Number 79 - 29th December 2001
Magician's
fees were the subject of a "Facts & Figures" piece by Rachel Unsworth in
Sunday's Mail On Sunday financial supplement last Sunday. Magicians
love to know who earns what, so here are some of the quoted fees from the
article: Children's birthday party (one hour) £75 to £150, Close-up magic
£150 to £500, Cabaret/Stage magic £300 to £1,500 and "Corporate Functions"
£1,500 plus. Those figures are, in fact, a pretty fair guide - if you're
charging any less (assuming you deserve it) put your fees up for the New
Year! 29.12.01
Mike
Austin (left),
Aldo Colombini, Patrick Page, Mark Leveridge, and Paul Gordon will each
present "hands-on" workshops to groups of no more than 20 at Mark
Leveridge's innovative Interactive Magic Experience on Sunday
January 27th. Doors open 9.30am and the first workshop begins at 10am.
Conventioneers will be able to select which of the workshops they would
like to attend, and the programme will be designed so that there will be
time to attend all five during the day if desired. For more information on
this exciting day visit
markleveridge.co.uk 29.12.01
Magic "not to be
missed" on television over the next few days: The Big Stage: Magic and
Illusion Special Channel 5 tonight, Derren Brown - Mind Control III
Channel 4 on January 1st (This is London interview with Derren:
Click Here), and The Hidden Secrets of Magic on ITV on
January 2nd. The Masked Magician is unfortunately being repeated again on
ITV 2 and was recently seen in Japan in a show that pitted him against
Japan's Princess Tenko. See TV Magic for
details. 29.12.01
Abracadabra, the
UK's original magical weekly, hasn't missed an issue in over 55 years and
continues to offer news, tricks, guest columnists, dealers
advertising, small ads, a diary, and general comment on the magic scene,
with both national and international news. Published weekly a 13 week
subscription costs just £11.57 (second class mail). Why not take out a
subscription for the New Year? Credit card subscriptions taken on: 01527
872246, or write enclosing a cheque made payable to "Goodliffe
Publications Ltd" to Goodliffe Publications Ltd., 150 New Road,
Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 2LG. 29.12.01
Dates are in for
Illusion at the Westminster Theatre, Palace Street, London SW1.
Thursday 21st February at 7.30pm, Friday 22nd February at 7.30pm, Saturday
23rd February at 2.00pm and 7.30pm. Then Every Sunday from 24th February
at 4.00pm until Easter Sunday (31st March). Tickets from £7.50 to £20.00.
Box Office 020 7834 0283. Then in April the show returns to The Wimbledon
Studio Theatre, 103 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London, SW19 1QG from April
2nd - 7th Telephone: 020 8540 0362. 29.12.01
The brilliant Gazzo will
be appearing at the 25th World Magic Seminar at the Riviera Hotel and
Casino, Las Vegas, from January 13th - 16th 2002. For more information
Click Here. 29.12.01
With the New Year dawning now would be as good a time as any to join a magic club if you're not currently a member of one. Most clubs meet either fortnightly or monthly, are aimed at the serious beginner upwards, often have a magic library, offer lectures and talks on various aspects of magic, and run competitions and so on... Societies with a website can be found here: Magic Societies 29.12.01
Many thanks to all readers who have contributed to MagicWeek over the past year, with both their own news and other magic news items, and to a good friend (who will want to remain nameless as he really should have better things to do with his time!) for emailing over spelling and grammatical corrections - sometimes I slip-up badly! It has been a good year for magic in the UK. Televised magic continues to advance, the media seem to be prepared to "go with the flow," more people than ever are taking up magic as a hobby, and The Magic Circle's Young Magicians Club is enjoying record membership levels. Harry Potter has swept the world (still haven't seen it) and a number of prominent UK magicians have completed successful theatre tours. We've seen some excellent magic events take place up and down the Country and all looks good for 2002. Your news is always welcomed, Happy New Year to everyone, Duncan. 29.12.01