." These three pages delve into Docc's
reason for creating and performing this routine. He
mentions the importance of Carl Rogers, different ways to
answer questions, and the advantages and disadvantages of
popular techniques for Q&A. He concludes that, to be
effective, one must use a combination of techniques. He's
chosen to weave a Phantini idea, a Dunninger ploy, and a
third principle into this routine.

The next five pages explain the workings and setup of the
routine. Included in the package is the notebook, but you
will need to create and print up 3" x 3" slips (which can be
easily done with desktop publishing) and purchase a small
box for the slips (which can easily be obtained from any
office supply store). There is one time preparation
involved in the box, but it's not difficult. There are also
illustrations to explain the workings of the notebook, which
I'll discuss shortly.

The final six pages walk you through the presentation.
Though Docc certainly details the routine, he makes it very
clear that there is a lot more to Q&A acts than just
revealing information written on a paper. A good Q&A
performance is not easy to pull off. There is a lot of
background information necessary to successfully create a
memorable routine. Docc provides a page filled with
resources, in case you need them.

Let's talk about the notebook and the package, which is the
reason I'm a bit disappointed. You see, the notebook
included isn't gimmicked. At least, I couldn't find the
gimmick. According to the instructions, the gimmick is in
the set-up of the ordinary notebook. When set up according
to the instructions, there are properties of it that could
cause it be considered "gimmicked." These properties allow
you to hand out the notebook without much fear of anyone
discovering its secret.

Now, this isn't entirely bad. Purchasing this certainly
saves you the time in finding just the right size and type
of notebook necessary for this effect. It's certainly
convenient to have everything ready to go. However, you
also need a box, which is easily available from an office
supply store, and preprinted 3"x3" slips, which Docc
provides illustrations of. However, since Docc provides the
notebook, he should have also included a box and some sample
pages of slips for easy duplication.

Make no mistake, though, the routine is admirably strong and
recommended. It has features that make this very effective.
The most important one is that the mentalist "never touches
the slips" and reveals information without touching the
first billet. Docc uses several principles to accomplish
this routine. There is one very important caveat with this
routine. This is a routine that must be done for a large
audience. Oh, we're talking at least fifty or so, maybe a
few more, at least.

I could see the problem that Docc had in releasing this. Do
you just put this out as a booklet or do you release this
with the right type of notebook so that performers can have
the props ready to go? If he released it as a booklet, then
purchasers may complain if they have difficulty finding the
right kind of notebook. On the other hand, if he's
including the props with the package, which props do you
include? Obviously, he includes only the notebook. I would
have preferred to see this packaged with either all the
props and materials, or none at all. And the notebook
should not be referred to as gimmicked, but instead as the
right kind of notebook for this routine.

Though this routine is brilliant, the package is simply
misrepresented. I will say that if you perform Q&A routines
to large audiences, or are thinking of doing so, I highly
recommend getting this. Docc provides solid reasons for
this act and it is obviously well-tested and extremely
effective. If you buy this hoping to get a brand new clever
gimmick by Docc Hilford, you will be disappointed. But you
certainly won't be disappointed if you're buying this
because you want a great Q&A routine, one that is truly a
reputation-maker, and you understand that the package
includes the right type of notebook to perform this.