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Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 1/18/2012 at 7:30 PM SHARP
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
Meeting Theme: Fresh Tricks
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
Sheldon Brook- Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.com
Treasurer - Bev Bergeron & Joe Zimmer -
Mark Fitzgerald- Director at Large -
Dan Knapp- Sgt at Arms -
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.
Monday, January 16, 2012
2012-01 From The Editor
Firstly, all the best for 2012 to all ring members and readers of this newsletter. Hopefully this year will be better for most than the last couple of years.
I would like to thank Dennis and Sheldon for their regular contributions, and Dan for his treatise on 'old jokes'.
Hopefully some of you took my suggestion from the previous newsletter to heart and will be sending me contributions to the newsletter soon.
Your Editor
I would like to thank Dennis and Sheldon for their regular contributions, and Dan for his treatise on 'old jokes'.
Hopefully some of you took my suggestion from the previous newsletter to heart and will be sending me contributions to the newsletter soon.
Your Editor
2012-01 Ring Report
President Craig Fennessey called the meeting to order with approximately 25 members
and guests present. He sadly announced the illnesses of Gary Adams and Charlie
Pfrogner. Charlie is recovering at the Conway Lakes Rehabilitation Center and can see
well wishers at this time. Craig also mentioned that the 75th Anniversary Meeting of
Genii Magazine will be held in Orlando the first week in October. Our Ring's annual Flea
Market and Auction will be held either the 2d or 3d Saturday in March. The date to be
selected will depend on the availability of guest performers.
Nominations and an election of Ring Officers took place with the following results:
President - Craig Fennessey,
Vice-President - Chris Dunn,
Secretary - Sheldon Brook,
Treasurer - Bev Bergeron and Joe Zimmer,
Sgt. of Arms - Dan Knapp,
Director at Large - Mark Fitzgerald,
Editor - Stefan Bartelski
A gift exchange followed the business meeting with Jacki Manna presiding and
refreshments served. After a short break, the performance portion of the meeting took
place with Doug Kalcik leading off doing spoon bending and a mystifying card selection
trick. Jacki Manna returned to the dais and performed a comedy routine assisted by a
not so dummy 'Chester Field '. Dan Stapleton next entertained with a prediction routine
that he can perform with either cards or dissimilar objects called "Hearts and Diamonds".
Bev Bergeron demonstrated his Pencil through a Quarter illusion. Scott Pepper, a
visitor from the United Kingdom, had an audience participant demonstrate their poor
marksmanship with a ray gun and a 3-ballon illusion set-up. Bob Swadling tried his luck
with a signed card-one dollar bill routine. Next, J. C. Hiatt performed a very entertaining
dice routine that left the membership amazed. Mark Fitzgerald, the final performer,
ended the meeting by determining a card selected by the audience and turned it into
an 'ambitious card '.
and guests present. He sadly announced the illnesses of Gary Adams and Charlie
Pfrogner. Charlie is recovering at the Conway Lakes Rehabilitation Center and can see
well wishers at this time. Craig also mentioned that the 75th Anniversary Meeting of
Genii Magazine will be held in Orlando the first week in October. Our Ring's annual Flea
Market and Auction will be held either the 2d or 3d Saturday in March. The date to be
selected will depend on the availability of guest performers.
Nominations and an election of Ring Officers took place with the following results:
President - Craig Fennessey,
Vice-President - Chris Dunn,
Secretary - Sheldon Brook,
Treasurer - Bev Bergeron and Joe Zimmer,
Sgt. of Arms - Dan Knapp,
Director at Large - Mark Fitzgerald,
Editor - Stefan Bartelski
A gift exchange followed the business meeting with Jacki Manna presiding and
refreshments served. After a short break, the performance portion of the meeting took
place with Doug Kalcik leading off doing spoon bending and a mystifying card selection
trick. Jacki Manna returned to the dais and performed a comedy routine assisted by a
not so dummy 'Chester Field '. Dan Stapleton next entertained with a prediction routine
that he can perform with either cards or dissimilar objects called "Hearts and Diamonds".
