Brain Food by David Parr - OOP

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Evan Shuster
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Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
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Brain Food by David Parr - OOP

Postby Evan Shuster » August 25th, 2014, 8:04 pm

Brain Food by David Parr (Out of Print)

Brand new, still in shrink wrap!
$65, includes shipping in the continental USA

The ad copy:
Full-time professional David Parr opens his mind to present you with eight complete routines, seven close-up, one stand-up, concocted and refined in the kitchen of real-life, professional performance. Ingredients: Bills, Coins, Cards, Werewolves, Poison, Psychology, Deviousness, Humor, Weirdness, Entertainment Fourteen Thought-Provoking Essays: Experience, Insight, Artistry, Practicality, Sound Advice. This book contains 136 pages of recipes for Great Magic that Your Brain and Your Audience Will Enjoy! Comes in hardcover (with dust jacket) with 60 illustrations by Kelly Lyles.

Contents:

07 Introduction - Eugene Burger
13 The Art of Magic (essay)
17 Ideas
21 Presentations (essay)
23 A Yogic Mystery
27 Methods (essay)
29 Slow-Motion Swindle
38 Effects (essay)
40 Psilocation
45 Wonder in the Ordinary (essay)
53 The Card in Wallet
55 D.P. Card in Wallet
60 Fair Play (essay)
63 Future Shock
71 The Lippincott Box
74 Lucky Penny
80 Suspense & Surprise
90 The Company of Wolves
93 Werewolf!
107 Poison & Politics (essay)
111 Dinner with the Borgias
122 The Dessert
130 Full circle

*contents courtesy of magicbooks.be


Review by David Acer (from MyLovelyAssistant.com):

April 21st, 2004 1:21am
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by David Acer

I read David Parr's Brain Food some years ago (it was published in 1998), but when I heard he would be lecturing here in Montreal shortly, I decided to read it again. It wasn't exactly a painful choice to make -- I enjoyed the book the first time I read it, and, as it turns out, I liked it even more the second time through.

That's the kind of book this is. Every page contains simple truths, honest facts, practical realities that performers rarely voice, but often apply. It's the kind of information that makes sense intuitively, without necessarily being obvious. Moreover, it is presented modestly, humbly, in the context of effects and routines, integrated here and there almost as if David were discovering the lessons as we are.

The effects themselves are also excellent, serving both to illustrate the points David makes AND as fully realized, fully scripted performance pieces. My personal favorites are "D.P. Card In Wallet," a rock-solid handling of the classic effect that offers a nice touch with a Post-It Note (indeed, this is one of the more clever additions to the Card-in-Wallet I've seen, providing an extra convincer without adding a lick of handling), and "Werewolf," a theatrical routine that, if properly executed, should elicit varying degrees of fear, surprise and laughter, a rare combination in any artistic piece, let alone a magic trick.

David also provides the complete script for his wonderful stand-up effect, "Dinner With The Borgias," a highly stylized Bank-Night type routine that was originally presented on stage in the context of a larger collection of short scenes dealing with politics. While few among us would have the opportunity to perform such a piece (it's extremely theatrical, and demands a particular context), the effect and presentation are engaging as hell.

Regardless of whether or not you decide to make use of any of the routines herein, this is the kind of book that will inspire you to examine (and re-examine) the material you already do. It deserves a place among the best contemporary books on magic theory.


Evan Shuster
843 NE 194th St.
Shoreline, WA. 98155
evanjunko@comcast.net
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Evan Shuster
Posts: 983
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Brain Food by David Parr - OOP

Postby Evan Shuster » September 14th, 2014, 3:21 pm

Still looking for a good home... (but a bad one will do, just as well).

Evan Shuster
Posts: 983
Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
Location: Seattle
Contact:

Re: Brain Food by David Parr - OOP

Postby Evan Shuster » September 14th, 2014, 8:10 pm

Sold. Thanks!


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