get it here | Cover: Nathan Burton, Crazy (Like a Fox) (by Rory Johnston)
After the Friday performance of Nathan Burton: Comedy Magic at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nathan Burton drives to the airport to catch the red-eye flight to Philadelphia. Arriving at 6 a.m., he is met at the Philadelphia airport and driven to the Harrah's Hotel in Atlantic City, an hour away. Checking into his room, the exhausted entertainer catches a nap until noon, then heads down to the showroom to do a full run-through of his two-hour show, rehearsing with the local dancers and tech crew. At 8 o'clock, the curtain opens on the second unit of Nathan Burton: Comedy Magic - featuring many different illusions and production numbers from those seen in the Vegas show the night before. The next morning, he takes the early return flight, arrives back in Vegas at 10:30 a.m., and is back onstage at the Flamingo for his 4 p.m. show. And he ! does this every other week.
Soma, World Champion Stage Magician (by Mark Nelson)
To meet the reigning FISM Grand Prix World Champion of Stage Magic, Soma of Budapest, Hungary, you would never confuse him with a businessman. Upbeat, clean cut, and good looking, sporting a cool soul patch, he's filled with energy and enthusiasm. He's a young man ready to explode on the magic scene, even though he has been an intimate part of that scene for a decade already. He is so excited about future opportunities that, in explaining them, words tumble from his lips like half-dollars tripping down a coin ladder, colliding with one another and making delightful music as he attempts to exercise a sense of order over them. And yet the character Soma assumes onstage is cool, aloof, and seemingly in total control of events around him, strange and marvelous though they may be. Dressed in a businessman's pinstriped suit, Soma in performance is perturbed when his newspaper tea! rs as he opens it, and he casually rips it into smaller pieces, some of which flutter to the stage as he offers portions to imaginary pedestrians. When no one seems interested, he pauses, leans forward, and time freezes. Then, time runs backward. Soma resumes his upright posture, the pieces flutter back into the air - and the newspaper is restored as time resumes its normal flow. The audience explodes into cheers and applause every time.
Wonderground Evolution: On a Mission to Create Art (by Rory Johnston)
When Jeff McBride headlined his own show in Las Vegas in 2008, the venue wasn't just another showroom; he transformed the room into a magical environment known as the Wonderground. When the show closed, so did this unique gathering place for magicians and magic enthusiasts. Fear not, art lovers, the Wonderground is back and going strong. The 2010 incarnation of McBride's magical space is about fifteen minutes from the Strip - the Olive Mediterranean Grill! & Hookah Bar. The Turkish-themed nightspot has a full restaurant, as well as an attached 2,500-square-foot bar and hookah room, which every third Thursday transforms into the Wonderground.
The Great Southern Sleight of Hand Show (by Alan Howard)
Max Howard and Diane Bray, appearing as Max the Magician & Diane, did a benefit show for a hospital in Winston-Salem. After the performance, the assistant director of Old Salem - a historical recreation of the 18th-century town, using original buildings and artifacts - approached to ask if they knew of Gus Rich, adding that the old magician's apparatus was stored in the museum archives. From that afternoon came the idea that Max should work up an act based on Rich's old props. And in 1981, with borrowed costumes and a few props, Max and Diane assumed the roles of Professor Gus Rich and his assistant Mr. Jim Bailey, performing atop a table at an Old Salem employees' picnic. The show was a return to the stage f! or Gus Rich and the beginning of a new career for Max Howard.
Wizardz Magic Theater (by Steve Marshall)
The question is always the same: "Where can I go to see a good formal close-up magic show?" Well, if you're near Orlando, Florida, there's a new answer to that question. It's Wizardz Magic Theater at the Seralago Hotel & Suites in Kissimmee, not far from Walt Disney World. The new venue, the brainchild of Erick and Kim Olson, has already attracted over three dozen internationally known and local magicians, including Jon Armstrong, Aldo Colombini, Bruce Gold, Kostya Kimlat, Nathan Kranzo, Puck, Danny Orleans, and T.C. Tahoe.
Centenary Celebration of Houdini's Historic Flight (by Paul Zenon)
One hundred years after Houdini officiallyl became the first man to achieve a "controlled sustained, powered flight in Australia," the inhabitants of Diggers Rest gathered to celebrate the occasion. It was there, on the 18th of March, 1910, ! that Houdini went up in the air and down in aviation history. I was appearing at the Comedy Festival in nearby Melbourne and decided to go to the celebration, mainly out of curiosity, but also to see if I could find an answer to something I had often wondered about: What became of Houdini's historic aircraft?
Update
Lance Burton Disappears from the Monte Carlo
Lance Burton has announced he will close his long-running Las Vegas show at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino in September. Since he was named the Las Vegas Review-Journal's "Best Magician" for a dozen years in a row, and another six-year deal had been announced only last summer, the obvious question is, "What happened?" The answer came with those two words that are often heard when a relationship breaks up: "Irreconcilable differences."
