* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #440 Date: Sunday 27th August 2006 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com www.Alan-Watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star Honoring Milt & Bill Larsen 3. 50th Anniversary Of "It's Magic!" 4. Sue-Anne Webster's FISM 2006 Competition Report #3 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 24 - Nick Lewin 6. Las Vegas Magic - September, 2006 7. 2007 SAM Convention Dallas 8. Cruise Ship Work Available For Australian Magician 9. Attending Magic Conventions - Your Opinions Needed! 10. Chow Family Of Champions - S.A.M. & P.C.A.M. 2006 11. Correcting Download Problem - The 5-Card-Repeat Free Booklet 12. MINDVENTION 2006 - Las Vegas! 13. 28th New Zealand International Magicians Convention 14. The Amazing Orchante Saga 15. e-zine Archives 16. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- This weeks Magic New Zealand e-zine is being released early as Melanie, Aleshia and myself are flying to Wellington to appear live on 'What Now' a magical themed special for TV2. Nicholas Britt will also appearing from Christchurch. ------------------------- A BIG thank you to Sue-Anne Webter for her in-depth great reviews of all this years FISM competition act. Part 3 and the final part of her report refer item 4. Eric Eswin, Secretary General of FISM has officially announced that the next FISM will be in Beijing, China 2009. ------------------------- Magic New Zealand as of last week has 11,003 subscribers world wide. If you know of any of your magical friends who would be interested in subscribing to Magic New Zealand please forward them a copy of this issue. ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star Honoring Milt & Bill Larsen -------------------------------------------- Message from Milt Larsen (US) What A Weekend Of Magic. The Magic of Hollywood - Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star Honoring Milt & Bill Larsen Installation of a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame honoring Bill and Milt Larsen, founders of the world famous Hollywood landmark Magician,s Club, "The Magic Castle." Friday, September 15, 2006 9:30 AM. This is a Hollywood Chamber of Commerce event. For information call Ana Martinez-Holler VP Media Relations Hollywood Walk of Fame. (323) 468-1376. Press must only RSVP to Ana The Magic of Hollywood. -------------------------------------------- 3. 50th Anniversary Of "It's Magic!" -------------------------------------------- Message from Milt Larsen (US) The Magic Of Hollywood Celebrating five decades of entertainment 50th Anniversary Of "IT'S MAGIC!" It's Magic! 50th Anniversary Reunion The Annual It's Magic! stage revue has been credited with the resurgence of the art of magic in America. It re-introduced a form of the living theater to new generations that had missed the excitement of live variety entertainment. Over the past half century the greatest names in magic have appeared on the show. Blackstone, Calvert, Chang, Richiardi and hundreds of other legendary magicians from all over the world. The producers of It's Magic!, Milt Larsen and Terry Hill, have extended an open invitation to all the acts that have ever appeared on the dozens of editions of the shows to gather for a re-union. When:  Saturday, September 16, 2006 - 2Pm until 5PM Where: THE MAGIC CASTLE Inner Circle and Palace of Mystery Theater.  7001 Franklin Ave., Hollywood CA. 90028 Who: Top professional magicians have been encouraged to come in costume to pose for a classic "class photo" at 4PM on the stage of the Palace of Mystery theater. Invited celebrity members include Jason Alexander, Neal Patrick Harris, Steve Valentine, Terri Hatcher, Nicolas Cage, Tippi Hedron, Tony Shalhoub and others. Invited classic magicians include Marvyn Roy (Mr, Electric), Goldfinger and Dove, Mark Wilson and Nani Darnell, Bill Chaudet (appeared on the first It's Magic! In 1956), John Daniel and many others. Magicians are encouraged to bring their rabbits, doves and beautiful assistants, The Magic of Hollywood It's Magic! 50th Anniversary Show A once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the biggest names in magic on one stage. A full evening of the world's greatest magicians. The top headliners of Las Vegas, Reno and other venues will perform for one night only to pay tribute to the show that helped many of them become stars. The major casinos and theaters have released their stars for this very special event celebrating the Magic of Hollywood. When:  Sunday, September 17 at 7 PM Where: The Kodak Theatre - Hollywood America's most prestigious indoor venue, home of the Academy Awards. Highland & Hollywood Entertainment Complex Who: The show will be hosted by Stage, TV and film star Jason Alexander The all-star cast, in alphabetical order: Rich Bloch - Washington D.C. 's Classic Comedy Magician Lance Burto n - from the Lance Burton Theater Monte Carlo Hotel Las Vegas Juliana Chen - Now appearing at Friedrichblau Variety Theater in Germany Dimmare - three time winner: "Magician of the Year" Michael Finney - Last year's Comedy Magician of the Year Kalin & Jinger - from Kalin & Jinger's Underground Theater Reno, Nevada. Kevin James - Courtesy "World's Greatest Magic Show" Las Vegas Jason Latimer - Grand Prix World Champion of Magic Mac King - Courtesy Harrah's, Las Vegas - 2005 Magician of the Year Jeff McBride - from Las Vegas - 1993 Magician of the Year The Pendragons - 1994 Magician of the Year Darren Romeo - Courtesy El Dorado Hotel and Casino - Reno, Nevada The Passing Zone - Incredible body jugglers America's Got Talent Finalists Rick Thomas - Courtesy Rick Thomas Theater Stardust Hotel, Las Vegas\ And a special appearance by Siegfried and, hopefully, Roy. Produced by Milt Larsen and Terry Hill. Directed and staged by Dale Hindman. For information visit the website: www.itsmagic.org Contact Information: Attention Media: Media may attend these events with approved press credentials only. Please call or e-mail to be added to the press list. Press Relations: Brandy Laplante 1-323-851-3313 EXT 301 - Email blaplante@magiccastle.com Prices: $69.50 - $54.50 - $29.50 Box Office Kodak Theatre Hollywood and Highland 6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA. 90028 www.kodaktheatre.com Telephone orders: Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com 1-323-308-6363 The Magic Castle 7001 Franklin Ave., Hollywood, CA. 90028 1-323-851-3313 www.magiccastle.com -------------------------------------------- 4. Sue-Anne Webster's FISM 2006 Competition Report #3 -------------------------------------------- Message from Sue-Anne Webster (Aust) Final - Part 3 101 George Marek Stage Illusions Czech Republic Sponsor - Frantisek Cach (Czesky Magisky Svaz) This act was set in a graveyard and began with George stumbling across a large crypt. Zombies seemed to emerge from the ground and they went into quite a long dance routine with him. The four female zombies opened the crypt on all four sides to show that it was empty, they threw a large white lycra sheet over it and gradually we saw hands and a face pressing against the lycra from within the box. George pulled the sheet away and there was nothing there. This was repeated several times and each time there was no-one in the box. Finally George was put into the box, it was covered with the sheet, and he vanished. There was quite a lot of dancing and movement for what was, essentially, one effect. Close Up Competition 1 Juan Carlos Rodarte Parlour Magic Mexico Sponsor - Jose Luis Mazoy Kuri (???) Juan Carlos had a great presentation and based his act on the theme of imagination. He said that his favourite game when he was a child was imagining he was a pirate. He then went into a cups and balls routine explaining that the balls were "ghost of pirates" as he changed their colours, and went through a series of cups and balls moves including a very visual transposition where a ball ran across the table from cup to cup. Overall he had very good misdirection except for one final load which was a little awkward, but it was a nice touch to bring in music as he revealed his final loads. It would have been good to stop there but he whipped out a pirate flag (with attached spirit hand) and proceeded to produce a slightly clumsy pirate ship. Nice idea but it didn't quite succeed. 2 Kristian Nivala Card Magic Finland Sponsor - Timo Kulmakko (???) Kristian had to put up with a little distraction for the first 30 seconds of his act as we could hear someone else's radio mic through the system. What made this even more obvious was the fact that he was doing a silent act. It began with a nice four ace production (which almost looked like shell cards!) and then he produced the entire deck. He had the jury sign the four aces and, despite a slightly obvious sleeve of the case into the spread, he went through a series of very visual effects with each ace. The first ace instantly vanished and in it's place was a jumbo card, and the signed ace reappeared inside the empty case that was on the table. He repeated this with each ace and the effect became more and more impressive each time. It was a well structured display of skill, spoiled only by an over the top finale where decks, giant coins and notes appeared from cards. Some cleverly, some obviously. This flurry of confusion really took away from the crisp magic in the rest of his act. 3 Mr Dannyman Micro Magic Sweden Sponsor - Dag Lofalk (Svensk Magisk Cirkel) Mr Dannyman got a great laugh when he put his close up mat out and we saw it was a 'Welcome Mat'. Wearing a red suit, ruffled shirt and immaculately groomed, he immediately started speaking in rhyming patter. At first this was annoying, then it became very clever and funny, but after about six minutes it started to get annoying again. He produced the four aces, each ace being bigger than the one before. He had a change bag with candy in it which he gave to the jury (actually he gave it to the time-keeper so no extra points to be had there!) Most of the effects he did were comedy based on his patter. He had a very funny collection of wands hanging inside his jacket and, at the end, he produced two lit matches which he used to ignite a small sign on his table and create a mini fireworks display. This was a stronger performance than he did in FISM 2000 with a similar act. 4 Morgan Strebler Mental Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Roger Miller (International Brotherhood of Magicians) Morgan began by borrowing coins from the audience for a PK routine. The coins were collected in a glass however his misdirection was not so good and when the coins were later shown to all be bent he didn't get quite the reaction he could have. One thing that struck me was the fact that he borrowed all of these coins, bent them, but then didn't return them to the spectator. He bent and broke a fork very cleanly, then had another fork examined and began to bend it's tines. Again, his misdirection wasn't that good and it was obvious it wasn't the same fork. He did totally bend all of the tines though, and continue twisting the body of the fork until it was a very unusual shape indeed. In the end, rather than give the 'art' away, he quoted a line from 'The Matrix' and proceeded to snap the fork into six pieces accompanied by music. A nice presentation. 