Wayne Houchin's Control
Good morning, fellow magi. Wanted to give you a quick
review about Wayne Houchin's latest DVD called Control.
After watching the promotional videos on Theory 11's site,
I was instantly hooked. So I went for the video download
option last Friday and went into my man cave on Saturday
afternoon to watch it.
Wow. This guy is good. I had previously purchased his coin
in soda can penetration that Criss Angel performed on his
show, MindFreak. At that time, I thought, "Not only is Wayne
clever, but he seems to really think his effects out to
new levels." He also seems like a helluva fun guy to hang
out with.
Well, a long time ago I watched a mentalist by the name of
Darwin perform a pulse stopping effect at a private magic
get together at my friend, Eric DeCamps' house. I was
fascinated. Other than Kreskin on TV, I'd never seen anyone
else stop their pulse, and never right in front of me. I had
no clue how it worked until some years later when someone
tipped the method to me.
Now I have always liked this type of stuff. I used to do a
whole psychic key-bending act in high school for the English
Department. There was this retired nun who used to teach a
class about the supernatural. She asked if I could bend
keys and I took the challenge.
The first time I used a Zanadu Key Bender on a pull, and
then another time a student gave me a skeleton key to bend.
I told them I would need to borrow the key to examine the
metal, etc. He gave me the key and I used a jeweler's saw
to make a hairline cut and then glued it back together.
When I returned the next day, I laid the key on his palm,
and asked him if this was the same key he gave me yesterday
to examine. He said "Yes." I asked him if the key looked like
it had been tampered with and he said "No".
I then had him hold the key between his thumbs, and I
placed my fingers over the hairline cut. I then began to
gently move the key up and down until it looked like it was
softening. Of course, the screams started, and then I used
my psychic power to break the key in two. He felt the heat
in the key where it broke and swore it melted in his hands.
I developed quite a reputation for this performance. It
really surprised me because it was a very emotional
experience for the kid and his classmates.
Psychic magic has this effect when it is performed well.
I'm not blowing my own horn, but rather just trying to set
up Wayne Houchin's promotional video for Control. Go watch
it on http://www.theory11.com and you'll see what I mean.
He was invited to perform at a small, intimate dinner
party, and after doing a variety of effects he tried
something new. He had a young lady sit beside him and count
off his pulse beats. When she got to 27, it stopped and the
look on her face as Wayne apparently died for a few seconds
was utterly priceless. Wayne played it very subtly but he
is damn good. He knew exactly how to look, what to do and
say. He understands drama and how the effect is perceived
by the person assisting him. It's that powerful. He looked dead.
He revived himself and his pulse started beating again, and
the young lady was both joyful and horrified, afraid, even
uneasy. Wayne recovered, asked for a drink and took his
leave. The guests continued to speak about what they saw
for several minutes. This is all captured on tape. It does
not look staged to me. I think this performance was really
well captured and we could all learn a little about acting
from it. I'd give Wayne the Oscar for this one.
OK, now for the instructional aspect of the video. Wayne
warns you, with the assistance of Daniel Garcia (obviously
good buddies who can complete each other's jokes), that you
will probably want to throw something at the screen once he
reveals the method.
It is not using the standard method that appears in popular
magic literature. To me, it is a totally new method. Albeit
a simple method. But it is totally impromptu and requires
zero gimmicks or preparation. Anyone can do it.
But you do need to pick your assistant carefully and
wisely, and there is some acting required to sell the power
of the effect. Done correctly, Control will become the show
stopper for you.
Included is Daniel Garcia's effect where he stops his
heart. I don't know that I liked it as much nor that I
would do these back to back, but you might stop your heart
for the same audience rather than try to repeat Control and
lose the impact.
I really enjoyed Control and could see myself doing it
under the right conditions for the right crowd. The next
time someone asks if you can read minds or bend keys,
consider stopping your pulse instead.
OK, quick shout out to everyone to go see Eric DeCamp's new
show at the Metropolitan Room in Manhattan. Details may be
found on his site here:
http://www.EricDeCamps.com
He is performing his one man show on Sunday afternoon's at
4 pm through December 28.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving guys and gals,
Steven Schneiderman
review about Wayne Houchin's latest DVD called Control.
