INFLUENCE-ENZA by Michael Breggar
INFLUENCE-ENZA by Michael Breggar
Imagine you are a chicken.
Oh, lucky you. You don’t have to cluck like a chicken to get this collection of mentalism effects. Unique, twisted and methodologically easy, Michael Breggar veers from his monthly “Auto-Magic” column in The Linking Ring to bring you mentalism-y effects your audiences will remember...long after you’ve awakened them from their trances. Or, as in Michael’s case, long after he’s awakened them. Period. You’ll be the cerebellum of the ball when you perform these effects! So, open up both brain hemispheres, damn the puns and full spine ahead! We’ll meet you on the (brain)stem!
Marc DeSouza writes (from the Foreword) ...
“Michael Breggar has made it his mission to create really entertaining presentations for some great mental effects. To create simple, entertaining mental miracles that are sleight-free so you can concentrate on pleasing your audiences... ok, get your mind out of the gutter, I mean letting them be a part of a fun, yet very strong magical experience.... Not only are the premises interesting and humorous, but they use a variety of objects, like dice, fortune cookies and Legos, that are certain to keep even the most jaded audiences fully engaged.
By taking the ‘no sleight’ route, most effects become process heavy. Michael has created premises and presentations that take what is normally an ordeal and makes the ride as good as the climax. Dare to break out of the world of dreary mentalism. Have your participants take a psychic romp in a hospital nursery, create some sick and twisted fortune cookies, pretend its Oscar Night and have your audiences pick some winners, play poker with a Martian and even witness a fistfight between Martin Gardner and Dai Vernon!”
“I am delighted by this book. Not only the methods, but many brand-new themes. Mentalists look for this, as they can tire themselves and the audience with seemingly repeated effects. Michael has dug deep and I look forward to using some of these on stage. BTW, for those who care, there are many new methods. Michael knows what he is writing about. Confident, sincere, original. I love it.” - Marc Salem
“If you read the Linking Ring, you will certainly recognize the name, Michael Breggar from his “Auto- Magic” columns. Michael is an extremely knowledgeable performer in many different areas of magic! When he sent me a copy of Influence-Enza, he called it ‘Comedy Mentalism’. How misleading! Yes, the lines he uses in his patter ARE funny and some of the premises are a little off-the-wall (a fist fight between Martin Gardner and Dai Vernon!), but the Mentalism is dead serious! Frankly, this is some of the cleverest material I have seen in quite some time. The humorous premises, in fact, often “set-up” the audience for an even more effective knock-out blow at the climax! Even if you work more straight- forward, this material contains ideas you can use and the book is filled with one-liners that can be quite effective in any show.
The routines run the gamut from using cards and dice to fortune cookies, Legos and much more! They are all based on classic ideas, but, and here is the great part, they do not require any fancy sleights or moves! Like his LR column, he achieves strong results through subtleties and ingenious routining. (The thinking reminds me a lot of the wonderful, “Scarne on Card Tricks.”) And those results are worth doing! Michael always has a strong eye on powerful material. The audience is laughing like crazy one minute and speechless the next!
The bottom line is this; don’t be put off if you think this is a book of silly Mentalism “jokes.” Nothing could be further from the truth. This is strong material meant to play for real people out to have a good
time and still have their socks knocked off!” - Richard Osterlind
“Michael strips away the inconsequential, eliminates heavy technical sleights, and focuses strictly on the effect and its impact on the spectator. What a concept. As an unashamed fan of Mike's work, I was initially irritated to discover that he'd already churned out a follow-up to his last, Dancing with the Cards. How can one man generate so much quality material in such a short period of time?! Creative genius? Or perhaps he took a walk down the crossroads one misty midnight... His creations are strong, the instructions clear, and the writing is, well, funny and fun to read and perform...” - Anthony Vinson
NOW! Cluck like a chicken and take a peck at what’s inside:
Influence-Enza – a Nick Trost effect takes a few hairpin turns with your audience driving under your influence! From a shuffled deck of cards, two spectators create three piles of face-down cards in front of little signs marked 1, 2 and 3. A third spectator removes a card sight unseen from the balance of the deck and seals it in an envelope safe from any sleighty hands. Free choice? Not quite. You have managed to influence the spectators so that the number of red and black cards in each of the three piles exactly match what’s written inside each of the little signs! And little sign #3 also has the name of the card sealed away in the envelope!
See all the Magic of Michael Bregger
https://www.learnamagictricks.com/michael-bregger-magic