* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Magic New Zealand®
* Proudly sponsored by International Entertainment Ltd (New
Zealand)
* www.magicnewzealand.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Issue Number: #1192
Date: Sunday 5th April 2015
Editor: Alan Watson QSM
www.watson.co.nz
E-mail: editor@magicnewzealand.com
================================
Hi here is the latest news
================================
1.
Editor's Message
2. 2014 AMA Showroom Awards Nominees
3. FISM - Pigna Fountain
4. The Magic Word Podcast #217 - The Good Old Days
5. "C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show Secrets" At S.A.M.
Convention
6. April Issue Of The Linking Ring
7. Remarkable Magic #385 - Nick Lewin
8. Festivals - Illusions - #357 - Kyle Peron
9. Carney Magic Theater Show - Burbank, CA
10. PCAM 2015
11. McBride's Magic And Mystery School
12. Updates So Far This Week On VanishLive.com
13. Magic TED Talks
14. Rest In Peace, Stanley
15. 32nd New Zealand International Magicians Convention
2015
16. e-zine Archives
17. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
--------------------------------------------
1. Editor's Message
--------------------------------------------
Tickets are NOW on sale for the "Magic Moments"
family comedy magic show. It will feature performances by
some of the top magicians in New Zealand.
Saturday
11th of April, 2pm and 7:30pm
**Saturday
matinee selling fast**
You
can reserve your tickets by emailing mail@mickpeckmagic.com
The
venue is the lovely Rose Theatre, 1 School Road Belmont
on Auckland's North Shore
For
more details go to: www.magicmoments.co.nz
----------------------
For all those who would like to read the Magic New Zealand
e-zine in a HTML format go to: http://www.magicnewzealand.com/ezine-archive/2015-Jan-to-Dec-2015/1192-Apr03-2015.html
Remember
if you have any magic news drop me a line:
Editor@MagicNewZealand.com
--------------------------------------------
2. 2014 AMA Showroom Awards Nominees
--------------------------------------------
The AMA Elections Committee, Board of Directors, and Board
of Trustees are proud to announce the 2014 Showroom Award
Nominees!
Close-Up
Woody Aragon
Bill Goodwin
Armando Lucero
Garrett Thomas
Richard Turner
Parlour
Chris Capehart
Handsome Jack (John Lovick)
Derek Hughes
Gregory Wilson
Rob Zabrecky
Stage
David and Leeman
Pop Haydn
Tina Lenert
Shoot Ogawa
Arthur Trace
Lecture
Mike Caveney
Shoot Ogawa
Garrett Thomas
Steve Valentine
Gregory Wilson
--------------------------------------------
3. FISM - Pigna Fountain
--------------------------------------------
Message by Joan Caesar (Canada)
The
Pigna Fountain is something you should see while at FISM
in Rimini. It represents history from both the medieval
time as well as the recent past.
Until
1912, the year in which the public aqueduct was completed,
the Pigna fountain was the only source of drinking water
in the city, and its water is still enjoyed by passers-by.
It's no wonder that it's still considered the heart of medieval
Piazza. Even Leonardo da Vinci was enchanted by the beauty
and harmony of the waterspouts when he passed through Rimini
in 1502. His words are engraved on the monument: "Make
harmony with the different falls of water, as I saw in the
fountain in Rimini".
Giovanni Carrari restored the fountain after damage caused
in 1540 by celebration fireworks placed in the basin. The
bronze, 4 foot high pine cone sculpture crowning this fountain
was installed in 1807, replacing a 16th-century statue of
St. Paul damaged by the Napoleonic army. It once spouted
water from the top. The drum holding the cone is covered
with bas-reliefs and dates from Roman times while the marble
fountain basins are 15th century.
--------------------------------------------
4. The Magic Word Podcast #217 - The Good Old Days
--------------------------------------------
Message by Scott Wells, M.I.M.C. with Gold Star
This
week's podcast has interest both local, regional and worldwide.
