Tag Archive for magicians

28 Jan 2012
Magic Thoughts

Food for Thought

I caught this and it got me thinking …

“Magic has lost all its magic. These days, it feels more like a sleekly packaged act of illusion engineering. The eye-popping, jaw-dropping, awe-inducing wonderment that used to accompany the abracadabra has mysteriously vanished into thin air. All one gets to hear now is the incredulous catcalls of killjoys screaming: “Haven’t we seen this on YouTube before?” Things were much better in the pre-internet era. The worldwide brotherhood of magicians went to great lengths to create an aura of mystique around their tricks. No one ever wrote ‘sleight-of-hand’ manuals or shot ‘Magic for Beginners’ videos explaining the elaborate deceptions. Part of the charm flowed from the larger-than-life persona projected in the public eye.”

source : IBNlive

Surely such comments should cause all magicians to stop and reflect.

What value do we give our art?

How do we recapture the magic and present the mystique ?

How do we encourage our audiences to value our work if we see  no value in it.

 

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20 Jan 2012
Magic News

Appropriate Humility

Everyone would agree that over the last few months Dynamo has had some great ‘water cooler’ moments – those moments when people gather around the water cooler or coffee pot and talk animatedly about last nights TV.

Dynamo represents what can be called the ‘new generation’ of guerilla magicians who ‘strike’ with force, passion and energy and ‘kill’ their audiences with their magical skills and powerful illusions.

Of course, magic for me is not about ‘killing’ or ‘knocking out’ my audiences but I know that this approach is part of the ‘new wave’ of magical performers.

So what about humility..

Well in Dynamo’s own words…

“I want to be as famous as Paul Daniels.”

This is surely a recognition of the high regard and esteem most magicians have for this British icon and, despite an impressive TV series and more than one or two ‘water cooler moments’, Dynamo’s own realization that he still has a way to go.

Source Article: The Sun 

Top hat as an icon for magic

Image via Wikipedia

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16 Jan 2012
Magic News

“Burt Wonderstone”

A new film about magic and magicians is currently being filmed and is on location in Las Vegas. Wonderstone, scheduled for release in 2013 stars Steve Carroll (from the US version of The Office) and Jim Carrey.

The plot seems to be a simple one. After the loss of his longtime stage partner, a famous but jaded Vegas magician fights for relevance when a new, “hip” street magician appears on the scene.

Reports from the set comment on Steve Carrol’s, who plays Wonderstone, focus noting that he stays ‘in character’ whilst on the set… ‘he is arrogant and self-centred’ … I am assuming that’s Wonderstone and not Carroll.

The pictures of Carroll as Wonderstone show him as velvet-jacketed and 80′s mullet haired – very reminiscent of Siegfried and Roy whose style and flamboyance was their own.

Jim Carrey plays the new ‘hip’ magician in town. I can only assume that we’re going to be in for more of the comedians rubber-face antics.

I’m particularly looking forward to see Steve Buscemi who is playing a character called Anton Lovecraft.

Olivia Wilde plays the female lead, so one can imagine some kind of ‘love triangle’  featuring in the story.

I believe this is the first feature film for director, Don Scardino. He has worked on the TV series Law and Order, The West Wing, 30 Rock – to name a few.

The screenplay comes from John Francis Daley and Jonathan M Goldstein. whose credits include “Bones” and “My Dad Says” so a sharp, witty script seems to be on the cards.

Alan

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28 Sep 2011
Magic Thoughts • Promotions and Plugs

Seance – The Daisey Mae Story

Monday 26th September – Preview of New Show.

It is common for Theatre shows do run preview events and performances before the formal run of dates begins….

It is common for comedians to try out material on a selected audience before going on tour…

I would assume therefore that Magicians would do the same…

For me this was the first time of running a dress rehearsal preview of a full two hour show in front of an invited audience and I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to do it!

Ok the downside is having to cover the costs of hiring the venue BUT the pluses far outweigh these costs.

It’s almost impossible to rehearse a mentalism show without an audience, and despite the scripting, blocking, routining that needs to be done its not until there are real people watching what you do are you likely to get any sense of the ‘effectiveness’ of your show.

Seance : The Daisey Mae story is a two hour show ending in a seance. I spent ages on a back story linking the effects I wanted to use and hopefully creating a sense of realism to what, is in effect, a very surreal show.

On Monday a small audience  of around 30 people, including a couple of professional mediums, came to see the ‘preview’. They were told it was a work in progress…

I can’t begin to describe the valuable feedback I got from what they said; what I observed and how they reacted.

Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the second half of the show; but none of this was apparent from the audiences point of view as a quick re-think during the interval meant that I could cover for the things that were not going to do as they were told during the pre-round-2 set-up. A magician friend in the audience (Paul Silk aka Professor Tickles) knew what I was ‘going for’ in the second act but said that what was used to cover about 20 minutes was in keeping with the rest of the show. In essence it was that old thing of the audience not knowing what to expect so not missing what they did not know…

The audience were very positive in their comments on the entertainment value of the show and all said they would come back to see the paying show booked for November.

So from this experience I have not only learned the value of doing such a live preview but also have some valuable insights on how to streamline the show and make the ‘public performances’ so much better… I’ve also created a bit of a buzz which I might be able to ‘ride’ into the local shows in November.

So now to sell the show to a broader market.

I guess this idea will not be new to many, especially those who regularly present full evening shows. But I suspect that many magicians faced with the challenge of creating a two hour stage show would look to their cabaret repertoire and mix and match from tried and tested routines. They will of course rehearse, have dress rehearsals and technical run throughts – but I wonder how many put their raw, untested material ‘out there’ in such a preview show?

Love to hear from those who do …

And if you don’t then please do …. you learn so much about the tweaks your show needs before it goes ‘live’ and of course, develops with continued performance.

Alan

 

 

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Alan | One comment | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
22 Aug 2011
Magic News

Summer Update

Greetings folks…

I can’t believe how quickly the time is going – I mean summer is nearly over and last night and the nights do seem to be ‘drawing in’ already.

The shows at Lands End have been going really well and the illusion sequence (BeJazzled) with the cube-zag and dynamite illusion finish seems to have been enjoyed by all. As I may have mentioned the ‘illusion thng’ is a bit of a departure from the ‘norm’ for me as I consider myself to be more of a mentalist and bizarre magician than a ‘straight magical dude’. I guess calling myself an” enigmatist” really gives me the freedom to ‘dabble’ in other areas of our art – heck it’s all magical entertainment after all.

With the summer season taking up so much of my time I’ve not really been ‘on the ball’ in promoting my book (Mostly Mental) BUT as the season comes to a close I will have a bit of a breather and catch-up on all of those projects that have been patiently waiting in the winngs.

These include promotion of Mostly Mental and the launch of the ‘on-line store’ part of this blog.

I’ll also be making an annlouncement about my Seance show (under the banner of Theatre Macabre) in the very near future…

So stay tuned and if you want to catch the last BeJazzled show then be at Lands End Attraction on the 25th August around 4pm.

More soon

Magically Yours

Alan

Lands End Magic Shows : Tuesday 23rd, Thursday 25th and Tuesday 30th of August.

 

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31 Jul 2011
Magic • Magic Reviews

Penn & Teller Fool Us 30th July 2011

For reasons mentioned below I missed the Fool Us show last night BUT saw it tonight… all hail ITV player!

So here’s this weeks thoughts for what they are worth…

Penn & Teller Fool Us 30th July 2011

I thought I’d make a quick point for launching in to this weeks ‘blog….

It may not be apparent, but I write my comments in ‘real time’ as I watch the show. So sometimes I pre-empt things that are said on the show, at other times I’m way off the mark.

I just feel my immediate response is the one I want to share on these pages…

So…

Jonathan Ross  is “Mr Magic” according the voice over announcement at the start of the show! How the hell does that work?

Ah well to the acts…

Shaun Farquhar from British Columbia

A World Champion of Card Magic…

OK – great trick – how the hell – I missed the bit that must have happened yet know where it should have happened BUT the card in the sealed deck with no immediate evidence for break in seal – it’s real magic!

I loved Penn’s reaction  and Teller’s reaction especially with Penn so up close and personal. Great style and approach; I liked the guy before he did anything because of his calm, confident attitude.

Manuel Martinez

Nice characterisation and comic approach with a very commercial effect – also one I was thinking of doing this summer at Lands End … there are numerous methods so I’m sure Penn & Teller would have sussed it.

Nice one Gary …

Etienne Pradier

Some nice moves – one accidentally (?) flashed so confusing the ‘moment’ of the key effect?

I was also a little bothered by the amount of ‘stuff’ on the table – clutter or having utility?

The signed card in bottle was very nice as was the identification of Penn’s selected card – fooled me.

Chris Dugdale

An ‘original idea’ was the pre-filmed claim!

