Number 227 - 30th October 2004
15
year old Troy von Scheibner stole the show at last Sunday's Young
Magicians' Club J-Day at The Magic Circle's HQ in London. Competing
in a close-up competition that featured five other acts Troy's easy
unassuming charm, sleight of hand skill and sheer magic totally captivated
both the audience and judges and resulted in him being placed 1st and
receiving The YMC Mark Leveridge Close-up Trophy. In second place
Simran Cashyap impressed with his opening drink production, card and rope
work and Matt Kirton (third) also did very well. Overall the competition
was of a really high standard and it was a pleasure to see such talent
coming through. Well done to all six competitors. The second competition
of the day was for The YMC Home Counties Stage Competition Trophy.
Here Magic Michael & Co were placed first with an act that started off
with the magicians "assistant" wandering on stage playing around and
upsetting half the props while the magician was still getting ready!
Joshua Miller presented a silent act in traditional tails and came second
and Matt Beech proved that Derren Brown isn't the only mind controller out
there and came third. Again, well done to all the competitors, and look
out for Troy in the future... the brightest magic talent I have seen for
years (DT).
If you're under 18, love magic, and haven't joined the Young Magicians Club then you are missing out! Members enjoy a magazine and newsletter, regular professional magic workshops, the annual convention and lots more, all run by a dedicated YMC team. Visit www.youngmagiciansclub.co.uk for membership details, and to read a full report of the J-Day (see 'News'). 30.10.04
Ali
Cook and Pete Firman have been busy promoting their new TV series
Secret World of Magic (six one hour shows for Sky One, from January
5th) with guest appearances on TRL (MTV), Ministry of Mayhem (ITV) and The
Celebrity Awards (ITV). "From Paris to Los Angeles and Vegas, from Buenos
Aires to Madrid to New York we follow Pete and Ali's 'road trip' as they
meet their heroes of magic, reveal the true stories behind some of the
world's most legendary tricks and attempt to wow the locals with their
unique brand of magic entertainment." The duo meet up with magicians along
the way including Juan Tamariz, Mac King and Jeff McBride. Ali and Pete
are really excited about the whole show and think that it is their best
magic project to date. More details nearer the time.
www.alicook.com
www.petefirman.co.uk. 30.10.04
MAGIC - Programme
Three: Close-up Magic is on tonight at
8.25pm on BBC 2. Sleight of hand, misdirection and the Kings of Cards. Some of the world's greatest magicians, kings of
close-up card manipulation like Guy Hollingworth and master of dove
production Channing Pollock, explain why the subtlety and
sophistication of close-up magic still has the power to enthrall and make
us doubt our own senses... See TV Magic. 30.10.04
Congratulations
to Marc Dominic who won the Ray Bradbury Trophy for Close-up Magic at
the
British Magical Society's Close-up Competition on Tuesday, 26th
October.
www.marcdominic.com. 30.10.04
Dublin
street magician and author of The Hit and Run Magician's Handbook
Owen Lean
www.roadmage.com has been selected to represent Ireland in the
Singapore River Buskers Festival. The festival which will take place
between the 12th and 22nd of November in Singapore brings twenty of the
best street performers in the world together for ten days of madness on
the streets of Singapore. Also taking part will be Canadian extreme
juggler Aaron Gregg
www.aarongregg.com and British/Australian body contortionist Bendy Em
www.bendyem.com. 30.10.04
Klub
Magic, Brighton, on November 1st features Mel Mellers, Dave Brown
(photo) and Stuart Harley performing his death defying Milk Can Escape.
Hosted by Mark Worgan. Doors at 6.30pm, show starts at 8pm. Tickets from
the box office on 01273 647100 or visit
www.klubmagic.co.uk
for more information. Always an excellent evening. 30.10.04
Actor
and magician John Woolvett stars as research psychologist Dr John
Templeton in 'Shock Treatment' a new series for Sky One which commences on
Wednesday, 3rd November at 9pm. Paul Andrews, Dr Richard Wiseman, Peter
Wardell and Dynamic FX were all involved in the series and although there
are no 'magic tricks' as such, magic principles were employed in some of
the experiments.
www.johnwoolvett.com. 30.10.04
Geoffrey
Durham's "Little Miracle" show is being presented by Liverpool's
Mahatma Magic Circle at Southport Arts Centre in Lord Street, Southport at
7.30pm on Wednesday 24th November. This is Geoffrey's One Man Show which
includes lots
of great magic from the man who has made many new friends with his
frequent appearances on TV's 'Countdown'. Tickets are £12 or £10 for
Pensioners. Phone the box office: 07818 455440. The following evening
Thursday 25th November at 8pm Geoffrey will be lecturing to magicians
only (including a question and answer session), at Mahatma's meeting in the Marriott Hotel in South Liverpool, on
the site of the old Liverpool Airport. Entrance £6. Details from John
Mills, telephone 0151 722 5840. 30.10.04
Young
Overseas Magicians Sought - A Magic Circle Youth Initiative.
