Unexpected

THE BLURB:
The Unexpected is the first DVD from Marc Spelmann & Peter
Nardi covering the genre of Impromptu Mentalism.

With the impromptu weapons on this DVD you will always be
ready when the Unexpected happens!

Routines explained on this DVD include:

Disc One

Fist Full Of Dollars

An incredible opener for any impromptu situation. Give your
spectator a chance to win some cold hard cash. All they have
to do is guess which hand holds the money! They will never
win! As a kicker you prove to them you knew they would
choose the wrong hand from the start.

Drinks On The Patio

A great little performance piece to do when you’re in a bar.
A lovely lady is requested to help out and as a thank you
will buy her a drink. The drink she gets depends on how well
she does in the little test.

Take Note

Your spectator takes part in a little game of chance. 3
notes of different values are placed on the table. You write
a prediction on a business card which remains on full view
through out. Now using your powers of persuasion you manage
to influence their choice of note!

Perfect ESP

A quick & simple ESP match up routine. Even though your
spectator mixes the cards. You always place your card down
first and you can even do this facing away from your
spectator! No- one a head, marked cards or extra cards
involved used!

Single Handed Geller

Marcs ultra slick one handed coin bend. This is something
that you will carry with you always!

A very deceptive technique that Geller would have been proud
to perform!

Underhand Thoughts

An unbelievable impromptu drawing duplication that will get
you out of trouble! Being shown here for the very first
time, easily worth the price of this entire DVD!

Three For The Money

A 3 Phase performance piece which highlights your ability to
predict your spectators actions. Each phase gets
increasingly more difficult yet you prove your power with 3
correct predictions!

Disc Two

A Tribute To Mr Kane

This is an Impromptu version of Kane’s variant. A great
gambling effect using only 5 business cards and some money.
Spelmann floored everyone with this at The Magic Circle!

Feel

A spectator holds an imaginary object in their cupped hands.
You now concentrate and tell them exactly what they are
holding! This is a killer impromptu effect that you will be
performing in your paid shows!

Serial Killer Lite

Your spectator removes a bill from their wallet and folds it
up, they then place it under an upturned wine glass. You can
then call off the serial number. This is a classic mentalism
feat that everyone should do!

Three For The Money

A three phase performance piece.

Each phase gets increasingly more difficult, yet you prove
your power with 3 correct predictions! Which coin they will
choose, the amount of change they have and finally the
serial number on a borrowed bill.

Busch Brain Buster

No DVD on mentalism would be complete without a book,
magazine or newspaper test. This superb 2 phased routine has
been used by Spelmann and Nardi even in their paid
performances utilises a fantastic subtlety from Richard
Busch.

Reveal a freely chosen word from any newspaper, book or
magazine & describe an item your spectator has locked in
their mind!

Two’s Company

A discussion on utilising a friend, partner or family member
to code you simple information. In this discussion Marc and
Peter cover some strong routines that can be performed at a
moments notice as well as teaching the correct ways to code
which are both subtle and effective.

This is a double DVD set full of killer material for that
impromptu performance!

MY COMMENTS:
The disc claims that "With the impromptu weapons on this DVD
you will always be ready when the Unexpected happens," but
that depends on your definition of impromptu. If you're
looking for material using props that you can just grab and
perform, you'll be disappointed. Many of the effects
included require having or being set-up in advance. The
setup isn't difficult, nor time-consuming (we're talking a
minute or two at the most).

For those familiar with Michael Weber's Lifesavers (a highly
recommended book), he posits that there really is no such
thing as impromptu. The performer should always be prepared,
although it should like it isn't. I certainly agree with
Michael as certain effects you learn just to put into your
repertoire for those "unexpected" moments. If this is your
perception of impromptu, then the material here certainly
will serve you well.

There are eleven effects and one section dealing with
two-person codes. As you might expect, the more
knowledgeable you are, the fewer ideas you'll get from this.
There are some very good ideas here though. I particularly
liked "Fist Full of Dollars," a nice opener that follows the
Gauci "Eye-to-Eye" plot of which hand holds the money. There
is a kicker ending which is sweet. Perfect ESP is a very
nice ESP card matching sequence and probably the cleanest
one I've seen, moreso than Han Fetch's Symbologic and Doug
Dyment's Bob's Your Uncle. I also particularly liked "A
Tribute To Mr. Kane" which uses a principle I was not aware
of. "Feel" is another effect that is quite good and, if
you're familiar with Peter Nardi's wonderful Common Sense,
it is an impromptu version of that. And the "Busch Brain
Buster," a stunning combination of classic mentalism
principles, will definitely leave your participant
speechless.

For those who expect to see the usual mentalism principles
in this collection, you'd be right in your assumptions. The
PATEO force, the one-ahead, the stack, multiple outs, and
billet switches are all here, but the routines used for them
are creative and practical. The less experienced you are as
a mentalist, the more you'll get out of this set. I think
that's obvious. Also, due to the exchange rate, these discs
are priced higher than most discs and, for those outside of
the U.S. who are interested in this, you might want to
consider getting it straight from Alakazam. I wouldn't rate
this DVD as a must-have, but it's certainly filled with
useful material and certainly well-worth a look.