5 Rafael Tubino Card Magic Brazil Sponsor - Paschoal Ammirati (Associaciao Portugesa De Illusionismo) Rafael began by changing any four selected cards into the four aces. He seemed very personable and cut the four aces into the pack, shuffled it, and they reappeared face up in the centre of the spread. Unfortunately they were joined by one face up card that didn't look like it was supposed to be in the act. He put the aces aside and had a card chosen which then appeared between the aces. He repeated this effect but with the card signed. This was followed by a moment where the entire hand holding the deck disappeared into his jacket, and the deck was then shown to have changed colour. All the cards on the table, including the aces and the signed card, had also turned red. 6 Saturo Micro Magic Japan Sponsor - Maki Kitami (Japanese Professional Magicians Association) Satoru was an energetic and naturally funny guy. He asked us about magic "Do you love it?" It was obvious that he did. He introduced us to his wallet which he said was his best friend, and had a card chosen. A bill from his wallet was then shown and it had a cartoon bubble on it with the name of the chosen card. He then had a toothpick chosen and showed that he had predicted which toothpick would be chosen. Suddenly, all the rest of the toothpicks were now coloured and the chosen toothpick was the only brown one. Finally he spread cards on the floor and had three people stamp on them to select cards. He revealed the first card was written on the soles of his shoes, the second card was on his socks, and the third card was written on the soles of his feet. As a bonus, he opened an umbrella which also had the chosen card on it. Very funny and quite clever. 7 Seth - The Sleight of Hand Expert Card Magic Sweden Sponsor - Dag Lofalk (Svensk Magisk Cirkel) Seth certainly appeared to be an expert at sleights as he presented a selection of cuts, flourishes and shuffles choreographed to music. He produced four aces, changed cards into different cards, did a Few poker deals and restacked the deck into (almost) new deck order. He looked very serious while working, looking up and smiling only when he made a mistake. He seemed to have a nice personality but kept it hidden. His routining could have been better too because for his finale he simply stopped, looked at the audience and said "I'm done." It was only then that they knew to applaud. 8 Pierric Micro Magic/Inventions Switzerland Sponsor - Crovara Christophe (Magischer Ring Der Schweiz?) Pierric had three inventions. His first was sensational. He had a tray with three apples on it, and a second tray marked 'pears'. He took each apple, one by one, and with no cover at all changed them into pears. It looked like real magic. His second invention seemed to be a piece of cardboard with which he was able to make a bill appear from a drawing of a magic lamp. Finally he did a single cup routine with a ball which turned to blue sand, then a giant blue ball that turned to sand, and finally he crushed the cup into sand too (which he presented in his act at the last FISM). He also did one more effect which didn't seem to be much of an invention at all. He tried to produce a rabbit from some silks but got a guinea pig instead. He then added a false set of ears to make it look like a rabbit. 9 Lodewijk De Widt Card Magic Netherlands Sponsor - Ronald Moray (Nederlandse Magische Unie) Lodewijk entered to music carrying a clipboard with paper on it and he drew a box. He then pushed the box from the centre of the sheet and it became a blank card case leaving a hole in the paper where it was. He opened the case and took out an entirely blank deck. He then printed four queens, front and back, and put them in his pocket. He printed the case, and the cards inside it as well. He had four cards chosen and torn into four pieces by volunteers. These pieces were put into a fishbowl and he then took four pieces out and presented his own version of a mismatched 'Reformation'. He fused four different card corners together, including one that was face down, and handed it out as a souvenir to the judges. It was a very nice effect, if a bit angly and his whole set was a little slow moving, but a great improvement from his act in FISM 2003. 10 Stuart Lightbody Micro Magic South Africa Sponsor - Christine Tait (South African Magic Council) This young man had real personality, polish and presentation. He entered wearing a bowling hat and offered his volunteer a cup of tea from the pot sitting on the close-up table. He vanished the tea cup as coins appeared and he went into the first matrix of the week. One coin was initialed and it vanished and reappeared inside a sugar packet. He had a card chosen and signed and it reappeared in his hat while the rest of the deck changed colour. He performed card to mouth and then discovered the tea in the pot had vanished leaving only a flower which he presented to his volunteer. 11 Martin Kaeppel Mental Magic Germany Sponsor - Wolfgang Sommer (Magischer Zirkel Von Deutschland) Martin began by lighting a candle and inhaling the smoke from the match he used. He then held his hand over the flame for an uncomfortably long time as he spoke about what he was going to do. He brought out a big nail wrapped in a blood covered cloth and chose a spectator to play a "very, very funny game." He put the nail under one of four cups and as he explained the game in a very evil yet seductive character smoke pour out from his pants legs as he rested his feet on the table. He had his female volunteer slam her own hand down on any one of the cups. He assisted her for the first cups but once it was down to only two he left her on her own to choose the right cup. She did and it got a very strong reaction from the crowd. Unfortunately, from my angle, the method was exposed but still the theatricality of the piece was played very well indeed. 12 Kif Card Magic China Sponsor - Richard Dooley (Society of American Magicians) Kif was a very well dressed young man who began by showing a photograph of his master, the one who taught him how to gamble. He borrowed a bill and had the corner torn from it, then he changed it into a different bill (no corner missing) which he kept. He was speaking very fast so it was a little hard to follow but he produced some good hands for poker, then had a card chosen and signed (a king) and then changed the kings to aces and found the aces in his pockets. Four volunteers shuffled a quarter of the deck each. He then took the cards back and a volunteer named a four of a kind. He dealt out five hands of poker and they got their four of a kind and he got a royal flush. He then dealt all of the hearts and the signed king was found in the card case. Finally the spectator's bill, with corner missing, was discovered in the frame with the photo of his master. 13 Mathieu Bich Inventions France Sponsor - Crispon Jean Claude (Cercle Francais De L'illusion Jules Dhotel) Mathieu presented one card effect. A very strong one too, that he was selling at his stand in the dealers room. He had a completely blank deck and tossed the card case to an audience member who he asked to name any card. They chose the nine of diamonds. He spread the deck and three cards were face up. These cards had the words printed on them 'Your', 'Card', 'Is The'. He then spread the deck and written on the face of the spread was 'Nine of Diamonds'. 14 Gianfranco Preverino Cards Italy Sponsor - Vanni Bossi (Club Arte Magica-Milano) First he showed a deck of blank cards and printed them. Next he showed the backs were red as was the case. He had Boris Wild choose a card (6H) and then found the aces while doing 'Rollover Aces' blindfolded. He then produced four royal flushes and separated the reds and blacks. Obie O'Brien named the 7H and Giancarlo found it quickly by cutting. He repeated the effect as Obie named the 4C. Unfortunately his deck switch was not as deceptive as he may have hoped for, however he found the card and separated the reds and blacks again. Then, when he spread the deck face down, Boris's card, the 6H, was written on the back of every card. 15 Hoperman Micro Magic Japan Sponsor - Maki Kitami (Japanese Professional Magicians Association) Hoperman performed to music with a table set up like an office desk. His sign saying he was at a meeting changed to say 'On Vacation' and he performed a seated cups and balls routine with two cups and some nuts. Water appeared from the cup, and then a little coconut tree as well. He was recreating the picture on his vacation sign right there on his desk. He produced mini bushes, a tiny life buoy, and a mini deck chair. He pulled a coconut from a drawing, cracked it open and his wand became a straw. The addition of a tiny umbrella made it a tropical cocktail. He changed his glasses into sunglasses and held up a world map with a spirit hand attached (at one point he had three hands!) to do a costume change behind it. Nice idea, a lot of fumbles though especially with the costume change at the end. 16 Inaki Zabaletta Card Magic Spain Sponsor - Rene Oscar Hernando (Centro Magico Platense) Inaki shuffled the cards, then took the cards out of the case. He did a rather obvious add-on as three cards were selected and he found the aces. The aces were signed and he went through an elaborate stacking procedure before dealing poker hands with the signed aces going to him. He put the aces back in the deck and dealt them to himself again. The volunteers choose a four of a kind (queens) plus an odd card (4S), they chose the number of players (3) and the winning hand (player 2). He dealt the cards just as requested. (Some of the effects were similar to those in his FISM 2003 performance which won him equal 2nd place in Card Magic with Gregory Wilson). 