En Rapport

A complete two-person telepathy act

En Rapport is Theodore Annemann’s compact manual for a two-person demonstration of telepathy, mind reading and clairvoyance. First published in 1937, the original saddle-stitched booklet contains 24 pages and describes a programme of approximately thirty minutes. A second edition appeared in 1944.

The premise is classical: one performer moves among the audience while a seated partner, often described as the medium, identifies thoughts and objects apparently without seeing them. Annemann’s contribution is a deliberately economical system. The preparation is modest, the props are portable and the spoken communication is designed to sound like normal stage direction rather than an obvious catalogue of code words.

Code, preparation and structure

The booklet opens with the code both partners must learn, followed by examples and a practical list of requirements. The original act uses two decks of cards, paper, pencils, envelopes, a borrowed banknote, two slates with chalk and a thumb tip. Annemann also includes the Si Stebbins and Eight Kings card systems as supporting references.

The full routine begins with three spectators mentally selecting cards. The medium identifies them, establishing the central claim quickly. A second sequence strengthens the premise by having predictions apparently committed to writing before three further cards are selected. Another thought-of-card demonstration changes the procedure so the act does not feel mechanically repetitive.

The programme then moves away from playing cards. The medium reveals the serial digits on a borrowed bill and identifies the denominations and dates of borrowed coins. The finale uses a slate to reproduce information secretly supplied by spectators: a word, several figures and a drawing. This progression from familiar cards to personal borrowed objects and finally to hidden written information gives the act a clear escalation.

Why the method remains instructive

Audiences often suspect that partners in a second-sight act communicate through speech. Annemann addresses that suspicion through arrangement, timing and indirect phrasing. The value of the booklet is therefore not simply a vocabulary to memorise. It shows how cues can be distributed across natural sentences, how procedure can hide the moment of transmission and how successive tests can confirm the same premise without appearing identical.

Smoothness is essential. Both partners must know the system well enough to listen, respond and recover without visible calculation. Claims that the routine can be learned in a couple of evenings should be treated as a description of technical simplicity, not professional readiness. Convincing performance requires repeated rehearsal under realistic conditions.

Adapting the act today

Some details reflect the 1930s. Banknote designs, coin dates, slates and the original script may not fit every country or performing character. Updating the props is possible, but each change must preserve the coding logic and the clarity of the effect. Modern performers should also avoid language that makes entertainment appear to be a genuine medical or supernatural claim.

The work is most useful to established duos, performers developing a partner act and students interested in the construction of verbal codes. Even a solo mentalist can learn from its pacing, escalation and management of audience suspicion.

Editions and condition

Collectors should distinguish the 1937 first edition from the 1944 second edition and later reproductions. Listings should identify publisher, date, page count and whether the text is an original printing, facsimile or digital edition. For vintage copies, inspect staples, the spine fold, centre leaves, edge tears, stains and annotations. The lasting appeal of En Rapport lies in its complete practical design: it demonstrates how a small code and a carefully ordered series of tests can sustain a full theatrical premise.