L ACUNA

by

BRANDON QUEEN

PUBLISHED BY BRANDON QUEEN

EDITED BY BRADLEY BENSON

© All copyright owned in its entirety by Brandon Queen - Sept, 2014

No part of this publication may be stored, reproduced, copied or transmitted

without the prior written consent from both the author and publisher. TV
performance rights withheld. Conflicting live performance rights reserved.

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 CONTENTS

LACUNA …………………………………………………………... 3

OBSERVATIONS
……………………………………………………………... 4

PLAN OF ATTACK ………………………………………………………. 4

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 LACUNA
Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their
blunders

Thank you for purchasing Lacuna. What you are reading now is the supplemental
PDF with solutions to various discrepancies that some people may have issues
with, as well as a visual Graph displaying the cold reading information that might
be difficult to follow along with in the video. I’ve also included a few additional tips
that will prove to be quite helpful when going out to perform this effect.

So let’s start off with a simple script idea that I use for my stage shows and close-
up performances as well as a basic outline of what happens in the whole routine.
Again, I encourage you to not use my scripting word for word, but use it as a sort
of guide or inspiration to come up with a script that fits your personality and style.

“Without memory, we would have no idea who we are, where we’re from, who
we know, or the difference between a safe and a dangerous situation. Our
memories are mostly based on genuine experiences, but our minds can create
false memories to embellish our version of reality - just as we can suppress
memories of events we find displeasing.

“Throughout life, we encounter and interact with so many different types of

people that it can become difficult to remember all of them. Once in a while
though, we’ll meet someone who leaves such an impression on us that we find
them very difficult to forget. It’s that sort of person who we choose to engage in
more meaningful relationships with.

“As we move through different relationships (whether they be platonic or

romantic) we often establish associations between the things around us at the
time and the people with whom we are involved. For instance, the smell of vanilla
might make you think of that one ex-girlfriend you had, or a particular song might
make you think of the day you met your best friend. Sometimes, the people we
hold dearest end up betraying us and we experience things in those relationships
that we would rather just forget. Our memories are often attached to those
people though and the things around us can serve as constant reminders of
them.”

Having set the tone, the performer asks the group to think of a person whom they
would either like to forget, or whom they would like to feel better about. He then
selects one person to do the experiment on. With the participant concentrating on
this individual, the performer is able to reveal several details about them – details
that he couldn’t possibly know. After describing a few things about the thought-of
individual, the performer writes something on a business card. He shows it to the
audience, declaring that he believes it to be the name that the participant has
been thinking of.

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 He then shows the name to the participant, who confirms that it is correct by
giving the performer a kiss on the cheek. The participant is then placed into a
hypnotic trance, where in her memory of the person she has been thinking of is
erased and replaced with a new memory.

The participant will genuinely appear to have no recollection of the person she
was originally thinking of and instead, only be able to think of the memory that
was implanted in her mind. When people ask her about the experience
afterwards, she will genuinely support the new reality, confirming that she no
longer has any memory of the person from her past.

OBSERVATIONS
This routine was inspired by one of my absolute favorite movies, Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. In the film, the two main characters go through a
procedure that completely erases their memories of each other and leaves them
with absolutely no recollection of the pain and hurt that they experienced during
their dysfunctional, dead end relationship. I, like many others, often find myself
wishing that this were a real procedure.

This movie had a big impact on me and got me thinking about how I could
demonstrate this concept within a performance context. This routine is the result.
It has been designed for use in a stage environment, but this particular version
you’re reading now is the updated and modified version used primarily for close
up, which can also be used for stage as well. For the original stage routine that
uses no props or anything written down by the spectator, please refer to the book
PHATHOM by Brandon Queen.

PLAN OF ATTACK
One of the important things to consider when selecting your participant is to
select someone who will be thinking of someone that her close friends or family
present during the performance do not know. The name does not have to be
limited to ex-lovers, but it is expected that the other people accompanying your
participant are likely to know who their ex-lovers are. So you don’t want to use a
name that they know for certain that she did not have a relationship with. In this
situation, either have them think of an ex-lover that they do NOT know about, OR
a female friend who they may consider an enemy. You can switch it up and
perform this for males and have them think of their high school bully. The
performance isn’t limited to just females nor is it limited to ex lovers. I just find
this approach to be most entertaining for me personally.

Also, be sure to change the force name with each different performance when
working a room. It’s not limited to Chris, or John, or Bob. I personally use Chris
because it’s easy to remember and if you say a bizarre name, there is a chance
her friends will spoil the effect when showing them the name, because they will
react in confusion. “Who is Jaxx? You dated a guy named Jaxx?”