By that I mean that we talk with Kent Cummins about the
history of the Austin, Texas Magic Auction which may have
limited appeal to those outside a certain geographical area.
But you might listen to the person who introduces Kent before
he delivers this mini-lecture: it is the late Claude Crowe
who passed away just a few days later.
Gene
and Madeline Willard talk about their father, Willard the
Wizard, who traveled with his tent show in the early 1900's
and may have more of a regional appeal. Since this was recorded
during a reception at a funeral, we are joined in the podcast
by Walter "Zaney" Blaney who was also in attendance.
He contributes his two cents (or more) with his stories
about Willard.
Arthur
Moses is a noted collector of Houdini artifacts. Houdini
was and is known around the world as an escape artist. His
name has lived well beyond his years with his name even
being bastardized to become a verb appearing in the dictionary.
Arthur talks a bit about his recent acquisitions and also
a little about Harry's brother, Hardeen.
I
also came across a five minute podcast I recorded many years
ago with Aldo Colombini. I posted a link to this short "Scott's
Spotcast" at the bottom of the blog.
You
can read the blog, watch a video, see some photos, listen
to the podcast and download the MP3 file at: http://themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/the-good-old-days
You can also download and listen through iTunes, Stitcher,
Tunein and FeedPress.
And
if you have time, I would like to see where you listen to
The Magic Word Podcasts. Please take a selfie of wherever
you are while listening to the podcast and post it on your
Facebook page, Twitter and/or Instagram using the hashtag
MagicWordPod. That's #MagicWordPod and I will post your
pictures on upcoming podcasts.
--------------------------------------------
5. "C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show Secrets" At S.A.M.
Convention
--------------------------------------------
Message by Mark Weidhaas (US)
Romano
to present "C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show Secrets"
at S.A.M. Convention
Joe
Romano is the preeminent producer of educational school
assemblies on the East Coast. His productions have appeared
in over 5000 schools. His incredible success stems from
providing great Content, a professional Image and showing
great Appreciation to his many school show clients.
Romano
rarely lectures, so don't miss this opportunity to learn
from the best. Whether you are new to the school assembly
market or would like to increase revenue in your kid shows,
don't miss Joe Romano and his C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show
Secrets!
In
2011, Joe created UltimateSchoolShows.com. Recruiting the
talents of other amazing school performers like Atlanta's
Ken Scott and Michigan's Doug Scheer, Romano created a one-stop
shop for PTA/PTO coordinators. Currently, Romano is the
#1 school assembly performer on the East Coast. No other
individual magician is seen by more students in a given
school year.
See
Joe's lecture at the family friendly location with so many
options for food nearby and twice daily FREE walking tours
of Historic Philadelphia for your family. So much to see
and do - you just have to attend the S.A.M. 2015 Convention,
July 1-4 in Philadelphia - where it all began.
Register
and reserve your hotel room at www.magicsam.com. Only $300
for S.A.M. members, spouse, or SYM parent and $200 for SYM
members and siblings age 7-17 until 6/1/14. Hotel Convention
rate is $115 per night.
--------------------------------------------
6. April Issue Of The Linking Ring
--------------------------------------------
Message by Dennis Schick (US)
The
April 2014 issue of The Linking Ring could be called the
"Mike Powers issue." Master cardician Mike Powers
-- columnist for The Linking Ring -- moves not only to the
cover of the issue (with a profile inside, of course), but
also provides the One-man Parade for the month, too. Add
to those his regular column and you have the "Mike
Powers trifecta."
Editor
Sammy Smith has a nice column about people who find their
life's work -- their labor of love. And International President
Shawn Farquhar proves that "It's a small world"
in his column by giving us updates on his travels on behalf
of the I.B.M., from Russia, Hungary, Austria, and Bulgaria.
Talk about frequent flyer miles.
