Lior Suchard has traveled the world performing extraordinary displays of telepathy and telekinesis with audience participation. He's called a mentalist, and no, he didn't read my mind when we did our interview, but he did tell Miami audiences why they'll delight in seeing him this weekend at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.
Suchard has made multiple guest appearances on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Show" and has done television appearances with James Corden, Kim Kardashian, Larry King, Zac Efron and many others.
miamiartzine.com: What can audiences expect to see?
Lior Suchard: This is a comedy show will want to participate everything is very positive I don't embarrass anyone. It's fun and friendly.
maz: How did you become a mentalist?
LS: I was always fascinated by how the mind works, and the power of suggestion, and is it possible to read what someone was thinking? And I would play tricks from when I was very small, and I loved the stage. I loved to entertain. The more I grew up, I studied lots of psychology read books on the human brain and how the body works, and non verbal communication, and lots of technique of influencing. I developed my own methods to create this experience, combined with my love to perform into a crazy adventure.
maz: You wrote a book, "Unlocking the Power Of Your Mind To Get What You Want?" If I read it will I be able to read minds?
LS: The book is more about the concepts of understanding how the mind works. The book is a combination of things from my experience, what I did with my abilities across the years, and I teach elements of how to influence people, how to be positive. This is the scenario, if you want to get a job, and get a raise, there are techniques that you can do. How to think positive. How to unlock your intuition. How to improve your memory. Lots of aspects are techniques that you learn and you can improve yourself.
They will learn about themselves and can improve how to think positive thoughts and how to unlock their minds.
maz: It seems as if there is a resurgent interest in what you do. Are audiences more compelled to seeing mentalists right now?
LS: First of all, there are only about 10 real mentalists and we all know each other. All the others are variations of magicians that know a trick or two with the mind. But to be a real live mentalist is very, very difficult. Everything has to be about the mind. There is no sawing a woman in half in a show like this, unlike what you'll see with magicians. I think people are fascinated by wonderment. When we were children, we would look at the world in a wonder way, the more we get older we become less and less excited about things. It's a bit of team building for the whole audience, even if they don't know each other. And it does bring back the childhood. Also, when you watch a magic show, you are amazed and excited, when you leave you are amazed but you don't ask yourself is it real or not? You know. You know that the man didn't levitate the woman, it's a trick but you don't know what the trick is. You are still amazed but you don't know how he did it.
In a show like mine there's an aspect of belief. There's an aspect of "can I do that." One of the people in the audience is able to do something incredible, which they didn't think they would be able to do. I show the audience that they can do it also.
maz: It seems to me that mind readers have been around since the beginning of time.
LS: Basically mind readers and mentalists is the second occupation to be created in the world The first one was prostitution. There have always been sorcerers, advisors to the king, from the beginning. From the Bible, from history.
maz: Was there someone in your background that possessed this talent?
LS: Not specifically, but I did hear that everyone in the village would come to my great grandmother for advice. This is the only connection I know.
maz: There's a lot of pressure for one man to keep an audience entertained for an entire show. How do you do it?
LS: It's a combination of skill and understanding and being funny at the same time. It is hard to keep people's attention with What's App, phone, text. At my show, no one looks at their watch or phone. Everyone wants to participate and wants to see what will happen. Yes, it is a lot of pressure, but I love to perform. I will let you in on a secret. After I finish the show and go off stage, I come back and meet with people down in the audience, so if you're one of the last people left, we can meet.
maz: What's your relationship to Miami?
LS: I have done private events, and corporate events. Nothing like getting my own theater for people to come and watch the show. This is a big show, lots of seats.
maz: Has there been anything that's ever stumped you?
LS: The key here is that everything has to be positive. So, if you don't want something to succeed it will not succeed. The audiences comes to be amazed. I tell them come and your thoughts will never be the same. What I can promise the audience is that when the show is over for weeks afterwards is stuff that they've seen here. Unlike a magician that it's all about a spectacle and how big is the elephant and how did they make it disappear, here it is about emotion. It is about amazement and comedy and fun and wonder. Come with positive thoughts. That's the key and you will be amazed.
Lior Suchard performs Friday and Saturday, July 20-21, at 8 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center's Ziff Ballet Opera House, 1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami. Tickets: $29, $49, $69, $79. More info at www.arshtcenter.org
