* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #495 Date: Sunday 6th May 2007 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com www.Alan-Watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. Nathan Burton Encased In A Gigantic Ice Sculpture For 24 Hours 3. Bill Walsh - Successful Surgery Remove Cancerous Kidney 4. Alexander News By Mike Caveney 5. 'Remarkable Magic' #5 - Nick Lewin 6. Who Are You? - By Kyle Peron 7. Jeff McBride "Secret Session' Workshop - Melbourne 8. Scottish Children's Entertainer Of The Year 2007/2008 9. British Ring Convention In Southport 10. A Record Of Australian Magic Conventions 11. Document The Rising Numbers Of Celebrity Magicians 12. The Kiddie Park Magician 13. The Amazing Orchante Saga 14. e-zine Archives 15. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- Magicians sue Japan TV Networks A group of 49 Japanese magicians are suing two local television networks for revealing the secrets behind a series of coin tricks in news footage. To read the full article go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6612507.stm ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. Nathan Burton Encased In A Gigantic Ice Sculpture For 24 Hours -------------------------------------------- Message from David Neubauer (US) http://www.lvrj.com/living/7309241.html Las Vegas Magician Nathan Burton To Be Frozen Inside A M-Shaped Ice Block For 24 Hours To Celebrate Miracle Mile Shops' New Name. Magician Nathan Burton will encase himself in a gigantic M-shaped ice sculpture for 24 hours in front of Miracle Mile Shops' north Las Vegas Boulevard entrance on Monday, May 21 beginning at 10 a.m. Even though temperatures in May average 90 degrees, Burton will have to withstand freezing cold inside the ice. The frozen 'M' is so massive it can last up to three days in 100-degree weather. Weighing nine tons and having 10-inch thick walls, Burton will not be able to escape until several Miracle Mile owners break open the ice to set him free at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 22. Burton will be joined by 96 showgirls rotating in and out of the ice to keep him company. Visitors cruising the Strip will be able to touch and inspect the 'M', which is shaped as such to celebrate Miracle Mile Shops' ongoing multi-million dollar makeover focusing on de-theming the center's original design. Mike Weatherford - Review-Journal -------------------------------------------- 3. Bill Walsh - Successful Surgery Remove Cancerous Kidney -------------------------------------------- Message Steve Walker (Aust) Just a quick note to let everyone know that Bill Walsh had successful surgery yesterday afternoon to remove a cancerous kidney. I talked with him this morning and he seems to be fighting fit and had already been for a walk around the hospital wing with his physiotherapist. He was still on morphine so I took advantage of this and got him to back his team the St George Dragons against my team the Penrith Panthers in tomorrow night's NRL game. No doubt he is trying to pay for the operation with this $10 lottery ticket bet, apparently whilst they were at it they successfully removed the lower half of his wallet. He should be out and about in 5 to 7 days. -------------------------------------------- 4. Alexander News By Mike Caveney -------------------------------------------- Message from Mike Caveney mcmagicwords.com Ninety-one-year-old John Conlin, the son of Alexander Conlin (the famous vaudeville mind reader) passed away in Valencia, California on April Fools Day 2007. It was John's kindness in making his father's scrapbooks available to David Charvet and Mike Caveney that resulted in the publication of the brand new and greatly expanded edition of the best-selling book, Alexander - The Man Who Knows. So incredible is this story of a charlatan, bootlegger, bigamist, extortionist, murderer and magician that it has already been optioned and turned into a movie script. This new edition features 70 new photos, dozens of additional stories, 12 pages of full-color and a 24-page appendix written by a member of the Conlin family. Copies are now available for $65 at mcmagicwords.com. The day these new books arrived at Magic Words we sent an email to John Conlin informing him of the good news. Sadly, John had died only a few hours earlier. It is fitting that this new edition is dedicated to John and a pity that he never got to see it. -------------------------------------------- 5. 'Remarkable Magic' #5 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from - Nick Lewin (US) Remarkable Magic #4 Webster's dictionary. During my visit to New Zealand last year I visited Richard Webster. I had read with interest quite a bit of his writing and I always enjoy his weekly column in Magicana magazine. I had no idea that it would happen but my meeting with Richard turned out to be the final stop in a personal quest. Ross Johnson and Terry Nosek were the first people to introduce me to Webster's work on cold reading and mentalism. Neither of these men were easily impressed and both of them spoke of Richard in glowing terms. After I had read his writing I could see why. Terry told me that I would really enjoy his company. I laughingly replied that next time I was in New Zealand I would drop in. Suddenly there I was in Auckland staying with Alan Watson and he said, "Would you like to meet Richard?" I replied enthusiastically in the affirmative! Life can