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* Magic New Zealand®
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Issue Number: #1270
Date: Sunday 3rd April 2016
Editor: Alan Watson QSM
www.watson.co.nz
E-mail: editor@magicnewzealand.com
================================
Hi here is the latest news
================================
1.
Editor's Message
2. AMA 2015 Showroom/Lecturer Of The Year Nominations
3. New AMA Board Of Trustees Officers
4. The Magic Word Podcast: Gregory Wilson
5. Kaminski Auctions - Le Grand David
6. 'Simon Drake's House Of Magic' In Central London
7. Simple But Fun Idea - #393 - Kyle Peron
8. MagicWeek - Magic in the UK
9. Some Stats For 4F 2016 The Original Close Up Convention
10. Magic Masters Banquet
11. Copywriting Basics For Magicians: Attention Words
12. How To Get Media Attention: Tips For The Practical Magician
13. Magic Castle Swap Meet
14. South Tyneside Magic Festival 2016 - Part 2
15. FISM 2018 Open For Registration
16. e-zine Archives
17. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
--------------------------------------------
1. Editor's Message
--------------------------------------------
If
you would like to read the Magic New Zealand e-zine in a
HTML format go to: http://www.magicnewzealand.com/ezine-archive/2016-Jan-to-Dec-2016/1270-Apr03-2016.html
Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line:
Editor@MagicNewZealand.com
--------------------------------------------
2. AMA 2015 Showroom/Lecturer Of The Year Nominations
--------------------------------------------
Close-Up Magician Of The Year
Jon Armstrong
Andrew Goldenhersh
Bill Goodwin
Mike Pisciotta
Richard Turner
Parlour
Magician Of The Year
Michael Finney
Derek Hughes
Johnny Ace Palmer
David Regal
Rob Zabrecky
Stage
Magician Of The Year
Michael Finney
Dave Kaplan
David and Leeman
Tina Lenert
Shoot Ogawa
Arthur Trace
Lecturer
Of The Year
Rafael Benatar
Doc Eason
Jeff McBride and Lawrence Hass (joint lecture)
Shoot Ogawa
Phil Van Tee
Nominees
are listed in alphabetical order by last name. The Stage
Magician of the Year list has six nominees due to a tie
for the fifth position.
--------------------------------------------
3. New AMA Board Of Trustees Officers
--------------------------------------------
Message by Tom Ogden (US)
A
brief meeting of the new Board of Trustees was held last
night to select officers
Joan
Lawton - Chairman
David Regal - Vice Chairman
Tom Ogden - Secretary
Paul
Green
Mark Wilson
Shoot Ogawa
Gay Blackstone
--------------------------------------------
4. The Magic Word Podcast: Gregory Wilson
--------------------------------------------
Message by Scott Wells, M.I.M.C. with Gold Star
The
Final Chapter, or On The Offense
This
week, Gregory Wilson returns to complete the second and
final installment of his responses to his accusers who have
been aired on previous podcasts. Rather than being on the
"defense", Greg is on the "offense"
by giving proof and verifiable evidence of his side of the
story. Some of the physical proof he talks about are linked
through the website on The Magic Word's blog this week.
He goes point by point and person by person telling his
side of the story.
The
bottom line is that nowhere has anyone shown or given proof
of any "thievery" of which he has been accused.
There may have been some oversights in crediting, but it
is not theft.
You
can get some valuable links, see some photos (including
some funny memes), enter the new contest to win free stuff
from Greg, read the blog, listen to the podcast and download
the MP3 file at: http://themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/283-gregory-wilson-final-chapter
You can also download and listen to the podcasts through
iTunes, Stitcher, Feedpress, and Tunein.
Congratulations
to the winners of last week's contest for two pair of tickets
to see Michael Carbonaro Live when he comes to their nearby
city: David Caserta and Matthew Neely. To see Michael Carbonaro's
tour schedule, visit: http://scottwells.com/The%20Magic%20Word_files/2016MichaelCarbonaroLive.pdf
And
be sure to enter the new contest this week to win one of
five prizes offered by Gregory Wilson: Switchcraft, Cold
Case, Coin on Shoulder, On the Spot, and Bandwidth. There
will be five winners, each being awarded one of the above
prizes. Free shipping will be provided for those residing
in the U.S. but shipping will be charged to winners who
live outside the U.S. But the prize will be FREE!
