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Details

Shared Dreams

Marcelo Insua

Tango Magic

(Based on 2 reviews)
Marcelo InsĂșa and Tango Magic present his first mentalism routine.

Can two people have the same dream?
Is it possible to have a prediction in a sealed envelope with the exactly dates and locations or is it just a shared dream?
  • No wallets
  • No electronics devices
  • No pre show work
  • Nothing in your pockets
  • Everything happens in front of people in complete fairness
  • No exotic gimmicks or strange magic props... just paper and envelopes
This is not a dream... this is Tango Magic's Shared Dream.

Reviews

Stephan Sloan

Official Reviewer

Jul 28, 2022

Shared Dreams by Marcelo Insua of Tango Magic, is a Confabulation routine. Confabulation is a mentalism routine whereby in a sealed envelope or box, the performer has predicted several random decisions made by one or more audience members. Since it was first devised by Alan Shaxon in the 1960's, there has been a multitude of variations of Confabulation and the methods to achieve it is as varied as well. The golden grail of Confabulation is being able to perform this remarkable effect without any assistance or with mechanical and electronic devises. In addition, it should be made to look like it has been done with ordinary objects and not items that came from a magic shop.

Shared Dreams is a natural and believable method which not only is plausible but portable as well. With only envelopes and pieces of paper one can create an effect that almost no one will forget. Every claim in the ad copy is true. What you receive when you purchase Shared Dreams everything (almost) you need to perform this. You will get 2 special gimmicks to help you achieve this miracle, 20 envelopes in which your prediction will be, a small writing pad and the instructional DVD.

The gimmicks and envelopes are constructed well. Not much can be said for paper envelopes but they are designed specially for this routine. The writing pad is a small pad minus lines on which you will write the spectators choices. You will need to buy a couple of additional items to assemble your gimmicks. You will also need to prepare ahead of time a crucial piece of the puzzle.

The DVD is adequate at best but thorough enough for you to understand all you need to. It is dubbed over in English for English speaking purchasers. For most of the video, the camera was handheld and the photographer constantly zoomed in and out at the moments where a close-up was needed. I found this particularly annoying. As a major player in the magic market, especially the coin magic market, one would think that some attention to the quality of the explanation video would have been more of a concern. The story line given by Marcelo Insua to justify having three envelopes in his hand unfortunately will not play well for many others. I personally am not a magician that travels the world and I certainly do not get love letters from my wife. If you yourself do not fit this scenario I suggest you come up with a story line that suits your own circumstances or you will sound disingenuous and the routine could fall flat.

As in other tricks, you will use up the envelopes and the writing pad. Since these envelopes are designed special for this routine you will have to buy more. In the past I have had an issue with refills but over the years my stance has changed. As a general hobbyist I hated using up items such as special cards because to replace them was expensive. However, as I started getting paid to perform, I looked at the few dollars in expendables as a cost of doing business. So, the take away is, if this is a paid gig the cost of replacement envelopes is minor and if you are performing just for fun realize that you will have to purchase refills. All in all, Shared Dreams is probably the most natural and easy Confabulation one can do without special equipment or any assistance.
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Jeff Stone

Official Reviewer

Nov 01, 2014

For $49 dollars . . . you get a really expensive version of Confabulation with some extra pluses that make this better than most routines of this type.


The packaging is beautiful. The DVD is well produced and teaches the effect very well. The effect seems very impossible. Insua has combined several principles to come up with a very impressive solution to the Confabulation concept.


The item containing the prediction is in the spectator's hand before the routine even starts. The presentation has a nice hook but could also be modified to better fit your personality. The method is one of the best that I've seen. The routine is extremely well constructed and well thought out. The ad copy is absolutely correct though it doesn't explain the effect. Watch the demo video, but basically if you cut to the bare bones effect and ignore the presentaion, the spectator names a city, hotel and hotel room number. The envelope that has been held by a spectator from the beginning is opened to reveal that the magi predicted it exactly.


If you're familiar with Confabulation you know the basic method, but I defy you to detect it in this presentation. The only problem I have with this particular method is that when the spectator removes the prediction from the envelope (yes . . . they remove it), the three pieces of information are starting right at them as they remove the prediction and the method of how they got on the paper might be a little more apparent to them than I would like.


However, I still think it's very doable. The only other negative is the fact that it costs fifty bucks and after 20 performances, you have to buy refills . . . For $30 more bucks you'll get 30 more performances. That's a bit steep. The routine, method, etc. in my book is at least 4.5 stars . . . The refill issue and the price knocks it down a hair.


Final Verdict:
4 stars with a Stone Status of Gem

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