Posts
President Craig Fennessey called the meeting to order on October 19th with 27 members and guests in attendance. He announced that the reception to Jon Racherbaumer's lecture the previous week was very positive and that the lectures will continue with Johua Jay on January 4th and others to follow. Ring 258 in Leesburg will hold its annual flea market and auction on November12th and the Daytona Beach Magic Convention will be the weekend of November 5th: the membership was encouraged to attend both events.
A good many members of our Ring indicated they are performing in the area: Mark Fitzgerald seemed to be the busiest with gigs at the Hard Rock Cafe, Mitchell's, and Church Street. Jacki Manna can be seen at the Florida Mall and Mike Martin will be entertaining at Give Kids The World. Dan Stapleton volunteered to perform for the school kids involved in a "Drug Awareness Program" sponsored by Elk's Lodge #1079 and the local Law Enforcement Agency. William Hicks, on behalf of the Elks, appealed to the Ring for its participation in the program. Phil Schwartz announced his plans to attend the upcoming Potter & Potter Auction in Chicago. The catalog, which he had in hand, includes, in part, the Ken Klosterman Collection. He then entered into Magic History No. 34 and his subject was none other than the most famous name in Magic from any era, "Harry Houdini", nee, Erich Weiss. His presentation was all inclusive from Houdini's birth in 1874 to 'beyond' his untimely death in 1926. Phil closed his talk by sharing from his collection, a framed broadside and window card of a Houdini performance.
Following an intermission, no fewer than 11 members signed up to perform for an eager audience. Bob Swaddling kicked it off with a card prediction effect followed by Mike Martin's comedy routine. With Halloween closing in on us, Wallace Murphy, turned Silk to Candy Corn. Charlie Pfrogner produced Bugs and other Critters from his empty box. Ed McGowan brought a deck of cards out to entertain with a card prediction routine, He was followed by Chris Dunn with a collection of Halloween "spooky stuff" that included a "zombie pumpkin", silks, and magic books. Mark Fitzgerald performed with both cards and coins a very entertaining matrix routine. William Zaballero demonstrated, once again, his card handling with a close-up effect. Jacki Manna brought her green friend, Jo-Jo Bean, on stage with her and proceeded with a comedy routine that left the membership clamoring for more. Craig Fennessey demonstrated his very entertaining and mystifying Light Board act with a crowd pleasing presentation. Dan Stapleton capped off the evening with a delightful and professional performance of "Ectoplasm".
A fine time was had by all.
Sheldon Brook
Sunday, November 13, 2011
2011-11 Magician looking for doves
Mike Berlant is looking for a source of white doves, can anyone help him? Please direct your replies to him (not via the newsletter). he can be reached at mike@mikeberlant.com or 407-592-5763.
2011-11 New magic movies: Walking through Fires & Burt Wonderstone
Mark O'Brien was the closing act at our Famulus yearly banquet a few years ago
Mark O’Brien’s film, Walking Through Fires centers on Mark’s true life story. It is as real as you can get. No Hollywood smoke and mirrors, no re-writes and big name production army and no “A” list cast. It is a micro-budget film although it looks like a much bigger budget film. Mark’s film centers on his loss of a half-million dollars worth of illusions burned in his Orlando warehouse in two suspicious fires five days apart. Classified to this day as arson by the insurance investigator, many believe the fires were set to thwart Mark’s attempt to open his magic attraction in Orlando. But the real story and “relevance” is that his film sheds light on the way things really are in show business. His very personal film depicts the events before during and after the fires and the damage to his career, family, friends and mental health. The film is enlightening, educational, moving, disturbing and inspiring and covers so much of what life is all about. Justice, corruption, family, career, friendship and magic are all examined within the film’s complex structure.
In spite of this tragedy, Mark remains a World Class Illusionist and has developed into a very good film producer-director. This is one micro-budget that every magician should see as it will beg them to ask not only why they perform magic but what they find important in their own lives outside of their crazy profession, hobby or obsession. And they may even ask themselves why Mark O’Brien would spend five years and a great deal of his own money to tell his story in a film. I wonder if Hollywood could have told Mark’s story any better?
So who the heck is Burt Wonderstone? He is a fictitious character and you can expect to see Steve Carell star as “Wonderstone” in the magician comedy film, titled Burt Wonderstone. That big budget movie is centered on the world of Las Vegas magicians, with Carell playing a traditional performer who gets a rival in the form of “a hip younger illusionist,” which leads to him having to “find a way to rediscover his love for magic.” According to some press articles, Wonderstone accidentally kills his partner and must regain his “hocus-pocus focus” while simultaneously competing with a rival. New Line is planning to shoot this month.
According to IMDB, the film script was purchased in 2006. This is the same year that production began on Mark O’Brien’s micro-budget indie. Thus you may have two films about illusionists coming out at the same time again. Dejavu – like when The Prestige and The Illusionist came out at the same time. Those films were very similar but these films are very different in many ways.
To see clips from the film and check on the release information you can visit the official site:
Aside from purchasing the DVD or renting it when it becomes available, please support Mark and the real world of independent film making by visiting the film’s facebook fan page and clicking the “like” button.
