BREAKING KAYFABE
'Kayfabe'
means secret, and the latest DVD album from the Essential Magic
Collection contains many. Some of these secrets have been kept by Max
Maven for forty years. They are incredibly powerful professional
routines with entertaining narratives, slick staging and a devious
approach to method. Let's take a look at the contents of the 4 DVDs:
In COGNOMEN,
Max divines the name of a celebrity thought-of by a spectator. We
cannot stress how wonderful and practical this routine is. It requires
the simplest of props. There is no pre-show. It can be played to the
largest audience. And has all the drama and interaction that makes it an
enthralling piece. A fabulously practical routine described in full
detail.
SPY STORY, in which a spectator joins you in an
adventure in espionage as a location, time, an amount of money and a
shape are chosen. All four have been predicted in the mission
instructions given to your spy. You'll love the finesse that Max brings
to this item.
RORRIM is a stunning coincidence effect, a
stage routine in which you become the spectator's doppelganger. Under
test conditions, he chooses two cards and places each in one of his
pockets. Despite the utter freedom of the procedure, you reveal not only
the cards but also which pockets he placed them in.
ABOUT FACE
is an applause-pulling psychometry routine in which you correctly guess
which spectators made which drawings. A direct method, entertaining
premise and smart staging have made it a strong item in Max's repertoire
for many years.
Max Maven is renowned for impossible card locations. In Kayfabe
he offers an array of methods in which cards merely thought-of are
revealed. Mind-bending routines that will leave your audiences
staggering. These include ZEN POKER, OUT OF MINE, TERRITORY, and SINGULARITY, in which one spectator reads the mind of another. And ROUND ABOUT, a triple card revelation that seems absolutely unfathomable.
POCKET NIGHTMARE and NIGHT FLIGHT
are two riffs on an impossibility. A thought-of card disappears from
the deck while it is in the spectator's hands and reappears in your
pocket. Unbelievably direct. A secret Max has held back for forty years.
CAESAREAN SECTION is a miracle of a card stab. The
spectator selects a card with the deck in her own hands. Loses it in the
deck. Wraps the deck in a napkin and then hands the package to you. You
stab a knife into the wrapped deck and right next to the freely
selected and lost card.
SCRUTABILITY is Max Maven's take on Dai Vernon's The Card Trick That Cannot Be Explained.
You place a prediction card face down on the table. The spectator
shuffles and cuts a deck and selects a playing card. It matches your
prediction. Max has devised a simple but methodical approach ensuring
that your prediction, and there is only one prediction, is always
correct. The system is taught in minute detail and the routine is
repeated with different spectators and always the same outcome. It's a
legendary effect made 100% practical.
A favorite feature of the Essential Magic Collection
is the extensive interview with the performers. Here Max discusses his
life, his career, and his writing. A new feature debuting in Kayfabe is a special presentation about the guest performer's views on magic. In The Fragility of Mystery,
Max reveals not only why magic is important to life, but why it is
essential. It's a philosophical journey of thought. Uplifting and
inspiring.
We also have an awesome bonus. Through the kindness of Donna and Daniel Zuckerbrot we bring you Fabulous Monster,
the acclaimed documentary about Max Maven. It's a revealing insight
into the mind of the mystery artist featuring performance extracts from
Max's one-man show and interviews with many leading experts on
mentalism.
KEEPING KAYFABE
Finally, Max performs
an effect he has used as an opening piece in 90% of his shows. You'll
see it praised by his peers in Fabulous Monster and it's the one secret
Max is still keeping. Enjoy.
4 DISCS DVD BOXED SET
Running Time: 9 Hours
Subtitled in 4 languages: English, French, Spanish, Japanese
