* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Zealand's MagicNZ e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #59 Date: Sunday 4th February 2001 Editor: Alan Watson www.magician.co.nz www.alan-watson.com e-mail alan@watson.co.nz ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editors Message 2. British conjuring hero casts spell over Hollywood 3. Pick A Card, Any Card 4. Extremely good magic production 5. "Electric deck" discussion 6. Expanding on the Stapled Deck 7. "SCAM" convention 8. Celebrate the life of Fred Catiller 9. Reply to Clive Court 10. Reply to Bev Bergeron - Record Pantomime act (MIME) 11. Irish Convention Update 12. Cyclone illusion for sale 13. The Orchante Saga #15 14. Diarise these events 15. MagicNZ e-zine archives 16. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- 1. Editors Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Just completed a new website for the Rainbow Wizard www.alan-watson.com a character I utilise at Rainbows End Leisure Park. I am back at Rainbows End performing on the main stage every weekend until Easter. The show features illusions and the park characters. Lance Babich (Lollipop the Magic Clown) is now back at home after recovering from a serious illness amoebic mengacoccal septacaemia meningitis. Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: alan@watson.co.nz ---------------------------------- 2. British conjuring hero casts spell over Hollywood ---------------------------------- Message from Reilly G (US) LONDON (Reuters) - A British magician whose daring illusions tricked the Nazis and saved countless lives in World War Two is to be immortalised in a Hollywood film starring Tom Cruise. Jasper Maskelyne, a music hall conjurer, never fired a shot in battle, but his amazing feats played a key role in the Allied victory in Africa. Among his many triumphs, Maskelyne "hid" the Suez Canal and conjured up illusions of armies and battleships, fooling German forces led by General Erwin Rommel into retreat. Paramount Pictures announced this week it was planning a film about Maskelyne based on the book "The War Magician" by American author David Fisher. The grandson of John Nevil Maskelyne, one of the founding fathers of British magic, Maskelyne was a celebrated stage magician before the war. Convinced he could use his skills to help the army, Maskelyne wooed sceptical officials by creating the illusion of a German warship floating down the Thames using mirrors and a model. He was placed in charge of the Royal Engineers Camouflage Corps and sent to Egypt where he performed some genuine mission impossibles. Asked to prevent the Germans from bombing Alexandria Harbour, the conjurer redirected the bombers by recreating the harbour's exact lighting pattern three miles away. He "vanished" the Suez Canal by building a series of spinning strobe lights to put pilots off their bearings. Maskelyne's greatest triumph came in 1942 when he successfully convinced Rommel that the British Eighth Army was in the south of the Egyptian desert and that the Alamein attack would begin there rather than in the north. Although praised privately by Churchill and hunted by Hitler, Maskelyne ended his days in relative obscurity as a farmer in Kenya. The Magic Circle, the British association of magicians and illusionists, welcomed news of the film. "It's wonderful -- anything about magicians is a good thing and this man came from a wonderful magic dynasty," Magic Circle press officer Jack Devlin told Reuters. http://www.RileyG.com/index1.htm ------------------------------------- 3. Pick A Card, Any Card ------------------------------------- Message from Peter Marucci (Canada) Much of the best magic is built on what has gone before. A problem is posed; someone offers a solution; someone else changes it to make it easier; someone else changes it again to make it more natural. Eventually, the effect spreads through the magic community and people who weren't even aware of the original idea make their changes, alterations, and improvements -- although, as Al Baker used to say, sometimes "they improved it worse." I hope that's not the case with this offering, an idea by Petrick that I first came across in Genii magazine some years ago. More recently, Petrick offered it in MUM. I liked the concept but dropped it over the years because I found the handling a bit too "fiddly" and the angles were awkward for much of the kind of work I do. However, when I came across it again recently, I started playing around with it and came up with a different handling. It's more to my liking and I hope you might like it, too. I call it, with brilliant originality: Pick A Card, Any Card Effect: The magician whips out his ever-present deck of cards and asks a spectator to "pick a card, any card." However, she has little choice