* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Magic New Zealand
* www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Issue Number: #481
Date: Sunday 4th March 2007
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. Magic Castle Awards To Be Presented On April 7, 2007
3. Podcast On The S.A.M. Convention Update 
4. Topas And Roxanne Coming To New York
5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 50 - Nick Lewin
6. A Wonderful Little Device for Your Shows! - Kyle Peron
7. British Magical Championships Report By Mandy Davis
8. Blackpool Magicians Convention - Report By Peter Eldin
9. The Gala Show 2005 - Blackpool - Report By Mandy Davis
10. Magic's First Live Video Broadcast Lecture Website
11. Lilian Bevan 17th September 1933 - 17th February 2007
12. The Art Of Costume Change & Its Artists Throughout Time
13. Simon Lovell & Steve Draun On LVMI
14. Not 1 But 2 Hypnosis Show
15. The Amazing Orchante Saga - A Note Of Thanks
16. The Amazing Orchante Saga
17. e-zine Archives
18. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice

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1. Editor's Message
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New Zealand's Magicana Magazine Update
Paul Romhany has just finished the website for Magicana Magazine, 
New Zealand's International Magic Magazine for Magicians. For 
those who wish to renew subscriptions or view the contents of the 
latest issue you can visit: www.magicana.co.nz

Note that Magicana accepts PAYPAL now via the website.

Magicana is one of the world's longest running magic magazines 
that is still being published today and is published six times a 
year.

For more information and current updates please visit the 
website.

-----------------------
Remember if you have any magic news drop me a
line: AW@Alan-Watson.com

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2. Magic Castle Awards To Be Presented On April 7, 2007
--------------------------------------------
Message from Mark Nelson
Secretary
AMA Board of Trustees

Paul Potassy to receive Masters Fellowship from the Academy of 
Magical Arts

Paul Potassy, the ultimate cabaret magician, is this year's 
recipient of the Masters Fellowship from the Academy of Magic 
Arts in Hollywood. This is the AMA's highest award, and it is 
richly deserved. Paul and his wife Lita will travel from the 
Philippines to Beverly Hills to receive the tribute at the 39th 
Annual Academy of Magical Arts Awards Banquet, Saturday, April 7, 
2007.

His career spans 66 years, working top venues in 44 countries. 
Jeff McBride calls Paul "a Grand Master of the art of magic." 
Daryl describes him as "truly a professional's professional." Max 
Maven simply says, "Paul Potassy is one of my heroes." Recently, 
his superb material has been examined in best-selling books in 
German and English, and a triple DVD set that was just released 
by L&L Publishing. Now, there are three opportunities to see 
Potassy perform in person.

He will appear at the AMA Awards Banquet, and perform a selection 
from his legendary repertoire. But there's more: On Monday, April 
9 and Tuesday, April 10, Paul Potassy will perform his 
full-length show in the Palace of Mystery at the Magic Castle. 
There will be one performance each night, at 8:30 PM. For most 
American magicians, this will literally be a once-in-a-lifetime 
chance!

Tickets to the 39th Annual Academy of Magical Arts Awards are 
$165 per person and include a three-course gourmet dinner. 
Tickets to Paul Potassy's shows at the Magic Castle are $20 per 
person for members and non-members, with dinner reservations and 
door charges required for non-members. Seating for both of these 
events is extremely limited! Reserve your space at either event 
(or both!) by calling Brandy LaPlante at the Magic Castle, (323) 
851-3313, extension 301.

The Annual AMA Awards are presented each year by the members of 
the Academy of Magical Arts, Inc., whose private Hollywood 
clubhouse, the Magic Castle, was opened in 1963 and has become 
known around the world as the "Mecca of Magic," presenting 
thousands of shows each year. The purpose of the AMA is to 
encourage and promote public interest in the art of magic, with 
particular emphasis on preserving its history as an art form and 
entertainment medium. Beginning with a charter membership of 150, 
the AMA has grown into a world-renowned fraternal organization 
with nearly 5,000 members.

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3. Podcast On The S.A.M. Convention Update International 
--------------------------------------------
Message from George Schindler - Dean - the Society of American 
Magicians

Now Playing on the S.A.M. Convention Update International 
Podcast:

How to be successful in the business of magic--the "do's and 
dont's" from Bruce Chadwick: performer, dealer, illusion builder, 
and S.A.M.'s long-time Stage Manager! Hear a preview of what 
we'll learn about the business of magic on Wednesday afternoon, 
July 4, at the S.A.M. Convention in Dallas, TX!

To hear the interview via your browser, please visit:

http://samconvention.blogspot.com

To automatically receive the S.A.M. Convention Updates via iPods, 
iTunes, or MP3 Players, paste this address into your subscription 
window:

http://samconvention.hipcast.com/rss/new.xml

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4. Topas And Roxanne Coming To New York
--------------------------------------------
Message from George Schindler - Dean - the Society of American 
Magicians

Topas And Roxanne "Magic Affairs" Coming To New York At The 
"Salute To Magic".

In their first New York City performance, Topas and Roxanne will 
present their full evening "Magic Affairs" show on Saturday May 
12, 2007 at the Heckscher Theater at 1230 Fifth Avenue. This will 
be their only appearance in the U.S. this year as the featured 
performers in the 98th annual Society of American Magicians, 
"SALUTE TO MAGIC". The "Salute" is the oldest continuing magic 
show in the United States and has been performed annually since 
1909.

From Stuttgart to Lisbon, to Monaco and Blackpool., this exciting 
young couple has brought their magical repertoire to a level that 
has left audiences breathless and on their feet. Their first 
appearance in this country captivated their peers at the Society 
of American Magicians convention in St Louis in 2004.

This year the "Salute to Magic" will honor long time member 
magician, Howard Schwarzman in recognition of his many 
contributions to the art of magic and to the magic fraternity.

Tickets may be purchased for $50.00 on line at or by calling Mr. 
Tom Klem at 1-212-725-5258. Or e mail TPK47@aol.com . To see a 
preview of the show go to www.sampa1.com .

Contact: George Schindler- salutemagic@aol.com

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5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 50 - Nick Lewin
--------------------------------------------
Message from Nick Lewin (US)

Sandy Spillman: His medium was the medium.

Over the years you begin to notice how people smile. I collect 
really good smiles and one of my favorites was Sandy Spillman. 
Sandy was host and spirit medium in the Houdini Séance Room at 
the Magic Castle from 1960-1975. His presentation of the séance 
mixed smooth mentalism with great storytelling. Sandy could throw 
a chill through a story just by raising an eyebrow.

Sandy Spillman performed some very strong mind reading when he 
joined the guests for the séance. Sandy had a really great 
handling of the Maurice Fogel effect 'Second Spot' that created 
the perfect mood without slowing the pace down. Then for the 
knock down punch when Spillman closed his mentalism with a killer 
version of Alan Shaxon's Confabulation.

Sandy was a superb actor and he did an excellent job of creating 
the mood for the Houdini Séance. He was very reassuring but with 
a slightly crazy look in his eyes.  I had many séances at the 
Castle in the 80s and I always enjoyed getting to chat with 
Sandy. He was a very powerful presence and always a delight to 
spend time with. Sandy was one of those people you could just 
pick up a conversation where you had left off.

