Interview With Bill Dekel - Co Creator of Airwriter

Dominic Reyes – How did you develop Air Writer?

Bill Dekel – I started working on the Air Writer idea based on an effect in one of my previous books (MindCraft: Psionics), called Mene, Mene, Dekel (a.k.a. MMD). I first came up with MMD after some hours of thinking about how I could name a number that someone had written in the air. I published MMD, and it was very received, however, I felt that something was lacking; I wanted it to work with letters AND words.

Dominic Reyes – That must have been very frustrating, like a missing piece in a jigsaw, how did you solve it?

Bill Dekel – It was! I spent the next few weeks losing sleep trying to come up with a way to make MMD work with letters. I thought out half a dozen ideas, but threw each of them out; none of them were simple or clean enough. Then Timon Krause, one of the reviewers of MindCraft: Psionics that I had been collaborating with, contacted me with an idea he’d had that was directly based on MMD. I read his idea and instantly knew that it would work. I adapted it and, working with Timon, Air Writer was born.

Dominic Reyes – In what situations do you think it excels and in which do you think require more careful handling?

Bill Dekel – It works extremely well with a list of any sort. Some common applications I anticipated include names, star signs, and playing cards, among many others. As Timon noted, it can be used with virtually any list your spectator can come up with as well. The benefit of having a collection of known words is that it allows you to have a spectator write only one or two letters in the air.

Dominic Reyes – Does it always work for you?

Bill Dekel – I’m generally quite careful about words, and try to keep them short. They’re a bit risky, but I have used it with success now many, many times, it almost always succeeds, you feel like you’re really reading minds. It’s a bit of “risk and reward”. The greater the risk the more reward. There’s something quite powerful about telling someone what they are thinking of with absolutely nothing other than you and them.

Dominic Reyes – What do you think of the current state of mentalism?

Bill Dekel – I feel that we as mentalists are all standing on the shoulders of giants, and as such we can only go farther with every passing year, in terms of performance and techniques. I believe, be it sooner or later, that we will eventually reach a point where we will truly be able to read minds.

Dominic Reyes – How have you reacted to the reaction you have received from mentalists about Air Writer?

Bill Dekel – Quite happily, actually, as to the best of my knowledge, the reactions I’ve read about Air Writer have been entirely positive. Air Writer is an entirely new principle, and I’ve been glad that everyone reading Air Writer have appreciated that. Like most things worth learning, it’s a skill that requires practice to perfect, and that seems to have been universally recognized by the mentalists who own Air Writer.

Dominic Reyes – Tell us about your first ever performance.

Bill Dekel – It’s hard to pinpoint my very first performance in Mentalism because I started out performed magic for friends and family. That said, I think the first mind reading effect that I ever performed was at school, when I used my Mind Power deck. I fanned the deck with the faces towards my spectator. I then asked my spectator to think of one of the cards. I then told him what card he was thinking , but pointed out that it was merely an illusion. I then showed him the faces of all of the cards to show that his card had never been in the deck. I then said, “And the reason why the card was never in the deck was because this entire time it’s been in my back pocket…” as I reached around and removed their thought of card from my pocket.

Dominic Reyes – Who are your influences and why?

Bill Dekel – Around the top of the list are probably Derren Brown, Banachek, Joshua Quinn, Marc Oberon and David Copperfield. Derren Brown because he comes up with some absolutely brilliant ideas and then uses his well developed skills to make them a reality. I admire Banachek primarily because of the guts he has to perform the kind of psychological forces that he has come up with. Joshua Quinn because his work in the manipulation of words and equivoque has inspired some of my greatest effects. I always like watching Oberon perform because he makes magic, be it with cards or keys, tangible, bright, and charming, flowing seamlessly from one trick to the next. Last but not least I love David Copperfield because of his brilliant showmanship. His powerful acting abilities that enable him to make the impossible real, no matter how larger the scale, and to relate it to every one of his spectators in a personable, way, often linking it with a story.

Dominic Reyes – Where do you plan to go from here?

Bill Dekel – As I think that mentalism will only get closer to the real thing, I want to be one of those on the edge of reality, pushing forwards to create a reality for both me and my spectators.

Dominic Reyes – Thanks for taking the time for this short interview Bill. Good luck with your magic and congratulations on a great bit of mentalism!

AIRWRITER IS AVAILABLE NOW HERE

Interview With Bill Dekel – Co Creator of Airwriter

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