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CARD MAGIC
INTERACTIVE CLOSE-UP ENTERTAINMENT
Hi. My name is Rob Mendell.
I am a Magician. I’ve been practicing, developing, and performing interactive close-up magic with playing cards since 1973. I design what I do to give my audiences the feeling of being magicians themselves. During my performances, you won't just watch me exhibit skills. Instead, you will discover your own magical abilities. It's a beautiful thing and very enjoyable. I perform new versions of classic effects of card magic, and I create my own pieces that no one else does, including some that are specifically customized for clients or situations.
At small gatherings, I typically perform at a table. At larger events, I walk around performing "strolling magic," tactfully creating and entertaining ever-changing audiences, either standing with guests or approaching their tables. Laughter or applause or "What?! How did that happen?" attracts new people to watch or get involved; often, word of mouth continues the momentum. I enjoy inviting people to partake in the amusement. I respect my participants so they have a great time too. (For details, see the Reviews page.)
What is Interactive Close-up Entertainment?
Interactive
You are the essential element. Without an audience, the magic simply doesn’t happen. In my style of Card Magic, you’re not just picking a card and then watching. Your participation is vital to the successful completion of the effect.
You might select four cards and discover they are the four Aces. I'll ask you to say a magic word that causes your card to invisibly jump from there to here. You will be amazed by what you can do. My act includes a fun variety of magical happenings. You are integral to the show, and what you do and say affects the conversation and the outcome.
Audience participation is the essential ingredient for making spectators feel special and wonderful and delighted, which, for me, is really the point of all this.
Close-up
Things you just can't explain happen right in front of you, sometimes in your own hands. You physically touch and hold and mix and then deal the cards, and somehow you say stop at exactly the right one; there are no camera tricks or hidden mirrors or editing. This is live and tangible.
Often I hear, "I've seen this kind of stuff on TV or YouTube, but Wow, it's so much better in person."
Entertainment
The show is fun and memorably mysterious. You and I and the cards are having a great time together as you successfully surprise yourself and everyone who’s watching. The simplicity, familiarity, and “playing” that are innate to my tools -- playing cards -- let us focus on the joy of the moment.
People remember how they feel.
INTERACTIVE CLOSE-UP ENTERTAINMENT
Hi. My name is Rob Mendell.
I am a Magician. I’ve been practicing, developing, and performing interactive close-up magic with playing cards since 1973. I design what I do to give my audiences the feeling of being magicians themselves. During my performances, you won't just watch me exhibit skills. Instead, you will discover your own magical abilities. It's a beautiful thing and very enjoyable. I perform new versions of classic effects of card magic, and I create my own pieces that no one else does, including some that are specifically customized for clients or situations.
At small gatherings, I typically perform at a table. At larger events, I walk around performing "strolling magic," tactfully creating and entertaining ever-changing audiences, either standing with guests or approaching their tables. Laughter or applause or "What?! How did that happen?" attracts new people to watch or get involved; often, word of mouth continues the momentum. I enjoy inviting people to partake in the amusement. I respect my participants so they have a great time too. (For details, see the Reviews page.)
What is Interactive Close-up Entertainment?
Interactive
You are the essential element. Without an audience, the magic simply doesn’t happen. In my style of Card Magic, you’re not just picking a card and then watching. Your participation is vital to the successful completion of the effect.
You might select four cards and discover they are the four Aces. I'll ask you to say a magic word that causes your card to invisibly jump from there to here. You will be amazed by what you can do. My act includes a fun variety of magical happenings. You are integral to the show, and what you do and say affects the conversation and the outcome.
Audience participation is the essential ingredient for making spectators feel special and wonderful and delighted, which, for me, is really the point of all this.
Close-up
Things you just can't explain happen right in front of you, sometimes in your own hands. You physically touch and hold and mix and then deal the cards, and somehow you say stop at exactly the right one; there are no camera tricks or hidden mirrors or editing. This is live and tangible.
Often I hear, "I've seen this kind of stuff on TV or YouTube, but Wow, it's so much better in person."
