Narcissus by Chris Philpott

"It's friggin' brilliant! Particularly Unhypnotized - wow! I mean, that is what the mystery arts should be about. Narcissus brings the 100th Monkey principle into a whole new and incredibly useful realm. It includes some serious powerhouses, from the expletive-inducing to the quietly moving, possibly even transformative. Come for the wicked cool principle, stay for the powerful ways you can use this to affect your audience."

- Joshua Quinn

"I couldn't recommend this more!!!!!! It's powerful, brilliant and above all effective. It's a no-brainer... this should be in your arsenal if you want to blow peoples minds. Bravo Chris, you've done it again! IMHO I feel this kind of magic is the next step in the evolution of our profession... advancing us to be perceived beyond mere mortals."

- Joe Monti

"Chris Philpott's Narcissus takes his 100th Monkey genius to a new level that will leave audiences speechless! Narcissus opens up an entirely new playground of powerful routines using a spectator's own phone that packs small and plays big. Highly recommended!"

- Brett Barry

"Just gave a couple of the effects a test run over the weekend. Monday morning comes along and I get 2 new enquiries come in from people with the images stored on their phone from the weekend performance. Nuff said. THANK YOU, Chris! IMO this will possibly be one of the greatest marketing tools ever released as a well as A grade performance material."

- Al Straker

"Chris did it again! This time the power of 100 Monkeys is always with you, anywhere, anytime, plus it will be a memento that the audience will have with them for all their life! Powerful routines and very entertaining too!"

- Luca Volpe

Finally, the 100th Monkey principle goes close up!

Five powerful new effects by Chris Philpott.

In each effect, a picture of a spectator taken on his own phone magically changes under the most impossible conditions!

Easy-to-perform effects that are unlike anything your audiences have ever seen. Effects that are as memorable as they are impossible, as moving as they are amazing.

When Dan Harlan was asked "On the topic of Penguin lectures, what's been your most memorable moment? Is there anything that jumps out at all?" Dan answered, "Yeah! Yeah, yeah. Chris Philpott... He brought the most dramatic presentations, things where you really cared about what was going on... Just so well-thought-out. Really, really smart thinking."

The five effects in this release are:

The Fortune Teller

You give your volunteer a card with a picture of a "haunted" fortune teller machine on one side and Romani (Gypsy) writing on the other. You borrow a cell phone and take a picture of the spectator holding the card - but when they look at the photo, the foreign words have changed to English and they give the spectator's fortune! It is uncannily accurate and can even predict a lucky number or chosen card!

Unhypnotized

As you begin to hypnotize someone you discover that she is already hypnotized! Then the magic begins... A beautiful, empowering effect.

The Pledge

You ask a spectator to pledge to assert his free will by reading a statement on video: "My will is strong! I will make a free choice" Then he chooses a card under very fair conditions. Yet it turns out that you've controlled their mind: when they look at the image on their phone it says, "My will is stolen!" and names the card they chose.

I Want to See My Future

Predicting the future is a dangerous thing and sometimes people "kill the prophet." So to verify a spectator's consent, you take a picture of her holding a card that reads "I want to see my future!" But when she looks at the photo, the words on the card have changed to reveal her future in a surprising, accurate and funny way.

No Art

A spell from Harry Potter reveals a secret thought. You ask a spectator to think of a person (or place or thing) and then you have them hold a card that says "I am thinking of a thing." You cast the "Aparecium" revealing spell from Harry Potter and now when they look at the picture, their secret thought is visible.

Up to now, all 100th Monkey effects have been designed for stage (with workarounds for close up situations). This is the first time that these kind of effect are designed specifically for close up situations (though now there are workarounds for stage work).

Includes pre-printed cards, 90 minute video instructions, PDF of written instructions with many variations on these routines and 145 print-at-home gimmicked JPEGs allowing you to vary the effects to suit your own performing style and a wide variety of performance situations.

"Close up at last! This is exactly what everyone who's ever heard of the 100th Monkey has been waiting for."

- Pete McCabe

"Chris does it again! Narcissus explores my favorite application for the 100th Monkey principle. I'm loving this!"

- Ran Pink