because there is one jumbo card in the regular-sized deck that the magician keeps pushing in front of her. Finally the spectator takes the jumbo card, looks at it and returns it to the deck -- anywhere she wishes. The magi says he'll cut the deck to her card -- and does so, to no one's surprise. However, he then points out that the card next to the jumbo is a match -- even though the spectator put the jumbo back in the deck at a place of her choosing. Working and Presentation: You'll need a regular deck of cards and a jumbo with a matching back. I use a face card for easier identification -- in the case the Jack of Clubs. Put the jumbo about the middle of the deck and the matching Jack of Clubs on the bottom. Fan the deck face down and ask your victim to "pick a card, any card," while you are shoving the jumbo into her hand every time she reaches for the deck. Eventually, if this is done in good humor, she will take the jumbo. (If she absolutely refuses, please don't make a big deal out of it; let her take any card and go on with another trick, then return with the jumbo to a more co-operative spectator.) Ask her to remember her card and show it to the rest of the audience -- but be very careful not to let you see it. This is all done with an absolutely straight face, as if the card were completely normal. Ask the spectator to replace the card anywhere in the deck -- and be sure that she understands she can put it anywhere she wants; this is critical! Hold the deck in a right-hand Biddle grip and take small packets off the top with the left, as in the Hindu shuffle. Tell her to say "stop" when she wants to replace the card. When she puts it on the left-hand stack, drop the cards in the right hand on top; this puts the regular Jack on top of the jumbo. Square the deck and put it on the table face up. Do not try to shuffle the deck -- the spectator must not think you did anything to the cards after she replaced the jumbo. "Your card is now hopelessly lost in the deck," you tell her, "and yet, with my mystical powers, I am able to cut the deck exactly at your card." Remove the cards above the jumbo, to no reaction whatsoever from the audience. "I sense that you are not impressed with this feat of magical prowess. But remember, you chose a card and replaced it in the deck at a spot of your choosing -- I repeat: you, and you alone, decided where the card would be returned to in the deck. So, would you please pick up the big card (for the first time, you suggest that something might be different about the chosen card)." As she does so, you continue: "And you will notice that, by some miracle, even though you had a free choice, you put your big card right next to the matching, normal-sized card." Take your bow and go into some other card miracles or, if you're smart, leave. Second Thoughts: This is not meant to be an improvement on Petrick's original handling, simply something that works better for me under the conditions I am faced with. Petrick's concept, or course, is loaded with opportunities for comedy and humor -- but, please: at your expense, not at the expense of the volunteer. Remember, people who volunteer to help you in your act are doing you a favor, not vice versa; so treat them as you would a guest in your home. This works better as an opener than on its own or a closer, because you should then continue on with some "real" magic that will knock their little socks off. However, you can be almost certain that, if they only remember one thing from your close-up act, it will be the nonsense with the jumbo card. That's just the way it goes. ---------------------------------- 4. Extremely good magic production ---------------------------------- Message from Tom Craven (US) I had the pleasure last night to watch an extremely good magic production. It was a local event. The three magicians were: Trent Rapp, Jose Colon, and Scott Gonda. 2 hours of great magic and fun. The lay audience absolutely loved it, and were asking when the next show would be produced. A lot of them were asking how to be put on a mailing list to be informed of future events. The three performers mentioned are local magicians in Ring 2. I was proud to be known as part of that Ring last night. These guys rented a small theater (seating about 225) and took a big risk financially to put this on. There are more of these planned in the near future. Unfortunately, NZ is a long way from Youngstown, Ohio, so I don't expect to see any of you there! It goes to show all of us however, there is good magic happening on some of the local levels! ------------------------------------- 5. "Electric deck" discussion ------------------------------------- Message from BJ Hickman A comment in case you want to include it in next issue on "electric deck" discussion. Regarding "electric deck" discussion: I have been using a home made version of electric deck for years (maybe 25). They last about six months with regular use. Details and construction is from one of David Ginn's early lectures. He later published it in his book, Kidbiz (1982). I make mine a little different based on how I use it but the idea for me came from David. I use it to this day almost every day. For the right audience, "Niagara Falls with a deck of cards...Niagara Falls in the winter, FROZEN!" Then there are a couple of other bits, string them around your neck, "I'm a clown!" Spring them from one hand to the other, "Look, a slinky made out of cards!" Then, pose with them strung from one hand to the other, "This is a great pose for pictures!" It's surprising how many people get the cue as you see the flashes go off. I think the "store bought" electric decks can be used more to look like magic or expert card manipulation. Construction on those is less detectable. Because of their construction, different bits can be done than it's homemade cousin. I thought I would add my two cents on the discussion. ------------------------------------- 6. Expanding on the Stapled Deck ------------------------------------- Message from Wayne Rogers (NZ) I first saw David Ginn perform the stapled version of the electric deck in Auckland on his first visit here some years ago. It occurred to me at the time it was worth more than a quick gag, and I devised a routine using two decks of different colours. The stapled deck was constructed to reveal a card by shooting it out from the centre of the deck. Staple the deck in two equal sections. You require less than a full deck to get the right thickness due to the staples. Glue a regular card on top to hide the first staple. Tape the two half decks together so that they hinge open at the middle. Punch a hole in each of the centre cards, and run a length of fine nylon through the holes and secure with sticky tape to the cards above and below the hole cards. You need to adjust the length of nylon so a card can be inserted fully into the centre of the deck. Hold the deck at the short ends and release the bottom half of the hinged deck, then release the top section. Both sections are allowed to cascade straight down to the table top in a quick flourish. The action of the deck expanding as it drops, pulls the nylon tight for a moment, and the card inserted into the centre is pushed out. It takes a bit of a knack to make it work. Sometimes the card will just shoot out half way, and sometimes it will pop right out onto the table. It's a cute reveal . . . now how to use it. First the card that shoots out will have to be shortened a little. Take this card from a contrasting colour deck. Get a duplicate of this card and make a peek card by gluing it to the back of another card. You'll find this described in several magic books. Page 117 of Magicians Magic by Paul Curry for example. Lay out the two decks and magicians force the non-stapled deck. Force the peek card using the Criss-Cross force or something simple. Have it peeked at, and remembered. Shuffle the cards and command the forced card to leave the deck. Deal the cards face up on the table and the force card (glued to the back of another card) will appear to have vanished. Amazing. Open the other (stapled) deck and give the flourish described earlier. The "missing" card will pop out of the deck. Another miracle! Alternatively, trim one of your business cards and place that into the special deck. When asked for a card remove the whole deck. Make a flourish and you business card pops out into the client's hand. You've got yourself another job! http://www.nzmagic.com ------------------------------------- 7. "SCAM" convention ------------------------------------- Message from Michael Bairefoot I just got back from the "SCAM" convention. It was held in Columbia SC on January 19-20. John Tudor and Ring 105 have turned this one day convention into two day now. This could turn into a good decision in the long run. Before I get started I would like to personally thank Mr. Bobby Jonte and Tony Metze for being so nice to everyone even me. My brother Brad Bairefoot told me to tell everyone that he is sorry that he had to miss this year's convention. He had to do his shows in Florida where he is now also doing his chemistry work. If anyone is trying to reach him his email address is: countfoot@aol.com. We had lectures form Chad Long, Jay Sankey , Lee Asher, and Charles Pecor (if I missed spelled that please forgive me.) All the lectures gave great advice on theatre and the ins and outs of close-up magic. My favorite of course is Mr. Chad Long. His close-up performance and lectures are great! You need to see him if you ever get a chance. The highlight of Friday is the Renegade Contest that is held at 11:30 p.m. This