Bev Bergeron demonstrated his Pencil through a Quarter illusion. Scott Pepper, a
visitor from the United Kingdom, had an audience participant demonstrate their poor
marksmanship with a ray gun and a 3-ballon illusion set-up. Bob Swadling tried his luck
with a signed card-one dollar bill routine. Next, J. C. Hiatt performed a very entertaining
dice routine that left the membership amazed. Mark Fitzgerald, the final performer,
ended the meeting by determining a card selected by the audience and turned it into
an 'ambitious card '.
2012-01 No such things as old stale jokes!
In my lecture notes, "Magic for the Working Magician" I blog about using "old jokes" in magic. The title of my lecture notes means that any magician who does shows, knows what I mean when I say, "There is no such thing as (old-stale) jokes'. Those magicians who work, those who perform, understand exactly what I am talking about. Yes there are jokes that are old, that have been around for many years. But I'll bet that every time you use the line in your head chopper routine, "One-Two-Three days ago I did this trick..." will ALWAYS get a laugh. Maybe not from everyone, but the proof of its worth is in the fact that SOMEBODY will laugh. Same thing with the gag, "Place this object in your hand, no..the clean hand". It will get a few chuckles, even though the gag has been around for many years.
At Wizardz, in Kissimmee, it's obvious where the magicians sit from the laymen. Just listen and watch the reaction. At Abbott's Magic get-Together, this summer, all the magicians sat in the center of the auditorium and the laymen, in the school bleachers on the sides. Guess where the best reaction came from? Not the center. Many blogs in magazines, or reviews of acts that the reporter critiques, often mentions "the same old/stale jokes". Trust me, after performing aboard cruise ships for 23 years, I think I have some authority to (hear) what works and what doesn't. Do the old jokes ALWAYS get laughs? Well, no. But then again the best entertainers won't ALWAYS have good shows either. Ask any of them, they'll tell you.
Onboard one of my ships was a comedian who got standing ovations many times. And much of his material I found in Milton Berles Joke book. And Milton Berle probably got them from other comics from years before him. Of course, this ship comedian did update the material to make it sound refreshing and topical. Now comes the most important part. It's the right audience and the TIMING of a joke that makes it funny. Some people don't have the "timing" a joke needs.
I took the "old/stale" vaudeville comedy routine, now a marketed magic trick, the Vanishing Banana/Bandana, rewrote the script, hired a professional voice-over actor to narrate, then, because I don't look like a funny guy, dressed differently. Sometimes the routine gets some of the biggest laughs in my show. On some weeks aboard the cruise ships, I would perform illusions, along with other, smaller effects, and I would get angry for the huge reaction that "stupid" banana routine got. Because the big bucks and back-breaking work was in the illusions, yet that old/stale banana gag got the better reaction...are you kidding me? Is it no wonder that many "working" magicians advertise (comedy) in their show title, even when the show is mainly magic? Too many times, after my show I hear, "I don't usually like magic but...." And guess what, my "comedy" is filled with "old/stale" jokes. Do I use those jokes when magicians are in the audience? Sometimes. Do I use those jokes in all shows? No. Again, it depends on the audience.
Aboard ships I often did a fifteen minute monolog of old cruise ship jokes. Back in the 1980's there were always more older than younger audiences. And often I would hear from an old timer, "I heard that joke years ago..." Yet, the audience usually howled at the routine because they could identify with what I was saying. It was topical humor...and "themed"...old age jokes and cruise ships...couldn't miss. Oh yes, sometimes a comment card would say "comedian needs new jokes"...but that comment would come from the guy who, in fact, heard the joke(s) before, but not the majority of the audience. Believe me, if there were no or few laughs, I would keep trying different material until the jokes "hit". And that's what I did, so much so, that I put them on tape ("Comedy Live-From Ship to Shore") and sold the souvenir tapes after my show...and lots of them.