You Tube is also filled with classic clips of some of Mark’s television and live show appearances. You will love the creative illusions on many of Mark’s Nickelodeon network TV shows! Some of those were taped in Orlando when Nickelodeon had a strong presence at Universal Studios.
If you are searching for relevance in a magic film or even in your life, you may find it in Walking Through Fires. If you are looking for comedy then let’s hope Wonderstone delivers as much bang as Walking Through Fires does for the buck!
Dennis Phillips
2011-11 Dennis' Deliberations
I got an E-mail and later a phone call from a magic friend, who said,
“Dennis, here is an amazing jumbo card routine that sells for $199 being sold by the Hocus Pocus magic company. I just ordered it!” :
The effect is called, The Alchemist by Jansenson. In checking the You Tube site, I see that Jensenson is a very talented and powerful performer. He has many fine effects posted. The routine is puzzling but in any other hands than Jansenson, I do not see it as compelling.
First of all, it moves way too slow for American audiences. The whole effect can be boiled down to the fact that he always appears to know where every card is located. That is the only continuous effect in the whole routine. Audiences don’t care or find that terribly mysterious as the only effect. They assume he has a stacked or marked deck or is doing phony shuffles. For $199, he could even have an RFI chip in every card and a ring reader to prompt him. This basic effect is not that strong.
Take the same effect , every card is in its place, and add a story like, “Sam the Bellhop” and you have real entertainment. Try Kerry Pollack’s “Kate and Edith” for socko entertainment.
For a real mysterious crowd pleaser, Billy McComb’s McComical Deck is far better entertainment with a jumbo deck.
This is just my opinion. I have been around magic long enough to know that magicians get thrilled over a clever method and forget the entertainment value. Sure, I could come up with a clever way of doing, “The Color Changing Plate of Spaghetti”. It would go from bright red to bright blue and the Mozzarella cheese can appear and disappear. I could use clever chemical reactions and color changing LEDs in the plate and fiber optics. In the end, I want to say, “so what?” We have to keep focused on the main thing, entertainment. (By the way if you go ahead with the color changing plate of spaghetti, it was my idea and I demand a cut of whatever you make from any magic sucker who buys it)
**********
I think a lesson to all performers in the twilight of their careers is to always keep working, even if it is for almost nothing.
Dai Vernon, Blackstone Sr. extended their lives long after their careers were over by working for probably peanuts at the Magic Castle. Calvert at 100 lives on the energy of his stage work.
In old age, survival depends on community friends, purpose and something to keep you going. It also depends on an internal sense of who you are and being at peace with yourself.
The “artistic” personality can be self destructive. Ernest Hemingway shot himself. Bill Neff and many other magicians drank themselves to death.
It is important to never get yourself and your identity totally wrapped up in your stage work. If you can write, lecture, or create, you can keep your life forces flowing. When you get too old to do the physical stuff, or your act is dated, a person most often mentally falls apart, without other things to keep them going.
I recently got an insight into the demise of The Pendragons. I got a chance to see the 4 Pendragon videos. They really are excellent resource material for any illusionist to have in their library. They were made shortly before they broke up. Jon really bared his soul about his mental issues. Two events almost did him in. The tiger attack in Reno in 1992 cause him to lose half of his left bicep muscles and he was forced to re- choreograph all of his moves due to weakness on his left side. Then the arrow through the heart caused heart damage and weakness. He seems to huff and puff a bit from the cardiac damage.
In the video he and Charlotte were really showing their years. On tape two they had excellent explanations and video of their famous sub trunk. It was amazing to have them go through every move, the construction of the trunk and well as the evolution of the handling of the cloth from the first “hourglass” move to how the break away cloth is made. They also showed the entire sequence from the back! She tosses up the cloth and he literally stands up and swats apart the cloth (it is Velcro with strategic tabs).
I believe that their careers stalled and that led to a resurfacing of Jon’s old demons. He admits to having barely controllable OCD.
Also on the tapes, an excellent insight into his Sands of Egypt, a look at Charlotte broom harness, impaled and most of the classics such as the basket.
**********
I am intensely fascinated by why people laugh and why and what sort of humor works. (So was Aristotle and that is why he wrote Poetics II! Sadly we only have a few bits of that work)
What becomes politically incorrect humor? No magician in their right mind today would do the Bra trick on a female. On a male it will either get a big laugh or you will get slugged!
Here is a clip of Spike Jones on early TV! All this is funny stuff!
Notice how that dressing in drag in comedy sketches carried no stigma then! (Milton Berle, Red Skelton, etc)
Spike Jones’ humor is right out of vaudeville, which was the only format that early TV had. Something shifted in the social psycho-sexual mindset in the 60s and 70s so that it no longer was funny.
Our humor also shifted. Bob Orben lines mostly don’t work today. People have no appreciation of linguistic cleverness. Today’s humor is all “put down humor” with lots of profanity and anger.
In contract here is some old style humor: (Borrowed from Harry Allen) “Before I was a magician I worked in a factory making alphabet soup. They fired me, I was making only 100 Gs a year...Then I worked as a taste tester in a prune factory. It was great job but a lousy schedule. One day on two days off.”
These lines only work with a crowd over 55! I have tried them a few times in a high school class and the kids just don’t grasp the language...More examples:
“You think this is a tough school? You should have been at the school I substituted at last week! The yearbook had two pictures of each senior, front and side!”
