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: #1629
Date: Sunday 25th July 2021
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. Criss Angel's New Restaurant In Overton, Nevada
3. Inclusivity And Diversity In Magic Conference
4. S.A.M. National Convention Is Going Back To Las Vegas
5. Magical Women With Connie Boyd
6. Some Thoughts... John Carey #126
7. The 30th Anniversary Of KIDabra Conference
8. No Stone Unturned - Paul Stone - Article #21
9. The Orchante Saga - Beginnings
10. E-zine Archives
11. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice

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1. Editor's Message
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If you would like to read the Magic New Zealand e-zine in HTML format
go to: http://www.magicnewzealand.com/ezine-archive/2021-Jan-to-Dec-2021/1629-Jul25-2021.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. Criss Angel's New Restaurant In Overton, Nevada
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Message

Eater Las Vegas

'Mindfreak' Magician Criss Angel Gets Ready to Reveal His Cablp Restaurant in Overton, Nevada
Cablp debuts Friday with a secret room, lovers table, and pizza

After a five-week remodel, Mindfreak magician Criss Angel is ready to debut his new restaurant in Overton, Nevada, 65 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Cablp - an abbreviation for Criss Angel breakfast, lunch, and pizza - holds its grand opening on Friday, July 23.

Angel, who performs at Planet Hollywood Resort, says that during the initial not-officially-open phase, the restaurant was packed to capacity and ran out of food "During this preview, soft opening period, we were overwhelmed. We ran out of food. It's been just absolutely nuts," he says in a video tweet to fans. Angel plans to be at the restaurant when it opens.

The restaurant taking over the former Sugar's Home Plate spot plans to serve breakfast through dinner with a walk-up window and dining in options. The team stripped the interior down to the walls and cement floor to renovate. New additions include a Love Table for couples celebrating a special night and the Magic Room, which Angel says has no door and requires those who want to enter to figure out how to get in using clues.

The restaurant offers breakfast items such as Belgian waffles, French toast, pancakes, omelets, and breakfast sandwiches, while lunch features burgers, sandwiches, calzone, wraps, salads, and pizzas. Entrees such as Moapa chicken-fried steak, chicken Parmesan, and Long Island fish and chips also make the menu, along with beer, wine, and cocktails such as the Mindfreeze, concocted with vodka and one of more than 100 flavors of Italian ice.

Angel discovered the restaurant while dirt biking with his family in the Moapa Valley near Valley of Fire State Park. Angel's 7-year-old son Johnny Crisstopher was diagnosed with leukemia five years ago and Moapa Valley became a place to take him to ride the trails.

Angel teams up with his brother Costa Sarantakos and pizza maker Mike Baram. Sarantakos ran his father's New York restaurants for years while Baram owns Baldwin Pizzeria & Restaurant in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The restaurant plans to be open daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

https://vegas.eater.com/2021/7/19/22583911/mindfreak-magician-criss-angel-cablp-restaurant-opening-overton-nevada

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3. Inclusivity And Diversity In Magic Conference
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Message by Paul Draper (US)

Conference to be held virtually from August 27th through August 29th, 2021

The first annual Inclusivity and Diversity in Magic Conference will be held via Zoom from August 27 through August 29, 2021, from 3-6 pm Pacific, 6-9 pm Eastern. This year's theme is history with a special focus on women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, and magicians living with disabilities. The inaugural event is presented by the McBride Magic & Mystery School.

This year's conference leadership team consists of well-known magicians Benjamin Barnes, Christian Cagigal, Simon Carmel, Steve Longacre, Cody Clark, Paul Draper, Kayla Drescher, Felice Ling, and Dyna Brenda Staats. Together they bring extraordinary talent, decades of performance experience, numerous awards, and a heart for advocacy.

Mystery School senior faculty member Paul Draper will be available to facilitate and support a safe space that offers a platform highlighting voices that need to be heard.

For over 30 years, the McBride Magic & Mystery School has educated magicians from all around the world. The faculty of master teachers are the best in the business. The BBC described the school as the "World's most prestigious school for magicians."

"This conference is working to bring groups together to hear from each other and to show the diversity and inclusivity of representation in magic. A place where we can all gather to learn from each other, hear different perspectives, and grow," Draper said. "We must seek every opportunity to amplify the voices of those who have been historically excluded, marginalized, and underrepresented. The goal is equity and the inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives."