17 Tobias Heinemann Parlour Switzerland Sponsor - Ralph Kundig (Magischer Ring Der Schweiz) Tobias presented a very different act which began by showing a clip from his favourite horror movie 'Psycho'. He had three cards chosen which were to be his "victims". He spread the deck face down on a table and found all three cards by doing a card stab with the third card being found after the cards were covered by a sheet of newspaper. (Unfortunately, when he performed this routine at the last FISM, he failed to find the third card.) An entertaining presentation by a very likeable performer. 18 Ivan Amoedi Micro Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Dale Hindman (Academy of Magical Arts) Ivan began entering to the wrong music. He handled it well by saying "Thanks, I'll use it next time!" to the sound operator. Once that was sorted out he began his pool themed act by producing a pool cue from a flat Crackerjacks box. He did a series of billiard ball manipulations and had fun with a magic 8 ball. He used the pool cue tips as thimbles and did a very nice sequence of vanishes and reproductions integrating the pool cue, chalk and a purse. He produced three rubber balls from the purse, then three pool balls and as a climax flipped his close up pad to make it a mini pool table which was then lifted up to reveal a giant pool ball. A professional performance that was well themed and quite entertaining. 19 Woody Aragon Cards Spain Sponsor - Jose Roma I Sainz De La Maza (Sociedad Espanola de Illusionismo) Woody began with a great line. "Sorry about my bad English, I learnt it from a Lennart Green video." He had a whole pack of Jokers with red and blue backs. He shuffled them under the pretence that he would memorise the order of the backs. Oddly enough, the sequence seemed to be red, blue, red, blue, red, blue etc... He apologised and shuffled the cards again. Once more they were in sequence. He repeated this increasing the difficulty each time and each time it became more amazing. As he dealt the cards they could change from one red one blue, to two red two blue, or three red three blue at will! As a finale he shuffled the cards and just as we were expecting another alternating sequence he dealt the cards and each back was now a completely different colour! An amazing display of skill with a very entertaining presentation. 20 Chase Curtis Micro Magic/Inventions U.S.A. Sponsor - Dale Hindman (Academy of Magical Arts) This act involved not just a special table, but a special booth behind which the performer sat. He began entering to music (the same music Ivan Amoedi got unexpectedly) carrying a torch. He vanished the batteries and the reappeared in the torch but his sleeving was a little rough. He moved into the booth and performed multiplying batteries at his fingertips, he had four batteries and four little globes and as he moved the batteries near the globes they lit up. He did a matrix with lit globes (which was his invention) and dropped the four globes into a zip rip bag to change them into a big globe. He disassembled three torches which became cups and balls. Very nice idea, but the routine he then performed with them was very standard, the originality of the torches to cups demanded a more original routine. His final loads involved very obvious cup switches. He brought out two big Dolphin torches and placed a 6v battery in one which vanished with a thud and reappeared in the other torch. Finally, he did a zombie 6V battery which climaxed with a car battery leaping up from behind his desk into his hands. Chase appears to be a very personable and competent performer but he deserves better material than this. 21 Helder Guimaraes Card Magic Portugal Sponsor - Fernando Marques Vidal (Associacao Portugesa De Illusionismo) Helder had a very bright costume and began with nothing more than his "mystery card" (a folded card resting under a glass) and his "mystery bag" (which contained an 'Invisible Deck'). He performed a variation of the classic effect where the named card was shown to be face down but the rest of the deck was entirely blank. He had someone name a card (2D) and he found it. Well, it was completely blank but he told us it was the 2D and had it signed by a spectator. He located all of the other 2s in the deck (also blank) and had the spectator sign those also. From there he went into a version of 'Travellers' as the four signed cards vanished from the deck and appeared in his pockets. He repeated the effect but only three signed cards went to his pockets, the fourth turned out to be the folded card under the glass. The rest of the deck then appeared to have printed itself and finally the folded and signed card was shown to now be the real 2D with the spectator's signature on it's face! This was one of the most talked about tricks of the convention. 22 Radini Inventions Norway Sponsor - Jarle Leirpoll (Magiske Cirkel Norge) After Helder's effect, Radini presented essentially the same effect with a very different method. He had a spectator sign a card and he placed it into a clear plastic envelope tinted red. We could see the signature on the face of the card through the red plastic. Then he had the spectator choose a card (7D). Next he slowly pulled the card out of the envelope and it seemed to visually become the 7D with the signature on it. The method was a little obvious and the audience didn't seem that impressed. 23 Stonkel Card Magic Germany Sponsor - Wolfgang Sommer (Magischer Zirkel Von Deutschland) This was a very funny act where the performer was continually interrupted by a noisy audience member. He began with a coin and the heckler yelled out that it was the card competition not coins, so he changed it into a deck of cards. He asked anyone to name a card, the guy yelled out "Jack of Hearts", he asked for any number and he called "Six". The performer counted down six cards and sure, enough there was the Jack of Hearts. The stooge kept challenging the performer to make the effect more difficult and he ended up standing on one leg on a chair facing the wall producing a glass of beer and a specific brand of cigarettes. A real volunteer chose and signed a card and when it was returned to the cards the deck had become a solid block of plastic. The signed card turned blank and reappeared in the card case. Then the stooge joined him on stage and did some very funny interaction with the volunteer and a big perspex box. It may not sound funny, but it was hilarious, and the finale involved the signed card appearing in an envelope held by Boris Wild. This was a very different act to the Stonkel we saw on stage at FISM 2003, were they even the same people? 24 Timothy Trust & Julie Mental Magic Germany Sponsor - Wolfgang Sommer (Magischer Zirkel Von Deutschland) Timothy Trust, dressed in an outrageous purple suit and cartoonish top hat, began by introducing himself as a "Psychic Policeman" and his partner Julie as a "Psychic Shoplifter". This reference to the earlier stage act of Eduardo Kozuch got a good laugh. He had a dry way of delivering some great lines including, referring to Julie as she had a blindfold examined by the audience, "She is one of those women who by her slow way of walking has made fast professional progress." From there he went into an incredibly fast two-person telepathy act where the blindfolded Julie described all manner of objects handed to Timothy in the audience. They were very entertaining but had to end their act very quickly when the yellow light came on. Their last effect, naming the birthdates of four people, was a little lost as a result. 25 David Stone Micro Magic France Sponsor - Jean Claude Crispon (Cercle Francais De L'illusion Jules Dhotel) The close-up table was set as a restaurant with two seated volunteers and David entered as a waiter and began by using a huge napkin to produce a tiny coin. As music played he produced two wine glasses and transformed coins into cutlery. There was so much going on during David's act that it was hard to keep up. He produced a bottle of wine and had a great running gag with a tape measure that kept reappearing so he could measure the distance between four coins that appeared on the close up mat. David had a card chosen and signed and it reappeared inside the pepper grinder on the table. In a flurry of a finale he stole the wine bottle from the table under the spectator's nose and then produced both of his shoes and a spirit hand. David's personality was strong and the act very entertaining. 