Here's my point, unless you only perform for fellow magicians, try some of those old-stale jokes. Update them but know the timing of the joke and I guarantee you laughs, not from everyone but enough to get an idea which jokes or gags you will keep and which are not for you. A few weeks ago I used the (very old) black hand gag. Yes, it got laughs. Not "howls" but enough to use it again, once in a while. Why? Because it's such an old gag-prop that most people have not seen it. Like the Zig-Zag illusion, when in the 1970's every person on the block had one. Not many magicians perform it today. I do....most laymen have never seen a Zig-Zag illusion or even a Sub Trunk or Zombie Ball. I know because I use all three all the time and they never...NEVER...get less than an enthusiastic response. Same thing with jokes....BUT...don't expect "old-stale" jokes OR NEW jokes to get the big laughs all the time. There is a place for all jokes. It's just the delivery, the timing, the audience...and by the way, whom ever said, "There is no such thing as bad audiences, just bad actors/entertainers" never really did shows himself. Don't let him fool you...it's only an old/stale saying.
-Dan Stapleton
At Wizardz, in Kissimmee, it's obvious where the magicians sit from the laymen. Just listen and watch the reaction. At Abbott's Magic get-Together, this summer, all the magicians sat in the center of the auditorium and the laymen, in the school bleachers on the sides. Guess where the best reaction came from? Not the center. Many blogs in magazines, or reviews of acts that the reporter critiques, often mentions "the same old/stale jokes". Trust me, after performing aboard cruise ships for 23 years, I think I have some authority to (hear) what works and what doesn't. Do the old jokes ALWAYS get laughs? Well, no. But then again the best entertainers won't ALWAYS have good shows either. Ask any of them, they'll tell you.
Onboard one of my ships was a comedian who got standing ovations many times. And much of his material I found in Milton Berles Joke book. And Milton Berle probably got them from other comics from years before him. Of course, this ship comedian did update the material to make it sound refreshing and topical. Now comes the most important part. It's the right audience and the TIMING of a joke that makes it funny. Some people don't have the "timing" a joke needs.
I took the "old/stale" vaudeville comedy routine, now a marketed magic trick, the Vanishing Banana/Bandana, rewrote the script, hired a professional voice-over actor to narrate, then, because I don't look like a funny guy, dressed differently. Sometimes the routine gets some of the biggest laughs in my show. On some weeks aboard the cruise ships, I would perform illusions, along with other, smaller effects, and I would get angry for the huge reaction that "stupid" banana routine got. Because the big bucks and back-breaking work was in the illusions, yet that old/stale banana gag got the better reaction...are you kidding me? Is it no wonder that many "working" magicians advertise (comedy) in their show title, even when the show is mainly magic? Too many times, after my show I hear, "I don't usually like magic but...." And guess what, my "comedy" is filled with "old/stale" jokes. Do I use those jokes when magicians are in the audience? Sometimes. Do I use those jokes in all shows? No. Again, it depends on the audience.
Aboard ships I often did a fifteen minute monolog of old cruise ship jokes. Back in the 1980's there were always more older than younger audiences. And often I would hear from an old timer, "I heard that joke years ago..." Yet, the audience usually howled at the routine because they could identify with what I was saying. It was topical humor...and "themed"...old age jokes and cruise ships...couldn't miss. Oh yes, sometimes a comment card would say "comedian needs new jokes"...but that comment would come from the guy who, in fact, heard the joke(s) before, but not the majority of the audience. Believe me, if there were no or few laughs, I would keep trying different material until the jokes "hit". And that's what I did, so much so, that I put them on tape ("Comedy Live-From Ship to Shore") and sold the souvenir tapes after my show...and lots of them.
Here's my point, unless you only perform for fellow magicians, try some of those old-stale jokes. Update them but know the timing of the joke and I guarantee you laughs, not from everyone but enough to get an idea which jokes or gags you will keep and which are not for you. A few weeks ago I used the (very old) black hand gag. Yes, it got laughs. Not "howls" but enough to use it again, once in a while. Why? Because it's such an old gag-prop that most people have not seen it. Like the Zig-Zag illusion, when in the 1970's every person on the block had one. Not many magicians perform it today. I do....most laymen have never seen a Zig-Zag illusion or even a Sub Trunk or Zombie Ball. I know because I use all three all the time and they never...NEVER...get less than an enthusiastic response. Same thing with jokes....BUT...don't expect "old-stale" jokes OR NEW jokes to get the big laughs all the time. There is a place for all jokes. It's just the delivery, the timing, the audience...and by the way, whom ever said, "There is no such thing as bad audiences, just bad actors/entertainers" never really did shows himself. Don't let him fool you...it's only an old/stale saying.
