Outside the Box

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By: Mark A. Gibson

 Outside the Box
A Visual Mentalism Opener to play for the largest of
audiences!

Effect:
5 boxes line the stage and a voice is heard over the
speakers. The entire audience is guided through a
selection process that eliminates all but one of the
boxes. Every box eliminated is shown empty, but you
have been hiding inside the final box the entire time! A
great introductory effect to set the stage and introduce
yourself.

History:
This is the classic 531 force. I first came across is from
Jim Steinmeyer, but the principle has been utilized and
reworked by many working professionals.

This force operates on the number of moves alongside

the elimination of certain boxes to force to a desired
outcome. I open my shows with this effect by having 5
boxes line the stage. I am hidden inside of box #4. A
voice recording of myself explaining the procedure
guides the audience through the selection process. This
allows for my first effect to happen before I am even
seen. Let’s break it down.
Procedure:

Try this for yourself. Place 5 card in front of you face

down.
Put your finger on the first card. Move over one card
every time I write the word MOVE. Ready?

MOVE 1
MOVE 1
MOVE 1
MOVE 1
MOVE 1

Keep your finger where it is. Eliminate Card #1 and

Card #5.

MOVE 1
MOVE 1
MOVE 1

Eliminate Card #2

MOVE 1
MOVE 1
MOVE 1

You’ve landed on Card #4.

If you follow this procedure it will end at card #4 every
single time. On stage, I have 5 large boxes instead of
cards so the entire audience can follow along. Here is a
rough break down of the process.
 Start at box #1
Move 5 times
Eliminate box 1 and 5
Move 3 times
Eliminate box #2
Move a single time
Eliminate box #3
Everyone is pointing at box #4

The great thing about this force is it can be altered. In

reality you can only end on boxes #2 or #4. Depending
on which one of these you eliminate first, you will
automatically force the other.

(Example: If I eliminate box #2, they will be forced to

#4. Eliminate #4 and they will land on box #2)

I have included a script with very specific language to

guide the audience through the process. When I perform
this, I play a recording of my voice reading this script
and added in sound effects via Garage Band. If you don’t
want to record yourself, you can simply say the script
through the microphone as you are hidden in the box, or
have a friend read it off stage.

I have included stage directions in parenthesis so your

off stage helpers know when and what box to eliminate.
I have decided to use the sound of a bell to cue the
audience when to move. I believe this hides the method
a bit more. If you decide to read the script instead of
record it, you could also use a snap of your fingers,
clapping your hands, or even a key word like “Go” or
“Now.” The choice is yours.
Script:

“Hello  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,    

 
My  name  is  (Insert  name  here),  and  I  will  be  your  magician/  mentalist  for  the  next  
little  while.  I’d  like  to  take  this  opportunity  to  thank  you  for  joining  me  and  I  hope  
you  will  enjoy  the  show.  Before  we  begin,  please  take  a  moment  to  silence  your  cell  
phones,  laptops,  iWatches,  or  any  other  nonsensical  noise  making  things.    
 
You’re  probably  wondering  where  I  am.  Well  I  could  tell  you,  but  where’s  the  fun  in  
that.  Please  pull  your  attention  now  to  the  stage  where  you  will  see  5  boxes.  4  of  
these  boxes  are  empty…1  of  them  contains  something  you  will  enjoy.  All  of  you  are  
about  to  make  a  series  of  random  decisions,  but  no  matter  how  random  they  are,  
you  will  find  yourselves  selecting  the  correct  box.  
 
Let’s  do  a  test  run.  All  of  you  now  point  your  index  finger  to  box  number  1.    
I  said  your  INDEX  finger  gentleman  in  the  back.    
In  a  moment  you  are  going  to  hear  this  sound:  
 
(Bell,  Wait  4  seconds)  
 
Each  time  you  hear  that  sound  you  will  move  over  to  the  nearest  box,  in  this  case  
box  2.  From  then  on  it’s  your  choice  to  move  one  box  to  the  left  or  to  right  with  each  
ring  of  the  bell.    
 
There  will  be  a  series  of  bells  played  one  after  the  other,  so  pay  close  attention.  You  
don’t  want  to  lose  your  place.    
 
Ok  let’s  begin.  Put  your  finger  on  Box  number  1.    
 
Move  1  box  in  any  direction  every  time  you  hear  the  sound  of  the  bell.  
 
Ready?    
 
(5  Bells)    
 
Keep  your  finger  where  it  is.  At  the  moment  I  know  you  aren’t  at  Box  Number  1    
 
(Remove  box  #1)    
 
Or  at  Box  number  5.    
 
(Remove  box  #5)    
 
Let’s  keep  going.    
  
Move  1  box  in  any  direction  each  time  you  hear  the  bell.  Ready?    
 
