Magic New Zealand® E-zine

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* Magic New Zealand®
* Proudly sponsored by International Entertainment Ltd (New Zealand)
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Issue Number: #1438
Date: Sunday 1st April 2018
Editor: Alan Watson QSM
www.watson.co.nz
E-mail: editor@magicnewzealand.com
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Hi here is the latest news
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1. Editor's Message
2. 100 Years Ago - Chung Ling Soo
3. March Linking Ring Highlights
4. The Magic Word Podcast - Nate Staniforth
5. Magician Dynamo Opens Up About Crohn's Struggle
6. Seeing Through the Eyes of Another - #481 - Kyle Peron
7. The Magic & Comedy Festival in Sweden
8. Potter & Potter Actions
9. Pre-FISM Tour of South Korea
10. FISM Korea 2018
11. E-zine Archives
12. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice

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1. Editor's Message
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The highlight of the week for Michele and I was seeing an Auckland Arts Festival show 'The Naked Samoans Do Magic', with the magic pieces directed and coached by our dear friend Ross Skiffington, brought over from Melbourne, Australia as consultant and director of magic. The six Samoan actors, for example, were taught back-palming a card and drummed into the secrecy of magic, the discipline and practice, practice, practice. It was a wonderful comedic performance with these Samoans laughing at themselves with lots of magic throughout the storyline. Congratulations also to Anton van Helden from Wellington, who suggested routines and props and organized them all.

If you would like to read the Magic New Zealand e-zine in a HTML format
go to: http://www.magicnewzealand.com/ezine-archive/2018-Jan-to-Dec-2018/1438-Apr01-2018.html

If you would like to write a regular column for Magic New Zealand or
have some magic news drop me a line:
Editor@MagicNewZealand.com

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2. 100 Years Ago - Chung Ling Soo
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Article forward on by Mel Kientz

Double life of 'marvelous Chinese conjurer' who died on-stage and hid his real identity

It's 100 years ago today since the magician known as Chung Ling Soo was fatally wounded during a bullet-catching trick but his greatest illusion turned out to be the one concerning his true identity.

By Jane Warren

The bullets were selected in full view of the audience. Loaded into the muzzle of two guns they were then fired directly at the magician's head. The idea was that the master Chinese illusionist would miraculously catch them in his teeth before dropping them into a bowl where they would rattle together in a death-defying flourish.

When examined, the bullets would be shown to have marks identical to those that had been inspected on stage.

But in London on March 23, 1918 - 100 years ago today- something went terribly wrong as Chung Ling Soo, the man known as the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer" performed "Defying the Bullets", the signature act he had been perfecting for decades during a high-profile date on his nationwide tour of the UK.

The rifles were loaded by assistants who pointed the muzzles at the magician and took aim. The command to fire was given, the sound of two shots was heard but instead of "catching" the bullets in a bravura display of magical daring, Chung Ling Soo - an inspiration to our very own Paul Daniels who once wrote a book about him - collapsed on to the stage at the Wood Green Empire.

"My God, I've been shot. Lower the curtain."
- Chung Ling Soo

Blood was pouring out of his chest and unfortunately it was the real stuff, not stage blood.

"My God, I've been shot. Lower the curtain," he declared in perfect English. The following day the greatest conjurer of the age, a magician who claimed to have performed for the Emperor of China, was dead.

And there his story could have ended. A daring trick that went wrong with fatal consequences, a reminder of the risks and dangers of performing edgy magic, and a police investigation that would lead to a verdict of misadventure.

But with Chung Ling Soo nothing was ever as it seemed and in the months after his death the truth of a life every bit as mind bending as the illusions with which he dazzled the world began to emerge.

Speculation was rife. Had he been bumped off by the Chinese mafia, furious that the secrets of the Orient were being revealed? Was it a crime of passion? The clue, as it turned out, was all in that voice…

Chung Ling Soo was famous in a pre-television age when minstrel and variety shows were enormously popular at theatres. Together with his friend Harry Houdini, Soo was a star of the new entertainment known as vaudeville, the David Copperfield of his day.