"Do
the Spirits Return?" is the title of an article by
Dr. Steven Schlanger telling us about the new extensive
Thurston exhibit at the Brooklyn Morbid Anatomy Museum for
the next nine months. He also has an article in the issue
entitled "True to Form: The Fellowship of Rotarian
Magicians."
Besides
the several house ads telling us about the upcoming IBM
Convention in July, Simone Marron tells us about the Six-pack
Lectures during the convention. Roger Miller is this month's
spotlight IBM member with a "Commitment and Passion."
He is a past IBM International President. Also highlighted
this issue is Bruce Walstad, the Territorial Vice President
of Alabama.
Assistant
Editor Dennis Schick took advantage of his IBM membership
and visited the Ask Alexander Website for free. He got wrapped
up in the Victorian Popular Culture site, and time-traveled
back to the Nineteenth Century, and tells us about it. Associate
Editor Jason Goldberg attended the Yankee Gathering last
November in Massachusetts, and tells us about it in "The
Fascinations of Magic History."
Scott
Hood focuses on families in his "The Therapy of Magic"
column. And Skip Way's column, "Polishing the Rings"
is entitled "Invisible Riches," referring to all
the wealth of knowledge embedded in older magicians which
often is ignored by today's young magicians. Bev Bergeron
uses his "Cutting Up Jackpots" column to tell
us about "The Great Lester -- Ventriloquist,"
the man with the magic voices.
In
his "Ways & Means" column, Joe Turner brings
us "Bite by Bite" by Mark Tirone, using the common
item of chewing gum. Jean-Emmanuel Franzis turns over his
"Numismagic" column over to Mario Lopez, who brings
us "The New Age Ambitious Coin." In his column
"Simple Diversions," Andrew Woo explains "Card
to Anywhere Made Simple." Jeff Prace went to Europe
to bring us guest Andi Gladwin's "Voicemail Prediction"
in the column "The Expert at the Tech Table."
And Chris Beason explains the clever "Mute" in
his column "Situationally Yours."
Finally,
also in the April issue are ten new magic product reviews;
the Broken Wand pays tribute to sixteen magicians who have
died and who we learned about since last month; and seventy-nine
Ring Reports this month. And don't forget all the advertisements,
which help pay the bills.
Of
course The Linking Ring is a benefit of membership in the
International Brotherhood of Magicians, the largest magic
organization in the world. Go to www.magician.org for more
information.
--------------------------------------------
7. Remarkable Magic #385 - Nick Lewin
--------------------------------------------
Message by Nick Lewin (US)
Ah
Those Saturday Gigs!
There
was a really great "Glam Rock" band back in the
'70s called Mott The Hoople. You probably never heard of
them, heck, you probably don't even remember "Glam
Rock!" They were a pretty wonderful band though lead
by Ian Hunter, who at 70 something is still rock and rolling.
The band had a handful of hits, but nowadays are something
of a footnote in musical history. However they still hold
a very special place in the hearts of some of us, right
up to this very day.
Before
"Mott the Hoople" called it quits, they were briefly
joined by David Bowie's legendary guitarist Mick Ronson
and recorded a couple of great final singles. My favorite
of these tracks was an unabashedly sentimental track called
"Saturday Gigs." The song was an ode to the early
days in their performing lives when the paid gig on a Saturday
night managed to support them for the rest of your week.
It made it possible to remain in "the biz," and
perhaps even make it big one day.
The
chorus of this song began, "Do you remember the Saturday
Gigs? We do, we do…" Well I do too, and in a sentimental
vein I thought I would write about two of my early Saturday
gigs. I'm sure many of our readers have similar stories
in your memory banks. For our younger readers you can take
it as an invitation to realize that every gig, however potentially
disastrous, might one day become a happy slice of nostalgia.