And
we are less than 50 people away from reaching 1,000 "Likes"
on our Facebook page. Please "Like" us at http://facebook.com/themagicwordpodcast
--------------------------------------------
5. Kaminski Auctions - Le Grand David
--------------------------------------------
Le
Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Company's Collection
to Feature at Kaminski Auctions, April 10, 2016
Kaminski
Auctions is pleased to present at auction Part Two of Le
Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company's collection.
On April 10, 2016, magicians, collectors and the public
will have the opportunity to bid on original works of art,
magical illusions, costumes, collections of books and programs,
hand-painted Larcom Theatre backdrops, and handsome theatre
furnishings.
Read
more: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/16/03/p7761668/le-grand-david-and-his-own-spectacular-magic-companys-collection-to-fea#ixzz44WdJS56H
--------------------------------------------
6. 'Simon Drake's House Of Magic' In Central London
--------------------------------------------
Message by Simon Drake (UK)
After
20 years of running his own successful venue 'Simon Drake's
House of Magic' in Central London, Simon Drake needs to
clear some space and will be getting rid of a few of his
original, one-off illusions that he has no need to perform
anymore.
This
first is a twist on The Elastic Lady Illusion and is in
working order although it has to be said in 'used condition'.
The steel frame is very sturdy and if any magicians want
to perform it, the elastic parts will need replacing and
some other parts will need re-touching/painting/fixing up.
This piece is totally unique in the world having been performed
in 1993 on the American TV Special, 'Raising Hell' in which
Simon invited his pals from the iconic heavy metal band,
Iron Maiden to join him. All performance rights will pass
along with the prop.
To
see this effect in full glorious technicolor please go to
54 mins 28 secs here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQi_rSQLGt4
It
will be listed on Ebay from midday GMT on 11th April 2016.
Search on Ebay for 'Simon Drake unique Magic Illusion from
Iron Maiden TV Special, Raising Hell'.
Simon
would like to give magicians and magic collectors advanced
notice of this sale before Iron Maiden fans snap it up.
Any questions email: info@houseofmagic.co.uk
--------------------------------------------
7. Simple But Fun Idea - #393 - Kyle Peron
--------------------------------------------
Message by Kyle Peron
magic4u02@aol.com
http://www.kpmagicproducts.com
I always like to remind myself that my show and routines
are about entertainment value. It is about smiles and laughter.
Not everything I do has to warrant a WOW response or reaction.
As many of us know, you need to make the journey as much
fun as the destination.
Whenever
I am doing shows, I love creating interactive fun between
helper/s on stage. I want the interaction and the laughter
and the ability to improvise off of situations that come
up. To me this allows the show to feel a bit more spontaneous.
One
thing I do I wanted to share with you. It is the usage of
a clear change bag. You can get them most anywhere and they
come in a variety of styles. I have several and use different
ones for different purposes.
One
thing I love to do is to have an adult and a child on stage
at the same time. I empower the child and have fun with
the adult. The adult can handle it and knows what is going
on and the child ends up feeling and looking like a million
bucks.
What
I do is to bring them both up on stage and state we are
going to have a contest. The contest is to test who is smarter.
First we need to see what the audience thinks. When I place
my hand above the helpers head the audience will gauge by
their round of applause. When I go over to the child helper,
I prime the audience to shot and clap a ton. Very easy to
do as I walk over and stand to the side and back of the
child.
When
I go over to the adult, I prime the audience to stay quiet.
Also very easy to do. Already it gets a lot of laughs and
gives me a chance to improvise based off what the helpers
may say.
For
the change bag, what I do is make up what looks like Trivia
Cards. Very easy to design them and print them out on card
stock. Each one has a question printed on it as well as
the answer on the back. I also make sure they are branded
with my colors and branding. This helps extend my marketing.
The
idea here is that half of the trivia cards have super easy
questions on them and the other half have questions that
are absolutely impossible to answer.
For
example, the easy card might say:
"State your first name…you have 10 seconds"
The
harder question might be:
What is the square root of 1,564,322….you have 2 seconds
to answer"
So
you may see where this is going. All the easy questions
go on one side of the clear change bag and the had questions
go on the other side. When handled and show to audience,
it just looks like a plain bag of trivia cards. You can
have both helpers pull out a card or so to show some are
hard and some easy.
When
it comes to the actual game, the child ALWAYS gets an easy
question and the adult ALWAYS gets a super hard one. It
looks totally fair and innocent in every way. The child
looks awesome and the adult helps you out by taking some
of the laughter in good spirit.
The
questions can be very hilarious just as the situation is
as they see the kid getting easier and easier questions
to answer. The possibilities of Improvisation are huge.