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It will just seem unbelievable. Just make sure the name you’re forcing is coherent
with the person. For example if you’re performing for someone of a particular
cultural background and has a thick accent, and all her friends and family that are
with her are of the same cultural up bringing, showing them a name of a guy you
think she’s dated that resembles someone way out of their culture spectrum is a
dead give away that you are showing her a different name during the reveal. Or if
you pick someone with a particular sexual preference that doesn’t match the
gender of the name you’re showing her friends, then they will know immediately
that there is some sort of subterfuge going on. Just be mindful of the entire
context of the routine and who your audience is. Structure it accordingly.

COLD READING

In the video, I understand it’s a bit difficult to follow along with the cold reading
explanation so here I will explain it in a bit more detail. The things I reveal are:
the person’s gender, how she knows the person, how long she has known the
person for, what the person looks like and the person’s star sign. I only need to
ask one simple question to do this fairly accurately.

The inspiration for this cold reading technique came from a brief suggestion in Oz
Pearlman’s DVD, Into the Abyss. In this DVD, he suggests asking one simple
question to learn a lot about the person being thought of by a participant. The
question is:

“Do you know this person’s birthday?”

That’s it! The way your participant responds to this question will tell you a lot.
After performing this style of effect for many years, I have accumulated a sort of
‘mental-database’ of responses to this question and have attempted to share my
findings with you here.

YES’  RESPONSE  

When they respond with a ‘yes’ to this question, it usually means that the person
they are thinking of is a close friend, or an immediate family member (such as a
sibling or a parent). It is very rare for somebody to remember the birthday of a
family member outside of his or her immediate family.

The first piece of information I will offer is the person’s gender. Assuming I have
not peeked the information, which tells me the gender or when using this for a
different effect other than this version of Lacuna, I will usually take an educated
guess for this, but I could also quite easily ask by employing the use of a
negative question e.g. “This person isn’t a female is it?” Once I know the gender,
I can deduce a little bit more about the person they’re thinking of. If the person is
of the SAME gender as the participant, then generally I will assume that they are
thinking of a sibling or best friend (though it could still be one of their parents or
even an aunt or uncle).

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The next thing I will try to discover is whether the person they are thinking of is
older or younger. Depending on how quickly they answered the original question,
or how long they took to remember the date, I will have a bit of an idea as to
whether they are older or younger than the participant.

To elaborate on that point, if they responded quickly it usually means that they
are around the same age as the person they are thinking of. If they had a long
delay on the other hand, it usually means that the person they are thinking of is
much older. I can get this information in one of two ways. The first option is to
boldly guess, based on the speed of their response to the initial question and the
second option is to say something like, “I feel that there is an age gap here,
which one of you is older?” Regardless of their response I will continue as though
I already knew the answer and was merely seeking confirmation.

I then inquire into how much older one is than the other, if the answer is “a lot”
then I’ll say something along the lines of, “Ah yes, I knew you/they were older
because I was seeing them/you looking up to you/them like a big brother.” If they
say that they’re around the same age, then I will say, “Ah that makes sense,
because I’ve got this feeling that this person is very close to you, as if you are
siblings.”

 
 
 
 
NO’  RESPONSE  

When the participant responds with a ‘no’ to this question, I can deduce that they
either haven’t been in touch with this person in a long time, that they aren’t very
close to this person or that there is a large age gap between the participant and
this person. If they appear to be giving it some thought but still can’t recall the
person’s birthday despite feeling like they should or do know it, then it’s generally
an indication of an age gap. This usually means they are thinking of a
grandparent or some other distant relative. If your participant says no without
hesitation, then she will usually be thinking of someone very new in her life,
someone she hasn’t seen or heard from in a long time, or somebody with whom
she was just never that close, such as a work associate or acquaintance.
If the birthday is not known and the person being thought of is much older than
the participant, it usually means that it’s a grandparent or aunt/uncle being
thought of. When asking who is older, if they have no idea or seem to be
guessing, the person is most likely someone they haven’t seen or talked to in a
very long time. If they tell you they are pretty close in age, make sure you find out
which one is older. This will tell you a lot about the dynamic of their relationship.
Pair that with your knowledge of the gender and you have a lot of information to
work with.

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If they are both of the same gender and the person they are thinking of is close to
them in age but older, they could be thinking of a friend whom they have lost
touch with or not seen in a while. Being older, this person most likely played a
dominant role in the relationship. If the person they are thinking of is younger but
close in age, then the opposite applies.