However, unlike Copperfield, who now owns the gun that killed him, much was made of the exotic nature of Soo's background. He dressed in robes, wore his hair in a long plait and rarely spoke. When he did it was in broken English, as he thanked his audiences with such words as, "Much glad".

This Oriental image was enormously appealing to the Victorians who were equally bewitched by Soo's tiny female Chinese assistant Suee Seen whom he would produce from a boiling cauldron or conjure from an empty cage.

Chung Ling Soo claimed that he was born half-Chinese after his Scottish father married a Cantonese woman but after his death it became clear that Chung Ling Soo's greatest illusion was the one he had woven around his own identity.

Initially it appeared that far from being half Chinese, he was in fact a 56-year-old American named William Ellsworth Robinson who had learned his trade as a humble magician's assistant in Brooklyn, New York, and that the carefully cultivated Far Eastern detail was little more than an alluring fabrication designed to boost ticket sales.

This would explain why the magician's manager William Robinson disappeared on the night that Chung Ling Soo was shot. They were one and the same person. When not in costume, Robinson was busily taking bookings and managing the career of his alter-ego.

As for his Chinese assistant, she was really his English wife Olive "Dot" Robinson. But then it emerged that even these biographical facts were untrue with news that both Robinson's parents were actually Scottish, he was actually called William "Billy" Campbell and there was not a Chinese bone in his body. Neither was Dot his legal wife.

Billy Campbell was in fact a bigamist who had abandoned his wife Bessie Smith in the US before marrying Dot. After he died it was revealed that he also had three children with a subsequent mistress, Janet Blatchford, who lived in Barnes, London.

So, was his death foul play? "There is still speculation he engineered his own demise, perhaps because he was in debt," says Adam Koplan, a theatre director whose 2005 play The Mystery of Chung Ling Soo appeared on the Edinburgh Fringe. "Then there was his tangled love life: he and his wife had split up, although they maintained the illusion of being together."

So, just what led to all this deception? Born on April 2, 1861 in New York, Campbell worked as an assistant to Harry Kellar, one of the 19th century's greatest magicians, who was said to have been the model for Frank L Baum's The Wizard Of Oz.

He dreamed of having his own stage show but unlike the suave Kellar he found it impossible to talk with confidence on stage and realised that unless he came up with a plan he would forever remain a lowly assistant.

Aware of the huge success being enjoyed in the US by a Chinese magician called Chung Ling Foo, he decided to steal Foo's act.

At a stroke this removed the necessity to talk on stage. Billing himself as Chung Ling Soo he became such a success that when Foo later attempted to bring his show to Europe he had to deal with accusations of being a fake.

And this wasn't the first identity Campbell had stolen. After unsuccessfully attempting to find fame as Robinson, The Man Of Mystery, he had performed for a time as Achmed Ben Ali - a derivation of Ben Ali Bey, the stage name of German magician Max Auzinger. The deception did not emerge until after Campbell's death because Auzinger never toured the US.

"The idea of living a life that is this wonderful, beautiful trick that becomes both your real and your stage persona fascinates me," admits Koplan.

And as to what killed Billy Campbell, bigamist and identity thief, it seems most likely that a residue of gunpowder in the rifle used on that fateful night set off the real bullet as well as the blank charge in the modified gun.

A rather prosaic end for a man of mystery and magic.

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3. March Linking Ring Highlights
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Message by Dennis Schick, USA

The cover story of the March 2018 issue of The Linking Ring, the monthly publication of the world's largest magic membership organization -- the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the I.B.M. -- is Kyle Jarrard, from Atlanta, Georgia. Once featured in The Linking Ring as a "Rising Star," (2005), this is an update about how he has developed into an in-demand professional educator and entertainer. As a double bonus, he (1) shares seven tips for magicians he has learned from his successful career, and (2) writes a Hocus Pocus Parade for March, bringing us four of his original effects.