It was a splendid surprise when Sandy got a part in a really 
successful television advertisement for AT&T. He got to play the 
part of one half of an elderly couple who are brought together in 
an almost mystical manner by the Phone Company It was one of 
those commercials that just made you feel good it was a real 
tearjerker. The commercial was quickly followed by two more that 
established a full-blown romance and eventually marriage.

I don't know quite how much money Sandy made out of those 
commercials but I do know he and his wife Shirley ended up owning 
and running a classic Bed & Breakfast in Los Angeles. Sandy was a 
class act on every conceivable level. He has a pretty classy kid 
too who answers to the name of Steve Spill. I remember watching 
Steve at the Magic Castle in the 70s fooling a bunch of people 
with a chop cup that looked like a can of Campbell's Soup.

Please send any bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@earthlink.net

--------------------------------------------
6. A Wonderful Little Device for Your Shows! - Kyle Peron
--------------------------------------------
Message from By Kyle Peron (US)
E-Mail: Magic4u02@aol.com

I just wanted to spend a few moments talking about quite a simple 
little prop that I use in my shows that I have found to be a real 
huge help to me recently. I thought I would share it with all of 
you in the event that you may want to try it out for yourself or 
possibly even elaborate on the idea if you already are using it.

First this device is not a magic prop at all but a utility item 
that I picked up out of necessity and realized that it works so 
well I wanted to start using it for all of my shows. This 
certainly is not a new idea by any means, but it is something a 
bit different than what I used to use.

First let me tell you about the problem I was faced with and then 
tell you about the item and how I use it to my best advantage. My 
wife and I do a lot of festival shows each year as that is our 
primary market, as many of you know. The need came about a month 
ago that they had scheduled too many performers on the same stage 
without giving enough time for set-up and breakdown between each 
act. This meant I was required to adapt my set festival show and 
cut it back a bit in time to allow for the band following us to 
have time for setting up.

Now I, like many of you, know my show inside and out as I have 
performed it a lot. I also know around the run time of most of my 
routines. The problem with cutting the show back was that I 
wanted to make sure that I kept to my word and did the show to 
exactly 35 minutes and no more. As a solutions provider to my 
client, I wanted to make sure I kept my word and gave time for 
the band as well.

My wife was in a local store and she came across an ideal item 
that is so simple of a concept but worked wonderfully for our 
problem. I had to know exactly the run time of the show as the 
show was progressing. I never like looking at my watch as that to 
me sends the wrong message to the audience. I wanted to find a 
timer of sorts that I could use that was small and could tell me 
my run time anytime I needed it.

What my wife found was a very small electronic kitchen timer that 
has a clip as well as a magnet on the back. It is not very big at 
all and can fit in the palm of your hand and measures about 2 
inches wide at that. It can be set to any minute and second and 
it counts downwards for you. This feature works nice for me 
because I can easily look at it and not know how long I have been 
on, but more importantly, how much time I have left in the show 
to meet my desired run time.

Because of the clip and magnet feature, I can clip it onto the 
back of my table or use the magnet to do the same thing. Now the 
timer is out of the way but can be seen by me anytime I go back 
to my table to pick something up. The display is easy to read and 
you can't miss seeing it. Now I can always know exactly how much 
time I have left in any show at any time during it.

Now I know this concept or idea is not new by any means and I 
used to use other timers and such as well. I just found that this 
brand of timer with the clip and magnet and the count downward 
feature has really worked great for me. It runs on 2 triple A 
batteries and works wonderfully. It sells for $5 locally or less.

If anyone is interested in more information or the brand of the 
item, please let me know and I can dig it out of my table and 
share it with all of you. It would be my pleasure to do so. I 
hope this may be of help to some of you as it has been a big help 
to my wife and I.

As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your 
thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or 
suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly 
at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you.

Kyle Peron
Magician and Illusionist
Graphic Designer and Illustrator
(Specializing in Logo creation)
www.kyleandkellymagic.com

--------------------------------------------
7. British Magical Championships Report By Mandy Davis
--------------------------------------------
Report by Mandy Davis (UK)

This year's X-Factor style competition was particularly long with 
thirteen entrants and comments from the judges: Derek Lever, 
Terry Seabrooke, Hank Moorehouse and Domenico Dante.

The event opened with the first of the junior acts, High Jinx. 
Siobhan Jordan, in dressing gown and slippers, wandered among the 
props on stage and vanished some balls in a box before performing 
a sub trunk to bring her brother Michael onto the stage. He 
brought back the vanished balls and the two of them performed a D'Lite 
routine and a synchronised candle vanish and reappearance. They 
ended with a packing case illusion and the appearance of a giant 
wand which they carried offstage. The judges had several 
comments: a hatred of face microphones which were considered 
distracting, the opening was too slow as they need to grab the 
audience's attention and the giant wand was proclaimed 'naff'! 
However they were also told that they had a first class act which 
could earn them a living right away.

Stuart Brown won the Manipulation category with a fairly classic 
act. There was a cane to feathered plumes, a cane production from 
inside a Slinky toy, a silk from a tube and more plumes from the 
silks before some card manipulations including single cards from 
a silk. Some giant card manipulations followed as well as an 
Animated Hanky sequence and a streamers from Dove Pan finale. 
Here the judges felt that the act should've been entered into the 
general magic category and also that Stuart needed to be relaxed. 
It was also considered that his music was wrong, especially for 
the hanky which needed to be more natural. It was also said that 
it was a shame to close with an automatic trick such as the dove 
pan and - most importantly - that Stuart should get out of the 
habit of talking to himself, something many manipulators tend to 
do!

This seemed to be a lot of criticism for an act which won its 
catergory..

The next act, Atmosfear, opened with a very elderly couple 
shuffling their way onto the stage to stand at a bus stop. This 
became very useful for a Yogano stool style levitation performed 
to a George Formby song and was followed by a sub trunk which 
revealed Atmosfear without their masks - a young couple who 
included three costume changes in this sequence. Their next 
illusion was a full head and body twister to lively modern music. 
After donning a full length leather coat, a small pyramid 
illusion took place and a costume change from orange to yellow 
which matched the outfit the girl was wearing when she finally 
emerged. The judges felt that this was a good act for lay people 
but that magically the body twister was not good and having 
casters on it didn't help. It was suggested that they should do 
more as the old couple. Both of the performers looked good and 
Atmosfear won the Illusion category.

Keelan Leyser and Charlotte Marie won both the General Magic 
category and the Grand Prix Trophy. Their quick change act was 
immaculate as they moved and danced expertly throughout the act. 
Keelan changed from one suit to another, then added colour 
changes for his tie and gloves before performing a snowstorm 
effect using rose petals, the first of several quick magic 
effects. Charlotte Marie was wearing black when she first 
appeared to dance to Lady in Red - so a change of dress was 
needed here! A change of tempo and Keelan also changed, this time 
into silver clothes to perform as a robot. Quicker and quicker 
the changes came, she into a yellow mini dress and he into a pink 
waistcoat. More still behind an unfurled poster and through some 
silver streamers ending, in a David and Dania way, with a final 
shower of tinsel for the last change. All the judges thought the 
act was fabulous, they had nothing but praise.

