Posts
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 7/15/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Pot Luck
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonald’s at 7344 Sand Lake Road, Orlando. It’s two blocks WEST of the intersection of Interstate 4 and Sand Lake Road. We meet every Tuesday at noon upstairs.
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – srjart@earthlink.net
Sheldon Brook- Acting Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
2009-07 From the editor
A rather short newsletter this month, I expect that everyone is off enjoying vacations or such. However, I am very thankful to Dennis who, while in the throes of moving, has managed to put together another illuminating "Dennis' Deliberations". Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Magic continues to stay alive on TV, with Masters of Illusion, lance Burton and, unfortunately, the Masked magician appearing regularly. And some magicians have made it through to Las Vegas on America's Got Talent. So our art stays in the minds of the general public, especially with tonights release of the next episode of the Harry Potter saga.
Looking forward to seeing some of you at this month's meeting
Your editor
Stefan
Magic continues to stay alive on TV, with Masters of Illusion, lance Burton and, unfortunately, the Masked magician appearing regularly. And some magicians have made it through to Las Vegas on America's Got Talent. So our art stays in the minds of the general public, especially with tonights release of the next episode of the Harry Potter saga.
Looking forward to seeing some of you at this month's meeting
Your editor
Stefan
2009-07 Ring Report Ring #170 The Bev Bergeron Ring
President Craig Fennessy called the June meeting to order and introduced the Ring officers to the forty-two members and guests in attendance. Craig mentioned that a Broken Wand Ceremony was performed for the late Carol Bristol, a past member of our Ring who passed away in June after a lengthy illness. Bev Bergeron reported that John Calvert was convalescing at his home in Bowling Green, Ky. John was taken ill in New England while on tour.
The Ring has planned several future lectures that will include a former member, Jon Armstrong, who will return home to Orlando and conduct his lecture for the Ring on August 4th. Jon now makes his home in Los Angeles and is a frequent performer on TV’s ‘Masters Of Illusion”.
Ring volunteers have been performing for the children and their families at the “ Give Kids The World Village” in Kissimmee, Fl. Joe Vecciarelli reported that their efforts have been well received.
Phil Schwartz, our Ring’s historian, presented Magic History Moment #13 - a treatise of Floyd Thayer’s skill as a wood-turner and provided the membership with numerous examples of Ball Vases and Clingo Balls that Mr. Thayer produced in his time.
James Songster emceed an unprecedented number of entertaining presentations by members and guests. Keith Locke (Elliot Hitchcock) presented his “First Kiss” effect developed from “Room for Doubt”. A volunteer selected a vehicle and one of nine locations where he received his first kiss. A miniature Juke box was started and instructions as to moves around the nine cards on the table were followed and the location of the “First Kiss” was ‘divined’.
Guest John Donahue, who attended with his wife, Rhonda, displayed a scale model of his dream “Magic Shop” which he built and was enjoyed and admired by the membership.
Kerry Pierce won the door prize which was a DVD for the performing cabaret magician .
Following an intermission Patrick Oliver, John Donahue, Mike Martin, Mark Fitzgerald, James Songster, JC Hiatt and Bill Wortman performed entertaining and comedic card routines for the membership’s pleasure.
Charlie Pfrogner chipped in with a routine utilizing a large die card that couldn’t quite make up its mind as to how many pips were on either side of the card.
Leo Michaels demonstrated his skill in card handling, which in part won him a junior award at a 2006 IBM competition.
Josh Stenkamp performed a cup and ball effect with a double jigger and olive to the audiences’ delight.
Dan Stapleton closed the entertainment with a Max Maven “Kurotsuke” trick, predicting which one of six participant volunteers had selected the odd “stone”.
The membership was reminded that the Florida State Magic Convention would be held in Daytona Beach, November 6-8, 2009.
2009-07 Dennis' Deliberations
Greetings while in transition from Orlando to Virginia!
Moving a household and large magic show 850 miles is no small task! I am 60 years old and wish I was 30 years younger.
So…What is up with the magic scene in the Shenandoah Valley? There are ski-resorts and summer resorts all over that area. They have a one-night-a-week stage show at the local ski-and 4 Season resort. Jason Bishop’s Illusion show is currently playing there for the summer. There is a downtown theater in Harrisonburg They seem fairly open to co-producing seasonal events. Maybe I can produce a show for Halloween or Christmas? There is one young magician doing table hopping at family restaurants in town and Harrisonburg has a novelty-costume store with a magic counter in the downtown area. Actually two years ago, I stopped by the store during the Christmas Holidays and they were thrilled to have me go behind the magic counter. While my wife and sister-in-law were strolling the downtown shopping area, I sold a couple of hundred dollars of their magic! There are magic hobbyists in town. The owner’s wife wanted Cindy to promise to help them out at Halloween time.
There is an IBM Ring in Stanton, Virginia about 25 miles away. I will check that out in September. I know of no professional magicians in that area of the states of Virginia or West Virginia.
Cindy and I just flew back here to Sanford on Allegiant Airlines on June 22nd after driving a 16 foot Budget Rent-a-Truck with my utility trailer on the back of it to Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was a 15 hour driving marathon. The 16 foot Budget cost $771 to rent one-way and $200 for gas. Harrisonburg is so small that when I turned in the truck at the local rental office, there was a sign in the window that said, “Make sure the truck is full of gas and leave the key in the mailbox at Jay’s Transmissions next door.” The mailbox was not a key drop but a box on the door! Anyone could have gotten the key out of the box and driven away. I called up the next morning and got the Budget Manager’s cell phone and he said he had gone to the location the previous evening and everything was fine. He also ran “Continental Car Rental” and other operations out of that one room. It felt like I was talking to a guy out of Mayberry, the fictional town on the old Andy Griffith Show.
We closed on our new house up there on Friday June 19th and immediately unloaded the truck. It was totally full of magic props. Sadly, that was only half of my magic. Why didn’t I sell my “Backstage with the Magician” while I was here in Florida? Those two crates alone weighed 450 pounds. Of course, I had crammed wardrobe and other smaller props in the empty spaces in the crates. I learned my lesson after Hurricane Charlie and everything loose I now keep in plastic bins. I have at least 25 of those!
My sister-in-law arranged for 3 guys to help us unload. Her neighbor works for an agency that helps refugees. I believe it is through the Mennonite Church (There are lots of Mennonites in Harrisonburg). All 3 guys were refugees from Iraq! They had been in this country less than 3 months and spoke almost no English. I can muddle my way through a limited vocabulary of the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, due to my seminary studies. Arabic is similar. All are Semitic languages. “Mik-ta-ba” –desk, “Kot-ba”- book, “Bet(h)”- House . My verb conjugations created a lot of laughs as did my mangling of masculine and feminine forms. Anyway, “Yannie” saw my Peavey sound amp and speaker system and said that he had sung for Saddam Hussein. I coaxed him to sing a bit and a fine baritone voice emerged with an Iraqi folk melody!
I did have to rent a storage unit in Harrisonburg- 10 X 20 for only $125 a month with every 3rd month free. Such a deal! It will hold the 10 largest crates.
Cindy and I almost fell out of our chairs at the Insurance agent’s office. We went there as recommended by our Florida State Farm agent to insure that house and change our cars to a Virginia address. Can you believe that we are insuring both cars for LESS that HALF what we are paying here? The homeowner’s insurance is ONE-THIRD what it costs here! AND our umbrella liability policy is ONE FOURTH! The dirty secret is that we pay out the kazoo for insurance here in Florida!
We are back in Orlando until July 14th and then we move for good. The major moving load is being handled by ABF freight lines. They will park a 28 foot tractor trailer in front of our house here in Orlando and give us 3 days to load it and then deliver it in front of our house up there for the unloading. The cost will be $2,382. This final time I am letting someone else do the driving! The trailer will be at least one-third full of magic.
We will be back about 4 times a year (by airliner) because our 2 girls are staying in our house here. Consider Allegiant Airlines for your next flight. They serve a number of cities two or three times a week out of Sanford and flights can be less than 30 dollars one way! Cindy and I flew back from Hagerstown, Maryland for less than $100 for both of us.
My gut feeling from talking to people and friends of my relatives is that the area is more open to shows than here in over-crowded Central Florida.
The issue for me will be making a living up there for the next few years. I am sure I will find something in either education (James Madison University- Eastern Mennonite University) or media or show-business. Rosetta Stone Language Learning software has a large operation in Harrisonburg!
My relatives are teasing me about the jobs that are available. That area of the Shenandoah Valley has many chicken and turkey farms owned by big employers such as Perdue Chicken, Tyson Chicken, Cargill and Pilgrim’s Pride. A relative found a job for a “chicken inseminator”. Apparently, that is a real job! My relative advised me that the job was “dirty” and you had to “sweet talk the hens” and tolerate them smoking a cigarette when you are done. My family has a sense of humor!
Right now I am packing the final pieces and preparing for the final load. I will keep let you know how the move progresses with an update the end of July.
Dennis Phillips
Moving a household and large magic show 850 miles is no small task! I am 60 years old and wish I was 30 years younger.
So…What is up with the magic scene in the Shenandoah Valley? There are ski-resorts and summer resorts all over that area. They have a one-night-a-week stage show at the local ski-and 4 Season resort. Jason Bishop’s Illusion show is currently playing there for the summer. There is a downtown theater in Harrisonburg They seem fairly open to co-producing seasonal events. Maybe I can produce a show for Halloween or Christmas? There is one young magician doing table hopping at family restaurants in town and Harrisonburg has a novelty-costume store with a magic counter in the downtown area. Actually two years ago, I stopped by the store during the Christmas Holidays and they were thrilled to have me go behind the magic counter. While my wife and sister-in-law were strolling the downtown shopping area, I sold a couple of hundred dollars of their magic! There are magic hobbyists in town. The owner’s wife wanted Cindy to promise to help them out at Halloween time.
There is an IBM Ring in Stanton, Virginia about 25 miles away. I will check that out in September. I know of no professional magicians in that area of the states of Virginia or West Virginia.
Cindy and I just flew back here to Sanford on Allegiant Airlines on June 22nd after driving a 16 foot Budget Rent-a-Truck with my utility trailer on the back of it to Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was a 15 hour driving marathon. The 16 foot Budget cost $771 to rent one-way and $200 for gas. Harrisonburg is so small that when I turned in the truck at the local rental office, there was a sign in the window that said, “Make sure the truck is full of gas and leave the key in the mailbox at Jay’s Transmissions next door.” The mailbox was not a key drop but a box on the door! Anyone could have gotten the key out of the box and driven away. I called up the next morning and got the Budget Manager’s cell phone and he said he had gone to the location the previous evening and everything was fine. He also ran “Continental Car Rental” and other operations out of that one room. It felt like I was talking to a guy out of Mayberry, the fictional town on the old Andy Griffith Show.
We closed on our new house up there on Friday June 19th and immediately unloaded the truck. It was totally full of magic props. Sadly, that was only half of my magic. Why didn’t I sell my “Backstage with the Magician” while I was here in Florida? Those two crates alone weighed 450 pounds. Of course, I had crammed wardrobe and other smaller props in the empty spaces in the crates. I learned my lesson after Hurricane Charlie and everything loose I now keep in plastic bins. I have at least 25 of those!
My sister-in-law arranged for 3 guys to help us unload. Her neighbor works for an agency that helps refugees. I believe it is through the Mennonite Church (There are lots of Mennonites in Harrisonburg). All 3 guys were refugees from Iraq! They had been in this country less than 3 months and spoke almost no English. I can muddle my way through a limited vocabulary of the Hebrew and Aramaic languages, due to my seminary studies. Arabic is similar. All are Semitic languages. “Mik-ta-ba” –desk, “Kot-ba”- book, “Bet(h)”- House . My verb conjugations created a lot of laughs as did my mangling of masculine and feminine forms. Anyway, “Yannie” saw my Peavey sound amp and speaker system and said that he had sung for Saddam Hussein. I coaxed him to sing a bit and a fine baritone voice emerged with an Iraqi folk melody!
I did have to rent a storage unit in Harrisonburg- 10 X 20 for only $125 a month with every 3rd month free. Such a deal! It will hold the 10 largest crates.
Cindy and I almost fell out of our chairs at the Insurance agent’s office. We went there as recommended by our Florida State Farm agent to insure that house and change our cars to a Virginia address. Can you believe that we are insuring both cars for LESS that HALF what we are paying here? The homeowner’s insurance is ONE-THIRD what it costs here! AND our umbrella liability policy is ONE FOURTH! The dirty secret is that we pay out the kazoo for insurance here in Florida!
We are back in Orlando until July 14th and then we move for good. The major moving load is being handled by ABF freight lines. They will park a 28 foot tractor trailer in front of our house here in Orlando and give us 3 days to load it and then deliver it in front of our house up there for the unloading. The cost will be $2,382. This final time I am letting someone else do the driving! The trailer will be at least one-third full of magic.
We will be back about 4 times a year (by airliner) because our 2 girls are staying in our house here. Consider Allegiant Airlines for your next flight. They serve a number of cities two or three times a week out of Sanford and flights can be less than 30 dollars one way! Cindy and I flew back from Hagerstown, Maryland for less than $100 for both of us.
My gut feeling from talking to people and friends of my relatives is that the area is more open to shows than here in over-crowded Central Florida.
The issue for me will be making a living up there for the next few years. I am sure I will find something in either education (James Madison University- Eastern Mennonite University) or media or show-business. Rosetta Stone Language Learning software has a large operation in Harrisonburg!
My relatives are teasing me about the jobs that are available. That area of the Shenandoah Valley has many chicken and turkey farms owned by big employers such as Perdue Chicken, Tyson Chicken, Cargill and Pilgrim’s Pride. A relative found a job for a “chicken inseminator”. Apparently, that is a real job! My relative advised me that the job was “dirty” and you had to “sweet talk the hens” and tolerate them smoking a cigarette when you are done. My family has a sense of humor!
Right now I am packing the final pieces and preparing for the final load. I will keep let you know how the move progresses with an update the end of July.
Dennis Phillips
Monday, June 08, 2009
2009-06 Famulus Newsletter
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 6/17/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Old Magic
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – srjart@earthlink.net
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 6/17/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Old Magic
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – srjart@earthlink.net
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2009-06 From the Editor
Many of you know that my job takes all over this great country, so you might suspect that when I vacation I do not stray too far from home. You would be wrong! This newsletter comes to you from Salisbury, MA, a small town just below the New Hampshire border. Why are we here, you might ask. Halfway between here and Boston is a slightly larger town called Beverly, a name a few of you will recognize. In that town, in the Cabot Street Theatre, the world's longest running magic show takes place on most Sundays. We were privileged to attend show # 2915 of Le Grand David. For those who do not know, this is a show run by mainly volunteers, in the grand old tradition of stage magic. The founder, Cesareo Pelaez, no longer performs, but made an appearance at the end in a wheelchair. David Bull, "Le Grand David" is now the main performer, doing a great job throughout the show, supported by a very talented cast.
This family show, while not using cutting edge magic, is a riot of color, with lavish backdrops, props and costumes. My wife, who is quite critical about magic shows, was enthralled for the over two hours of the performance. If you ever make it up to this area, or better still, try to make it up to this area and be sure to attend a performance.
This issue sees a milestone for the Ring as Dennis passes the torch to Sheldon Brook. Once again, Dennis' contribution has been immeasurable and Sheldon has very large shoes to fill.
Thanks again to all contributors, especially Dennis,
Your editor
Stefan
This family show, while not using cutting edge magic, is a riot of color, with lavish backdrops, props and costumes. My wife, who is quite critical about magic shows, was enthralled for the over two hours of the performance. If you ever make it up to this area, or better still, try to make it up to this area and be sure to attend a performance.
This issue sees a milestone for the Ring as Dennis passes the torch to Sheldon Brook. Once again, Dennis' contribution has been immeasurable and Sheldon has very large shoes to fill.
Thanks again to all contributors, especially Dennis,
Your editor
Stefan
2009-06 Ring Report
Summer will soon be upon us and the May meeting was a preview of good things to come. President Craig Fennessy gaveled the meeting to order. We had 28 people in attendance and 3 guests: George Anomoganis, his father and Wayne Wortman. Craig reminded us of the Gator’s Sunday afternoon get-together and the Tuesday luncheon in I-Drive. Art Thomas made the announcement from Marty Bristow that his wife Carolyn, our secretary during the 1990s, needs our moral and financial support due to her final illness. Contact this ring for details. The Recession seems to have stimulated many house parties and they are keeping our magicians busy with work. Many of our ring members have been working.
Phil Schwartz, our resident and renowned magic historian, presented his Magic Moment #13. This month it was “Thayer at War”. The wars were World War One and Two. Thayer continued making magic props during the war and many were themed. Phil showed the classic Mummy Crypt trick where a mummy refuses to stay in the crypt. Thayer had themed it with the dictators of the war. He then showed an old Thayer catalog and a collection of “Bonus Genius” doll vanishes. A six inch tall wooden cut out doll vanished under a cone of cloth. Thayer had themed these many ways. During the war, the doll was themed as a doughboy and the cloth a pup tent. Other themes in the Schwartz collection included a clown, a sailor, a Scotsman, an Indian, and an Easter Bunny! Finally, Phil filled us in on the Jay Marshall auction and a rare Houdini Poster and showed us a scrap book from Marshall’s estate that contained addressed-letter envelopes from almost every well know magician on the early to mid 20th century.
Dan Stapleton was up next with a final word in his Grandma’s Necklace lecture that he began last month. He demonstrated a “Rope through the Body” effect using the principle but with an un-gimmicked set of ropes.
This is my final Ring Report for Ring 170. In June my wife and I are moving to Harrisonburg, VA and I will become a part of Ring 320. At the meeting break, the ring presented a good-bye cake for all of us to share and a going away card for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for many years of friendship and you will be in good hands with Sheldon Brook taking over as recording secretary.
Kerry Pierce volunteered to be our emcee for the monthly ring show that followed the business meeting. Charlie Pfrogner led off the line up with a Ball and Vase routine unlike any I have seen before. The ball vanished and appeared and changed into a human eye and then changed into a silk handkerchief, that when opened was an eye-chart! The wand was Abbott’s “Confusing wand” where the tip keeps falling off and changing ends and finally the whole wand is crazy. Dan Knapp came up and a spectator helper managed to select a blue backed joker in a deck that had been shown to be all red. Bev Bergeron presented a unique Die Box that he had themed to look like an ABC block. Bev said that it had been made by Del O’Dell’s husband many years ago and Bev had painted it. It opened with doors on the front and the back.
Mark Fitzgerald did his Flexagon. It is a flat paper octagon with 6 sides of each solid color. Not only is it a puzzling effect for the layman, it will fascinate any mathematician who specializes in topology. Mark then took two small dice and made the dots change. He ended with an unusual Triumph card routine. Dan Stapleton has produced several excellent DVDs on card magic and he demonstrated one. He made a written prediction about a spectator’s personality. The spectator flipped 8 playing cards randomly under the table with either backs or faces showing. When brought to the table the number of upside down and right side up cards matched the numbers on Dan’s personality prediction! Wallace Murphy had a spectator choose a card. He then wrapped the whole deck with a rubber band. A flick of the band and only the spectator’s card had the rubber band around it. Kerry then concluded the show with a hilarious version of “Who is smarter than a 5th Grade Magician?” Bev Bergeron could not answer a single question while a young spectator got them all correct.
With an enjoyable meeting concluded we left to meet again next month. From my new home in Virginia, I can always say “Good things are always happening in Ring 170”.
Goodbye and good luck.
Dennis Phillips
Phil Schwartz, our resident and renowned magic historian, presented his Magic Moment #13. This month it was “Thayer at War”. The wars were World War One and Two. Thayer continued making magic props during the war and many were themed. Phil showed the classic Mummy Crypt trick where a mummy refuses to stay in the crypt. Thayer had themed it with the dictators of the war. He then showed an old Thayer catalog and a collection of “Bonus Genius” doll vanishes. A six inch tall wooden cut out doll vanished under a cone of cloth. Thayer had themed these many ways. During the war, the doll was themed as a doughboy and the cloth a pup tent. Other themes in the Schwartz collection included a clown, a sailor, a Scotsman, an Indian, and an Easter Bunny! Finally, Phil filled us in on the Jay Marshall auction and a rare Houdini Poster and showed us a scrap book from Marshall’s estate that contained addressed-letter envelopes from almost every well know magician on the early to mid 20th century.
Dan Stapleton was up next with a final word in his Grandma’s Necklace lecture that he began last month. He demonstrated a “Rope through the Body” effect using the principle but with an un-gimmicked set of ropes.
This is my final Ring Report for Ring 170. In June my wife and I are moving to Harrisonburg, VA and I will become a part of Ring 320. At the meeting break, the ring presented a good-bye cake for all of us to share and a going away card for me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for many years of friendship and you will be in good hands with Sheldon Brook taking over as recording secretary.
Kerry Pierce volunteered to be our emcee for the monthly ring show that followed the business meeting. Charlie Pfrogner led off the line up with a Ball and Vase routine unlike any I have seen before. The ball vanished and appeared and changed into a human eye and then changed into a silk handkerchief, that when opened was an eye-chart! The wand was Abbott’s “Confusing wand” where the tip keeps falling off and changing ends and finally the whole wand is crazy. Dan Knapp came up and a spectator helper managed to select a blue backed joker in a deck that had been shown to be all red. Bev Bergeron presented a unique Die Box that he had themed to look like an ABC block. Bev said that it had been made by Del O’Dell’s husband many years ago and Bev had painted it. It opened with doors on the front and the back.
Mark Fitzgerald did his Flexagon. It is a flat paper octagon with 6 sides of each solid color. Not only is it a puzzling effect for the layman, it will fascinate any mathematician who specializes in topology. Mark then took two small dice and made the dots change. He ended with an unusual Triumph card routine. Dan Stapleton has produced several excellent DVDs on card magic and he demonstrated one. He made a written prediction about a spectator’s personality. The spectator flipped 8 playing cards randomly under the table with either backs or faces showing. When brought to the table the number of upside down and right side up cards matched the numbers on Dan’s personality prediction! Wallace Murphy had a spectator choose a card. He then wrapped the whole deck with a rubber band. A flick of the band and only the spectator’s card had the rubber band around it. Kerry then concluded the show with a hilarious version of “Who is smarter than a 5th Grade Magician?” Bev Bergeron could not answer a single question while a young spectator got them all correct.
With an enjoyable meeting concluded we left to meet again next month. From my new home in Virginia, I can always say “Good things are always happening in Ring 170”.
Goodbye and good luck.
Dennis Phillips
2009-06 Carol Bristow passes
A sad day for the F.A.M.E.group.
One of our original Ring 170 members has passed, Carol Bristow. Carol was a very active member of the group for many years along with her husband Marty. Our sincere condolences go out to the family from us all. She will be deeply missed.
Craig
One of our original Ring 170 members has passed, Carol Bristow. Carol was a very active member of the group for many years along with her husband Marty. Our sincere condolences go out to the family from us all. She will be deeply missed.
Craig
2009-06 F.A.M.E. Visits Give Kids The World - Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Thanks to everyone for coming out to the village this evening.
The staff and volunteers enjoyed the show and many of the village guests commented about how much they enjoyed the show.It was a bit of a hectic evening with all the issues with the weather and flooding in the theater that, in the end, didn't really matter. We had great show and made a lot of people happy. The folks that walked around in the Gingerbread House performing close-up and making balloon figures were very well received as well. It is because of you that many of the seats in the theater were filled. I can only imagine what we will do next month now that you have seen and worked in the theater.
The list of performers...in no particular order.
Thanks again.
Joe Vecciarelli
The staff and volunteers enjoyed the show and many of the village guests commented about how much they enjoyed the show.It was a bit of a hectic evening with all the issues with the weather and flooding in the theater that, in the end, didn't really matter. We had great show and made a lot of people happy. The folks that walked around in the Gingerbread House performing close-up and making balloon figures were very well received as well. It is because of you that many of the seats in the theater were filled. I can only imagine what we will do next month now that you have seen and worked in the theater.
The list of performers...in no particular order.
- Dan Knapp
- Craig Fennessy
- Dan Stapleton
- Mark Fitzgerald
- Chris Dunn
- Mike Martin
- Ravelli
- Joe Vecciarelli
Thanks again.
Joe Vecciarelli
2009-06 Wallace Murphy lecture
Just wanted to let you know that Wallace Murphy is going to be doing a lecture at my house June 30th, 2009 from 7 pm to 10 pm. The cost will be $10 per person and an RSVP will be required. 20 people max so please RSVP as soon as possible, whoops 2 gone already 18 more open....
The lecture will cover mostly walk around (pocket) magic. Cards, coins, sponge balls and the like. As soon as I get a flyer I will send it out.
There is also a possibility of Magic Ian doing a teach in on rope magic in another month so if you are interested please let me know.
Thanks
Chris Dunn
The lecture will cover mostly walk around (pocket) magic. Cards, coins, sponge balls and the like. As soon as I get a flyer I will send it out.
There is also a possibility of Magic Ian doing a teach in on rope magic in another month so if you are interested please let me know.
Thanks
Chris Dunn
2009-06 Request for dove apparatus
Anyone have a newspaper dove harness or Tear-apart dove vanish?
Thanks,
Dan Stapleton
Thanks,
Dan Stapleton
2009-06 PICTURES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
Magic around Florida.
Snap shots help save the moment to share.
How many magicians got their picture with Houdini, Blackstone, Penn&Teller, Siegfried & Roy or Bev Bergeron.
I once was lucky enough to visit Colon, Michigan with my father-in-law and Jerry Darkey. What a small little place with so many important people on the walls. Now if those walls could have talked- wow. I snapped shots of the photos , the place, and my family. What fond memories to look back on. And when someone else looks at the picture they have a story to tell. I grew up looking at Mark Wilson and Rebo the Clown any chance it came on. I count myself lucky to have met them both in real life and had my picture with them. Just think how lucky we all are that Houdini did the silent movies so we now can watch him and be fascinated as those watching him long ago. I watched Don Arthur and Jerry Darkey do the magic and had the opportunity to see how the illusions worked and drew illustrations for "Magic In The Round" by Don. Now another generation will be able to gain from their knowledge. I had a chance to go to Marshall, MI and see the magic museum. How sad at the time the lady who owned all that knowledge, pictures, props etc. was being bothered by the city. She was close to her time to pass on and all that collection go to waste or into a private collection. I do not know how that turned out so if anyone knows please write about it. Thanks. That is why I share these photos with you.
Paula Large'
http://www.magicofart.com/
How many magicians got their picture with Houdini, Blackstone, Penn&Teller, Siegfried & Roy or Bev Bergeron.
I once was lucky enough to visit Colon, Michigan with my father-in-law and Jerry Darkey. What a small little place with so many important people on the walls. Now if those walls could have talked- wow. I snapped shots of the photos , the place, and my family. What fond memories to look back on. And when someone else looks at the picture they have a story to tell. I grew up looking at Mark Wilson and Rebo the Clown any chance it came on. I count myself lucky to have met them both in real life and had my picture with them. Just think how lucky we all are that Houdini did the silent movies so we now can watch him and be fascinated as those watching him long ago. I watched Don Arthur and Jerry Darkey do the magic and had the opportunity to see how the illusions worked and drew illustrations for "Magic In The Round" by Don. Now another generation will be able to gain from their knowledge. I had a chance to go to Marshall, MI and see the magic museum. How sad at the time the lady who owned all that knowledge, pictures, props etc. was being bothered by the city. She was close to her time to pass on and all that collection go to waste or into a private collection. I do not know how that turned out so if anyone knows please write about it. Thanks. That is why I share these photos with you.
Paula Large'
http://www.magicofart.com/
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2009-06 Dennis' Final Deliberations
Guys and gals, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the going away cake, the card and all the good words. It has been a long time since I got a standing ovation.
I am going to miss all of you!
This is my final regular column for FAMULUS. It has been my pleasure and honor to have been your magic ring secretary for more than a decade. I do intend to periodically submit my thoughts to you by way of this forum. The best part is that you can always E-Mail me also.
As I said last month, my wife and I are moving to Harrisonburg, Virginia. She has bought a house with a large basement and attic for my magic props. It also has a big backyard for parking a trailer and a truck. It is close to Interstate 81. Harrisonburg is a quiet University town in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. There is a greater sense of history there than here in the New Florida. The arm of Stonewall Jackson is buried nearby (the rest of his body is in Lexington, VA). Perhaps a part of my psyche is also dismembered: My body will be in Virginia, my heart in Florida? There are still examples of Union General Philip Sheridan’s scorched-earth devastation of the valley during the Civil War.
In spite of such symbols of the continuity of life, I am moving there with a great deal of uncertainty. You will be happy to know that I will be transferring my regular IBM affiliation to Ring #320 in Stanton, Virginia but of course a part of my heart will always be here with Ring 170. I have yet to be absolutely certain of a permanent job. Things look pretty good for working as a professor at James Madison University. I may supplement my income by teaching ballroom dance or staging magic dinner shows or occasionally taking a family illusion show back out on the road. I will be within 9 hours driving distance of 50% of the population of the United States.
The world is certainly different than it was 34 years ago when I moved, without any certainty, to Orlando. Is it more uncertain today? I do not know. I do know that 34 years ago we were also in a Recession and the situation was equally as grim economically. Since that time we magicians witnessed the rise of Doug Henning and David Copperfield and a so-called “Second Golden Age of Magic”. We also saw the decline of that Latest Golden Age in the form of the masked magic exposer, cheap packaged network specials, the tragic injury and end to the leading Las Vegas magic act and the plunge into Street Grunge by Blaine and Angel.
There have been good sides and bad sides: The good side has been in the rise of designers such as, Jim Steinmeyer and the free availability of magic knowledge through DVDs and books and the great and the prolific ideas and plans of Paul Osborne. The bad side is…all of the above! Any untalented idiot with a buck and a jig saw can build or, if he is lazy, buy himself props and still not be able to entertain. It seems that life always has its good sides and bad sides.
In 1909 German chemist Fritz Haber invented a complicated system to synthesize ammonia. Carl Bosch of BASF took the idea and made it workable. By 1913 Germany was creating all the fertilizer they needed. That was the good side. They could then expand their food supply and in contrast to Malthus’ prediction not face starvation. Previously they were forced to use Chilean Saltpeter and were at the mercy of British control of the sea transportation.
Ah, but the bad side! With the cheap ammonia nitrate they could make all the gunpowder and explosives they needed to fight a war. It has been suggested that without the Haber-Bosch process Germany could not have fought World War One. The irony of history is that now the world could feed a much larger population but they would also have all the cheap gunpowder they needed to kill them!
Maybe moving to Virginia will be only a good side. I am more of a realist.
For some of you dreaming to become a magical superstar with all its power and money, let me remind you that there are also good sides and bad sides. This reminds me of a passage in the ancient book, The Consolation of Philosophy. “Power,” wrote Boethius, “does not make a man master of himself if he is imprisoned by the indissoluble chains of wicked lusts; and when power is bestowed on unworthy men, so far from making them worthy, it only betrays them and reveals their unworthiness.”
You can say that about politicians and also about show business personalities.
Today’s individual magician enjoys wealth and power unknown to previous magic generations. We have the power to travel great distances in a short time to see conventions. We have instantaneous communications, the accumulated learning of the centuries at our fingertips, but the scope of most of our thinking is narrow and our minds more ignorant than ever. Magicians still actually need lectures on hank pulls and thumb tips. The power of modern civilization has not made us a better magician. Instead of bestowing worthiness on us, our wealth and technology merely reveal our unworthiness. Check out You Tube and lose your lunch over what is pawned off as “magic”.
We think that we are more sophisticated than our magic grandfathers. But we are less sophisticated, by far. Our descent into darkness is best demonstrated by listing old magical artists beside new artists; by listing old illusionists beside new illusionists; by comparing the lives of our magical mentors to our own. What conclusion do I draw? The powers and advantages of modern life haven’t made us worthy. They merely serve to amplify and accelerate our unworthiness. It is not hopeless. Just work as hard as you can to be worthy.
