Posts
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
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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
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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.
Monday, December 08, 2008
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
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