There were three special acts as well as the competition entries. 
The first of these was Stan Allen performing with his usual great 
style and comedy timing. He amusingly tore a newspaper, not to 
restore but to replace under the pet travel box which housed his 
infamous rabbit puppet, Killer who was as cute as they come and 
performed a card trick almost unaided!

Prior to the interval the ever funny Tony Stevens presented a 
giant water casket and informed the audience that he would smash 
Blaine's underewater record. To the delight of the audience he 
immersed himself and was locked inside the casket - to emerge 
when the curtains were raised for the second half of this three 
halves competition.

Reflections was the second manipulation act featuring appearing 
and vanishing candles, silk fountain, card manipulations and 
glitter balls which got larger and larger until the final, even 
larger, one preceded the production of an assistant. The judges 
did not endear themselves to the audience who booed when it was 
said that the performer needed to lose weight! However it was 
also considered that the act was original and novel but needed to 
be longer and have more pace and built in applause cues.

Andrew Green, illusionist, had a very atmospheric act with a lot 
of excellent dance to enhance the magic. It started with a shadow 
box to produce a girl. Several appearing and vanishing candles, 
as well as a Silk to Rose effect, led to an operatic aria as the 
girl was carried onto a base for the first of the evening's fan 
suspensions and a sub trunk finale. This was considered a good 
act by some of the judges with a good atmosphere. However it 
appeared to be a long time before anything magical happened and 
it was suggested that the act should finish with the fan and not 
the trunk. One judge commented that it was 'a magic competition, 
not Come Dancing!' and felt that there was not enough magic 
although the audience clearly didn't agree with this.

Romany's entrance was embellished by Roy Davenport and John 
Archer in tuxedos, dancing onto the stage to escort her down some 
steps. Two spectators were brought on for Miser's Dream, then a 
long sash was tied between two stands with giant feather fans. 
The sash was used for a Cut and Restored effect before Romany 
launched into her signature treatment of Coins Across using the 
spectators to support her as she swooned between them in her 
efforts to make the magic work - and it did! She ended with the 
production of a bottle of champagne. One of the judges declared 
Romany to be 'a lady who can put the capital 'E' into 
Entertainment' and another felt she would do well in any 
entertainment competition; it was also felt that the competition 
had limited her capability but that what she had done had been 
greatly appreciated.

Alec Powell was awarded both the Comedy prize and the Ken Dodd 
award. The act lasted twenty eight minutes which was somewhat 
overlong. He started by attempting to perform a Zombie routine, 
only to find that it was his wig which levitated and not the ball 
under the cloth. He used some good and pertinent lines referring 
to events at the convention so far and he had an original take on 
a legs table. His performance included a disabled assistant who 
had returned for revenge, a Dippy Duck routine and a Hypnotised 
Rabbit, as well as some levitating shoes, a traffic speed camera 
and a cannon! One of the judges announced, and the others agreed, 
that this had been a pile of c**p - but the funniest pile of c**p 
he'd ever seen.

Joe Ray was the second junior and won his category. He opened 
with card scaling and multiple coin productions enhanced by the 
tinkling sounds of a coin ladder. He used large coins too, 
appearing and vanishing from a large red silk. This was followed 
by card manipulations and single card productions, all 
faultlessly executed but with the same expressions throughout. 
The production of a velvet bag of coins was novel and this in 
turn was used for a zombie routine, finally being opened to show 
it was full of coins which were poured out into a casket. When 
this was reopened all had vanished leaving Joe's hat which he 
donned as he recovered the cane he'd been carrying when the act 
had begun. The judges were divided about the music, some 
considering it outdated but all agreed that it was a lovely act, 
very beautiful.

The act to close the second half was Die Zauderer from Germany 
and were totally original in their presentation. Three knights in 
full armour entered the stage, two blowing trumpets and the third 
walking with a zimmer (walking) frame. Two showed large silks but 
the third had his swallowed by the large drum he was banging. As 
the act continued the visors on their helmets went up and down 
unaided in time to the music and their armour creaked as they 
moved. Everything they did was funny and/or magical and 
different. A plastic sword became a flute then all the swords are 
seen to make the sounds of Indian musical instruments. There were 
some nesting vacuum cleaners too and a vanished silk reappeared 
to the sound of birds flying overhead and leaving a deposit! 
There was some fun with more silks, simple direct but very funny 
and the final moments saw the productions of two umbrellas to 
fend off a rainstorm - and the appearance of a useless umbrella 
frame too.

After the interval Mist was the final act in the Illusions 
category. Their opening was very unusual, a combination of a 
shadow box and video footage as we saw a guy, Sean Alexander, 
apparently struggling inside the box and then breaking out, half 
inside on the screen and half outside emerging in reality. The 
act continued with a floating lady illusion and then a 
transparent trunk was uncovered to reveal a girl inside it. The 
guy leaped onto the top of it for a sub trunk effect but although 
the girl changed places with him initially, he had vanished and 
MC Tony Stevens, plus another girl, were sealed inside instead. 
Finally we saw the vanish of several members of the audience who 
stood inside a frame on a ramp and curtained from the rest of us 
although there were other spectators standing around as 
witnesses. Sadly, due to the lighting and the angle of my seat, I 
was able to watch the people inside and saw what happened to 
them! The judges felt that this was raw talent at this stage and 
were aware of some exposure. It was also considered wrong to 
leave the witnesses on stage at the end of the act, that they 
should be sent back to their seats.

David Allen's comedy act started by producing a duck from a 
drawing board instead of the expected bowling ball! He proved 
that he had also invented a 'duck translator' which helped the 
audience to understand what the duck was saying throughout. The 
duck was also put through a wringer and flattened before being 
restored. Finally it was placed in a cannon and fired across the 
stage to land inside a cage. The judges agreed that the act was 
in its infancy and that the ventriloquist skills needed 
improving. It was also suggested that the duck itself was too 
noisy - maybe what it said could be translated rather than 
vented? It was felt to be a great idea but needed more business 
and quite a bit of work.

It was almost midnight when the last junior magician got to 
perform. Josh Miller's act was lively and his smile was constant 
as he romped through Linking Rings, Silk to Rose, Dancing Cane, 
Dream Bags and a Dove Pan streamer finale. The judges agreed that 
they had seen three excellent junior performers during the 
evening but that this act's magical content was not quite right 
as yet and that the automatic Dove Pan ending shouldn't be used.

The final act was in the general category but opened with a glass 
pyramid illusion. A girl was then put into a colourful cube and 
tubes thrust through it. The box itself opened into a geometric 
shape and the girl had gone. Some cards were produced for 
manipulations and another fan levitation was performed to end 
this act. The judges felt that this had been the best fan 
illusion of the night and that the act should've been in the 
illusion category. They all loved the act yet it didn't win a 
prize this year, maybe because it was in the wrong group.

An unnecessary final guest act took the evening's entertainment 
beyond one in the morning. Sos & Victoria Petrosyan performed an 
unusual shared Dancing Cane routine with the cane going from one 
performer to another often without apparent preparation. This was 
an act that needed to have been seen earlier to be appreciated to 
the full but it was different and brought to an end a very long 
but professional competition.