OK as he started I thought “Becker” (some of you will know what I mean) the discovery of the destination was, for me, the strongest effect and so the routine lacked a bit of the punch – the reaction of the spectator to the Malaysia ‘reveal’ was ‘odd’ however

Ahh – now I know why?

BUT I didn’t get that it was Chris ….

Very nice and of course explains the Malaysia bit.

The make-up effect was good and, yes, the on-stage movie style ‘transformation’ was very effective.

The Penn & Teller bit ….

The ‘Houdini Needle’ trick – Teller does this superbly and although I’ve seen him do this several times, each time is as effective as the last.

Great pantomime skills and superb handling of a classic effect turned into a miracle in Tellers hands (or mouth!)

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31 Jul 2011
Magic • Magic News • Promotions and Plugs

BeJazzled

Just a quick note …

This week has been a bit of a crazy one for me. The first Lands End gig of the season saw the new ‘illusion’ based act that I was asked to put together for the venue.

It’s a 45 minute piece containing, amongst other things a ‘Cube Zag’ illusion.

Ok OK , so what is a mentalist doing performing illusions?

Well you must remember that my business card say’s ‘Enigmatist’ and whilst I am mostly a purveyor of mental enigmas I do like to extend myself.

For the first public outing of this new show there were the inevitable teething problems BUT things will improve the more flight time we have. Bejazzled is the name of this specially created magical interlude and on stage I am supported by two ‘new to magic’ assistants who do a great job.

So, if you’re in Lands End (Cornwall) you might like to pop by and say ‘Hi!’.

The magic show is there every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon throughout August, with additional Bejazzled shows on 11th, 18th and 27th August.

The approximate show times are:-

Merlin Day Thursday August 11th.
Punch 11.30 – 1200
Magic 12.30 – 1.15
Punch 1330 – 1400
Magic 2.45 – 3.30
ILLUSION Show 4.00 – 4.45

Pirate day Thursday August 18th

Punch 1230 – 1.00
Magic 1.30 – 2.15
Punch 2.30 – 3.00
Magic 3.30 – 4.15
ILLUSION Show 4.45 – 5.30

Air Ambulance day Thursday August 25th
Punch 12.30 – 1.00
Magic 1.15 – 2.00
Punch 3.15 – 3.45
Magic 4.00 – 4.45
ILLUSION Show 5.00 – 5.45

All other Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout August No Illusion shows and following times:
Punch 1.00 – 1.30
Magic  2.00 – 2.45
Punch  3.15 – 3.45
Magic  4.15 – 5.00
Magic  5.45 – 6.30

The Punch and Judy Show is from Mr Tickles – a great Childrens Entertainer.

The Magic Show is a family show featuring Mr Tickels and Myself

The Illusion Show is BeJazzled

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23 Jul 2011
Uncategorized

Penn & Teller Fool Us : 23rd July

Penn & Teller Fool Us  : 23rd July

Another weekend of prime time magic and more of it please – especially when Jonathan Ross is a little more restrained.

Gazzo

So Gazzo in control of his language and level of abuse made for a little less fluid of a routine than I have come to expect from this great performer BUT nevertheless he did the business and demonstrated what makes him such a master of this classic effect. Hearing Penn and Tellers assessment of his mastery was great and simply confirms what many of us know.

In a street situation this guy is matchless – in a TV studio were we can see him biting his vitriolic, yet entertaining tongue, the performance may be  less than ‘turbo’ but the skill is obvious.

Colin McCleod

Love this guy – but I think the effect, which was supposed to be designed to fool magicians, wasn’t the best choice and I think the subtlety of the ‘method’ is best suited to being used as part of a series of effects.

Keelan & Charlotte

An entertaining ‘quick change’ routine with some of the changes being particularly quick….. and becoming  more perplexing complete with  a stunning ending.

As Penn said – “It amazed but did not mystify”

Brynholf & Ljung

Fantastic , amusing act – great guys with fun personalities – the two key bits of technique which could have caused trouble for the performers and been spotted by the magical duo became the key bits of focus for me I guess.

The control was slick and I, like Penn and Teller thought the ‘clipped’ bit at the end was the secret. Apparently not, so I missed it too. Pleased these guys did it as I liked the premise and execution.

Penn & Teller

The cut and restored sheet (aka C&R Turban) performed with the panache and energy that is unique to these guys. Loved the ‘evangelical’ patter.

Superb!