No response...”Really, Mr. Phillips? What school was it?” The routine continues:
“I took one of the students down to the Guidance Councilor and asked the councilor how long it was until the student graduated. The councilor said, "I donno know, maybe ten to twenty with good behavior"! It was a tough school. The Principal told me that I would have all honor students. He was right. All they knew was, "Yes, your Honor. Sorry, your Honor"! It was a tough school.
When the students were in elementary school they played Hop Scotch with real Scotch! I asked one of the students what he was taking in school. He said, "Anything that ain't nailed down"!
I asked, “How do you like school?” He said, “CLOSED!” That school was so tough the Student Newspaper had an Obituary column! The student news on the School TV channel used the slogan, “If you have the time, we have the crime!”
No response... “Wow that was really a bad place, Mr. Phillips. What school was it?”
I repeated the same routine in the Faculty Lounge at lunch and the older teachers were rolling in the floor with laughter...
I also have tested the theory outside of school. I was in Lowes checking out and the cashier was a young woman working with an older woman showing her the cash register. As I walked up they were talking about how the young woman met her husband. “I met Bill at a party”. The older woman said, “I have known Jack since high school”. I walked up with my plywood and said, “I will tell you how I met my wife. She was working at a Travel Agency and I was her last resort.” The older woman laughed, the younger woman looked puzzled.
I guess I am old school in everything. Loved Blackstone, detest Criss Angel. My tastes reflect generational change.
**********
We got our first snow of the year before Halloween October 29th! Four inches! Few can remember that much snow so early. The local wisdom is that you can tell how much snow that you are going to get for the winter by how high the hornets build their nests. I found one just under the roof line near the peak where the chimney is!
I will keep you posted!
Dennis Phillips
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Thursday, October 13, 2011
2011-10 Ring 170 Newsletter
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 10/19/2011 at 7:30 PM SHARP
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
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- Acting Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.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.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 10/19/2011 at 7:30 PM SHARP
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
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- Acting Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.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.
2011-10 From the Editor
Winter, at least as much as we get down here, is coming so break out those new tricks, get practiced and ready. We have some great lectures coming up, so be sure to put them in your diary, especially Jon Rauchenbaumer on Friday 10/14.
Thanks to Dennis for his contribution, we do miss him down here.
Your editor
Stefan
Thanks to Dennis for his contribution, we do miss him down here.
Your editor
Stefan
2011-10 Ring Report
President Craig Fennessey opened the meeting on September 21st with 25 members
and guests present. He announced that several lectures have been booked including Jon
Racherbaumer in October and Joshua Jay on January 4th. Several members, including
Bob Swadling and Jim McNiff attended the Magic Live Convention in Las Vegas and
reported that it was one of the best magic affairs they ever had the pleasure to attend and
were looking forward to the next one. They were complimentary of the excellent quality
of lectures as well as the Dealer's Hall.
Bev Bergeron participated in the IBM Convention in San Antonio and reported on his
experience as well as his continuation on to Las Vegas and a writing assignment with
Penn and Teller.
Dan Stapleton rounded out the reports of our traveling magicians with his experience in
Colon, Michigan at the Abbott's event where he also performed. John Calvert was also
an honored guest as he celebrated his 100th birthday.
After a brief intermission the remainder of the meeting was devoted to a lecture by Devin
Knight. His presentation and magic were well received by the membership who stayed
later than usual to take it all in.
A fine time was had by all.
and guests present. He announced that several lectures have been booked including Jon
Racherbaumer in October and Joshua Jay on January 4th. Several members, including
Bob Swadling and Jim McNiff attended the Magic Live Convention in Las Vegas and
reported that it was one of the best magic affairs they ever had the pleasure to attend and
were looking forward to the next one. They were complimentary of the excellent quality
of lectures as well as the Dealer's Hall.
Bev Bergeron participated in the IBM Convention in San Antonio and reported on his
experience as well as his continuation on to Las Vegas and a writing assignment with
Penn and Teller.
Dan Stapleton rounded out the reports of our traveling magicians with his experience in
Colon, Michigan at the Abbott's event where he also performed. John Calvert was also
an honored guest as he celebrated his 100th birthday.
After a brief intermission the remainder of the meeting was devoted to a lecture by Devin
Knight. His presentation and magic were well received by the membership who stayed
later than usual to take it all in.
A fine time was had by all.
2011-10 Bev at the Red Fox Lounge - Oct 13th
Bev Bergeron and Friends (both of them)
appearing at the Red Fox Lounge (Best Western Motel)
110 S. Orlando – Winter Park
Join the fun and if you can perform for a minute (that is all) be prepared to do so.
No Cover Charge – No Drink Requirement
Bev may sing “Benny’s From Heaven.”
Come Celebrate 20 Years of Performing by Mark Wayne & Lorna at the Red Fox Lounge
2011-10 Dennis' Deliberations
“A magician auditioned for an agent. He produced 100 cards, one at a time, then did the 3 rope trick then wrapped himself in his cape and disappeared. The agent said,” Good but that cape trick... can you open with that?"