Entertainment
The show is fun and memorably mysterious. You and I and the cards are having a great time together as you successfully surprise yourself and everyone who’s watching. The simplicity, familiarity, and “playing” that are innate to my tools -- playing cards -- let us focus on the joy of the moment.
People remember how they feel.
Busking on Magnificent Mile
(outside Crate & Barrel before it was converted to Starbucks Reserve)
(outside Crate & Barrel before it was converted to Starbucks Reserve)
I love the art and act of entertaining through card magic. I draw people into the magic in an encouraging and friendly way. My show is not one where folks sit back and observe me doing what I’ve done a thousand times already. I invite them to explore unlikely possibilities with me by getting involved, and in doing so they become the most important part of the magic -- and magicians themselves -- interacting with me and the cards. Throughout my shows, the audience will cut, shuffle, spread, deal, and imagine cards, as well as select cards in an interesting assortment of ways, call out numbers, or even read my mind… and then find the cards they want without knowing how they did it. My professional style of Card Magic is an astonishing game where everyone wins.
I see each interaction as an opportunity for connection, fun, and audience-generated randomness. For example, I ask Frank to shuffle half of the cards and Anna to mix the other half. Then I ask Lakshmi to make a shape by spreading out the cards on the table. I tell Margaret I'm going to turn away and she is to select a card from the table and show it to everyone, and then hold onto it so I can't see it when I return. I request Joe to watch Margaret; when she is holding her card, he is to ring the bell (because I've been trained to come back when I hear it -- this line often elicits a funny comment). By the time I come back, five people have been involved in ways that they can express who they are, and everyone knows something I don't know: which card Margaret chose. This brings the audience together and creates dramatic tension. Already we've experienced half a dozen participatory activities where audience members encourage one another and find humor in the play. After the card is returned there's more interaction, including shuffling, cutting, guessing, dramatic building of the tension, speaking a magic word, touching cards, and a revelation that can't happen without magic. People will ask me, "But, how? How did you do that?" I can answer, "Renée said the magic word, so ask her!" I facilitate the magic, and the audience makes it happen. It’s inexplicable and brings people excitement, wonder, and unexpected delight, in a respite from ordinary life.
I’m a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians.
I look forward to bringing Card Magic to your upcoming event.
I see each interaction as an opportunity for connection, fun, and audience-generated randomness. For example, I ask Frank to shuffle half of the cards and Anna to mix the other half. Then I ask Lakshmi to make a shape by spreading out the cards on the table. I tell Margaret I'm going to turn away and she is to select a card from the table and show it to everyone, and then hold onto it so I can't see it when I return. I request Joe to watch Margaret; when she is holding her card, he is to ring the bell (because I've been trained to come back when I hear it -- this line often elicits a funny comment). By the time I come back, five people have been involved in ways that they can express who they are, and everyone knows something I don't know: which card Margaret chose. This brings the audience together and creates dramatic tension. Already we've experienced half a dozen participatory activities where audience members encourage one another and find humor in the play. After the card is returned there's more interaction, including shuffling, cutting, guessing, dramatic building of the tension, speaking a magic word, touching cards, and a revelation that can't happen without magic. People will ask me, "But, how? How did you do that?" I can answer, "Renée said the magic word, so ask her!" I facilitate the magic, and the audience makes it happen. It’s inexplicable and brings people excitement, wonder, and unexpected delight, in a respite from ordinary life.
I’m a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians.
I look forward to bringing Card Magic to your upcoming event.
"…Rob was so good that I subsequently hired him for four company events to do his magic work. I continue to be amazed that, despite seeing Rob’s work many times and participating in some of his Card Magic effects over and over, up close and personally, I still have yet to spot the 'trick' part of any of them. Rob is an amazing close up magician and I plan to use him in his Card Magic role many times more in the future."
— James E. Holtzman, Director - Board of Directors, KnowledgeHound -- LinkedIn review excerpt
— James E. Holtzman, Director - Board of Directors, KnowledgeHound -- LinkedIn review excerpt