Some of our most anticipated talks include:

David Hirata: Walking Through the Fourth Wall: Asian Magicians in America
Dr. Shreeyash Palshikar: History of East Indian Magic and Magicians
Dr. Simon Carmel: History of Deaf Magicians - Steve Longacre: voice interpreter
Rory Rennick: Henry "Box" Brown
Mahdi Gilbert: Matthew Buchinger
Margaret Steele: The Boomskies

Magical Performances every night by amazing performers including:

Felice Ling, Martin Braessas, Naathan Phan , Luis Carreon, Steve Longacre, Nikola Arkane, Dyna Staats, Kayla Drescher, Daniel GreenWolf, Christian Cagigal, Graham Maupin, Miranda Allen, Magic Morgan & Liliana, Jay Chun, Carissa Hendrix as Lucy Darling and many more!

For more information, visit here: https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/the-first-annual-inclusivity-and-diversity-in-magic-conference-idm-con

Contact for this event: Paul Draper
Email Paul@PaulDraper.com

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4. S.A.M. National Convention Is Going Back To Las Vegas
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The S.A.M. National Convention is going back to Las Vegas, January 15-18, 2022. Limited to only 600 registrations. Arrive early for the kick-off event the evening of January 14, 2022.

https://www.magicsam.com

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5. Magical Women With Connie Boyd
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Message by Connie Boyd (USA)

Joan Dukore 2003 | the Players Network - Hocus Pocus - Talk Show Las Vegas | Blast from the Past

Joan Dukore delights hosts Fielding West and Terasa Livingstone with her cleverly scripted rope routine on Hocus Pocus for the Players Network in Las Vegas in 2003. This performance clip captures Joan at the start of a highly successful magic career. Joan DuKore has charmed audiences in Las Vegas and around the world for years. Her gift with wit for entertaining makes Joan the life of the party!

Glamorous, elegant magic with a wry twist = Joan Dukore Joan is a regular performer at the prestigious, exclusive, members only Magic Castle in Los Angeles and the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Her specialty is close up card magic and stage magic. Joan was featured on the cover of Genii Magazine in June 2021.

https://youtu.be/FdXdyAiid-U

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6. Some Thoughts... John Carey #126
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Message by John Carey (UK)
http://www.johncareymagic.co.uk/

Card magic truly is the poetry of magic as Hofzinser once said. Our literature is scattered with truly amazing work from the masters. In an age where so many ask what's new I always say look at the classics. The Vernon and Marlo material for example is timeless as is my first ever
book the Royal Road to Card Magic. I always say to students if they spent a year just focusing on mastery of that text they will be doing better work than most.

When I work on card problems I always ask myself what if? This might mean what do I want to achieve or how can I streamline the handling, make the effect meaningful for people and in turn memorable. Simon Aronson once told me there's always a trade-off. I derive a lot of satisfaction
from streamlining effects, taking out unnecessary clutter/moves hopefully without diluting impact. However, if a routine requires a difficult move and it's the best tool for the job I have no qualms with that.

Eugene Burger once said that sleight of hand is about problem solving and he was right. This is where study, discipline and focus come in. If you've diligently studied the classic texts and acquired the knowledge and the fundamental tools you can do amazing work!

You truly can't build a house without the foundations. To finish this little piece I just want to say always make your magic learning fun. Don't try to do too much too soon. Build up your knowledge and skills and get out there and amaze people and put smiles on faces. Trust me, the people will love it and your rewards will be so satisfying.

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7. The 30th Anniversary Of KIDabra Conference
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Message by Mark Daniel (US)

August 18- 21st, 2021
The Sonesta Gwinnett Place Hotel & Conference Center, Atlanta
Live, In Person and Virtual

For the first time in two years and anywhere on the globe the KIDShow World gathers and you're invited to join us in person in Atlanta or virtually from anywhere in the world.

Featuring in Person:

Christopher T Magician, Ken Scott, Barry Mitchell, Buster Balloon, Bri Crabtree, Scott Green, Niels Duinker, Yasu Ishida, Jef Eaton Wacko, David Ginn, Max Howard, Annie Banannie, Regina Martinez Peewee Morales, Lee Andrews, Chris Weed, John Reid, Glenn Strange Clark Sides, Tim Gaines, Brian Hoffman, and Christine Pynn. Plus your hosts Mark and Tami Daniel!