The future of illusionists and magic is evolving and You Tube and free-market capitalism (“everything is for sale”) has changed it all. Now more than ever, EVERYTHING is about marketing and clawing your way through the economic wasteland. Some people like the constant thrill of competition. You have to be sharp, on target, capitalized and superior just to survive. I forgot. You also have to be connected. You can have everything hut if you are not connected, forget it!
Who’s Got Talent in 2011?
When a huge hoard of kids are jumping around frantically on the stage in some simulacrum of "dancing" and beat out one lone talent who can play the piano well and sing sensationally, something's dreadfully wrong. Likewise with this American television show that can't find anyone out of over 300 million of its citizens to judge the talent, and must rely instead on a snotty British Murdoch-journalist, the wife of a burnt-out druggy British rock star, and an unfunny bald comedian from Canada. Something is wrong! Something is wrong with show business! Sometimes I hate walk-around magicians. Sure I give kudos to real professional magicians, but I just want to beat the tar out of street magicians because they are often floating on top in the ‘Porta Potty’ of life. Okay okay, here’s the scenario… A non magician friend related to me that his entourage and was getting all crazy at the “in-spot” club in the downtown of a nearby city. He said , “We danced, talked, we got tipsy and closed the club. They were outside trying to get a cab to go back to my place for some after hours partying but then *BAM!* -- out of nowhere this grunge magician starts harassing the ladies. He was doing card tricks, he’s doing several ancient hackneyed tricks, but the thing that angered them the most was that he was not dressed to impress. He was wearing a worn out surfing shirt, raggedy old blue jeans, and had messy hair. He was one step above homeless bum. What the heck is he doing out at 2 am anyway? Trying to make time with the women? Oh pleeeeeeease. So I approached this dirt bag and told him to back up and leave my ladies alone. He then goes "C’mon man, I’m working my magic." To which I replied, "Hey buddy, I’m not looking for any trouble, just leave the girls alone." Now you’re probably wondering, why am I interfering with this situation? Why can’t he just stay out of it and let the girls take care of them selves? The answer is simple my friends: The girls were pretty drunk and the ‘magic dirtbag’ was trying to lure them away from the group, he kept backing up and they were following. The ladies just wanted to see some magic; they didn’t realize what was going on. And me, I take care of my friends. Back to the verbalization: The grunge magician says, "Go have another drink, you lush," where I respond, "Open your mouth again you psycho, and I'll shove a fist down your throat". And right when I said that, three other guys from my entourage magically appeared behind me. He looked angry, looked at me, the ladies giggled, and then he just walked away. These grunge magicians are morons. ...The story ends with me and my entourage having some drinks at my place until the sun came up.” Morons like that trashes our art. The general public does not know the difference. I am considering carrying a heavy magic wand ( the size of a Night Stick) and if I ever come across one of these jerks, I may rearrange his face.
Regardless, just what IS the motivation of most so-called "street magicians"? Where is the "cash transition" in this kind of magic? I'm reminded of a story with regards to the hype of show business. The famous escape-artist Harry Houdini used to do an escape from a large, towering safe. It was supposedly "donated" by large locksmith firm, as a "challenge escape". It would serve as fantastic publicity for the company, should the escape artist fail to extricate himself. At first, Houdini made it look EASY, and partly because it WAS easy (safes are designed to keep people from getting INTO them, not out!) But he didn't get the kind of audience reaction he was hoping for. So one day he hit upon a plan, or maybe it was suggested to him by some other showbiz crony. Audiences were much more patient back at the turn of the twentieth century. Since music was a rarity and the phonographic records of that day were horrible in quality they'd listen to any live orchestra for a while, while watching to see if the guy could make good his escape from an examined, securely nailed packing box, tank of water, or whatever. So once Houdini was locked into the safe, it was pointed out to the expectant crowd how dangerously little air there was in the safe ("If I'm not out in FIVE MINUTES it means CERTAIN DEATH!! ") -- Thus primed, the audience saw Houdini get locked into the safe, and a giant three-fold screen would be placed in front of the "door" of the safe. This, of course, was to preserve the mystery as to how the magician made his escape. And to add to the drama, a couple of burly men would stand on either side of the screen holding large, grotesquely ominous-looking AXES in their hands. (Not that they could hack their way into a heavy metal safe!) Houdini, trapped in the safe, would then calmly take the "tumbler plate" off the inside of the door with his hidden tools, and... well, "pick the lock" and open the door. He opened the door very carefully and quietly, just wide enough to squeeze out, and then he'd sit on a small folding stool and calmly read a magazine for a while. A glass of water was on the floor beside him (or maybe it was situated in a secret pocket in the inside back of the screen; or perhaps water, magazine and stool had been hidden in the safe itself.). The MUSIC played on. ....TICK, TICK, TICK went the time, up to, and way BEYOND the allotted danger-point. The audience gradually changed from idly restless, to deeply concerned. And within a few minutes after that, panic began to set in. "GET HIM OUT! HE'S SUFFOCATING IN THERE!!!" At the height of the swelling hysteria, just when the audience was reaching the breaking-point and seemed about to RIOT -- Houdini would throw the glass of water on his head, mess-up his hair, hyper-ventilate, and STAGGER TRIUMPHANTLY OUT FROM BEHIND THE SCREEN, looking thoroughly exhausted and seemingly "sweating profusely" from head to toe! --By this point, a stunned but deliriously-happy and excited mob, out front, (no longer the polite and reserved audience) would BURST INTO WILD CHEERING AND APPLAUSE! Sometimes they even rushed the stage in their delirium, and carried the "desperately worn-out" STAR of the evening -- mosh-pit fashion -- up the centre isle of the theatre and out onto the street. The Master of Deception had once again proven his mettle against impossible odds. He had, at the DIRE RISK of LIFE AND LIMB, escaped dramatically from the potential TOMB of a locksmith's safe -- and in the process, climbed another notch up the "ladder" of legendary fame. Is that the end of our lesson for today? Pretty much.