--------------------------------------------
8. Blackpool Magicians Convention - Report By Peter Eldin
--------------------------------------------
Report by Peter Eldin (UK)

23rd to 25th February 2007

There is always an air of anticipation at the registration desk 
of a magic convention but it seems to be more intense at 
Blackpool. Perhaps it is because, with over 3500 delegates, it is 
the biggest magic convention in the world. Perhaps it is because 
it is the only convention that some magicians go to. Perhaps it 
is because organiser Derek Lever always provides a superb line-up 
of magical talent each year. Whatever it is it works.

It was my original intention to cover every event in this report 
but with so many things running simultaneously this is an 
impossibility for one person (what do you think I am, a 
magician!) so I will include only the briefest details possible.

Dealers Galore
At 1pm on the Friday the dealers opened and then it was non-stop 
action all the way. This year there were well over a hundred 
dealers plying their wares I counted 106 from 20 different 
countries!. They certainly seemed well attended.

Loads of Lectures
It is a cliché to say that the lectures provided something for 
everyone but with seventeen to choose from this just had to be 
the case. All proved popular and many were standing room only.

On the Friday evening delegates were treated to five lectures. 
First to take the stand was Marc Oberon, a young British 
performer who has fast made his mark (no pun intended) on the 
magic scene. His lecture included an interesting trick pack and a 
neat stretching spoon, both of which he was selling on his stand 
later.

It was good to see Simon Lovell back in the country of his birth 
with a superb lecture. In fact it was more of a show than a 
lecture and many were grabbing their notebooks to jot down some 
of the non-stop one-liners Simon used. Later that evening it was 
the turn of Randy Wakeman to impart some of his wide knowledge, 
concentraing mainly on card effects. Although tired from the day's 
travel I managed to stay up for Ian Rowland whose writings in The 
Magic Circular are always interesting and I was not disappointed. 
It was surprising to see that a lecture on mentalism should be so 
well attend by magicians.

I went back to my digs for some well needed sleep so missed the 
lecture by David Shimshi which started at 11.30pm but I was told 
the following day that David, a star of The Magic Castle, 
concentrated on card work - from what I was told it was a bit too 
clever for me but I am assured that I missed a treat. Five 
lectures! And that was only the first day!

The first lecture on Saturday morning was from Michael Rubinstein 
with some incredible coin magic. Even when he was explaining the 
various moves he made them appear magical and yet they sounded 
easy - but when I tried some out later I soon realised that 
although simple they needed a lot of practice to get right. In 
all of my years in magic I have never seen a lecture so well 
attended as that by Jay Sankey - the room was absolutely packed 
to the gunnels to witness this master of magic.

The American performer Greg Wilson, well known for his "On The 
Spot" course on impromptu magic, showed some clever coin moves in 
his lecture. Henry Evans from Argentina spoke part in English and 
part in Spanish (but he did have a good interpreter). One of his 
items I particularly liked was his Gypsy Thread using flash 
cotton. Because it clashed with the Henry Evans I did not attend 
the "Kidz R Us" lecture by Ricky McCleod but heard that it was 
very well received. The final lecture of the day was from Dirk 
Losander who had a nice self-contained floating ball effect which 
proved popular. What this man doesn't know about threads is not 
worth knowing.

Dan Garrett, who was the first lecturer on the Sunday, offered 
something old and something new. This was my favourite lecture 
for all of the effects were within my capabilities and contained 
much creative, entertaining and original magic.

Aaron Fisher offered some easy but powerful card magic and talked 
about the importance of tension, focus and design in card magic 
as outlined in his successful book The Paper Engine.

Once again due to the overlapping of events, I missed the "Kidz R 
Us" lecture by Dave Allen but I did wander down to the Theatre 
Bar to take a look and it was well attended with many grown-up 
magicians behaving like kids at a party and having great fun in 
the process! In the afternoon we were treated to lectures from 
Nathan Kranzo who had some great card effects, David Roth on coin 
magic (naturally) and ever-popular Aldo Columbini.

The Championships
The first of the championship shows was the European Magical 
Close-Up Championships which took place on Friday evening. The 
quality of the acts was variable but on the whole very high and 
the winner was Jerome Bourgeon of France.

The 20th British Magical Stage Championships on Saturday proved 
to be a very long show running from 7pm until 00.40am, in spite 
of the fact that two acts did not appear. The award for best in 
the Junior Section went to Joe Ray with an act themed around the 
production of money and the use of a tinkling coin ladder. The 
Manipulation Award went to Stuart Brown with a traditional 
manipulative act which included card productions, colour changing 
cane, other cane effects, and a giant diminishing cards Keylan 
Leyser won the General Category with a quick change act and the 
Comedy Award was given to Alec Powell for an absolutely crazy 
act. It appeared that Alec was making it up as he bumbled from 
one item to the next but he assured me that the madcap mayhem was 
all planned in advance.

Atmosfear won the Illusion Category with an act that started off 
with the novel idea of Dave and Beccy as old people. The overall 
winner of the Grand Prix Award for Magic was given to Keylan 
Leyser.

The judges pontificated after each act and although this was a 
good idea and their comments made good sense it added to the 
overall length of the show as did the inclusion of three 
extremely good guest artistes in the shape of Stan Allen, with 
Killer the rabbit, the magic knights of German comedy Die 
Zauderer, and Sos & Victoria Petrosyan with a novel interactive 
performance of the dancing cane. Special mention must be given to 
Tony Stevens, probably the best magical compere in the country, 
who kept the proceedings moving along with wit and personality.

The 55th International Gala Show
The Gala Show at Blackpool is always the highlight of the 
convention and this year was no exception. It was a great show 
emceed expertly by television comedian Adrian Walsh. First on 
were Sos & Victoria Petrosyan with a spectacular quick change 
act, the changes being interspersed with some fire effects and 
dance sequences. Then came the clanking knights of the German 
comedy act Die Zauderer which was absolutely brilliant. Jerome 
Helfenstein performed novel hand shadows combined with modern 
interactive screen technology. Next came Shimshi with card 
manipulations and a very convincing illusion in which a girl was 
visibly divided into three sections.

The next act brought the house down. It was the ventriloquial 
mayhem of Marc Metral from France. Absolutely marvellous, 
hilarious and highly entertaining. I look forward to seeing him 
again sometime. Final act of the first half was the world 
champion manipulator Juliana Chen with an act consisting of mask 
transformations, dance movements and card productions.

To open the second half Ken Dodd presented the various awards 
which included two Murray Awards, one to Betty Davenport and one 
to George Kovari (who responded in Hungarian), and a 
well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award to Blackpool stalwart 
Tom Owen.

A convention favourite Omar Pasha then presented his popular 
black art act before Adrian Walsh introduced the manipulative act 
of Nestor Hato from France with colour changing card fans, card 
productions, and a surprise colour change of his full head of 
hair! The next act, also from France, was Frank Truong who passed 
a bed of spikes through a girl, a quick substitution trunk, the 
Egyptian Princess illusion (using the magician as the victim 
instead of a girl), and an effective substitution routine.

Dirk Lossander showed some of his spectacular bubble work and 
floating routines which included a floating bubble à la Zombie 
routine, a brilliant dancing handkerchief and a floating table. 
Top of the bill was the sensational dove magic of Greg Frewin who 
had flown in from Canada that afternoon especially for the show. 
This guy does not just produce doves, they materialise from thin 
air. The finale in which a bird cage transformed into a girl was 
truly magical.