After watching the promotional videos on Theory 11's site,
I was instantly hooked. So I went for the video download
option last Friday and went into my man cave on Saturday
afternoon to watch it.
Wow. This guy is good. I had previously purchased his coin
in soda can penetration that Criss Angel performed on his
show, MindFreak. At that time, I thought, "Not only is Wayne
clever, but he seems to really think his effects out to
new levels." He also seems like a helluva fun guy to hang
out with.
Well, a long time ago I watched a mentalist by the name of
Darwin perform a pulse stopping effect at a private magic
get together at my friend, Eric DeCamps' house. I was
fascinated. Other than Kreskin on TV, I'd never seen anyone
else stop their pulse, and never right in front of me. I had
no clue how it worked until some years later when someone
tipped the method to me.
Now I have always liked this type of stuff. I used to do a
whole psychic key-bending act in high school for the English
Department. There was this retired nun who used to teach a
class about the supernatural. She asked if I could bend
keys and I took the challenge.
The first time I used a Zanadu Key Bender on a pull, and
then another time a student gave me a skeleton key to bend.
I told them I would need to borrow the key to examine the
metal, etc. He gave me the key and I used a jeweler's saw
to make a hairline cut and then glued it back together.
When I returned the next day, I laid the key on his palm,
and asked him if this was the same key he gave me yesterday
to examine. He said "Yes." I asked him if the key looked like
it had been tampered with and he said "No".
I then had him hold the key between his thumbs, and I
placed my fingers over the hairline cut. I then began to
gently move the key up and down until it looked like it was
softening. Of course, the screams started, and then I used
my psychic power to break the key in two. He felt the heat
in the key where it broke and swore it melted in his hands.
I developed quite a reputation for this performance. It
really surprised me because it was a very emotional
experience for the kid and his classmates.
Psychic magic has this effect when it is performed well.
I'm not blowing my own horn, but rather just trying to set
up Wayne Houchin's promotional video for Control. Go watch
it on http://www.theory11.com and you'll see what I mean.
He was invited to perform at a small, intimate dinner
party, and after doing a variety of effects he tried
something new. He had a young lady sit beside him and count
off his pulse beats. When she got to 27, it stopped and the
look on her face as Wayne apparently died for a few seconds
was utterly priceless. Wayne played it very subtly but he
is damn good. He knew exactly how to look, what to do and
say. He understands drama and how the effect is perceived
by the person assisting him. It's that powerful. He looked dead.
He revived himself and his pulse started beating again, and
the young lady was both joyful and horrified, afraid, even
uneasy. Wayne recovered, asked for a drink and took his
leave. The guests continued to speak about what they saw
for several minutes. This is all captured on tape. It does
not look staged to me. I think this performance was really
well captured and we could all learn a little about acting
from it. I'd give Wayne the Oscar for this one.
OK, now for the instructional aspect of the video. Wayne
warns you, with the assistance of Daniel Garcia (obviously
good buddies who can complete each other's jokes), that you
will probably want to throw something at the screen once he
reveals the method.
It is not using the standard method that appears in popular
magic literature. To me, it is a totally new method. Albeit
a simple method. But it is totally impromptu and requires
zero gimmicks or preparation. Anyone can do it.
But you do need to pick your assistant carefully and
wisely, and there is some acting required to sell the power
of the effect. Done correctly, Control will become the show
stopper for you.
Included is Daniel Garcia's effect where he stops his
heart. I don't know that I liked it as much nor that I
would do these back to back, but you might stop your heart
for the same audience rather than try to repeat Control and
lose the impact.
I really enjoyed Control and could see myself doing it
under the right conditions for the right crowd. The next
time someone asks if you can read minds or bend keys,
consider stopping your pulse instead.
OK, quick shout out to everyone to go see Eric DeCamp's new
show at the Metropolitan Room in Manhattan. Details may be
found on his site here:
http://www.EricDeCamps.com
He is performing his one man show on Sunday afternoon's at
4 pm through December 28.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving guys and gals,
Steven Schneiderman
posted by Steven at
8:04 AM