26 Tricky Niki Card Magic Austria Sponsor - Johann Kellner (Magischer Ring Austria) Nicki entered carrying a FISM bag and did a gag about finally getting a ticket into the close-up room which got a good reaction. He also played to the people watching via video in the other room which went over very well. He had a card named (9H) and changed a 5S into that card. He set out a prediction and had two cards randomly chosen. Those cards were a 7 and a 3 and his prediction was 10, the remaining cards in the deck were blank. A card was signed and shuffled into the blank deck and, after a series of fancy flourishes, it vanished from the pack. He produced a glass from his jacket and brought out a six-pack of Red Bull and gave four cans to the jury. A spectator was asked to choose one of the remaining cans and examine it thoroughly. Nicki then opened the can, poured out the contents into the glass and shook the can. We heard something inside. He broke the can open and inside was the signed card. Very impressive! (Though I did miss the backflip he did in his close up act at FISM 2003). 27 Kevin Gallagher Micro Magic UK Sponsor - Roger Miller (International Brotherhood of Magicians) Kevin began by performing a matrix with tiny cards but then decided it might be hard to see so he used large coins and did the matrix with the cards under the coins. Then he did it a third time with large cards and the coins moving and concluded by producing giant coins. Next he performed the three shell game. He decided it might be hard to see so he did it again with three big peas and had the normal size shell under them. He then performed this a third time with giant shells and the big pea finishing with a huge shotglass for the finale. He made a small technical mistake when a pea appeared under the wrong shell but he covered it well and he did appear a little nervous but it was a well-constructed and presented routine. 28 Alexander Popov Card Magic Russian Federation Sponsor - Vladamir Rudnev (Moskovskiy Klub Fukosnikov) Alexander was a large bearded man with short fingers and incredible skill. He spoke in a sort of rambling mumble that was strangely fascinating as he went through a series of the most amazing cuts, shuffles and flourishes while locating the spectator's chosen card. He performed very matter of factly, as though it was just another day at work, and the little whistle he did that seemed to make the chosen card pop up got a great reaction every time he did it. It really became his trade mark. He finished by attempting to build a card castle in his hand. The audience was really behind him as he tried to construct it but, unfortunately, after three almost successful attempts he had to give up. The audience loved him. 29 Brad Bradley Micro Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Roger Miller (International Brotherhood of Magicians) Brad sat down at the close-up table and did a very basic cup and ball routine in rhyming patter. He also performed a paddle routine. He then introduced a double-ended cup he referred to as a "cup cup" and did some incredibly simple moves all the while speaking to us as though we were three-year old children. Why Roger Miller thought Brad's act was up to FISM standard is beyond me. The audience was laughing at him, not with him, and in the end a small group of people gave him a standing ovation. 30 Harry Lucas Mental Magic Austria Sponsor - Johann Kellner (Magischer Ring Austria) Harry began by having the entire audience stand up and swear an oath that they were not stooges. He then handed a prediction and a stop watch to an audience member. Two volunteers were brought up and given a pad and pen each and both were asked to visualize an animal and then draw it. It was a little dull as there was nothing happening while they were drawing but in the end they had both drawn elephants. For the next experiment he asked the spectators to stand back to back and for one to make some simple gesture, then the other to try to duplicate that gesture. After two or three unsuccessful attempts he abandoned that test. Finally he had the audience member with the watch to stop the time. It was 7 minutes and 5 seconds. His prediction was opened and matched the time exactly. 31 Mario Bove Card Magic Italy Sponsor - Domenico Dante (Club Magico Italiano) Speaking English with a thick Italian accent Mario had a gambling theme and offered to show "how the gamblers do it". He started by cutting to the kings then gave a demonstration of 'The Invisible Palm' and changed the kings to aces. He dealt four poker hands with him getting the face up aces while the other players got four fives, four queens and four kings. He put the aces into different parts of the deck and then cut to them, then discovered all of the spades one by one. Finally the whole deck was shown to be in order. Mario was a very gracious performer thanking everyone for taking the time to watch his act. 32 Will Houston Micro Magic UK Sponsor - Alan Shaxon (The Magic Circle) Will began with a very proficient coin routine to music, standing up with three coins, no sleeves and finishing with two jumbo coins. He did a card routine to music where he cut to the aces, did a deck vanish, card matrix with the appearance of four coins under the cards which went into coin matrix and many variations. He transformed the coins into Chinese coins and did Henry Evans effect where four Chinese coins appear from a card. He changed coins into a lighter and then produced a giant lighter from a flash (which didn't work) and then produced an even bigger lighter (which did work). His technique was crisp, clean and effortless though I would have liked to have seen more of his personality. 33 Guilhelm Julia Parlour Magic France Sponsor - Guy Lamelot (Federation Francaise Des Artistes Prestidigitateurs) An extremely unusual act themed around fish. The stage area was covered in tables with various bowls of water on them. With thunder and rain sound effects playing, Guilhelm lit flash string that changed into a card case, he took a deck of blank cards from the case, pictures of fish appeared on all of the cards, then he poured a live fish out of the card case. Fish number two was produced from a rolled up 'fish card' and fish number three came from his bare hands. Guilhelm took more flash string, lit it, and it became a lemon. He cut the lemon open, squeezed juice all over the floor, then poured a fish from the lemon. More fla  sh string was lit and a glass appeared. He produced another fish from a fish sticker, and then made the production of a fish-filled aquarium from a silk. Finally he blew out a candle and his shoe caught fire. He took off his shoe and poured out another fish. Quite an unusual way to populate an aquarium. 34 Rocco Micro Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Dale Hindman (Academy of Magical Arts) Rocco won 3rd Place in Close Up in 1994, so it was interesting to see what he'd come up with now. Performing to music while chatting away he began by producing a razor for a man with a thick beard. Next he called me up and asked me to kiss a piece of flashpaper. I did and he changed it into lipstick which he gave to me. He then produced a baffling array of items and proceeded to hand them out to various audience members: a lime, an egg, silks, wineglasses, popcorn, glitter, lime juice, cigarettes, pipes, grapes, confetti, ice, corn, ice-creams, and water. At the end of the act there was so much on the floor it looked like a clown had exploded! There's something intriguing about Rocco's act, even if you know how it works, it just draws you in and fascinates you. 35 Felix Card Magic Germany Sponsor - Wolfgang Sommer (Magischer Zirkel Von Deutschland) Felix also chose me to be his spectator. He began with a poker theme and produced the four queens. He asked me "What do you think is the most common question people ask a magician?" He must have expected me to answer "How is it done?" but the first thing that came into my head was "Can you make my wife disappear?" He looked a little flustered and said "No family problems, please!" and I'm sure I saw Tim reaching for the red button. (Just joking, of course!) As the audience was laughing and Felix was about to go into his routine when he fumbled and dropped the deck on the floor. Thinking quickly he said "Time for a deck switch" and pulled out a spare deck. I'm sure he improvised the rest of the routine but he did very well under the circumstances. He found the four queens again and caused the red and black queens to switch places. Next he did a signed card to card case and then found all of the cards in one suit one by one and ended with the entire deck in order. 36 Rey Ben Micro Magic/Inventions Argentina Sponsor - Rudyard Magaldi (Circolo Magico Argentino) Rey Ben began by demonstrating and explaining his first invention, a cigarette dropper that fed one cigarette at a time down your sleeve then doubled as a cigarette case for a final production. Rey then chose me to assist him as he demonstrated a device that could inject a silk into any bottle with ease. He started flirting with me a little, then saw Tim sitting in the front row. Once he realized Tim was a judge he quickly sent me back to my seat and, in the process, generated a lot of comedy during his act as Tim again pretended to threaten him by pushing the button. His third invention was a way to get a card into a vodka bottle, then instantly flick it back out again. All of his effects were very commercial and I'm sure they'll be on the market very soon if they're not already. 