The Magic Circle
have just launched an initiative to encourage young overseas magicians to
enter the prestigious Young Magician of the Year Competition 2005. The
Competition, held every two years since 1961, has always attracted the
best young magicians between the ages of fourteen and eighteen. Derrick
Speight, Chairman of the organising committee said "This year's
competition is particularly significant as it coincides with The Magic
Circle's Centenary Celebrations. We do have a large number of overseas
registrants coming to the celebrations and this represents an ideal
opportunity for their talented offspring to show the panel of judges just
how good they are. We are also, of course, encouraging more of our 'home
grown' talent to enter as well." The Grand Final will be staged at The
Magic Circle's own theatre in July, 2005. For entry details contact Dr.
Michael Colley: 01367 252482
cmcolley@pmhcpath.demon.co.uk. 30.10.04
Paul
Gordon has just released his first DVD featuring two hours of material
on one disc. First, The London Lecture, shot at The Magic Circle and
secondly The Eastbourne IBM Lecture (2004) which includes: The Jennings
Bottom Palm, Ideas for Magicians' Insurance Policy Trick (card under
shoe), The easy handling of The Gordon Diary Trick, Twister, Diminishing?
Not Likely, Palming, Performance Attitude, How to Carry Props, Book
Recommendations, LTP, Peek/Steal and more! For details on both lectures
and to order
Click Here. 30.10.04
Congratulations
to Grant Brummer on winning the Mystic Ring's annual close-up
competition. Grant's act highlighted his relaxed style and culminated with
a Ninja Rings routine winning over audience and judges alike. Grant was
awarded The James Leggett Trophy by President Rex Cooper (right). 30.10.04
The
Great Zoltan is a French theater show from Gérard Majax with Gerard
Kunian (magician and comedian) and Suzanne Legrand (comedian). The play
relates the life story of Zoltan and features magic throughout to
illustrate the story which is both humorous and sensitive. Venue: 20°
Theâtre, 7 rue des Platrières, 75OO20 Paris, France. Wednesday to Saturday
at 7pm and Sunday's at 3pm. Tickets €20. 30.10.04
Peter
Duffie's new book 'The Dave Campbell Legacy' has just been published
by
www.internationalmagic.com at £35.00. International will also have
copies on their stand at The Magic Circle Dealers' Showcase today. 30.10.04
The
Magic Circle Dealers' Showcase, featuring 40 dealers, is on today
(Saturday 30th, 10am - 5pm) at the Royal National Hotel, 66 Russell Square, London WC1 (Map).
Door charge: free to members and YMC members on production of
their membership cards, small charge for non members. 30.10.04
Mark
Parker, know to many for his illusion designs, is also busy in the
corporate close-up field. Next year he heads out to perform on the British
Lions Rugby Tour in New Zealand and then flies over to Australia to see
Chris Murphy at Oz Illusions in Brisbane; to see some of his illusion
designs in the flesh. 30.10.04
Visual
Delights III - Magic, Illusion and Popular Culture before 1914. Living
Pictures in association with the National Fairground Archive and the
University of Teesside will hold a third event examining Magic and
Illusion in Popular Culture before 1914. The conference will attempt to
bring the worlds of photography, film and mass visual culture to a wider
and more inclusive audience. The conference will be co hosted by the
National Fairground Archive and the University of Teesside, and will take
place at the University of Sheffield on 15th and 17th July 2005. The
conference will be a mix of performance, exhibition and formal papers.
Contributions are sought in the broad areas of performance practice,
technology and illusion across a range of popular cultural forms. Sunday
17th July will be a themed day on all aspects of Magic and Illusion and
its relationship to nineteenth and early twentieth century performance and
will include performances, screenings and an exhibition. Initial
proposals/enquires should be addressed to Simon Popple, The School of Arts
and Media, The University of Teesside, Middlesbrough TS1 3BA
simon.popple@tees.ac.uk. 30.10.04
Mark
Leveridge presents his lecture and dealer dem at the Chester Guild of
Magicians on Monday 8th November. Contact Secretary David Brandwood for
more information 01928 718496
magician@brandwoodfamily.co.uk. 30.10.04
Green
backed bicycle cards? What next! "These are the cards we've been
pushing to have made for months... and they're finally here! These decks
of Bicycle cards have a beautiful green back design. They handle
beautifully and can be used creatively in a colour changing deck routine,
or in place of your ordinary deck. We're very excited to have gotten these
cards onto the market and we're sure you won't be disappointed with them!"
In stock and available now from
www.magicbox.uk.com. 30.10.04
"This is the manic magic house that Penn built" Click Here • Philip Partridge will be performing at the BCSC (British Council of Shopping Centres) Retail Showcase at the G-Mex, Manchester on 2nd and 3rd November on the Modus Properties stand with the theme "The Right Chemistry for Retail". On Friday Philip is booked for the Hollyoaks Christmas party. www.philippartridge.co.uk • Paul Gordon emails: "I'm gathering information on Henry Christ (1903-1972) of 'Christ Force, Fabulous Four Ace Trick & Half Pass' fame and am looking for references (books/magazines) of tricks, plus photographs, biography info etc., etc. Can you help?" Click Here if you can, and to contact Paul • Eran Blizovsky emails: "I would like to recommended the Big Cabaret Show on Saturday night every month on France 2 channel featuring magicians, comedians, jugglers etc. This show is broadcast once a month and repeated on channel TV5 Europe." • That's it for this week, see you next week, Duncan. 30.10.04