Perhaps we are too impatient. The magic cycle moves too fast. We want to buy the secret now and put it in an act this evening with no practice, no fine tuning. In the late 1950s I visited Earl Edward’s Magic Shop in Norfolk, Virginia for 6 months before Bob McAllister would see me and show me how to do the “silk to real egg trick”. Today you can click it off the Internet and have it FedEx by Noon tomorrow. Why do we do this to an audience and then get angry because they recognize our ineptness? So, my parting advice is practice, practice and practice and use a mentor and advisor. Become a worthy person by honesty and education and self-discipline.
I now leave my Last Will and Testament to my friends in Ring 170:
My love of photography and technology goes to Craig Fennessy, who is sure to add it to his enormous talents and move to greater things. My love of making stuff and tinkering with props goes to Chris Dunn, the ring’s handy man. Charlie Pfrogner gets the bizarre and creative side of me, as if he needs any more, but he can have fun with it. Wallace Murphy gets my ability to wake up early and work hard as well as whatever dexterity I have left. JC Hyatt gets my love for walk-around magic. My old set of “Kate and Edith” and bag of rubber bands goes to Mark Fitzgerald. He is better at both than I am or ever will be. Sheldon Brook gets whatever dance steps I still can do. He also gets my legal pad as the new secretary. Kerry Pierce is given my love for kid’s show magic and Halloween.
Art Thomas can have whatever mascot costumes are left in my warehouse as well as all my extra magic tables and blank ledger sheets. James and Joe can have the manufacturing rights to whatever ideas that they would like that they have seen at my warehouse. Our new Winter Park Chief of police, Brett Railey gets my handcuff act and blank pistol. Dan Stapleton gets my love of illusions and family shows and my spare tux shirt from 30 years ago, and the first crack at my entire video tape collection with every magic show on TV since 1984. He is then to pass them on to Craig Fennessy for the ring’s archive. Chuck Smith gets my old video camera. It is so old that there is a mouse inside drawing pictures of what it sees through the lens. Jacki Manna gets my ventriloquism dummy and all my old routines. Mike Biondi gets my newspaper clippings to dollar bills trick. I always lost money with it.
Kevin Butler gets my love of Children’s TV shows in the 50s and 60s. Dan Knapp gets my love of math tricks and mentalism. Chuck Micelli gets my Ink Blot tests and Meyers-Briggs tests. If he can’t figure out their brains with them, he can fool them. Richard Hewitt can have a couple of doves and my thanks for all the conventions he drove me to and the many nights I stayed at his house. Joe Zimmer can have my old pirate costume and sea captain costume and the blade box illusion, I outbid him for at the auction 8 or 9 years ago. Stefan gets the tougher task of editing FAMULUS without my monthly contribution and thanks for his job well done and comments [Note from the editor: And hopefully I will continue to receiver your musings, from time to time]. Ben Mason gets my business ability and Luciano get whatever motivation I have to try new things. Jim McNiff gets my appreciation for sophisticated intimate esoteric card magic. Note to Jim: I had an old girlfriend in college. Her last name really was “Stebbins” and she was the last stacked thing that I made good use of. Her head was empty but her blouse was full. I dumped her when I realized that she enjoyed putting the handcuffs on me for the Sub Trunk way too much.
Phil Schwartz gets whatever writing ability that I have to add to his already extraordinary talents in writing and history. If I come across any Thayer stuff while I am moving, it is his also. I am also leaving Phil my latest stock tip: “Buy Low, Sell High”. I know that is simplistic but it still works-I think.
Bev Bergeron, gets whatever else I have left, which is mainly a desire to see the old Willard the Wizard style shows come back. If push comes to shove and all else seems to be at a dead end in rural Virginia, I may get a canvas top and play little West Virginia towns! I hope Bev can troop with me. I am not another Wyman Baker, I promise. Wanna drink to that thought, Bev?
Finally to everyone in Ring 170 my love and best wishes and I am sure we will stay in touch and… Thank you all for many years of friendship and… who knows, in a few years my wife and I may be back!
Good-bye and may the Almighty Bless and keep you!
Dennis Phillips
I am going to miss all of you!
This is my final regular column for FAMULUS. It has been my pleasure and honor to have been your magic ring secretary for more than a decade. I do intend to periodically submit my thoughts to you by way of this forum. The best part is that you can always E-Mail me also.
As I said last month, my wife and I are moving to Harrisonburg, Virginia. She has bought a house with a large basement and attic for my magic props. It also has a big backyard for parking a trailer and a truck. It is close to Interstate 81. Harrisonburg is a quiet University town in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. There is a greater sense of history there than here in the New Florida. The arm of Stonewall Jackson is buried nearby (the rest of his body is in Lexington, VA). Perhaps a part of my psyche is also dismembered: My body will be in Virginia, my heart in Florida? There are still examples of Union General Philip Sheridan’s scorched-earth devastation of the valley during the Civil War.
In spite of such symbols of the continuity of life, I am moving there with a great deal of uncertainty. You will be happy to know that I will be transferring my regular IBM affiliation to Ring #320 in Stanton, Virginia but of course a part of my heart will always be here with Ring 170. I have yet to be absolutely certain of a permanent job. Things look pretty good for working as a professor at James Madison University. I may supplement my income by teaching ballroom dance or staging magic dinner shows or occasionally taking a family illusion show back out on the road. I will be within 9 hours driving distance of 50% of the population of the United States.
The world is certainly different than it was 34 years ago when I moved, without any certainty, to Orlando. Is it more uncertain today? I do not know. I do know that 34 years ago we were also in a Recession and the situation was equally as grim economically. Since that time we magicians witnessed the rise of Doug Henning and David Copperfield and a so-called “Second Golden Age of Magic”. We also saw the decline of that Latest Golden Age in the form of the masked magic exposer, cheap packaged network specials, the tragic injury and end to the leading Las Vegas magic act and the plunge into Street Grunge by Blaine and Angel.
There have been good sides and bad sides: The good side has been in the rise of designers such as, Jim Steinmeyer and the free availability of magic knowledge through DVDs and books and the great and the prolific ideas and plans of Paul Osborne. The bad side is…all of the above! Any untalented idiot with a buck and a jig saw can build or, if he is lazy, buy himself props and still not be able to entertain. It seems that life always has its good sides and bad sides.
In 1909 German chemist Fritz Haber invented a complicated system to synthesize ammonia. Carl Bosch of BASF took the idea and made it workable. By 1913 Germany was creating all the fertilizer they needed. That was the good side. They could then expand their food supply and in contrast to Malthus’ prediction not face starvation. Previously they were forced to use Chilean Saltpeter and were at the mercy of British control of the sea transportation.
Ah, but the bad side! With the cheap ammonia nitrate they could make all the gunpowder and explosives they needed to fight a war. It has been suggested that without the Haber-Bosch process Germany could not have fought World War One. The irony of history is that now the world could feed a much larger population but they would also have all the cheap gunpowder they needed to kill them!
Maybe moving to Virginia will be only a good side. I am more of a realist.
For some of you dreaming to become a magical superstar with all its power and money, let me remind you that there are also good sides and bad sides. This reminds me of a passage in the ancient book, The Consolation of Philosophy. “Power,” wrote Boethius, “does not make a man master of himself if he is imprisoned by the indissoluble chains of wicked lusts; and when power is bestowed on unworthy men, so far from making them worthy, it only betrays them and reveals their unworthiness.”
You can say that about politicians and also about show business personalities.
Today’s individual magician enjoys wealth and power unknown to previous magic generations. We have the power to travel great distances in a short time to see conventions. We have instantaneous communications, the accumulated learning of the centuries at our fingertips, but the scope of most of our thinking is narrow and our minds more ignorant than ever. Magicians still actually need lectures on hank pulls and thumb tips. The power of modern civilization has not made us a better magician. Instead of bestowing worthiness on us, our wealth and technology merely reveal our unworthiness. Check out You Tube and lose your lunch over what is pawned off as “magic”.
We think that we are more sophisticated than our magic grandfathers. But we are less sophisticated, by far. Our descent into darkness is best demonstrated by listing old magical artists beside new artists; by listing old illusionists beside new illusionists; by comparing the lives of our magical mentors to our own. What conclusion do I draw? The powers and advantages of modern life haven’t made us worthy. They merely serve to amplify and accelerate our unworthiness. It is not hopeless. Just work as hard as you can to be worthy.
Perhaps we are too impatient. The magic cycle moves too fast. We want to buy the secret now and put it in an act this evening with no practice, no fine tuning. In the late 1950s I visited Earl Edward’s Magic Shop in Norfolk, Virginia for 6 months before Bob McAllister would see me and show me how to do the “silk to real egg trick”. Today you can click it off the Internet and have it FedEx by Noon tomorrow. Why do we do this to an audience and then get angry because they recognize our ineptness? So, my parting advice is practice, practice and practice and use a mentor and advisor. Become a worthy person by honesty and education and self-discipline.
I now leave my Last Will and Testament to my friends in Ring 170:
My love of photography and technology goes to Craig Fennessy, who is sure to add it to his enormous talents and move to greater things. My love of making stuff and tinkering with props goes to Chris Dunn, the ring’s handy man. Charlie Pfrogner gets the bizarre and creative side of me, as if he needs any more, but he can have fun with it. Wallace Murphy gets my ability to wake up early and work hard as well as whatever dexterity I have left. JC Hyatt gets my love for walk-around magic. My old set of “Kate and Edith” and bag of rubber bands goes to Mark Fitzgerald. He is better at both than I am or ever will be. Sheldon Brook gets whatever dance steps I still can do. He also gets my legal pad as the new secretary. Kerry Pierce is given my love for kid’s show magic and Halloween.
Art Thomas can have whatever mascot costumes are left in my warehouse as well as all my extra magic tables and blank ledger sheets. James and Joe can have the manufacturing rights to whatever ideas that they would like that they have seen at my warehouse. Our new Winter Park Chief of police, Brett Railey gets my handcuff act and blank pistol. Dan Stapleton gets my love of illusions and family shows and my spare tux shirt from 30 years ago, and the first crack at my entire video tape collection with every magic show on TV since 1984. He is then to pass them on to Craig Fennessy for the ring’s archive. Chuck Smith gets my old video camera. It is so old that there is a mouse inside drawing pictures of what it sees through the lens. Jacki Manna gets my ventriloquism dummy and all my old routines. Mike Biondi gets my newspaper clippings to dollar bills trick. I always lost money with it.
Kevin Butler gets my love of Children’s TV shows in the 50s and 60s. Dan Knapp gets my love of math tricks and mentalism. Chuck Micelli gets my Ink Blot tests and Meyers-Briggs tests. If he can’t figure out their brains with them, he can fool them. Richard Hewitt can have a couple of doves and my thanks for all the conventions he drove me to and the many nights I stayed at his house. Joe Zimmer can have my old pirate costume and sea captain costume and the blade box illusion, I outbid him for at the auction 8 or 9 years ago. Stefan gets the tougher task of editing FAMULUS without my monthly contribution and thanks for his job well done and comments [Note from the editor: And hopefully I will continue to receiver your musings, from time to time]. Ben Mason gets my business ability and Luciano get whatever motivation I have to try new things. Jim McNiff gets my appreciation for sophisticated intimate esoteric card magic. Note to Jim: I had an old girlfriend in college. Her last name really was “Stebbins” and she was the last stacked thing that I made good use of. Her head was empty but her blouse was full. I dumped her when I realized that she enjoyed putting the handcuffs on me for the Sub Trunk way too much.
Phil Schwartz gets whatever writing ability that I have to add to his already extraordinary talents in writing and history. If I come across any Thayer stuff while I am moving, it is his also. I am also leaving Phil my latest stock tip: “Buy Low, Sell High”. I know that is simplistic but it still works-I think.
Bev Bergeron, gets whatever else I have left, which is mainly a desire to see the old Willard the Wizard style shows come back. If push comes to shove and all else seems to be at a dead end in rural Virginia, I may get a canvas top and play little West Virginia towns! I hope Bev can troop with me. I am not another Wyman Baker, I promise. Wanna drink to that thought, Bev?
Finally to everyone in Ring 170 my love and best wishes and I am sure we will stay in touch and… Thank you all for many years of friendship and… who knows, in a few years my wife and I may be back!
Good-bye and may the Almighty Bless and keep you!
Dennis Phillips
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 5/20/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Borrowed magic
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 5/20/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Borrowed magic
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2009-05 From the Editor
Time flies when you are having fun, and look, it is already May.
Thanks to all contributors this month, all you budding authors, please do follow their example.
I am very sorry to hear that Dennis is leaving us, not just for his excellent articles and ring report every month, but he has always been a great friend when I am able to attend ring functions. Dennis, you will be missed.
Your editor
Stefan
Thanks to all contributors this month, all you budding authors, please do follow their example.
I am very sorry to hear that Dennis is leaving us, not just for his excellent articles and ring report every month, but he has always been a great friend when I am able to attend ring functions. Dennis, you will be missed.
Your editor
Stefan
2009-05 Ring Report
We have grown accustomed to meeting in the back room of the IHOP on Kirkman Road.
I even remembered the old pun: “Where is the favorite place for a magician’s rabbit to eat?” The answer is the “IHOP”.
President Craig Fennessy opened up the meeting with 28 people in the chairs. We had one guest, Ken Hicks from Norfolk, Virginia. The business meeting was short with thanks to all who helped with the recent flea-market and auction. Art Thomas says it was a success and the biggest attendance we have had in a long time. James Songster announced that the ring will be doing shows at “Give Kids the World” on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. He invites all members to come and perform for the families with terminally ill children that are visiting Disney. Bringing a little joy to them is the best magic in the world.
Ring member Captain Brett Railey of the Winter Park Police Department has been promoted to the new police chief. We are happy for him. No more handcuff escapes at club meetings?
Phil Schwartz took the stage for part 2 of his Magic Moment #11. This was a continuation of his lecture and demonstration of Thayer box magic. Phil is an expert and author on the subject and treated us to rare Thayer pieces such as a die box made to use a black cube with a dog bone painted on it. It was called “Dog Gone”. He explained that the one he was showing us was a Thayer copy and not an original. He also had more die boxes as well as a die box that vanished a billiard ball. Phil also has his CD for sale with thousands of one liners and emcee jokes called Chic Canery’s. He treated us to a couple of dozen or so and they are top-notch comedy material. He has the CD for sale.
Phil introduced Dan Stapleton who did a mini-lecture on “The Grandma’s Necklace” principle and many of its applications. He began with the Shanghai Shackle and moved through various classic versions, such as Dante’s “Lazy Magician”. Dan showed magic kits that used the principle with beads and string. He explained that the basic principle is explained in book one of Tarbell. Dan concluded with an effect that he sold by the hundreds at the Disney World Magic shop in the 70s, “Odd-ball” which uses the principle. He ended with a handcuff and coat escape using ropes.
Phil Schwartz emceed the evening’s ring show and first up was Jacki Manna who transformed the old Genie Bottle trick into a wonderful routine using her excellent “distant voice” ventriloquism. We all could imagine the genie in the bottle pulling on the rope. Charlie Pfrogner followed with the red and white boomerangs. They changed sizes and then he had a delightful finale with the wand he was using getting twice as long. Mike Martin did a great “Cards Across” routine with a male and female helper from the audience and a lot of funny lines. He also enlisted Bev Bergeron to hold up an egg-beater as a magic machine to make the magic happen. Kerry Pierce, KP the Great, laid out 16 cards on the table and had a spectator merely think of one and he found it. Guest Ken Hicks, from Norfolk, gave away a dollar bill to an audience member, but the humorous premise was hilarious. He then performed a theatrical piece of poetry with all the audience chiming in on the chorus. It was about “Fast food ain’t good enough to be slow”. Ken could easily play the part of Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man”. Chris Dunn made an elephant disappear. Well, it was a small elephant plush toy, but it was still a big effect. Wrapping up the show was James Songster with the classic Block off the Cord. After the meeting President Fennessy mentioned that this was an action packed and full evening of solid magic. We all agreed!
Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
I even remembered the old pun: “Where is the favorite place for a magician’s rabbit to eat?” The answer is the “IHOP”.
President Craig Fennessy opened up the meeting with 28 people in the chairs. We had one guest, Ken Hicks from Norfolk, Virginia. The business meeting was short with thanks to all who helped with the recent flea-market and auction. Art Thomas says it was a success and the biggest attendance we have had in a long time. James Songster announced that the ring will be doing shows at “Give Kids the World” on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. He invites all members to come and perform for the families with terminally ill children that are visiting Disney. Bringing a little joy to them is the best magic in the world.
Ring member Captain Brett Railey of the Winter Park Police Department has been promoted to the new police chief. We are happy for him. No more handcuff escapes at club meetings?
Phil Schwartz took the stage for part 2 of his Magic Moment #11. This was a continuation of his lecture and demonstration of Thayer box magic. Phil is an expert and author on the subject and treated us to rare Thayer pieces such as a die box made to use a black cube with a dog bone painted on it. It was called “Dog Gone”. He explained that the one he was showing us was a Thayer copy and not an original. He also had more die boxes as well as a die box that vanished a billiard ball. Phil also has his CD for sale with thousands of one liners and emcee jokes called Chic Canery’s. He treated us to a couple of dozen or so and they are top-notch comedy material. He has the CD for sale.
Phil introduced Dan Stapleton who did a mini-lecture on “The Grandma’s Necklace” principle and many of its applications. He began with the Shanghai Shackle and moved through various classic versions, such as Dante’s “Lazy Magician”. Dan showed magic kits that used the principle with beads and string. He explained that the basic principle is explained in book one of Tarbell. Dan concluded with an effect that he sold by the hundreds at the Disney World Magic shop in the 70s, “Odd-ball” which uses the principle. He ended with a handcuff and coat escape using ropes.
Phil Schwartz emceed the evening’s ring show and first up was Jacki Manna who transformed the old Genie Bottle trick into a wonderful routine using her excellent “distant voice” ventriloquism. We all could imagine the genie in the bottle pulling on the rope. Charlie Pfrogner followed with the red and white boomerangs. They changed sizes and then he had a delightful finale with the wand he was using getting twice as long. Mike Martin did a great “Cards Across” routine with a male and female helper from the audience and a lot of funny lines. He also enlisted Bev Bergeron to hold up an egg-beater as a magic machine to make the magic happen. Kerry Pierce, KP the Great, laid out 16 cards on the table and had a spectator merely think of one and he found it. Guest Ken Hicks, from Norfolk, gave away a dollar bill to an audience member, but the humorous premise was hilarious. He then performed a theatrical piece of poetry with all the audience chiming in on the chorus. It was about “Fast food ain’t good enough to be slow”. Ken could easily play the part of Professor Harold Hill in “The Music Man”. Chris Dunn made an elephant disappear. Well, it was a small elephant plush toy, but it was still a big effect. Wrapping up the show was James Songster with the classic Block off the Cord. After the meeting President Fennessy mentioned that this was an action packed and full evening of solid magic. We all agreed!
Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
2009-05 Musings on John Calvert
ADVENTURES
IN MAGIC LAND
THE MAKING
OF ENIGMA THE DVD
John Calvert,
98 years young on August 5th.....AND STILL GOING STRONG.
WOW!
When I heard John was going to give a lecture for the Leesburg club and then the next night he was going to perform as their head-liner at a show in the Villages I was elated.
Growing up in suburban Philadelphia where the magic bug bit me in the early 40's I had read about John Calvert and the exciting world traveling life he lead, entertaining the stars in Hollywood, becoming a film star in his own right... as The Falcon and a lot of evil doer parts in many westerns... visiting in many countries around the world and entertaining royalty and the public alike...hunting in Africa and on and on and on...as reported by Bill Rauscher in his bio-book of John's life written in 1987. Calvert was right up there with Dante and Blackstone in my estimation. I had seen Dante and Blackstone in the 40's but not the illusive world traveling Calvert.
FLIP WIPE to the by pass around Jacksonville.
I was driving on my way from New York to Florida when I looked up and saw a giant billboard advertising the Calvert Show at the Morocco Shrine Auditorium. My mouth went dry and my brain went numb. I was going to finally see John Calvert in person. I was wrong. The final shows were the past week. The billboard had not been changed. Thwarted!
FLIP WIPE to the Florida Keys in the early 90's
Chris and I were vacationing in a little out of the way campground when I picked up the local newspaper and was knocked on my ....uh!...lower anatomy. There I saw a full page ad for the John Calvert Show appearing ..NOW.. in the next Key north of us! Needless to say we jumped in the car and attended the show.
I was selected with a few other men to join John on stage where he did a ping-pong ball routine directing us in stage whispers unknown to the audience. I felt awed to be a participant.
Chris was selected to come on-stage. On the way up he somehow lost his wrist watch to the nimble-fingered Calvert and when they got to the stage John presented it to him. Unbeknownst to Chris he had volunteered as the person who
After the show I introduced myself and John graciously invited us back to his boat, The Magic Castle, in which he had traveled to the Keys. That evening we spent three or four hours of reminiscing with John and Tammy and being entertained with John's close-up tricks. He could nap a coin up his sleeve with the flick of his fingers. One time he had me hold the sleeve and the coin still disappeared. (He had placed it on his pant leg and it slid down into the pants cuff)....simple stuff but in John's hands...... UNBELIEVABLE
FLIP WIPE to Melbourne, Florida 2007
We had contacted John & Tammy to videotape an interview. We met him at the Masonic Lodge in Melbourne where we would tape it. He had two huge trailers of equipment parked in their compound ready to start a tour. John challenged me to race from the trailers to the lodge location. I declined telling him that I had just recuperated from a hip replacement. I am twenty years younger than John but I'm sure he still would have won the race. (That night in the Villages lecture he challenged two burlys to a test of strength where they each tried simultaneously to unbalance him before he could unbalance them. OF COURSE, HE WON.)
The interview went well and was in ENIGMA the dvd # 4. We had fun and this is how we ended the tape...the old Shirt-Pull Gag! I still have that shirt and any of you who attended the lecture saw me wearing it.
I can’t wait to see his performance at the London Palladium on his 100th birthday.
I’ll be there!!!!!!!!!!
Chuck STYLESMITH Smith
2009-05 Magic in Wired Magzine
Great issue of Wired Magazine this month.
Magazine Cover
http://tinyurl.com/cmxpbt
Contents
http://tinyurl.com/s26o
Interview with J.J. Abrams
Article about Teller
A lot other magic and puzzle articles
Teller Article
http://tinyurl.com/dk524h
Joe Vecciarelli
Magazine Cover
http://tinyurl.com/cmxpbt
Contents
http://tinyurl.com/s26o
Interview with J.J. Abrams
Article about Teller
A lot other magic and puzzle articles
Teller Article
http://tinyurl.com/dk524h
Joe Vecciarelli
2009-05 Dennis' Penultimate Deliberations
Allied Costumes 1975-2009
This will be my next to the last regular column. I will have more on me leaving Orlando below but first some original magic! I carry on extended E-Mail conversations with many magic friends. One consistent friend and active professional magician is Larry Thornton in Calgary, Canada. Recently we were conversing about some killer card effects.
I offered him (and now you) this: Here is how I do a bit in my mentalism act (thanks a bit to Max Maven and Kenton Knipper): First, buy 4 decks and select from each 13 cards of the same cards. In these 13 you have 6 black cards and 7 red cards. Make one deck with 52 cards that are 13 identical cards repeated 4 times. As you take out the special deck (“13-4 times”) begin with the free and open choice to the spectator of a color with these words,“Sir, do you want me to remove the blacks or the reds from the deck. This is your free choice! You can change your mind. Think about it. Black or red?” You have the six black cards hidden on your body. One in each sock. One in each shoe. One in each shirt sleeve. If they say, “Black” says, “Is that your final choice?” “Then we will take out and use the Black ones. I am going to hand you this deck and look at any Black card and close the deck.” If they say “Red” say, “Is that your final choice?” “Then, by your choice, lets take out and throw away the red ones and when I hand you the deck look at any Black one.” “Now, tell the audience so they can share in what is your free choice”. After by play, show them that you had previously knew what they predicted by revealing the card you had hidden on your body. Buy 5 cheap decks at the dollar store (Charlie Pfrogner’s favorite magic shop!) and you have a miracle they will talk about. Print out this routine and sell the extra 3 sets at the next magic flea-market for 5 bucks a piece and the trick will cost you nothing!
Larry followed up with his version: I have on my desk, as I speak, a 3-way force deck that I made myself. Whether it's a commercial trick or not I don't know, but it's the nerviest card effect I own -- so much so, that I have lost my nerve to do it! The effect: I take a deck out of its case and casually fan through them faces out to show them all mixed, without verbally drawing attention to that fact, as I say, "I would like to have the assistance of three people." I close the deck and say to a gentleman, "We'll try a little mental experiment. I am about to hand you this deck of cards. Now it is very important that you follow my instructions EXACTLY. Please hold the deck tightly in your hand with the faces towards you, and carefully PEEK at just ONE card in the FIRST THIRD of the deck. You do this by pulling forward some of the cards in the bottom third of the deck, like this." (I open the deck at the top with the index finger of my free hand, forming a break.) "REMEMBER the card you peeked at." I emphasize, "It is IMPORTANT that you peek at only ONE card. Do not let more than one card slip by, as that might lead to confusion as which card you are to remember." I then quickly repeat the process with each of two more people, peeking at a MIDDLE card for the second person and a TOP THIRD card for the last volunteer, and then let all three people repeat the process. After some by-play (taking back the cards, showing them still mixed and pointing out the fairness of each selection, etc.) -- I THEN DRAMATICALLY NAME EACH CARD (or they could have been "divined" each time and written out on a chalk board or large pad). All the cards, of course, are different, and each person verifies it is indeed their selection. Unlike the "standard version" of this effect, there is no need to name three cards and have the spectators sit down when they hear their selection, simply because they all picked the same card from a one-way deck. THE DECK CONSTRUCTION: Top Third: 8 pairs of cards, with each pair consisting of an Eight of Clubs (shorted a la Svengali), in front of which is an indifferent unshorted card. They are 'glued' together at the bottoms only, with double-stick Scotch tape, available at any office supplies store. In other words, if the deck is face down, the top card would be the force (8C) and its pair an indifferent card. Middle Third: 8 pairs constructed the same, force card Queen of Diamonds. Bottom Third: Force card Nine of Hearts. So there are 48 cards in all (3 X 16 cards). Funny, but I just checked and found a 9-9-8 arrangement in my own deck, making 52 cards. No matter. We should reasonably assume all that double-stick Scotch tape would add to the thickness of the deck making it hard to remove from its case, but that doesn't seem to be so. Why the taped pairs? Simply so I can ribbon-spread the deck on the table, or hand to hand (platform version) to show the deck mixed. So..... Have I ever performed this little mental miracle under paid conditions? NO! I haven't the nerve to trust the average butter-fingered spectator. But believe.... if I pulled off the trick ... it would be killer effect. So it lies there on my desk ... unused ... and haunting me until the end of time........ thank you Larry!
*******************************************
I think that most of you know that my wife and I are moving to Harrisonburg, Virginia in June. Yes, after 34 years here in Orlando, we are making the big move. We moved to Orlando from Charlotte, NC in 1975 to open our costume business and we have just recently sold the business and the building. Much of the reason for the move to the Shenandoah Valley is that my wife wants to be close to her family and especially her sister. My brother-in-law is a science teacher in High School. Also, almost all the rest of her family is in the Washington, D.C. area which is a little less than 2 hours away. My wife originally was from Virginia and she has reminded me almost every day since we moved her in 1975 that she never wanted to move to Florida. Much of it was the climate and the separation from her family. In spite of her dislike for the climate, mold and pollen, sand and sun, she did manage to have a good time here the first few years. Orlando was a small town then. That was way back when Disney was just a single theme park down the road towards Tampa. There was no Post-Modern Orlando City skyline and you could still find orange trees in the city limits. But something happened in the mid 80s. Orlando shifted from a small town to a city with clogged traffic arteries and social and ethnic issues.
We tried to escape that by moving from Audubon Park (next to Baldwin Park) to Oviedo. In 1985 Oviedo was a small country town. Within 5 years it was an edge city with all the problems of the city of Orlando. We then decided to just move back downtown and not fight the suburban sprawl. From 1975 to 1990 I made much of my living doing magic shows. The shows were family oriented illusion shows for fund-raising. Most were not in Orlando but in distant small towns. The shows were promoted with telephone boiler rooms. Occasionally, I did convention shows and walk around magic at events. I did more convention shows in Jacksonville and Tampa than Orlando.
I did play the Bob Carr 3 times before 1979 and the Sanford Civic Center in 1985. From 1976 to 1978 I regularly performed in many local schools with my show as an evening fund-raiser. Dan Stapleton had his shirt ripped by students in a show at Robinswood Middle School about 1976. It was during a scene where a gorilla ran out into the audience. Halloween of 1976, Dan got me and my cast to help him with the Lake Eola Halloween Band-shell show. Along the way, I did shows for Ray Ramsey, a few with Bev and Dan. I played Disney Conventions a few times. Shows within the Orlando area were always “catch what I can”. 1990 was the year of the first Gulf War and a Recession followed. Usually an economic downturn did not affect small-town fund-raising shows. But 1990 was different. Small town merchants were hit hard by the expanding Wal*Mart and began closing. The backbone of my marketing crumbled as the old tap lists of local sponsors dried up. It was sad to go through the little Florida towns and see the downtowns dead. Moreover, cable and satellite TV and VCRs started to keep people home. Live entertainment suffered. My magic show business mostly dried up. Plus, every little town now had a local illusionist who, armed with a jig saw and Paul Osborne plans, made boxes and grabbed the dates.
My wife and I transitioned into a smaller act for ballroom dancing showcases and I played a yearly route of church programs with Dr. Steve Brown. I plowed my efforts into my costume shop and was surviving from it. Then came 911 and an economic Recession followed by Hurricane Charley. My partly insured warehouse was destroyed by the hurricane. Combine all these downturns with the rise of “Spirit Costumes” (and all of the temporary stores at Halloween) and the plethora of cheap Red Chinese Halloween stuff that is imported and sold on the internet and every avenue of the costume and magic business collapsed for me here in Central Florida. Last year, after plowing over $50,000 in five years into the costume business, my wife (the manager and loyal partner through all of this) said that we had to close. My accountant had even harsher words for me and questioned my sanity for hoping things would get better. My financial planner even threatened to take back the calendar he had given me!
We decided after last Halloween to list my business building for sale and liquidate the business. We sold many of the costumes to Orlando Vintage and Costumes and they will carry on with our place in the market. The owner, Lisa Smith also handles vintage clothing and has an internet presence. She is active in doing wardrobe for films. So, I am concluding a 22 year long stretch teaching as an adjunct (part timer) at Valencia Community College in the Theater department and the last 5 years in public high school. I also have 12 years teaching as an adjunct at The Institute for Christian Studies (Medieval to Reformation Theology and Philosophy). We leave many friendships, our grown children and a lifetime of memories behind.
One of the joys of living here has been having an active Magic Ring, which I believe is the best in the country, along with many professional and long time personal friends in magic. Being a lifetime member, I will always keep you in my heart.
I am not sure yet what I will be doing for a living in Harrisonburg. There are 2 universities and a college near by and I have applications in at all of them. The TV station in town has also expressed and interest to me in either engineering (I am a broadcast engineer) or in news or sales. I am transporting all my magic and supporting equipment and wardrobe so it will be close to me and available for shows. There is a 4 season ski resort nearby. I will keep you posted. My final details and good-byes to all will be in next month’s article!
Dennis Phillips
This will be my next to the last regular column. I will have more on me leaving Orlando below but first some original magic! I carry on extended E-Mail conversations with many magic friends. One consistent friend and active professional magician is Larry Thornton in Calgary, Canada. Recently we were conversing about some killer card effects.