Just remember, it does not matter what you do; what counts is are you entertaining them.
I hope all of you have a great Halloween Season!
Thrill your audiences.
Dennis Phillips
The future of illusionists and magic is evolving and You Tube and free-market capitalism (“everything is for sale”) has changed it all. Now more than ever, EVERYTHING is about marketing and clawing your way through the economic wasteland. Some people like the constant thrill of competition. You have to be sharp, on target, capitalized and superior just to survive. I forgot. You also have to be connected. You can have everything hut if you are not connected, forget it!
Who’s Got Talent in 2011?
When a huge hoard of kids are jumping around frantically on the stage in some simulacrum of "dancing" and beat out one lone talent who can play the piano well and sing sensationally, something's dreadfully wrong. Likewise with this American television show that can't find anyone out of over 300 million of its citizens to judge the talent, and must rely instead on a snotty British Murdoch-journalist, the wife of a burnt-out druggy British rock star, and an unfunny bald comedian from Canada. Something is wrong! Something is wrong with show business! Sometimes I hate walk-around magicians. Sure I give kudos to real professional magicians, but I just want to beat the tar out of street magicians because they are often floating on top in the ‘Porta Potty’ of life. Okay okay, here’s the scenario… A non magician friend related to me that his entourage and was getting all crazy at the “in-spot” club in the downtown of a nearby city. He said , “We danced, talked, we got tipsy and closed the club. They were outside trying to get a cab to go back to my place for some after hours partying but then *BAM!* -- out of nowhere this grunge magician starts harassing the ladies. He was doing card tricks, he’s doing several ancient hackneyed tricks, but the thing that angered them the most was that he was not dressed to impress. He was wearing a worn out surfing shirt, raggedy old blue jeans, and had messy hair. He was one step above homeless bum. What the heck is he doing out at 2 am anyway? Trying to make time with the women? Oh pleeeeeeease. So I approached this dirt bag and told him to back up and leave my ladies alone. He then goes "C’mon man, I’m working my magic." To which I replied, "Hey buddy, I’m not looking for any trouble, just leave the girls alone." Now you’re probably wondering, why am I interfering with this situation? Why can’t he just stay out of it and let the girls take care of them selves? The answer is simple my friends: The girls were pretty drunk and the ‘magic dirtbag’ was trying to lure them away from the group, he kept backing up and they were following. The ladies just wanted to see some magic; they didn’t realize what was going on. And me, I take care of my friends. Back to the verbalization: The grunge magician says, "Go have another drink, you lush," where I respond, "Open your mouth again you psycho, and I'll shove a fist down your throat". And right when I said that, three other guys from my entourage magically appeared behind me. He looked angry, looked at me, the ladies giggled, and then he just walked away. These grunge magicians are morons. ...The story ends with me and my entourage having some drinks at my place until the sun came up.” Morons like that trashes our art. The general public does not know the difference. I am considering carrying a heavy magic wand ( the size of a Night Stick) and if I ever come across one of these jerks, I may rearrange his face.
