Timon Krause: “Luckily, I don’t read minds all the time”

Timon Krause: Not at all, no! I don’t read minds all the time. And luckily, that would be a little scary, too. I have to play it on stage, but it’s not always off stage. Of course, this requires a lot of focus and concentration. However, I’m not about to make people think all the time now.

My mind?

This is more like a neologism than my words, for I don’t know what better name to give him. Vote manipulation is very negative. Mentalize is derived from Mentalist, and is primarily a theater artist who plays with the medium of the mind and makes art with it. In practice, this means that I try to appear as if I can read people’s minds and see through them myself. But ultimately it is based on psychological principles, knowledge of human nature, statistics, etc.

How did you come into contact with this type?

I saw a hypnosis show in one of the parks and found it very interesting. Then I imitated what I saw on stage. And it worked – with dumb luck – the first couple of times with my best friend and brother. Not really after that, but by then it had given me so much fascination and confidence in my youthful self that I said, “I can do it, and I’m going to keep teaching myself how to do it.”

After that, she studied philosophy and theater.

Exactly, I studied philosophy in Amsterdam and Leiden and spent four years at the Paul van Fleet Cabaret Academy in The Hague. I was there, among other things, to learn how to put on a show from him and not let the entertainment part of the whole thing slide. I kind of learned everything you could possibly need to do theatrical art. And I actually did philosophy out of passion, because I felt like doing it.

Didn’t your parents want you to do “something sensible” instead of mind reading and hypnosis?

In the short term, yes, that was also one of the reasons I studied. They said, “You can be an artist, but please study as an alternative.” They always supported me and always thought it was a good thing. “If it makes you happy and works for you, do it.” But of course they didn’t want me to starve and be financially stressed. I think if you can provide yourself with the basics, more isn’t necessarily everything. And they just wanted me to get the basics. And when I said then that I was studying philosophy, I think they laughed a lot and said, ‘I’d rather be an artist then. You might have a better chance of getting your daily bread there.’

How does mind reading work?

You need a certain level of empathy and concern for people. Concentration and concentration at the same time. You stay with the person to keep track of what’s going on. This is especially important in hypnosis. Because I have to see exactly how a person is doing at this moment, how my words affect him, and so on. Of course you need a little bit of technical knowledge (laughs) to do that. Like any art, you need passion and perseverance. Persevere in doing it professionally until it succeeds. And the passion that continues afterward. Even if the performance fails again or there are only 20 people in the hall instead of 200, it really hurts.

Are there people better suited to this than others?

The difference was found in whether the person was interested or not. When you look at someone who doesn’t care at all, it’s very hard to read that person because they’re so relaxed they don’t react to anything you’re doing. And if you have someone who is somehow interested in whether it works or not, it doesn’t matter if they want to make it hard or easy for you. The main thing is that the person is involved.

So everyone reveals something by trying to create something?

Well, you need to tense up. If there isn’t one and you don’t feel it, it won’t work.

But maybe these people don’t come to your show either?

I hope not (laughs). It would be a shame if they wasted their money.

What happens on stage?

With me are two musicians who accompany everything with live music. This means that if someone doesn’t feel like the show at all or thinks the guy can’t do anything, at least they can look at the band and think the real talent is there. Between us, this is the case. Then there are a bunch of stories that lead to different mind games. People are brought onto the stage or I ask the audience to stand up and have their thoughts read, influenced or analyzed – but all with a wink. Nobody is exposed. No secrets are inadvertently revealed, and no one is forced to participate. There is also a hypnosis part that you can take part in. There is a part of this year where I talk to the dead. Again with a wink. Then the psychological mechanisms behind it and the reason for its success will be resolved.

So it is primarily about the human spirit, which always follows similar paths?

This always. It is not a lecture, but is primarily entertaining, offering small tips for everyday life.

Do you have anything for me

Sure, I can give you two right away. The first is for certain dynamics, like when you’re in a group trying to figure out who cares about who. Then, when there is laughter in the group, you can pay attention to who is looking at him first at this moment. When we laugh, we have an instinct to look first at the person we are communicating with or the one we care about most. This way you can see directly who is with whom. The other thing is, if you want to make someone like you, or if you want your boss to like you in a job interview, for example, the intuitive approach is to say you want to do them a favor. But really, you should get him to do you a favor. Something like, “Can you get me a glass of water?” or “Can you open the window?” The idea is that if we do someone a favor, we assume we must love that person or else we won’t. Someone that’s valid.

When you meet new people, should you be afraid of being discovered? Did you have any problems?

not at all. Sometimes the comment comes: “Oh, are you reading me now?” Then I explain it briefly. Or they talk to me for twenty seconds and realize what a loser I am and that I must have dropped my cell phone seven times and hit the table three times. Then the respect they used to have (laughs) diminishes.