-Dan Stapleton
2012-01 Dennis' Deliberations
I have a confession. Marco Tempest leaves me cold. I have no appreciation of what he does. I do not consider it very mysterious or in the category of “stage magic”. It is electronic gimmicky. But, I respect what he does and recognize that he is on the cutting edge of what magic will be in the 21st century. So even though Marco does not entertain me, I am going to heap praise on him.
FIRST: He entertains the public.
SECOND: Whether the “old guard” of magic finds him an electronic “sell-out” or not, he’s GETTING WORK. That is a positive and envious position to be in during this economic mess.
THIRD: I personally find his manner and voice and accent, and even looks, a turn-off, none of which is his fault. Many people like him. He does wear well while performing and is not obnoxious.
FOURTH: Check the history of Marco Tempest. He grew up doing “our” conventional conjuring, entering contests and what not, but then said he got “bored with it all.” Having a geek’s interest in media technologies, he put on his thinking cap and merged the two.
FIFTH: In the process, he was able to create a novel form of “magic”, with a bit of a rainbows-and-butterflies Doug Henning slant, and it struck a chord with corporate hacks and audiences. More power to him — considering so many very talented conventional magicians can’t get a decent toe-hold in show business these days.
SIXTH: I and all us old guys have every right to say, in effect, his shtick of merging video special effects to “our” magic, is not our cup of tea, but we have to admit (through a gnashing of teeth?) that he’s hit on a successful ANGLE and is running with it. You have to admire that much.Thinking outside the magic box…. is what it’s all about. The world is full of magic clones all doing essentially the same stock stuff. Now watch a few other guys come out of the woodwork trying to copy him. I don’t think his technological bent can be FAKED, it has to come naturally. Lucky for him he had two sincere interests and was able to combine them, and (most important!) made them commercial.The world has always thrived on NOVELTY, but inherent in the very definition of “novelty” (I think) is something that cannot have “legs.” If it lasts it’s not novel, and if it is novel, it can’t last. When it is accepted as mainstream, it is no longer novel! David Copperfield hasn’t a thing to worry about.
Speaking of Marco Tempest, how can Europe have at least 5 big touring illusion shows and we have almost nothing? (They have Dani Lary, Peter Marvey, Luis DeMatos etc. etc.) I helped Paul Osborne on some of his design work and consultation is in Europe. How can Dani Lary afford this?
This is very odd because I have been told that Europe is a socialist basket case; I have also been told Europeans are dying because their socialized medicine is failing. I have been told that their tax rates are confiscatory so they have no discretionary money. I have been told that most Europeans are crushed economically and have no freedom. That is what I keep hearing on the most watched news network on cable TV. They say that few people their own cars and homes in Europe much less a Super X in the attic and Temple of Benares in the basement. I don’t know if the news channel is exaggerating for political purposes. All I know is that Europeans have access to and they see lots of magic!
I have heard from some that big show business is not “controlled” by big mega media corporations in Europe as it is here. It is a lot more diversified and in some cases government supported. This may be because each country operates politically separate even though they share a common currency. I don’t think that money alone assure success otherwise Steve Wyrick would be at the top. Europe has a lot more respect for variety arts… Over here in the United States, variety arts do not have the same respect. It took Canada to create the very artsy Cirque du Soleil. Does America lack a sufficiently sophisticated population to enjoy magic?
Since I moved here in rural Virginia, I have been forced to drop “magic” from my advertising. The Religious Fundamentalists here believe all magicians are in league with the devil. When I lived up here in the 1960s, I do not remember such superstition as a magician. What changed? I would say that we have gone downhill intellectually, religiously and economically since then.The feeling by some on the International show-business scene is that America is become a 3rd world poverty- stricken place filled with ignorant people. A fair number of magicians have become ex-patriots in order to keep working. Jonathan David Bass relocated to Prague in the Czech Republic. Joe Conrad is in Thailand. Japan has several ex-patriot Americans. Cyril, from San Francisco, is a big star. Robert Gallup made it big in Australia. Hank Lee was on a tour in China when he died. How many road tours like that are there here?