37 Charming Choi Card Magic Republic of Korea Sponsor - Eun-Sung Chung (Korean Magic Society) At the last FISM Choi really pushed the limits of close-up card magic with his 'Little Mermaid' act which involved magic performed in a large fish tank with a huge inflatable mermaid as the finale. This year he did it again as he introduced us to 'Kardaoke'. Dressed impeccably with extremely high energy, Choi introduced his act as 'The Sound of Magic'. He scratched a king to make it talk, but he had some technical problems with his electronics and things just weren't going his way. He improvised a sequence instead and had a card chosen (AC) and manipulated it. It was signed and then he did an ambitious card sequence and caused the card to vanish and reappear in the case. Next the deck became blank, while some of the cards changed to completely black cards. He layed the cards out on the table and we realized he was creating a keyboard. Sure enough, each time he or the volunteer touched a card, a musical note sounded. His big LED sign started displaying song lyrics as he played his deck and lead the audience in several choruses of 'Do, Re, Mi'. He got a huge round of applause at the end. I don't think anyone had ever seen anything like it. 38 Galambos Micro Magic Hungary Sponsor - Molnar Gergely (Budapest Magic Club) Last FISM we saw Galambos compete with a similar act, but a lot of the time we just saw the top of his head as he concentrated on the props on the table. He began with cups and balls and he connected with the audience a lot better. His routine was set to music and it was very fast paced as the balls vanished in puffs of smoke. Throughout the routine the cups changed from silver to copper, though some of the cup exchanges were not that deceptive. Next he tilted the close-up pad up so we could see the cards, which was a nice touch, and he showed a blank deck which he began manipulating and he located the aces. He held a rose in his hand as he changed the aces to blank cards and when he spread the blank deck a rose was printed on the spread. He then performed a four ball routine with tiny white balls and finished with a coin matrix routine. It looked like he had a little trouble with his coins and he finished his act before the end of his music. 39 Gregory Wilson Card Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Dale Hindman (Academy of Magical Arts) Gregory has presented this routine at FISM 2000 (where he won equal 3rd place in Cards) and FISM 2003 (where he won equal 2nd place) and it is always entertaining. The close-up table is set as his office and, on a small table to one side, is a time-clock. Gregory entered to a great reaction and began with a joke as he poured a long stream of glitter from his hand and said "Sorry about all the glitter, I shook Rocco's hand before I came on." He explained that card tricks are his job and began by pouring a cup of coffee from a card case before taking a deck of cards out of it. Gregory picked up a spike from his "desk" on which was impaled a folded card, the audience called out a card at random and he let them take the card off the spike, unfold it and it was the same card. He almost got away with this effect but the angles were bad from where I was sitting. He had Obie O'Brien choose and sign a card which reappeared in a sealed deck in its' original position (this was a new addition to the act) and then he finished the act by finding all of the cards from one suit in order. His finale, find the 10 through king from a card fountain from the time clock, messed up and he failed to find the cards but the audience responded very well regardless. 40 Marc Oberon Micro Magic UK Sponsor - Alan Shaxon (The Magic Circle) Beginning with music, Marc started by floating a silver ball, which looked very nice but there were some thread flashes at times. He went into the multiplying balls with some effective patter about hallucinations. He changed one ball into an Academy Award and produced an apple which he changed to gold, though this was very angly. His next piece was extremely visual as he took a crystal ball and asked Boris Wild to name a card. Boris said "Six of Clubs" and, as we watched, the six of clubs slowly appeared in the crystal ball then disappeared. He asked Gerrit Brengman to name a card, he choose the six of diamonds and Marc lit a piece of flashpaper and it changed into the six of diamonds. As the music continued it showed how rehearsed he was as each vanish was accompanied by an appropriate sound effect. His deck of cards became a gold deck, he produced a gold ring and then make it bigger and then went into the Zimmerman dancing ring on rope. Again he demonstrated just how prepared he was when, after a problem with his rope, he ditched it and brought out a spare with which he continued the routine. He finished with a series of great coin manipulations with giant gold coins and changed a coin to a gold key which he then turned into a giant key. 41 Shawn Farquhar Micro Magic Canada Sponsor - Joan Caesar (Association Canadienne De Magiciens) Shawn returned with the act that won him equal 2nd Place in FISM 2003. Brightly attired with an equally bright personality Shawn hand a volunteer choose and sign a card which was replaced in the deck which then resealed itself in it's case. Shawn opened the case to revealed the deck was inside in new deck order and the chosen signed card was in its correct position. He followed this with his very entertaining cups and balls routine. Great moves, well performed, with the killer ending where the cups turn out not to be cups at all, but solid blocks of steel. 42 Alex Stone Micro Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Richard Dooley (Society of American Magicians) Alex Stone entered and began talking about magic and science. He looked extremely nervous and then proceeded to do the worst sequence of jumbo coin manipulations I've ever seen. He was either nervous beyond belief of simply not competent, either way he was below FISM standard. He even dropped one coin and said "S#*t!" as he picked it up. He did a matrix with jumbo cards that showed no skill whatsoever, then asked Rich Bloch to name any card and, while Alex told us what was going to happen, he basically looked for the card and reversed it in the deck. He then spread the cards and showed Rich his card was the only one reversed in the spread. When he took the shuffled deck and proceeded to give them one more shuffle himself, below the level of the table, the audience was laughing so much in disbelief the judges pressed their buttons, the red light lit up, and he was asked to finish. 43 Kiko Card Magic Spain Sponsor - Josef Roma I & Sainz La Maza (Sociedad Espanola de Illusionismo) Kiko began with music and quite an unusual way of finding the aces. He spread the cards and blew on the deck, blowing the aces out of the spread. It was a little clumsy but very original and the audience definitely liked it. Next he had a volunteer choose a card (AS) and he found all of the spades one by one and laid them on the table. Next he changed the AS into the AH and then revealed that the cards on the table were no longer spades, but now all of the hearts. He had the four aces signed and proceeded to do a matrix type effect with the aces under a sheer cloth on the close up pad. Visually it was very effective as the aces seemed to simply vanish as he turned them over, but the method seemed to be quite obvious to a lot of people. Regardless, the audience loved him. (We last saw Kiko in the Invention category at FISM 2000 with his incredible cards with glowing hearts). 44 Simo Aalto Micro Magic Finland Sponsor - Robert Jagerhorn (Finnish Magic Circle) Simo has almost been a fixture at FISM with his bell act which got him an equal 3rd Place in 1991, 2nd Place in 1997, and 1st Place in 2000. This time he presented cards and coins. He began by tilting his table forward so we could see and he did some very clean vanishes of a card using quite an innovative method. He manipulated coins, which got bigger, and he performed matrix, which he repeated with jumbo coins and cards. (It really is the year of the matrix!) He concluded with a production of giant coins. 45 Joker Magic Inventions Hungary Sponsor - Molnar Gergely (Budapest Magic Club) This man presented his inventions to music and began by making a finger ring appear on a tray behind a large silk scarf. He took the ring and placed it on his finger, then proceeded to move it from finger to finger without taking it off. He showed a deck of cards which instantly became two decks, then took the cards out of a case and cut them to reveal a matchbox. Inside the matchbox was the ring and he proceeded to vanish the ring and cause it to reappear inside the case in several different ways. Finally he put all of his props on the tray, held up the large scarf and when he pulled it away they'd all vanished from the tray. 46 VIP Magic (Emiel Lensen, Rob Mollien) Card Magic Netherlands Sponsor - Ronald Moray (Nederlands Magische Unie) Performed entirely to music this act was a mini-play as a smartly dressed gent sat down at the table and began reading a newspaper. He was joined by tough looking street guy who sat down, took out some cards and began flourishing them. From here they went into a duel of flourishes, cuts and ace revelations, each one trying to top the other. It was very well rehearsed and though there were a few fumbles they proved to be well prepared (one ace was dropped and immediately the performer pulled a spare out of his pocket). 47 Martin Eisele Micro Magic Germany Sponsor - Wolfgang Sommer (Magischer Zirkel Von Deutschland) A voice over welcomed us to the children's TV show 'The little orange mouse and the blue elephant' and introduced the guest performer 'Martin the Magician'. Martin nervously entered carrying his close up pad and did some great comedy interaction with the voice over. He attempted to do his "four coin trick" but five coins kept appearing. He tipped the coins out of a glass and they became cards with which he performed matrix. The cards grew and he repeated matrix with the cartoon sound effects of the mouse and the elephant and, after the coins grew too, he did it one more time in fast forward. He finished by performing the most unbelievable matrix with dice. The cards were leaning against the dice so we couldn't see them, yet when he lifted the cards the dice had vanished. Finally, with the cards flat on the table, the dice reappeared under each card. We saw the cards tilt up onto their edges by themselves and when he lifted to cards there they were! As he left he took his close up pad revealing stuffed toy versions of the little orange mouse and the blue elephant. Very funny presentation, great character work and a lot of skill and innovation. Martin received a partial standing ovation. 48 Etienne Pradier Card Magic France Sponsor - Guy Lamelot (Federation Francaise Des Artistes Prestidigitateurs) Unfortunately Etienne was disqualified because he did not turn up. This was a pity as he did well at FISM 2000 and took 3rd Place in Card Magic in 2003. 