Chris Carter Messes With Your Mind - Christopher Carter

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Playwright: Christopher Carter

At: Theatre Building, 1225 W. Belmont

If it’s mental curiosity you crave, Chris Carter Messes with Your Mind is the place to be. The 90-minute show in the intimate Theatre Building West Studio rivals the best entertainment you’ll see in Las Vegas.

Like producer Vicki Quade’s other successful show, Late Nite Catechism, Carter is big on audience participation. Carter claims to be able to read our minds, or at least our emotions, body language, and other nonverbal cues that, he says, help him know what we’re thinking.

Even the most skeptical in our group had a change of heart when Carter guessed her full name and birth date. She met us at the theatre late, no one talked to her before the event and even I didn’t know her last name until Carter guessed it. Other tricks include guessing a word an audience member chooses from one of two large books. Carter says he’s able to read the electromagnetic pulses from the audience member who mentally spells out the word while placing a finger on the back of Carter’s neck.

Since his 2002 show at Live Bait, Carter’s show has evolved a bit. The new space allows for more audience participation and he includes expanded pieces like moving a broom atop a paper cup using his mind. He also channels power through an audience member to light up a fluorescent light bulb with her hand.

And the show’s not all about mind games. Carter gives us a brief introduction into how he’s able to perform some of these feats. He tells us why he calls himself a ‘mentalist’ and that his study of psychology and other areas of human nature have helped him hone his special talents. Carter respects the talents of those performers before him by giving a history lesson on magic and reality-benders of the past.

Time speeds by, literally, in this show, too. In a matter of a few minutes, an audience member’s watch moves forward by 45 minutes. This is a show you don’t want to miss. Arrive early and sit in the center section because you may miss some of the action sitting in the wings.