I
use this at scout banquets with the scout master and a Webelo
scout. I do this contest to see who get selected to place
their finger in the Finger Chopper to test bravery and strength
in scouting.
There
are many possibilities for using this as a stand-alone or
as a segue into a trick or effect.
Have
fun with it and give it a try. Loads of laughs and interaction.
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.
Entertainers,
please visit:
http://www.kpmagicproducts.com
--------------------------------------------
8. MagicWeek - Magic in the UK
--------------------------------------------
Message by Duncan Trillo/MagicWeek (UK)
MagicWeek's
had a makeover! We've got a new logo and colour scheme and
the very first back issues, starting with number 1 from
1st July 2000, are now all online and free to access.
For
new readers - http://www.magicweek.co.uk focuses on magic
in the UK and updates every Saturday. Features include:
News, What's On, TV Magic, Conventions, Magic Dealers, Club
News, Links, Reviews, Free Readers' Ads, Articles and lots
more...
I
had fun looking through those early back issues - so hope
you do too! We've got lots planned for the year ahead.
-------------------------------------------
9. Some Stats For 4F 2016 The Original Close Up Convention
--------------------------------------------
Message by Obie Obrien 4F President (US)
People
from 21 countries, 4 Continents will attend. 20 from Canada,
13 England, 11 France, 9 Japan, 8 Italy, 8 Spain, 5 So.
Korea, 3 Germany, 2 each from Scotland, The Netherlands,
Taiwan, Finland, 1 each from Argentina, Austria, Mexico,
Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Venezuela, and about
170 USA.
We
will have 40 contest winners from big conventions like the
IBM, SAM, FISM, MacMillans, So. Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Spain,
Germany and France.
12
Past Presidents from the IBM plus Joe Turner who is the
current president, 7 P. P. from the SAM, plus 31, 1st time
attendees at 4F. 15 FISM winners who will make for a great
convention April 27-30 in Batavia NY (about 33 miles East
of Buffalo NY).
If
you are reading this and have won a big contest in your
country (or came 2nd or 3rd) and want to attend 4F at some
future date (4F is by invitation only) get it touch with
Joan Caesar or Obie OBrien .
-------------------------------------------
10. Magic Masters Banquet
--------------------------------------------
Message by Don Wiberg (US)
The
Magic Masters of Chicago will be holding its 71st Annual
Banquet & Show on April 15, 2016 at Chicago Gaelic Park
in Oak Forest, Illinois. This year's show will feature Trent
James, Bill Cook, David Sandy and Lance Rich with Don Wiberg
as the M.C.
John
Sturk will entertain with his stand-up act during the cocktail
reception while members of the club will perform strolling
magic for the guests. Further information may be found by
going to www.themagicmasters.com.
-------------------------------------------
11. Copywriting Basics For Magicians: Attention Words
--------------------------------------------
Message by Laurice Chavez
Link:
http://kidsentertainerhub.com/copywriting-basics-for-kids-entertainers-attention-words/
Getting
the attention and rousing the interest of your potential
clients don't have to be difficult. With the right words,
you can pique their curiosity and get them clicking through
your website, bringing them a step closer to booking you.
Learn how you can do this at http://kidsentertainerhub.com/copywriting-basics-for-kids-entertainers-attention-words/
--------------------------------------------
12. How To Get Media Attention: Tips For The Practical Magician
--------------------------------------------
Message by Laurice Chavez
Link:
http://kidsentertainerhub.com/developing-your-hook/
How
awesome would it be to get your name on newspapers and even
guest on radio and TV shows? You not only get to establish
yourself as a professional, credible magician; you also
get a ton of free marketing, which in turn opens up a ton
of opportunities for you. Luckily, getting media exposure
is actually doable. Really. Let us show you how. Check out
http://kidsentertainerhub.com/developing-your-hook/
--------------------------------------------
13. Magic Castle Swap Meet
--------------------------------------------
Message by Gary Frank (US)
Mark
Your Calendars
Magic
Castle Swap Meet is set for April 16, 2016
The address:
Magic Castle
7001 Franklin Avenue
Hollywood, CA 90028
This
is like a one day mini-convention. You will find everything
from books, magic effects, illusions, costumes, posters,
and more. There will be several well-known dealers selling
their numerous products as well as others who have tables
covered and are looking to clear out their cupboards, closets,
and garages of their slightly new and used magical wonders.
It's
a great chance to find that one perfect treasure for your
act. The doors open for all AMA Members from 8:00 a.m. to
9:00 a.m. At 9:00 a.m. all guests of AMA members gain entrance
as well as all magic club card members and their guests.