is the second year that SCAM has had this contest. It is very funny. They want far out and edgy material? Well, that is what they tell the contestants. Then the audience picks the winner. The audience does not know that they are judging for the most edgy and alternative acts. So in turn they have picked a regular magic act for the winner the past two years in a row. I competed in this contest doing my new blow doll routine. The Linking Ring writer Frank Furkey loved it. And some others did too. It's a great contest! The only suggestion is to make the audience more aware of the rules and requirements. Local magician Mick Ayers got SCAM magician of the year. He is from our Ring 334. Congratulations. I guess I am going to have to learn how to play musical instruments too. (I will do almost any thing as long as it helps!) Again, congratulations. Finally, the All Star Sat. Night Gala Show. This was held at the Township Auditorium. The highlights of the show was Mr. Electric. This man showed why he has been able to do the same act for over 50 years and still get paid. He is great. Also, the Fettucini Brothers. These two guys are jugglers and they rocked the house. This to me was the best part of the show. Oh, I almost forgot the emcee Mark Merchant was great! ------------------------------------- 8. Celebrate the life of Fred Catiller ------------------------------------- Message from Tom Prior (US) Dear friend of Fred's; A memorial service to celebrate the life of Fred Catiller will be held on Thursday, February 1, 2001 at 7:00 PM at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church. 11345 Miller Rd., Whittier, Ca. (562) 944-1148. Feel free to call me with any questions or for an e-mail map. Tom Prior (714) 779-7504 (Priortom@aol.com) ------------------------------------- 9. Reply to Clive Court ------------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Hello Clive - I remember 1964 -65 well, I was busy working Noumea, Fiji, Tahiti, then back to Auckland for the Christmas Season. I remember your name from that time. What a coincidence - I received a letter two days ago from my friend Trevor King, who mentioned Don Linden. I gave Trevor a call, and he said that Don was working part-time on 'Pacific Radio, Auckland' and was also managing a hotel in Auckland somewhere. You were talking about being busy with shows during the Christmas season. Most of the top Auckland entertainers work several shows night and day, during that period - it was rather frantic! The Restaurant you were referring to was either 'The Colony', the 'Montmartre', the 'Shiralee' or the 'White Lady' (if you felt like slumming). ------------------------------------- 10. Reply to Bev Bergeron - Record Pantomime act (MIME) ------------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Thank you very much for that interesting history regarding the Mime act. I am assuming that the Jerry Van Dyke you referred to is the brother to Dick Van Dyke. I'm curious about the young black man, Uncle Willie, and his routine to the music of 'Mule Train'. Would you be kind enough to explain the routine more fully? I will be explaining more about my mime act in next week's e-zine. ------------------------------------- 11. Irish Convention Update ------------------------------------- Message from Blair Wallace (Ireland) - Wizblair@aol.com There is some good news about the Convention HQ Hotel prices. The Clandeboye Lodge have agreed to a further reduction for Conventioneers who stay more than the one night! 1 night rate £70.00 Twin/Double £62.50 Single 2 or more nights price per night (including the first night) reduces to: £59.50 Twin/Double £53.50 Single And remember all prices include the good old Irish Breakfast to set you up for a really full day of 'magicing'!! Remember the dates May (4th) 5th and 6th 2001 and there will be more news in the not too distant future! ---------------------------------- 12. Cyclone illusion for sale ---------------------------------- Message from Sam Powers (Aust) Magician or assistant passes through the hole of a CD. Check out pics and enquiries at www.sampowers.com.au" ---------------------------------- 13. The Orchante Saga #15 ---------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) The Sixties What a decade! Ten years of discovery - knowledge - experience, and fun. My first Theatrical Agent was a lovely Scotswoman - Mary Throll - who was a singer in her own right. She owned Fuller's Entertainment Agency, which was the main Agency for artistes in Auckland. I haven't seen or spoken to Mary for years and years and .......... I found her phone number and gave her a surprise call the other day. After the 'you'll never guess who this is' game, we had a wonderful chat about the 'good old days'. She was so thrilled "you've made my day" she said. Mary