The "Poor Man's Clipboard"

How to construct it
With better quality mentalism clipboards running well over $100, it's nice to have a less expensive alternative for some situations. The "Poor Man's Clipboard" is just that - an impression device that is easily constructed using a small ruled pad, sheet of carbon paper and some rubber cement. That's it. And while this device is not ideal for every situation, you'll find it is particularly well-suited to banquets, conferences and other gatherings where people are seated at tables.

The Pad

Let's discuss the properties. The first item is the pad. A smaller pad works best. This should have white, ruled notepaper; which is bound and perforated at the top and a stiff chipboard backing. The US-size pad pictured measures 8" x 5" with the paper itself being 5" x 7-1/4". The nice feature about this pad is that the cardboard backing is double thick, as a result the pad will not bend or flex. Notepads of this type are generally sold in "blister packs" of a half dozen or so pads. In addition, you'll require a sheet of carbon paper and some rubber cement. To construct, first trim the piece of carbon paper so it's at least 1/4" smaller than the paper size on three sides. With a thin coating of rubber cement, glue the back or "non-impression" side of the carbon paper to the back of the fourth sheet down in the pad. The picture at right shows how this should look with a minimum 1/4" margin all the way around. Smooth it out all around, so there are no wrinkles or bubbles. Make sure your hands are free of the dark carbon before touching other parts of the pad. You're now going to place a thin coat of rubber cement all the way around on the white margin (back of fourth sheet). You should only be coating the two sides and bottom. Now press the fouth sheet with the carbon gimmick against the fifth (next) sheet. This encloses your gimmick. You're almost done, but not quite. On the "front" of the fourth page, place a small bead of rubber cement along the bottom edge - gluing the back of the third sheet to the front of the fourth. The top two sheets are left untouched. Make sure the pad lays flat and any excess rubber cement is cleaned up by rubbing your fingers over it, until it can be beaded up and discarded.

Performance
Find a suitable subject sitting at a table in the audience. This may be a woman who arrived early and is still sitting alone. Ask her if she would mind helping you out with a demonstration later? If she says "yes," look around on the table for a moment and "find" the (prepared) pad and a ballpoint pen or small golf pencil. The more it appears that you are using this pad as an item of convenience, the better. Say something off the cuff like, "Oh here we go. This will work fine. Would you mind drawing some design? It doesn't have to be a great piece of art. In fact, it can be whatever you like, geometric shapes or what have you, as long as it's unique." When she's done, have her tear off the sheet, fold it up and then place it in her pocket or purse. Now remind her to keep this design in mind during the show, since you're going to have her help out with a demonstration. Take the pad, go back stage or find some other private area and tear off the sealed gimmick. Peel the sheets apart at the top and memorize the secret impression of the design she made. At the appropriate time in your performance, bring your helper forward and have her draw the design she has in mind on a large pad as you attempt to reader her thoughts. No one in the audience will be aware that your subject is recreating a design made earlier. You, of course, simply draw a similar (but not exact) rendering on your own pad. When the two are compared, the designs are very close - giving the impression you have read the spectator's thoughts from across the stage at that very moment.