The KIDabra Dealers Room Welcomes

Kandu Magic/Jef Eaton, JamStone Magic/ Roy Stone, Showtime Magic featuring The Joe Leffler Tables/ Chris Weed, Cresey Magic Products/ John Reid, The Magic Dollar Store with Dave Hill, Jim Austin's Creative Connections, DRC Printing/Darren Castill, Foam Daddy/ Paul Gaona, and Michael Messing Photography (please bring your costumes and props then book a fabulous photo shoot with Michael and Tom Vorjohan!)

Don't Miss the 26th Annual KIDShow Magic Auction auctioneered by Gary Shelton, "It's a Family Thing" a special Thursday night feature event with Christopher T Magician and friends, The world premiere feature event "Flip Out" a Masterclass with uses, ideas, and unique applications of The Magic Coloring book featuring Scott Green, Buster Balloon and Christopher T Magician , The late night Balloon Jam hosted by Clark Sides and Annie Banannie, The Santa Jam hosted by Santa, The Wow Senior Show Jam with Jim Austin and Gary Shelton, and The First Ever Foam Jam with Chris Weed and Paul Gaona plus lectures, seminars, workshops, The Saturday Night Gala and the fun and friends of The KIDabra Family.

Plus, The Wednesday Optional ShowSkills Workshops featuring Lee Andrews, Yasu Ishida, Regina Martinez, and Chris Weed!

You're invited to be a part of the Kadabra family 30th Anniversary!

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8. No Stone Unturned - Paul Stone - Article #21
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Message by Paul Stone (US)

Many of the magicians and performers that I have featured over the past few months have been household names in magic, stars in their own right and, sadly, many of them are no longer with us.

This week I am featuring someone who is very much alive and thriving and who is, in my opinion, one of the best kept secrets in magic.

I'm sure some of you reading this will already know of Mike Hammer, although I suspect that more of you will not. So, for their benefit I'll tell you that Mike Hammer headlines his own one-man comedy magic show at the Four Queens Hotel & Casino on Freemont Street in downtown Las Vegas.

Mike's show is hilarious, fast moving, original and edgy, but never offensive.

Aside from a few short TV appearances, Mike has for the most part remained under the radar, even though he has now been starring in his own show for nearly ten years. This in itself is a significant achievement in a town where magic shows come and go with alarming regularity.

Obviously, like all the other shows in Las Vegas, Mike has been dark for almost a year and a half but the good news is that he has now opened once again.

The reason that Mike has been successful is that he is a talented and skilled magician but, more importantly, he is also a brilliant comedian with exceptional timing, and he works an audience as well as anyone I've ever seen.

But anyone who understands show business well will know that success rarely happens overnight. Mike has paid his dues and honed his craft over thousands of shows.

Mike was raised in Chicago and credits Eugene Burger, and Jay & Frances Marshall as important influences. He attended as many lectures at Magic Inc as possible.

Mike says that he was also heavily influenced by watching Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and Howie Mandel's visual prop comedy, and he also listened to audio tapes of Don Rickles. All this helped to shape Mike's comedic talents.

Mike joined up with close-up magician Robb Weinstock and they put together a successful double act under the name of Spike & Hammer.

They moved to Las Vegas to try to take advantage of the lucrative corporate and convention opportunities there. Mike was introduced to Johnny Thompson and Fielding West and Johnny became their magic consultant and Fielding worked on tightening up the comedy lines.

Not too long after this Mike and Robb split up and Mike once again became a solo performer.

Initially his show was scheduled for 1pm which for a Downtown venue was an impossibly tough time to perform a magic show. But Mike, being Mike, he gave it a go and often played to less than twenty people, most of whom came in for free. Mike did corporate gigs to subsidise his show at the Four Queens.

But he was determined to make it work and was able to strike a new deal with the Four Queens and move his show time to 7pm. As his popularity grew, so did his audience numbers and now he regularly fills the showroom.

On a personal note, I've been fortunate enough to see Mike's show on many occasions and I spent six months working on the show production with Mike.