This brief rundown of the show does not do it justice for it was 
possibly one of the best Gala Shows ever. No doubt I have said 
that in previous years as well for the high quality of the Gala 
Show year after year is a feat of magic in itself.

What Else?
As I said at the beginning, it is impossible for one person to 
cover the whole of the Blackpool convention for there is so much 
going on. As a result there are many gaps in this report. I have 
not, for example, mentioned The United Kingdom Children's 
Entertainer of the Year Competition because it proved so popular 
I couldn't get into it! The award was given to Michael J. Fitch 
who promptly donated his prize money to Colchester Children's 
Hospital. Nor have I mentioned the International Forum on Friday 
evening which, much to my surprise, was very well attended.

Stan Allen, Wayne Dobson, Terry Seabrooke, and Hank Moorehouse 
answered questions on subjects as diverse as the Masked Magician, 
mentalism, advertising kid's shows, and the popularity of magic 
posed by members of the audience aided and abetted by Derek 
Lever. Neither have I described the two International Close-Up 
Shows which presented such luminaries as Aldo Columbini, David 
Roth, Simon Lovell, Randy Wakeman, David Shimshi, Dan Garrett, 
Aaron Fisher, Nathan Kranzo, Jay Sankey, Michael Rubinstein, Ian 
Rowland, Gregory Wilson, Henry Evans, Dirk Losander, Marc Oberon 
and Jupiter. How's that for a magical line-up!

Thanks to the hard work of Derek Lever and members of the 
Blackpool Magicians Club the Blackpool Convention goes from 
strength to strength and every year is a resounding triumph. 
Derek Lever is already working on next year's Convention (22nd to 
24th February, 2007) and has some exciting things up his sleeves. 
How he manages to achieve such an enormous success each year is 
magic of the highest degree and I suggest that you book early if 
you want to attend. You will be in for a treat.

-----------------
9. The Gala Show 2005 - Blackpool - Report By Mandy Davis
-----------------
Report by Mandy Davis (UK)

Gala shows come and go. People remember acts here and there over 
the years and there are always those who criticise the programme 
for one reason or another. This year there hasn't been a single 
dissenting voice among the various mail lists where such comments 
are usually bandied. Everyone found the blend of magic, comedy, 
juggling, spectacle and amazement to hit the right notes and the 
show brought the 53rd Blackpool convention to a fitting end.

The Mirage Dancers opened and were soon making way for the MC of 
the evening Allan Stewart. He was ideal for that night and kept 
the audience up to speed throughout with his blend of singing 
impressions, humour and candid approach. There was only one 
British magic act on the bill and that was the opening one - 
Mystina. She proved to be, as always, a very versatile performer 
embracing both silent and patter styles of magic. Dressed in 
traditional spy uniform of raincoat and hat she started with a UV 
lit streamer to silk to large cloth. As the stage became more 
brightly lit she performed a quick change into a brief costume 
and continued with colour changing LP records. A white silk was 
shown and some gloves which were shown to have magically been cut 
from the silk - this led into a Dancing Cane sequence but the 
stage was so dark that no one could see it.

Microphone in hand now, Mystina informed the audience that her 
father was in the audience and the act was for him; a brief 
explanation about her childhood dreams - to dance with Fred 
Astaire - and we were treated to a musical sequence with a puppet 
version of her hero. Some colour changing clothing for both of 
them added the magic to this. Back in leotard we were now treated 
to an effect that I remember as a traditional part of Mystina's 
act - 'Sword Through Neck' performed on an unsuspecting member of 
the audience. The final production of a bottle of wine as a gift 
was a nice touch. Mystina ended her act by dancing the Can Can 
and performed the final splits by leaping from a high stool.

Mahka Tendo is a manipulator supreme. His Vanishing Cane 
culminated in two fans of cards, then fan after fan materialised 
and were tossed into a hat. Single card scaling was followed by 
card productions, the cards multiplying between all fingers in 
the same way that others manipulate billiard balls. The 
manipulation of giant cards as the music quickened and the 
production of a giant fan spewing out a fountain of regular cards 
proved an appropriate climax to this act of classic magic.

Stan Allen, better known in the UK for his associations with 
Magic Magazine, provided some well-honed, gentle humour with a 
cuddly rabbit puppet and a card selected by a volunteer. The 
sequence was full of fun, displayed through mime and pantomime, 
yet there was nothing childish or twee about the performance. 
After finding the wrong card the puppet was replaced in its 
cardboard carrier from where it eventually threw a giant replica 
of the selection onto the stage.

Sabrina and Mr Blub provided skill and comedy in a very unique 
way. Sabrina started the performance with a display of rope 
spinning using larger and larger lassos and various tempos of 
music. When she finished Mr Blub came onto the stage with a 
microphone and stand. There was some ear-splitting feedback which 
had him running around trying to find some way of stopping the 
noise - the only place he found was by holding the microphone way 
above his head. Through the use of mime he enticed an 
unsuspecting helper up and left him alone, in front of three 
thousand people, keeping the mike up in the air. Whenever he 
lowered his arm the noise started again until Mr Blub returned 
with a chair. By standing on this he was able to hold the mike in 
the right place to sing - but the feedback started again. In the 
end he was only able to sing - in Tom Jones' voice - by having 
the upper part of his body hidden in the wings! Finally the 
microphone was placed back in its stand, facing the floor, and Mr 
Blub entertained by dancing the hornpipe faster and faster, over 
and over again.

Les Arnold and Dazzle were not names that were known to many but 
proved to be an exceptional comedy duo. She was an uncoordinated, 
gangly, gum-chewing female whose movements were deliberately 
bow-legged, angular and awkward. He was the tall, elegant, 
classically dressed magician who managed to entice Alan Shaxon, 
in the audience, to hold a wooden pail into which he made a duck 
reappear, having first vanished it from the stage. There was a 
head-twister illusion and a very funny zombie routine. Les, with 
all the gestures of a Victorian actor-manager, performed with the 
floating ball and Dazzle joined him on stage to repeat the moves 
very slowly. Not to be outdone, he returned with a giant 
version - and she retaliated with a glitter ball! Finally Dazzle 
was hidden inside an oblong frame from which she passed out her 
gloves, shoes and feather boa. When the curtain was removed she 
had disappeared and in her place was the previous night's award 
winner young magician Dazzling Darren McDonald - in matching 
dress!

David and Dania closed the first half with their amazing 
quick-change act. The speed and polish were awe-inspiring as 
costume after costume was displayed, interspersed with bouquet 
and botania productions. The finale, a change of clothes masked 
only by a shower of silver confetti, closed the first half 
leaving the audience on a high.

Sabrina and Blub opened the second half as their alter egos - 
Fackelli and Kil, jugglers extraordinaire. With no build-up they 
went straight into multiple ball cascades - five, six at a time. 
Fast and furious their movements were fluid and their timing 
perfect as the music got more and more exciting. The 'Blub' 
character was always present, a feat in itself as he juggled from 
impossible body positions using small jerky movements. The 
performance evolved until it became a combination of bodies, 
hands and racquets, not pausing for a moment as comedy touches 
were added. I had seen this performance ten years ago and of all 
the juggling I have seen over that time this was the act I have 
never forgotten and it is still as good as ever.