If the person they are thinking of is of the opposite gender, around the same age
and the male is older than the female, then there is a very good chance they
were involved in some sort of romantic relationship at one point. This is
particularly true if the participant is a male (as males tend to pay less attention to
birthdays anyway) but it could also be true of females, especially if the
relationship was very short lived. If the female is older, there is a greater chance
that it was a platonic relationship and it is possible that they knew/know each
other through work or as acquaintances.

On the next page, you will find a branching graph that you can mentally refer to
while using this technique. After asking the question, “Do you know this person’s
birthday?” you can use the information provided in the graph to hopefully deliver
a more successful reading.

Please bear in mind that this is not an absolutely definite, fail-safe graph. It does
however have its genesis in the results of many, MANY trials and is quite
accurate as a result. There will be occasions when this doesn’t work perfectly,
but I’ve found that it has improved my readings immensely, regardless of any
exceptions that might pop up. I use this technique every single time I perform a
name reveal using a center tear or peek. It is also worth mentioning that when
you use this technique in combination with a centre tear or a peek, just knowing
what name is being thought of before you go through this process should help
you immensely when it comes to being able to describe things about the person’s
age and appearance.

This is one of the most powerful and universal tools that I can call upon when
reading minds. The graph is shown on the following page.

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YES? OLDER SAME SEX AUNT/UNCLE

DIFFERENT SEX PARENTS

SAME AGE SAME SEX SIBLING/FRIEND

DIFFERENT SEX ROMANTIC

NO? OLDER GRANDPARENT/AUNT-UNCLE

SAME AGE CO-WORKER/OLD FRIEND

NOT SURE ACQUAINTANCE

 
 
 
 
 
DESCRIPTION  

If I discover that the participant is related to the person she is thinking of, I will
basically describe the features of the participant herself. If she is thinking of a
relative of the opposite sex, I will describe the male version of her (or the female
version, if working with a male participant). If I discover that the person being
thought of is NOT related, then I will usually describe someone with opposite
characteristics to the participant. For example, if the participant has dark hair I
will describe someone with lighter colored hair, if she has brown eyes, I will
describe someone with blue eyes.

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 HAIR  

When describing the color of someone’s hair, if I think it may be dark I’ll say, “I’m
seeing that they have darker hair.” If they tell me I’m wrong I will add, “Well I
mean, it’s not blonde, it’s darker than that.” or “Well I mean it’s darker than YOUR
hair.”

Of course, the opposite applies when describing the person’s hair as being
lighter. If they disagree, then I’ll explain that I meant that their hair isn’t black, but
a bit lighter than that.

If I’m totally wrong regarding the hair color, then I’ll ask, “Has this person colored
their hair recently? Maybe I’m picturing them in a specific memory from when
their hair was darker/lighter.”

DISTANCE  

I make use of this line whenever I’m revealing a name and it always garners a
very strong reaction. I’ve had people cry, I’ve had people turn flush in the face
and I’ve had people feel completely invested in the moment, convinced that I was
connected to them, that for that one moment – I really knew them.

It is a very powerful line and I advise you to use it with caution:

“I’m sensing some distance between you and this person. I’m not sure if it’s a
physical distance, or an emotional distance, but I’m definitely seeing some kind
of wall there. Does that make sense to you?”

Usually they will explain the nature of the ‘distance,’ whether the person lives far
away or if they have just lost touch with one another. If they don’t freely offer you
that information, but tell you that you were correct, I will add, “Yes, has it been a
while since you’ve seen them?”

If they respond in the affirmative, then I’ll ask if it’s a physical distance. If they
respond negatively, then I’ll ask if it’s emotional distance.

On extremely rare occasions, the participant will not connect with this statement
or accept it as a hit. In these instances she is generally thinking of someone
whom she is very close with, on good terms with, hasn’t fought with recently and
whom she has seen very recently.

Whenever I am “wrong” on a cold read, I will use what I call a ‘Time Ruse.’ This
is a simple technique where in I attempt to show that the thing I was wrong about
was actually relevant at an earlier point in the participant’s life. It would sound
something like this, “Oh, I must be picking up on something that happened a few
years back, did you two have a major disagreement about something then?”
If your participant has rejected the distance ruse, then she must be thinking of
someone she is very close to and we have all had disagreements with the people
we are closest to at some point or another. You almost can’t be wrong with this
one.