One
of my very first friends in magic was a school chum called
Jimmy Stevens who is now a respected radio disc jockey back
in England. I was about 13 years old and living in Wimbledon
at this time. Jimmy taught me to perform the Zombie Floating
Ball effect, and it remained in my act for many years. Like
most youngsters in magic we planned to perform a show together
and figured out we had the perfect venue. Every Saturday
morning a local cinema had a special kid's event. It was
part movie shorts and part live entertainment for the benefit
of a screaming bunch of youngsters seated out front of the
little stage that was set in front of the movie screen.
Now,
with many additional years experience as a magician I would
be terrified to face an audience like that! At the time,
it seemed like the perfect place to perform. We planned
to present a 45-minute show and were convinced it would
be an extremely appropriate length of time to entertain
the mass of youthful "Saturday Morningers". How
little we knew about the practicalities of performing is
demonstrated by our bold and faulty assumption that we had
any chance of holding the audience's attention for anything
like that length of time! Many performing years later I
now fully appreciate just how long a 45-minute show can
be.
The
manager of the cinema wisely stepped in and squashed our
plans of a mammoth magic performance and said that four
or five minutes was the most time that we could be allowed
to perform. I remember steaming with righteous indignation
at this totally highhanded action. After all we were ready,
and had practiced and rehearsed for hours in preparation.
I complained bitterly to my father and implied that in my
opinion the manager deserved to be fired for his actions.
My dad didn't quite think so though, and what did finally
happen was the "gig" was cancelled. I was mad.
Looking
back on the event I am so pleased that our show was curtailed
in this manner. Quite how disastrous the 45 minute show
could have been can still make my skin crawl. There was
nothing kind about those cinema audiences of young potential
hooligans--- think "Lord Of The Flies". It could
well have been painful enough to have caused me to lose
the entire commitment to performing that has dominated my
life ever since. So finally, 50 years later, my thanks to
that wise and savvy cinema manager.
My
second "Saturday Gig" has a much happier ending
and took place when I was about 15 years old and a highly
seasoned and vastly experienced children's entertainer (LOL)
now living in Sussex. I was hired to perform at a kid's
birthday party in a beautiful home in the countryside. It
was the busy pre-Christmas time of year and by the time
I arrived at the gig I had already performed at two parties
that afternoon.
The
kid's party was running late (no surprise there) and the
Churchill's who had booked me to entertain at their son's
party asked me if I would mind waiting in the kitchen until
the birthday tea had been finished, the cake cut and the
presents opened. When I arrived in the kitchen a rather
sweet old lady whom I assumed must be a maid or 'charlady"
asked me if I would like a cup of tea. I said, "Yes
please." She put the kettle on to boil and pretty soon
we were sitting together, chatting and enjoying a "cuppa"
and biscuits. In the course of our conversation I discovered
(once again) that things are seldom as they seem.
The
Mrs. Churchill who had booked me (for the princely sum of
three pounds) to entertain at the party was the wife of
Winston Churchill Jr. the son of Sir Winston Churchill England's
legendary Prime Minister and Statesman. The birthday boy
was Winston the third, and the old lady who brewed me my
Typhoo tea was none other than Granny, or to put it another
way, the widow of the great Sir Winston Churchill himself!
Her friendliness and kindness was an object lesson that
I will never forget. You just never quite know what is going
to happen on those "Saturday Gigs." The lesson
is to enjoy and learn from every one of them.
I
have an amazing collection of books, DVDs, tricks and routines
available on my online store and would be delighted if you
checked them out at www.lewinenterprises.com
--------------------------------------------
8. Festivals - Illusions - #357 - Kyle Peron
--------------------------------------------
Message by Kyle Peron (US)
magic4u02@aol.com
http://www.facebook.com/perondesign
http://www.kpmagicproducts.com
Yes
you can perform illusions at festivals. However, it really
is not necessary to do so. Do not feel that you cannot work
the festival market if you do not have the best and latest
Origami or thin sawing. Festivals just want their audiences
to have fun and for you to give them a reason to stay at
the festival. You can certainly provide that to them with
or without illusions.