Mirko is another whose work is always memorable - and magical. 
Bubbles were blown, multiplied and became solid. A dove appeared 
from bubbles blown through a hoop and other bubbles became bright 
red sponge balls which multiplied and disappeared. One became a 
clown's nose, another a mouth. Suddenly from nowhere a jacket and 
trousers gave the total appearance of a clown, enhanced as Mirko 
put his head through the hoop and emerged wearing a rainbow 
coloured wig. A dozen helium foil balloons floated from the stage 
for him to capture and as he held them we watched him float above 
the stage to end this stunning display.

Jim Casey, Eli Woods and Bernie Clifton recreated the great 
comedy routines of Jimmy James and Co. Those in the audience who 
remembered that far back were enraptured as they giggled their 
way through classic lines and moments of yesteryear.

And then it was the headliner of a show full of top names. How 
could anyone beat what had gone before? Would we get any of the 
atmosphere of a full Las Vegas show?

Rick Thomas wasted no time - the production of one dove which 
split into two was just the beginning of a sequence in which 
these birds appeared and disappeared with style and 
sophistication. The cage containing the doves was finally 
vanished to make way for the appearance of a girl on a table.

The first thing that Rick said as he picked up the microphone at 
this point was: 'I hate doves!' which really endeared him to the 
crowd. After a brief chat the first illusion, a giant open-sided 
box, filled the stage and a plank was secured vertically in its 
centre. Rick, wearing a cape, was tied to this and the sides of 
the box were veiled. A girl moved alongside, under the cape and 
was seen to disappear inside his body. The curtains closed and a 
small, almost weightless box was brought to the front. Rick 
climbed into this and as he stood there the girl suddenly climbed 
out of his torso although we had lost sight of her since she had 
disappeared earlier.

We were then treated to a cute interlude. Rick brought a child up 
from the audience and taught him how to be a magician from the 
lowest point - sweeping the stage - to the moment where the child 
performed a chair suspension using one of Rick's assistants and a 
little directional help from the master himself.

This was followed by a very entertaining version of Broken and 
Restored Watch with had some great comedy moments with three 
members of the audience.

A short 'Invisible Man' illusion had Rick's body disappearing 
inside an open box although his head and lower legs were still 
visible. This was followed by an even shorter Linking Ring 
routine. Then on to the overwhelming finale which brought a 
standing ovation from the usually jaded audience of magicians and 
their partners. An assistant was floated above the stage and then 
back down. A cloth was thrown over her and once again she 
levitated but this time high into the air. Suddenly Rick zoomed 
into the air himself to whisk away the cloth, his levitation 
bringing gasps from everyone.

What an ending to a truly magical evening and a memorable 
convention!

--------------------------------------------
10. Magic's First Live Video Broadcast Lecture Website
--------------------------------------------
Message from Jeff Hobson (US)

Jeff Hobson And Loren Christopher Michaels To Launch Magic's 
First Live Video Broadcast Lecture Website

Las Vegas, 2007 Jeff Hobson and Loren Christopher Michaels have 
partnered to give the world of magic it's very first, LIVE, 
interactive, video-broadcast, lecture service called The Lecture 
Network. The web-based service will be available in the summer of 
2007. The grand-opening, "Open House" event will invite magicians 
from around the world to enjoy the festivities and a 
ribbon-cutting ceremony at The Lecture Network's studio in Las 
Vegas with special guest Lance Burton and Mac King.

"It was bound to happen", says Loren Christopher Michaels, whose 
reputation as a magical, creative genius and teacher to many 
successful and award-winning magicians is well known and 
respected. Loren says "We knew we could do it better than anyone 
else and decided it was time". Jeff Hobson will act as the "face" 
of the web site and host all activities. Hobson has been 
performing full time as the hilarious "Host of Las Vegas" at 
numerous productions in the city since 1992. "I'm very excited to 
take magic, real-time, into cyberspace. Loren is perfect as 
creative manager and director of production. I'm thrilled to be 
host as I believe I was born to do it."

Visitors can go to the pre-launch site, www.TheLectureNetwork.com 
to give suggestions on who they would like to see. The site, 
besides weekly, live lectures, will also broadcast "Celebrities 
of Magic". These LIVE, video interviews will give a forum for 
magic's most talented and respected individuals. The Lecture 
Network will also feature an up-to-date magic news service and 
calendar with reports of magic happenings around the world. 
Subscribers will also be able to view vintage magic video clips, 
magic bloopers, magic podcasts, as well as a forum for members to 
meet and chat. All lectures and interviews will utilize an 
interactive "chat" window to allow viewers to ask questions in 
real-time with the guest.

"We want all magicians from around the world to come to the 
opening event. It will be the largest, one-day, magic convention 
in the world" say Jeff and Loren. "We're hoping for attendance in 
the many thousands. It's not impossible on the internet. We'll 
keep you posted!"

www.TheLectureNetwork.com

Keep it bookmarked!

--------------------------------------------
11. Lilian Bevan 17th September 1933 - 17th February 2007
--------------------------------------------
Message from John Palfreyman (UK)

Lilian Bevan has left us, but she will always be remembered as a 
sincere, homely, friendly person, not only was she a friend but a 
Wife, Mother and Grandmother, with a great love for her family. 
Both Dorothy Savage and myself enjoyed her company when we met on 
many occasions, and in particular when she accompanied Donald at 
the Northern Magic Circle Easter Parades. Although not a member 
of The British Ring she was a member of The Magigals, and it was 
due to her that Dorothy Joined them.

Lilian enjoyed a good joke and at times when she was talking to 
you about something, it was hard to tell if she was serious or 
not, but when you looked into her eyes and saw that smiling 
twinkle you knew at once she was pulling your leg.

On several occasions she was party to some pranks that I played 
on her son Laurence. Two particular ones come to mind, the first 
when I manhandled a large potted palm into the centre of Donald`s 
stand, with a notice on it "This Must Not Be Moved Without The 
Permission Of The Management" what Laurence said is not 
printable, the second time was when Donald Lilian and Laurence 
arrived, as soon as they got into the room, I asked Laurence to 
go and get his mother a pot of tea, Laurence`s response was 
"There You Are Mum I Knew He Would Get On At Me As Soon As I 
Arrived", and Oh! at Harrogate those mouth watering Cream Cakes 
on Saturday from Betty`s.

There have been so many enjoyable times shared with Lilian and 
Donald, the one which stands out is when Lilian, Donald, Dorothy 
and myself together with David Price, and Eric Lewis were sitting 
in the sun at an I.B.M. British Ring Picnic in Malvern and Lilian 
was excited to tell us she had discovered what she called "The 
Handkerchief Tree", the botanical name of it is too long to print 
and too difficult to pronounce. Lilian was a great lady, and will 
be ever in our memories, and to Donald I know that you will gain 
strength in the years to come from the prayers and thoughts of 
your family and friends.

