12 Fragen an Luke Jermay – Mind Summit Köln 2016

Ein spannender Spezialkongress für Mentalmagie beginnt in einer Woche.

Mind Summit Köln vom 6. – 8. Mai.

Das Teilnehmerfeld liest sich wie das „Who is who“ der Mentalistenszene. Eine tolle Gelegenheit noch mit dabei zu sein, denn es gibt noch vereinzelt Restkarten beim Veranstalter:
Hier geht’s zur Webseite und Anmeldung:
http://www.mind-summit.net

Im Vorfeld haben wir ein Interview mit dem englischen Mentalisten Luke Jermay geführt, der dort eine Vorführung, Seminar und einen Workshop geben wird.

Der englische Ausnahmekünstler kam über die Zauberkunst zum Mentalismus und war mit einer eigenen Show über ein Jahr lang in Las Vegas präsent.

Wer seine Vorstellungen einmal erleben durfte, war von seiner Persönlichkeit fasziniert. Der Gedanke an „Tricks“ kam dabei gar nicht auf.

Da der in Köln stattfindende Kongress international ist, ist die Kongresssprache Englisch. Aus diesem Grund haben wir das Interview mit ihm auch in der Originalsprache belassen.

Aladin (A):
Are you a magician or a mentalist?
Luke Jermay (LJ):
I consider myself a performer. My audiences would probably call me a mind reader before anything else. I promote the work I present as a intuitive entertainer.  However I honestly do not see any creative value in separating out the concepts of magic and mentalism as I feel they are forever linked and mentalists learn as much for the world of traditional magic as any other.

A:  Your background is magic and close-up. When was the point in your life you decided to change? (and why)
LJ: I began performing traditional magic; and still have a strong love for card magic (I consider my hobby now!) however I had always been drawn to mentalism above all else.

At 16 years old I began performing walk around mentalism mixed with magic; by the time I was 17 I performed only mentalism. The change was gradual and organic. I simply performed the things that spoke to me; and those were all mentalism related.

Now at 31 years old; I still do the same thing; I do not restrict myself instead I perform those things which speak to me; so far this has always been mentalism but who knows one day that may change!

A:  Did the background in magic helped you be successful in mentalism?
LJ: 100% I learned so much from traditional magic that I use in my mentalism performances. I still read books about all types of magic; stage illusion, children’s magic literally anything! I love magic and consider mentalism to simply be another form of presentation for magic. I do not drawn strict separations between the two worlds in terms of creative and craft. Obviously they are different in their presentation but without a strong foundation in traditional magic I feel my job would be much more difficult.

A:  Why do you think is mental magic such a success today?
LJ: I believe it all comes back to the audiences strongest interest; themselves. If we use mentalism as a vehicle for examining what matters; it will always matter. The same could be said to all other forms of magic; however it tends to go hand in hand with good mentalism and this I believe is why mentalism continues to fascinate modern audiences; and always will.

A:  What is your opinion about mixing magic and mentalism in a performance?
LJ: I never do this and do not think its a good idea for me and my artistic vision. However I am sure there are plenty of people who do and create fascinating shows and experiences for their audiences.

A:  Success in mentalism as a performer – does it depend that the spectator think that you are doing no tricks?
LJ: It depends on authenticity and character. Once these two areas are considered and choices have been made; then you can decide what your approach to „tricks“ is. However personally I want my audience to feel what they are seeing is real and not tricks.

A:  Is Uri Geller a Mentalist?
LJ: Uri is Uri. Whatever we decide to call him he is; he is the best at it. I would probably call him a sensationalist before a mentalist.

A:  Where is the boarder from certain mental presentations to fraud or humbug?
LJ: For me; talking to the dead is the only thing that I do not consider to be within the artistic license of a performer within a theatrical context.

A:  Electronic and mentalism –  what is your opinion:  curse or serious progress?
LJ: All depends; the question I always ask is; does this tool allow me to achieve something that is impossible to do so with it. If it’s possible to achieve the same thing without electronics, then there’s no need for the electronics.
However sometimes they allow better, more streamlined and more effective outcomes. In the same way a landline phone is perfect for making a telephone call; but a smart phone is even better.
It’s all dependant on the specific desire and outcome your looking for.

As a rule; I don’t shy away from them, but rarely use in performance as its just one more thing to have to worry about! But I wouldn’t discount them in anyway.

A:  Where do you see the advantage of a pure „mental“ convention?
LJ: Likeminded people discussing what they love. What’s not to enjoy? By having a dedicated mentalism convention; we have a safe space to discus things that simple wouldn’t fit within a mixed traditional magic convention.

A:  What can we expect from your lecture and workshop?
LJ: Miracles you can perform.

A:  Do you perform your Q+A act in Köln?
LJ: I performed my Q&A act last year so this year I will perform a different act; which is themed on direct telepathy and the concepts of belief. It forms the first half to my full theatre show; with my Q&A as the second half. This means that the people of Mind Summit will have seen the full show; backwards… With a 12 month interval! Weird ….

A: Thank you Luke!