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 REGRET  
 
This is another cold reading line that hits pretty hard. It’s not as easy to connect
as the ‘distance’ ploy, but when it does hit, it really sends people over the edge. It
makes the participant feel as if I’m really deep inside his or her head and that I
might know their deepest, darkest secrets. This ruse sounds like this:

“I’m sensing that whenever this person comes up in conversation or in your

thoughts, you’re reminded of something. I’m not sure if it’s an actual situation or
just your feelings about something, but there is definitely something you’ve been
wanting this person to know, that you either haven’t had the opportunity to tell
them or just haven’t found a way to tell them. I can see a few things just popped
in your mind right now and you’re wondering which one it is. I can tell you with
certainty, it’s the one right THERE… yes THAT one, the one that keeps popping
up over and over in your mind. Don’t worry; I’m not going to say it out loud. Just
know that when you do decide to tell them, it’s going to lift a weight right off your
chest.”

As I mentioned before, this gets very strong reactions when it hits, but it doesn’t
resonate with as many people as the ‘distance’ ploy. Having said that, this,
‘regret’ ploy definitely hits more often than not.
 
 
GENISIS  OF  EFFECT  

The underlining method applied to this routine was originally inspired by and is a
variation of a method printed in Banachek’s ‘Psychological Subtleties 1’ in the
description of a Tony Raven inspired effect entitled ‘Subtle Numbers’. In the
original routine the performer revealed a person’s phone number. I am
essentially doing the same thing in this effect, but with a person’s name. It’s a
dual reality ploy wherein the audience sees and hears one thing, whilst the
participant sees and hears another.

As this was initially a stage effect, the way I converted it into a close up effect
was by utilizing a classic billet switch. This method is wonderful and does the
same thing. However I found that it can be rather difficult to do cleanly especially
when the switch is an integral part of the routine itself and people will recall me
handling the billet a lot before handing it back. Plus I really like being able to put
the initials on the back of the card.

Another alternative is using Peter Turner’s behind the back peek taught in his
penguin live lecture.

The method using the chap stick came about during a conversation with Ran
Pink and Joe Monte. I showed them my application with Burt’s bees, to conceal a
coin behind my hand in a coin vanish.

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Joe Monte suggested it would be a great alternative to using double stick tape on
playing cards. It wasn’t until months later that Ran was showing me a few things
he’d been developing and showed me a very deceptive and clever way to have
your participant handle a “double” without them knowing it. It was then his
suggestion to use the chap stick as an impromptu alternative to his wonderful
method.

After applying these new ideas and methods to LACUNA I’ve been able to create
the perfect close up version of this routine.
 
DISCREPANCIES  AND  CONTEXT  

So there are a couple of important subtleties that were not mentioned in the
video. One of them is a sleight discrepancy that many might be concerned with
regarding the written name, and the other is a context issue that gives motivation
to replacing the thought.
Let’s take a look at the discrepancy first.

To make things a bit more clear, at the finale of the effect after you have done
the pseudo-hypnotic process, this is where you ask the participant to confirm that
they do not know who Chris is. In the video you will see me drawing attention to
the card that they wrote the name on, to see what they wrote down. Of course
they open it to see that the name has switched.

In real life performances, DO NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO THE CARD! This is

vitally important to the illusion. The reason we did so in the video is to illustrate
every layer the effect has to offer for demonstration purposes. The reason you do
not draw attention to the card is because it provokes them to say that it’s not their
handwriting. Take a moment to understand what the participant is going through
from their perspective. You just read their mind, and they are amazed. You then
proceed to erase their memory of this person but in their mind, as soon as you
say, “you won’t remember who Chris is” they become confused. They don’t know
what you’re talking about. They think you’re making a joke. When you point out
the card right away, they walk away thinking that the trick was you magically
switching the cards. This would categorize the effect as mental magic and is an
entirely different trick.

What this process is supposed to do is facilitate confusion. It’s important to let

your participant dwell in confusion for a bit. What this does is create the illusion
that they were actually hypnotized. You have to let the spectators observing
explain to the participant what happened. If you expose the switched billet prior
to this occurrence, the illusion becomes lost. You have to artificially create a
moment where the participant is arguing with the spectators about what actually
occurred. You have to wait it out, and of course you help encourage it by being
an instigator on the spectators side. Eventually you’ll have a moment where the
participant realizes that their ONLY proof that they are not crazy is to pull out the
card and show everyone that they did in fact write down the “new implanted
name” (actual name they are thinking of) on the card. It’s this moment where
their only proof turns against them.