Randy Vanderwal gives the rest of us a preview of what we can look forward to in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the site of the I.B.M. Annual Convention, July 4-7, 2018. Many I.B.M. members treat the annual convention as their family vacation. Read about why YOU and your family need to be in Grand Rapids.

Other feature stories in the March issue include: a report on the Mid-year I.B.M. Board meeting (including the announcement of giving a Lifetime Achievement Award to Criss Angel); a tribute to Charles Windley - who died December 16, 2017 - by Robert Baxt; "Magic in his Lifetime," by David Meyer, about writing and publishing magic books; "When the Magic Becomes Real," by Kyle Peron; a first-hand review of the last "The Workshop: 2017" by Stu Lewis (the David Sandy hands-on magic gathering like no other; followed by "The Workshop: The History," by David Sandy; and minutes of the Board of Trustees Midyear Meeting.

The Linking Ring has some of the best columnists in the World of Magic. Columns in March include Bev Bergeron's Cutting Up Jackpots ("School Shows of Old, Part Two"); Carlos Adriano's Connecting With Kids ("The Ideal Kids' Magician"); Scott Humston's 2-Minute Tips ( "Introductions"); Skip Way's Polishing The Rings ("Keep the Wonder"); Scott Hood's The Therapy Of Magic ("Here's to all volunteers…."); Kent Cummins' Marketing Magic ("Picture This: Artwork for Magicians"); Dr. Lynn Miner's Magic Words Matter ("Clip File Themes, Verbs, and Phrases."); Craig Beytien's Petite Magia ("Building Plans for the Table-Top Wizard"); Mike Powers' The Card Corner ("Predication," by Michael Kaminskas); Andrew Woo's Simple Diversions ("Tempting Fortune"); Michael Breggar's Auto-Magic ("The Thing..."); and Dr. Lynn Miner's Ring Resources ("Fiscal Resources -- Expense Considerations").

Kevin Casaretto, from Australia, brings us a One-Man Parade, with a whopping fifteen effects. the Hocus In Focus includes reviews of nine new magic books, DVDs and tricks. The Broken Wand pays tribute to ten magicians who have died. And fifty-nine Rings sent in Ring Reports. Be sure to read these to get ideas for your magic club.

The Linking Ring is one of the benefits of being a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.). It is available each month in hard copy and on the Internet as a digital edition, or a downloadable PDF.

For more information go to www.magician.org.

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4. The Magic Word Podcast - Nate Staniforth
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Message by Scott Wells, M.I.M.C. with Gold Star

Nate Staniforth may not be a name that readily comes to mind when it comes to well-known professional magicians. But perhaps that's because he is one of the workers who is busy performing and earning money for his family and himself rather than marketing to magicians and being on the convention and lecture circuit. For his young years, Nate has had a successful career performing on the U.S. college circuit and now tours the U.S. with his theater show. Some of you may know him from his Lottery Illusion which has stirred debate on many magic forums.

But in order to find his path, Nate has followed a journey of introspection that led him to India where he rekindled the mystery he had as a youth and he now puts into every one of his shows. He put this all down in a new book published by Bloomsbury Publishing House (the same one that published the Harry Potter books) entitled, "This Is Real Magic". It is not a journal or memoire of his trip but an introspection of his soul search for real mystery.

In this week's podcast, we talk with Nate about that search and along the way we all learn more about real magic and how to share it. I think this episode may soon become one of my top ten podcasts from the past five years and I know you'll love and learn from it, too.

You can watch a few videos of Nate, read the blog, see some photos, get a link to enter the contest, listen to the podcast online, and download the MP3 file at: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/414-nate-staniforth

Don't forget to visit The Magic Word Podcast website to enter the contest this week and sign up for a chance to win one of three copies of "The Is Real Magic" offered by the publisher. Unfortunately, this contest is only open to U.S. residents. But if you reside outside the U.S. (or even if you are a U.S. resident) you can order a copy through the Amazon.com link on the website which will also help support The Magic Word through our affiliate program with Amazon.

