Max Maven Nothing

THE BLURB:
Max Maven traveled from Hollywood to Lake Tahoe. He brought
NOTHING

but a nice suit. On the way from the airport to the studio,
he stopped at a supermarket for less than ten minutes and
spent less than ten dollars. Once in his room, he spent less
than half an hour preparing, and proceeded to go on stage
and do a 50-minute performance of mentalism.

NO Pre-Show Work
NO Stooges
NO Clipboards
NO Nailwriters
NO Playing Cards
NO ESP Cards
NO Billets
NO Wallets
NO Gaffs
NO Gimmicks
NO Special Materials
NO Muscle Reading
NO Hypnotism
NO Threads
NO Mirrors
NO Electronics
NO Rough & Smooth
NO Gilbreath Principle
NO Filler
in fact,
NOTHING but solid mentalism and great entertainment.

Let’s be clear. This is not a cluster of “substitute” stuff
to make up for having lost your props. It is a full-length
show of top-notch real world material, much of it revealed
for the very first time. The complete work, including
variations and options, plus discussion of performance
structure, scripting segues, audience management, blocking,
timing—everything thoroughly explained with an unprecedented
degree of detail.

Included is the rare “Para-Sight” routine, out of print for
over 25 years; copies of the original limited-release
manuscript have sold for as much as $400. And that’s
something!

A two-DVD set (with as much content as most three-DVD sets).
Running time: 230 minutes, plus Easter Eggs and bonus
material. Featuring Eugene Burger, Brandon Combs, Gene
Matsuura, Stephen Minch, Jan Rose and Michael Weber. $99.95
2-volume boxed set

MY COMMENTS:
With this disc, Max wanted to do something different. He
proposed an idea that would be a challenge: to create an
entire act that wouldn't contain any marketed or standard
gaffed items for mentalists, nor would it contain standard
principles and props that mentalists use. You can see above
in the blurb what the restrictions were. Then, Max would
film this entire act and discuss it. Is this an act that
you should perform? Not necessarily. Is this an act that
Max would perform professionally? No. And this is stated
in the discussion sections. But this is a valid, thoughtful
excercise that gives a raison d'etre to discussing the
performance of mentalism, examining the history of certain
principles of mentalism, and peering into the mind of one of
mentalism's (and magic's) most knowledgeable and experienced
performers. For that, this disc is invaluable.

The blurb, unfortunately, is not that specific as to the
contents. Let me detail them. On Disc 1, you get the act,
the extended version of the act, a discussion with Max and
Michael Weber of mentalism and the act in general, and
another "hidden" section that contains one of the most
valuable pieces of the disc. I won't spoil the surprise,
but Max mentions how to access it at the very end of Disc 2.

The act contains six effects. The first is Disposable
Color, which purchasers of the Color Books or Prism should
be familiar with. The second effect dealing with uncannily
matching thought-of numbers, The Nile Derivation, is similar
to a piece that Annemann made famous, although the effect's
origins actually predate him. Then there's a synchronistic
watch effect entitled Synchrostic. The fourth effect is
Astrologous, where two randomly chosen people end up
matching their astrological signs. Psychometier is a
psychometry routine with spectator's objects in envelopes.
The act ends with Para-Sight, a magazine test, that I
purchased as a limited release way back around 1980. I
loved it then and I still think highly of it. (And there is
still a handling touch or two that Max held back for the
benefit of those who bought it more than two decades ago.)

The bonus effect, Just Chintz, is a Just Chance/Bank Night
routine which is my favorite piece from the whole act.
Unfortunately, Max used a gimmicked prop and thus it didn't
fit the restrictions. This is why it's included as a bonus
routine. He does provide an alternative handling in the
explanation section on Disc 2, but that involves writing
down numbers. And, because the Nile Derivation is present
in the act, it didn't fit. Max explains this on Disc 2.

Disc 2 contains a thorough examination and history of the
effects. Max is joined by Eugene Burger, Brandon Combs,
Gene Matsuura, Stephen Minch, and Jan Rose. Although it's
nice to see those others present, Max is pretty thorough and
really didn't need more than one person. Jan, Gene, and
Brandon say very little, if anything. I can't really
remember what they said if they said anything. Eugene
provided some insights and comic relief, but he and Stephen,
though they did contribute to the conversation more than the
others, didn't say much more.

As stated above, if you're getting this disc to simply learn
some great mentalism routines, you'll be sorely
disappointed. That's not what this disc is about. Oh, when
taken individually, the effects are quite good. Classic,
actually. But that's not the point of this disc. The
purpose of this disc, as stated in my first paragraph, goes
beyond just demonstrating and teaching mentalism effects, as
most earlier discs have done. For a novice mentalist, or a
magician just turning to mentalism, this disc is a master's
class in mentalism. It teaches you that the need to focus
on the attention to detail, though important in magic, is
even more important in mentalism. And for the advanced or
experienced mentalist, it's a chance to spend a few hours
with one of the top mentalist minds in the country.

Of course, that last point may be moot. This disc has sold
incredibly well and so many of you already know this. But
for those who haven't purchased this, it's a must-have. And
that's probably obvious, too.