Before I start: This is the first of Penguin's "Acts" series. When I subscribed, I was under the impression that I would be getting lectures (these acts hadn't shown up on the site yet). So I was a little disappointed that what I would be getting was not what I was expecting from the subscription. From a first impression, it seemed as though there wouldn't be as much content as a regular Penguin Lecture would have.

That being said, I like what Penguin are doing with the "Act" format.

This first one from R. Paul Wilson may not seem like much. There are only 4 tricks taught, with a few ideas on what you can do instead. That might be a bit of a disappointment but these tricks are discussed in a lot more detail than you would have in a lecture setting.

The video starts with a full video of R. Paul Wilson's act in front of a lay audience. The purpose of the act is to show what R. Paul would do in a situation where he's having dinner with other people and he has to do something last minute. I kind of like that a full show is shown before getting into the explanations and there's much to study from this part as well as the explanation section.

Then come the explanations. There's a lot of theory involved here, talking about impromptu magic, talking about three-act structure, and having a theme bringing those three parts together. All are important when it comes to creating an act like this. Everything for the act can be acquired last minute.

He starts with the breadcrumbs effect with coins. This is a simple effect but is important to establish the theme or premise that will carry the rest of this act. He then shows an alternative effect that you could do instead if you don't have enough coins (or you could do it straight after if you wish).

Next comes the card under tablecloth using the spectator's id/credit cards as an impromptu deck of cards. This is perhaps my favourite trick in the set and one I'm looking forward to trying out when out with a few friends.

Finally is the chop cup routine, and this gets a lot of discussion on what you could do with the final load. Lots of great options for what you could do here.

Finally, there's a quick chat on what type of effects Dan would do and a discussion on impromptu tricks in general.

This may not sound like a lot but the video is around 2h30m which means that the tricks discussed get a lot more attention to them than they would if they were in a typical lecture. There's a lot of good advice given here on how to structure an act.

In conclusion: While I was disappointed that this wasn't a lecture like I expected with my subscription, I enjoyed the format and the content that was within. I will certainly use at least one thing from this act and I've learned some good tips on act structuring and theming.

The effects are very good but the real value is in the back and forth between Paul and Dan. There are great tips and advice throughout. The real lesson in this lecture is how to take tricks and make them feel like an act. I recommend watching the entire lecture then go back and watch the show again. It makes more sense that way. At times what was happening during the show was hard to follow, otherwise would have given 5 stars.

R. Paul Wilson's products have always given evidence of a brilliant creator of simple, essentialized techniques that combine to achieve spectacular effects ("effects" meaning an apparent violation of the laws of nature) -- and the techniques and progression of his effects could be adapted to one's own taste.

This lecture scintillates that brilliance even more.

As a specific example, Paul teaches a mutative extension of Rene Lavand's Three Bread Crumbs -- by making two contributions: (1) an observation involving sound and (2) his demonstration of the varied ways for handling the coins. Lavand's method for handling the crumbs does not adapt to the handling of coins; while people can handle crumbs the way Lavand handles crumbs, only a "Shin Lim of coins" might be able to handle coins identical to how Lavand handles crumbs -- so Paul's demonstration of methods for producing the effect with coins is a crucial contribution.

The Act as a whole is cohesive -- and the discussions provide insights that would allow one to adapt either the Act itself or -- more importantly -- the thinking underlying the Act to one's own devices.

This was an amazing lecture. Yes, these are effects that you probably already know. (But Yes, I was fooled badly by the simplest of methods.) Yes, there is a lot of detail. Yes, there is a lot of theory. And definitely YES, this lecture will make you a better magician. And you will want to use these effects. This is a lecture not to be missed.

there were two items that will go in my act asap

I loved Act. Thanks R.Paul