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5. Magician Dynamo Opens Up About Crohn's Struggle
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Article forwarded on by Peter McKay (UK)

BBC News

Dynamo, whose real name is Steven Frayne, posted a video on his social media accounts explaining he became "really sick" in 2017. Frayne said his medication regime since then has caused him to "put on quite a lot of body weight" and develop a rash.

He said he is also unable to shuffle cards because his hands are in "so much pain" due to developing arthritis.

Frayne also thanked people for their "kind support," following a selfie he posted online on Monday evening showing the change in his appearance, including the extent of the rash on his head.

"I've been keeping a bit more of a low profile as I got really sick and ended up in hospital last summer due to a really bad type of food poisoning - which having Crohn's disease and food poisoning very bad combination," he said in the video.

"Thankfully the NHS worked amazingly well to get me out of hospital and back on my feet... I'm doing everything in my power to get myself better."

For the balance of the article go to:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43554315

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6. Seeing Through The Eyes Of Another - #481 - Kyle Peron
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Message by Kyle Peron (US)
magic4u02@aol.com
KyleKellyMagic@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/perondesign
http://www.kpmagicproducts.com

Do you recall the moment when the magic bug bit? No, it is not really an insect and it certainly does not bite anyone. However, it represents that moment in time when you knew that magic was not something you "wanted" to do but rather something you "had" to do.

Do you recall where you were? Do you remember what you were watching or who was on the stage? Do you remember the feelings you had at that very moment in time? Chances are you probably do. If you are like me, it probably puts a smile on your face every time. It is that moment we become true fans of the art of magic.

I recall the exact moment it happened for me, but that is not what this article is all about. Rather it is about how we tend to lose that passion over the years and how we can be blind to the wonderment of it all. It is about how we forget what it was like the first moment magic ever meant anything to us. How it made us feel inside.

So why do we lose this passion and desire? Well one can say we get accustomed to it. The more we do magic the more we tend to take it all for granted. The passion sometimes takes a back seat to the realization that we must bring in money to pay the bills. The desire is sometimes lost because we spend so much time trying to fool fellow magicians instead of entertaining audiences. The reasons are as vast as the magic effects we love so much.

But the other day the passion and wonderment of this art form came back to me like a flood. It was as if the gates opened up and I could see through the eyes of that young child long ago who fell in love with magic. All the emotions and all the joy were right there again as if it had just happened.

The amazing thing about all of this is that it was not anything I really did. In fact, it was finding that passion through the eyes of another. That other person was my wife Kelly. Kelly and I have been magical partners for years now performing vast numbers of shows every year. We enjoy it and the roles we play in each performance.

Several months ago, Kelly decided to begin the journey of developing, creating and performing her first ever solo show for the day care market. As a day care teacher herself, we both felt she would be a natural at it. Watching her go through the process was an amazing and enlightening experience for me.

We worked together to develop a character and style independent of me and tuned to herself. We developed routines and effects that highlighted her desire and love for storytelling. As I saw her go through the process, the smile on my face grew and grew. I wasn't really sure why I was feeling this way at first until one day it all became clear. I was seeing magic all over again through her eyes.

The more she laughed the more I laughed with her. The more she smiled the more I smiled. When she had passion for learning a new effect, I too felt that same passion. I could literally see the joy and wonderment of our art simply by watching her experience it herself.

It is so easy for us to forget the passion we once had. It is so easy to lose that love we had when that magic bug first bit. No matter how many years we end up performing magic, we must never lose sight of what it was like for us that very first time. That desire needs to transcend into every performance we do.

I am not sure if the magic bug can ever bite someone more than once, but if it can, I think it took a big chunk out of me again.

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 KyleKellyMagic@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you.

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7. The Magic & Comedy Festival in Sweden
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Message from Tom Stone (Sweden)

For the fourth year, the Uppsala Magic and Comedy festival will happen. Ten days with magic and humor, in the town Uppsala slightly north of Stockholm in Sweden. Started as a work of passion by Johan Stahl in 2014, then just for a weekend. It has since then grown into an eleven-day long experience, from April 20 to April 30.