sometimes work out that way! I have always been a big fan of mental magic and the thinking behind it is often subtle and intriguing. At fifteen I bought my first book test and quickly became addicted to the effect. Finding the perfect book test became my personal search for the philosopher's stone! When we arrived at his home Richard was the perfect host and we sat in his living room drinking tea and discussing our mutual friends. Several people had told me that Richard had created a wonderful book test. He was kind enough to share it with me. It wasn't only wonderful, but for me, it was the ultimate book test. Now I know that those are fighting words: the Ultimate book test! Good heavens I had bought half a dozen of them before and they were sitting in my magic cupboard. Well let me tell you why this one really fits the description. The biggest problem with most book tests is not connected with the methodology but with the effect. Almost all book tests end up with the mentalist revealing the word or phrase that the spectator has looked at in the book. Now this can be a good mentalism but it lacks the surprise element. The audience knows what you are going to do the moment the spectator looks at a word. If you are not very careful or very convincing the whole thing turns into a puzzle. There are several things that Richard's book test does which creates a different scenario. Firstly his premise begins by using a married couple from the audience in order to see if their familiarity with each other can allow them to transmit a chosen word from one to the other. Already you have introduced an extremely spectator friendly element. The second element that enters the picture is when their efforts seem to fail. Suddenly any element of expectation is confounded and the effect seems to be derailed. The mentalist re-enters the action in an attempt to resolve the issue and help them achieve their goal. Finally, for the reveal, an element of surprise is brought into play and results in a finale that brings everything to a happy conclusion. It also leaves the performer with a physical object in his hands to focus the attention and applause and it isn't a book. I have deliberately not gone into any details about the trick itself, however if you re-read the last three paragraphs you will see that Webster has created an almost perfect three act play in miniature. My goal was to demonstrate the structure that a skilled writer brings to the table. It is the arc of the plot that turns this piece of magic into remarkable magic. Thank you Richard, you make a great cup of tea and an even better book test. My search has ended. As always send any bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@earthlink.net and check out my website at http://www.NickLewin.com -------------------------------------------- 6. Who Are You? - By Kyle Peron -------------------------------------------- Message from By Kyle Peron (US) E-Mail: Magic4u02@aol.com Who are you? Sounds like a silly question doesn't it? It also sounds like an easy one to answer. But what is it I am referring to? Well I want to take this week's article to talk about the subject of not who you are in life, but more importantly who are you when you perform. Who are you when you hit the stage and your standing in the limelight? It is an interesting question to ponder because I think answering this question correctly can really affect the way you perform your magic and the way your magic is perceived. I think it is safe to say that every one of us has a performing style. This style can stem from influences we had on our magic or even magicians we have seen on TV or in theaters. I think the problem is that a lot of us never really stop to think of who we are on stage and how this is being conveyed to our audiences. Maybe some of us have never even stopped to ponder this question at all. But why is this question important? Well for starters I feel that part of the entertainment value an audience gets from a show is based directly in part to the perception they get from the magician they are watching. They need to feel comfortable with that character and the person on stage needs to be able to draw the audience inwards. They need to be able to break down that invisible wall that exists between them and you. A magician who really understands who they are on stage has a very powerful weapon that will serve them well for years to come. When you discover who you really are, you then know for sure who you are not. Who you are not is often times even more important. Allow me to explain. When you discover who you are on stage, then you really understand exactly what the character is. You know how he or she thinks, acts and what motivates them. Like a character in a play, the magician understands every aspect of the character they play when performing. This is important because if you know who you are, then every routine you create reflects back on this. What I mean is that as you create your magic and routines, you ask yourself how would the character react to the situation? How would the character move on stage? Would the character even do an effect. You soon start to learn what I like to call what is "in character" and what is "out of character". For example, I know that I could never do illusions performed in the style of Hans Klok. Hans has a very model physique and his movements on stage are all about quickness and power. It works for him as he