By
an "illusion" I am specifically referring to any
larger style prop in which a person is the center of the
magic. The magic happens to the person. This can be a transposition,
levitation, suspension etc. Illusions I am talking about
would be things like sub trunk, Miss made lady, sword basket,
chair suspension etc. Those are what I refer to as illusions.
I
do offer illusions as one of my day packages and I have
done them before. I must admit that I often times do not
even have to do them at all and can still have a wonderful
show that really makes them cheer, smile and laugh. The
illusions can bring in more potential income for the day
and so I keep this as an option for the festivals should
that meet their needs. If you offer illusions, make sure
your price covers the expense of the extra set up involved
in presenting them, carrying and also traveling with them.
You also have to factor in the cost of the assistant.
If
you decide to present illusions in your festival show, there
are a few things you will want to take into consideration
before deciding on which ones to perform or purchase for
this market. Make sure that your illusions:
-
can be done surrounded
- can be performed in any kind of lighting
- can pack down flat and are easily moved on and off elevated
stages
- do not require a "pre-load" that the audience
does not see.
Let
me go into a bit of detail on each of these mentioned above
to give you more information as to why these are so important
to working the festival market.
Surrounded:
In many cases you never know just what staging you will
have to work on when you are doing a festival. I have worked
on stages ranging from full stages with lighting to setting
up my own small tent to performing in the street surrounded.
You also cannot control exactly where people will be seated
or standing during your illusion performance. Because of
these situations you will find yourself in, you never will
have the perfect angles to do illusions that rely on this.
This
is why every illusion I perform at festivals is an illusion
that can be performed totally surrounded. Because of this,
I am not worried about where I have to perform the illusion
as I know I will be fine and the illusion will be performed
without problem.
Lighting:
Almost every festival I have ever performed for was outdoors.
Because of this, your lighting is always changing based
upon where the sun is during the day. Keep this in mind
for illusions that work on black art principles will not
work well in the outdoor environments. It is best to leave
these illusions behind for a better opportunity. Use illusions
that do not rely heavily on proper lighting and you will
be much better off.
Packs
Flat: The easier it is for you to carry, set-up and transport
your illusions, the better off it will be for you and the
festival. I try to always keep and build my festival illusions
to pack as flat as possible. This allows me to keep my transportation
vehicles to a minimum without having the extra cost for
truck rentals etc.
You
must also keep in mind that festivals are outdoors with
a lot going on during the course of the day. There are a
lot of people moving about and so you will have to place
your storage and packing cases back in your vehicle or plan
with the festival crew a place for you to store them for
the day. If they are flat and less bulky, you can store
them back in your own vehicle and cause less problems for
the festival to deal with.
You
never want to keep your illusions or packing boxes out in
the open during or between shows. If you are using your
cases as part of your on stage set up, then this can be
an exception for you. This may be common sense, but some
performers feel that the festival will watch them for you.
This is not the case as the festival crews are usually much
too busy moving around and solving problems that occur throughout
the day. I usually try to get a booth spot (a designated
vender area) near to the stage so that the illusions can
be moved under my booth tent between shows so they are out
of the way and I can keep an eye on things without causing
traffic problems for the festival.
Pre-Load:
By pre-load, you will want to try and stay away from illusions
that require the assistant to be loaded into the illusion
ahead of time before the show starts. Because you never
know where you will be performing or where people will be
standing, pre-loading can be difficult to set up and arrange
so that no on sees this taking place. If you have an opening
illusion like a Blammo production, you can probably get
away with it but make sure to talk about staging with the
festival prior to you getting there so something can be
arranged. In most cases you might be able to move your vehicle
behind the stage and use that to temporary block the angles
for the pre-load. Or they might be able to block off an
area for you. Just keep this in mind if you have an illusion
that requires this before your show start time.