said that she had been booking me for shows from late 1959, until she sold out to George Tollerton in March 1960;so, my magic abilities were far more advanced at that time, than I remember. Exactly 5 years later, in March 1965, Mary began the Throll Entertainment Agency, operating from the Strand Arcade, Auckland. Amazing how you forget things/! Mary recalls my father bringing me into her office (at her request - she had heard about me from Jon Zealando), and that "you were very young". Well yes - I was 15, going on 16 (turned 16 on 13th (lucky for some) September 1960). That probably explains why I vaguely remember 'piddling' fees of 3 guineas (Three pounds and three shillings for those wondering what the hell a 'guinea' was) for shows. Veronica says that she was getting only £4.00 week for her 40 hours per week, first office job, so what the hell was I complaining about? Mary Throll explained that she is at present writing her autobiography, due out later this year, she hopes, which is why she had the 'facts about me on hand'. "Oh, Tommy," she said "you were a little terror - and such a ladies' man in those days!" Who - ME? Naaaahhhhh!! When George Tollerton the famous New Zealand ventriloquist, (see Page 11 of 'the Saga') took over the Fullers' Agency flag, in March 1960, he was then the main player for artists in Auckland - probably the whole of N.Z. Apart from the usual 'gigs' around town, the first major show he booked me for was the 1960-61 Christmas/New Year concerts, at the Mount Maunganui Sound Shell with the HOWARD MORRISON QUARTET (New Zealand's most famous group). In fact - he booked just about all the artistes into the Christmas/ Holiday shows held in various resorts around the country. You would move from one venue to another like a 'merry-go-round', as one show or artist moved out, another moved in - this went on for 2 - 3 weeks, over the entire holiday period. You sure learned how to handle and entertain huge audiences, (from 5000 up to 30,000, or more) in these out-door (usually at night) concerts. 'Gee, they were good days', as my dear long time buddy, Sally Metzger (nee Philips), put it recently. The largest Live audience I personally performed for (excluding television- that's in the millions) a few years later (with my Hypnotism show), was in excess of 100,000 people at the Western Springs Stadium in the late 60s for the New Zealand 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS', run by the late BENNY LEVIN, (another well known and respected Agent in Auckland - dealt mainly with bands and singers). Now, that was just a little overwhelming - standing on that huge stage, on my own, with only a microphone, and 100 chairs to back me up looking out at a never-ending 'sea of faces'. That's when all those years of experience 'playing' outdoor Christmas concerts, came to the fore. When I joined the New Zealand Society of Magicians in Auckland Tony Wilson was the Editor of the Club Newsletter - many of which I've managed to keep all these years. I noted the other day (after blowing a mountain of dust off them), that in the June edition #14, 1961, Tony reported that I 'swallowed a sword' at the club - so I must have perfected that particular 'art', late 1960 - early 1961. Also, that I had performed my fire eating act December 1961, as he reported in the January 1962 newsletter #17 - so I must also have had that 'sorted' as well, sometime in 1960. Next week, 1961-62. The 'TALENT TOPPERS TOUR' - Bed of nails, - Fire, and a little more of the Mime Act. ------------------------------------- 14. Diarise these events ------------------------------------- The 26th NZ Magician's Convention will be held at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre, Mt Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand from Thursday 27 December 2001, and concluding with a New Year's Eve Celebration on Monday 31 December 2001 ------------------------------------- 15. MagicNZ e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: ezine Password: newzealand When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001nov0699.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (nov06) and the last next two numbers the year (99) If you want to print copies of MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive ------------------------------------- 16. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the MagicNZ e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html MagicNZ e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors. Neither MagicNZ or Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via MagicNZ e-zine. We reserve the right to correct any errors or omissions as we see fit. >> This publication may be freely redistributed to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY << (c) Copyright 2001 Alan Watson