has found who he is on stage. I know that I could never do that on stage. It just would be so out of character for me to even think of doing that. My character I portray would not move that way or react in that fashion. I would never draw the audience inwards to my personality by doing that. It is not to say that what Han's is doing is wrong. It is about knowing that my character and who I am on stage is vastly different. Now once you really know who you are, then there comes the hardest thing to do. The hardest part is the ability to honestly say to yourself, "I cannot do this routine this way because my character would not do it. It doesn't work". That is so tough to admit to yourself. But you must be honest. You must not allow yourself to perform magic that is not in sync with who you are on stage. So how do you find out who you are? Good question. One thing I would like to state off the bat is that often times who YOU think you are is vastly different then how OTHERS perceive you. This is a very true statement that often shocks a lot of folks. So what I suggest anyone to do is this simple experiment. It really helps for you to see who you are, who you are not and how others perceive you. Go to people you openly and honestly trust 100%. You want people that can and will give you an honest opinion and not say nice things just because they love you. So you may want to leave out your mom or dad or husband or wife. When you locate these people, give them a sheet of paper and ask them to write down 5 adjectives that they feel BEST defines your personality and who you are. They are to be dead honest and to not write their name on the paper. Then collect them back and read them in private. Often times you will be shocked to realize that what they have said may be vastly different than what you had thought. But use these adjectives. If you asked 10 people and 8 said humorous, then perhaps your character on stage takes on that humorous personality. It becomes an extension of how they see you. Use those adjectives to work on developing the character that works best and feels the most natural for you. This test I mention starts you headed in the right direction. As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you. Kyle Peron Magician and Illusionist Graphic Designer and Illustrator (Specializing in Logo creation) www.kyleandkellymagic.com Chair Suspension Ebook Author http://www.magicenhancer.com/ChairSuspension.html -------------------------------------------- 7. Jeff McBride "Secret Session' Workshop - Melbourne -------------------------------------------- Message from Charles Gauci (Aust) Jeff McBride & Eugene Burger have agreed to present their "Secret Session" Workshop. on Tuesday 10th July at our clubrooms. The address is the Swiss Club, 89 Flinders Lane in Melbourne on the 2nd floor. Entry price is AUD$100. It will be an intensive 4 hour session beginning at 6.30pm. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this presentation as it will not be presented anywhere else in Australia. You pay on the night at the door. Also, the stock of "Deception Down Under" book by Brian McCullagh has arrived. He has done a tremendous job and I am sure that whether you are a collector or not this is a must have book. There are only 50 hardbacks for sale and already I have orders for 22. Once they have gone that's it as I can only order them in lots of 50's. With so many of the local boys in this book they will not last long. So, if you are interested please let me know ASAP and I will reserve one for you. Brian will sign them at the convention so you can pay for them at the convention when you pick it up. Price is $60. We will have a table for our convention souvenirs including the 2 set DVD of the convention $50. And the gold or walnut framed ASM Plaque $60. See photo on our website at www.magicians.org.au Please contact me on 03 9431 2900 or e-mail me at charlesg@ozemail.com.au if you are interested in any of the above. You do not have to pay until you pick up the goods at the convention. -------------------------------------------- 8. Scottish Children's Entertainer Of The Year 2007/2008 -------------------------------------------- Message from Ricky McLeod Just to let you know Tricky Ricky from Edinburgh, Scotland won the Max Raskin Cup / Scottish Children's Entertainer Of The Year 2007/2008 for the fourth time. This award was presented to Ricky at the annual dinner. The Scottish Association Of Magical Societies convention was held in Montrose and next year it heads to Greenock. Ricky McLeod was also presented with the Millennium Shield from his local magic club West Lothian Magic Circle for services to the club and to Scottish Magic. His highly successful lecture "Tricks Of My Trade" ideally suited for the Children's and Family Entertainer lectured at the Blackpool Magicians Convention, Wolverhampton Circle Of Magicians and the British Magical Society and can be seen next at the Scottish conjurers Association May 9th. Ricky is now taking bookings for his lecture for 2007/2008 feel free to get in touch Ricky@TrickyRicky.com Ricky has also been selected to provide walkabout close up magic in the V.I.P Suites at the UEFA CUP FINAL at Hampden Park, Glasgow on May 16th. -------------------------------------------- 9. British Ring Convention In Southport -------------------------------------------- Message from Bob 1st May You thought Eastbourne 2006 was terrific...Southport 