I offered him (and now you) this: Here is how I do a bit in my mentalism act (thanks a bit to Max Maven and Kenton Knipper): First, buy 4 decks and select from each 13 cards of the same cards. In these 13 you have 6 black cards and 7 red cards. Make one deck with 52 cards that are 13 identical cards repeated 4 times. As you take out the special deck (“13-4 times”) begin with the free and open choice to the spectator of a color with these words,“Sir, do you want me to remove the blacks or the reds from the deck. This is your free choice! You can change your mind. Think about it. Black or red?” You have the six black cards hidden on your body. One in each sock. One in each shoe. One in each shirt sleeve. If they say, “Black” says, “Is that your final choice?” “Then we will take out and use the Black ones. I am going to hand you this deck and look at any Black card and close the deck.” If they say “Red” say, “Is that your final choice?” “Then, by your choice, lets take out and throw away the red ones and when I hand you the deck look at any Black one.” “Now, tell the audience so they can share in what is your free choice”. After by play, show them that you had previously knew what they predicted by revealing the card you had hidden on your body. Buy 5 cheap decks at the dollar store (Charlie Pfrogner’s favorite magic shop!) and you have a miracle they will talk about. Print out this routine and sell the extra 3 sets at the next magic flea-market for 5 bucks a piece and the trick will cost you nothing!
Larry followed up with his version: I have on my desk, as I speak, a 3-way force deck that I made myself. Whether it's a commercial trick or not I don't know, but it's the nerviest card effect I own -- so much so, that I have lost my nerve to do it! The effect: I take a deck out of its case and casually fan through them faces out to show them all mixed, without verbally drawing attention to that fact, as I say, "I would like to have the assistance of three people." I close the deck and say to a gentleman, "We'll try a little mental experiment. I am about to hand you this deck of cards. Now it is very important that you follow my instructions EXACTLY. Please hold the deck tightly in your hand with the faces towards you, and carefully PEEK at just ONE card in the FIRST THIRD of the deck. You do this by pulling forward some of the cards in the bottom third of the deck, like this." (I open the deck at the top with the index finger of my free hand, forming a break.) "REMEMBER the card you peeked at." I emphasize, "It is IMPORTANT that you peek at only ONE card. Do not let more than one card slip by, as that might lead to confusion as which card you are to remember." I then quickly repeat the process with each of two more people, peeking at a MIDDLE card for the second person and a TOP THIRD card for the last volunteer, and then let all three people repeat the process. After some by-play (taking back the cards, showing them still mixed and pointing out the fairness of each selection, etc.) -- I THEN DRAMATICALLY NAME EACH CARD (or they could have been "divined" each time and written out on a chalk board or large pad). All the cards, of course, are different, and each person verifies it is indeed their selection. Unlike the "standard version" of this effect, there is no need to name three cards and have the spectators sit down when they hear their selection, simply because they all picked the same card from a one-way deck. THE DECK CONSTRUCTION: Top Third: 8 pairs of cards, with each pair consisting of an Eight of Clubs (shorted a la Svengali), in front of which is an indifferent unshorted card. They are 'glued' together at the bottoms only, with double-stick Scotch tape, available at any office supplies store. In other words, if the deck is face down, the top card would be the force (8C) and its pair an indifferent card. Middle Third: 8 pairs constructed the same, force card Queen of Diamonds. Bottom Third: Force card Nine of Hearts. So there are 48 cards in all (3 X 16 cards). Funny, but I just checked and found a 9-9-8 arrangement in my own deck, making 52 cards. No matter. We should reasonably assume all that double-stick Scotch tape would add to the thickness of the deck making it hard to remove from its case, but that doesn't seem to be so. Why the taped pairs? Simply so I can ribbon-spread the deck on the table, or hand to hand (platform version) to show the deck mixed. So..... Have I ever performed this little mental miracle under paid conditions? NO! I haven't the nerve to trust the average butter-fingered spectator. But believe.... if I pulled off the trick ... it would be killer effect. So it lies there on my desk ... unused ... and haunting me until the end of time........ thank you Larry!
*******************************************
I think that most of you know that my wife and I are moving to Harrisonburg, Virginia in June. Yes, after 34 years here in Orlando, we are making the big move. We moved to Orlando from Charlotte, NC in 1975 to open our costume business and we have just recently sold the business and the building. Much of the reason for the move to the Shenandoah Valley is that my wife wants to be close to her family and especially her sister. My brother-in-law is a science teacher in High School. Also, almost all the rest of her family is in the Washington, D.C. area which is a little less than 2 hours away. My wife originally was from Virginia and she has reminded me almost every day since we moved her in 1975 that she never wanted to move to Florida. Much of it was the climate and the separation from her family. In spite of her dislike for the climate, mold and pollen, sand and sun, she did manage to have a good time here the first few years. Orlando was a small town then. That was way back when Disney was just a single theme park down the road towards Tampa. There was no Post-Modern Orlando City skyline and you could still find orange trees in the city limits. But something happened in the mid 80s. Orlando shifted from a small town to a city with clogged traffic arteries and social and ethnic issues.
We tried to escape that by moving from Audubon Park (next to Baldwin Park) to Oviedo. In 1985 Oviedo was a small country town. Within 5 years it was an edge city with all the problems of the city of Orlando. We then decided to just move back downtown and not fight the suburban sprawl. From 1975 to 1990 I made much of my living doing magic shows. The shows were family oriented illusion shows for fund-raising. Most were not in Orlando but in distant small towns. The shows were promoted with telephone boiler rooms. Occasionally, I did convention shows and walk around magic at events. I did more convention shows in Jacksonville and Tampa than Orlando.
I did play the Bob Carr 3 times before 1979 and the Sanford Civic Center in 1985. From 1976 to 1978 I regularly performed in many local schools with my show as an evening fund-raiser. Dan Stapleton had his shirt ripped by students in a show at Robinswood Middle School about 1976. It was during a scene where a gorilla ran out into the audience. Halloween of 1976, Dan got me and my cast to help him with the Lake Eola Halloween Band-shell show. Along the way, I did shows for Ray Ramsey, a few with Bev and Dan. I played Disney Conventions a few times. Shows within the Orlando area were always “catch what I can”. 1990 was the year of the first Gulf War and a Recession followed. Usually an economic downturn did not affect small-town fund-raising shows. But 1990 was different. Small town merchants were hit hard by the expanding Wal*Mart and began closing. The backbone of my marketing crumbled as the old tap lists of local sponsors dried up. It was sad to go through the little Florida towns and see the downtowns dead. Moreover, cable and satellite TV and VCRs started to keep people home. Live entertainment suffered. My magic show business mostly dried up. Plus, every little town now had a local illusionist who, armed with a jig saw and Paul Osborne plans, made boxes and grabbed the dates.
My wife and I transitioned into a smaller act for ballroom dancing showcases and I played a yearly route of church programs with Dr. Steve Brown. I plowed my efforts into my costume shop and was surviving from it. Then came 911 and an economic Recession followed by Hurricane Charley. My partly insured warehouse was destroyed by the hurricane. Combine all these downturns with the rise of “Spirit Costumes” (and all of the temporary stores at Halloween) and the plethora of cheap Red Chinese Halloween stuff that is imported and sold on the internet and every avenue of the costume and magic business collapsed for me here in Central Florida. Last year, after plowing over $50,000 in five years into the costume business, my wife (the manager and loyal partner through all of this) said that we had to close. My accountant had even harsher words for me and questioned my sanity for hoping things would get better. My financial planner even threatened to take back the calendar he had given me!
We decided after last Halloween to list my business building for sale and liquidate the business. We sold many of the costumes to Orlando Vintage and Costumes and they will carry on with our place in the market. The owner, Lisa Smith also handles vintage clothing and has an internet presence. She is active in doing wardrobe for films. So, I am concluding a 22 year long stretch teaching as an adjunct (part timer) at Valencia Community College in the Theater department and the last 5 years in public high school. I also have 12 years teaching as an adjunct at The Institute for Christian Studies (Medieval to Reformation Theology and Philosophy). We leave many friendships, our grown children and a lifetime of memories behind.
One of the joys of living here has been having an active Magic Ring, which I believe is the best in the country, along with many professional and long time personal friends in magic. Being a lifetime member, I will always keep you in my heart.
I am not sure yet what I will be doing for a living in Harrisonburg. There are 2 universities and a college near by and I have applications in at all of them. The TV station in town has also expressed and interest to me in either engineering (I am a broadcast engineer) or in news or sales. I am transporting all my magic and supporting equipment and wardrobe so it will be close to me and available for shows. There is a 4 season ski resort nearby. I will keep you posted. My final details and good-byes to all will be in next month’s article!
Dennis Phillips
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
2009-04 Famulus Newsletter - Ring 170
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 4/15/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Antique tricks
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 4/15/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Antique tricks
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2009-04 From the Editor
Congratulations to the board for another excellent Flea Market. For myself it was an opportunity to meet some of you readers, something I always relish. In addition we were treated to some interesting lectures and a workshop, as well as being able to buy some useful, as well as some less useful, pieces of magic.
In another part of the newsletter you can see some of the pictures taken by Craig and a short video that I compiled.
Your editor
Stefan
In another part of the newsletter you can see some of the pictures taken by Craig and a short video that I compiled.
Your editor
Stefan
2009-04 Ring Report
President Craig Fennessey gaveled us to order. Twenty eight were in attendance with two guests, Ray and Steve Scratsky. Craig gave thanks to the members who helped with table magic at the recent Orlando Marriott benefit Luncheon for Ovarian Cancer: Mark Fitzgerald, J.C.Hiatt, Wallace Murphy, Doug Otto, Jacki Manna and Craig. James Songster offered the ring members another charity opportunity at “Give Kids the World”. It is a special lodge that hosts terminally ill children and their families while they visit Walt Disney World. It is a wonderful way, through magic, to bring joy to children and their families.
Phil Schwartz presented “Magic Moment # 10”. Phil takes a few minutes at selected ring meetings to give us access to his wealth of knowledge about magic history and to see parts of his extensive historic collection. This lecture was about Floyd Thayer’s box tricks. Thayer made 1,500 effects with boxes. Phil showed us a number of rare die boxes, card boxes, watch boxes and drawer boxes. Be watching the magic publications for Phil’s new book on The Ultimate Thayer. At the end of his lecture he gave every person in the meeting a piece of printed ephemera from his collection.
With the business meeting concluded, Vice President Chris Dunn emceed the evening show. First up was Jacki Manna doing a cute “Two Ropes to One” effect and then a Card Monte using printed cards with a Bunny cartoon. The bunny was never where we thought. Steve Hart then demonstrated his latest creation. You may recall that Hart is the creator of Wiz Cote, the popular shoe burning box. This time Steve had a clever way to pop popcorn in a top hat. The hat was empty and Steve had a popcorn box with a few kernels of un-popped corn. Before long the hat was brimming with popcorn. Dennis Phillips followed with the seldom seen but always baffling “Bill Neff Rope Trick”. A rope is cut in the middle by a spectator and in plain view instantly melds back together and is immediately handed out for examination.
James Songster followed up with his rope routine and some clever knots that tied and untied .He also did a skillful Rope and Ring routine. Mark Fitzgerald was next on with a few more knot flourishes and a routine with a spectator who selected a card that was later found reversed in the deck. Charlie Pfrogner concluded the show with a cute routine that is sure to get the kids yelling. A red and yellow scarf and magic wands had their colors mysteriously changed in a little red velvet bag.
Good things are always happening in Ring 170
Dennis Phillips
Phil Schwartz presented “Magic Moment # 10”. Phil takes a few minutes at selected ring meetings to give us access to his wealth of knowledge about magic history and to see parts of his extensive historic collection. This lecture was about Floyd Thayer’s box tricks. Thayer made 1,500 effects with boxes. Phil showed us a number of rare die boxes, card boxes, watch boxes and drawer boxes. Be watching the magic publications for Phil’s new book on The Ultimate Thayer. At the end of his lecture he gave every person in the meeting a piece of printed ephemera from his collection.
With the business meeting concluded, Vice President Chris Dunn emceed the evening show. First up was Jacki Manna doing a cute “Two Ropes to One” effect and then a Card Monte using printed cards with a Bunny cartoon. The bunny was never where we thought. Steve Hart then demonstrated his latest creation. You may recall that Hart is the creator of Wiz Cote, the popular shoe burning box. This time Steve had a clever way to pop popcorn in a top hat. The hat was empty and Steve had a popcorn box with a few kernels of un-popped corn. Before long the hat was brimming with popcorn. Dennis Phillips followed with the seldom seen but always baffling “Bill Neff Rope Trick”. A rope is cut in the middle by a spectator and in plain view instantly melds back together and is immediately handed out for examination.
James Songster followed up with his rope routine and some clever knots that tied and untied .He also did a skillful Rope and Ring routine. Mark Fitzgerald was next on with a few more knot flourishes and a routine with a spectator who selected a card that was later found reversed in the deck. Charlie Pfrogner concluded the show with a cute routine that is sure to get the kids yelling. A red and yellow scarf and magic wands had their colors mysteriously changed in a little red velvet bag.
Good things are always happening in Ring 170
Dennis Phillips
2009-04 Ring Banquet report
March 1st was a special night for two Ring members. Phil Schwartz was awarded a Presidential citation by the board and ring president Craig Fennessey for his scholarly work and excellent monthly presentations on magic history. Phil has consistently presented his “Magic Moments” in which he does a 15 minute lecture and demonstration on magic history. Our ring is honored to have Phil as a member and thankful for his sharing. Wallace Murphy was awarded the “Magician of the Year” by the board and President Fennessey. Murphy has just been honored by being on the cover of “The Linking Ring” magazine. He is a long time member of the ring and has lectured with his astonishing sleight of hand at ring meetings and performed at almost all ring events.
These awards and much more fun was a part of a fun-filled night for the ring and their families and friends in the fellowship hall of the Lutheran Church location. Before the dinner and show, Mike Bondi, Mark Fitzgerald, J.C. Hiatt, Wallace Murphy and Doug Otto circulated through the crowd with close-up magic. Chris and Judy Dunn assisted caterer Shelly Garza in the buffet line as a chicken and vegetable dinner was served.
Treasurer, Art Thomas opened up the events with the table calls to dinner and introduced President and event chairman, Craig Fennessey who introduced the evening’s master of ceremonies, magic super star Dave Williamson.
Dave is known as one of magic’s funniest guys and he proved it to us. He almost single handedly developed the classic Rocky the Racoon routine that most magicians use today. He opened with a few comic lines using fake teeth and went into his classic “Needles from Mouth” trick, seen recently on the TV show, “Master’s of Illusion”. Dave introduced magic legend, Michael Ammar. Mike demonstrated why he is so respected in magic circles. He did card changes and began a running gag with a borrowed one hundred dollar bill. It was to have appeared in a cluster of balloons but the best part was to come. Ammar did a unique version of Carver’s “Professor’s Nightmare” and his fabulous cups and balls routine. The climax was the appearance of the hundred dollar bill in a lemon followed by its reappearance in the same restored lemon. Michael said, “I just wanted you to have something to tell your friends about!”
Todd Charles, a magic funny man took the stage. His act was field with sight gags and references to native Brooklyn. Charles, an excellent banjo player, uses the banjo
in the same way that Jack Benny and Henny Youngman used their violins. In addition to banjo humor he also did a unique and quite funny shadowgraph routine. His closing routine was a helmet with rotating arms (like a helicopter). Stuffed animals were attached to the end and Charles played his heart out with the banjo theme from the movie “Deliverance”.
Kostya Kimlat presented a different side of his magic. Kimlat is known for his excellent and inventive card work but this night he delved into mentalism. A card selection was revealed by an inevitable and unexplained choice of a spectator. He did a clever book test where a page is selected from a book that never left the spectator’s hands and when the spectator again tried to again find the page, it was torn out of the book and in Kimlat’s procession. Kostya ended with a newspaper test where a predicted word is revealed by a spectator from a freely chosen newspaper scrap.
Dave Williams concluded the show with a two person routine that involved bringing up a noisy waiter, who just happened to be his “old friend”. Naturally this was a set up but the routine was priceless. They presented a game show called “The Food Game” and a female and male were brought up to answer questions. The female spectator was given easy questions and the male spectator was given questions that were impossible to answer. The loser had to knock 4 eggs off into 4 glasses by quickly knocking out a tray. Williams and his partner ended the show on a comedy high note.
Quick thanks to all the people who made the banquet a success: Sue Jacoberger for stage managing. Amanda Vecciarelli ran the spotlight. Art Thomas for Registration. Joe Vecciarelli and Craig Fennessey for sound. Craig also did photography along with Gary Adams. The lovely table decorations were by Lynn Fitzgerald.
Dennis Phillips
Secretary
These awards and much more fun was a part of a fun-filled night for the ring and their families and friends in the fellowship hall of the Lutheran Church location. Before the dinner and show, Mike Bondi, Mark Fitzgerald, J.C. Hiatt, Wallace Murphy and Doug Otto circulated through the crowd with close-up magic. Chris and Judy Dunn assisted caterer Shelly Garza in the buffet line as a chicken and vegetable dinner was served.
Treasurer, Art Thomas opened up the events with the table calls to dinner and introduced President and event chairman, Craig Fennessey who introduced the evening’s master of ceremonies, magic super star Dave Williamson.
Dave is known as one of magic’s funniest guys and he proved it to us. He almost single handedly developed the classic Rocky the Racoon routine that most magicians use today. He opened with a few comic lines using fake teeth and went into his classic “Needles from Mouth” trick, seen recently on the TV show, “Master’s of Illusion”. Dave introduced magic legend, Michael Ammar. Mike demonstrated why he is so respected in magic circles. He did card changes and began a running gag with a borrowed one hundred dollar bill. It was to have appeared in a cluster of balloons but the best part was to come. Ammar did a unique version of Carver’s “Professor’s Nightmare” and his fabulous cups and balls routine. The climax was the appearance of the hundred dollar bill in a lemon followed by its reappearance in the same restored lemon. Michael said, “I just wanted you to have something to tell your friends about!”
Todd Charles, a magic funny man took the stage. His act was field with sight gags and references to native Brooklyn. Charles, an excellent banjo player, uses the banjo
in the same way that Jack Benny and Henny Youngman used their violins. In addition to banjo humor he also did a unique and quite funny shadowgraph routine. His closing routine was a helmet with rotating arms (like a helicopter). Stuffed animals were attached to the end and Charles played his heart out with the banjo theme from the movie “Deliverance”.
Kostya Kimlat presented a different side of his magic. Kimlat is known for his excellent and inventive card work but this night he delved into mentalism. A card selection was revealed by an inevitable and unexplained choice of a spectator. He did a clever book test where a page is selected from a book that never left the spectator’s hands and when the spectator again tried to again find the page, it was torn out of the book and in Kimlat’s procession. Kostya ended with a newspaper test where a predicted word is revealed by a spectator from a freely chosen newspaper scrap.
Dave Williams concluded the show with a two person routine that involved bringing up a noisy waiter, who just happened to be his “old friend”. Naturally this was a set up but the routine was priceless. They presented a game show called “The Food Game” and a female and male were brought up to answer questions. The female spectator was given easy questions and the male spectator was given questions that were impossible to answer. The loser had to knock 4 eggs off into 4 glasses by quickly knocking out a tray. Williams and his partner ended the show on a comedy high note.
Quick thanks to all the people who made the banquet a success: Sue Jacoberger for stage managing. Amanda Vecciarelli ran the spotlight. Art Thomas for Registration. Joe Vecciarelli and Craig Fennessey for sound. Craig also did photography along with Gary Adams. The lovely table decorations were by Lynn Fitzgerald.
Dennis Phillips
Secretary
2009-04 Flea market video
Click on the YouTube viewer to watch a short summary of the Flea Market/Lectures/Auction
Mark Mason kindly allowed me to make this sample of his superb comedic magic.
Both videos are available in high definition, view them in full screen and click on the HD icon if you have a high speed Internet connection. You can also view the videos at www.YouTube.com (keywords: ring170 auction).
Mark Mason kindly allowed me to make this sample of his superb comedic magic.
Both videos are available in high definition, view them in full screen and click on the HD icon if you have a high speed Internet connection. You can also view the videos at www.YouTube.com (keywords: ring170 auction).
2009-04 Dennis' Deliberations
Siegfried and Roy appeared on TV for their “finale” On March 6th.
I have had a thin but long connection with S and R through Reid Carlson. Reid left Disney in the mid 70s and went to work with the Feld (Ringling) organization and helped with the Circus and when Feld produced S and R, he was a part of that as their scenic designer.
He gave my wife Cindy and I special tickets to the Siegfried and Roy Show at the Mirage in 1999 and we sat front row. We sat 24 inches from the shoes of the performers and could see the mechanisms on everything! I recall the dirty mirrors on the mirror tunnel when the cat comes out through Roy in the Interlude/ Spider bit! We actually got tiger slobber slung on us. I got the feeling they put “show friendly” people in the very front rows. They had us put red heart stickers on our forehead and another sticker because our area was guarded and access restricted. It was a great spectacular.
Needless to say, Siegfried and Roy are as much a product of luck as talent. If there hadn't been a Las Vegas, and if these guys hadn't been a cleverly promoted and freaky novelty act that people going to Las Vegas just HAD to see -- they would certainly have remained in the back waters of entertainment mediocrity over their entire lives.
Early film clips of these guys tell the tale: Their first "cat act" was little more than a variation of the Sub Trunk. And before meeting Roy, Fischbacher was just another cloned Dove Act, no different than hundreds that came before him. When they got to Vegas, the need to expand the act to garish Vegas proportions was virtually mandatory. They clicked with the Vegas approach.
Naturally I watched the 20/20 ABC TV special this last Friday. It was interesting but sad. I recorded it because maybe at a later date I will feel better about it.
In an odd opening to their short performance, it was Siegfried, instead of Roy, that rose from the ashes out of a pan on top of a thin see-through box. Why not Roy? The 20/20 interview implied that Siegfried had crashed and burned psychologically after Roy’s accident. Maybe he needed more healing than Roy.
The “out of a fire pan” effect (borrowed?) has been in Europe in Peter Marvey’s illusion show for some time and can be seen in its original form about 25 seconds into Marvey’s promo reel (YouTube) . In my opinion, Peter Marvey is one of the most original modern stage illusionists. He has very clever never-before-seen illusion concepts! Check out all his demo reels on You Tube. He has very clever never-before-seen illusion concepts! (YouTube)
The illusion of “seeing through” is accomplished by a “bottom of the body moving fake” that is reflected from the base with the 45 degree mirror. I was told that a rod projects from the back of the stand and when the magician moves behind the stand, the fake slides into view on the bottom. The rod and fake are spring loaded so that when the magician then moves off from the back, the fake is brought back to the side and out of the reflection view. It is very deceptive but requires a constant black background and on the S and R bit it was not constant and thus exposed. I have the entire 20/20 special on DVD, if you want a copy.
There is only ONE mirror and it reflects down. But in the bottom is a thin fake body part! (such as the way “Steinmeyer’s Windshear” works with the fake blades). The purpose of the bars (which are actually in the bottom but look like they are on the back) is to block a view of the bottom of the box if anyone is above stage level. So, on Marvey’s tape there is a fake of him from the waist to his ankles that moves in sync with his body giving the illusion that you are seeing through the table.
Americans are obsessed with the Rehab/ Resurrection myth. The devotion is definitely religious in emotional need and impact. In our perverse modern distortion of the Calvinistic-Protestant-Puritan work-ethic we love to see “nobodies” become famous, rich and acclaimed and then fall like rocks and crash and burn and then be reborn and restored to even greater glory! (Oh, no! I hear Michael Jackson is coming back)
We love it… it is the Grand Drama of Western civilization and may come from our individualistic American perversion of The Book of Job in the Bible and our likewise individualistic understanding of the Christian faith. (Born poor in a manger -matures and becomes the Messiah-only to fall in the Crucifixion as a rejected criminal and then rise in the Resurrection as The King of kings). American Christianity seems unique in not seeing the corporate identity of the individual with Jesus but rather as a plot to be duplicated in each individual. Gnosticism is always just below the surface in American religion.
Print out this edition of DD…. Tape it to your mirror! If you want show business success, literary success or creative success in the performing arts, use this formula! It is a part of the firmware of thought and psychology in Western Civilization.
Every magic illusion, every performance MUST have a version of this formula. If you carefully look at Freytag’s Dramatic Structure, you can see that it is built into every dramatic plot line.
Bernie Yuman is the manager of S and R and has always carefully used this formula when he portrays them. “Poor Germans born in a war torn country, alcoholic father- beat all the odds after rejection to become superstars” and now… They return in glory to be Resurrected and forever glorified. There is nothing wrong with this Grand Drama…This is the way we want to think as self-aware thinking humans.
Without “conflict and plot” life would be very boring.
Do I think it was really them under those masks...until the end? Whoever it was moved very slowly throughout the performance. I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t matter, does it? Isn’t life all an illusion anyway? They did make a comeback and raise millions for the charity. Is not THAT what matters and is the “real”? It is only in our minds that we bring “meaning” to all these electrons spinning in their shells in the middle of thermo-dynamic chaos.
None of this is permanent (or as Plato would say, “real”) anyway except the “meaning”. Returning again to the similarity of, drama and religion, 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 says that ONLY “faith, hope and love” are “permanent”. Everything else passes away. Aside from any religious dogmatic association, I believe that it is good advice.
The “love” is “agape” which in Koine Greek means (for the most part) “self-giving charity”. The Greeks had 3 words for love: Agape, Eros and Phileo. English is lacking with only one word and we often transpose the meanings. Again, “charity” may be the foremost way that Siegfried and Roy are remembered. The formula certainly worked for Jerry Lewis.
Dennis Phillips
I have had a thin but long connection with S and R through Reid Carlson. Reid left Disney in the mid 70s and went to work with the Feld (Ringling) organization and helped with the Circus and when Feld produced S and R, he was a part of that as their scenic designer.
He gave my wife Cindy and I special tickets to the Siegfried and Roy Show at the Mirage in 1999 and we sat front row. We sat 24 inches from the shoes of the performers and could see the mechanisms on everything! I recall the dirty mirrors on the mirror tunnel when the cat comes out through Roy in the Interlude/ Spider bit! We actually got tiger slobber slung on us. I got the feeling they put “show friendly” people in the very front rows. They had us put red heart stickers on our forehead and another sticker because our area was guarded and access restricted. It was a great spectacular.
Needless to say, Siegfried and Roy are as much a product of luck as talent. If there hadn't been a Las Vegas, and if these guys hadn't been a cleverly promoted and freaky novelty act that people going to Las Vegas just HAD to see -- they would certainly have remained in the back waters of entertainment mediocrity over their entire lives.
Early film clips of these guys tell the tale: Their first "cat act" was little more than a variation of the Sub Trunk. And before meeting Roy, Fischbacher was just another cloned Dove Act, no different than hundreds that came before him. When they got to Vegas, the need to expand the act to garish Vegas proportions was virtually mandatory. They clicked with the Vegas approach.
Naturally I watched the 20/20 ABC TV special this last Friday. It was interesting but sad. I recorded it because maybe at a later date I will feel better about it.
In an odd opening to their short performance, it was Siegfried, instead of Roy, that rose from the ashes out of a pan on top of a thin see-through box. Why not Roy? The 20/20 interview implied that Siegfried had crashed and burned psychologically after Roy’s accident. Maybe he needed more healing than Roy.
The “out of a fire pan” effect (borrowed?) has been in Europe in Peter Marvey’s illusion show for some time and can be seen in its original form about 25 seconds into Marvey’s promo reel (YouTube) . In my opinion, Peter Marvey is one of the most original modern stage illusionists. He has very clever never-before-seen illusion concepts! Check out all his demo reels on You Tube. He has very clever never-before-seen illusion concepts! (YouTube)
The illusion of “seeing through” is accomplished by a “bottom of the body moving fake” that is reflected from the base with the 45 degree mirror. I was told that a rod projects from the back of the stand and when the magician moves behind the stand, the fake slides into view on the bottom. The rod and fake are spring loaded so that when the magician then moves off from the back, the fake is brought back to the side and out of the reflection view. It is very deceptive but requires a constant black background and on the S and R bit it was not constant and thus exposed. I have the entire 20/20 special on DVD, if you want a copy.
There is only ONE mirror and it reflects down. But in the bottom is a thin fake body part! (such as the way “Steinmeyer’s Windshear” works with the fake blades). The purpose of the bars (which are actually in the bottom but look like they are on the back) is to block a view of the bottom of the box if anyone is above stage level. So, on Marvey’s tape there is a fake of him from the waist to his ankles that moves in sync with his body giving the illusion that you are seeing through the table.
Americans are obsessed with the Rehab/ Resurrection myth. The devotion is definitely religious in emotional need and impact. In our perverse modern distortion of the Calvinistic-Protestant-Puritan work-ethic we love to see “nobodies” become famous, rich and acclaimed and then fall like rocks and crash and burn and then be reborn and restored to even greater glory! (Oh, no! I hear Michael Jackson is coming back)
We love it… it is the Grand Drama of Western civilization and may come from our individualistic American perversion of The Book of Job in the Bible and our likewise individualistic understanding of the Christian faith. (Born poor in a manger -matures and becomes the Messiah-only to fall in the Crucifixion as a rejected criminal and then rise in the Resurrection as The King of kings). American Christianity seems unique in not seeing the corporate identity of the individual with Jesus but rather as a plot to be duplicated in each individual. Gnosticism is always just below the surface in American religion.
Print out this edition of DD…. Tape it to your mirror! If you want show business success, literary success or creative success in the performing arts, use this formula! It is a part of the firmware of thought and psychology in Western Civilization.
Every magic illusion, every performance MUST have a version of this formula. If you carefully look at Freytag’s Dramatic Structure, you can see that it is built into every dramatic plot line.
Bernie Yuman is the manager of S and R and has always carefully used this formula when he portrays them. “Poor Germans born in a war torn country, alcoholic father- beat all the odds after rejection to become superstars” and now… They return in glory to be Resurrected and forever glorified. There is nothing wrong with this Grand Drama…This is the way we want to think as self-aware thinking humans.
Without “conflict and plot” life would be very boring.
Do I think it was really them under those masks...until the end? Whoever it was moved very slowly throughout the performance. I don’t know. I guess it doesn’t matter, does it? Isn’t life all an illusion anyway? They did make a comeback and raise millions for the charity. Is not THAT what matters and is the “real”? It is only in our minds that we bring “meaning” to all these electrons spinning in their shells in the middle of thermo-dynamic chaos.
None of this is permanent (or as Plato would say, “real”) anyway except the “meaning”. Returning again to the similarity of, drama and religion, 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 says that ONLY “faith, hope and love” are “permanent”. Everything else passes away. Aside from any religious dogmatic association, I believe that it is good advice.
The “love” is “agape” which in Koine Greek means (for the most part) “self-giving charity”. The Greeks had 3 words for love: Agape, Eros and Phileo. English is lacking with only one word and we often transpose the meanings. Again, “charity” may be the foremost way that Siegfried and Roy are remembered. The formula certainly worked for Jerry Lewis.
Dennis Phillips
Saturday, March 07, 2009
2009-03 Famulus newsletter
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 3/18/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 3/18/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2009-03 From the editor
I am sorry that I had to miss this year's Banquet, it has always been one of the highpoints of the year for me. I am back on a project, so traveling on Sunday nights, at least that was the intention last week. Due to the snow storm which affected the East coast last weekend, many flights were canceled, including mine. So I ended up leaving very early Monday morning. Unfortunately Craig had already circulated that the show was sold out, so I could not uncancel my cancellation.
It sounds like a great time was had by all, thanks to Art for some back stage insight (below). Thanks also to Dan and Charles for their contributions as well as the regular deliberations and ring meeting notes from Dennis.
Do not forget that Auction is coming up soon, I hope to see every one there
Your editor
Stefan
It sounds like a great time was had by all, thanks to Art for some back stage insight (below). Thanks also to Dan and Charles for their contributions as well as the regular deliberations and ring meeting notes from Dennis.