I am mentioning this because I care about my country. Yes, I am also a bit jealous of all the touring large magic shows and sophisticated magic in Europe.
I hope this New Year in a good one for you.
FIRST: He entertains the public.
SECOND: Whether the “old guard” of magic finds him an electronic “sell-out” or not, he’s GETTING WORK. That is a positive and envious position to be in during this economic mess.
THIRD: I personally find his manner and voice and accent, and even looks, a turn-off, none of which is his fault. Many people like him. He does wear well while performing and is not obnoxious.
FOURTH: Check the history of Marco Tempest. He grew up doing “our” conventional conjuring, entering contests and what not, but then said he got “bored with it all.” Having a geek’s interest in media technologies, he put on his thinking cap and merged the two.
FIFTH: In the process, he was able to create a novel form of “magic”, with a bit of a rainbows-and-butterflies Doug Henning slant, and it struck a chord with corporate hacks and audiences. More power to him — considering so many very talented conventional magicians can’t get a decent toe-hold in show business these days.
SIXTH: I and all us old guys have every right to say, in effect, his shtick of merging video special effects to “our” magic, is not our cup of tea, but we have to admit (through a gnashing of teeth?) that he’s hit on a successful ANGLE and is running with it. You have to admire that much.Thinking outside the magic box…. is what it’s all about. The world is full of magic clones all doing essentially the same stock stuff. Now watch a few other guys come out of the woodwork trying to copy him. I don’t think his technological bent can be FAKED, it has to come naturally. Lucky for him he had two sincere interests and was able to combine them, and (most important!) made them commercial.The world has always thrived on NOVELTY, but inherent in the very definition of “novelty” (I think) is something that cannot have “legs.” If it lasts it’s not novel, and if it is novel, it can’t last. When it is accepted as mainstream, it is no longer novel! David Copperfield hasn’t a thing to worry about.
Speaking of Marco Tempest, how can Europe have at least 5 big touring illusion shows and we have almost nothing? (They have Dani Lary, Peter Marvey, Luis DeMatos etc. etc.) I helped Paul Osborne on some of his design work and consultation is in Europe. How can Dani Lary afford this?
This is very odd because I have been told that Europe is a socialist basket case; I have also been told Europeans are dying because their socialized medicine is failing. I have been told that their tax rates are confiscatory so they have no discretionary money. I have been told that most Europeans are crushed economically and have no freedom. That is what I keep hearing on the most watched news network on cable TV. They say that few people their own cars and homes in Europe much less a Super X in the attic and Temple of Benares in the basement. I don’t know if the news channel is exaggerating for political purposes. All I know is that Europeans have access to and they see lots of magic!
I have heard from some that big show business is not “controlled” by big mega media corporations in Europe as it is here. It is a lot more diversified and in some cases government supported. This may be because each country operates politically separate even though they share a common currency. I don’t think that money alone assure success otherwise Steve Wyrick would be at the top. Europe has a lot more respect for variety arts… Over here in the United States, variety arts do not have the same respect. It took Canada to create the very artsy Cirque du Soleil. Does America lack a sufficiently sophisticated population to enjoy magic?
Since I moved here in rural Virginia, I have been forced to drop “magic” from my advertising. The Religious Fundamentalists here believe all magicians are in league with the devil. When I lived up here in the 1960s, I do not remember such superstition as a magician. What changed? I would say that we have gone downhill intellectually, religiously and economically since then.The feeling by some on the International show-business scene is that America is become a 3rd world poverty- stricken place filled with ignorant people. A fair number of magicians have become ex-patriots in order to keep working. Jonathan David Bass relocated to Prague in the Czech Republic. Joe Conrad is in Thailand. Japan has several ex-patriot Americans. Cyril, from San Francisco, is a big star. Robert Gallup made it big in Australia. Hank Lee was on a tour in China when he died. How many road tours like that are there here?
I am mentioning this because I care about my country. Yes, I am also a bit jealous of all the touring large magic shows and sophisticated magic in Europe.
I hope this New Year in a good one for you.
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