Lilian`s funeral was held on Wednesday 28th. February 2007 at the 
Worcester Crematorium, it was officiated by Canon Keith 
Wittington and attended by the family and many friends. The Magic 
Circle, The British Ring, The British Magical Society, The 
Northern Magic Circle and The Magigals were represented. Amongst 
those attending were Cynthia Neptune, Mike Gancia, Elizabeth 
Warlock, Fergus Roy, Betty Davenport, Paul Cadley Secretary of 
B.M.S., Ross Quinn, Tony James, Dorothy Savage and myself. I was 
honoured to be asked by Donald and the family to pay a tribute to 
Lilian and one of her grandsons Carl, read a poem which he had 
specially composed in memory of "Nan"

After the ceremony we went to the Fownes Hotel for the Funeral 
tea, and there Donald thanked all who had attended, and regaled 
us with some strange facts that revolved round the number 17, 
Lilian`s Birth, Lilians Death, and many other members of the 
family who in some way had the number 17 connected to them.

The day was a fitting farewell to Lilian may she rest in peace, 
and our thoughts go to her family and I would remind them of this 
slightly altered quotation.

"Lilian has not gone away, she has just passed into the next room 
ready for us to join her."

--------------------------------------------
12. The Art Of Costume Change & Its Artists Throughout Time
--------------------------------------------
Message from Valerie & Gilles Mageux

Hello to all my magical friends,

We are in the process of writing a book called "The Art of 
Costume Change & Its Artists Throughout Time".

These artists have been magicians, comedians, dancers, and 
singers to name a few.

For our research we need to acquire as much material as possible.

This is where you can help as we need to find as many documents 
and posters on this subject.
Your help will be much appreciated and credit in the book will be 
given for anything used.

For further information please email at the address below.

Thank you for your time and cooperation in this matter.

Magical Regards,
Valerie & Gilles Mageux

valeriemageux@wanadoo.fr

--------------------------------------------
13. Simon Lovell & Steve Draun On LVMI
--------------------------------------------
Message from Danny Archer (US)

The LMVI convention is one of the best I've ever been to. The 
conditions for the lecture and performance were superb with great 
viewing for the audience making my job much easier. But, above 
and beyond that, the social element was just great. Lots of time 
to meet, chat, and session with some of the very best of the 
best. (along with a pint or two of course!).

It's not just your average convention; rather it is a tremendous 
happening which I highly recommend to any magician regardless of 
skill level. You'll learn, you'll have tons of fun and make lots 
of new friends! I hope Danny books me back again real soon! Simon 
Lovell

I attend The LVMI Convention and it was the most fun I have had 
in years. The talent was top notch and the convention well 
organized. There was never a dull moment, and I still remember it 
as one of the best conventions I ever attended. Steve Draun

The LVMI close-up convention featuring; Jeff McBride, Jason 
England, Gregory Wilson, Jon Armstrong, Wayne Dobson & Gaston 
Quieto is coming up June 10-12th, 2007 in Las Vegas .... LVMI.net 
for more info

-----------------
14. Not 1 But 2 Hypnosis Show
-----------------
Message from Dave Upfold (NZ)

World-renowned Magician / Hypnotist, member of the Magic Lodge of 
South Africa, and member of the International Brotherhood of 
Magicians (Ring 160, Auckland), Wesley Upfold, will be in New 
Zealand in March 2007.

Wesley recently returned to South Africa from a four-week run, 
performing his Magic and Hypnosis Shows at the international 
Piggs Peak Hotel & Casino, in Swaziland.

Wesley is one half of the "Not 1 But 2 Hypnosis Show", joining 
Dave Upfold, as the second half. Their 2007 Tour, being the 6th 
Annual World Tour, starts off in Auckland, and then shoots off to 
Hamilton, Tauranga, Rotorua, Wanganui, Whitianga, Warkworth, 
Feilding and Nelson, before returning to Auckland, a month later.

Their unique international Magic / Hypnosis Show is the only 
father-son hypnosis show, in the world, and the only hypnosis 
show, world-wide, featuring the exciting concept of two 
hypnotists on stage, at the same time. Their 2006 Tour of New 
Zealand was a sell-out, at all of the venues it was performed, on 
both the North and South Islands. The 2006 Tour's shows opened 
with award-winning Magician, Brent McLeod, who is also a member 
of IBM Ring 160, and an Inner Circle Member of the Brotherhood of 
Auckland Magicians.

If there are any Magicians hoping to catch up with Wesley, again, 
or who would like to see this fantastic and hilarious 
international show, please contact Dave, at 
daveup@slingshot.co.nz.

-----------------
15. The Amazing Orchante Saga - A Note Of Thanks
-----------------
Message from Richard Walls (NZ)

Just a note to let Tommy know how much I am enjoying his many 
stories, some of which I have sharing with friends who are in 
"the business" and have worked with - or known - many of those 
Tommy reminiscences about. And it is good to catch up on Derek 
Metzger 'a local lad made good" - it does not seem that long 
since he arrived in Dunedin from Invercargill and trod the boards 
in a local operatic society show or two!

As Tommy says, one blessed with a fine voice "and the littlest 
ego" - someone it is a real pleasure to know. Oh yes, a minor 
correction - rolling one's "R's" is not a speaking characteristic 
of Dunedin-ites but born 'n bred Southlanders - particularly 
those living in the rural areas outside of Invercargill, the 
major city of the Southland province that also includes Gore 
(NZ's country and western capital). I guess it's a carryover from 
the burr of the original Scots-speaking settlers, whatever it is 
very distinctive among the older generation living in the more 
rural areas.

In the days when I travelled to Gore and Invercargill as a sales 
representative every six weeks or so, Southlanders in denying the 
characteristic, often joked that it was more about the physical 
attribute of the fairer sex in that part of the world! Well, you 
can believe that or not, but it was, at least, one exaggerated 
explanation of how "the R" rolls off the tongue. Thanks again, 
Tommy! Your book just has to be put into print one day - the last 
I think we had of this kind (perhaps the only one) was Tony 
Goodliffe and Terry Snow's 'STARS IN MY EYES" (1996).

-----------------
16. The Amazing Orchante Saga
-----------------
Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi)

Page - 144

October of 1984 - I arrived back home (New Zealand) from 
Australia, to attend my mother's funeral - staying with my sister 
in law, Mary. During my two-week visit, I took the opportunity to 
catch up with some friends whom I hadn't seen for quite some 
time, Sally Phillips being one of them. Mary very kindly offered 
to, 'put on a lush dinner', if I wanted to invite Sally over to 
her place. That was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting 
Derek. During the evening, the conversation somehow gravitated 
from singing, magic etc to - hypnotism. Derek, very politely (he 
doesn't swear) made it quite plain that as far as he was 
concerned, hypnotism was a 'load of crap'! The whole thing was a 
con etc.

When I offered to put him 'under', he was most indignant, as he 
wrongly thought that 'hypnotists' preyed on weak willed imbeciles 
and, apart from that, not only would I be wasting my time, but 
his as well! A few minutes later, Derek was sleeping soundly in 
his chair; Sally was aghast! Although she had seen me work my 
hypnotism show before, she just couldn't believe that Derek had 
gone 'into trance' so fast. "How the bloody hell", she asked, 
"Could you put him to sleep so quickly with his contemptuous 
attitude towards Hypnosis?" "Well Sally", I said, "Derek is a 
very intelligent young man, who has a powerful imagination as 
well - exactly the right combination for near instantaneous 
hypnosis!" Anyway, what chance did he have? After all, it was a 
forgone conclusion, what with me being yet another - 'The Worlds 
Greatest.'etc. etc. What a load of . 'Baloney'!