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10 Jul 2011
Magic • Magic Reviews

Penn & Teller Fool Us 9th July 2011

Penn & Teller 9th July 2011

So I’m a bit late this week with my blog on the Penn and Teller show. I was gigging last night and today had to collect an illusion for my summer show and do the radio bit for Penwith Radio. However I have literally just finished watching it and here’s the ‘blog.

Daniel Kramer

The 15 Year Old from London who is ‘dedicated to ‘ his ‘art’….

He performed Six-Card Repeat with a nice attitude and line of ‘patter’ and great confidence. The ‘arm twister’ mini-illusion was nice but obviously not designed to fool Penn and Teller. I loved the fact that the producers included this act to inspire younger magicians.

It was a confident performance from an aspiring young magician who by the way got a great boost from the feedback offered by Penn & Teller’s.

All you guys at the Magic 4 Learning sessions at Liskeard Magic School take note!

Romany

Romany was a member of the Jeff McBride Master class I was involved in a couple of years ago and so I knew what to expect from her act. I really like her stage persona, the vamp-burlesque character suits her presentation and Jonathan Ross played a great patsy.

Of course the old spiritualist tie wouldn’t fool Penn and Teller, but I must admit I like what Romany does and love her stage presentation.

Alan Rorrison

An ‘underground’ close-up magician from Port Glasgow – Scotland has produced some great close-up workers so I was interested to see what he would do.

The Matrix is a classic close-up effect which was nicely handled as an opener and led to a cod explanation. The ‘in-the-spectators -hand’ version of the matrix is something new to me – great idea!

I wasn’t sure of the method, but would have hazarded a guess which tied into what Teller, through Penn, intimated. Having said that I loved the idea and the thinking – nice use of the ‘method’ in question. Some very very smooth handling of both ‘props’ and spectators. This guy was doing stuff that would play very well in the real world.

Richard Bellars

Ahh, I thought I recognised him as being on the show before –how did he get that chance.

Ok – this was a superb prediction effect and I’m not sure how the information got to where it was supposed to go?

So on watching again there are some interesting possibilities – nice blocking with quite a lot going on. I have ideas….. BUT this was a lovely sequence and well deserving of a place in Vegas.

Penn & Teller’s bit….

As always a lovely bit of entertainment and mystery. An object lesson in how build an effect and engage the audience.

Another good show!

 

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Alan | 2 comments | Tags: , , , , ,
02 Jul 2011
Magic Reviews

Penn & Teller Fool Us 2nd July

Penn & Teller Fool Us 2nd July .

So the Saturday night ritual is becoming well and truly established. Make sure everything is sorted by 8pm so that is possible to sit down and watch some great magic before heading off to any shows that are booked. So far ITV player hasn’t been required, next week things will be different,  but for now I sit with a coffee ready to enjoy magicians doing their stuff.

PIFF – The Magic Dragon

Loved the concept from the outset and the guy had some great lines toped by a superbly visual transformation of a signed card.

Whilst Penn and Teller got the method in outline so sharing what everyone would’ve been thinking the exact method was only really talked about with Piff. This is an important point I think as I have heard that some magicians are uncomfortable with the notion of exposure. To date, however, I don’t think Penn and Teller have exposed methods but simply stated what a critical spectator would have thought.

Soma – The Current World Champion of Magic

Soma, from Hungary, presented a lovely act with manipulations (multiplying ‘phones), a great use of the leaning-gag and a super paper tear. A delightful act which wouldn’t fool an informed magician in terms of method but the technique was flawless.

Alan Hudson

A prediction effect with CD’s placed into different CD players –very entertaining and a great plot. Unfortunately Penn and Teller got it AND I am forced to take back something I said above. In this instance the method was fully revealed in the questions asked and the subsequent banter.

I guess the real point is the fact that even though magicians can often suss a method it’s a mistake to think that the audience is stupid. If they (magicians and the audience) are being entertained and amused by the act and the performer the ‘method’ is far less important.

Damien O’Brien – Street Magician

Ok, first thing for me is the delivery in terms of use of inane ‘patter’ – “what I’m going to do” and other such phrases.

Do street magicians need to script their routines?

However the effect was great!

The handling of the cards and the multiple realities was superb – again Penn mentioned the word ‘force’ but in this case the method was not tipped to the audience. I don’t think anyone watching other than other magicians would be able to reconstruct that drama played out by Damien.

As with the other shows, the fooling of Penn and Teller seems to be secondary to the quality entertainment presented by the magicians on the show.

Teller closed the show with what I  think is one of the most original ‘misers dream’ routines I’ve ever seen….

A fish tank, some great sleight of hand and goldfish!

Brilliant!

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