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/

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

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.

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

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

2009-05 Musings on John Calvert

ADVENTURES
IN MAGIC LAND

THE MAKING
OF ENIGMA THE DVD

John Calvert,
98 years young on August 5^th.....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 whose head was severed from his body via THE BUZZ SAW ILLUSION. (A bit of byplay was Calvert playing football with Chris' severed head. Putting Chris back together John helped him from the stage and then held up Chris' watch for all to see. Calvert had filched it again!

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 100^th 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

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

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.

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

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

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

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).

2009-04 Flea Market, lectures, auction photos

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