49 Rick Merrill Card Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Dale Hindman (Academy of Magical Arts) Rick Merrill walked out carrying a pencil and began getting laughs before he even spoke. He plays a nerdish character who was "home schooled" and as he delivers a brilliantly scripted comedy routine he performs the most visual sleight of hand you've ever seen. He started by producing three coins, changing them into Chinese coins, then repeating the whole thing with jumbo coins. The coins seemed to appear and vanish at his fingertips effortlessly. He then went through a series of manipulations with a coin and a Sharpie that really has to be seen to be disbelieved. Finally, Rick whipped the audience into a frenzy with his "Sharpie impressions" (Penn, Teller, Uri Geller, Jeff McBride, Doug Henning and Shimada) and received a partial standing ovation. 50 Jon Armstrong Card Magic U.S.A. Sponsor - Dale Hindman (Academy of Magical Arts) Disqualified Jon began by having Rich Bloch and his wife both choose the same card as he riffled through the deck. Next he had Rich wrap a rubberband around the deck and Jon asked them both to choose a card as he riffled and looked away. He stuck a card to his forehead (2S) but it wasn't either of the chosen cards (AS & 7D). In what appeared to be a very fast thinking "out", Jon took his wallet from his jacket and inside were the two chosen cards. Quickly running out of time Jon had the deck shuffled and asked a lady for he phone number and then dealt it out, producing one card for each number, onto the table. Unfortunately Jon ran out of time and was disqualified. 51 Hayashi Micro Magic Germany Sponsor - Wolfgang Sommer (Magischer Zirkel Von Deutschland) Hayashi entered into a long black leather jacket and sunglasses to music welcoming us to the matrix. He performed some effective coin manipulations climaxing with jumbo coins then went into a matrix routine. As a twist four more coins appeared, then another four. He presented several unusual variations of matrix including a very well received one-handed version. At the end he produced four more jumbo coins and then gave a brief demonstration of martial arts moved as he left. -------------------------------------------- 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 24 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) Sharing the stage (& dressing room) with the Shimadas. I was off and away on another magical mystery tour courtesy of Jean from the Magic Castle. Let me tell you about this particular show. Jean had booked me to perform on a Japanese television special to be filmed in Las Vegas. The star of the show was a widely popular comedy performer in Japan. The special was to be recorder live at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas to give it a more international feeling. The producers had hired two acts to entertain the live audience during breaks and downtime while the special was being taped. In keeping with the International theme they hired me to perform two ten-minute comedy sets and Shimada & Deanne were going to present their classic dove and parasol shows. I had met Shimada and Deanne before and was a huge fan of their dynamic onstage synergy. What I didn't realize was how much fun they would be to work with. We all flew from L.A. to Las Vegas on the same early morning flight and there didn't seem to be much energy between the three of us. Any lack of energy disappeared instantly when Shimada stepped inside the Vegas terminal and within seconds was stuffing money into a slot machine at an impressive speed. We were picked up at the airport and delivered to an enormous dressing room next to the Aladdin showroom. The dressing room was divided equally. Shimada and Deanne, along with their mountains of costumes, doves, parasols and dragon parts filled four fifths of the room and my working case was sitting on a chair in a corner of the room. We got our props together and sat gossiping in the dressing room wondering when we would be called upon to work. We didn't have to wait long. The live audience had been attracted to the filming by the offer of a free show and special surprises. The real problem was that not one person in the audience spoke Japanese. It really creates a hitch in comedy when you don't understand the language. The visuals didn't help the situation much either. I remember one sketch where a samurai warrior sliced open the gut of a fellow performer resulting in oceans of blood and guts washing out over the stage. The audience hated everything they were seeing and were leaving the showroom in droves! The producer sent me onstage to see if they might react better to American style comedy. They did. I also introduced the 'surprises' the audience had been promised; these surprises were a large collection of electronic goods such as TV's and Stereo Systems that were to be given away on a regular basis. The dispersal of these goodies was very popular with the crowd and allowed us to keep an audience for the ten hours it would take to film the special. After finishing my ten-minute set, I came offstage and was greeted by an excited Shimada who said, "Nick, you did very well and I made a new deal for you with the producer." The deal he had made was that the production team wanted me to act as Host and MC and perform my comedy and magic during the remainder of the shoot. "What are they paying me I asked?" Shimada smiled and explained that the producer had agreed to give all three of us free drink in the dressing room for the remainder of the taping. They certainly fulfilled their end of the deal and for the next eight hours Wine, Spirits, Beer and Brandy arrived in the dressing room in copious amounts! They also disappeared in copious amounts! The only downside to my new contract was that by the end of the day I had been onstage doing 'time' for nearly three hours! I did my jokes, old jokes, new jokes, jokes I had heard on the Carson show the night before! If in doubt I gave away another TV and that always worked! I was a very exhausted, rather drunk and somewhat dazed comedy magician when I returned to L.A. with my new friends Shimada & Deanne! Please send bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@eartlink.net -------------------------------------------- 6. Las Vegas Magic - September, 2006 -------------------------------------------- Compiled by David Neubauer (www.dnmagic.com) Production Shows: Amazing Johnathan 10 pm, (Dark Thurs.), Sahara. http://www.saharavegas.com/shows/amazingjohnathon.html Beacher's Madhouse Tyas Frantz, Chris Karpiak & Seth Grabel - 10 pm - Hard Rock. Check www.beachersmadhouse.com for dates. Bite (Vampire Strip Revue) Antonio Restivo 10:30 pm (dark Thurs.) Stratosphere www.bitelasvegas.com David Copperfield 7:30 & 10 pm, 4:30 Sat. & some Sun. MGM Grand. August 24-Sept. 20, Nov 9-29, Dec 21-31: http://mgm.admission.com/cgi/guide.cgi?l=EN Gerry McCambridge - The Mentalist Stardust Theater Mon-Sat, 9:00 pm http://www.stardustlv.com/site/entertainment/ Haunted Vegas Tour & Show Robert Allen, Jac Hayden & Zamora - Greek Isle. 9:00 pm tour and show (Dark Fri.) $10 off coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/couponhauntedvegas.html Illusionary Magic of Rick Thomas 2 & 4 pm, Stardust. (Dark Wed.) http://www.stardustlv.com/site/entertainment/index.cfm?Page=Artist&ArtistID=27 Jason Bird The Shops in Desert Passage - Aladdin. Main stage, near the "V" Theater, Thursday - Monday Various times from 1:15 pm. - 8:15 pm. - Free. La Femme Stephan Vanel 8 & 10:30 pm, (Dark Tues.), MGM Grand. http://www.mgmgrand.com/pages_html/entertainment_lafemme_lafemme.asp Lance Burton, Master Magician 7 pm Tues-Sat & 10 pm Tues. & Sat. Monte Carlo. http://www.montecarlo.com/entertainment/lance.aspx Mac King Comedy Magic Show 1 & 3 pm, (Dark Sun. & Mon.) Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater. www.mackingshow.com Nathan Burton Comedy Magic Show 2 pm, (Dark Fri. & Sun.) V Theater in the Desert Passage - Aladdin. Penn & Teller 9 pm, (Dark Tues.), Rio. http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/rlv/entertainment/entertainment_detail_00.html V, The Ultimate Variety Show Jeff Hobson, Nathan & Sarah - www.vtheshow.com 7 & 9 pm, Aladdin. 2 for 1 coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/couponvshow.html World's Greatest Magic Show Kevin James, Joseph Gabriel, The Majestix, Kozak. Billy Fergueson (pre-show). 6 pm Sat. - Thurs., 8:15 Fri., Greek Isle. www.greatestmagicshow.com August Guest Stars: Dan Sperry (for Joseph Gabriel), 21-31: Gaetan Bloom. September Guest Stars: 1-4: Dan Sperry (for Joseph Gabriel) 5-17 Show dark. Xtreme Magic Starring Dirk Arthur Tiffany Theatre, Tropicana 2 and 4 pm. (Dark Fri.) $10 off coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/Coupontropicana_dirk.html Jamie Porter's Radio Side Show Sat @ 5 am, KLAV FM 1230. RESTAURANTS: Eric Allan Outback Steakhouse (Green Valley), Fri. & Sat. Jayden LaCross TGI Fridays, Wed. & Sun. Las Vegas Magic Organizations I.B.M. #257: 7 pm 1st Monday of each month. www.ring257.com Darwin's Magic Club meets every Wednesday. Both meet at: Boomers, 3200 Sirius Ave. August, 2006 August 24-Sept. 20: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. August 21-31: Gaetan Bloom - Guest Star, World's Greatest Magic Show, Greek Isle. September, 2006 Through Sept. 20: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. September 1-4: Dan Sperry (for Joseph Gabriel), World's Greatest Magic Show, Greek Isle. September 5-17: Show will be dark (vacation), World's Greatest Magic Show. October, 2006 October 25-28: Magic & Meaning Conference; Magic And The Art Of Storytelling, McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, George Parker, Special Guest: Robert Neale. www.magicalwisdom.com October 27: Jeff McBride - Witches & Wizards Ball. November, 2006 November 2-5: Magic for the Medical Professional. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, Special Guest: Jay Ungar, author of "Bringing Magic to Life." www.magicalwisdom.com November 5-7: MINDVENTION 2006 - Palace Station Casino www.MindVention.com John Riggs, Christopher Carter, Francis Menotti, Greg Arce, Docc Hilford, Dennis Laub, Rick Maue, Anton Zelman, Robert Allen, Danny Archer. November 8-10: Master Class for Mentalists. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, Special Guest: Ross Johnson. www.magicalwisdom. November 9-29: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. December, 2006 December 21-31: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. January, 2007 January 26-28: Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com February, 2007 February 23-25: Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com March, 2007 March 20-22: Worker's Mid-Week Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com April, 2007 April 23-29: Extended Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com July, 2007 July 16-22: Extended Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com August, 2007 August 16-22: Extended Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com August 19-22: MAGIC Live! - The Orleans. www.magicmagazine.com September, 2007 September 14-16: Master Class. McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger. www.magicalwisdom.com October, 2007 October 23-26: Magic & Meaning Conference; MAGIC AND THE ART OF STORYTELLING, McBride's Magic & Mystery School with Jeff McBride, Eugene Burger, George Parker, Special Guest: Robert Neale. www.magicalwisdom.com -------------------------------------------- 7. 2007 SAM Convention Dallas -------------------------------------------- Message from Maria Ibáñez Society of American Magicians National President Elect Dallas, a city built on big dreams has the attitude that all things are possible. Dallas is a city of rich diversity which can rightfully boast of its culinary scene, arts district, countless luxury accommodations, professional sports, trendy entertainment districts, shopping opportunities and so much more.... White Rock Lake Park, Dallas Surrounding the jewel of Dallas, 1,015-acre White Rock Lake, the park is a prime spot for running, hiking, birdwatching, fishing and people-watching. Attraction type: Lake; Park Science Place, Dallas With over 200 hundred hands-on exhibits, a planetarium and an IMAX theater, this kinetic museum encourages children to learn more about science. Attraction type: Science museum West End Market Place, Dallas Five-story shopping and dining center with an atrium in the middle. Attraction type: Mallttraction type: Neighborhood McKinney Avenue Trolley, Dallas MATA is a heritage or historical trolley system, recreating how a real trolley system of the early to mid-twentieth century looked and operated. Attraction type: Scenic railroad Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas This set of galleries is dedicated to the arts and cultures of China, Japan, India and Southeast Asia. Attraction type: Art museum; Art gallery Age of Steam Railroad Museum, Dallas Climb aboard steam engine trains at this lively museum. Take a first-hand look at luxurious Pullman sleeping cars and Dallas's oldest depot. Attraction type: Specialty museum; Transportation museum Ad-Libs Improv Comedy Club, Dallas Since 1986, Ad-Libs has been entertaining and amazing audiences with it's fast-paced improv show. The comedy's subject matter comes directly from the audience, creating interactive entertainment that allows the crowd to become part of the show and feed on the frenzied Mardi Gras atmosphere. The comedy is quick, clean and unforgettable. Shows are every Friday and Saturday @ 7:30 & 10 pm. Attraction type: Comedy club Dallas Children's Museum, Dallas Dedicated to children, families and educators, this museum features opportunities for cultural exploration, outdoor activities, artistic accomplishments and dramatic play. Attraction type: Children's museum The Women's Museum, Dallas The Women's Museum memorializes how women in America have shaped history and culture. Attraction type: Museum; Specialty museum Phidippides, Dallas Running store with a good stock of apparel and 70-100 kinds of shoes. Attraction type: Specialty shop This is the fourth installment on things to see and do while in Dallas. A reminder that you should make it a Fourth of July family vacation. Remember, bring your family and they can enjoy Dallas and the sights during the daytime and join you for the evening gala shows for the cost of an evening show ticket if they don't want to participate in the convention events. Want to find out more? Know someone who wants to receive the updates? Send me an e-mail to merlina17@aol.com or feel free to phone me at 786-258-8762. Want to register? Contact John and Virginia Apperson at sam@appsmagic.com and register today. Register today while you can still get great seating - remember seats are assigned in the order in which you register. -------------------------------------------- 8. Cruise Ship Work Available For Australian Magician -------------------------------------------- Message from Joshua Lee (Aust) A six month contract will be available for a stage magician for a European Cruise Line on a world cruise. Contract begins January 22nd 2007 (Departing Australia) 2 x 40 min.(different) stage spots required per cruise. Please forward DVD`S OR VIDEO`S and any promotional material to the following address: Joshua Lee J.L. Management Asia Pacific. Australian Office P.O.Box 217 Malvern Victoria 3144. -------------------------------------------- 9. Attending Magic Conventions - Your Opinions Needed! -------------------------------------------- Message from Kelly Peron (US) Hi All! After attending the SAM convention this year, and attending a lot of local and regional conventions each year, it started getting me thinking about some interesting questions regarding why people attend conventions and what determines whether they attend or not. I thought it would be interesting to post here with a few simple questions regarding this issue. I know I have my own thoughts and opinions on the subject, but I am sure I will find out that my own opinions and ideas are probably far different than a lot of others. What I would like to do is simply pose a few questions to you all. I will try to make these questions simple, easy and direct. I would REALLY love to hear your own thoughts and ideas on this. The reason for this, is that I am not sure how much of a deep discussion or study has ever really been done on just what really makes YOU as magician decide whether or not you are going to attend a convention or staying home. I think the more information we can gather on this subject, may open a few eyes and become quite valuable to others. I hope that you will help me out by answering the simple questions below. Please be as honest as you can. I REALLY would love to know what people think in regards to the questions posted. 1) When it comes to deciding on attending a convention (like the SAM) what are your top 3 decisions as to what makes you decide whether you go or not? Please elaborate if you can. 2) Have you ever attended a larger convention (like the SAM) in the past? If so, what made you decide to go? If you never attended one, why not? 3)Is registering for a larger convention ( like SAM)an easy process for you or one you find difficult? Do you have an easy time obtaining this information? 4) How do you often find out about larger conventions? (like SAM) and when do you usually make your decision whether you attend or not? Do you feel that there is enough information being provided for you to make your decision early? I have other questions, however since my goal is to obtain as much feedback as possible, I am going to keep it limited to these 4. I really would appreciate everyone taking the time out of their schedules to answer these 4 questions in the most honest fashion possible. You can be as detailed as you like or can keep it simple. I am hoping by bringing up these questions that we can get a better idea as to just why people attend and why they do not. I think it will be very useful information to pass on. Thank you so much for your time in doing this, and I really look forward to hearing back with your thoughts. Please take the time to answer the 4 questions above. Then send your answers, opinions and thoughts directly to me at my email address magic4u02@aol.om this is the easiest way for me to obtain your thoughts and suggestions, review them, and see what we can make of them. Your opinions count! Magically, Kelly Peron www.kyleandkellymagic.com -------------------------------------------- 10. Chow Family Of Champions - S.A.M. & P.C.A.M. 2006 -------------------------------------------- Message from Rod Chow Rod Chow of Vancouver, Canada, and his two sons, youngest Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM), Vancouver Magic Circle (VMC) and Society of Young Magicians (SYM) members, Jack and Nicholas Chow, all win firsts at the recent summer conventions held this July and August. The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) awards Rod 1st place in their international contest of close-up magic held in Louisville, Kentucky. Jack Chow at only age 9 wins his fourth Pacific Coast Association of Magicians (PCAM) championship in three consecutive years with a gold medal in stage magic, plus two additional silver medals for close-up and most innovative act at this year's convention held in Victoria, BC. Nicholas Chow, the youngest Pacific Coast Champion in the 73 year history of the PCAM last year at age 5, wins his second gold at only age 6. Rod also was a Gold Cups finalist at this year's IBM convention held in Miami, Florida. These recent international wins put the Chow family's cumulative award count to over 35, including 1st place Close-Up and People's Choice at CAM in 2003. www.rodchow.com -------------------------------------------- 11. Correcting Download Problem - The 5-Card-Repeat Free Booklet -------------------------------------------- Message from Ben Vang (Aust) Last week in the Michael Martin tribute a problem was reported with downloading the free booklet. This has now been corrected and the booklet will automatically be sent to you upon just registering your email address. Please go to http://magic.cameracheckpoint.com.au/ Sorry about that. Please try again. Thanks, Ben Ben Vang Ben's Magic Australia P.O. Box 7078, Dubbo, NSW Australia 2830 bensmagic@cameracheckpoint.com.au -------------------------------------------- 12. MINDVENTION 2006 - Las Vegas! -------------------------------------------- Message from Danny Archer (US) Robert Allen & Danny Archer invite you to join them for 3 days of mind blowing fun & mental mayhem LasVegas' Annual All Mentalism Convention November 5-7, 2006 2006 MINDvention Schedule of Events Sunday 13th 1 PM Registration/Dealers Open 2:30 Greg Arce Lecture 4:30 Panel Discussion - Creating Original Mentalism Effects 6:00 Dinner Break/Dealers 7:30 Attendee Show - effects from convention attendees 9:00 Rick Maue Lecture Monday 14th 11:00 AM Gerry McCambridge Interview 12:00 PM Lunch/Dealers 1:30 Dennis Laub Lecture 3:30 Attendee Show 5:30 Dinner Break/ Dealers 7:00 Docc Hilford Lecture 9:30 Francis Menotti Off Color Show Tuesday 15th 11:00 Anton Zellmann Lecture 12:30 Lunch/Dealers 1:30 Attendee Show 3:00 Panel Discussion - TBD 4:30 John Riggs Lecture 6:00 PM Dinner Break 8:00 PM All Star Show Schedule/performers subject to change ================================= The 2006 MINDvention will take place from November 5th - 7th at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. For our 3rd convention we are working with a number of the stars of mentalism that have tons of exciting information to share with everyone. Booked performers are ; John Riggs - In addition to being a solid working pro, John is known to many mentalists for his many books and products for the professional performer. Francis Menotti - Francis will be remembered by all from 2005 with his Bulimia Prediction . for 2006 he will be back with a late night Off Color Mentalism show that should be something else. Greg Arce - A clever inventor, Greg has put out four e-books and a book test called the Freestyle that is used by some of the leading performers. He will have some great new effects as well. Docc Hilford - Docc is a fantastic performer with a unique and unmatched style. His lecture and show will be a real treat for all. A true modern master. Dennis Laub - Denny was a performing mentalist for a number of years in the late 70's and 80's with an act called Mind Mirage. He is back with some great new books and some of his classics as well. Rick Maue - His performances and lecture is 2005 were convention highlights for many. Rick has a deep pool of material and he will be sure to have some great information to share with all. Anton Zelman - One of the highest paid corporate mentalist ever, will discuss the ins and outs of working and succeeding in the business world. 2005 was our first convention at the Palace Station and the new home of the MINDvention was a perfect fit. The hotel rooms are reasonably priced ($39 - $59 a night) and the hotel features an array of restaurants from fast food to fine dining choices. One of the things that helps make this convention so special is what I call the Las Vegas factor. You never know who you will bump into at the MINDvention. Las Vegas is where many of the stars of magic live work and play; and many of them drop in, and we are always happy to see them. Here are a few of the great people who have been at the MINDvention in the past; Teller, Banachek, Luke Jermay, Mark Strivings, Max Maven, Lee Earle, Alain Nu, Jon Stetson, Chuck Hickok, Bob Kohler, Gregory Wilson, Eugene Burger, Michael Close, Harvey Berg, Gary Darwin, Paul Harris, Brad Henderson, Jeff McBride, Eric Mead, Torkova, Steve Bedwell, Stan Allen, (my apologies if I left off your name). We also have several jam shows, where the attendees (and usually some special guest magic celebrities) are invited to perform and show their stuff. These shows had some really great effects from mentalists from all over the world. The MINDvention has always featured panel discussion. We bring together world class performers, a specific topic and allow the audience to"Ask the Pros". The panel discussions are informative, and they always produce some great insights (and usually a few good laughs). We also feature a well-stocked dealer's room with all the latest and greatest mentalism effects, books and DVD's you could ever want. MINDvention 2006 will be three unbelievably great days of mentalism and we invite you to join us in the most magical city on Earth, Las Vegas! Registration Info www.mindvention.com MINDvention $175 until September 15th after September 15th MINDvention $195 Peace, Danny Archer Danny Archer Magic 1911 Yosemite Street Denver, CO 80220-2254 303-321-6267 www.dannyarcher.com -------------------------------------------- 13. 28th New Zealand International Magicians Convention -------------------------------------------- Hosted by Palmerston North Magic Circle (Inc) Palmerston North, New Zealand. 20th to 23rd of October 2006 For the registration html form to print off Go to: http://www.joel.co.nz/convention/reg_form.htm Information on the convention Go to: http://www.watson.co.nz/convention.html The Schedule of events Go to: http://www.joel.co.nz/convention/timetable.htm Convention headliners: David Williamson (USA) Lisa Menna (USA) Duane and Mary Laflin (USA) Joel Howlett (Aus) Alan Martell (UK) If you are planning to attend and have not booked - BOOK NOW - as seats are NOW VERY limited. ----------------- 14. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) The Continuing Story of Trevor King Page - 115 Trousers featured prominently in another episode involving a visiting artist and Trevor recalls it with amusement. Acker Bilk and his band we're staying at the Embassy Hotel during a visit to Christchurch. After a long and enjoyable farewell function, Acker and his band were obliged to rise early the next morning to board the bus, which was to take them to the airport. The bandsmen were aboard by the appointed hour but of Acker, there was no sign. When Trevor knocked at his bedroom door, there was no reply. When he opened it, the room was in darkness - the 'Esteemed Band Leader', was still WARMING THE SHEETS! With only half an hour in which to catch the flight, Trevor hastily packed Bilk's clothes in his suitcases and placed them on the bus, which then set forth for the airport. Finally, the 'Jazz King' arose - much the worse for wear, as Trevor, with growing impatience, awaited. However, the 'dressing routine' concluded - prematurely. To his consternation, Bilk found that Trevor had packed his trousers in the suitcase (This so funny, I can hardly see, tears of laughter are rolling down my face!). Trevor, after a desperate dash to a city menswear store, produced an alternative pair. The fact that they did not fit may have disturbed the man who wore them but, as Trevor raced against time to deliver his passenger to the aeroplane, he was sparing no thoughts for the famed musician's discomfort! (YE GOD'S, MY 'FUNNY BONE' HAS BEEN FRACTURED!!!) As tour manager for the Kerridge - Odeon concert Division, Trevor has toured and criss-crossed New Zealand many, many times, with visiting performers. He has also been associated with numerous New Zealand entertainers, and has been instrumental in the development of their careers. Among them have been: Max Merritt, Ray Columbus, Howard Morrison (Sir), Toni Williams, John Rowles, Dinah Lee, Orchanté, Shane, Johnny Devlin, Charles Hikana Barratt and Danny McGirr. With the help of the majority of them, he has raised more than $300,000 for charitable and sporting bodies in the Canterbury area. Several entertainers still write to him from overseas. John Rowles drops him a line quite regularly, Rolf Harris has written from Perth, Max Merritt keeps in touch from Los Angeles, and the 'Amazing Orchanté' telephones regularly from the UK; there have been numerous postcards from various international entertainers, the Vienna Boys Choir, for instance. Trevor misses his 'days on the road' (me too), but he has moved comfortably into retirement. He will still been seen in city movie theatres but it will be in a different capacity. One thing is certain, should the 'Jolson Story' return, Trevor will be the first in the queue - to enjoy it for a 10th time! -------------------------------------------- 15. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives -------------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: magic Password: kiwi When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999) -------------------------------------------- 16. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to any other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand® E-zine at www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html. Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday. The opinions expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand® E-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed therein. Magic New Zealand® reserves the right to alter, correct or disregard any articles submitted. Readers are encouraged to submit timely articles or news items which may be of interest to subscribers. By submitting articles to this e-zine, the authors grant Magic New Zealand® the right to publish such articles and such authors confirm their copyright of the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand® are protected by international copyright legislation and articles must not be published for profit by anyone other than the individual authors without the written permission of Magic New Zealand®. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this publication may be freely redistributed, but not sold, to other magicians if copied in its entirety, including the copyright notice below and the above disclaimer. © Copyright 2006 Alan Watson