It is well worth a visit for anyone who happens to be in northern Europe in April.

The website is in Swedish, but you can use Google Translate to read it.
http://uppsalamagicandcomedy.se/

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8. Potter & Potter Actions
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Catalog now online - Entertainment Memorabilia

Our April 7th auction features hundreds of movie posters, signed photographs & autographs, costumes, props, and personal relics of Garbo, Hendrix, Elvis, and more. The selections span from the time of vaudeville to the present.

New for 2018!
Now you can bid live, online (with a 20% buyer's premium), at potterauctions.com.

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9. Pre-FISM Tour of South Korea
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Message by Joan Caesar (Canada)

Cost each with 8 people is $1,375 for 7 days.

If interested please contact Joan Caesar JCaesar@sentex.ca

Day 1: Visit of Haeinsa temple
Saturday, 30 June 2018
Haeinsa
The Gayasan park is well-known for its historical sites and landscapes, and especially for the Haiensa temple. Visit the temple. After the visit, spend the night in the temple.

Day 2: End of the temple stay and road to Andong
Sunday, 1 July 2018
Andong
The temple stay experience ends around 12 noon
Then you will take the road to Andong and rest in the afternoon.

Day 3: Visit of Andong
Monday, 2 July 2018
Andong
Andong is the ancestral, spiritual and traditional capital of South Korea because of its Confucian traditions during the Joseon era. There, you will find many relics dating back to the Joseon dynasty, such as the magnificent Confucian school and a typical village of that time. You will visit the Byeongsanseowon Confucian School. You will visit the Hahoe village, the Hahoedong Mask Museum and the Byeongsanseowon Confucian school.

Day 4: Road to Gyeongju
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Gyeongju
Located in the Gyeongsangbuk Do region, Gyeongju was the capital city of the Silla Kingdom and one of the oldest historical cities in the world. It is a major spot for Korea's culture and heritage today, as well as a UNESCO listed site. You will take the road in the morning to Gyeongju. Visit Tumuli Park which houses numerous royal tombs, visit the
Cheonmachong tomb (the flying horse tomb), Cheongseongdae Observatory and the Anapji pond. Night in a Hanok. (a traditional Korean house)

Day 5: Visit of cultural sites (UNESCO) in Gyeongju
Wednesday, 4 July 2018
Gyeongju
Take a trip to some of Gyeongju's historical sites: The National Museum, Tumulus Park, and the Royal Tombs of Daereungwon. Enjoy a visit of the Bulguksa palace (built in 528) and the Buddhist cave in Seokguram, national treasures registered on the UNESCO world heritage. You can go there on foot or with bicycles. Night in a Hanok.

Day 6: Day at the Namsan Mount and Gogulsa temple
Thursday, 5 July 2018
Gyeongju
Considered as a Sacred site during the Silla Dynasty, the Namsan Mount is full of mysteries, temples and sanctuaries. It is a real open-air museum with 100 temples, 80 Buddha stone-statues and 60 pagodas. You will enjoy quaint landscapes. In the afternoon, visit of Gogulksa temple and a stop to the Yangdong village.

Day 7: Busan
Friday, 6 July 2018
Busan
The second Korean city and the first harbour of the country. Busan is considered a dynamic city with big shops, luxurious restaurants, parks and beautiful beaches. Highlights:
* Visit its beaches: Haeundae beach and Gwangalli beach.
* The city centre, the Yongdusan park and the Busan tower will give you a panoramic view of Busan.
* The Yonggungsa temple (built on the side of a cliff: unique)
* Busan and its impressive Jagalchi fish market which show the riches of its sea and harbour.

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10. FISM Korea 2018
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For the latest news on FISM Korea go to:

http://www.2018fismbusan.com/list.php?bbs_id=main_eng&cntry=_eng

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E-zine Archives
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Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e- zine go to:
www.magicnewzealand.com click on the red button centre 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)

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Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
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