After I woke him up, he utterly refused to believe that he had 
been hypnotised. Nothing we said, not even the 'love of his life', 
Sally, could convince him otherwise. Fortunately, I had a video 
camera, not like today's little miracles, this was a massive semi 
pro' job that sat on your shoulder; you felt like you were doing 
a Cecil B. De Mille production! Having previously placed the 
suggestion into his subconscious mind that he would in future, go 
'to sleep' at the mere click of my fingers, I popped him off 
again, filming him as I did so. Then I gave him various 
suggestions; for instance, I told him that Sally was the ugliest 
woman he had ever seen, and that she had the 'HOTS' for him. Not 
only that, but she had terrible body odour as well, then 
gradually it would dawn on him that the 'smell' was coming from 
his socks and that somehow, he had to surreptitiously get rid of 
them.

At this stage, I have to tell you that Sally is an exceptionally 
beautiful lady (and she does not suffer from 'BO') and Derek 
was - still is, madly in love with her! Derek, by his very 
nature, is an absolute gentleman, and will go out of his way not 
to offend anyone, no matter what. That, by the way, does not mean 
that he won't stand up for himself!

His antics in trying, very politely, to keep this (in his 
imagination), apparently very ugly, and smelly woman at arms 
length was an absolute hoot, as was his desperate attempts to get 
rid of his 'offending socks'! The best part was after I had woken 
him up. He immediately carried on as if nothing had happened, 
still protesting that it was all - 'A load of bull' and, 'When 
was I going to start to try to hypnotise him', ha, ha. THAT'S 
WHEN WE PLAYED THE VIDEO, WITH HIMSELF IN THE STARRING ROLE! That 
Night Was The First Time That Anyone Had 'Hypnotised' Derek! 
Sixteen years later (Note -I first wrote this in 2002), Derek 
said: "I have always enjoyed my 'hypnotic' experiences with 
Tommy."

Following title roles in 'Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor 
Dreamcoat', 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Hans Christian Anderson', 
Derek and Sally decided he should travel to England to try his 
luck there - Sally would stay on in New Zealand until Derek had 
settled down in London; she would then fly over to join him when 
Derek was sure that doors were going to open for him He arrived 
in January of 1986. How nice (I am jesting), leaving New Zealand's 
beautiful blue skies and summer weather, for the grey, damp, 
bone - chilling, wintry conditions of 'Cheery Old Britain'!

At the time, Veronica, her sister Mary (my sister in law) and I 
were living in Edinburgh, Scotland, having arrived ourselves only 
a few months earlier - in 1985, from Brisbane in tropical 
Queensland, Australia (that was one hellava cultural shock for 
me!). Derek came and stayed with us for a couple of weeks, 
getting himself acclimatised, and settling down a bit before he 
headed off for the big smoke, London, to crack open the door of 
the theatre scene. Those two weeks, indeed our own arrival in 
this country, is a story in itself, which I'll relate when I 
start The Great Britain side of my Saga.

Page 145

Four months later, May 6th 1986, Sally arrived in London to 
rejoin her then fiancé, Derek. Just two months later - July, they 
'TIED THE KNOT'. Among their wedding guests was one of N. Z.'s 
top entertainers and television personality, Max Cryer - who was 
in London to attend another wedding as well, a Royal one, that of 
Sarah Ferguson to Prince Andrews. Unlike the afore mentioned 
couple,
Derek and Sally's marriage is still going strong, as it always 
will!

Derek was privileged to appear in the Royal Variety Performance 
of 1986. Derek spent two years in the hit musical '42ND STREET', 
at the famous 'Theatre Royal' in Drury Lane, understudying and 
performing the role of 'Billy Lawlor'. He also worked at the 
Donmar Warehouse, on a production of a new (at the time) 
musical - 'Matador', performed at the Piccadilly Theatre in: 'A 
Tribute to Noel Coward'.

May 6th of 1998, after receiving some lucrative offers from back 
home, Derek and Sally headed back to New Zealand, where he played 
the lead in a succession of productions that included: 'Some Like 
it Hot', 'Side By Side by Sondheim' and the N.Z. tour of 'Chess'.

It wasn't long before Australian theatre producers were getting 
the word about Derek and in January of 1993 he headed for Sydney, 
got himself settled in then Sally followed, arriving in Australia 
on the, wait for it, the 6th of May. It is a Very Strange 
Coincidence that Derek left N.Z. in the month of January, on each 
occasion, for both England and Australia. Even spookier, is that 
Sally left N.Z. on the 6th of May for England. Both she and Derek 
left the U.K. on the 6th of May and again, it was the 6th of May 
when Sally arrived in Australia! There just has to be a winning 
lottery ticket there somewhere.

Since settling in Australia, Derek has been constantly on the 
move with national tours of Cole Porters: 'A Swell Party', 
'Pirates of Penzance' and 'The Mikado'. His role in 'Me & My Girl' 
was sensational! The critics raved about his performance. Here 
are just two quotes from the Melbourne Critics.'Derek Metzger has 
'STAR' tattooed on his forehead.' , 'Melbournians' were 
introduced to a 100% Star'.! It was for this role that Derek was 
nominated for and received, The Coveted 'Green Room Award', which 
is a Theatre Award for 'Best Actor' in a Musical! His other 
credits include: 'Here Comes Showtime', 'Silhouette' for the 
Marian Street Theatre, 'She Loves Me', 'Closer Than Ever', 
'Follies in Concert' and John English's 'Buskers and Angels'. He 
received a second 'Green Room' Award nomination for the Melbourne 
production of 'Chess'.

As well as Television appearances on Channel 10's nationwide 
broadcast of 'Good Morning Australia' (I had a regular spot on 
the same programme performing Close -Up Magic when we were living 
in Sydney), 'The Midday Show', Channel 7's Variety Gala, 'G.P'. 
and 'Ihaka', Derek performs regularly in concert. Last year 
(2001) he received a nomination for a 'Mo' Award (which is, more 
or less, the equivalent of the 'Benny' in N.Z.), for his 
successful One Man Show, 'Nice Work if You Can Get it'! In all, 
Derek has been nominated three times for various performances, 
alongside some very heavy opposition. Derek's other awards 
include a Scroll of Honour - 'Professional Performer Award' from 
the Variety Artists Committee (VAC), and in 1996, 'Best 
Theatrical Performer' from the New Zealand Entertainment Operator's 
Association (NEOA).

Derek is currently appearing in the very successful production of 
'The Wizard of Oz', playing the Scarecrow, for which he is 
receiving, once again, rave reviews. The show, which took eight 
million dollars in Melbourne, has just moved up to beautiful 
Brisbane, where it is again 'packing them in'.

In spite of all the accolades that have been, and still are, 
being heaped upon him, Derek is, as I said in the beginning, a 
quiet, unassuming, modest, caring and very likeable man. 'The 
Biggest Talent and the Littlest Ego', says it all! I have known 
Derek for eighteen years {Now 23 years). Not as long as I've 
known his equally wonderful wife, Sally - thirty seven years! 
{Now 42} (We are kinda like brother and sister)

Derek, we are proud to have you as our friend.
You are, as is sally, very special to us
Tommy and Veronica

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17. 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)

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© Copyright 2007 Alan Watson