Regardless, just what IS the motivation of most so-called "street magicians"? Where is the "cash transition" in this kind of magic? I'm reminded of a story with regards to the hype of show business. The famous escape-artist Harry Houdini used to do an escape from a large, towering safe. It was supposedly "donated" by large locksmith firm, as a "challenge escape". It would serve as fantastic publicity for the company, should the escape artist fail to extricate himself. At first, Houdini made it look EASY, and partly because it WAS easy (safes are designed to keep people from getting INTO them, not out!) But he didn't get the kind of audience reaction he was hoping for. So one day he hit upon a plan, or maybe it was suggested to him by some other showbiz crony. Audiences were much more patient back at the turn of the twentieth century. Since music was a rarity and the phonographic records of that day were horrible in quality they'd listen to any live orchestra for a while, while watching to see if the guy could make good his escape from an examined, securely nailed packing box, tank of water, or whatever. So once Houdini was locked into the safe, it was pointed out to the expectant crowd how dangerously little air there was in the safe ("If I'm not out in FIVE MINUTES it means CERTAIN DEATH!! ") -- Thus primed, the audience saw Houdini get locked into the safe, and a giant three-fold screen would be placed in front of the "door" of the safe. This, of course, was to preserve the mystery as to how the magician made his escape. And to add to the drama, a couple of burly men would stand on either side of the screen holding large, grotesquely ominous-looking AXES in their hands. (Not that they could hack their way into a heavy metal safe!) Houdini, trapped in the safe, would then calmly take the "tumbler plate" off the inside of the door with his hidden tools, and... well, "pick the lock" and open the door. He opened the door very carefully and quietly, just wide enough to squeeze out, and then he'd sit on a small folding stool and calmly read a magazine for a while. A glass of water was on the floor beside him (or maybe it was situated in a secret pocket in the inside back of the screen; or perhaps water, magazine and stool had been hidden in the safe itself.). The MUSIC played on. ....TICK, TICK, TICK went the time, up to, and way BEYOND the allotted danger-point. The audience gradually changed from idly restless, to deeply concerned. And within a few minutes after that, panic began to set in. "GET HIM OUT! HE'S SUFFOCATING IN THERE!!!" At the height of the swelling hysteria, just when the audience was reaching the breaking-point and seemed about to RIOT -- Houdini would throw the glass of water on his head, mess-up his hair, hyper-ventilate, and STAGGER TRIUMPHANTLY OUT FROM BEHIND THE SCREEN, looking thoroughly exhausted and seemingly "sweating profusely" from head to toe! --By this point, a stunned but deliriously-happy and excited mob, out front, (no longer the polite and reserved audience) would BURST INTO WILD CHEERING AND APPLAUSE! Sometimes they even rushed the stage in their delirium, and carried the "desperately worn-out" STAR of the evening -- mosh-pit fashion -- up the centre isle of the theatre and out onto the street. The Master of Deception had once again proven his mettle against impossible odds. He had, at the DIRE RISK of LIFE AND LIMB, escaped dramatically from the potential TOMB of a locksmith's safe -- and in the process, climbed another notch up the "ladder" of legendary fame. Is that the end of our lesson for today? Pretty much.
Just remember, it does not matter what you do; what counts is are you entertaining them.
I hope all of you have a great Halloween Season!
Thrill your audiences.
Dennis Phillips
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
2011-09 Ring 170 Newsletter
Newsletter of IBM Ring #170
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 09/21/2011 at 7:30 PM SHARP
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
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- Acting Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.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.
The Bev Bergeron Ring
Next general meeting Wednesday, 09/21/2011 at 7:30 PM SHARP
I-HOP Kirkman Road
5203 Kirkman Road, Orlando, Florida 32819
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- Acting Secretary – mrbrook33@yahoo.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.
2011-09 From the Editor
Fall is upon us and our professional, and semi-prof, members will be making plans for the holiday season, hopefully. Craig has arranged plenty of great lectures to keep us informed and entertained in the next few months. And talking of entertainment, do not forget the famous and soon-to-be famous acts appearing at Wizardz every Monday.
Thanks to Dennis and Sheldon for their contributions to this newsletter, and to the rest of the ring, surely you have some interesting story about something magic in your life. Just email it to me, and you too will be famous.
Your editor
Stefan
Thanks to Dennis and Sheldon for their contributions to this newsletter, and to the rest of the ring, surely you have some interesting story about something magic in your life. Just email it to me, and you too will be famous.
Your editor
Stefan
2011-09 Ring Report
President Craig Fennessey opened the meeting on August 17th with 27 members and guests
present. He announced that in the Fall several lectures have been arranged starting off with
Steve Reynolds, the exact date to be announced. Chris Dunn will host a 4-hour Doc Eason
Workshop on the afternoon of September 15th. Reservations were required.
Member performances include Bev Bergeron , weekly, at the Red Fox Lounge and a one
week gig early in September at a convention in San Antonio and an additional writing
assignment in Las Vegas. Our President Craig and Mark Fitzgerald appear several times
a week at the Hard Rock Cafe. Doug Kalcik will be at the Ronald McDonald House and
Jim Songster and Joe Vecciarelli are doing a bang-up job with their "Bunnies in Peril" act at
WonderWorld on International Drive.
Craig and his wife recently returned from a U.K. vacation and he gave an interesting
account of his experience and especially his visit to the exclusive Magic Circle Club. Bev
Bergeron demonstrated several effects in his Magic Teach-In using simple props, which he
emphasized.
Phil Schwartz presented Magic History Moment # 33: his subject was Vonetta; born Etta
Ion in the United Kingdom sometime around 1895. She was billed as the world's only
lady illusionist and was best known for her "Flying Box" illusion where she would enter a
large box on stage which was raised in the air as she danced within. The box was lowered
as Vonetta appeared at the rear of the theater and the box opened on stage to reveal a small
girl dressed as a butterfly.. Phil concluded his presentation by sharing two window cards of
Vonetta from his collection which he had purchased years ago at a Magic Collector's Association
Meeting.
Doug Kalcik, with volunteers selected from the audience, performed a perplexing effect
of predicting the outcome of three apparently unrelated incidents utilizing three paperback
novels. Jennifer Herrington, dressed in Dance Hall garb performed a trio of card tricks with
help from several members of her audience. Veteran Chuck Smith entertained the Ring
with Orson Welles "Fruit Cup" where 1/2 of a signed one dollar bill is found in the smallest
of three (3) nested fruits and an egg; a treat to watch - no pun included. William Zabalerro
followed Chuck demonstrating his card handling ability with several card tricks. Richard
Hewitt was up next with a card effect that this writer calls a truly invisible deck and was
enjoyed by all.