Magic Club members must show their membership card to gain
entrance with their guests. All non AMA Members (AMA Member
guests, all magic club card members, their guests) pay an
$8.00 chargeper person. The event hours are 8:00 a.m. to
1:00 p.m.
Want
to be a vendor? Email me please.
If
you have any questions, please contact:
Gary Frank, Magic Castle Swap Meet Coordinator
swapmeetapplication@magiccastle.com
--------------------------------------------
14. South Tyneside Magic Festival 2016 - Part 2
--------------------------------------------
Message by Mandy Davis (UK)
Part
2
The
Saturday Gala Show
In
an unusual opening an evocative short movie, made by Paul
Wilson, had some of us in tears. Called 'The Magic Box',
it was a beautiful piece about magic through the generations
of one family. Watch it if you can get a chance - I recommend
it highly.
Maybe
it wasn't the best way to warm up an audience but it did
get tumultuous applause for Paul when he appeared as the
first act. After some warm up fun and humour Paul then performed
close up at a small table, with a screen to show his performance
to those not seated near enough. He changed all the Aces
in his deck to Jokers and then back again before making
balls appear and vanish in a small coffee cup or under a
tube held by a spectator. This was very gentle but effective
magic with all his tricks having well written stories to
present them.
Steve
Rawlings was back again - this time balancing golf clubs
and knives with raucous humour and audience participation.
Kennedy's
first trick was reminiscent of a Tossed Out Deck routine
- but he named specific cards to each spectator rather than
listing them generically. He then went on to perform a version
of the trick he'd explained in his lecture.
Peter
Clifford also performed mentalism with some very unusual
routines. He started by reciting all the names of Shakespeare's
plays in chronological order - then threw 'Yorrick's skull'
into the audience to find a random volunteer. A Shakespeare
book test followed which was very impressive as was the
amazing prediction of a tune selected from a deck with names
written on them. Audience members had been given hand bells
of different colours earlier and the prediction took the
form of Peter touching coloured squares, in sequence, to
indicate which colour handbell would be rung so that the
tune could be played! I found this act to be innovative
and impressive.
Ilana's
act was silent but was great fun as she manipulated earrings
of different colours and had fun with many hands inside
and outside her leather jacket. She ended with a Heads Off
illusion - standing with her back to the audience and removing
her head for a very brief moment!
John
Carney used a portable black hole to produce, at first,
lemons and then a glass of lemonade. His slick version of
the Eleven Dollar Bill Trick had the audience delighted,
ending it with The Sting - the money which he had put into
an envelope now proved to be nothing but newspaper pieces.
To end this very well constructed and well executed act
he took a rose petal and swirled it around inside a large
clear bowl until an egg appeared which was then cracked
and opened to prove it was real.
John
Archer, who was the excellent compere/MC throughout this
show, came on stage to play a serious piece of ukelele music
before introducing Rafael's amusing and colourful dove act.
Unfortunately the ending didn't go as planned - the cage
did open up, high in the air to show it as an almost 2D
piece - but the doves were still to be seen in the centre!
It's a great act when it works!
That
was a lot of magic for one day! A high quality close up
show, five professional lectures and a snappy gala show
- you couldn't ask for more!
Day
3 - Sunday
Paul
Wilson gave an admirable lecture first thing but, after
another night of fun and laughter at the Headquarters hotel,
I didn't manage to arrive until just before the Comedy Forum.
The
panel consisted of Phil Butler as Chair with John Carney,
Danny Buckler, John Archer and Chad Long - an amazing group
of funny men. We need more funny women!
The
questions were varied. When asked if they considered themselves
comedians who do magic or magicians who do comedy they all
agreed they were magicians with comedy - even Danny who
performs mostly in comedy clubs and without magic (although
he is reintroducing magic into his act for this year's Edinburgh
Fringe.) John Archer said he finds a lot of pressure if
introduced as a comedian. John Carney explained that his
act covers both serious and comedy magic.
Phil
asked Danny if it's usual for him to find observational
comedy material in the town where he is performing. Danny
replied that he does so to make it feel that his show is
really special to each place. Comedian Michael McIntyre
is known for his research and scripts for each venue he
works
John
Archer said that the secret is to commit to new material
and not chicken out of doing it and John Carney explained
that Steve Martin would never let the audience know it was
new material as some do. Phil Butler, on the other hand,
felt that if you commit to new material and it does not
work then be honest and tell the audience. John Archer added
that it's easier to put new stuff in the middle of your
act as people like you by that time.
