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Bruce Tharpe's Magic Page

The Mind Reader

Because he has been interested in magic since approximately age nine, it is only fitting that R. Bruce Tharpe include a Magic Page on his website. 

At age twelve, Tharpe was performing magic on local television and earning money performing magic shows for birthday parties, banquets, cocktail parties and other private functions. As a freshman he won the Chamberlain High School Talent Show by floating a teacher in mid-air.  

For those of you who are interested in learning magic, from time to time we will post a new magic trick on this webpage and explain how to perform it. Please check back periodically for new material.  

This first effect is an easy but mystifying mind-reading stunt that Bruce Tharpe and his wife have been performing at parties for years. 

• The effect is this: The magician tells the audience that his assistant is able to read minds.
  

• To prove this, the assistant is sent out of the room. When she is out of earshot, you ask the audience to name any State in the U.S. Say, for example, the State selected by the audience is "Colorado."  

When the assistant returns to the room, you direct her to turn her back so she isn't facing you (to preclude the use of any secret facial expressions) and tell the audience that you are going to call out a number of States to see what kind of a mental impression your assistant can obtain.

You call out, "Florida!" The assistant says, "No."

"Georgia!" No. "Alabama!" No. "Tennessee!" No. "California!" No. "South Carolina!" No. "Colorado!" And the assistant says, "YES!"

You can repeat it one or two more times, all with a different State. But after two or three demonstrations tops, it is best to stop and leave your audience mystified.

How do you achieve this apparent miracle? As is the case with most magic effects, the method is very simple. What is critical and key is the way the effect is presented. 

1. DON'T treat the effect like a joke or reveal the secret, or the audience's admiration for you will soon disappear like a bad magic trick. If you approach the effect as one of a near impossibility, the audience will be swept away with amazement and remember you for a long time.  

2. THE SECRET: Okay, the audience has selected the State of "Colorado" and your assistant has just stepped back onstage, ready to demonstrate her apparent ability to read your mind. What you do is name any number of States that have a name containing only one word: Georgia, Florida, California, Indiana, Michigan, etc.
   

3. REMEMBER: Although the method is simple, if the effect is presented as a miracle, it will be long remembered by your audience as an impressive magical effect.
   

We Can Help

Contact us:

Law Office of R. Bruce Tharpe
801 E. Van Buren St.
Brownsville, TX 78520-7141
Call: 956-546-2400
Fax: 956-546-4362

E-mail:

rbtharpe@aol.com

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