When picking a spectator to participate, picking a woman is a smart choice as her reaction tends to be stronger than the reaction of a male spectator. But picking just girls makes you look pretty much like a social loser. I've seen it. A chair test. Four seats and the mentalist has four women sit down. After that a drawing duplication, again with a woman. Then a prediction (clever routine) but all decisions were made by women. Male audience members were reduced to mere applauding cattle.
Now I had to admit that the mentalist I saw treated the ladies nicely, I have seen much worse. But dudes need their minds read too. So if you do something with two people or more. Make it 50/50! That way it is much less obvious that you are on stage because you lack certain social skills and that you compensate by ordering woman around, instead of getting bossed around by them.
Speaking for mentalists who actually work, we develop material that is specifically geared toward men only, woman, only, and both together. This ensures that there is a good cross-section of the audience and avoid what you observed. it's hard to find GOOD mentalists at work, but here is Chicago, we have several.
ReplyDeleteTake a look at Derren Brown. He includes both sexes in his performance. It's great to watch.
ReplyDeleteTommy Wonder also observed what you are writing about... in a sense. In his essay Failureeffects. Mr. Wonder talks about why magicians get into magic. His conclusion is (I think) the same as your conclusion, to make up for a lack of certain social skills.
Ow. Painful truth.
ReplyDeleteKudos Roland.
You see this often at lectures, the lecturer picking on the same woman time and time again, it's cringe-worthy!
ReplyDelete