So
what type of illusions go over well at festivals? Well,
I will answer this by saying that you want to first start
off with the classics. They are classics for a reason. They
have been tested and proven to get great responses over
and over again. Some that I am referring to would be Sub
Trunk, Sword Basket, Chair Suspension, Broom Suspension
etc. All of these are classics and work very well for any
festival style show. Most pack flat, are easy to travel
with and can be done surrounded and in most lighting situations.
Certainly there are more, but this should give you an idea
of the types that tend to work well and get good responses.
Kyle
Peron
Magician and Illusionist
http://www.kylekellymagic.com
Facebook (Magic): http://www.facebook.com/kyleandkellymagic
Twitter (Magic): https://twitter.com/KyleKellyMagic
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for exclusive discounts
and offers.
--------------------------------------------
9. Carney Magic Theater Show - Burbank, CA
--------------------------------------------
Message by John Carney (US)
Weekends
in April
GTC
Burbank Theater
April 4 - 26
Saturdays
o 8pm
Sundays o 3pm Matinee
Reserve
your seats here:
Brown Paper Tickets
http://carney.brownpapertickets.com
GTC Burbank (Grove Theater Center)
1111-B West Olive Ave, Burbank, CA 91506
1/2 mile West of 5 Fwy
Behind the Lockheed Fighter Jet & Olive Recreation Center
More
info@CarneyMagic.com
http://carneymagic.com/theater-show/
--------------------------------------------
10. PCAM 2015
--------------------------------------------
Message by Mike Norden
The
83rd Annual PCAM (Pacific Coast Association of Magicians)
Convention will be held in beautiful Chilliwack, BC Canada
on Nov 19-22nnd, 2015. It will be a joint convention along
with the '3 of Clubs Convention', a smaller regional event
that rotates between Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle.
Normally
held in the summer, a few factors have led to the change
to hold it in November - the main ones being, time, location
and talent. We are happy to report that we have secured
the Coast Hotel in Chilliwack to hold the event, and that
the esteemed IBM President, Shawn Farquhar, will star along
with 8 other talent that are being booked as we speak. We
will announce a new talent each week - but don't wait until
we are done that before you book! Why? Because this unique
PCAM will be limited to just 75 spots! Yes, that is correct.
Just 75 spots!
Oh
- and as we write this there are only 42 spots left! And
we have not even launched to the public yet. So do not delay
- register today at
www.PCAM2015.ca
--------------------------------------------
11. McBride's Magic And Mystery School
--------------------------------------------
Message by Jeff McBride (US)
A
documentary on Jeff McBride's Magic and Mystery School in
Las Vegas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBJHYhkch9s
--------------------------------------------
12. Updates So Far This Week on VanishLive.com
--------------------------------------------
Message by - Mick Peck (New Zealand
Online Content Editor
www.VanishLive.com
Latest
updates on VanishLive.com include:
-
Leah, Young Magician Of The Year
- Magician Offers Vasectomy Special
- Better Safe Than Sorry - Trust Me!: Nick Lewin
- Ben Seidman Chosen as Princess Cruises' Entertainer of
the Year
- Mac King Trades Wands For Words
Magic
news, articles from around the world and product reviews
from working professional magicians.
Visit
us today at:
http://www.VanishLive.com
-
Mick Peck
Online Content Editor
www.VanishLive.com
--------------------------------------------
13. Magic TED Talks
--------------------------------------------
Message by Peter Glass
Maybe
this be of interesting for your readers:
http://www.ted.com/talks/helder_guimaraes_a_magical_search_for_a_coincidence#t-37084
http://www.ted.com/talks/keith_barry_does_brain_magic
http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic
--------------------------------------------
14. Rest In Peace, Stanley
--------------------------------------------
Message by David Charvet on Facebook forwarded on by Mel
Kientz
I
lost my magic "father" yesterday with the passing
of Stan Kramien, just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday.
I knew him for nearly 40 years and we were like father and
son. Any of the success I've enjoyed in the world of magic
I owe to what I learned from Stan.
