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