Magic-Con
Just shy of 300 magicians gathered at the San Diego Bayside Hilton in Southern California on March 18-20 to experience something that promised to be different: Magic-Con. Did producers Dan and Dave Buck and Syd Segal manage to stage something different?
The Other Academy Awards
Nearly 500 magicians and magic enthusiasts attended the 42nd Annual Academy of Magic Arts Awards Show on Sunday, April 11. For the second year in a row, the event was held at Avalon Hollywood, a "superclub in the building formerly known as the Palace," which was previously home to The Hollywood Palace television show in the 1960s. The venue, located just off the famous corner of Hollywood and Vine, offered space for a preshow reception starting at 5 p.m. and a post-show party that went strong until 1 a.m. The Academy recognized performances at the Magic Castle over the past year, as well as lifetime accomplishments worldwide. And this year, the winners were...
G4G9
This year marked the ninth Gathering for Gardner (G4G9). Highlights of the March 24-28 event included talks from onli! ne "answer engine" Wolfram Alpha founder Stephen Wolfram, famed optical illusion artist Sandro Del-Prete, and a dizzying array of world-renowned mathematicians. Mr. Gardner is well known as an authority on recreational mathematics and puzzles, but magicians know him best for the seminal works Mathematics, Magic and Mystery and The Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic. A vast array of topics are covered at the Gathering for Gardner, but magic is a perennial crowd favorite.
Milestones
Albert Sidney Fleischman, magician and author, died of cancer at his home in Santa Monica, California, on March 17. It was one day after his ninetieth birthday. Born in Brooklyn but raised in San Diego, Sid Fleischman early on found a love of magic that never left him. In 1951, after touring as a magician and working as a newspaper reporter and magazine editor, he turned his efforts to writing fiction, creating short stories, suspense novels, screenplays, and plays, and becoming best k! nown as an author of books for children and young adults. A longtime contributing editor for MAGIC Magazine, Sid was awarded a Literary Fellowship by the Academy of Magical Arts in 2003. In recent months he was still creating new tricks and presentations.
Marketplace (by Gabe Fajuri)
Eighteen products are reviewed this month by Michael Claxton, Peter Duffie, Jason England, Gabe Fajuri, Brad Henderson, and John Lovick:- EXTREME with Luis de Matos
- Bill X Bill by Kris Mystery
- Hellis in Wonderland by Will Houstoun
- Sneak Preview by Danny Archer
- Great Magicians of the World
- Director's Cut II: Horror Edition
- Cash Out by Will Tsai
- In Half by Andrew Mayne
- Event Horizon by Andrew Mayne
- The Little Secrets by Frank Bonville
- Bathing Beauty/Computer Cutie
- Solari's Swami Secure
- Devious with Michael Close
- Food for Thought by Devin Knight
- Sweetly Done by Shane Black
- Modern Marvels Volumes 1 & 2 by Mel Mellers
- Card Col! lege Lightest by Roberto Giobbi
- Bendix Bombshell
Talk About TRicks (by Joshua Jay)
Jeff Prace is a young but exceedingly clever inventor of magic tricks, and in his first one-man issue, we explore his latest creations: tricks with chocolate, coins, markers, tissue, candy, gift cards, and playing cards. There will be something for everyone in this special issue.
Viewpoint (by Joseph P. Zompetti)
Adding Persuasive Appeals - Most magicians have heard of Robert-Houdin's famous quote that "A conjuror is an actor playing the part of a magician." Many who agree with Robert-Houdin passionately argue that good magicians should study the principles of acting, in order to maximize the effectiveness of their performances. I do not disagree. However, I would suggest that a conjuror is also a rhetorician articulating the part of a magician. As Aristotle stated over 2,000 years ago, rhetoric is "any available means to persuasion." What I wan! t to offer is that the critical part of Aristotle's definition is the word means. In other words, how do (and how can) magicians persuade? What are some ways that magicians use persuasive techniques to resonate and connect with audiences?
The Show Doctor (by Jeff McBride)
DEAR SHOW DOCTOR: I'm considering pumping up the size of my show by adding an illusion for the climax. Right now, I feel my show is too short. I want mine to be longer, and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on what you think the best illusions are and why you think so. - Cedric M.
Classic Correspondence (by Mike Caveney)
This article contains more words than have ever been written about Professor L.A. Harraden in magic history. In fact, these few pages could well be the Professor's much-delayed fifteen minutes of fame. What we know about Professor Harraden is that he was an itinerant showman who demonstrated hypnotism to the citizens of small-town Ameri! ca. In 1900, he was publishing a periodical titled Harraden's Herald of Hypnotism and Healing, and he claimed that his twenty-volume course on hypnotism was the first time that this subject had been offered as a mail-order course. As this letter will attest, he may also have been the creator of high-pressure salesmanship.
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 man! y right ways of doing things, and these are a few options. |
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