He was one of the great showmen of his time, with a 70+
year career that spanned vaudeville, U.S.O., nightclubs,
theaters, circus, radio, television (including Johnny Carson's
"Tonight" Show), and for over 30 years touring
North America with one of the largest magic shows of his
time, appearing in as many as 200 cities a year.
I assisted on the show for about 10 of those years, and
it was truly a college course in show business. So many
memories and stories. One day I'll write a book! know he's
back on stage today.
Rest in peace, Stanley.
---------------------------------
The Great Kramien -- legendary traveling magician from Portland
(Excerpts from October 02, 2013 article)
by
Tom Hallman Jr.
When
Stan Kramien's era ended, his son needed to do something
with the old man's props. The gear, much of it nearly 60
years old, sat in a Newberg warehouse. Once, the equipment
defined the proud man and who he was. Now it was a sad reminder
of all he'd lost and was no longer.
In his prime, the magician crisscrossed the country, performing
200 times a year in big-city auditoriums, small-town theaters
and high school gyms. He'd arrive in his Cadillac, leading
the way for a truck and bus carrying an entourage, including
long-legged stage assistants in revealing outfits and high
heels.
He was billed as "The Great Kramien," "The
Mad Magician" and "The Mad Man of Magic,"
a moniker bestowed on him by the TMZ of the day, a national
gossip columnist who caught Kramien's act in Greenwich Village
one night.
Kramien, born in Portland, learned his first trick at 10
and skipped school to catch professionals performing in
a downtown theater. He turned to how-to books and hung around
amateur magicians.
Before long, he had an act. During World War II, after Army
brass learned what he could do, Kramien was assigned to
an entertainment unit to perform for troops, frequently
in hospitals and doing 25 shows a day.
When the war ended, he bounced around, always something
in entertainment. He married a stage assistant and they
played state fairs before settling in Seattle where he performed
in clubs and had his own half-hour Seattle-only TV show
for kids, called simply "Stan Kramien."
The couple had a son and moved back to Portland, where Kramien
bought a small circus. The family traveled throughout Oregon,
Washington and Northern California. When their son, Rick,
outgrew his clothes, two chimps in the act, Pixie and Murphy,
wore the hand-me-downs. Kramien's wife ran the dog act and
helped with magic. When the show's lion trainer was mauled
one day, Kramien quickly learned how to use whips and chairs
to tame the beasts.
The
show had to go on.
And then it didn't.
His wife tired of the nomadic life -- their son at one point
missed a year of school -- and she divorced Kramien to put
down roots in Portland. She married a man who came home
for dinner each night.
Kramien kept right on moving. He later married another stage
assistant and created wild illusions to keep the customers
coming back.
In the first seven minutes on stage, he had more tricks
than most magicians managed during an entire show. His assistant
not only appeared to levitate, but vanished. A dog was placed
in a cage that rose above the stage. When the cage opened,
the dog was gone.
He cut an assistant in half with a circular saw so terrifying
that when Kramien appeared on Johnny Carson's "The
Tonight Show," guest host David Letterman looked at
the contraption and backed out of subjecting himself to
the blade.
"His timing was incredible," said Art Manning,
a Beaverton magician who knows something about entertainers.
He spent 33 years as an on-air announcer at KGW and before
that was a radio DJ who went by the name Okie Slim.
"Magicians say that on stage it's just you and God,
and sometimes God doesn't bother showing up," Manning
said. "No matter what happened, Stan was never flustered.
He was the best."
Then the public's tastes changed.
An old-fashioned traveling magician -- in a world of cable
TV and illusionists who make the Statue of Liberty vanish
-- was quaint.
But Kramien couldn't let go.
He left the road and created an annual magician's jamboree
at his son's Newberg farm. They built a stage, installed
lights and a sound system and lined up chairs for an audience.
