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Star Lecture by Wayne Dobson
Northern Magic Circle Easter Parade
Reported by Roger Woods AIMC
Wayne
was introduced by Cynthia Neptune to present the star lecture of the Easter
Parade on Saturday afternoon and proceedings began with the presentation of a
gift to Wayne and Marianne by the President, Eddie Burke to celebrate their
recent wedding in Orlando, Florida. We all wish them the very best for the
future.
Wayne’s lecture was a highlight of the Easter Parade. It is great to see how he
carries on despite his condition having concentrated on the strong presentation
of some very commercial entertainment yet uncomplicated magic. His “Dobson’s
Choice” series of booklets is highly recommended.
Wayne began his “talk” as he described it, by a few jokes about his health
before moving straight on to his version of the David Hoy “tossed out deck”
(“Dobson’s Choice 2 – the Sequel” ) where three spectators each chose a card
from a pack secured by elastic bands thrown into the audience. Wayne then
proceeded to reveal the identity of the chosen cards in an amusing and
entertaining way. His presentation is very strong and an improvement on earlier
versions as he deals with each spectator in turn working the audience well for
applause using for the last card the theatrical technique of splitting the
audience in two, each half attempting to clap and cheer louder than the other.
He has some very funny lines such as “It’s rude to ask a lady her age so how
much do you weigh?”
Next with the help of a spectator, Wayne showed the card effect “I Swear”
(“Dobson’s Choice”) where he asks the spectator to name quietly to him his
favourite swear word and sets the pack to spell to the chosen card using this
word. Again there was some very funny by play almost appearing to spell the
swear word aloud. Wayne is a master of comic timing in his presentations is
clear from this and his other effects.
A prediction using bank notes from a wallet based on a Steven Tucker idea was
then shown. A very simple method was used but again the presentation is very
effective.
Wayne then presented Mick Hanzlick’s “SupaLock” where four keys are shown which
do not open a padlock. The master key, which does open it, is then mixed with
the others and whichever key is chosen by the spectator will then open it. This
is a specially engineered lock made by Mick to a high standard.
A “do as I do” paper tearing routine, which Wayne explained he usually has a
young boy from the audience help with, was very funny as the piece of paper
handed to the assistant is “no tear” paper available from Practical Magic.
Again, the timing of the presentation is crucial.
Wayne finally showed a routine called “Teach A Card Trick” (“Dobson’s Choice 3 –
the Final”) where the spectator is invited to play the part of the magician and
repeats everything that Wayne says as if performing the trick for Wayne. This
uses a beautiful hand-made card box by Colin Rose, which holds a full pack of
cards and is available from Wayne. The effect being that the card chosen by
Wayne disappears and appears in the card box held by the spectator. Based on a
Karrell Fox idea again there is some very funny by play.
Wayne then answered a number of questions from the audience saying that he was
hoping to do a few shows with Joe Pasquale and telling a funny story about a
visit to the toilet in Las Vegas (you had to be there). He may well put his
“Dobson’s Choice” booklets with some other material into a larger book in the
future. He also has available a DVD with compilations of his various television
appearances.
His favourite magical memories were working the Royal Variety Performance and
working in Las Vegas with Englebert Humperdinck. He was also happy to be
reminded of his appearance as a 16 year old at the Easter Parade in Harrogate 32
years ago where he performed “cards to pocket” as taught to him by Bruce Vickers
of Leicester and caused a sensation.
He was pleased to see some magic back on television again albeit in a different
format. When asked if when he discovered he had MS if he thought about giving up
he said a resounding no. Magic was like a first medicine and there was nothing
wrong with his head! He would carry on whilst he had friends who supported him
and he still could.
He promised that the vent routine for which he is so well known would be on the
evening show. Finally when asked about his early influences in magic he talked
about Ken Brooke and a story of when he met Tommy Cooper in Ken’s Magic Studio.
President, Eddie Burke then thanked Wayne for a first class lecture as one of
the top entertainers in the UK and the audience responded with a well-deserved
standing ovation.
Wayne’s DTrik range of magic (books, DVD and tricks) is highly recommended and
available from him – check out his website at
www.waynedobson.co.uk
for all the details and more information about Wayne.
© Roger Woods, March 2005