Mark Fitzgerald closed out the evening's meeting by presenting his Aces, Cards and Coin
Matrix, a Card Transposition and a array of Rubber Band Magic effects.
present. He announced that in the Fall several lectures have been arranged starting off with
Steve Reynolds, the exact date to be announced. Chris Dunn will host a 4-hour Doc Eason
Workshop on the afternoon of September 15th. Reservations were required.
Member performances include Bev Bergeron , weekly, at the Red Fox Lounge and a one
week gig early in September at a convention in San Antonio and an additional writing
assignment in Las Vegas. Our President Craig and Mark Fitzgerald appear several times
a week at the Hard Rock Cafe. Doug Kalcik will be at the Ronald McDonald House and
Jim Songster and Joe Vecciarelli are doing a bang-up job with their "Bunnies in Peril" act at
WonderWorld on International Drive.
Craig and his wife recently returned from a U.K. vacation and he gave an interesting
account of his experience and especially his visit to the exclusive Magic Circle Club. Bev
Bergeron demonstrated several effects in his Magic Teach-In using simple props, which he
emphasized.
Phil Schwartz presented Magic History Moment # 33: his subject was Vonetta; born Etta
Ion in the United Kingdom sometime around 1895. She was billed as the world's only
lady illusionist and was best known for her "Flying Box" illusion where she would enter a
large box on stage which was raised in the air as she danced within. The box was lowered
as Vonetta appeared at the rear of the theater and the box opened on stage to reveal a small
girl dressed as a butterfly.. Phil concluded his presentation by sharing two window cards of
Vonetta from his collection which he had purchased years ago at a Magic Collector's Association
Meeting.
Doug Kalcik, with volunteers selected from the audience, performed a perplexing effect
of predicting the outcome of three apparently unrelated incidents utilizing three paperback
novels. Jennifer Herrington, dressed in Dance Hall garb performed a trio of card tricks with
help from several members of her audience. Veteran Chuck Smith entertained the Ring
with Orson Welles "Fruit Cup" where 1/2 of a signed one dollar bill is found in the smallest
of three (3) nested fruits and an egg; a treat to watch - no pun included. William Zabalerro
followed Chuck demonstrating his card handling ability with several card tricks. Richard
Hewitt was up next with a card effect that this writer calls a truly invisible deck and was
enjoyed by all.
Mark Fitzgerald closed out the evening's meeting by presenting his Aces, Cards and Coin
Matrix, a Card Transposition and a array of Rubber Band Magic effects.
2011-09 Dennis' Deliberations
Good authors too who once knew better words,
Now only use four letter words
Writing prose, Anything Goes.
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today,
And black's white today,
And day's night today,
Now only use four letter words
Writing prose, Anything Goes.
The world has gone mad today
And good's bad today,
And black's white today,
And day's night today,
From the song “Anything Goes” -Cole Porter
I heard about the filthy stuff out of Ed Alonzo on stage at the Dallas IBM Convention. I just can’t relate to modern magic with its bizarre cravings, grunge look and grunge words. Alonzo was always a creepy, ego maniac with an annoying stage presence. Yes, he has a few cute things but he does not wear well on stage. He seems insulting to people’s intelligence and very smart-mouthed. Not caustic, just a snotty wise-guy. Who needs that? I don’t need any of these so-called modern magicians. It is a shame that Lance Burton, Rick Thomas, David Seebach, Dan Stapleton, Bev Bergeron and performers with that approach are not the faces of modern magic. Even Copperfield drifted into cheese (sniffing girl’s panties on stage-remember that bizarre trick?). That was after he parted ways with the classy Don Wayne and linked with the un-classy Chris Kenner. Copperfield may have seen the light and reformed. The details are below!
The last major magic series on TV here in the USA was the Masked Creep with his 6 trashy women exposing illusions. (Uhhh... Thank you FOX-TV and the never classy Rupert Murdoch) We are one messed up culture when it comes to business and the arts! Maybe that will change for the magic business...
I just got word from one of Copperfield’s insiders that he is planning a touring “comeback” ina year or two and it will include a new TV special. So far, I was told that it will be flavored as a kind of a nostalgic return to his old fans and the creation of new fans. He may have a new hairstyle, mellow and lite approach and lots of interactive stuff. This seems a bit poetic now that the 54 year old David has revealed that he has a 10 month old daughter by model girlfriend Chloe Gosselin, 26 years old. One of the new Copperfield illusions could be to magically rearrange cars in the parking lot of the show..(Based on an idea from Luis DeMatos) Copperfield will use TV screens. Will the Golden Age return?
For the past 75 years on a few days around the first of August, a bucolic village in southwest Michigan holds a magic celebration. It is sponsored by the Abbott Magic Company and the town in Colon, Michigan. Almost all magicians know about Abbotts. Colon was the summer home of Harry Blackstone Sr. and he went into business with Australian immigrant Percy Abbott and created a company to produce magic and illusions. Harry and Percy dissolved their partnership in a low-key personality clash and the business was not enough for Harry to quit touring.