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The original version of this routine does not use any billets. The ending of the
routine is them walking away confused and the audience explaining to them what
happened. Without them having this proof, they actually become convinced that
they were really hypnotized. When you have a room of people telling you
something that they believe to be true, and you’re the ONLY one in the room that
sees it a different way, you’re eventually going to just start believing what they
are saying in order to keep sane. The best scenario is having the participant
completely forgetting about the card for the duration of the performance and then
remembering it hours later and viewing it themselves in private. They will have a
real moment of what I like to call “PMFD” which stands for “Post Mind Fu(n)k
Disorder.”

In all my years of experiences, no one has ever challenged me or openly said

that the writing on the card is not their handwriting. That’s not to say that it can’t
ever happen or won’t happen to you, so I’ve come up with a wonderful solution
that I think you’re going to love.

First off, when it comes to writing the name down, you can have a female friend
write the dummy billet. A females writing in most cases tends to be quite
distinctive from a male’s handwriting. The other thing is, you can ask your
participant to write the name down in all capital font. What this does is make
them write in a way that they aren’t used to. It’s more difficult for them to
recognize their own handwriting if you get them to write in a way that they don’t
normally write in. These are just little things that can help but the main solution, is
to include the suggestion into your pseudo-hypnotic process that they will not be
able to recognize their own handwriting. This simple solution covers the moment
in the rare case that it happens. It’s sort of a safety net. The more they try to
argue about the handwriting not being theirs, the more it confirms your abilities. It
would sound something like this:

“Everything you once knew about Chris is completely fading. Upon opening your
eyes you will have no idea who Chris is! In fact, you will not remember writing the
name Chris down to the point of barely recognizing your own handwriting!

I feel that this simple solution is the perfect answer to this sleight discrepancy.
When combining it with giving them directions to write the name in all capital
letters you have a solid clean up to a potential messy situation.

The Other important thing I wanted to address is that I feel there is a contextual
discrepancy when it comes to replacing the person’s memory with a new one.
Why would you give them a new name to think about? Why not just erase the
memory of the one person and call it a day? Of course we know that with this
particular method it doesn’t work that way. So what I’ve come up with is a way to
justify the name replacement suggestion.

I feel that If you give context to what seems to be an arbitrary name it gives the
effect and performance so much more meaning. So what I do is whatever name
they write down (name that you implant in their head) I tell them that it’s my
middle name, or that it’s my brother’s name or that it’s my best friend’s name. In
other words I’m attributing the name to my personal life so that it has meaning.

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It would sound something like this:

In a moment you are going to open your eyes and everything you once knew
about Chris will be completely gone. In fact you won’t even remember writing the
name Chris to the point of barely recognizing your own handwriting.

If I were to ask you whom you were thinking of, the only name that will pop into
your mind will be MY MIDDLE NAME, REGINALD. No matter how hard you try to
remember Chris, you can’t. The more people who ask you about Chris the further
away from your mind he goes, because all you can remember now is ME, MY
middle name, REGINALD. One, two, eyes wide awake!”

By putting context and reasoning to replacing the name they were thinking of with
a new one, the entire effect comes together very nicely having a complete and
full demonstration of mind reading and hypnosis within the same effect.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

This routine works great as an opener. It’s quick, powerful and establishes your
abilities very quickly. I bill myself as a hypnotist and mind reader, so for me this is
the perfect opener as it showcases both of those abilities right from the start.
The beauty of this method is that you can use it to reveal any piece of
information, even something as insignificant such as what someone ate for
breakfast that morning. It doesn’t have to be limited to names.

One thing I wanted to point out, is that although this routine and effect come
complete with a presentational hook, video demonstration of performances and
just about every possible angle covered to go out and perform this routine, it’s
important to know and understand that you aren’t limited to what is discussed in
this e-book or in the video. You don’t have to use the name Chris as the default
force name, you don’t have to use the premise of forgetting an ex-lover, and you
don’t have to use pseudo-hypnosis as the procedure to erase their mind. The
presentational angles are only limited to your own creativity and I highly
encourage you to find a premise, presentation and performance style that fits you
and is contingent with who you are so that people actually believe in your
abilities.

So go out there, and actually perform this routine. Don’t be a theorist and talk
about how awesome the effect is going to be, or talk about how unreliable and
incomplete you think the effect is going to be. Go out there and perform this for
REAL people and you will surprise yourself at how practical and incredible
Lacuna truly is.

                     
                     ✩ ✩✩
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