When
talking about scripts, Danny tended to be inspirational
with his material but with some scripted pieces while John
Carney is totally scripted and aims for sincerity in his
act. John Archer confessed to using his original sight gags
as crutches and wanted to ad lib so had some scripted set
pieces to work around. Danny told us that comedian Ross
Noble has three set pieces and he swims around those, using
them only if he needs to do so.
John
Archer talked about the inclusion of his ukelele playing.
It is something people don't expect and, in fact, is something
different that people remember him for. It's rather like
Jay Marshall, a very competent magician, is remembered for
his puppet, Lefty. John wants his audiences to like him
and was adamant that if it's not like that for you, then
you will never be as good as you can be.
Phil
Butler asked John Archer to explain his reasoning for judging
correctly about the comedy moment in his act where he kisses
his female volunteer. John explained it's not always a kiss
- sometimes he kisses on the cheek or, very obviously, the
back of his own hand while the night before he had kissed
on the lips which had greatly surprised some audience members.
He told us he can usually tell, from earlier reactions,
how the audience will take it and also from the girl's reactions
and body language while she is on stage with him. He added
that Luke Jermay has said: 'You have to realise that not
everyone is going to like you.'
Danny
worked with a guy who, at the end of his set, became Mr
Bojangles, acting it out and crying real tears. He told
Danny that when you are at your most vulnerable you become
the most powerful person in the room. John Archer agreed,
saying that he plays himself down all through his act so
that he has vulnerability to set up the flirty stuff later
on.
Chad
Long spoke about setting up a room to the best advantage
he can and will arrive early to have things moved around
to overcome the five foot space of dance floor between him
and the audience. John Archer said he hates a centre aisle
in a theatre as you tend to stand facing that in the middle
of the stage.
When asked about their warm up practices, Phil told us he
makes faces and also paces the dressing room. Danny goes
quiet while John Archer talked about Vito Lupo who advocates
getting out of breath, using press ups or running, to get
rid of some adrenaline that causes nervousness. John Carney
prefers to calm himself down and Chad just admitted always
being scared and nervous before going out to perform.
This
was the most valuable of discussions with very different
personalities who all perform magic in different ways to
different audiences. There was some great advice, well worth
taking.
The
final event of the three days was the long-awaited lecture
by Chad Long. His humour throughout the weekend, and his
amazing magic, had been evident whether on stage or off,
at any time of the day or night. Now we were about to learn
from this fine craftsman while laughing almost constantly
throughout.
He
began by talking about the early days when he worked noisy
clubs and couldn't be heard. So he devised routines that
were great visually, showing us how he would take three
pieces of flash paper and produced coins from each flare.
He explained his spaghetti trick, which was so well received
the night before, and told us of the time he had leg cramp
while performing it and no one realised his cries of pain
were real! He also showed us his card stab using a plastic
dart gun and knitted a yellow silk as an antidote to producing
one from a thumb tip as the audiences expect these days.
He
showed us a coin matrix, using a specially constructed card
utility prop and did a book test with pages rather than
a bound book. He went on to explain how he takes cards from,
apparently, inside a wall with all the subtleties needed
to do so smoothly. He loves little things that are off beat
and magical. He demonstrated his own 'penknife' routine
that uses brightly coloured flash drives with a kicker ending.
Coin in Bottle, for him, now translates to Ballbearing in
Spray Paint Canister and is easily performed impromptu in
DIY stores! He closed by telling us that doing magic is
all about the experience. He was in a hotel in Spain one
time and was walking to the pool with a deck of cards in
one hand and a phrase book in the other. He came upon three
cleaners who asked him to do a trick and they loved it,
telling him it was the most fun they had had all week. This
got him thinking how lucky he was when someone felt that
he'd made a huge impression on their lives.
He
ended by saying: 'Magic is a gift and you have the power
to give it - so give it!'
What
a fitting ending to a truly fantastic weekend!
--------------------------------------------
15. FISM 2018 Open For Registration
--------------------------------------------
Message by Joan Caesar (Canada)
FISM
in South Korea
The
2018 FISM website is now open to take reservations. It will
be continually updated with information about the convention.
Now is the time to book your reservation in order to take
advantage of the lowest fee and to be given the best seat
possible for the Gala Shows:
www.2018fismbusan.com
I
look forward to seeing you there.
--------------------------------------------
16. E-zine Archives
--------------------------------------------
Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to:
www.magicnewzealand.com click on the red button center right
"Archives"
When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order
in folders for each year and are Coded, e.g. 001 Nov06 1999.txt
first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the
date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999)
---------------------------------------------
17. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
--------------------------------------------
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