2007 will be stupendous! The Great Tomsoni & Co, Murray Hatfield & Teresa, David Williamson, Bob Sheets, Magic Al, Rafael, Vik and Fabrini, Lennart Green, Gaston Bloom, Les Budd, Rocco, Paul Zenon, Michael Vincent, Joanie Spiro, Scott & Muriel, Bill Malone, Boris Wild, Tim Gabrielson, Paul Dabek.... These are the names of the 19 World Class performers Paul Stone, the Ring's Executive Producer, has arranged to appear or lecture in Southport in September and they are only for starters! It is the high standard, which a British Ring Convention should attract but it comes at a cost. The full Registration Fee for British Ring Members and their Partners this year rises to £100 per person and £125 for non-members. For junior's aged 18 or under the fee is £65. The cost of a day ticket for members is £40, non-members £50 and juniors £25. With a full registration you get four full days of top class shows and lectures for just £25 per day. To offset the increase, Registration will commence on Wednesday 12th September in the foyer of the Southport Theatre avoiding the cost of Hotel accommodation for Tuesday night. The Convention will commence at 12 noon. As well as the Southport Theatre and Floral Hall the Arts Theatre in Lord Street is going to be utilised on a larger scale than on our previous visits to Southport. It not only boasts a 475 theatre with tiered seating but also a Studio and Conference Room. The intimacy of the Theatre is ideal for the International Close-up Show and some lectures, some of which will be repeated. Last year, especially at the International Close-up Show viewing was far from ideal. It is assured that this year's facilities will afford to the performers the best possible condition to showcase their talents and allow you, their audience the best possible viewing conditions. The Children's Showtime will continue to be staged in the Arts Theatre on the Saturday afternoon and plans are in hand for a 'Cutting Edge' show to be staged there late on Thursday evening. But be warned, it will be imperative for you to carefully study the finalised programme and plan the sequence of events you wish to attend. By diligently doing so you will derive the maximum benefit of the Convention. The Registration Officer, Neville Johnson is waiting to receive your applications. He can be contacted by telephone on 01202 873234 or by e-mail at nevillejohnson25@aol.com Remember you can always register by credit card using PayPal. PRO to the British Ring -------------------------------------------- 10. A Record Of Australian Magic Conventions -------------------------------------------- Message from Tim Ellis (Aust) In an attempt to create a record of Australian Magic Conventions from 1952 - 2004, I've set up a blog page here http://ausmagiccon.blogspot.com/ with all of the information I have on hand about these events. I think the best way to preserve this part of Australian Magic History is to create a "living record" of them that everyone can contribute too. Who knows, maybe someday someone might turn it all into a book. At the very least, I hope we can work together to create a useful resource for magic fans and historians alike. I would LOVE it if you would be able to take a look at the page and see if you could add anything to any of the listings: dates, venues, guest acts, winners etc. If you can think of any information, you can email it to me or simply leave it in the COMMENTS section under the relevant convention's listing. If you have any images (photos, programmes etc) could you email them to me and I'll add them to the blog. If you have any interesting recollections or anecdotes of any of those events you could share, please add them to the COMMENTS section. -------------------------------------------- 11. Document The Rising Numbers Of Celebrity Magicians -------------------------------------------- Message from Michael Johnson A free web site has launched to document the rising numbers of celebrity magicians around the world. Created by Magician Michael E. Johnson of San Marcos, California, the site is www.MagicBiography.com, and it's not just about the rich and famous. "Magic is one of the few performing arts where everyone can be a celebrity," said Johnson. "This site is about all the famous people in magic, from the television stars to the local heroes." The site currently features names and brief biographies of FISM Grand Prix Winners and World Champions, past Presidents of the Society of American Magicians, and the officers in two local clubs, the historic Magic Guild of Southern California and San Diego's famous Ring 76 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Johnson hopes to expand the site with past Presidents and officers of all magical societies; winners and award recipients of magic competitions; authors of published magic books, articles, lecture notes, videos and DVDs; magicians who have appeared on television, radio and cable TV; and magic inventors. Magic Biography welcomes suggestions from around the world for people who should be listed. Contact mjohns341@cox.net. ----------------- 12. The Kiddie Park Magician ----------------- Message from David Lea Bartlesville Oklahoma (us) The Kiddie Park Magician Returns David Lea the Kiddie  Park magician is back for another season at the Kiddie Park (www.kiddiepark.net) in Bartlesville Oklahoma. David who has been a magician for 30 years started working at the Kiddie  Park when he was 14 years old to make some money to buy some magic tricks when he was bitten by the magic bug after seeing the movie Houdini with Tony Curtis. Now 31 years later David is one of the managers at the Kiddie Park and is performing at the place that helped David become a magician and become known as the Kiddie Park magician to the children and people of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The season opens May 4th and David starts performing May 5th for the Kiddie  Parks 60th birthday party.  