Do not forget that Auction is coming up soon, I hope to see every one there
Your editor
Stefan
2009-03 Ring Report Ring #170 The Bev Bergeron Ring
We are still homeless! It looks like the Ring will be loitering in the back from of IHOP on Kirkman Road for a while. We had planned to have a permanent meeting place by the spring but so far all the prospects for any of the new locations have fallen through. The current economic downturn has cut funding on city and country recreation buildings. The board continues to work on a new location.
February’s meeting was opened by President Craig Fennessy and a quick mention was made of all the upcoming magic events in the Orlando area. You should frequently check our Ring 170 website for continuous updates. We were thrilled that our own Wallace Murphy was on the cover of The Linking Ring. Wallace is one of our most talented members and is also one of our longest ring members.
After the short business meeting we turned to our guest lecturer for the evening, John Luka from Michigan. John has been an avid magic enthusiast for most of his life. Included among his mentors were Milt Kort and Harry Riser. John is the founder of The Motor City Close-Up Convention, held in Taylor, Michigan, now in its eleventh year. This convention brings top line performers into Detroit to perform and lecture.
John’s “Thoughts On…” column appeared in The New Tops magazine published by the Abbott Magic Company. The lecture contained material from John’s new book, Uncovered. Some of the magic included a no palm card to wallet and a three-ball routine, called Chroma Balls, which we scratched our heads over.
Featured is Licked At Last, which the experts are calling the best yet In The Hands Triumph. Another stand out item was Back to the 19th Century, an incredible assembly that will make you a believer.
There was even more great stuff that works well in the real world. Each and every effect has been audience tested over the years. Every item that John performed at the lecture was fully explained. He also provided his sources of inspiration.
John’s lecture contained do-able, practical magic. Be sure to catch his lecture when he is in your area and find out for yourself. You’ll be glad you did.
Good things are always happening in Ring 170
Dennis Phillips
2009-03 Adventures in Magicland
THE MAKING OF ENIGMA THE DVD
Part One
by
Chuck STYLESMITH Smith
When my son Chris and I came up with the idea for a video series for magicians we had great hopes for its acceptance. In a way it was successful but the best thing to come from it was the opportunity to meet some of the greatest magicians of today and yesterday, John Calvert, Mart Wilson, Jeff McBride, Terry Seabrook, Jack Kodell, Celeste Evans, I could go on and on.
(I am not neglecting to mention our own Bev Bergeron and Dan Stapleton.)
We traveled the country for two years and produced seven - two and a half hour dvd disks of magic that included interviews, visits to some of the remaining brick and mortar magic shops, hints from the professionals and tricks demonstrated and explained by the presenters.
From Monday Night Magic, Fantasma Magic Shop and the New York City Roundtable, to Denny Haney’s in both Baltimore and in Vegas, visits to Norm Nielsen’s home to see his poster collection and spending time among the unbelievable collection in Gary Darwin’s abode and on to Texas, Phoenix and California for visits to The Castle, Lee Grable, Jay Leslie and on and on.
One of the first places we visited was Las Vegas, referred as the magic capital of the world. I’ll have to admit there were a lot of magic shows in Vegas when we visited...and there still are. With limited time we saw Mac King, Nathan Burton, several magicians on a show that included Kevin James and a midnight show about vampire ladies scantily clad...but of course, we went to see the magic theme of the show. (Sure!) We missed the top draw, Lance Burton but we did get to visit and interview Gary Darwin and Norm Nielsen at their homes.
We knew that Denny & Lee had a brick and mortar shop in Vegas and trouped out to videotape it for the series. We had a great interview with Tom, who runs the shop and were invited back to an evening of magic in the “backroom.” It’s secret entrance was behind a bookcase which opened into a small theatre with stage and chairs. It was “open mike night” and several of the “locals” did a turn. I guess the ambiance of Vegas makes every magician look good. I especially liked a guy who did sightless vision and up until that time I was not a big fan of that venue of our craft.
Wonder of wonders, Denny, himself appeared, in his trademarked checkered sneakers. He said he had stopped in from the home shop in Baltimore on his way to play The Castle next week. We, too, were going to be in Los Angeles the next week. AND Wonder of wonders #2, Denny invited us to be his guests at The Castle.
Flash forward a few days and a lot of miles and we were in The Castle. Denny did an egg bag routine with two ladies from the audience and it drove home the fact that it is not the TRICK but the performance that is the entertainment. The magic is only the vehicle for the amusement. That thought reminded me of another egg bag worker Jeff Hobson...the same trick but a completely different approach.
That night we met Mark and Nani Wilson, who we later visited, and renewed our acquaintance with Ballentine whom we had spent a few hours chatting during a convention in Daytona.
All for now. Next month we travel up the California coast near San Francisco and visit Lee Grabel and wife, Helene.
Part One
by
Chuck STYLESMITH Smith
When my son Chris and I came up with the idea for a video series for magicians we had great hopes for its acceptance. In a way it was successful but the best thing to come from it was the opportunity to meet some of the greatest magicians of today and yesterday, John Calvert, Mart Wilson, Jeff McBride, Terry Seabrook, Jack Kodell, Celeste Evans, I could go on and on.
(I am not neglecting to mention our own Bev Bergeron and Dan Stapleton.)
We traveled the country for two years and produced seven - two and a half hour dvd disks of magic that included interviews, visits to some of the remaining brick and mortar magic shops, hints from the professionals and tricks demonstrated and explained by the presenters.
From Monday Night Magic, Fantasma Magic Shop and the New York City Roundtable, to Denny Haney’s in both Baltimore and in Vegas, visits to Norm Nielsen’s home to see his poster collection and spending time among the unbelievable collection in Gary Darwin’s abode and on to Texas, Phoenix and California for visits to The Castle, Lee Grable, Jay Leslie and on and on.
One of the first places we visited was Las Vegas, referred as the magic capital of the world. I’ll have to admit there were a lot of magic shows in Vegas when we visited...and there still are. With limited time we saw Mac King, Nathan Burton, several magicians on a show that included Kevin James and a midnight show about vampire ladies scantily clad...but of course, we went to see the magic theme of the show. (Sure!) We missed the top draw, Lance Burton but we did get to visit and interview Gary Darwin and Norm Nielsen at their homes.
We knew that Denny & Lee had a brick and mortar shop in Vegas and trouped out to videotape it for the series. We had a great interview with Tom, who runs the shop and were invited back to an evening of magic in the “backroom.” It’s secret entrance was behind a bookcase which opened into a small theatre with stage and chairs. It was “open mike night” and several of the “locals” did a turn. I guess the ambiance of Vegas makes every magician look good. I especially liked a guy who did sightless vision and up until that time I was not a big fan of that venue of our craft.
Wonder of wonders, Denny, himself appeared, in his trademarked checkered sneakers. He said he had stopped in from the home shop in Baltimore on his way to play The Castle next week. We, too, were going to be in Los Angeles the next week. AND Wonder of wonders #2, Denny invited us to be his guests at The Castle.
Flash forward a few days and a lot of miles and we were in The Castle. Denny did an egg bag routine with two ladies from the audience and it drove home the fact that it is not the TRICK but the performance that is the entertainment. The magic is only the vehicle for the amusement. That thought reminded me of another egg bag worker Jeff Hobson...the same trick but a completely different approach.
That night we met Mark and Nani Wilson, who we later visited, and renewed our acquaintance with Ballentine whom we had spent a few hours chatting during a convention in Daytona.
All for now. Next month we travel up the California coast near San Francisco and visit Lee Grabel and wife, Helene.
2009-03 Annual Banquet
The annual banquet seems to have been a great success, here are some notes from Art Thomas.
In my opinion, the show was excellent, and the entire event was about as good as it can get for a club banquet show.
I thought that I would offer a "behind the scenes" insight that might not otherwise be known...
Now, we have all heard the show business stories about "stars" who are difficult to work with. Some of us have actually experienced these situations. Well, for this banquet show, we worked with four true stars - Dave Williamson, Michael Ammar, Kostya Kimlat, and Todd Charles. Each one of these gentlemen was a delight to work with. They are all total professionals. I realize that it may be disappointing that there isn't any "dirt" to share, or any intrigue. But, honestly, I can't imagine how any of these true professional entertainers could have been any more delightful to work with. They were all just great, both on stage, and off stage.
If anyone is ever in a position to recommend or hire any of these performers, I encourage you to do so. I certainly give them my highest recommendation, and will gladly work with any of them again.
During Dave Williamson's act he did a bit where he pulled up a woman from the audience to participate in a skit. What he didn't know was that the woman that he selected was Sheila Ward (Terry Ward's wife)who is a top-notch comedic improv performer and actress. Now, trust me, Sheila is so quick and funny that she could have easily upstaged the entire skit. But she didn't. She just played along exactly as anyone would want their audience participants to do. The skit was very funny, and Sheila was a great sport. Equally important, Sheila demonstrated what true professionalism is all about. She showed restraint by not taking advantage of the situation to steal the show.
There are many people in magic who could learn from this. Too often, when magicians volunteer to help others, they try to make themselves the center of attention. This seldom makes an act or a show any better. We should all learn from Sheila to know when it is our turn, and when it isn't. She set an excellent example for all of us to follow.
In my opinion, the show was excellent, and the entire event was about as good as it can get for a club banquet show.
I thought that I would offer a "behind the scenes" insight that might not otherwise be known...
Now, we have all heard the show business stories about "stars" who are difficult to work with. Some of us have actually experienced these situations. Well, for this banquet show, we worked with four true stars - Dave Williamson, Michael Ammar, Kostya Kimlat, and Todd Charles. Each one of these gentlemen was a delight to work with. They are all total professionals. I realize that it may be disappointing that there isn't any "dirt" to share, or any intrigue. But, honestly, I can't imagine how any of these true professional entertainers could have been any more delightful to work with. They were all just great, both on stage, and off stage.
If anyone is ever in a position to recommend or hire any of these performers, I encourage you to do so. I certainly give them my highest recommendation, and will gladly work with any of them again.
During Dave Williamson's act he did a bit where he pulled up a woman from the audience to participate in a skit. What he didn't know was that the woman that he selected was Sheila Ward (Terry Ward's wife)who is a top-notch comedic improv performer and actress. Now, trust me, Sheila is so quick and funny that she could have easily upstaged the entire skit. But she didn't. She just played along exactly as anyone would want their audience participants to do. The skit was very funny, and Sheila was a great sport. Equally important, Sheila demonstrated what true professionalism is all about. She showed restraint by not taking advantage of the situation to steal the show.
There are many people in magic who could learn from this. Too often, when magicians volunteer to help others, they try to make themselves the center of attention. This seldom makes an act or a show any better. We should all learn from Sheila to know when it is our turn, and when it isn't. She set an excellent example for all of us to follow.
2009-03 David Copperfield at Bob Carr
Anybody want to buy an unused ticket to see last months show?
My seat was actually 8th row center...not bad. But when I arrived at the Bob Carr, Jack Kodell was already there and offered me a ticket that he had as extra, one that was given to him by his friend David Copperfield. To make sure I sat in, at least a seat as good as mine, I asked the usher which seat was better. She said, "Mister, the only way you can get a better seat than this (Kodell's) is if you are ON STAGE with Copperfield!" That's right...front row-center!
Jack didn't like the seats that close so we moved back a row. I still find it amazing that "DC" can do the huge illusions CLOSE-UP...and you still cannot see how they are done (unless, of course you already know).
Sitting that close you can nearly read what he is thinking...see every eye movement...see his eyes scanning the front looking for either his stooges, friends, or babes (yes, they were sitting behind me and next to me).
DC performed only two shows this year (at least four shows in years past) and the 2500 seats were filled at 80% for my 8:30pm show. That show actually started at 8:50pm, typical for a DC show (I've been to six or seven shows and they NEVER start on time although mine rarely do either). A very clever 10 minute promotional video was first and at 9:00pm David made his appearance on a motorcycle from a giant Shadow Box illusion. He next performed Ringflight with a borrowed ring appearing on his "baby shoe" lace. He next performed his very cool Passing Thru a Steel Plate illusion. This actually looks better from a distance as I watched three and four years ago.
Next was Kevin James' Floating Rose followed by a self-Shrinking illusion in box.
He then had two female assistants (from audience) on stage assist him with a Pick-A-Card-Live Scorpion-Find card trick. He then did his very dangerous (the recent news getter...assistant very badly injured) Walking Thru Giant Industrial Fan illusion.
New this year was his fun Dancing Neck Tie routine.My seat was actually 8th row center...not bad. But when I arrived at the Bob Carr, Jack Kodell was already there and offered me a ticket that he had as extra, one that was given to him by his friend David Copperfield. To make sure I sat in, at least a seat as good as mine, I asked the usher which seat was better. She said, "Mister, the only way you can get a better seat than this (Kodell's) is if you are ON STAGE with Copperfield!" That's right...front row-center!
Jack didn't like the seats that close so we moved back a row. I still find it amazing that "DC" can do the huge illusions CLOSE-UP...and you still cannot see how they are done (unless, of course you already know).
Sitting that close you can nearly read what he is thinking...see every eye movement...see his eyes scanning the front looking for either his stooges, friends, or babes (yes, they were sitting behind me and next to me).
DC performed only two shows this year (at least four shows in years past) and the 2500 seats were filled at 80% for my 8:30pm show. That show actually started at 8:50pm, typical for a DC show (I've been to six or seven shows and they NEVER start on time although mine rarely do either). A very clever 10 minute promotional video was first and at 9:00pm David made his appearance on a motorcycle from a giant Shadow Box illusion. He next performed Ringflight with a borrowed ring appearing on his "baby shoe" lace. He next performed his very cool Passing Thru a Steel Plate illusion. This actually looks better from a distance as I watched three and four years ago.
Next was Kevin James' Floating Rose followed by a self-Shrinking illusion in box.
He then had two female assistants (from audience) on stage assist him with a Pick-A-Card-Live Scorpion-Find card trick. He then did his very dangerous (the recent news getter...assistant very badly injured) Walking Thru Giant Industrial Fan illusion.
Next was his (slow motion) Duck Bucket routine with Webster the Duck, then my favorite of the show, his ESP routine involving a license plate, concluding with an Appearing Car that sits on top of pillars AT THE FOOT OF THE STAGE!
Next was a 10 minute video of one of his old television specials of his straight jacket routines. This set up his finale of vanishing 13 people from the audience.
Show concluded at 10:15 so with the two video's he actually had approx. 65 minutes of on stage time but really packed alot into his show.
Great show as it usually is, but he looked tired and seemed to just "walk" through the routines, especially the ones that require patter. I suppose I would too with the schedule that he has. After the show he stated that it has been a tough year for him, with the death of his mother, the injury of his assistant and the highly publicized accusation of some sort of altercation between him and a female.
A young man, who won one of the Daytona Beach magic convention contests saw me and asked if he could meet DC as he had a few old books that were given to him by his father, who also recently passed away. I asked DC and he obliged. The young man handed DC the books and DC looked genuinely touched. I told the young man (I think his name is Jeff) that he will remember that moment for the rest of his life...and he will. The look on Jeff’s face will probably be the thing that I will always remember about this particular performance. That and the ticket I never used but received a front row seat in exchange...it must have been karma that night.
Dan Stapleton
2009-03 Dennis' Deliberations
We all face the occasional rare storms in our lives. Hurricane Charley in 2004 upset my career and life. The roof on my warehouse was blown off and all my costume manufacturing tools, patterns and molds received severe damage which was only partially covered by insurance. All of my magic and illusions were mostly saved but a number of smaller things were water damaged. I found out that anyone with a lick of brains in Florida should have their magic in water tight plastic storage boxes. The few props I had that were not in plastic boxes got soaked. Most of the plywood dried out with minimum damage but the MAK Magic props made with Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) swelled up to 3 times its size. I have recently remade the last of those props.
One was called The Bunny Box for making a rabbit appear. A black metal sheet is used to sketch a rabbit and it is placed in a box and the sketch comes alive and a real rabbit appears. I had one that was made by MAK Magic. It was made out of pressboard with a tacky high glass paint job with meaningless graphics. The load chamber was only big enough for the smallest of bunnies. It was soaked by Charley and turned to a heap of powder.
I stripped off all the hinges and flap gimmick and rebuilt it out of some cabinet grade plywood I got for free from a cabinet shop. I made the load chamber bigger by extending the box another one and a half inches. I added double doors on the front instead of the one door. I believe that when you open up the double doors that are hinged at the sides it increases the illusion of depth in the box. With a new and more traditional paint job it is now functional.
I have probably used it a half dozen or so times. It seems to be deceptive. I first saw this trick on the old Magic Land of Allakazam about 1962 when Mark Wilson did it in the audience of kids.
Almost a year ago Siegfried and Roy promised to return to the stage in February 2009 as part of the annual fundraiser for the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. Recall that Roy received brain damage when attacked by a tiger during their stage act on October 3rd 2003.
The promise to return to stage will be fulfilled on February 28 at the Keep Memory Alive: Power of Love gala at the Bellagio hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The performance will be filmed by ABC television and broadcast as "The Return of Siegfried & Roy," a special edition of the network's hour-long 20/20 news magazine show. Airing on March 6 [10 p.m. ET], the show will feature the magic duo's performance, as well as a segment on the Ruvo Institute in Nevada, a center dedicated to the study of debilitating neurological diseases. Siegfried and Roy say their participation in the fundraiser will be both a return to the stage and their farewell performance, the final time they will present their signature illusions. "We never got to say a proper goodbye," Roy said. "This will be our final bow and it will never be repeated."
In the meantime Franz Harary wrecked his convertible on the way back to Vegas in a freak accident and survived the ordeal with a few stitches. I am wondering if he turns the whole experience into a televised mega-stunt? Maybe the crumpled up car can be restored in front of your eyes like “Healed and Sealed” the refilling and uncrumpling soda can.
There is a popular myth floating around (at least since the last Great Depression) that when times are bad, people flock to entertainment, and so magicians do well. The myth explains that people need escape and something to get their mind off their troubles.
Baloney. Look at the super-sensitive nature of Las Vegas right now, where hotels are hurting badly and the staff is being laid off. House prices have utterly collapses in Las Vegas. Recall that the 1930s Depression was the final nail in the coffin of the big illusions shows.
When President Obama said recently, "It's time companies getting bailouts stopped sending their executives on company-paid perks to Las Vegas and Super Bowls and --" , the mayor of Las Vegas went berserk and demanded an apology from Obama for singling out Las Vegas like that. Then the mayor ranted about how very necessary and useful corporate (business) junkets to Las Vegas really are and how this stimulates the economy...Well, in fact it actually only "stimulates" Las Vegas.
The bottom line is that America (and peripherally the world) is in the deep financial sewer right now, and every politician that suggests anything is coming up smelling like sewage. If they vote for bailout money then they get labeled as a Socialist. If they reject bailout money then they are called a heartless cruel Fascist who enjoys seeing babies and old people starve to death. Enough already!
Entertainment (magic is at the very bottom of that food chain) is one of the first "perks of discretionary income" to suffer. It figures. CNN featured a Vegas magician, David Shimshi, who has fallen on hard times. “Shimshi used to work as a house magician at the famous Mirage hotel and performed with the World's Greatest Magicians show at the Greek Isles Casino. Now Shimshi, as he's known to everyone, including his wife Janelle, has seen his gigs disappear, a victim of the struggling economy.”
Finally, I watched Bubblevision (CNBC) on my day off. They had a series of programs about the meltdown and, honestly, they must be written for someone with the academic level of a 12 year old.
Allen “Bubbles” Greenspan was on explaining that he simply could not figure out the math behind CDOs. He said, “I have several hundred PhDs that I can call on and none of them could explain it either”.
What kind of math idiots, both in and out of government, are running things?
Please, I don’t want YOU to ever tell anyone that you don’t understand any of the derivative financial math models. Warren Buffet avoided them and called them “weapons of mass financial destruction”
Quants (financial mathematicians) began applying statistical models that are topographic based to make optimum predictions under unchanging ideal conditions.
It is not that complicated. In another few paragraphs, I can make you smarter than Allen Greenspan and his hundreds of PhDs.!
Think about hiking in the mountains and figuring out a path through the mountains with the least altitude and shortest distance. Then add to the complexity the stochastic process of rockslides or high water than may block your path forcing an alternative. Crunch the numbers and you get a predictionof the best path. Since there are a number of variables, call the path multivariable. Consider the timeline of a collection of mortgages to be a multivariable in risk and return just like figuring out the best path through the mountains. It is possible to model this best path with statistical math.
These “copulas” were the basis of the models.
www.pstat.ucsb.edu/faculty/
informative regarding “tail dependence” neglected by Gaussian copulas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/
This will give you the basics of derivative structure:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
As Alfred Korzypski was famous for saying, “The roadmap is not the territory”
and that holds true for any Markov Chain Monte Carlo statistical model.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
a state of automatic return of general equilibrium. (I know. This goes against the “religion” of
the Free Market people.)
To some this up: Bad things happen. You can not make a math model to predict when bad things will happen.(“tail dependence”) Math is a tool, it is not a true copy of reality. Only when you know enough about the math tool, can you understand how is can be (and was!) misused.
PS: Forward this to Bubbles Greenspan and any PhDs you know. Explain it to them.
Dennis Phillips
Sunday, February 15, 2009
2009-02 Famulus newsletter
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 2/18/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Lecture by John Luka (see below)
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 2/18/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Lecture by John Luka (see below)
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Please join us for dinner beforehand
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2009-02 From the Editor
Another month has passed and spring is coming. Thanks to the hard work by Craig and the board we have a spring full of magic. In fact so many good lectures and events are coming up that, as Hitch of Magical Arts and Design aptly put it, "If we keep this up, I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry Houdini comes back from the dead just to do a lecture in Orlando!!!"
We also had a visit from David Copperfield, I was not able to visit the show and no-one sent me a review (yet?).
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Banquet or any other of the planned events.
Your Editor
We also had a visit from David Copperfield, I was not able to visit the show and no-one sent me a review (yet?).
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Banquet or any other of the planned events.
Your Editor
2009-02 Ring Report Ring #170 The Bev Bergeron Ring
Our January ring meeting was at the International House Of Pancakes on Kirkman Road. The weather outside was unusually cold for an Orlando January but the crowd of 28 magicians were warm inside the meeting room. We will be at the IHOP again in February but we expect to again have a permanent place to meet in March.
President Craig Fennessy gaveled the meeting to order. He and Treasurer, Art Thomas, remind everyone to pay their yearly dues since our future meeting location will be requiring rental fees. We had one guest, Michael Eaton. President Fennessy announced many upcoming lectures and magic events. The up to date information is available at our Ring 170 website.
Elliott Hitchcock announced his “Magical Arts and Design Studio” will host a Michael Finney lecture and he intends to have Jeff McBride, Gay Blackstone and many other guest lectures in the coming year. “Hitch” is trying to promote Orlando as another magic hot spot. We can hope he succeeds. He also sadly announced that Lyle Balcom had died. Lyle was a rotund clown and magician. He appeared on stage with his act at the Florida State Magicians Convention a few years back when we hosted it here in Central Florida. Lyle was professionally known as “Blumbo” and was noted for his children’s shows and balloons.
The business meeting was adjourned so we could give the balance of the meeting time to the guest lecturer of the evening: Chastain Criswell the inventor of Tag and Deface. Chastain has been performing these effects and others for laymen all over the south. He has appeared at private parties, public events, to corporate engagements with all of the items in the lecture. They are real crowd pleasers and foolers for magicians. His wacky style and charming personality, with a touch of a southern drawl, added to his delightful presentation and explanations. His featured effects included a unique use of the Scotch and Soda gimmick with a coin purse. He did some incredible moves with an Okito Coin Box and his Enigma Triumph card routine was baffling. Criswell has an amazing way to take a classic routine and develop it into a unique and baffling new presentation.
With the meeting concluded we look forward to the New Year and hopefully an economic renewal. Good things are always happening in Ring 170
Dennis Phillips
2009-02 Ring 170 Events List
The following is also available in the Yahoo Groups Ring Calendar, from which reminders will be sent to all who receive the newsletter
RING 170 MAGIC HAPPENINGS
IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA 2009
(February, March, April )
The first quarter of the 2009 year is packed with great magic events…be sure to join in on the fun.
1. John Luka Lecture
FEBRUARY 18, 2009, Wednesday 7:30 regular meeting night
Held at I-HOP
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819, 407-370-0597
Come early and have dinner with us.
Paid Members: $10.00
Non Members: $15.00
Go to www.Ring170.com and download a flyer with all the details.
2. Banquet & Magic Show, 2009, IBM RING 170
MARCH 1, 2009, Sunday 6pm -10pm
Featured MC & entertainer: DAVID WILLIAMSON!
Close-up magic before dinner
Buffett dinner
TICKETS: $25.00 per ticket, includes dinner
LIMITED SEATING!!….Don’t wait to reserve your seat. Payment at the door.
E-mail reservations to art.thomas@disney.com
Go to www.Ring170.com and download a flyer with all the details.
3. Legends of Magic Tribute
MARCH 16, 2009, Monday evening 7:30pm.
Held at the beautiful Garden Theater,
160 W. Plant St., Winter Garden Fl 34787
Featuring Jack Kodell and Celeste Evans…
Hosted by Dan Stapleton.
TICKETS: $10.00 at the door
Important Call (407)-491-3287 for reservations!
4. IBM RING 170 MONTHLY MEETING at the I-HOP location!
MARCH 18, 2009, Wednesday evening, 7:30pm
Held at I-HOP
5203 Kirkman Road
Orlando, Florida 32819 407-370-0597
Come early and have dinner with us.
5. IBM Ring 170 - MAGIC FLEA MARKET, AUCTION AND LECTURES
MARCH 28, 2009, Saturday 9am-5pm
Magic Flea Market and Auction Come sell your used magic!!!
Free Lecture and Workshop by Mark Mason, Lecture by Steve Hart
LOCATION: Christ the King Lutheran Church – Barnabas Hall
4962 Apopka-Vineland Rd., Orlando, Fl 32819
ADMISSION: $10.00 per person, Includes free lectures,
$25.00 Mark Mason workshop optional…Limited seating
TABLES: $15.00
E-mail selling table reservations to art.thomas@disney.com
E-mail Mark Mason workshop reservations to craigfennessy@gmail.com
Go to www.Ring170.com and download a flyer with all the details.
6. Paul Gertner Lecture
APRIL 14, 2009, Tuesday, 7:30pm
Held at I-HOP
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819, 407-370-0597
Come early and have dinner with us.
ADMISSION: $25.00 all lecture tickets
Go to www.Ring170.com and download a flyer with all the details.2009-02 Joanie Spina to visit Orlando?
Keith Lock
Senior Producer/Director
Magical Arts & Design, LLC.
1039 Pine Street
Orlando, Florida 32824
1-866-905-9858 Office
1-407-760-1426 Direct
Please Visit:
2009-02 David Williamson - Extra Lecture
David Williamson is playing the Orlando IBM Banquet Sunday, March 1st. Craig Fennessey and his magical muscle men have put together a GREAT Evening and I for one can’t wait! Speaking of David Williamson, Dave has decided to stay in the sunny warmth of Florida for a few days after the Banquet. And even better, he has decided to perform a very special lecture on Wednesday, March 4th at MAD Studios as part of our Super Star Series of Magic Legends. You got it, David Williamson, behind the scenes…
As if that is not enough, we are going to do something ultra cool regarding David’s appearance. Normally this special lecture series would cost over $50.00 to attend. We are lowering the admission for the evening to $30.00 per person! And as if that wasn’t enough as well, David just informed me that he will be giving out FREE to everyone that has PRE-REGISTERED for the event AUNT MARY’S TERRIBLE SECRET. Yep, a professional gambling routine that COSTS $25.00 to buy. So, do the math. Pre-register for $30.00 bucks, get a $25.00 routine for FREE. It’s really like getting David Williamson for $5.00. Plus David will be teaching the routine!!! Try to beat that! Please call TODAY to get your seats for his lecture… Seats may not be available day of show???????
2009-02 McBride in Orlando
Hello one and all,
Here is the OFFICIAL RELEASE of JEFF MCBRIDE’S appearance in ORLANDO!
WHAT: One of the most sought after magical genius’ of our time coming to Orlando!
WHEN: March 18th, 90 minute stage show followed by an exclusive 2 hour lecture for magicians ONLY! The show is open to the PUBLIC. Be sure to bring friends, co-workers, neighbors, girlfriends, wives, etc.
WHERE: Both the show and lecture will be held at Sleuth's Mystery Show Theatre located on International Drive just off Sandlake Road, we will provide exact directions to those that register.
WHY: The LOVE of MAGIC, The LOVE of LIFE, The LOVE of JEFF McBRIDE!
HOW: The cost of the show to $25.00 advance/$30 at door. The Lecture is $25.00 Advance/$30.00 at door. Call Magical
Arts and Design NOW to get your seats at 407-858-9858.
SPECIAL ADDED FEATURE:
Magical Arts and Design will be hosting Mr. McBride in a VERY, VERY exclusive private workshop the following evening at the MAD Studios. Those attending will be spending four hours of intense McBride Magic as only Jeff can share. This is the same information source that Jeff teaches at his famous Vegas based Mystery School. Anybody that knows the value of this program knows this is not to be missed. We have already had more response to this special event than anything thing else we’ve shared. The total cost for this one of a kind night is only $125.00. That is a fraction of what Jeff gets in Vegas for the same info, training, and expertise. This event must be pre-registered. Only a handful of seats remain, please book your’s NOW!
Other Info:
Many have asked about the VIP season discount deal. Unfortunately, that was only available prior to the Mike Finney event. Sorry guys, please jump on the offers when they are made available, thanks…
2009-02 Copperfield Comments from Dan
While DC was in Orlando recently, Orlando Weekly had a short interview with him via email.
- DC insisted that he once, while performing in Orlando, "placed Shaq in his Shrinker illusion". If you know how the trick works, and have seen Shaq up close...it MUST have been some trick to get him in the thing.
- When asked about the Masked Magician and the magic tricks on You Tube , DC states: "...the shows are quite inaccurate." Whew....that's a relief.
- DC states that he "discovered the Fountain of Youth on his island in the Bahamas." I thought that the gal who accused him of attacking her actually "aged" him.
2009-02 SCAM 2009 (Not what you think)
Some thoughts on SCAM
In January for the past thirteen years the South Carolina Association of Magicians holds a convention in Columbia SC. It is a day and a half convention packed with lectures, contests, and shows, both close up and stage. SCAM has had a habit of showcasing magicians before they are “found” by other conventions or magic magazines. Last year SCAM featured Chris Capehart for their Gala Show and a lecture. Eleven months later in December he was featured in Genii magazine. It has always been a fun convention and the people in South Carolina are warm and friendly. The convention this year was held January 16 and 17.
The Recession has come to magic
Last year SCAM had 170 people attend the convention. This year they had 66 people preregister and less than 80 people attend. The dealers’ room was EMPTY! Since they had so few register they had three dealers give lectures, Harry Allen, Mark Mason and Barry Mitchell. The stage show that was normally held in a large theater was replaced by a cabaret show in the hotel ball room.
Mentalism has invaded magic
Mentalism is much more a part of magic than ever before. This year’s stage and close up competition included Mentalism acts. One of the magicians, David London that performed and lectured did a Mentalism effect for his cabaret show. The trend in magic seems to be moving to more Mentalism effects.
Young magicians are thinking more
David London is a highly creative, very theatrical young magician. At age 15 he could not find much written on the theory of magic so he started his own magazine, Behind the Smoke and Mirrors. This morphed into a new volume of magazines called Beyond the Smoke and Mirrors and a web site www.Magicalthinking.net. David studied film in college and there found art and Surrealism, which greatly influences his magic. David is a bit out there and anything but traditional but he is fun to watch and has an interesting thought process that I found new and refreshing.
Francis Menotti is a young magician from Philadelphia that is well educated, a graduate of Penn State, and very well spoken. He claims that both his parents are physicists. He is very creative and takes traditional effects and puts a new, sometimes strange or weird twist on them. He did an egg bag routine with a spectator where his cell phone kept ringing with his mother on the line telling him how to do the routine. At the end of the effect the spectator pulled the cell phone from the bag and Francis was holding the egg up to his ear.