(3  Bells)    
 
Good.  At  this  point  you  would  have  wanted  to  avoid  the  edges,  so  I  know  you  aren’t  
at  box  #2.    
 
(Remove  box  #2)  
 
Last  round.  Move  1  box  each  time  you  hear  the  bell.  Ready?    
 
(3  Bells)    
 
Excellent!  You  are  now  pointing  at  1  of  the  last  two  boxes.  All  of  your  decision  of  
which  direction  to  move  have  brought  you  here,  and  I  knew  where  you  would  move  
each  step  of  the  way.  Because  I  know  you  aren’t  on  box  #3.    
 
(Remove  #3)    
 
All  of  the  boxes  eliminated  have  been  empty,  and  something  very  interesting  is  
hiding  inside  box  #4.    
 
Ladies  and  Gentlemen  please  welcome  to  the  stage  (Insert  Name  Here)!”  
 
 
There you go! You’ve just accomplished your first effect
without even being seen! I’ve used this for years and it
never fails to get everyone in the right mindset and
ready to participate in the show.

In my show I use PVC boxes covered in plastic table

clothes to conceal myself. If you choose not to construct
the PVC cubes, you can always use other means of
concealing yourself or others.
Other alternatives include:
• Large Cardboard Boxes
• Large Paper Cones
• Upturned Trash Cans
• Changing Screens
• Laundry Hampers
• Large bed sheets

The choices are limited only to your imagination. Make

sure that all of the props are identical and have the
capacity to hide an entire person comfortably. I’ve
included a list of other potential uses of this principle in
the Final Thoughts section.

Here are the instructions on building the 5 PVC boxes

Boxes:

There are a lot of different ways to hide you onstage. I

decided to construct boxes out of PVC pipe and table
clothes to allow for easy break down and transport.3  feet  
3  feet  

Materials:
• 20 pieces of 4’ PVC (1” thick) 4  feet     4  feet  
• 40 pieces of 3’ PVC (1” thick)
• 40 Three way PVC connectors (1” thick)
• 5 48” X 108” Black table cloth
• Duct Tape
• 5 Sheets of 18” X 24” Paper 3  feet  
 
3  feet  
 
Once all pieces are cut and fit together, you will have 5
equal sized boxes easy for you to fit inside sight unseen.
The PVC can be purchased at your local hardware store
as well as the duct tape and PVC connectors.

Most PVC comes in 10’ poles. I suggest purchasing only

20 poles, that way you can cut each to get a single 4’
piece and two 3’ pieces.

3  feet   3  feet   4  feet  

10  feet  

Once cut, they are fastened together with the

connectors to form a cube. Then the duct tape and table
cloths come into play.
The black table cloths can be found for a dollar at your
local party supply shop. One table cloth will wrap
around the front three panels of the box. This is by
design, so that you can enter and exit the box through
the back with ease. Duct tape them into position along
the top and bottom poles.

Finally take the 18” x 24” paper and draw a large

number 1 and tape it to the front of the box. Repeat this
by labeling the second box #2, and so on.

Congratulations! You now have all the props you need

for a startling opening effect. The boxes are easy to
transport on and off stage so your backstage assistants
won’t struggle at all.
Final Thoughts:

I want to wrap things up by giving you some alternative

ideas to make this play even larger or pack smaller.

Impromptu (Minimal Prop version):

If you are about to go on the road and don’t have a way

of transporting your boxes, there is another way. Get 4
stage hands or assistants to cover themselves in a large
cloth or black bed sheet. Have them crouch on the stage,
covered, and place a number onto the sheet. You can
even have 5 different colored sheets and have the
spectators move from color to color as opposed to
number to number.

Producing other people:

You can also use this principle to produce other people.

If you are working a corporate lunch and need an easy
way to produce the CEO, simply hide him under a cloth
or inside a box and run this procedure.

As you can see this routine is incredibly malleable and

can be altered to fit your personality and stage
presence. If you’re a crazy mad scientist, maybe you are
trying to find the antidote to a magic potion. If you work
with animals, perhaps the audience is trying to find
which cage contains the wild animal. Or if you’re a
serious mentalist, this could be a game of subliminal
influence in which you are unconsciously guiding the
audience to your desired outcome.
I have had a great deal of fun working this routine and a
multitude of environments. It can fill a large theatre or
play in a banquet style setting. It is up to you to make
this routine yours and play to your audiences.

Just remember:
• You can record the script or have someone read it
off stage
• You can simply read the script as you are
concealed onstage
• You can produce yourself or others
• You can use the PVC cubes or any other form of
concealment
• You can force either 2 or 4, depending on which
you eliminate first.

Thank you very much for your purchase and I hope you
have great success performing it. The possibilities are
endless for this principle so allow your creativity to take
this effect to the largest of places. Good luck!