Word spread and for 10 years, magicians came from across
the country for a long weekend to hang out with the Great
Kramien. They'd swap stories, help the kids and perform.
The event ended when it became too much work.
On stage, there wasn't anything the magician couldn't make
the audience believe. Off stage, he couldn't stop time.
At 88, he's in a wheelchair and lives with two parakeets
in a small apartment in a Tigard retirement community.
Rick Kramien . . .
"I lived with my mom and her husband," Rick Kramien
said. "But after a few years, I'd go out in the summer
with my dad. Living with Stan Kramien was different."
During one show, right after the Great Kramien started the
circular saw illusion, the house lights went out.
"We all stood on that stage," Rick Kramien said.
"No one dared move until the lights came on again."
His father rubbed his chin, musing about that illusion.
"By God," he said, "that was a good one,
too."
He fell quiet.
"It was a hard life," he said. "Didn't matter
if 15 people showed up at some gym in Wyoming, or 20,000
in D.C. I played 90 minutes."
He reached out to touch one of the props.
"I loved every second of it," he said. "Hell,
how could I be bored?"
Magic and entertaining had bound the Kramien family for
decades. Twenty years ago, Stan got his grandchildren --
two girls and a boy -- into the act.
"I was in the third-grade," said granddaughter
Amanda Kramien, 24. "I got to skip school on Friday
and we'd travel around Oregon and Washington. My brother
and I were part of an illusion. We did something with rabbits
and were his little assistants. I got a taste of what my
dad's life must have been like."
David Charvet . . .
His father could no longer perform, so Kramien contacted
Dave Charvet, a world-renowned professional magician and
author of several award-winning books on the history of
magic. Charvet got his start nearly 40 years ago when Stan
Kramien took the kid on as an assistant during one of his
traveling shows.
The son asked if Charvet would perform the act.
"It would be an honor," Charvet said. "Stan
is the last of the legendary traveling magicians. This will
be a chance to resurrect a bit of vanishing Americana."
The show was performed in Portland, Tigard, Salem, Warrenton,
Lincoln City and Bend -- all cities where George Morlan
Plumbing has offices. Rick Kramien bought the business from
his stepfather, Gary Morlan.
"One last hurrah for my father," Rick Kramien
said. "My dad loved the road. He liked the cheapest
motel with the loudest air conditioner."
He had one goal.
At each place he wanted to get on the stage in his wheelchair
and do one trick.
And then the curtain can finally fall.
"It was my life," he said. "By God, it was
my life."
-- Tom Hallman Jr.
-------------------------------------------
15. 32nd New Zealand International Magicians Convention
2015
--------------------------------------------
Message by Nopera Whitley (NZ)
Join
the Wellington Magic Club on Labour Weekend 2015 for three
days of magic.
When:
24th - 26th of October, 2015
Where: James Cook Hotel, Wellington City, New Zealand
Registration
is Open
Register
online at www.wellingtonmagic.co.nz or to download the registration
form go to: http://www.wellingtonmagic.co.nz/register.pdf
.
Venue and Accommodation
The convention will be held at the Wellington James Cook
Hotel Grand Chancellor.
Headliners
already confirmed include:
- Phil Cass and his partner Philippa
- Charlie Frye and his partner Sherry
- Nick Nickolas
- Paul Romhany
- David Merry
- Mike Bent
For
more information, or to get in touch, visit us at
www.wellingtonmagic.co.nz.
--------------------------------------------
16. E-zine Archives
--------------------------------------------
Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to:
www.magicnewzealand.com click on the red button center right
"Archives"
When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order
in folders for each year and are Coded, e.g. 001 Nov06 1999.txt
first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the
date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999)
---------------------------------------------
17. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
--------------------------------------------
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.magicnewzealand.com
Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday.
The opinions and statements expressed therein are those
of the individual contributors and not necessarily those
of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand®
nor Alan Watson QSM 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 QSM, jointly or individually liable or responsible
in any way for the opinions or statements contained 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.