Recil Bordner bought into Percy's operation and after Percy died in 1960, the Bordner Family became the sole owners. Recil's son, Greg, is the owner today. Abbotts always was a small family business that employed a number of people in Colon. In the early 50s one of their flash pots was improperly used at a dance recital and a young girl was burned. They were almost sued into bankruptcy. They have had fires and thin times and a few good years. Greg is living with a transplanted heart and may beat the disease that killed his father. Greg's brother became a Geology Professor at a university in nearby Kalamazoo.
This year there were about 300 that attended the event. They have had triple that in the past. But it is always like a family reunion. My first Get Together was in 1969 and I met up with a yet-to-be famous Doug Henning and talked with Jack Gwynne. I sat next to Jay and Francis Marshall on the Friday Night Show. I again visited in 1989.I sat next to Paul Daniels and Debbie MacGee and had a long chat with Harry Blackstone Jr. who I knew from his days in Florida working for Tupperware.
Colon is a town were time almost stands still but changes I saw in the town were a metaphor of the industrial decline of our country and the changing form of show business. Abbotts is an American Classic and I was happy that Dan Stapleton, my long time Orlando friend, was able to perform in the show and do his fabulous blindfold stunt. I hope that future generations of magicians will have an Abbotts catalog and Get Together. It always was the stuff of dreams.
Larry Thornton and I shared similar experiences at summer family reunions this summer: While on a family re-union on my wife's side, I was asked to do some magic. You know, the relatives believe that as a magician and therefore one of the true "freaks" of the clan, you must feel privileged to become their "performing monkey" whenever you all get together. I reluctantly packed my cards, ropes, silks and Hippity Hop Rabbits and a few other bits of stuff. The wife insisted! -- "Dolly will be SO-O-O disappointed if you don't do some magic!" I had the faint hope that they'd eventually forget about asking me to "dance for my supper", but I was wrong. The odd thing is, they kept asking me at the re-union if I'd do some magic later "before it gets dark out", and I agreed to do some, but the host got busy on the appointed evening and forgot to introduce me. So I thought, gee, I'd better do something, so I went around to the folks and showed them some impromptu table magic.
An observation (1 of 3):
Have you noticed, when you're busy doing your very best card tricks, stuff you spent half-a-lifetime to collect and to master, that one of the attention-deprived uncles soon decides to show YOU his one-and-only card trick, and he has to use your cards for it! ...He is not a magician, he doesn't know diddly-squat about magic, and he doesn't seem to notice in the least that everyone has just been royally flabbergasted by some of your greatest card miracles.
Metaphorically speaking, you know that you’ve just knocked yourself out *curing leprosy, walking on water, and multiplying fishes and loaves for the multitudes *. BUT NO MATTER!! Mr. Congeniality, voted in his high school Yearbook as the guy most-likely to wear a lampshade at a party -- now has your deck in his grubby tight-fisted hands. Having no other deck of cards with you, you feel as if you just handed him your only bouquet of roses that immediately withered and died. The dude's "big shining moment" is at hand. He now commands the stage and is about to "wow" everybody with the "Now-Tell-Me-Which-of-These Three-Rows-It's In", Wonder Card Trick of the Ages. He even adds, “Let me put the row that you card is in here in the middle of the other two”.
Observation (2 of 3):
While performing surrounded, in order to do some of your stronger effects you elect to "sacrifice" those one or two people behind you (to some small degree) by concentrating mainly on wowing the bulk of the crowd in front of you. Now you KNOW you're not going to exposed anything to anybody, no matter where they're standing. But then the guy behind or off to the side of you (hey, its the same dude as before!)suddenly thinks he's seen something "fishy" with your jog-shuffle or your double lift, or your oh-so-tiny "finger break", and he just CAN'T WAIT to blab it out to everyone else! But he can't communicate exactly what he THINKS he saw. Even so, he feels compelled jump-up-and-down excitedly over "what he saw" in the misguided attempt to make a "fool" out of the professional fooler! You can change direction abruptly, by steering your routine in "mid flight" adroitly over to some other effect intended to KILL the very guy bent on killing YOU. -- Or you can simply offer the cards to the rube and ask him to "finish the trick"; or "show us what you mean." But of course, this causes him to back off, to the merriment of all; which then frees you to recover from this interruption.
Final observation:
Then there's the situation of having repeated some of your tricks earlier for a smaller crowd (like, two or three people on the porch). But these folks are with the second larger audience later, and like or not, they've now elected themselves as your "cheering section." They mean well, in telling everyone how great you are (in so doing, some of the "stardust" falls back on them), but the moment you start a routine that they've seen before, they get all excited and reveal the punch line to the trick! Or its, "Hey do that one where all the aces magically appear." Ah.... right. ...Will do. ...About five or six tricks from now when everyone's forgot what was just said!
Or the distant relative who says, “Do the story of Jim, or was it Joe, no, Steve the Bellhop where all the cards tell the story!” Oh don’t you just love it when they have seen what you do for years? “Can do you that one where I pick a card and sign it and you rip it up and my corner matches it when you have made it all go back to whole?”
Just then the 7 year old nephew tugs on the arm and says, “Can you make a quarter come out of my ear?” I say, “What do you think; I can really pull money out of thin air?” He looks up with a big smile and an affirmative, “Uh-Huh!” Family summer reunions, don’t you love them?
Dennis
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