2008-05 Ring Report

Ring Report Ring #170 The Bev Bergeron Ring

We had 34 attend our April Ring meeting. This included three guests, Jim McNiff and Deacon and Brenda Matthews. President Craig Fennessey gaveled the meeting to order. A significant number of our members are working magicians and they announced their locations. Mark Fitzgerald is at the Hardrock. James and Joe are at Renaissance Fairs. Biondi is at Waterford Lakes. Dan Stapleton is at the Radisson and gave us a report on his audition for a national network TV show guest shot. Mystana, one of our young lady members, announced her recent marriage to Mystan, an up and coming escape artist.

Phil Schwartz, our resident magic historian and Thayer expert presented his Magic Moment mini-lecture #3. At the risk of sounding like a magic advertisement, Phil’s lectures alone are worth the price of the Ring dues. His lecture was on the history of the Floyd Thayer Magic Company and its history as Thayer was joined by Carl Owens and later Les Smith and John Daniel. Phil gave details of Brookledge, the legendary home and workshop that also changed hands into the Larsen Family. Next month he promises to show an antique trick he brought.

With the business and lecture portion concluded, it was show time. Luciano acted as the evening’s Emcee. First up was Mystana with a love drenched version of Hot Rod. The jewels that were all colors magically turned into red, the color of hearts and love. She brought her new husband up, Mystan, and he did his Siberian Chain Escape.

Dan Stapleton then presented what we thought was going to be an impossible ESP effect. A voice track on a boom-box featured a mature woman who sounded like a college professor. Her voice gave directions on placing 10 objects from volunteers on 10 randomly selected playing cards. Just when we thought a miracle was going to happen and somehow the detached voice actually would name the random match, the trick failed and the object and card did not match. The track was started again and the voice said, “What, it isn’t the six of hearts?” it was followed by her voice yelling an expletive expression expressing extreme disgust. The shock of being taken in by Dan’s gag sent the audience rolling in the floor.

James Songster was next. He invited up an audience member from the audience and passed a coin through the table followed by a salt shaker. It was nice handling for the class impromptu effect. Charlie Pfrogner always has an unusual twist on classic effects and this month it was the Egg Bag. He used an Egg vase and made the egg disappear. In the process it appeared the egg was broken but with the wave of a cigarette lighter under the bag a fried egg was dumped out. Syd McWethy is developing along the lines of our own Kostya Kimlat. He had some deft manipulations with cards and a selected card popped out of the deck.

Jim McNiff presented a routine he said came from Jamy Ian Swiss of New York’s Monday Night Magic fame. An entire deck of cards was shuffled and divided into 4 piles and taken by four spectators. Then two cards in each pile were placed in the right and left pocket of each spectator. Jim stood across the room and proceeded to name every card in each spectator’s packet and pocket. It was a lengthy but impressive feat.

Finally, Dennis Phillips presented a mini-lecture on The Miser’s Dream effect. He brought an Abbott’s Coin Pail, Keller coin droppers and an Abbott’s Coin Ladder. He bought the antique trick at a recent magic flea market, and rebuilt and updated it. After plucking half-dollars from the air he concluded by producing a bouquet of spring bills. Another fun meeting was concluded. Many activities are planned for the coming months. If you are in Orlando for vacation, please join us at a future Ring meeting because good things are always happening in Ring 170.

Dennis Phillips