These young magicians are thinking more about the theatrics and the entertainment value of the effect than the moves. Everything that they did was scripted and thought out in advance. They presented pieces of theater not just tricks.
Card magic is alive and well
The other lecturers and performers were all card guys, Allan Ackerman, Boris Wild, and Ed Ellis. Ed is from Canton Ohio and has recently moved back there after living in Arizona and performing at the Castle and other places out west. Ed is also a drummer and did a solo with the Buddy Rich band some time in his past. Ed will be featured at the national IBM convention this year in Nashville. Ed has some very pretty moves to display four aces and “dissolve” one card into another. He also has a few twists on rubber band magic. Mark Fitzgerald told me that Ed gets all of his yellow rubber bands from him, which Ed passed out in his lecture.
Boris Wild pushed his marked deck and the effects that it can do. He said that he tried for years to get the US Playing Card Co. to print the marked deck for him. A couple of years ago the company got a new president who agreed to print the decks. They printed 25,000 and sold them in one year. When they went back for a reprint the company resisted. They finally agreed, but Boris thinks that it may be the last time. Is it a marketing ploy on Boris’ part to get you to buy now? Maybe. He did his Kiss act, which is still pretty with an emotional hook but not as magical as it once seemed since it uses his same Kiss move (a variation of the flustration count) over and over.
Allan Ackerman is a phenomenal card worker. He will blow your mind. Today Allan runs the computer network for a college in Las Vegas, but he is still one of the best card guys around. He recently put together a series of DVD’s on Erdnase and gave a midnight lecture on Ednase. When I asked him what one thing you should learn from Erdnase, he said the bottom deal as it can do so many things for you. He demonstrated several of the card tricks from Ednase’s book using the bottom deal.
SCAM is a fun day and a half. I hope that the poor turnout this year does not kill the convention in future years.
Gary Adams
2009-02 Ring 45 Event
Ring 45/SAM 280 and the Elks Lodge 1676 in Miami
Invites you to a Flea Market/Mini Convention
When: Sunday, March 1st, 2009 from 9am-10pm
Where: Elks Lodge 1676 6304 SW 78th street, Miami, FloRIda 33143
What: Mini Convention, see tentative schedule below;
7:30am-9:00pm Flea Marketers setup (Ballroom)
9:00am-1:00pm Flea Market Opens (4 FULL hours of shopping
NEW and USED magic)
11:45am-1:00pm Lunch (Includes hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and choice of
soft drink or draft beer)
1:00pm-6:00pm Lectures by Aldo Colombini, Levent & John Calvert. (Lecture Hall)
6:00pm-7:00pm FREE TIME relax, hang out and mingle. (Bar and Lobby)
7:00pm-8:00pm Cocktails & Close-up Enjoy Close-up magic, hors d’ oeuvres,
cash bar. (Bar & Lobby)
8:00p- 10:00pm Dinner/Show: Dinner includes salad, roast beef,
special rice, vegetables, complimentary wine or soft drinks with
dinner, desert and coffee.
Registration: FULL DAY: $50.00 in Advance (if received by February 25th) $60.00 After
Flea market table: one six foot table: $10.00 plus Full Day registration
(no table sharing)
(no table sharing)
Dinner/Show Only: $30.00 in Advance $40.00 at door
Reservations/Information: Contact Maria Ibanez at 305.258.3414 or
Merlina17@aol.com.
Make all checks/money orders to: Magic City Conjurers.
2009-02 Thanks from Magical Arts & Design
Hi everyone!
Just a quick note to tell you that the Mike Finney event will be posted on YouTube, February 2nd.
We had a great time meeting some old and new friends Thursday night, and look forward to seeing you all at the Jeff McBride event in March.
Also, on Thursday, we misplaced one of our digital camera chargers, if anyone grabbed it by mistake, please give us a call. Pictures of it can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/dnl7bp and http://tinyurl.com/b3ebja.
Thanks!
Bill "V." VonTobel
2009-02 Another Ring 258 event
Tom Craven lecture is on Feb 15th. Sunday at 1 pm.
at The NY cafe restaurant in leesburg
1690 Citrus Blvd.
hwy 441 North
Leesburg
352-365-8800
Non members and guests $15, Orlando ring 170 members $10
2009-02 Ring 258 Events
IBM Ring 258 Leesburg, Florida Presents Magic shows on April 14th, 2009, plus John Calvert lecture on April 15th To be held at the Villages in Lady Lake Florida. Time and location of the lecture to be determined.
AN EVENING OF MAGIC LIVE!!
Featuring John Calvert
Come see John Calvert known for his breath-taking illusions onstage, his incredible daredevil feats, and his many real-life escapes from death. With a magic career that led to record-breaking engagements on Broadway and exciting adventures around the world. Calvert has captivated audiences in the great cities of five continents. The 97-year-old-and-still-performing-his-international-traveling-magic-show, also enjoyed an International film career. Haven't heard of him? Well, you should have. He was the first magician to do a big magic stage show in Vegas, and on Broadway. When he performed in Hollywood, celebs like Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Danny Kaye and Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy, of course often helped out in his act. He knew Harry Blackstone Sr. and Jr. and has outlived them both, and Siegfried and Roy have called Calvert an inspiration.
He's also an adventurer the likes of Hemingway or Hughes, having owned several airplanes and yachts, occasionally crashing or fending off pirates. And he's been in 40 movies, although sometimes it was a little hard to tell, like when he was a hand double for Clark Gable in "Honky Tonk" in 1941.
He has performed his magic show all over the world: Bombay, Israel, London, and now at The Villages in Lady Lake.
Mr. Calvert will be joined on stage for ninety minutes of magic with members of the International Brotherhood of Magicians to present this Evening of Magic. Performance will be on April 14th at 6 and 8:30 PM with ticket available at the Savannah Center Box office, or online at the Villages Website.
Ticket $15.00
Contact the sponsoring magicians club thru e-mail Magicians@aol.com
This notice is online at: www.magico.biz
AN EVENING OF MAGIC LIVE!!
Featuring John Calvert
Come see John Calvert known for his breath-taking illusions onstage, his incredible daredevil feats, and his many real-life escapes from death. With a magic career that led to record-breaking engagements on Broadway and exciting adventures around the world. Calvert has captivated audiences in the great cities of five continents. The 97-year-old-and-still-performing-his-international-traveling-magic-show, also enjoyed an International film career. Haven't heard of him? Well, you should have. He was the first magician to do a big magic stage show in Vegas, and on Broadway. When he performed in Hollywood, celebs like Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Danny Kaye and Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy, of course often helped out in his act. He knew Harry Blackstone Sr. and Jr. and has outlived them both, and Siegfried and Roy have called Calvert an inspiration.
He's also an adventurer the likes of Hemingway or Hughes, having owned several airplanes and yachts, occasionally crashing or fending off pirates. And he's been in 40 movies, although sometimes it was a little hard to tell, like when he was a hand double for Clark Gable in "Honky Tonk" in 1941.
He has performed his magic show all over the world: Bombay, Israel, London, and now at The Villages in Lady Lake.
Mr. Calvert will be joined on stage for ninety minutes of magic with members of the International Brotherhood of Magicians to present this Evening of Magic. Performance will be on April 14th at 6 and 8:30 PM with ticket available at the Savannah Center Box office, or online at the Villages Website.
Ticket $15.00
Contact the sponsoring magicians club thru e-mail Magicians@aol.com
This notice is online at: www.magico.biz
2009-02 Dennis' Deliberations
I got nostalgic over the holidays. Maybe it’s the eggnog- or what is in the eggnog.
Remember "Blasted" (the coin effect with the metal coaster)? It was a kind of single-shot "Copentro". You put a nickel on a small metal tray and invert a glass over it and when you make a penny disappear a loud pop is heard and both coins are in the glass.
I never wanted to spend the 8 bucks on so (back then) for the gimmicked nickel and penny. It was mostly a bar trick anyway. I wanted a version that used regular ordinary looking props. One day in 1971, I was inside “The Bowie Inn” guzzling a Budweiser. It was a bar near the old Bowie Horse Race Track about 20 miles east of Washington, D.C. I was in my last days of college. I did some announcing at the track (I worked in radio also) and I used to help write the mimeographed “Tip Sheet” for the track.
I almost got fired when I tired to do a comedy routine over the PA system. I said: “Folks did you know that race tracks are the only place in the world where windows clean people?”. The old boss, with cigar in hand, barged into the booth and said, “Kid, this ain’t vaudeville, just read the card and the pages!”. (A “page” was when you announced someone’s name and told them to call the track phone operator. Cell phones did not exist then)
So, back to the bar in the Bowie Inn: I looked down at the bar and saw a fiber beer coaster for Budweiser. I saw the round seal on the familiar logo. I took three of them and went home. Using an Exacto craft knife, on the first coaster, I cut around the edge of the circle but I left a little bit of the fiber connected on the upper edge.
(About a sixteenth of an inch) This made a nice spring flap when it was slightly broken in! On the next coaster, I then cut out and removed the entire circle. The last coaster I left un-gimmicked. Using glue, I sandwiched all of them together with the normal one on the bottom, the one with the hole (forming a compartment for a penny) and finally the spring flap on top.
You could insert a regular penny into the coaster and it looked normal. I had created a poor-man’s version of “Blasted”!
To perform: Sit at the bar. Borrow a penny and a nickel and do a French drop and a few slights. Then grab up a glass and reach over and take the gimmicked coaster off a stack and lay the nickel on it and put the inverted glass over top. Hold the coaster with the glass in your left hand and act like you are tossing the penny at the glass and shake the coaster and glass. The penny will fly out of the coaster and I guarantee you that the person next to you will be impressed.
Try making one. I guess Budweiser will be around for a while even though they were just bought out by a global beverage conglomerate. As I said, I am nostalgic for the good old days!
This little gem of philosophy about the death of Common Sense grew out of many E-Mail exchanges from my Canadian magic friend, Larry Thornton:
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to quit while audiences still want more; why the gracious entertainer will win over the self-centered egomaniac; realizing that one's magic show isn't necessarily the greatest since Robert-Houdin; and poor audience responses are more than likely the fault of the entertainer.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't purchase expensive and grandiose magic props that exceed your abilities and ambition) and reliable strategies (audiences are the best judges of how good you are). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing criticisms were set in place. Reports of a mediocre magician spoiling magic for everyone else; street magicians getting in everyone's face against their wishes; and sleight of hand fanatics addicted to flashy flourishes and wildly extravagant card juggling over powerful magic effects, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when magic dealers started selling serious magic props to every rube who came in off the street -- or online. It declined even further when desperado magicians began exposing top-flight illusions and some of magic's best tricks of the trade on national television; and it reached its all-time low when maverick performers on national TV resorted to camera trickery to fool home viewers.
Common Sense lost the will to live when some mentalists started claiming genuine psychic powers; when You Tube exploded on the scene with thousands of blatant "dealer demonstrations" on video clips for all the world to see; and when young magicians wrote slick books for mass consumption that revealed commercial magic secrets that weren't their's to expose.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from rip-off artists who made knock-offs of your own magical creations. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after decades of clowns, rank amateurs, and anyone else who could walk into a magic shop and purchase an "act" -- started competing with the established competition at cut-rate prices.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers: I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority of thoroughly contented magic addicts -- and do nothing.
Dennis Phillips
Remember "Blasted" (the coin effect with the metal coaster)? It was a kind of single-shot "Copentro". You put a nickel on a small metal tray and invert a glass over it and when you make a penny disappear a loud pop is heard and both coins are in the glass.
I never wanted to spend the 8 bucks on so (back then) for the gimmicked nickel and penny. It was mostly a bar trick anyway. I wanted a version that used regular ordinary looking props. One day in 1971, I was inside “The Bowie Inn” guzzling a Budweiser. It was a bar near the old Bowie Horse Race Track about 20 miles east of Washington, D.C. I was in my last days of college. I did some announcing at the track (I worked in radio also) and I used to help write the mimeographed “Tip Sheet” for the track.
I almost got fired when I tired to do a comedy routine over the PA system. I said: “Folks did you know that race tracks are the only place in the world where windows clean people?”. The old boss, with cigar in hand, barged into the booth and said, “Kid, this ain’t vaudeville, just read the card and the pages!”. (A “page” was when you announced someone’s name and told them to call the track phone operator. Cell phones did not exist then)
So, back to the bar in the Bowie Inn: I looked down at the bar and saw a fiber beer coaster for Budweiser. I saw the round seal on the familiar logo. I took three of them and went home. Using an Exacto craft knife, on the first coaster, I cut around the edge of the circle but I left a little bit of the fiber connected on the upper edge.
(About a sixteenth of an inch) This made a nice spring flap when it was slightly broken in! On the next coaster, I then cut out and removed the entire circle. The last coaster I left un-gimmicked. Using glue, I sandwiched all of them together with the normal one on the bottom, the one with the hole (forming a compartment for a penny) and finally the spring flap on top.
You could insert a regular penny into the coaster and it looked normal. I had created a poor-man’s version of “Blasted”!
To perform: Sit at the bar. Borrow a penny and a nickel and do a French drop and a few slights. Then grab up a glass and reach over and take the gimmicked coaster off a stack and lay the nickel on it and put the inverted glass over top. Hold the coaster with the glass in your left hand and act like you are tossing the penny at the glass and shake the coaster and glass. The penny will fly out of the coaster and I guarantee you that the person next to you will be impressed.
Try making one. I guess Budweiser will be around for a while even though they were just bought out by a global beverage conglomerate. As I said, I am nostalgic for the good old days!
This little gem of philosophy about the death of Common Sense grew out of many E-Mail exchanges from my Canadian magic friend, Larry Thornton:
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to quit while audiences still want more; why the gracious entertainer will win over the self-centered egomaniac; realizing that one's magic show isn't necessarily the greatest since Robert-Houdin; and poor audience responses are more than likely the fault of the entertainer.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't purchase expensive and grandiose magic props that exceed your abilities and ambition) and reliable strategies (audiences are the best judges of how good you are). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing criticisms were set in place. Reports of a mediocre magician spoiling magic for everyone else; street magicians getting in everyone's face against their wishes; and sleight of hand fanatics addicted to flashy flourishes and wildly extravagant card juggling over powerful magic effects, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when magic dealers started selling serious magic props to every rube who came in off the street -- or online. It declined even further when desperado magicians began exposing top-flight illusions and some of magic's best tricks of the trade on national television; and it reached its all-time low when maverick performers on national TV resorted to camera trickery to fool home viewers.
Common Sense lost the will to live when some mentalists started claiming genuine psychic powers; when You Tube exploded on the scene with thousands of blatant "dealer demonstrations" on video clips for all the world to see; and when young magicians wrote slick books for mass consumption that revealed commercial magic secrets that weren't their's to expose.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from rip-off artists who made knock-offs of your own magical creations. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after decades of clowns, rank amateurs, and anyone else who could walk into a magic shop and purchase an "act" -- started competing with the established competition at cut-rate prices.
Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers: I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority of thoroughly contented magic addicts -- and do nothing.
Dennis Phillips
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
2009-01 Famulus Newsletter - Ring 170
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 1/21/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Lecture (see below)
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 1/21/2009 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Lecture (see below)
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2009-01 from the Editor
A very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to all members. As I write this posting, the weather is getting cold, it looks as if we will have our annual one night of winter tonight.
Magic has returned to TV, My65 (WRBW) is broadcasting Masters of Illusion on a regular basis, Mondays at 9 p.m.. Don't miss it! The two most recent shows have had some new names in magic, as well as well know artists such as Jeff McBride and Kevin James.
Just after New Year my wfe and I took the opportunity to visit Magic At Mandolins. We were treated to an excellent magic show by Dan Stapleton. As bonus, we also enjoyed a pretty good dinner. Do visit this show if you get a chance.
Thanks to our contributors again, and hopefully some of you have made a New year's resolution to submit an article for the newsletter this year.
Your editor
Stefan
Magic has returned to TV, My65 (WRBW) is broadcasting Masters of Illusion on a regular basis, Mondays at 9 p.m.. Don't miss it! The two most recent shows have had some new names in magic, as well as well know artists such as Jeff McBride and Kevin James.
Just after New Year my wfe and I took the opportunity to visit Magic At Mandolins. We were treated to an excellent magic show by Dan Stapleton. As bonus, we also enjoyed a pretty good dinner. Do visit this show if you get a chance.
Thanks to our contributors again, and hopefully some of you have made a New year's resolution to submit an article for the newsletter this year.
Your editor
Stefan
2009-01
It was another wonderful ring holiday party. President Craig Fennessey opened up the December meeting with the annual election of the new board of officers. The floor was opened up for nominations and nothing was heard.
The nominated slate of current officers was re-elected for 2009 by Parliamentary rules. They are: Craig J. Fennessy-President, Chris Dunn- Vice President, Art Thomas – Treasurer, Dennis Phillips- Secretary, James Songster- Director at Large, Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms and serving as Editor of FAMULUS -Stefan Bartelski. Jacki Manna continues as our Hospitality chairperson.
Following the brief business meeting we began our Christmas and Holiday Tradition, the wacky, gift exchange. Jacki Manna was the MC and kept the activities lively and entertaining. The rules are that a person can either pick a new unopened gift or 'steal' someone else's gift. Each gift can be stolen only 3 times. This chaos makes for a lot of fun. Finally all the gifts were taken. The challenge every year is to end up with the trick of your dreams! The competition is all in fun. Some stand out gifts were a collection of Jim Steinmeyer books, another was a box full of classic effects. Someone got a Malini egg bag and another a brand new spring skunk.
This year, instead of insisting that the new gift recipients immediately perform their treasures, a structures show was presented and emceed by Mark Fitzgerald. He opened up with his classic coin routine that always gets oohs and aahs.
First up was Richard Hewitt, former Ring President. He brought a nice collection of stage effects. He opened with the Dove in Balloon and then he vanished the dove in the Breakaway Box. Before the box was dismantled a stuffed rabbit was brought out and Richard played with it all the way over to the other side of the stage where he transformed it into a real rabbit in a Flash Appearance box. Richard moved into Al Delage’s “Fastest Trick in the World” where a large bouquet of flowers instantly vanishes. He followed it up with a giant Botania appearance. Assisted by Dennis Phillips, he asked a spectator to select a page out of a paperback book and remember the page number and a few facts on the page. The spectator retained the book but when they opened the book again, the page was torn out and Richard had the matching page as well as knowing the information on it. Richard then made a beer bottle disappear in a paper sack.
Bowing off to a nice hand, Richard introduced his assistant, Dennis Phillips. Dennis presented an effect inspired by the late Bob McAllister’s “Chocolate Chip Cookie trick” using Mini-Hershey Chocolate bars. Mini-bars are plucked from the air and finally transformed into a giant Hershey bar. The idea for the variation was from our own Kevin Butler, a New York native and fan of McAllister’s. Butler is a respected scholar of early television children’s shows. Kevin calls his variation, “The sweet tooth lover’s dream”.
Next up, Charlie Pfrogner used a young helper and delightful patter to present a holiday version of The Beads of Prussia. Mark Fitzgerald returned with an engaging “Silent Card Trick” where not a word was spoken and all the lines were on flip cards. At the end you find out why he can not speak. The selected signed card was in his mouth! Jacki Manna showed why she is the top ventriloquist in Central Florida. She did a delightful Christmas routine with Axtell’s magic drawing board with a Christmas tree and a talking Santa Clause. Dan Stapleton kept with the winter theme and made a borrowed business card appear in a solid block of ice while it was being held by spectators on a towel.
Jim McNiff invited up two spectators to have a seat at a card table. A deck was cut and shuffled and divided into two piles and a card selected from each spectator’s pile and returned and shuffled and yet Jim was able to tell the location and name of each card. Carl Fowler, assisted by his wife, Barbara, closed out the show on a high note. In the late 90s, John Calvert awarded Fowler a special plaque for Carl’s expert use of music in his act. Carl and Barbara did the color changing plumes, flower boxes from a shopping bag and a botania. He concluded with his original levitation where Barbara levitates while standing on a balloon. The balloon is popped and she remains suspended.
Mark Fitzgerald wound up the festivities with his delightful spectator assisted, Linking Ring routine. The evening ended on a high note with refreshments and more fellowship.
Join us whenever you are visiting Orlando. Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
The nominated slate of current officers was re-elected for 2009 by Parliamentary rules. They are: Craig J. Fennessy-President, Chris Dunn- Vice President, Art Thomas – Treasurer, Dennis Phillips- Secretary, James Songster- Director at Large, Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms and serving as Editor of FAMULUS -Stefan Bartelski. Jacki Manna continues as our Hospitality chairperson.
Following the brief business meeting we began our Christmas and Holiday Tradition, the wacky, gift exchange. Jacki Manna was the MC and kept the activities lively and entertaining. The rules are that a person can either pick a new unopened gift or 'steal' someone else's gift. Each gift can be stolen only 3 times. This chaos makes for a lot of fun. Finally all the gifts were taken. The challenge every year is to end up with the trick of your dreams! The competition is all in fun. Some stand out gifts were a collection of Jim Steinmeyer books, another was a box full of classic effects. Someone got a Malini egg bag and another a brand new spring skunk.
This year, instead of insisting that the new gift recipients immediately perform their treasures, a structures show was presented and emceed by Mark Fitzgerald. He opened up with his classic coin routine that always gets oohs and aahs.
First up was Richard Hewitt, former Ring President. He brought a nice collection of stage effects. He opened with the Dove in Balloon and then he vanished the dove in the Breakaway Box. Before the box was dismantled a stuffed rabbit was brought out and Richard played with it all the way over to the other side of the stage where he transformed it into a real rabbit in a Flash Appearance box. Richard moved into Al Delage’s “Fastest Trick in the World” where a large bouquet of flowers instantly vanishes. He followed it up with a giant Botania appearance. Assisted by Dennis Phillips, he asked a spectator to select a page out of a paperback book and remember the page number and a few facts on the page. The spectator retained the book but when they opened the book again, the page was torn out and Richard had the matching page as well as knowing the information on it. Richard then made a beer bottle disappear in a paper sack.
Bowing off to a nice hand, Richard introduced his assistant, Dennis Phillips. Dennis presented an effect inspired by the late Bob McAllister’s “Chocolate Chip Cookie trick” using Mini-Hershey Chocolate bars. Mini-bars are plucked from the air and finally transformed into a giant Hershey bar. The idea for the variation was from our own Kevin Butler, a New York native and fan of McAllister’s. Butler is a respected scholar of early television children’s shows. Kevin calls his variation, “The sweet tooth lover’s dream”.
Next up, Charlie Pfrogner used a young helper and delightful patter to present a holiday version of The Beads of Prussia. Mark Fitzgerald returned with an engaging “Silent Card Trick” where not a word was spoken and all the lines were on flip cards. At the end you find out why he can not speak. The selected signed card was in his mouth! Jacki Manna showed why she is the top ventriloquist in Central Florida. She did a delightful Christmas routine with Axtell’s magic drawing board with a Christmas tree and a talking Santa Clause. Dan Stapleton kept with the winter theme and made a borrowed business card appear in a solid block of ice while it was being held by spectators on a towel.
Jim McNiff invited up two spectators to have a seat at a card table. A deck was cut and shuffled and divided into two piles and a card selected from each spectator’s pile and returned and shuffled and yet Jim was able to tell the location and name of each card. Carl Fowler, assisted by his wife, Barbara, closed out the show on a high note. In the late 90s, John Calvert awarded Fowler a special plaque for Carl’s expert use of music in his act. Carl and Barbara did the color changing plumes, flower boxes from a shopping bag and a botania. He concluded with his original levitation where Barbara levitates while standing on a balloon. The balloon is popped and she remains suspended.
Mark Fitzgerald wound up the festivities with his delightful spectator assisted, Linking Ring routine. The evening ended on a high note with refreshments and more fellowship.
Join us whenever you are visiting Orlando. Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
2009-01 New meeting Location !!!!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
IBM Ring 170 members,
WE HAVE ANOTHER NEW MEETING PLACE FOR 2009!!
ATTENTION EVERYONE, we are no longer holding our monthly Ring 170 meetings at the Elks Lodge. Due to circumstances beyond our control December was our last meeting at the Elks facility. Until further notice we will now meet at the I-Hop at Kirkman Road. This is the same place we have been holding lectures for years. Come early and have dinner with us. We are working on a new permanent facility for our club meetings and should have all the details completed by this March….I'll keep you all posted and believe me it will be worth the wait….Sorry for any confusion.
RING 170 MEETING TIME: 7:30 as usual.
I-HOP LOCATION:I-HOP restaurant at 5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819 across the street from Hooters near Universal Studios. 407-370-0597 (Back conference room)
DIRECTIONS:Take I-4 and exit at the Universal Studios/ Kirkman Road Exit. Go north pass the Vineland Road intersection and I-Hop is on the right 1/3 mile.
2009 is starting off with some great magic. THIS MONTH IS A PAID LECTURE: Please note that the January meeting will be a lecture by Chastain Criswell
ADMISSION : $10.00 for all paid members $15.00 for all non-paid members
As a club bonus we will allow you to pay your 2009 dues at the door and receive the $10.00 admission. After this night all unpaid dues will now be $20.00 per year.
For more lecture information call Craig Fennessy, 407-947-1182
IBM Ring 170 members,
WE HAVE ANOTHER NEW MEETING PLACE FOR 2009!!
ATTENTION EVERYONE, we are no longer holding our monthly Ring 170 meetings at the Elks Lodge. Due to circumstances beyond our control December was our last meeting at the Elks facility. Until further notice we will now meet at the I-Hop at Kirkman Road. This is the same place we have been holding lectures for years. Come early and have dinner with us. We are working on a new permanent facility for our club meetings and should have all the details completed by this March….I'll keep you all posted and believe me it will be worth the wait….Sorry for any confusion.
RING 170 MEETING TIME: 7:30 as usual.
I-HOP LOCATION:I-HOP restaurant at 5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819 across the street from Hooters near Universal Studios. 407-370-0597 (Back conference room)
DIRECTIONS:Take I-4 and exit at the Universal Studios/ Kirkman Road Exit. Go north pass the Vineland Road intersection and I-Hop is on the right 1/3 mile.
2009 is starting off with some great magic. THIS MONTH IS A PAID LECTURE: Please note that the January meeting will be a lecture by Chastain Criswell
ADMISSION : $10.00 for all paid members $15.00 for all non-paid members
As a club bonus we will allow you to pay your 2009 dues at the door and receive the $10.00 admission. After this night all unpaid dues will now be $20.00 per year.
For more lecture information call Craig Fennessy, 407-947-1182
2009-01 Urgent appeal for Cathi Cooper
Dear Friends:
JOHN V. COOPER — magician, author, educational speaker, performance coach, and friend of many — died Sunday night, December 28, after a year-long struggle with heart and kidney problems. He was 52 years old. Due to a 20-year long heart condition that started with strep throat, John was never able to get health insurance or life insurance. Cathi, his wife of 25 years, is now in a serious financial situation.
LET ME EXPLAIN:
John was a fulltime magician and public speaker. Cathi, worked in the performance business with him, having quit a fulltime job years ago as his health required her. During the last year of his life, Cathi had to be with John 24 hours each day, even presenting many of his teacher in-service programs when he could not stand and do them. John could only sit at the back of the room and help with sales.
By June 2008, when he attended my Greenville SC workshop as my guest, John was so weak that he could not stand and work at all. Indeed, John and Cathi had virtually no income for the past six months.
By September 2008 John’s heart condition worsened. He needed a heart transplant, but could not be placed on the list due to kidney problems. By November he was placed on dialysis three times weekly — during which time John & Cathi had their 25th wedding anniversary, and he stabilized enough to return home two weeks before Christmas.
Prior to this time, with hospital bills mounting to over $100,000, John and Cathi had applied for medical financial assistance. They were turned down by Medicare and Medicaid because they had “a little money” in their checking account and because “their credit cards were NOT totally max-ed out,” they were told. The hospital put them at that time on a payment plan.
I spoke to John and Cathi the Sunday before Christmas. He was weak but “hanging in there,” he said. Both Cathi & John were extremely thankful for gifts of cash and books (to resell) sent by many friends. I assured them of our prayers via family, church, magic and clown groups.
The next morning John got worse. I will spare you the details, but he was rushed to the hospital and hovered for the week between life and death. Like the fighter he was, John made it through Christmas on Thursday, still conscious and coherent. Then on Sunday evening, with wife Cathi, brother Jeff, and 27-year-old son John Jr at his bedside, John Cooper joined his maker in Heaven.
On December 31, Cathi held a memorial service for John at the funeral home in Anderson, SC. About 70 people attended, friends from church, magicians, and speakers that knew John. Speakers included brother Jeff, Tim Sonefelt, Max Howard (for himself and reading an email from Sammy Smith), David Ginn, Mark Daniel, Tom Sikorski, Steve Spanks, Rhett Bryson, as well as Al Walker, past president of the National Speakers Association, of which John was a member. The service was full of funny stories and happy memories — a celebration of John’s life. Cathi kept a box of tissues in her lap for tears cried due to heartfelt stories and plenty of John Cooper style corny jokes. All guests were given red sponge clown noses to take home and remember that funny John Cooper. It was amazing how one life touched so many different people. John Cooper, everyone agreed, was a one-of-a-kind guy!
For the past two months Cathi has been under tremendous stress, as you can well understand. Now John is gone, and Cathi has no income and no insurance whatsoever. Book sales from her online store (see below) have been very low in recent months, which was something she tried to do while tending to John at home this fall.
Have you ever wished YOU could really help someone you don’t even know? Someone who is truly in need? Have you ever wanted the real spirit of Christmas to work in the real world? Well, friends, here is YOUR CHANCE to make that happen! The time to help that someone is NOW — and that someone is Cathi Cooper.
How can you help? Honestly, Cathi needs money to pay medical bills and house bills. Gift cards will NOT work for those needs. She needs cash. Let me suggest several different ways you can help her:
1. SEND CATHI A SYMPATHY CARD and pray for her. If you can spare $5 - $10 - $20 or more with the card, yes, that would help. Here is her address: Cathi Cooper, 101 Beulah Drive, Anderson SC 29625 USA.
2. SEND a financial contribution to the JOHN V. COOPER FUND, % Regions Bank, 3404 Clemson Boulevard, Anderson SC 29621. Cathi will use this to pay medical bills and personal expenses. It’s tax deductible, if you need an excuse.
3. MAKE A CONTRIBUTION using PayPal. Cathi has an account. Go to https://www.paypal.com and long on to your own account. Then click on “Send Money” and type in Cathi’s email: wwinc@mindspring.com. Think of it as “Wonder Woman Inc @ mindspring.com.”
4. ORDER SOMETHING from the store: http://sunnysideupbooks.com/. There are all kinds of books in the store, including magic books.
5. SEND CATHI SOME BOOKS. If you have new or used books around the house, pack them up and ship to Cathi via Media Mail (the cheapest book rate) in the USA only. Maybe she can sell them on the website.
Magic and clown friends, especially YOU GUYS — under different circumstances, this could be the wife or mom of any one of us. How would YOU want her treated if YOU passed away in this situation? Consider that and act accordingly. Whatever you do — please act now, this week, this month, to help a very nice lady out of a jam!
Personally, I believe that helping Cathi right now is living out the Golden Rule.
Sincerely, David Ginn / myself at home
JOHN V. COOPER — magician, author, educational speaker, performance coach, and friend of many — died Sunday night, December 28, after a year-long struggle with heart and kidney problems. He was 52 years old. Due to a 20-year long heart condition that started with strep throat, John was never able to get health insurance or life insurance. Cathi, his wife of 25 years, is now in a serious financial situation.
LET ME EXPLAIN:
John was a fulltime magician and public speaker. Cathi, worked in the performance business with him, having quit a fulltime job years ago as his health required her. During the last year of his life, Cathi had to be with John 24 hours each day, even presenting many of his teacher in-service programs when he could not stand and do them. John could only sit at the back of the room and help with sales.
By June 2008, when he attended my Greenville SC workshop as my guest, John was so weak that he could not stand and work at all. Indeed, John and Cathi had virtually no income for the past six months.