Then will be performing every Wednesday evening till the end of the season in August. For more information go to www.kiddiepark.net. ----------------- 13. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) The Amazing 'ORCHANTÉ' Saga Page - 155 EPILOGUE - The first episode of my saga (the foreword) appeared in issue No. 44, of Alan and Michele Watson's Magic New Zealand e-zine, on Sunday 22nd October 2000.  Three years, fourmMonths and 102,258 + words later, I have finally finished the New Zealand phase of 'The Amazing Orchanté' Saga.  My warmest wish is that this mammoth 'work of love', has perhaps brushed some ancient cobwebs aside, bringing back long forgotten personal reminiscences for many of my fellow New Zealand entertainers, especially those of my vintage. 'Names', shows, concerts, agents, and the many clubs/restaurants, like the 'Dutch Kiwi' and the Toby Jug; those wonderfully historic - 'golden days of times past' - that all of us were lucky to be a part of. None of us (or future entertainers) will ever see the like of them again! I can't begin to guess how many hours have gone into this phase of my memoirs. Hours? More like months - of searching and pouring over diaries, letters, newspapers, magazines and clippings; anything that I could find in my seemingly bottomless - 'tardis' like, aluminium trunk; apart from scraping the top, bottom and sides of my memory banks. I dare not even think how many cartridges of black ink or reams of paper have been used, so far. And the wastage? Have you ever watched a film where the actor/actress was playing the part of an author suffering from - 'writers block'? They would type a word or two, or. then suddenly stop, stare blankly at the page for a moment before ripping the sheet out from the machine, crumple it into a ball then hurl it across the room, to join a sizeable pile of similarly scrunched up and discarded paper balls. That little scenario used to amuse me, until I realized that my wastepaper bin was constantly overflowing with, and surrounded by scrunched (I just love that word), and screwed up paper balls that were forcibly fired towards it. That image isn't quite so amusing anymore! I am enormously grateful to several friends who have, without a quibble, helped me whenever I needed information - cajoling them to delve into the murky depths of their own memories; making sure that I had my facts right. I'm not perfect - pretty damn close mind you (I am a Virgo), but just a trifling fallible, as we all are. Mmmmm! My appreciation and acknowledgments to: Sally Metzger (nee Philips) and her husband, Derek Metzger (top singer in major theatrical musicals), Sharon Moore (my first wife, who remains a great friend, and her husband John), Pat Newbury (wife of the late Peter Newbury, trick cyclist, acrobat, 'Crunchy the Clown' etc.) Burns Scandrett ('Delarno', magician, semi-retired; {now deceased - 9th April 2006}), John Sullivan (theatre manager, retired Christchurch.), Eddie O'Strange (Blue Smoke Music Co. N.Z.), Trevor King (tour and theatre manager, retired, Christchurch.), Mike Brittenden, Alan Watson (N.Z.'s No.1 magician, and editor of the 'Magic New Zealand'  e-zine), Eddie Low (who is, in my humble opinion, N.Z.'s No.1 vocalist), Richard Webster (N.Z 's most prolific, and No.1 author), and last but certainly not least, my wonderful wife/ assistant/partner of 32 years at the time of writing, VERONICA. -------------------------------------------- 14. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives -------------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: magic Password: kiwi When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999) -------------------------------------------- 15. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to any other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand® E-zine at www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html. Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday. The opinions expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand® E-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed therein. Magic New Zealand® reserves the right to alter, correct or disregard any articles submitted. Readers are encouraged to submit timely articles or news items which may be of interest to subscribers. By submitting articles to this e-zine, the authors grant Magic New Zealand® the right to publish such articles and such authors confirm their copyright of the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand® are protected by international copyright legislation and articles must not be published for profit by anyone other than the individual authors without the written permission of Magic New Zealand®. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this publication may be freely redistributed, but not sold, to other magicians if copied in its entirety, including the copyright notice below and the above disclaimer. © Copyright 2007 Alan Watson