His show is arguably one of the most entertaining and best value for money shows in Las Vegas and, if you are ever in town, you definitely should check him out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Mike Hammer is testimony to the fact that talent and hard work do pay off. No-one deserves his success more than he does. And he is a very likeable and modest guy which is a rare commodity in show business!

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9. The Orchante Saga - Beginnings
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Written by the late Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)

We Leave New Zealand - For Tropical Fiji

If someone had said to me that the next time I left New Zealand's shores, accompanied by my new wife, it would be many, many years (perhaps never), before we would return home, I would have laughed out loud. How could we possibly have known what fate had in store for us! Perhaps I had better start at beginning, which is usually a good place to set out. As I have mentioned previously, on several occasions, the majority of my work/ income during the Seventies was derived from performing my shows not only for small privately owned hotels, but also the various large hotel chains throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand.

It was during one of the runs down in the South Island, that I met 'Eric'. He was the managing this particular hotel - I've forgotten the name of it now, but it was one of those rather
expensive touristy type hotels down in Te Anau or Queenstown - somewhere like that. We hit it off big time, Eric and I and, whenever I rang to say that I was heading his way, he always managed to find me a week or so, to put on my show at the hotel. It was during December of 1975, when I was again 'doing my thing' at Eric's hotel that he informed me that the company who owned the hotel had asked him if he would consider taking over the management of a beach resort/hotel in Fiji. Eric told me that it took him all of two seconds, considering, before he said, "OK". Well you would, wouldn't you!

Eric was adamant that as soon he was settled in Fiji, he wanted us to pack up and fly over and join him at the hotel, making it our permanent home. He was going to pool together all the other
hotels in the chain on Fiji, including others on the 'mainland', and those that were on different smaller islands of the Fijian group. Many of these were privately owned - catering for the very
rich; exclusive and very expensive sun-drenched 'Islands in Paradise', perfect 'Treasures of Tranquility', for those who could afford it; the playgrounds of internationally famous film
stars etc, who wish to vanish from the eyes of the public and the invasive press for a few weeks. The idea was that we would have regular, nonstop employment for years to come.

As I write this, I glance out of the window of the office/spare bedroom of our home here in England, then stare out at the snow - filled clouds, the heavy white frost that carpets the road,
footpath and grass outside. The temperature outside is minus something bloody awful on this freezing winter's day of January, Friday 10th 2003; ( now April 2007 - the sun is out and very
wonderful, heady days when I was traipsing all over the South Pacific, and say out loud -
"What the hell am I doing here"; then, with a wee tear in my eye, start thinking about the 'Why's and How's', it all went down a different road.

What makes it even worse is that the mail has just arrived, and amongst the usual 'Get Rich Quick' crap is a manila envelope. It is from Alan Watson, with a copy of Michael Woolf's 'MAGICANA', New Zealand's International Magazine for Magicians, Volume 49 - Number 298. Among others, it contains a wonderful (pardon my blushes), article that Richard Webster has written about our recent 'Lifetime Achievement Award, which he personally presented to us here at our home.

On the back cover of the magazine are several photographs of Alan Watson and his family (on a working holiday), performing in Port Vila, one of the islands of the Vanuatu (New Hebrides) group, not all that far, relatively speaking, from New Caledonia or Fiji. Those photographs bring back so many memories for me; I was running around and performing on all those islands in the
sixties, and there sure wasn't the luxury such as the 'Waterfront Bar & Grill' in Port Vila, back then. In those days it was a lot more primitive. Gilbert Thong, my old friend and promoter from Noumea, in New Caledonia, used to cart me off to many of those far flung islands to work my 2½ hour stage show, not just in picture theatre/halls, but also in tiny remote villages, many off the beaten track.

I wasn't just doing sleight of hand magic (I've never been a boxes, tubes and 'push the buttons' man), but also a mime act, ventriloquism, hypnotism and the fakir act - Fire-Eating, the
Beds of Nails and Sword Swallowing. The 'Psychic Surgery' ('String Thing') wasn't in the act in those days, which is probably just as well, the natives would, more than likely have cut me open to see what else they could pull out, and thrown 'IT' as well as the rest of me, into the communal cooking pot. Joking aside, there is no doubt that primeval fear of the unknown can have disastrous consequences!

To be continued …
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10. 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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11. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
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Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday.

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