By September 2008 John’s heart condition worsened. He needed a heart transplant, but could not be placed on the list due to kidney problems. By November he was placed on dialysis three times weekly — during which time John & Cathi had their 25th wedding anniversary, and he stabilized enough to return home two weeks before Christmas.
Prior to this time, with hospital bills mounting to over $100,000, John and Cathi had applied for medical financial assistance. They were turned down by Medicare and Medicaid because they had “a little money” in their checking account and because “their credit cards were NOT totally max-ed out,” they were told. The hospital put them at that time on a payment plan.
I spoke to John and Cathi the Sunday before Christmas. He was weak but “hanging in there,” he said. Both Cathi & John were extremely thankful for gifts of cash and books (to resell) sent by many friends. I assured them of our prayers via family, church, magic and clown groups.
The next morning John got worse. I will spare you the details, but he was rushed to the hospital and hovered for the week between life and death. Like the fighter he was, John made it through Christmas on Thursday, still conscious and coherent. Then on Sunday evening, with wife Cathi, brother Jeff, and 27-year-old son John Jr at his bedside, John Cooper joined his maker in Heaven.
On December 31, Cathi held a memorial service for John at the funeral home in Anderson, SC. About 70 people attended, friends from church, magicians, and speakers that knew John. Speakers included brother Jeff, Tim Sonefelt, Max Howard (for himself and reading an email from Sammy Smith), David Ginn, Mark Daniel, Tom Sikorski, Steve Spanks, Rhett Bryson, as well as Al Walker, past president of the National Speakers Association, of which John was a member. The service was full of funny stories and happy memories — a celebration of John’s life. Cathi kept a box of tissues in her lap for tears cried due to heartfelt stories and plenty of John Cooper style corny jokes. All guests were given red sponge clown noses to take home and remember that funny John Cooper. It was amazing how one life touched so many different people. John Cooper, everyone agreed, was a one-of-a-kind guy!
For the past two months Cathi has been under tremendous stress, as you can well understand. Now John is gone, and Cathi has no income and no insurance whatsoever. Book sales from her online store (see below) have been very low in recent months, which was something she tried to do while tending to John at home this fall.
Have you ever wished YOU could really help someone you don’t even know? Someone who is truly in need? Have you ever wanted the real spirit of Christmas to work in the real world? Well, friends, here is YOUR CHANCE to make that happen! The time to help that someone is NOW — and that someone is Cathi Cooper.
How can you help? Honestly, Cathi needs money to pay medical bills and house bills. Gift cards will NOT work for those needs. She needs cash. Let me suggest several different ways you can help her:
1. SEND CATHI A SYMPATHY CARD and pray for her. If you can spare $5 - $10 - $20 or more with the card, yes, that would help. Here is her address: Cathi Cooper, 101 Beulah Drive, Anderson SC 29625 USA.
2. SEND a financial contribution to the JOHN V. COOPER FUND, % Regions Bank, 3404 Clemson Boulevard, Anderson SC 29621. Cathi will use this to pay medical bills and personal expenses. It’s tax deductible, if you need an excuse.
3. MAKE A CONTRIBUTION using PayPal. Cathi has an account. Go to https://www.paypal.com and long on to your own account. Then click on “Send Money” and type in Cathi’s email: wwinc@mindspring.com. Think of it as “Wonder Woman Inc @ mindspring.com.”
4. ORDER SOMETHING from the store: http://sunnysideupbooks.com/. There are all kinds of books in the store, including magic books.
5. SEND CATHI SOME BOOKS. If you have new or used books around the house, pack them up and ship to Cathi via Media Mail (the cheapest book rate) in the USA only. Maybe she can sell them on the website.
Magic and clown friends, especially YOU GUYS — under different circumstances, this could be the wife or mom of any one of us. How would YOU want her treated if YOU passed away in this situation? Consider that and act accordingly. Whatever you do — please act now, this week, this month, to help a very nice lady out of a jam!
Personally, I believe that helping Cathi right now is living out the Golden Rule.
Sincerely, David Ginn / myself at home
2009-01 Zig-zag wanted
Looking to borrow, rent or buy a Zig Zag.
Call Dan Stapleton at (407) 491-3287
2009-01 Christmas Party Pictures
Due to the large volume of pictures which Craig made available, they have been uploaded to PicasaWeb Albums. Click on the title above to view.
2009-01 David Copperfield coming to Orlando
It's been a few years since Copperfield has been to Orlando so don't miss his show at the Bob Carr Jan. 29...two shows 5:30 & 8:00pm.
Dan Stapleton
Dan Stapleton
2009-01 Ring 258 news
The second lecture will be in February, Tom Craven 1pm February 15th, also at theNYcafe in Leesburg.
Magic Ian has several new DVD's out, to be distributed thru Murphy's Magic some time in February. A basic instructional DVD on the Linking Ropes, Coin Balloon-acy: coin thru balloon effect, and Diminishing sponge ball DVD. Also in the mix is Dances with Ropes routine, plus Flagtastick: three silks change to a flag on a flagpole. Of course, these are always available directly at www.tricks.ws
More info on the Ring258 club is on Google Calendars, just log onto Google and enter IBM ring 258 in the search, there are other IBM rings who use this service.We also have our club Blog, ring258.blogspot.com and our photos on Google.
Magic Ian has several new DVD's out, to be distributed thru Murphy's Magic some time in February. A basic instructional DVD on the Linking Ropes, Coin Balloon-acy: coin thru balloon effect, and Diminishing sponge ball DVD. Also in the mix is Dances with Ropes routine, plus Flagtastick: three silks change to a flag on a flagpole. Of course, these are always available directly at www.tricks.ws
More info on the Ring258 club is on Google Calendars, just log onto Google and enter IBM ring 258 in the search, there are other IBM rings who use this service.We also have our club Blog, ring258.blogspot.com and our photos on Google.
2009-01 Dennis' Deliberations
Inferno The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
(XXVII, 61-66):
S`io credesse che mia risposta fosse
A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma perciocchè giammai di questo fondo
Non tornò vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero,
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
A trip through Hell?
It has been a theme in many magic illusion shows such as David Bamberg’s “Fu Manchu” and Bill Neff’s “Madhouse of Mystery”. Dante, not the magician but the Italian Poet, wrote the quote above in 1300 C.E (I will translate it later). He created a satirical trip through hell and put all those in it that he disliked. His main purpose was political, His poem had him taking a trip through hell with Virgil, the great Roman Epic poet who wrote The Aeneid.
The Italians are experts on the subject of hell…I am sure you know that if you have ever visited Italy, especially Southern Italy with its active volcanoes. I am sure that you know that we get most of our ideas about hell not from the Bible but from John Milton (Paradise Lost) and from Dante Alighieri, the Medieval poet. He described an architectonic structure of hell with deeper and deeper levels and greater degrees of punishment as you descended into the pits.
Hum…Dante and Virgil! That reminds me of magic!
Imagine that you and I go on a trip through a “hell” where they send bad magicians.
The main entrance had “Abandon Hope all you who enter here”, sort of like the sign that should be over the door at the registration to a lousy magic convention. In fact, I think my wife Cindy put a sign like that over the spare room in our house where I keep many of my small props and videos.
Each lower level of hell had a sign over the entrance to that particular level. Think about those signs on easels outside the room where a boring magic lecture is taking place. There was one such long 90 minute lecture by a big name pro titled: “100 ways to get the most out of your Hank-Pull”. Folks, it is just a black plastic egg with a piece of elastic. Of course the big-name, dealer-lecturer was selling 100 different versions of a hank-pull and $15 lecture notes or a DVD combo for $40. Just like sinners in Dante’s Hell, those who paid the simony, for magic powers, never really understood the truth about the sins of their own ignorance.
“Bad Amateur Magicians” were up near the top which was just below Limbo and they suffered from only minor punishment. They are really operating out of ignorance and lack of experience so you can’t be that harsh on them. One layer down, the first level of hell is for those addicted to saying, “Pick a card, any card!” Right below them are those that believe that the older the gag the funnier the bit. “Give me your hand. No, the clean one”, “Do you want to change your mind? Oh you are happy with the one you have!”, “Pick a card. Sometime today, please”, “stand here on the trap door”.
Magic hoarders are next on our descending journey. Does anyone really need 4 sets of Linking Rings and 23 thumb tips? At some point on the moral scale, legitimate magic collecting can degenerate into gluttonous hoarding and selfish greed. Kleptomania is excused but not a house and garage filled with junk that you can not live without.
A little lower there is the place for blasphemers (anyone who says anything bad about Jeff McBride or Franz Harary). Then we move down to the boasters.
Did they really get a standing ovation by their version of Professors Nightmare?
Hey, there is Rocco who has been condemned for eternity to search for plastic thumb tips and LED lights for the sin of selling his tacky D’Lite’s to everyone in every flea-market across the land. Penn and Teller are buck naked. It is not a pretty sight. They are condemned for their exposure and senseless ridicule of other magicians.
“Act copy cats” and “crooked magic dealers” and cheap “knock off artists” are a little lower. One of the 10 commandments is “Thou shall not steal”. They spent their whole lives redefining “stealing”. This bunch never gave credit for who they stole their ideas from. This crowd of sinners are so lacking in originality, they ask every visitor if they can have a Xerox of the escape routes from hell. All the visitors show them that the wallpaper around them contains a blueprint of the entire structure but they are too lazy
to create their own route.
Even lower is David Blaine. He is in for his camera tricks, selective editing and asking 5,000 people on video to think of a card and then discarding every recording but the one he got one right. His biggest sin is portraying himself as some kind of Messiah in making dead flies come alive and dead pigeons resurrect themselves. He ended up here after his last failed TV special. He is condemned to spend eternity frozen in a block of ice that is submerged in a fishbowl while sitting on the tip of a 50 foot pedestal.
Near the bottom is Criss Angel. He is in for having pretended that he has any talent and relentlessly using the same crane-mounted Foy flying rig over and over again with a different set of paid stooges. The cost of keeping him in hell is being subsidized by Cirque du Soleil where they no longer “Believe” and are thrilled to get rid of him.
Val Valentino, the Masked Magician is trapped at the bottom. Maybe he is Satan? At least he looks the part.
For some reason Dante called his exploration of hell, “The Divine Comedy”. (Every heard the Emcee jokes at a magic convention?)
Here is a translation of the epigraph that is at the beginning of this article. It is over Dante’s 8th level of hell.
If I thought my answer were given
to anyone who would ever return to the world,
this flame would stand still without moving any further.
But since never from this abyss
has anyone ever returned alive, if what I hear is true,
it is without fear of infamy I answer you.
So next time you see a less than worthy magic performance, meet a less than virtuous magician or attend a lousy magic convention, this thought should make you feel better while you are enduring the torture. You will live to tell others about it. Perhaps with a virtuous magical career, YOU can escape the fate of those condemned.
Dennis
(XXVII, 61-66):
S`io credesse che mia risposta fosse
A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,
Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.
Ma perciocchè giammai di questo fondo
Non tornò vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero,
Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.
A trip through Hell?
It has been a theme in many magic illusion shows such as David Bamberg’s “Fu Manchu” and Bill Neff’s “Madhouse of Mystery”. Dante, not the magician but the Italian Poet, wrote the quote above in 1300 C.E (I will translate it later). He created a satirical trip through hell and put all those in it that he disliked. His main purpose was political, His poem had him taking a trip through hell with Virgil, the great Roman Epic poet who wrote The Aeneid.
The Italians are experts on the subject of hell…I am sure you know that if you have ever visited Italy, especially Southern Italy with its active volcanoes. I am sure that you know that we get most of our ideas about hell not from the Bible but from John Milton (Paradise Lost) and from Dante Alighieri, the Medieval poet. He described an architectonic structure of hell with deeper and deeper levels and greater degrees of punishment as you descended into the pits.
Hum…Dante and Virgil! That reminds me of magic!
Imagine that you and I go on a trip through a “hell” where they send bad magicians.
The main entrance had “Abandon Hope all you who enter here”, sort of like the sign that should be over the door at the registration to a lousy magic convention. In fact, I think my wife Cindy put a sign like that over the spare room in our house where I keep many of my small props and videos.
Each lower level of hell had a sign over the entrance to that particular level. Think about those signs on easels outside the room where a boring magic lecture is taking place. There was one such long 90 minute lecture by a big name pro titled: “100 ways to get the most out of your Hank-Pull”. Folks, it is just a black plastic egg with a piece of elastic. Of course the big-name, dealer-lecturer was selling 100 different versions of a hank-pull and $15 lecture notes or a DVD combo for $40. Just like sinners in Dante’s Hell, those who paid the simony, for magic powers, never really understood the truth about the sins of their own ignorance.
“Bad Amateur Magicians” were up near the top which was just below Limbo and they suffered from only minor punishment. They are really operating out of ignorance and lack of experience so you can’t be that harsh on them. One layer down, the first level of hell is for those addicted to saying, “Pick a card, any card!” Right below them are those that believe that the older the gag the funnier the bit. “Give me your hand. No, the clean one”, “Do you want to change your mind? Oh you are happy with the one you have!”, “Pick a card. Sometime today, please”, “stand here on the trap door”.
Magic hoarders are next on our descending journey. Does anyone really need 4 sets of Linking Rings and 23 thumb tips? At some point on the moral scale, legitimate magic collecting can degenerate into gluttonous hoarding and selfish greed. Kleptomania is excused but not a house and garage filled with junk that you can not live without.
A little lower there is the place for blasphemers (anyone who says anything bad about Jeff McBride or Franz Harary). Then we move down to the boasters.
Did they really get a standing ovation by their version of Professors Nightmare?
Hey, there is Rocco who has been condemned for eternity to search for plastic thumb tips and LED lights for the sin of selling his tacky D’Lite’s to everyone in every flea-market across the land. Penn and Teller are buck naked. It is not a pretty sight. They are condemned for their exposure and senseless ridicule of other magicians.
“Act copy cats” and “crooked magic dealers” and cheap “knock off artists” are a little lower. One of the 10 commandments is “Thou shall not steal”. They spent their whole lives redefining “stealing”. This bunch never gave credit for who they stole their ideas from. This crowd of sinners are so lacking in originality, they ask every visitor if they can have a Xerox of the escape routes from hell. All the visitors show them that the wallpaper around them contains a blueprint of the entire structure but they are too lazy
to create their own route.
Even lower is David Blaine. He is in for his camera tricks, selective editing and asking 5,000 people on video to think of a card and then discarding every recording but the one he got one right. His biggest sin is portraying himself as some kind of Messiah in making dead flies come alive and dead pigeons resurrect themselves. He ended up here after his last failed TV special. He is condemned to spend eternity frozen in a block of ice that is submerged in a fishbowl while sitting on the tip of a 50 foot pedestal.
Near the bottom is Criss Angel. He is in for having pretended that he has any talent and relentlessly using the same crane-mounted Foy flying rig over and over again with a different set of paid stooges. The cost of keeping him in hell is being subsidized by Cirque du Soleil where they no longer “Believe” and are thrilled to get rid of him.
Val Valentino, the Masked Magician is trapped at the bottom. Maybe he is Satan? At least he looks the part.
For some reason Dante called his exploration of hell, “The Divine Comedy”. (Every heard the Emcee jokes at a magic convention?)
Here is a translation of the epigraph that is at the beginning of this article. It is over Dante’s 8th level of hell.
If I thought my answer were given
to anyone who would ever return to the world,
this flame would stand still without moving any further.
But since never from this abyss
has anyone ever returned alive, if what I hear is true,
it is without fear of infamy I answer you.
So next time you see a less than worthy magic performance, meet a less than virtuous magician or attend a lousy magic convention, this thought should make you feel better while you are enduring the torture. You will live to tell others about it. Perhaps with a virtuous magical career, YOU can escape the fate of those condemned.
Dennis
Monday, December 08, 2008
2008-12 Famulus Newsletter - Ring 170
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 12/17/2008 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Annual Gift Exchange
The Elks Club Lodge #1079,
12 N. Primrose Dr., Orlando, Florida 32803
“The corner of Primrose Drive and Central Boulevard” (click for map)
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 12/17/2008 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Meeting theme: Annual Gift Exchange
The Elks Club Lodge #1079,
12 N. Primrose Dr., Orlando, Florida 32803
“The corner of Primrose Drive and Central Boulevard” (click for map)
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2008-12 From the editor
Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings as appropriate. This would normally be a busy time for many of our members, but with the current economy.....
Many thanks to all contributors. As the time for New Year's resolutions is approaching, please make a resolution to contribute at least one item in 2009.
Be sure to attend our annual gift exchange, Jackie always makes this a super fun evening.
Your editor
Stefan
Many thanks to all contributors. As the time for New Year's resolutions is approaching, please make a resolution to contribute at least one item in 2009.
Be sure to attend our annual gift exchange, Jackie always makes this a super fun evening.
Your editor
Stefan
2008-12 Ring Report Ring #170 The Bev Bergeron Ring
Thanksgiving was just a week away as we conducted our November business meeting. This holiday season will be a bit thinner for many of our working professionals, so every show is appreciated. We had one guest, Alex Rivera from Orlando, and 33 people in attendance. President Craig Fennessey gaveled the meeting to order and several items were on the agenda.
Next month is the new election for our ring officers and the floor was opened up for nominations. In contrast to last month’s national political races, it appears at this point that the current administration will return for a 3rd term.
The announcement was made that ring dues are due at the end of December. There is a discount for seniors and for those who pay before the end of the year. President Fennessy provided a list of all the benefits of membership: access to the free video library, discounts and free lectures, ring teach-ins and fellowship with other magicians. All this is for a cost of less than 2 dollars a month! Our new meeting place is charging us rent now so dues are important.
After announcements of upcoming events (see the ring website for the latest details), Jacki Manna took the floor to explain the upcoming annual December Christmas and holiday party and gift exchange. Bring a magic gift (trick or book) valued at between fifteen to twenty dollars and come have fun at the December Ring meeting.
In our show-and-tell portion, Richard Hewitt explained how he improved on the standard silk fountain by producing the initial silk bundle from a paper sack. By ripping a slit in the bottom of the bag, his hand goes through making the sack appear empty. He then showed his improvement on the classic Steve Kissell routine with humorous signs.
Carl Fowler, our former ring president, invited the club to join him in the future for a special benefit magic show in Tennessee at a Motorcycle Resort he owns. Kerry Pierce thanked all those who helped him during his recent charity Halloween Haunted House event.
James Songster presented a teach-in on the principle of The Square Circle and showed many examples of the prop and how to make it. He was assisted by Dennis Phillips who did a short history lesson on the inventor of the effect, Louis Histed. Phil Schwartz, our resident magic collector and historian, followed up with his Magic Moment #9. He filled us in on his recent trip to the magic collector’s Yankee Gathering in Boston. The event is held in odd years with the Magic Collector’s Convention.
Kerry Pierce, “KP”, volunteered to Emcee the evening’s ring show. First on was “Magic Mike” Martin doing his version of Tom Burgoon’s Dyslectic Card trick. Donning thick glasses, Mike did a simple card trick and in his directions to a volunteer he had some on the most hilarious and suggestive jumbled words that you could imagine. Charlie Pfrogner followed with another of his unique routines. This time it was his Ouija Board on a small table that revealed what only the spectator could know and then it floated up off the table only to lose its spell and fall with a crash. The effect was eerie.
Dan Stapleton took the stage to present a card trick from his video on card tricks. A selected card was hopelessly lost in the deck with some cards facing up and some facing down. The card ended up being revealed. JC Hiatt, was back in fine health and had a card effect that became a series of reveals. The selected card was lost in the deck and then JC flipped out a card but it has a message to look in his pocket where another card was found that had a message to look on the table. Suddenly a card was noticed on the table and it was the selected card.
Finally Jim McNiff presented a card effect that was an adaptation of Simon Aronson’s “Four Stop Intersection”. This was the first time Jim had publicly presented it using his own method. Four spectators each cut a packet from a deck and then selected a card from their packet. Methodically, Jim named each card. At each step in the effect he eliminated to possibility of a marked deck or a stacked deck. It was an impressive display.
The show concluded and we are preparing for the Holiday Season ahead.
Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
Next month is the new election for our ring officers and the floor was opened up for nominations. In contrast to last month’s national political races, it appears at this point that the current administration will return for a 3rd term.
The announcement was made that ring dues are due at the end of December. There is a discount for seniors and for those who pay before the end of the year. President Fennessy provided a list of all the benefits of membership: access to the free video library, discounts and free lectures, ring teach-ins and fellowship with other magicians. All this is for a cost of less than 2 dollars a month! Our new meeting place is charging us rent now so dues are important.
After announcements of upcoming events (see the ring website for the latest details), Jacki Manna took the floor to explain the upcoming annual December Christmas and holiday party and gift exchange. Bring a magic gift (trick or book) valued at between fifteen to twenty dollars and come have fun at the December Ring meeting.
In our show-and-tell portion, Richard Hewitt explained how he improved on the standard silk fountain by producing the initial silk bundle from a paper sack. By ripping a slit in the bottom of the bag, his hand goes through making the sack appear empty. He then showed his improvement on the classic Steve Kissell routine with humorous signs.
Carl Fowler, our former ring president, invited the club to join him in the future for a special benefit magic show in Tennessee at a Motorcycle Resort he owns. Kerry Pierce thanked all those who helped him during his recent charity Halloween Haunted House event.
James Songster presented a teach-in on the principle of The Square Circle and showed many examples of the prop and how to make it. He was assisted by Dennis Phillips who did a short history lesson on the inventor of the effect, Louis Histed. Phil Schwartz, our resident magic collector and historian, followed up with his Magic Moment #9. He filled us in on his recent trip to the magic collector’s Yankee Gathering in Boston. The event is held in odd years with the Magic Collector’s Convention.
Kerry Pierce, “KP”, volunteered to Emcee the evening’s ring show. First on was “Magic Mike” Martin doing his version of Tom Burgoon’s Dyslectic Card trick. Donning thick glasses, Mike did a simple card trick and in his directions to a volunteer he had some on the most hilarious and suggestive jumbled words that you could imagine. Charlie Pfrogner followed with another of his unique routines. This time it was his Ouija Board on a small table that revealed what only the spectator could know and then it floated up off the table only to lose its spell and fall with a crash. The effect was eerie.
Dan Stapleton took the stage to present a card trick from his video on card tricks. A selected card was hopelessly lost in the deck with some cards facing up and some facing down. The card ended up being revealed. JC Hiatt, was back in fine health and had a card effect that became a series of reveals. The selected card was lost in the deck and then JC flipped out a card but it has a message to look in his pocket where another card was found that had a message to look on the table. Suddenly a card was noticed on the table and it was the selected card.
Finally Jim McNiff presented a card effect that was an adaptation of Simon Aronson’s “Four Stop Intersection”. This was the first time Jim had publicly presented it using his own method. Four spectators each cut a packet from a deck and then selected a card from their packet. Methodically, Jim named each card. At each step in the effect he eliminated to possibility of a marked deck or a stacked deck. It was an impressive display.
The show concluded and we are preparing for the Holiday Season ahead.
Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
2008-12 Wayne Scott passes
It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Wayne Scott. Wayne and his family are very well known in the world of clown shoes construction and other circus and magic props. Wayne was a clown for Ringling Bros. in the 1960's and his wife, Marti, was seamstress for the circus. Marti and her sons still carry the tradition of making quality shoes and recently made the shoes for the Broadway production of Wicked. In recent years Wayne suffered from Parkinson's and other ailments. He was 79.
Three decades ago Wayne made my Head Chopper, Assistants Revenge illusion and Vanishing Dove Cage, all of which I still use today which is testament to the quality of his props. In the 1970's the SAM Assembly #99 would have their many picnics at Wayne's "unusual" house outside of Orlando. His house, that he literally built himself, contained a trapeze bar, massive clown collection and bus (next to the living room) that would roll out the side of the house when needed for long trips.
Dan Stapleton
Three decades ago Wayne made my Head Chopper, Assistants Revenge illusion and Vanishing Dove Cage, all of which I still use today which is testament to the quality of his props. In the 1970's the SAM Assembly #99 would have their many picnics at Wayne's "unusual" house outside of Orlando. His house, that he literally built himself, contained a trapeze bar, massive clown collection and bus (next to the living room) that would roll out the side of the house when needed for long trips.
Dan Stapleton
2008-12 Dues Are Due
DUES ARE DUE!!
Just a reminder that 2009 F.A.M.E. Ring 170 dues are due.
DUES:
1. If you pay your dues before December 31, 2008 dues will be only $15.00 per year.
2. If you pay dues January 1, 2009 or later… dues will be $20.00 per year.
3. Senior's over 65 years will receive a $5.00 discount off the $20.00 membership only
Due to fact that the club now has to pay for a monthly meeting place we need your support to continue all the great activities that you have come to enjoy. This is less than $2.00 a month for a year of great magical activities.
Some of the benefits of paid members FAME Ring 170, Orlando, Florida
1. Monthly magic meetings
2. Free Magic teach-ins at the meetings
3. Free monthly Magic History by our magic historian…Phil Schwartz
4. Free magic tape library access…. Over 250 titles
5. Monthly newsletter "Famulus"
6. Yearly Flea market/auction and workshops
7. Yearly Banquet and Magic Show
8. Magic lecture by some of the top magicians in the country 6-8 lectures per year (Discounted admission for paid members)
9. Yearly Holiday party!
10. ….and great fellowship all year!
ALL THIS AND MORE FOR LESS THAT $2.00 per month!!! Just skip one "Mocca Latte' at Starbucks per month and you've got dues covered.
CONTACT: Art Thomas for dues payment
Just a reminder that 2009 F.A.M.E. Ring 170 dues are due.
DUES:
1. If you pay your dues before December 31, 2008 dues will be only $15.00 per year.
2. If you pay dues January 1, 2009 or later… dues will be $20.00 per year.
3. Senior's over 65 years will receive a $5.00 discount off the $20.00 membership only
Due to fact that the club now has to pay for a monthly meeting place we need your support to continue all the great activities that you have come to enjoy. This is less than $2.00 a month for a year of great magical activities.
Some of the benefits of paid members FAME Ring 170, Orlando, Florida
1. Monthly magic meetings
2. Free Magic teach-ins at the meetings
3. Free monthly Magic History by our magic historian…Phil Schwartz
4. Free magic tape library access…. Over 250 titles
5. Monthly newsletter "Famulus"
6. Yearly Flea market/auction and workshops
7. Yearly Banquet and Magic Show
8. Magic lecture by some of the top magicians in the country 6-8 lectures per year (Discounted admission for paid members)
9. Yearly Holiday party!
10. ….and great fellowship all year!
ALL THIS AND MORE FOR LESS THAT $2.00 per month!!! Just skip one "Mocca Latte' at Starbucks per month and you've got dues covered.
CONTACT: Art Thomas for dues payment
2008-12 Mystery House Magic Company opens
GRAND OPENING!
As Announced in the November Meeting, Mystery House Magic Company, owned and operated by Ashley Diller and Patrick is Now Open! Blood sweat and magic went into it but we made our Dec. 1st deadline! We're still cleaning up the site a little, fixing our catalog, and adding our links!
Friends, we couldn't have done it without you, and we would like to ask you a favor! If you would like to be included/advertised in our links site the PLEASE, send us a picture you want use, plus contact info, and just a little bit about you.
Come in now for our Grand Opening Special! ALL of our prices have been marked down by 35% off MSRP to celebrate, not only this joyous occasion, but also the holidays! See something on the site but you don't want to have it shipped? eMail me at patrick@mysteryhousemagic.com and I will bring it to the meeting, or deliver it to you in the Central Florida area!
Keep Informed: Starting in 2009 we're going to begin booking our own shows. This is just a step ladder into offering booking services for local magicians! We may also be looking for great, new, and wonderful trick to add to our catalog!
Finally, havent seen anything you like? Let us know ashley@mysteryhousemagic.com Let us know what products YOU want to see on the site!
Thanks and best magical wishes!
Your friends at Mystery House Magic Co.
As Announced in the November Meeting, Mystery House Magic Company, owned and operated by Ashley Diller and Patrick is Now Open! Blood sweat and magic went into it but we made our Dec. 1st deadline! We're still cleaning up the site a little, fixing our catalog, and adding our links!
Friends, we couldn't have done it without you, and we would like to ask you a favor! If you would like to be included/advertised in our links site the PLEASE, send us a picture you want use, plus contact info, and just a little bit about you.
Come in now for our Grand Opening Special! ALL of our prices have been marked down by 35% off MSRP to celebrate, not only this joyous occasion, but also the holidays! See something on the site but you don't want to have it shipped? eMail me at patrick@mysteryhousemagic.com and I will bring it to the meeting, or deliver it to you in the Central Florida area!
Keep Informed: Starting in 2009 we're going to begin booking our own shows. This is just a step ladder into offering booking services for local magicians! We may also be looking for great, new, and wonderful trick to add to our catalog!
Finally, havent seen anything you like? Let us know ashley@mysteryhousemagic.com Let us know what products YOU want to see on the site!
Thanks and best magical wishes!
Your friends at Mystery House Magic Co.
2008-12 Annual Gift Exchange
Our December meeting will feature our annual gift exchange.
Please bring a wrapped magic trick that has a value from $15 - 20. We will exchange only with FAME members.
The meeting/party is open to guests and snacks will be provided. No need to bring food.
To top the evening off we would like people to perform after the gift exchange.
-- Jacki Manna
Entrepreneur
Ventriloquist / Magician / Face Painter / Balloon Twister
Please bring a wrapped magic trick that has a value from $15 - 20. We will exchange only with FAME members.
The meeting/party is open to guests and snacks will be provided. No need to bring food.
To top the evening off we would like people to perform after the gift exchange.
-- Jacki Manna
Entrepreneur
Ventriloquist / Magician / Face Painter / Balloon Twister
2008-12 Copperfield to visit Orlando
David Copperfield will be coming to Orlando for one night only last week in January at the Bob Carr.
Also...don't forget to check out the Florida Magic Assoc. web site at www.flmagic.org
Dan Stapleton
Also...don't forget to check out the Florida Magic Assoc. web site at www.flmagic.org
Dan Stapleton
2008-12 Ring 258 Lecture
Ring 258 will kick off its 2009 Lecture season with Steve Kissell
Thursday January 8th 2009 at the NY Cafe restaurant
Lecture will be from 7:15-9??
Please arrive early and eat first (that is our payment to the restaurant)
The lecture will feature magic comedy and closeup techniques plus clown routines. Steve will have 90 minutes to 2 hours to present Family Fun Shows. If time permits, he will do some material from Wacky Restaurant Routines as well.
Who is Steve Kissell?
Steve Kissell has been performing for 25 years at conventions, schools, churches, libraries, birthday and holiday parties. He also shares the performing arts of clowning, comedy magic, and storytelling. He is a co-producer of Circus Magic and is the director of Comedy Magic Workshop. "You are a great clown and so dedicated to the art of entertaining others for their enjoyment. May our roads cross again soon. Miles, Love and Laughter"Toby "Toby" Stokes Founder of Toby's Clown Foundation, Inc.
Previous convention presentations & performances: Magi-Fest; International Festival of Children's Magicians; Ipswich Magical Society - England; IBM ring Rome, Italy; Fellowship of Christian Magicians; Clown Camp; Clown Fest; Clowns of America International; Mountain Madness; Circus Magic; Kentucky Clown Derby; Arts in Ministry; Comedy College; North East Clown Convention; Mid-Atlantic Clown Convention; Kapital Klowns Workshop; Academy of Clown Arts; Southwest Regional & Southeast Clown Association; Phoenix Power & Light Conference; Puerto Rico Convention of Clowns; Laugh Makers; Fellowship of Christian Puppeteers; Entertainers Extravaganza; Clown City's January Jamboree; Clown in Illinois; Children's Ministry Conference; Florida State Magic Convention; Country Clown Jamboree; Joey to the World; Carolina Clown Capers; Comedy Magic Bash; Clown Town; Texas Clown Association; Minnesota Daze; Klown-o-Rama; Pittsburgh Performing Arts Ministries; Canada Clown Carnavale; Winter Carnivale of Magic, Comedy Magic Workshop; Clown Ministry College; Kidabra Convention; P.O.N.Y. convention; Public Speaking 101; Health & Humor Convention; Lost River Retreat; One Way Street Puppetry Fest.
