get it here | COVER: Art Imitating Life Imitating Magic Imitating Art (by Shawn McMaster) Having appeared on and off in Teatro ZinZanni over the past eleven years, Yevgeniy Voronin has perfected his magical, comedic, rather vampiric stage persona, The Maestro. With his deadpan expressions and implacable demeanor, he seems much like a painting come to life, although just the opposite has proven to be true.
The Clown Knows (by Robert E. Neale) It has been said that anything worth taking seriously is worth making fun of. The classic clown takes this concept to his theatrical heart, providing a skewed look at the darker aspects of life. Robert Neale examines these ideas and provides two tricks that do the same.
Lisboa Magica (by David Britland) The fourth annual Street Magic World Festival was held in Portugal this past August, bringing together fifteen performers from around the globe, presenting 176 performances over six days on the streets of Lisbon.
1,000 Lives! (Words by Steve Bryant, Photographs by David Linsell) The fourth iteration of the "unconventional convention," MAGIC Live!, proved to be even more unconventional than usual. With a variety of sessions from which to choose, no two of the over 1,000 attendees had exactly the same week of magic in Las Vegas - although only one had trouble keeping a rubber snake in a bucket of muddy water.
Update Five pages of news stories covering: The 2009 World Magic Awards taping this month, a tribute to Dick "Mr. Magic" Williams, the combination of classic magic with classical music titled Mysterios!, a real-word 650-page oversized book on the history of magic, It's Magic returning to the Kodak Theater, Houdini hand-me-downs going on sale, Mac King's millionth customer, in and out Guinness World Records, and farewells to David Avadon and Professor Bobby Baxter by Sid Fleischman and John Thom! pson, respectively.
Marketplace (by Gabe Fajuri) Sixteen products are covered this month by Peter Duffie, Jason England, Gabe Fajuri, Brad Henderson, and John Lovick.
Static by David Jade and Damien VappereauThe Mysterious Doc Nixon 21st Century Toppit by David PennJoker Monte by Dave Neighbors & Cosmo SolanoSpellochange by Jesse FeinbergEncased by David Forrest Ring Flight Revolution by David BonsallAt the Table by Tomas MedinaFrom the Cellar by Jason EnglandAl Baker's Diminishing CardsMagicians' Tricks and How They are Done by Hatton & PlateTabman Magic by Tabby CrabbMetamorphosis by Wayne DobsonDante's Mysteries The Unusual Suspect DVD with Matthew WrightThought of Card in Balloon with Luca Volpe
Talk About Tricks (by Joshua Jay) It's a star-studded, all-card issue of "Talk About Tricks," with contributions from some of the most respected names in contemporary card magic. Yo! u'll learn several strong, self-working effects that you can incorporate into your repertoire. John Bannon, Pit Hartling, Denis Behr, Kostya Kimlat, John Luka, and newcomer Frank Fogg are ready to deal you in!
The Show Doctor (by Jeff McBride) DEAR SHOW DOCTOR: I died onstage last month. All of the hard labor I had put into my act failed miserably. As soon as I walked onto the stage, my mind went blank. I even forgot the order of tricks I had prepared. I couldn't remember what to say or where I had preset many of my props. How do performers like you remember all this stuff? I mean, there's so much to do and keep track of, it makes me crazy. Any ideas? - Sid S.
Braindrops (by Adam Rubin) This month's trick is marginally related to dental hygiene. I often perform it after a meal with friends and I'm always surprised by the strong reaction. In fact, this trick has fooled some of my super-smart magic friends, and that's certainly cause for me to fla! sh the pearly whites. The effect is: you take a toothpick, break it in half to test its integrity, then magically put it back together so you can work that sesame seed out from between your molars.
Directions (by Joanie Spina) It's absolutely true: in watching other performers, we can see ourselves. We sometimes make the same mistakes or the same brilliant choices, but don't recognize them until we observe them in someone else. Through this series of articles, enhanced by the accompanying videos you can find at www.MAGICmagazine.com, you can learn from watching other performers as I gently point out ways that their material can be improved, as well as the aspects of their acts that are working well. Although they refer directly to the video in question, these points also carry over as general principles of performing. There are many right ways of doing things, and these are a few options. |