Roy Zaltsman is on stage. It’s his birthday, and the Israel-based mentalist is doing what he likes best — entertaining people by reading their minds.
He’s handing out cards numbered one to 100 to volunteers from the audience. Each person memorises the number on the card. Once he is done with six of them, Roy goes up on stage and, like a true showman, asks them to think about the number. Within a few seconds, he reels off five of those numbers… but cannot crack the sixth one.
The audience isn’t impressed. Roy senses it — and asks the sixth volunteer to look under her chair. There’s a piece of paper that she reads out, and it says: “Your number is 22.” The audience at Phoenix MarketCity gasps, eyes wide open. It remains that way for the next hour, as the mentalist unleashes his act on an unsuspecting audience who go from “Ooh” to “Wow” with every segment. MetroPlus catches up with the mentalist.
You already know all my questions, right?
Oh yes I do. (laughs)
Seriously, how are you taking to the Indian experience?
I first came here for a month in 1995 as a backpacker after my Air Force service in Israel. After that trip, I decided that I will come here more often… and in the last four years, I’ve been coming every month. To me, India is a second home now. I use a lot of Indian languages in my shows — Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil and Kannada.
There’s a wow factor to all your acts, but what’s the one trick that challenges you the most?
The one act that is both challenging and easy is when I completely blindfold myself and proceed with the show. I may not be able to see, but I will be able to hear and be aware of things happening around me. Sometimes, I am sharper when I’m blindfolded.
When were you drawn to magic and mentalism?
I began performing when I was 15, by doing a bit of magic and illusions. I hail from Eilat, a touristy city in Israel that has many hotels. My friend and I used to go to hotel managers, show them some tricks and seek opportunities to perform for guests. One of them gave us a few shows and that boosted our confidence. The more I did such shows, the more I tried different aspects of the art… and slowly, I decided to concentrate only on mentalism, which is based on intuition and psychology.
How important is practice for a mentalist?
With magic, you can just stand in front of the mirror and try your tricks, but it works differently for a mentalist. I have to necessarily get a response. I practise on people, mostly family and friends. Sometimes, I try being bold and attempt new things on stage… I like to live life on the edge.
What happens when a trick doesn’t work?
When something genuinely goes wrong, it is perhaps a much better show. Then, people appreciate the fact that what I do is not easy. If all my shows are a success, it becomes anticipative and boring. So, sometimes, I try dangerous things. Back in Israel, I tried walking barefoot on broken glass — influenced by my Indian travels. I did end up cutting my feet and bleeding. So yes, acts do go wrong at times.
You rely a lot on intuition to figure out how the audience’s mind works…
Intuition is the ability to feel something and believe that feeling. Often, we ignore our intuition and end up regretting it. As a mentalist, it is important to take note of what you’re feeling… as much as it’s vital to include more mind tools — like persuasion, memory enhancement and rapid calculations. I try to include all that to make my shows successful.