Contact me Magic-Ian for additional info.
President elect Ring 258 Magic Ian
2008-12 Fred Moore in Malta
Read down in the article to see our own local talent.
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081113/local/disney-characters-coming-to-malta-in-january
Mark Fitzgerald
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081113/local/disney-characters-coming-to-malta-in-january
Mark Fitzgerald
2008-12 Dennis' Deliberations
"The times they are-a-changin'" --Bob Dylan
The Masked Magician is again on network television (My-TV) with a weekly hour of exposures of magic methods produced by Val Valentino and Bruce Nash.So far, The Assistant’s Revenge, Palanquin, Giant Guillotine, The Twister and our own Charlie Justice’s “Prohibition”, Milk Can and many other classic effects have been exposed to the viewers. Just as last time, the same cynical, ridiculing announcer, Mitch Pileggi is doing the voice-over explanations and put-downs. These shows will be shown forever as reruns by content-starved lesser networks and eventually find their way onto You-Tube where they will have Eternal Life in cyberspace. My basic instinct says that these exposures will not destroy the competent magician, who is an entertainer, but may well doom the average “Joe the Magician” who merely goes on stage to demonstrate his latest mysterious box and believes that he is entertaining an audience.
Maybe it is time that we all wake up and smell the coffee? Sudden enlightenment seems lately to be happening in every walk of life! Alan Greenspan, the former Libertarian-Ayn Rand worshipper, just revealed in a Senate hearing that he now realizes that he has been wrong for the last 40 years and that unregulated free-market Capitalism is in his words, “a flawed model”! If Greenspan can become a Socialist, then I guess the foundations of the earth are shaking. The magic business is also quaking, but for different reasons.I am paraphrasing and enhancing a few ideas from young magician and cyberspace age devotee, Joshua Wilde: We all are part of a generation that is now able to find any piece of information it wants in about 60 seconds. We watch movies before they are released, we download computer programs for free, and many of us haven't bought a CD in years, yet our music collections rival what most radio stations', used to have a few years ago. If we want to know a "secret," it is about a six keystrokes away. Regarding magic, this is being viewed as a disturbing turn of events. There was a timewhen the methods were buried in...oh no...printed words! Thousands of words, arranged in thick, dusty books! Books made of real paper! But now, thosesecrets are floating in cyberspace, ripe for easy for effortless picking. Think about the You-Tube effect!
There will always be those who are magically curious, and there is one thing that can change that curiosity into a love of the magic art or distort it into a bitter attitude that rears its perverted head as a heckler many years later. That one thing is someone's first experience, up close, with a live magician. I'm convinced thata positive, enthusiastic regard for a sincerely interested person’s curiosity can lead them to a road of self-discovery through our shadowy art, either as an avid fan,or future performer.
I've had kids coming up to me after a show and name a few possible methods, as if they were challenging me. My reaction? I open up my metaphorical arms! I ask them if they've ever had the fun of actually performing the trick. They always say no. I then take a moment to honestly explainthat the real secret isn't the gimmick, it's the subtle psychology involved between the audience and magician. It is a living, breathing connection. I thenfool their pants off with good ol' sleight of hand, no gimmicks involved (usually the French Drop!). Their reaction? "How can I learn how to do that!" Every performer was at first an inexperienced secret-monger.
I am one of the few left who still loves books. I take part in the magical heresy of DVD's, as well, and I am also guilty of seeking out a videoperformance of a trick online in the hopes of gaining an idea of the method. But what are we talking about here? What are we doing that makes some feel the need to label this new generation of the magically-curious as a depressing dark pall on the face of magic?
I see this opinion not only in magic, but everywhere. Many industry leaders and corporate chairmen are almost as poetic in their complete and utter disregardfor the new climate of free information. I can't justify the spreading of knowledge as a bad thing. I'm a magician, I treasure the methods...butI also feel an inherent desire...a NEED...to throw the floodgates open and destroy all boundaries to knowledge. I'm talking knowledge, here...not secrets.
If it can be written down, it can NOT be kept a secret.
If it can be downloaded, it is certainly NOT a secret.
If I can whisper it into your eager ears, it is NOT a secret.
If I can watch a laughable performance of it on You-Tube, it is NOT a secret.
Please understand, I'm not interested in handing out the secrets of magic, because I know that can't be done. Ifyour magic relies only on a gimmick, and then you are fair game to have the Masked Magician on your trail.
A couple of kids came up to me at a recent show and expressed knowledge of some tricks. I really don't see technology creating more armchair magicians...they simply know more, which means the capacity to teach them the true secrets is even greater. The medium is there, so let's start flooding the currents with what we wish everyone had...respect for magic, an understanding of its history, and honor for those who perform it well. Embrace the new web of knowledge as a means for leaving bread crumbs that lead to that which used to be found solely in books. Use the new tools to teach and guide the curious towards productive paths, because the tools aren't going away.
There are bad carpenters, but it's not because of Bob Villa. There are bad painters, but it's not because of Bob Ross. And there are bad cold readers,but not because of Bob Nelson or Max Maven. As St. Augustine taught about Ontology, “Negativity”, like darkness, is not a thing unto itself, it is a lack of something. And what is lacking is the ability to bend when the winds of change turn into threatening gusts.
How can we bend? How do we weather this flood of knowledge in an Art that relies on secrets? By doing what we can do to spread our love for the Art,our love for those drawn to the Art, and our respect and help for those who are seeking blindly and making a mess of things.
Why are articles about the Art of Magic and the Theory of Awe mostly found in obscure trade journals? Those are the articles that need to be stolen! even better...read en masse. Jim Steinmeyer is one person who is making an effort to publish best-selling books on the art and theories of magic. Others should follow his lead. We can only change the world by changing the people, and the only way to change a person is to lead by example. Liveand share your passion; be a guiding light for the idly curious. Passion is contagious and can turn something idle into something living. Invite the curious to a magic club meeting.
How can we bend, so as not to break? By remembering that the real secret is unspoken, unwritten, and can only be lived in a moment of pure joy and awe. Inthat moment, no one cares about a gimmick, even if they know it exists. If someone trusts you to take them to that wonderful moment of magic, they willsuspend their disbelief and allow you to lead. That is why, as magicians, we are still enchanted by a master of the Art. We know the gimmick exists,but we trust them to awe us with the true magic...the creation of that timeless moment brought about by passion and trust.
As Joshua Wilde said “We are magicians...we are lying, cheating and thumb-palming our way to enlightenment. What better way to travel that path than with dignity, class and grace? Bend, so as not to break, and enjoy the ride. If you think things are crazy now, just wait...I think I hear the floodgates breaking!” Magic, as an art, needs a new paradigm. It began as an entertainment art in the mid to late 1800s as religious superstitions faded with the rise of literacy. The late Industrial Revolution provided enough time and money to support magic as commercial entertainment. Magic entertained because most people knew that the magician was not using the supernatural but was merely psychologically fooling them using tricks. Through the decline of vaudeville, the end of the big touring shows, the Great Depression, the incursion of television and the Internet, magic survived in one way or another. I believe it will survive but, as in all the events above, each time it did change and became a little different.
Be at the leading edge!
Dennis Phillips
The Masked Magician is again on network television (My-TV) with a weekly hour of exposures of magic methods produced by Val Valentino and Bruce Nash.So far, The Assistant’s Revenge, Palanquin, Giant Guillotine, The Twister and our own Charlie Justice’s “Prohibition”, Milk Can and many other classic effects have been exposed to the viewers. Just as last time, the same cynical, ridiculing announcer, Mitch Pileggi is doing the voice-over explanations and put-downs. These shows will be shown forever as reruns by content-starved lesser networks and eventually find their way onto You-Tube where they will have Eternal Life in cyberspace. My basic instinct says that these exposures will not destroy the competent magician, who is an entertainer, but may well doom the average “Joe the Magician” who merely goes on stage to demonstrate his latest mysterious box and believes that he is entertaining an audience.
Maybe it is time that we all wake up and smell the coffee? Sudden enlightenment seems lately to be happening in every walk of life! Alan Greenspan, the former Libertarian-Ayn Rand worshipper, just revealed in a Senate hearing that he now realizes that he has been wrong for the last 40 years and that unregulated free-market Capitalism is in his words, “a flawed model”! If Greenspan can become a Socialist, then I guess the foundations of the earth are shaking. The magic business is also quaking, but for different reasons.I am paraphrasing and enhancing a few ideas from young magician and cyberspace age devotee, Joshua Wilde: We all are part of a generation that is now able to find any piece of information it wants in about 60 seconds. We watch movies before they are released, we download computer programs for free, and many of us haven't bought a CD in years, yet our music collections rival what most radio stations', used to have a few years ago. If we want to know a "secret," it is about a six keystrokes away. Regarding magic, this is being viewed as a disturbing turn of events. There was a timewhen the methods were buried in...oh no...printed words! Thousands of words, arranged in thick, dusty books! Books made of real paper! But now, thosesecrets are floating in cyberspace, ripe for easy for effortless picking. Think about the You-Tube effect!
There will always be those who are magically curious, and there is one thing that can change that curiosity into a love of the magic art or distort it into a bitter attitude that rears its perverted head as a heckler many years later. That one thing is someone's first experience, up close, with a live magician. I'm convinced thata positive, enthusiastic regard for a sincerely interested person’s curiosity can lead them to a road of self-discovery through our shadowy art, either as an avid fan,or future performer.
I've had kids coming up to me after a show and name a few possible methods, as if they were challenging me. My reaction? I open up my metaphorical arms! I ask them if they've ever had the fun of actually performing the trick. They always say no. I then take a moment to honestly explainthat the real secret isn't the gimmick, it's the subtle psychology involved between the audience and magician. It is a living, breathing connection. I thenfool their pants off with good ol' sleight of hand, no gimmicks involved (usually the French Drop!). Their reaction? "How can I learn how to do that!" Every performer was at first an inexperienced secret-monger.
I am one of the few left who still loves books. I take part in the magical heresy of DVD's, as well, and I am also guilty of seeking out a videoperformance of a trick online in the hopes of gaining an idea of the method. But what are we talking about here? What are we doing that makes some feel the need to label this new generation of the magically-curious as a depressing dark pall on the face of magic?
I see this opinion not only in magic, but everywhere. Many industry leaders and corporate chairmen are almost as poetic in their complete and utter disregardfor the new climate of free information. I can't justify the spreading of knowledge as a bad thing. I'm a magician, I treasure the methods...butI also feel an inherent desire...a NEED...to throw the floodgates open and destroy all boundaries to knowledge. I'm talking knowledge, here...not secrets.
If it can be written down, it can NOT be kept a secret.
If it can be downloaded, it is certainly NOT a secret.
If I can whisper it into your eager ears, it is NOT a secret.
If I can watch a laughable performance of it on You-Tube, it is NOT a secret.
Please understand, I'm not interested in handing out the secrets of magic, because I know that can't be done. Ifyour magic relies only on a gimmick, and then you are fair game to have the Masked Magician on your trail.
A couple of kids came up to me at a recent show and expressed knowledge of some tricks. I really don't see technology creating more armchair magicians...they simply know more, which means the capacity to teach them the true secrets is even greater. The medium is there, so let's start flooding the currents with what we wish everyone had...respect for magic, an understanding of its history, and honor for those who perform it well. Embrace the new web of knowledge as a means for leaving bread crumbs that lead to that which used to be found solely in books. Use the new tools to teach and guide the curious towards productive paths, because the tools aren't going away.
There are bad carpenters, but it's not because of Bob Villa. There are bad painters, but it's not because of Bob Ross. And there are bad cold readers,but not because of Bob Nelson or Max Maven. As St. Augustine taught about Ontology, “Negativity”, like darkness, is not a thing unto itself, it is a lack of something. And what is lacking is the ability to bend when the winds of change turn into threatening gusts.
How can we bend? How do we weather this flood of knowledge in an Art that relies on secrets? By doing what we can do to spread our love for the Art,our love for those drawn to the Art, and our respect and help for those who are seeking blindly and making a mess of things.
Why are articles about the Art of Magic and the Theory of Awe mostly found in obscure trade journals? Those are the articles that need to be stolen! even better...read en masse. Jim Steinmeyer is one person who is making an effort to publish best-selling books on the art and theories of magic. Others should follow his lead. We can only change the world by changing the people, and the only way to change a person is to lead by example. Liveand share your passion; be a guiding light for the idly curious. Passion is contagious and can turn something idle into something living. Invite the curious to a magic club meeting.
How can we bend, so as not to break? By remembering that the real secret is unspoken, unwritten, and can only be lived in a moment of pure joy and awe. Inthat moment, no one cares about a gimmick, even if they know it exists. If someone trusts you to take them to that wonderful moment of magic, they willsuspend their disbelief and allow you to lead. That is why, as magicians, we are still enchanted by a master of the Art. We know the gimmick exists,but we trust them to awe us with the true magic...the creation of that timeless moment brought about by passion and trust.
As Joshua Wilde said “We are magicians...we are lying, cheating and thumb-palming our way to enlightenment. What better way to travel that path than with dignity, class and grace? Bend, so as not to break, and enjoy the ride. If you think things are crazy now, just wait...I think I hear the floodgates breaking!” Magic, as an art, needs a new paradigm. It began as an entertainment art in the mid to late 1800s as religious superstitions faded with the rise of literacy. The late Industrial Revolution provided enough time and money to support magic as commercial entertainment. Magic entertained because most people knew that the magician was not using the supernatural but was merely psychologically fooling them using tricks. Through the decline of vaudeville, the end of the big touring shows, the Great Depression, the incursion of television and the Internet, magic survived in one way or another. I believe it will survive but, as in all the events above, each time it did change and became a little different.
Be at the leading edge!
Dennis Phillips
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
2008-11 Famulus Newsletter - Ring 170
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 11/19/2008 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Board meeting at 6:30 pm
Meeting theme: (belated) Election (or Political) Magic
The Elks Club Lodge #1079,
12 N. Primrose Dr., Orlando, Florida 32803
“The corner of Primrose Drive and Central Boulevard” (click for map)
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
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Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 11/19/2008 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Board meeting at 6:30 pm
Meeting theme: (belated) Election (or Political) Magic
The Elks Club Lodge #1079,
12 N. Primrose Dr., Orlando, Florida 32803
“The corner of Primrose Drive and Central Boulevard” (click for map)
Lunch meetings in the McDonalds on the north side of SandLake Rd between I-4 and International Drive near the rest rooms
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2008-11 Famulus Newsletter - Ring 170
Our October Ring meeting was at our new meeting location, The Elks Club at the corner of Primrose and Central, just east of downtown Orlando. The hall is ideal. We have a great stage, comfortable chairs, access to a reasonable buffet dinner before the meeting and a bar. President Craig Fennessy opened the shortened business meeting. There is a lot of magic activity in the next few months. Check our ring website to keep you informed. Craig informed the membership that next month is the nominating meeting for the election of club officers for next year. He encouraged members to consider serving the club in an elective office. Our club leadership welcomes new board members.
The rest of the meeting was devoted to a unique and powerful lecture by Fred Moore. Fred came to Orlando several decades ago from Ohio and developed into a top-notch professional act. A recent addition to his act and to his life is his wife, Adina. The couple is leaving soon for an extended European tour with their magic act. She is originally from Eastern Europe. Fred brought a wealth of knowledge gathered from years of working in all types of venues.
His lecture included not only a half-dozen of his original effects but detailed explanations of his advertising techniques, his business secrets for working with agents as well as his thoughts on music in his act. Fred makes excellent use of the popular remote controlled “Wireless Wizardry” device that many magicians use. With a remote control button he can provide drum-rolls, musical fanfares and engaging music for his act.
Fred opened with a coin routine that resembled a classic billiard ball routine. It was done to a lively musical score. His handling was skillful and exciting. After he concluded, he explained how the music matched his moves and enhanced the effects rather than just being a background sound. The drive toward excellence was a theme that Fred used for the rest of his lecture. He continued with an audience participation effect where a card was selected and returned to the middle of the deck. He then burned a hole in the card, while inside the deck, using a laser pointer. He revealed the selected scorched card with a large hole in it.
He followed with a short discussion on how important it is for any magician to be able to create an alternate act from any Wal-Mart in event their props are lost by the airlines. As an example he did a clever book test using 3 unprepared books. The method was ingenious and different and in many ways superior to the classic David Hoy method. Returning to performing excellence, Fred let us in or the secrets on how to smoothly bring up an audience member and handle a volunteer on stage.
Next was another clever card effect. Fred had a card selected and returned to the deck. It was the two of diamonds. After some by-play he attempts to find the card and the he flipped out of the deck the four of diamonds. The audience laughed at his apparent mistake but he had the last laugh. He twirled the card and the four diamond pips were in a circular arrangement! He then peeled off two of them and the card became the selected two of diamonds! Fred gave all the details on how he accomplished the trick and explained how to make it.
He did his version of the classic dollar bill switch with no thumb tip. He changed a real dollar bill into a fake play money bill and then turned the fake bill folded bill upside down and dumped out 4 real quarters. This was effect that is ideal for restaurant walk around magic.
Fred gave several examples of how his promotional materials have evolved from his early days. Early in his career he first used printed materials but he has now evolved to the point where today he uses only web sites and You Tube videos to distribute demonstration videos of his act. He even has alternate “agent friendly” websites where an agent can refer clients to see his act without the client being able to contact him directly. These insights into Fred’s business methods are priceless.
He did a hilarious kid’s routine that involved vanishing a small yellow silk (using a thumb tip) and making it appear in a bag, then in his sock, another finally the guy’s sleeve…This children’s routine, developed during Fred’s cruise ship years, is a simple way to keep the kids screaming and having fun.
He concluded his lecture with a card routine called “Voices in the Head” and to the delight of many he had the recorded CD track for sale. His audio player had a pre-recorded wizard’s voice. Fred responded to the comedic recorded dialog. The “Wizard” on the audio player reveals a card after lots of funny by play. If you get an opportunity see the Fred Moore lecture, take it. His professional insights are remarkable.
Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
The rest of the meeting was devoted to a unique and powerful lecture by Fred Moore. Fred came to Orlando several decades ago from Ohio and developed into a top-notch professional act. A recent addition to his act and to his life is his wife, Adina. The couple is leaving soon for an extended European tour with their magic act. She is originally from Eastern Europe. Fred brought a wealth of knowledge gathered from years of working in all types of venues.
His lecture included not only a half-dozen of his original effects but detailed explanations of his advertising techniques, his business secrets for working with agents as well as his thoughts on music in his act. Fred makes excellent use of the popular remote controlled “Wireless Wizardry” device that many magicians use. With a remote control button he can provide drum-rolls, musical fanfares and engaging music for his act.
Fred opened with a coin routine that resembled a classic billiard ball routine. It was done to a lively musical score. His handling was skillful and exciting. After he concluded, he explained how the music matched his moves and enhanced the effects rather than just being a background sound. The drive toward excellence was a theme that Fred used for the rest of his lecture. He continued with an audience participation effect where a card was selected and returned to the middle of the deck. He then burned a hole in the card, while inside the deck, using a laser pointer. He revealed the selected scorched card with a large hole in it.
He followed with a short discussion on how important it is for any magician to be able to create an alternate act from any Wal-Mart in event their props are lost by the airlines. As an example he did a clever book test using 3 unprepared books. The method was ingenious and different and in many ways superior to the classic David Hoy method. Returning to performing excellence, Fred let us in or the secrets on how to smoothly bring up an audience member and handle a volunteer on stage.
Next was another clever card effect. Fred had a card selected and returned to the deck. It was the two of diamonds. After some by-play he attempts to find the card and the he flipped out of the deck the four of diamonds. The audience laughed at his apparent mistake but he had the last laugh. He twirled the card and the four diamond pips were in a circular arrangement! He then peeled off two of them and the card became the selected two of diamonds! Fred gave all the details on how he accomplished the trick and explained how to make it.
He did his version of the classic dollar bill switch with no thumb tip. He changed a real dollar bill into a fake play money bill and then turned the fake bill folded bill upside down and dumped out 4 real quarters. This was effect that is ideal for restaurant walk around magic.
Fred gave several examples of how his promotional materials have evolved from his early days. Early in his career he first used printed materials but he has now evolved to the point where today he uses only web sites and You Tube videos to distribute demonstration videos of his act. He even has alternate “agent friendly” websites where an agent can refer clients to see his act without the client being able to contact him directly. These insights into Fred’s business methods are priceless.
He did a hilarious kid’s routine that involved vanishing a small yellow silk (using a thumb tip) and making it appear in a bag, then in his sock, another finally the guy’s sleeve…This children’s routine, developed during Fred’s cruise ship years, is a simple way to keep the kids screaming and having fun.
He concluded his lecture with a card routine called “Voices in the Head” and to the delight of many he had the recorded CD track for sale. His audio player had a pre-recorded wizard’s voice. Fred responded to the comedic recorded dialog. The “Wizard” on the audio player reveals a card after lots of funny by play. If you get an opportunity see the Fred Moore lecture, take it. His professional insights are remarkable.
Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
2008-11 From the Editor
Welcome to this month's newsletter, I just wish for all of us that the economic news was better. It is obvious that hard times will fall upon the entertainment industry, so there may be slim pickings this holiday season for our professional members. I heard that Disney has cancelled all their staff Christmas parties. While they do not usually use external entertainers, their decision is perhaps a sample of what other companies are doing too.
We can but hope that the promises of our new president turn out to be more than just political rhetoric. Even then, it will take time until things improve. Maybe magic will help us escape the day to day issues.
Thanks to all our contributers. I was disappointed that none of the ring's attendees have sent a review, perhaps one will appear in time for the December newsletter [hint, hint].
Have a magical month
Your editor
Stefan
We can but hope that the promises of our new president turn out to be more than just political rhetoric. Even then, it will take time until things improve. Maybe magic will help us escape the day to day issues.
Thanks to all our contributers. I was disappointed that none of the ring's attendees have sent a review, perhaps one will appear in time for the December newsletter [hint, hint].
Have a magical month
Your editor
Stefan
2008-11 FMA Officers
Greetings,
the Florida Magicians Association held its meeting this Sunday, November 9, 2008.
The following were elected to serve as FMA officers for 2008-2009:
President: Dan Stapleton
Vice President: Jeff Silver
Secretary/Treasurer: Robert Schvey
Web-maintenance: Simone Marron
Congratulations to the new officers. We look forward to continued growth by the FMA.
Keep a dream in the making, for you create your tomorrows by what you dream today.
Maria Ibâñez
the Florida Magicians Association held its meeting this Sunday, November 9, 2008.
The following were elected to serve as FMA officers for 2008-2009:
President: Dan Stapleton
Vice President: Jeff Silver
Secretary/Treasurer: Robert Schvey
Web-maintenance: Simone Marron
Congratulations to the new officers. We look forward to continued growth by the FMA.
Keep a dream in the making, for you create your tomorrows by what you dream today.
Maria Ibâñez
2008-11 Christmas Exchange
Jackie Manna is organizing the Christmas Gift Exchange at our December meeting again. Full details will follow in a seperate newsletter mailing, but start wrapping and keep the date free.
Stefan
Stefan
2008-11 Upcoming events
For those of that are interested here is a list of up coming events on non meeting nights that may interest you...
1. Billy DamonBalloon get together, November 13th, at 2493 McMichael Rd, St Cloud Fl34771.
Seating islimited.....E-mail: Bdamon@Embarqmail.com
2. Dan Stapleton –Teach-in at Chris Dunn’s house, November 17th., 7pm at 1112 Druid Rd.Maitland, Fl 32751.... Seating is limited,
E-mail reservation to: Youngdunns@yahoo.com $10.00 per person
3. Aldo Colombini –Teach-in at Chris Dunn’s house December 11th, 7pm,at 112 Druid Rd. Maitland,Fl 32751.... Seating is limited,
E-mail reservation to: Youngdunns@yahoo.com $30.00 per person
Just want to let you all know what was happening in the next couple of months. Hope to see you at some of these functions.
Craig Fennessy
1. Billy DamonBalloon get together, November 13th, at 2493 McMichael Rd, St Cloud Fl34771.
Seating islimited.....E-mail: Bdamon@Embarqmail.com
2. Dan Stapleton –Teach-in at Chris Dunn’s house, November 17th., 7pm at 1112 Druid Rd.Maitland, Fl 32751.... Seating is limited,
E-mail reservation to: Youngdunns@yahoo.com $10.00 per person
3. Aldo Colombini –Teach-in at Chris Dunn’s house December 11th, 7pm,at 112 Druid Rd. Maitland,Fl 32751.... Seating is limited,
E-mail reservation to: Youngdunns@yahoo.com $30.00 per person
Just want to let you all know what was happening in the next couple of months. Hope to see you at some of these functions.
Craig Fennessy
2008-11 Request for recording
Did anyone tape the Masked Magician show from November 3rd?
Dan Stapleton
[editor's note: Did you try YouTube?]
Dan Stapleton
[editor's note: Did you try YouTube?]
2008-11 Houdini Movies
from Dan Stapleton:
For those "Hollywood" Houdini fans, two new wonderful movies involving Houdini.
If you enjoyed The Illusionist then you will enjoy these.
For those "Hollywood" Houdini fans, two new wonderful movies involving Houdini.
- Fairy Tale: A True Story (1997) Harvey Keitel plays Houdini.
- Death Defying Acts (2007)starring Catherine Zetta Jones as famous Boston psychic "Margery" and Guy Pierce as Houdini.
If you enjoyed The Illusionist then you will enjoy these.
2008-11 Info about our nearby ring 258
Nominations and elections took place in Leesburg Ring 258. Our new officers are: President – “Magic Ian” Sutz, Vice President - Greg Solomon, Secretary – Roger “Foo” Reid and Treasurer – George Smallwood. Last year we had 4 lectures, and monthly members nights where members performed. We intend to keep up that activity, plus our April show at the Villages. We will also continue to support ring 170 lectures by subsidizing the lecture cost to our members. We had a 7 act show at Hawthorne and sold out. We were asked to make this a regular event. Our club probably earned half the admission and will donate portions to Boggy Creek, and Lake/Sumter hospice. You can check out our monthly minutes at www.ring258.blogspot.com
Our ring will have our Holiday Party & Gift Exchange and take place on Saturday evening, December 27th, at Royal Highlands, beginning at 6:00 PM. $20 admission includes dinner and is open to Ring 170 members.
Tom Craven (in February) is one of several lecturers scheduled next year, we will honor ring 170 member prices for our lectures.
Member Tom Golabek just placed his DVD clip on Youtube on Poker Chip and card Flourishes, check out his DVD at www.pokerchipDVD.com
Magic Ian will be releasing a series of magic DVD's in January and February and they will be in shops shortly after. Also, a re-release of his double match pull. http://matchpull.blogspot.com/
-Ian
Our ring will have our Holiday Party & Gift Exchange and take place on Saturday evening, December 27th, at Royal Highlands, beginning at 6:00 PM. $20 admission includes dinner and is open to Ring 170 members.
Tom Craven (in February) is one of several lecturers scheduled next year, we will honor ring 170 member prices for our lectures.
Member Tom Golabek just placed his DVD clip on Youtube on Poker Chip and card Flourishes, check out his DVD at www.pokerchipDVD.com
Magic Ian will be releasing a series of magic DVD's in January and February and they will be in shops shortly after. Also, a re-release of his double match pull. http://matchpull.blogspot.com/
-Ian
2008-11 Jeff Hobson Info (belated)
For those of you that missed the recent lecture...some info about what you missed:
His television appearances include HBO, Showtime's Comedy Club Network, Fox Family's Masters of Illusion, NBC's World's Greatest Magic as well as the star of Thames Television's Magic Comedy Strip a 16 week television series in England. Hobson introduction to Las Vegas started with an audition at the famed comedy club, Catch a Rising Star at Bally's Casino. This audition turned into numerous return, headline engagements. In 1993, Hobson joined the cast of Spellbound at Harrah's Casino. This run lasted over four years.
After a three-year hiatus that took Hobson to Reno to produce and star in the critically-acclaimed magic production show called, Carnival of Wonders, he came back home to become the "Host of Las Vegas". Since then, he has starred in his own, one-man show, Money and Madness and been the Master of Ceremonies for countless special events and production shows including the World's Greatest Magic Show ,V-The Ultimate Variety Show and, currently, The Little Legends Show.
An interview from “Everything Las Vegas”
JEFF HOBSON `THE HILARIOUS HOST OF LAS VEGAS’ PLAYS `V’ NIGHTLY.
Comedy/magician Jeff Hobson who likes to be known as “The Hilarious Host of Las Vegas” is no ordinary performer but has the ability to take a series of world-class acts and make them into an A+ show in “V – The Ultimate Variety Show” in the V Theatre at the Aladdin’s Desert Passage.
The unpretentious Detroit native began learning magic at age seven when a magician who was a police officer used magic to teach safety with red, yellow and green balls representing a traffic light. He was impressed. That’s when he knew what career path he wanted to take in life. Even though he’s one of the best watch thieves you will ever witness his most entertaining talent is hosting “V” with his comical barbs and lightning tongue. Jeff’s honed his act like a star with a little bit of the late Paul Lynde and the fancy clothes a la Liberace.
On Sept. 21, Jeff is heading to the United Kingdom for five days to perform at The International Brotherhood of Magicians. The society has 20,000-25,000 members worldwide. We’re expecting 1,000-1,200 to attend. The show is called “WOW!’ in London’s West End on Sept. 24th. It’s a benefit performance for the London subway bombing victims.
Jeff said, “I was born on March 23, 1962. I graduated from Lutheran High East in Harper Woods, Michigan. I was the class clown and did all those impressions of Richard Nixon and so forth. At age 17, I was making more money than my father was working full-time. I was doing shows so I didn’t have to go to college. He was a tool-and-die maker and made a decent wage. I had a teacher offer to pay my way through college but turned it down.”
Jeff Hobson has opened for some big headliners as follows: Lee Greenwood, Barbara Mandrel, Louise Mandrel, Phyllis Diller, David Sanborn, Steve Allen and Roy Clark and many more.
Jeff says, “Comedy is a heck of a lot harder then law school. I get people to participate on-stage. It’s one of the biggest fears in the world to audience members but they end up having fun and always remember it and will talk about it for life. I love the challenge and especially like the people who don’t speak English. I’m visual so they understand what I do and say.”
His television appearances include HBO, Showtime's Comedy Club Network, Fox Family's Masters of Illusion, NBC's World's Greatest Magic as well as the star of Thames Television's Magic Comedy Strip a 16 week television series in England. Hobson introduction to Las Vegas started with an audition at the famed comedy club, Catch a Rising Star at Bally's Casino. This audition turned into numerous return, headline engagements. In 1993, Hobson joined the cast of Spellbound at Harrah's Casino. This run lasted over four years.
After a three-year hiatus that took Hobson to Reno to produce and star in the critically-acclaimed magic production show called, Carnival of Wonders, he came back home to become the "Host of Las Vegas". Since then, he has starred in his own, one-man show, Money and Madness and been the Master of Ceremonies for countless special events and production shows including the World's Greatest Magic Show ,V-The Ultimate Variety Show and, currently, The Little Legends Show.
An interview from “Everything Las Vegas”
JEFF HOBSON `THE HILARIOUS HOST OF LAS VEGAS’ PLAYS `V’ NIGHTLY.
Comedy/magician Jeff Hobson who likes to be known as “The Hilarious Host of Las Vegas” is no ordinary performer but has the ability to take a series of world-class acts and make them into an A+ show in “V – The Ultimate Variety Show” in the V Theatre at the Aladdin’s Desert Passage.
The unpretentious Detroit native began learning magic at age seven when a magician who was a police officer used magic to teach safety with red, yellow and green balls representing a traffic light. He was impressed. That’s when he knew what career path he wanted to take in life. Even though he’s one of the best watch thieves you will ever witness his most entertaining talent is hosting “V” with his comical barbs and lightning tongue. Jeff’s honed his act like a star with a little bit of the late Paul Lynde and the fancy clothes a la Liberace.
On Sept. 21, Jeff is heading to the United Kingdom for five days to perform at The International Brotherhood of Magicians. The society has 20,000-25,000 members worldwide. We’re expecting 1,000-1,200 to attend. The show is called “WOW!’ in London’s West End on Sept. 24th. It’s a benefit performance for the London subway bombing victims.
Jeff said, “I was born on March 23, 1962. I graduated from Lutheran High East in Harper Woods, Michigan. I was the class clown and did all those impressions of Richard Nixon and so forth. At age 17, I was making more money than my father was working full-time. I was doing shows so I didn’t have to go to college. He was a tool-and-die maker and made a decent wage. I had a teacher offer to pay my way through college but turned it down.”
Jeff Hobson has opened for some big headliners as follows: Lee Greenwood, Barbara Mandrel, Louise Mandrel, Phyllis Diller, David Sanborn, Steve Allen and Roy Clark and many more.
Jeff says, “Comedy is a heck of a lot harder then law school. I get people to participate on-stage. It’s one of the biggest fears in the world to audience members but they end up having fun and always remember it and will talk about it for life. I love the challenge and especially like the people who don’t speak English. I’m visual so they understand what I do and say.”
2008-11 Dennis' Deliberations
“and so it goes.”
- from Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut -
I have known a number of strange failed magicians in my five decades of being around this art. Each story is very sad. Periodically I will try to chronicle some of these people and their lost dreams of making it to the “big time” in magic. This month I will feature two from the 70s and early 80s. Perhaps these examples will explain why my wife, Cindy, is not too warm to all of the people I know who are into magic. We have had sad and tragic encounters with magicians during our 36 years of marriage.
His stage name was his last name, Booker, spelled backwards (“Rekoob”). He called himself “Rekoob the Magnificent”.
Booker was a locksmith in the Southern town where I was employed on local TV in the early 70s. He was one of the best locksmiths in the business with 15 employees, a fleet of step-vans and contracts with all the major businesses, but he had a passion for magic and illusions. His locksmith business provided him with a fabulous income. But the drive to be a touring magician drove him crazy. He sold his profitable business to go into magic “fulltime”. He spent many thousands of dollars trying to get into magic fulltime.
Sadly he was a real Redneck…Horrible Southern twang in his language, high raspy voice, zero originality. He was as they said about the Hapsburg Dynasty in Europe in the late 1800s, “He never learned anything and he never forgot anything!”
His major talent was that he could sling the bull to a client and buyer when he was selling a show (“people pass out when I do my Cremation!”) He bugged the snot out of me, when I lived in his town, wanting to be on my local TV show and have me promote him over the air.
He divorced his first wife. Although she got a sizable portion of the proceeds from his locksmith business, it was probably a good move if he wanted a stage assistant. She looked like Rosanne Barr on a bad hair-day.
He married some really young bone-thin woman. Mack was late 40s; she was in her late 20s. They had 2 kids in a row. She had no figure and an overbite that would have been an orthodontist’s challenge and joy to fix. She looked like something someone had just dragged out of the Carolina backwoods.
Booker did a few fairs (much like Harry Albacker) and finally ended up losing everything he had in life except his ancient Concord Motor home and a small utility trailer with magic props.
He traveled with his wife and 2 young kids doing Polaroid photos and a little magic (“Your picture with the bunny!). They mostly appeared in the old JM Fields discount stores and K-Marts. The stores just gave him a small space near the entrance and whatever he could clear from the photos was his income. Sometimes 4 photos sold was a good day.
Anyway… he traced me down to Orlando after I moved here in the fall of 1975 (drat you Phil Morris for telling him!)
In December of 1975 he parked his motor home in front of the house I rented on Harmon Avenue in Winter Park. It backed right up to Interstate-4. Car noise was horrible! Vaarrrooom! It was solid 24 hours a day, but it only cost us $250 a month to rent back then.
He and his wife and kids sort of moved onto our lot. Most of the days they would drive over to the old JM Fields at the corner of Lee Road and 17-92 to do magic and photos. The pickings were slim because Orlando was in a housing collapse and local depression in 1975 following the initial Disney build-out and the gas shortages. In the evening they were back in front of my house, with their motor home, for the night.
To this day, Cindy detests “Dinty Moore” stew because at night they would eat with us and every other night we all had stew and rice. I think a few times we had Hamburger Helper with precious little hamburger and lots of off-brand cheese macaroni. (Cindy bought all of this, of course) After a week of running an extension cord and water hose to the motor home, his dump tank filled and he could never figure out a way to tap into my home sewer clean-out plug so he moved on. He tried dumping a couple of times leaving a pool of human feces in my front yard.
Evening conversations were filled with a half pack of Camels and grandiose dreams of big illusion shows and going to Broadway. Promptly at 9PM the Corby’s Whiskey came out. All the frustration would then be liberated and the pent up anger and rage would spill over into an hour tirade about how the world had screwed him and what a great illusionist he was. I vividly recall him sucking on a cigarette that he had stuck in a front missing tooth. He could smoke almost an entire cigarette with no hands. His props were mostly Abbott’s illusions that he had he picked up from other dreamers whose dreams had faded away into disillusionment.
Mack died a few years later…Phil said it was heart trouble. It may have been. My guess would be that years of drinking had corroded away his liver and his lungs were worn out from chain smoking. He ended up leaving his Abbott’s Cremation in my driveway because the utility trailer he was towing had sprung a leak and it was ruining his props. The Cremation was the only prop left where the plywood had not warped. It was the same Cremation Illusion that I used in the 1976 Lake Eola Halloween Show that Dan Stapleton produced!
A few months later in early 1976 a young, thin, clean-cut preacher’s-kid, JD, whose father was a rabid snot-slinging Fundamentalist preacher in Kissimmee stopped into the shop. At first, he vaguely reminded me of a short-haired preppy version of Doug Henning.
JD was into Gospel magic. He worshipped Andre Kole. He dreamed of being a Gospel magician-illusionist. He left shortly after that to go to a Bible College in Kentucky to major in ministry. He got through college but fell into booze even though drinking was absolutely forbidden by any of the students. He told me that he had never tasted alcohol in any form until he was away at the Bible School. He was off campus and sneaked a drink. He said he was addicted after one drink. He had finally found something that made him feel good. I often wonder if he had just transferred his fundamentalist religious addiction to another cult based on alcohol and sex.
After he graduated, with a degree in Christian Ministry and an internship as a Youth pastor, he could not make enough money to live so he soon ended up working as an Emcee in topless bars in Northern Kentucky. Once in a drunken stupor he told me that he had a “ministry:” to the people that worked in bars. His rationalization was
“Jesus made wine and they said he was a drunkard. Jesus was also friends with prostitutes!” He followed up each statement by rattling off a list of Bible verses to prove his point. His pious family disowned him but he returned to Orlando and worked in my costume shop for a few months at Halloween before going to work as a DJ at one of the South Orange Blossom Trail Topless Dancer Clubs.
Since every Fundamentalist church insisted he “get rid of his sins” before they would help him, he had no close connection to any religious group, so I tried to get him into AA and for a month or two he attended their meetings. I was the only church-going friend that he had. Being from a Fundamentalist background he could never accept my mainstream Christian approach as being valid. I remember him being stinking drunk-as-a-skunk and still trying to convert me over to his Fundamentalism. He booked a few Gospel magic shows in distant churches, with preachers who did not know him well, and kept his dream alive that he would be a big-named Fundamentalist Gospel illusionist one day. I hired him and his girlfriend (a biker chick turned topless dancer) a few times on some of my magic road-tours. She frequently confided her own demons to my wife Cindy.
The Flying Carpet Illusion that I own today was a gift from him for picking him up from jail after a DUI arrest.
He permanently lost his driver’s license after a couple more DUIs. He was forced to use the bus system. He married his biker chick girlfriend when she told him that she was pregnant. Her ex-husband came by and beat the tar out of him when he found out that his ex-wife was expecting. She divorced JD shortly after the baby was born. He emotionally went downhill and died of acute alcohol poisoning at far too young an age… One day, a short time later, I pulled up into my driveway at my house in Audubon Park and pieces of old illusions were littering my carport. I knew whose they were but I had no idea how they got there.
His widow had gone back to her ex-husband and they both wanted to get rid of all the memories of JD so for some reason they did not just trash his props but loaded them in the back of his mud truck and dumped them in my carport! Maybe it was her final statement to me; maybe it was a gesture of thanks to Cindy and me for helping them, or maybe she just wanted Cindy’s attention. She did call up Cindy a short time later to explain that her baby was not JD’s but her ex-husband’s. She provided explicit details as why that was the fact. She told Cindy that she wanted to set the record straight with the only friends that JD had that were left on earth. I walked into the kitchen just as that phone call was ending. Cindy turned, clutched me and buried her face in my chest and sobbed like a baby.
Dennis Phillips
- from Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut -
I have known a number of strange failed magicians in my five decades of being around this art. Each story is very sad. Periodically I will try to chronicle some of these people and their lost dreams of making it to the “big time” in magic. This month I will feature two from the 70s and early 80s. Perhaps these examples will explain why my wife, Cindy, is not too warm to all of the people I know who are into magic. We have had sad and tragic encounters with magicians during our 36 years of marriage.
His stage name was his last name, Booker, spelled backwards (“Rekoob”). He called himself “Rekoob the Magnificent”.
Booker was a locksmith in the Southern town where I was employed on local TV in the early 70s. He was one of the best locksmiths in the business with 15 employees, a fleet of step-vans and contracts with all the major businesses, but he had a passion for magic and illusions. His locksmith business provided him with a fabulous income. But the drive to be a touring magician drove him crazy. He sold his profitable business to go into magic “fulltime”. He spent many thousands of dollars trying to get into magic fulltime.
Sadly he was a real Redneck…Horrible Southern twang in his language, high raspy voice, zero originality. He was as they said about the Hapsburg Dynasty in Europe in the late 1800s, “He never learned anything and he never forgot anything!”
His major talent was that he could sling the bull to a client and buyer when he was selling a show (“people pass out when I do my Cremation!”) He bugged the snot out of me, when I lived in his town, wanting to be on my local TV show and have me promote him over the air.
He divorced his first wife. Although she got a sizable portion of the proceeds from his locksmith business, it was probably a good move if he wanted a stage assistant. She looked like Rosanne Barr on a bad hair-day.
He married some really young bone-thin woman. Mack was late 40s; she was in her late 20s. They had 2 kids in a row. She had no figure and an overbite that would have been an orthodontist’s challenge and joy to fix. She looked like something someone had just dragged out of the Carolina backwoods.
Booker did a few fairs (much like Harry Albacker) and finally ended up losing everything he had in life except his ancient Concord Motor home and a small utility trailer with magic props.
He traveled with his wife and 2 young kids doing Polaroid photos and a little magic (“Your picture with the bunny!). They mostly appeared in the old JM Fields discount stores and K-Marts. The stores just gave him a small space near the entrance and whatever he could clear from the photos was his income. Sometimes 4 photos sold was a good day.
Anyway… he traced me down to Orlando after I moved here in the fall of 1975 (drat you Phil Morris for telling him!)
In December of 1975 he parked his motor home in front of the house I rented on Harmon Avenue in Winter Park. It backed right up to Interstate-4. Car noise was horrible! Vaarrrooom! It was solid 24 hours a day, but it only cost us $250 a month to rent back then.
He and his wife and kids sort of moved onto our lot. Most of the days they would drive over to the old JM Fields at the corner of Lee Road and 17-92 to do magic and photos. The pickings were slim because Orlando was in a housing collapse and local depression in 1975 following the initial Disney build-out and the gas shortages. In the evening they were back in front of my house, with their motor home, for the night.
To this day, Cindy detests “Dinty Moore” stew because at night they would eat with us and every other night we all had stew and rice. I think a few times we had Hamburger Helper with precious little hamburger and lots of off-brand cheese macaroni. (Cindy bought all of this, of course) After a week of running an extension cord and water hose to the motor home, his dump tank filled and he could never figure out a way to tap into my home sewer clean-out plug so he moved on. He tried dumping a couple of times leaving a pool of human feces in my front yard.
Evening conversations were filled with a half pack of Camels and grandiose dreams of big illusion shows and going to Broadway. Promptly at 9PM the Corby’s Whiskey came out. All the frustration would then be liberated and the pent up anger and rage would spill over into an hour tirade about how the world had screwed him and what a great illusionist he was. I vividly recall him sucking on a cigarette that he had stuck in a front missing tooth. He could smoke almost an entire cigarette with no hands. His props were mostly Abbott’s illusions that he had he picked up from other dreamers whose dreams had faded away into disillusionment.
Mack died a few years later…Phil said it was heart trouble. It may have been. My guess would be that years of drinking had corroded away his liver and his lungs were worn out from chain smoking. He ended up leaving his Abbott’s Cremation in my driveway because the utility trailer he was towing had sprung a leak and it was ruining his props. The Cremation was the only prop left where the plywood had not warped. It was the same Cremation Illusion that I used in the 1976 Lake Eola Halloween Show that Dan Stapleton produced!
A few months later in early 1976 a young, thin, clean-cut preacher’s-kid, JD, whose father was a rabid snot-slinging Fundamentalist preacher in Kissimmee stopped into the shop. At first, he vaguely reminded me of a short-haired preppy version of Doug Henning.
JD was into Gospel magic. He worshipped Andre Kole. He dreamed of being a Gospel magician-illusionist. He left shortly after that to go to a Bible College in Kentucky to major in ministry. He got through college but fell into booze even though drinking was absolutely forbidden by any of the students. He told me that he had never tasted alcohol in any form until he was away at the Bible School. He was off campus and sneaked a drink. He said he was addicted after one drink. He had finally found something that made him feel good. I often wonder if he had just transferred his fundamentalist religious addiction to another cult based on alcohol and sex.
After he graduated, with a degree in Christian Ministry and an internship as a Youth pastor, he could not make enough money to live so he soon ended up working as an Emcee in topless bars in Northern Kentucky. Once in a drunken stupor he told me that he had a “ministry:” to the people that worked in bars. His rationalization was
“Jesus made wine and they said he was a drunkard. Jesus was also friends with prostitutes!” He followed up each statement by rattling off a list of Bible verses to prove his point. His pious family disowned him but he returned to Orlando and worked in my costume shop for a few months at Halloween before going to work as a DJ at one of the South Orange Blossom Trail Topless Dancer Clubs.
Since every Fundamentalist church insisted he “get rid of his sins” before they would help him, he had no close connection to any religious group, so I tried to get him into AA and for a month or two he attended their meetings. I was the only church-going friend that he had. Being from a Fundamentalist background he could never accept my mainstream Christian approach as being valid. I remember him being stinking drunk-as-a-skunk and still trying to convert me over to his Fundamentalism. He booked a few Gospel magic shows in distant churches, with preachers who did not know him well, and kept his dream alive that he would be a big-named Fundamentalist Gospel illusionist one day. I hired him and his girlfriend (a biker chick turned topless dancer) a few times on some of my magic road-tours. She frequently confided her own demons to my wife Cindy.
The Flying Carpet Illusion that I own today was a gift from him for picking him up from jail after a DUI arrest.
He permanently lost his driver’s license after a couple more DUIs. He was forced to use the bus system. He married his biker chick girlfriend when she told him that she was pregnant. Her ex-husband came by and beat the tar out of him when he found out that his ex-wife was expecting. She divorced JD shortly after the baby was born. He emotionally went downhill and died of acute alcohol poisoning at far too young an age… One day, a short time later, I pulled up into my driveway at my house in Audubon Park and pieces of old illusions were littering my carport. I knew whose they were but I had no idea how they got there.
His widow had gone back to her ex-husband and they both wanted to get rid of all the memories of JD so for some reason they did not just trash his props but loaded them in the back of his mud truck and dumped them in my carport! Maybe it was her final statement to me; maybe it was a gesture of thanks to Cindy and me for helping them, or maybe she just wanted Cindy’s attention. She did call up Cindy a short time later to explain that her baby was not JD’s but her ex-husband’s. She provided explicit details as why that was the fact. She told Cindy that she wanted to set the record straight with the only friends that JD had that were left on earth. I walked into the kitchen just as that phone call was ending. Cindy turned, clutched me and buried her face in my chest and sobbed like a baby.
Dennis Phillips
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
2008-10 Famulus Newsletter - Ring 170
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 10/15/2008 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Board meeting at 6:30 pm
Meeting theme: Halloween magic
The Elks Club Lodge #1079,
12 N. Primrose Dr., Orlando, Florida 32803
“The corner of Primrose Drive and Central Boulevard” (click for map)
Lunch meetings every Tuesday at noon at Goodings (next to the food court)
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 10/15/2008 at 7:30 PM SHARP
Board meeting at 6:30 pm
Meeting theme: Halloween magic
The Elks Club Lodge #1079,
12 N. Primrose Dr., Orlando, Florida 32803
“The corner of Primrose Drive and Central Boulevard” (click for map)
Lunch meetings every Tuesday at noon at Goodings (next to the food court)
Website: http://www.ring170.com/
F. A. M. E. is the Florida Association of Magical Entertainers
*************************************************************
Directory
Craig J. Fennessy – President – CraigFennessy@gmail.com
Chris Dunn- Vice President – Youngdunns@yahoo.com
Art Thomas – Treasurer – Art.Thomas@Disney.com
Dennis Philips- Secretary – Dennis@alliedcostumes.com
James Songster- Director at Large, - JjTjMagic@aol.com
Joe Vecciarelli- Sgt at Arms - talkingmute@tampabay.rr.com
Stefan Bartelski – Editor of “Famulus”- Famulus@illusioneer.com
*************************************************************
GET PUBLISHED!
Got an idea for an article to add to the next FAMULUS? Put it in the body of an email or in a Word document attached to an email. Send it to Famulus@illusioneer.com, and we will get you in print.
Please, please, please, use the above e-mail address, your messages are in danger of getting lost if you do not do so.
2008-10 From the Editor
The nights are getting shorter and the magicians' busy season is fast approaching. Halloween, and then the holidays with all their parties will keep professional members busy; hopefully, as the issues in the economic area will have an impact on people's and companies' spending.
Do not forget that this month's meeting is the first at our new location. If you are not sure how to get there, click on the red link in the Ring report for a map and the option for directions.
Thanks to Dennis & Dan for their contributions.
Greetings from your Editor
Do not forget that this month's meeting is the first at our new location. If you are not sure how to get there, click on the red link in the Ring report for a map and the option for directions.
Thanks to Dennis & Dan for their contributions.
Greetings from your Editor
2008-10 Ring Report
Ring Report Ring #170 The Bev Bergeron Ring
It was a great September meeting. President Craig Fennessey gaveled the meeting to order. This month we say good-bye to the Marks Street Senior Center, our meeting home for most of the last decade. Next month we meet at the Elks Lodge at Primrose and Central in Downtown Orlando near the Orlando Executive Airport.
A few of our magicians are still working regularly as the tourist season fades into fall. Kostya Kimlat is appearing at local restaurants. Joe Zimmer reports the “Titanic” exhibit is moving back to International Drive and he has a place on the entertainment roster. Joe was next called up by President Fennessey for a mini teach-in. Zimmer showed us an excellent presentation of the classic effect where two lengths of string become one. He also showed a unique use for Elmer’s Repositional Adhesive. The effect was “Vlad the Impaler” and a card kept changing positions in a packet. The packet was rigged with the adhesive and the effect was amazing. Richard Hewitt then followed with a show-and-tell about how he transformed a small effect into a big one at Kinkos. He took a forcing card with colors and had it enlarged at the print shop and it because ideal for stage. He followed by showing how he rebuilt the gimmick for a magnetic version of The Torn and Restored Newspaper.
Phil Schwartz was introduced for another of his renowned “Magic Moment” in magic history. This was his 8th edition. Phil explained how magic collectors enjoy collecting rare printed pieces such as magicians’ business cards, programs, and posters, throw cards and even canceled checks! As always, Phil brought excellent examples from his valuable collection. He had many of the printed show programs from the first IBM Conventions.
With the formal meeting concluded, it was time for the monthly ring show and Joe Zimmer agreed to Emcee. First up was Kostya Kimlat . Rather than dazzle us with his fabulous card wizardry, he did a three part mind-reading effect. It was a mini-Mental Epic type of effect using three different colored Sticky Pads. Kostya is a versatile performer and his routine was very clever and well received. Charlie Pfrogner followed with a spooky effect known as “The Bell, the Book and the Candle”. A pad with a drawn hand was passed to a spectator to make a mark on a finger. When Charlie held the paper over a candle it did not burn and the mark disappeared. Charlie then had a big blister on his own finger. It was the same one that had been marked on the paper. Oddly the bell that had been rung at the beginning of the demonstration suddenly had no clapper. Charlie said this routine was from an old magic magazine. Master Magi Pfrogner is a genius at finding old but good effects that have been buried in print.
Dan Knapp was welcomed on stage so that he could repeat a mentalism effect he claimed he could do even better this month. Six colored cards were handed to a spectator and the spectator was told to select a short phrase from any one of the cards. There were over thirty phrases. Dan then did a reading on how the color of the card meant something to the person and then he correctly announced the phrase. He topped his last presentation. Mystana (Rebecca) had a mysterious little wooden box that made three small fuzzy balls instantly disappear as she threw them in the it. She then made a red handkerchief vanish. Dan Stapleton, drew again from his award-winning Linking Ring Parade published several years ago and presented “Deck Tracy”, the card that finds other cards that have been lost in the deck. Wrapping up the show was Syd McWethy. He used a story about a con man and a crooked bet and made a coin vanish. With that, the show concluded and another fun ring meeting came to an end.
Join us for our monthly ring meeting whenever you are in Orlando. Good things are always happening in Ring 170.
Dennis Phillips
2008-10 Florida Magicians Association
Dear Fellow FMA member,
The next FMA convention is right around the corner (Nov. 7-9) in Daytona Beach. You must register now, so you are not disappointed, as the Daytona convention has been sold out for the last few years. With two stage shows, eleven lectures and contest awards valued at nearly $2000.00 this year will not disappoint. Heck, you even get a Friday night dinner included!
I encourage all members to represent your club at the FMA meeting held during the convention. At the Miami meeting in June we had a very good turn out. We want your input on how we can build and improve the FMA. The FMA is a "sounding board" for all Florida magicians. As a representative, you will be taking back to your club, inside news and information, first hand, as to what is happening around the state. And we want all the Florida magicians to know what events your club is doing in the future.Traditionally we meet the last morning of the convention but it could be at any time. When you receive your schedule of events, it will state where and when we will be meeting but I will personally invite you during the start of the Friday night show.
The new FMA web site ( http://www.flmagic.org/ ) is up and running, please be sure to check it out.
Thanks, and if I don't recognize you in passing at the convention, stop and say hello as I would love to meet you.
Please email this message on to all your local or Florida magic friends.
Dan Stapleton
President
Florida Magicians Association
The next FMA convention is right around the corner (Nov. 7-9) in Daytona Beach. You must register now, so you are not disappointed, as the Daytona convention has been sold out for the last few years. With two stage shows, eleven lectures and contest awards valued at nearly $2000.00 this year will not disappoint. Heck, you even get a Friday night dinner included!
I encourage all members to represent your club at the FMA meeting held during the convention. At the Miami meeting in June we had a very good turn out. We want your input on how we can build and improve the FMA. The FMA is a "sounding board" for all Florida magicians. As a representative, you will be taking back to your club, inside news and information, first hand, as to what is happening around the state. And we want all the Florida magicians to know what events your club is doing in the future.Traditionally we meet the last morning of the convention but it could be at any time. When you receive your schedule of events, it will state where and when we will be meeting but I will personally invite you during the start of the Friday night show.
The new FMA web site ( http://www.flmagic.org/ ) is up and running, please be sure to check it out.
Thanks, and if I don't recognize you in passing at the convention, stop and say hello as I would love to meet you.
Please email this message on to all your local or Florida magic friends.
Dan Stapleton
President
Florida Magicians Association
2008-10 End of America's Got Talent
OK...so some opera singer wins the Million Bucks! I was routing for the magician who ripped the doves head off!
Dan
2008-10 Dennis' Deliberations
The story behind “Magic in Mandolins” ,Orlando’s fine-dining dinner show
The first and only fine-dining Orlando area magic-dinner show is now in its second year. Many magicians have dreamed of having their own showroom where crowds nightly thrill to their unique style of magic. Dan Stapleton has created his own popular dinner attraction, Magic in Mandolins, at The Radisson Resort-Orlando and he has allowed me to pull back the curtain to see how he did it.
The Orlando area in Central Florida is a major tourist destination for the world. Orlando gained the reputation as being a magical place. This was due to the fantasy feeling of the theme parks as well as the rapid population and business development. Aside from a few sporadic magic shows within the theme parks, other attractions that exclusively featuring magic and illusions have been less than successful.
Fewer personality types are more suited to creating an independent magic attraction than an experienced cruise director. The skills set needed to succeed in both areas are: A compelling and fun personality, flexibility, creativity, people skills, theatrics, business savvy and a love for a challenge. These factors all had a major role, along with a bit of luck, for Orlando magician-illusionist, Dan Stapleton. Dan was originally from Milwaukee and came to Orlando in 1973 to work at Walt Disney World. He performed in the magic shop on Main Street in Disney World. During those years Dan was a frequent act at magic conventions and even did a strait jacket escape over Interstate 4 while being suspended 200 feet beneath an airborne helicopter. After a stint as an owner at another magic shop outside of Disney at the former Mystery Fun House. Dan worked for 4 years at the old Circus World doing the Illusion Show and at a Wild West dinner attraction. He decided to go to sea with his award winning magic act where the work was steady.
After 23 years he decided to leave the sea-going life behind, to spend more time with his wife and teenage children. His thoughts turned to a shore gig that could benefit from his years of experience as a cruise entertainer and director. He was drawn to a job that is nearly identical but without the ship: A resort entertainment director.
His employer, The Radisson Resort-Orlando, wanted to try a Murder Mystery dinner show in the "Oak Room", a part of the Mandolins dining area but it only seated 50. The cost of a Murder show staff and production would not have been cost effective. This led to the suggestion, by Dan, that they present an intimate and smaller magic experience. They went for the idea in early 2007. The Oak Room was transformed into a Victorian style seance room with poster portraits of Thurston and Carter looking down to the step-up stage. Lit candles on both sides of portraits, with black glitter curtain swooping down, add to the impression. An ornate table and two chairs on stage have a goblet, card deck and "spirit bell". Guests know they are in for a magical evening. To get audiences in the mood, twelve vintage magic poster reproductions on lighted easels line the entrance way to the performing area.
The night, my wife Cindy and I attended the show; Mark Fitzgerald provided delightful walk-around table magic during the dinner with cards, coins and rubber bands. The name of the dining complex is called Mandolins and a live guitar and mandolin serenade was performed by musician German Collazos of Columbia.
The meal was gourmet food on fine china in buffet style. The dining area is elegantly decorated with fine marble and a rich Mediterranean Villa feel. In fact, this feeling carries through the whole Radisson Resort theme. As we turned off of busy Highway 192 just off I-4 in Kissimmee, Florida, the actual municipality where the resort is located in suburban Orlando, our eyes were filled with spectacular greenery. The palm trees and enchanting architecture were bathed by the August evening sun.
The performance room in Mandolins is adjacent to the dining area but a separate room. Dan has a light tree for colored stage lights and the finale effect in the rear of the room.
In the audience were 35 magicians and spouses along with 15 lay persons for the maximum seating of 50. The show plays regularly on Thursdays during "tourist seasonal times" when families are in the resort. During the slowest times of the year the show is available only for groups and conferences. The dinner show is $29.95 adults and $15.95 children. The show runs 45-60 min. Dinner is at 7pm and the show at 8pm.
Mark Fitzgerald, already known to the audience from his walk-around magic, introduced Dan. Dan walked up through the audience to applause and wears a velvet deep purple coat with an open burgundy colored shirt. He greeted the audience and explained the show would be in three parts. He said first he would do a bit of close
The first and only fine-dining Orlando area magic-dinner show is now in its second year. Many magicians have dreamed of having their own showroom where crowds nightly thrill to their unique style of magic. Dan Stapleton has created his own popular dinner attraction, Magic in Mandolins, at The Radisson Resort-Orlando and he has allowed me to pull back the curtain to see how he did it.
The Orlando area in Central Florida is a major tourist destination for the world. Orlando gained the reputation as being a magical place. This was due to the fantasy feeling of the theme parks as well as the rapid population and business development. Aside from a few sporadic magic shows within the theme parks, other attractions that exclusively featuring magic and illusions have been less than successful.
Fewer personality types are more suited to creating an independent magic attraction than an experienced cruise director. The skills set needed to succeed in both areas are: A compelling and fun personality, flexibility, creativity, people skills, theatrics, business savvy and a love for a challenge. These factors all had a major role, along with a bit of luck, for Orlando magician-illusionist, Dan Stapleton. Dan was originally from Milwaukee and came to Orlando in 1973 to work at Walt Disney World. He performed in the magic shop on Main Street in Disney World. During those years Dan was a frequent act at magic conventions and even did a strait jacket escape over Interstate 4 while being suspended 200 feet beneath an airborne helicopter. After a stint as an owner at another magic shop outside of Disney at the former Mystery Fun House. Dan worked for 4 years at the old Circus World doing the Illusion Show and at a Wild West dinner attraction. He decided to go to sea with his award winning magic act where the work was steady.
After 23 years he decided to leave the sea-going life behind, to spend more time with his wife and teenage children. His thoughts turned to a shore gig that could benefit from his years of experience as a cruise entertainer and director. He was drawn to a job that is nearly identical but without the ship: A resort entertainment director.
His employer, The Radisson Resort-Orlando, wanted to try a Murder Mystery dinner show in the "Oak Room", a part of the Mandolins dining area but it only seated 50. The cost of a Murder show staff and production would not have been cost effective. This led to the suggestion, by Dan, that they present an intimate and smaller magic experience. They went for the idea in early 2007. The Oak Room was transformed into a Victorian style seance room with poster portraits of Thurston and Carter looking down to the step-up stage. Lit candles on both sides of portraits, with black glitter curtain swooping down, add to the impression. An ornate table and two chairs on stage have a goblet, card deck and "spirit bell". Guests know they are in for a magical evening. To get audiences in the mood, twelve vintage magic poster reproductions on lighted easels line the entrance way to the performing area.
The night, my wife Cindy and I attended the show; Mark Fitzgerald provided delightful walk-around table magic during the dinner with cards, coins and rubber bands. The name of the dining complex is called Mandolins and a live guitar and mandolin serenade was performed by musician German Collazos of Columbia.
The meal was gourmet food on fine china in buffet style. The dining area is elegantly decorated with fine marble and a rich Mediterranean Villa feel. In fact, this feeling carries through the whole Radisson Resort theme. As we turned off of busy Highway 192 just off I-4 in Kissimmee, Florida, the actual municipality where the resort is located in suburban Orlando, our eyes were filled with spectacular greenery. The palm trees and enchanting architecture were bathed by the August evening sun.
The performance room in Mandolins is adjacent to the dining area but a separate room. Dan has a light tree for colored stage lights and the finale effect in the rear of the room.
In the audience were 35 magicians and spouses along with 15 lay persons for the maximum seating of 50. The show plays regularly on Thursdays during "tourist seasonal times" when families are in the resort. During the slowest times of the year the show is available only for groups and conferences. The dinner show is $29.95 adults and $15.95 children. The show runs 45-60 min. Dinner is at 7pm and the show at 8pm.
Mark Fitzgerald, already known to the audience from his walk-around magic, introduced Dan. Dan walked up through the audience to applause and wears a velvet deep purple coat with an open burgundy colored shirt. He greeted the audience and explained the show would be in three parts. He said first he would do a bit of close