Number
1065 - Saturday 21st November 2020
Christmas
is coming early as Edinburgh International Magic Festival 2020 Virtually
Appears. From the organisers: Edinburgh International Magic Festival
is delighted to present a programme of events delivered entirely
virtually this winter, supporting Scottish performers, from 16th-20th
December 2020. Enjoy winter wonder with a lineup of talent, most of whom
live in Scotland and are past MagicFest favourites. With live venues
closed we’re presenting shows the only way we can, digitally, and we’d
love for you to join us.
Kevin Quantum, magician and festival organiser, said "I’m delighted
that we’re able to offer an 11th year of magic to the world, and this
year you don’t even have to take off your slippers to enjoy it all!"
Gary James’ Magic School returns for the 11th consecutive year alongside
other Edinburgh favourites Magic Gareth and Tricky Ricky - who’ll be
performing family shows - a perfect diversion for the kids. Fringe
favourites Elliot Bibby and Kevin Quantum join Glasgow based magician
Ryan K Davidson and past Scottish Magic Champ Billy Reid for virtual
close-up magic performances. Vincent Gambini completes the bill with a
unique show performed entirely by telephone!
This year all tickets will cost £10 'per screen' and we’re offering the opportunity to buy a MagicFest Pass that will let you see all shows in the lineup for just £50. Festival Producer Svetlana McMahon said "We really want to support Scottish performers as much as we can this year and thanks to a generous donation to the festival combined with support from Creative Scotland, it is possible for us to offer all festival participants fixed fees as well as 100% of takings from ticket sales." We know artists aren’t the only ones having a tough time, so Kevin Quantum has decided to offer half the tickets for his show The Trick That Fooled free of charge to those who aren’t able to afford a ticket at the moment. Those who would like a ticket need only pay the booking fee of £1 to secure a place. www.magicfest.co.uk/whats-on (Photo: Kevin and Olivia Quantum by Pavel Tamm @Fotkaplus Photography). 21.11.20
Ali Cook’s second appearance on Penn &
Teller Fool Us. Season 7, 2020. Ali Cook and the Snake Goddess, with special thanks to Don Wayne
for designing this illusion and builder John Gaughan and
tweaks from Scott Penrose.
You can watch the full episode on the CW channel which also features
one of Ali's favourite magicians, Tony Clark. Watch Ali's performance
here:
YouTube.
21.11.20
Talking Shtick
with
Christopher Hart. Mark James writes:
I've been the biggest fan of this act since the first time I saw his
torn and restored sheet music routine. It was the first time I ever
became aware of how music and magic could work in tandem to become
greater than the sum of their parts.
Christopher's magic is inventive, incredibly strong and hilarious. I
loved every second of this chat!
What's remarkable is that we focused on Chris' most well known 9 minute
act! All of that and more in this incredible chat which is available
now! Via your favourite listening platform including
Podbean.
21.11.20
Issy
Simpson's new partnership! "I’ve partnered with @Argos for a very
magical Christmas competition! Share your magic trick using
#ArgosMagicalCircle by Sunday 6th December at 5pm to be in with a chance
of winning up to £500 Argos vouchers, a Limited Edition Marvin’s Magic
Deluxe Box of Tricks and a bundle of 5 Marvin’s Magic sets! I can’t wait
to see your magic tricks!" #Ad #ArgosMagicalCircle - see
YouTube.
21.11.20
Bob
Read’s London Magic Walk for The Magic Circle Centenary, 2005. Bob
Gill writes: Here's a little piece of joy, Bob Read's London Magic Walk
for TMC's Centenary in 2005. Spot several familiar faces in the crowd.
It was filmed at Bob's request by retired member Pete Wentworth. The
production values are not great, as it was taken on an old VHS
camcorder, hand-held while on the move in pouring rain! It shows around
two thirds of the Walk because some of the tape has been damaged. But it
showcases Bob's energy, love of magic history and above all his
infectious sense of fun. For those of us who counted Bob Read as a
friend, it's a much-needed dose of nostalgia in the light of the recent
revival of interest in his map and the Walk. With thanks to Mike
Sullivan for recent technical assistance. See
Vimeo.
21.11.20
The
MagicWeek Video Archive. A new magic clip or show every week! This week Doug
Henning with some stand-up magic (Bill in Lemon!) from Doug Henning's
World of Magic recorded at the Hilton Las Vegas in 1979. See
The MagicWeek Video Archive. To catch up with more from The MagicWeek Video
Archive
Click Here.
21.11.20
The
Panto Podcast interviews Andrew Van Buren. "In this episode: Variety
performer, showman, plate spinner and master illusionist Andrew Van
Buren on the Panto Podcast for November 2020. Talking about the history
of his family and the parallels with the inventor of circus Philip
Astley; growing up in theatre, touring his shows, his plate spinning,
and possibly the most moving song sheet story you'll ever hear." It's
free to listen to on
Apple Podcasts,
YouTube (with subtitles),
Spotify and
TuneIn and you can even say 'Alexa play The Panto Podcast' to your
Amazon Echo device (or any smart speaker).
21.11.20
South
London Magic Society Zoom Close-up Competition. Mark Jennings
writes: Congratulations to Sarah Campbell, winner of South London Magic
Society’s annual Close-up Competition. This year’s competition was a bit
different as, like all club nights at the moment, it was held over Zoom.
A closely fought competition with 9 fantastic entrants was won by Sarah
Campbell as her hilarious alter ego Miss Prim. Joseph Parrin won Best
Trick with some very impressive card work.
www.southlondonmagic.co.uk.
21.11.20
Morgan
and West - online lecture. Andy Hart writes: Continuing our very
successful series of Zoom lectures, The Sussex Magic Circle is hosting a
lecture by the award-winning magicians, Morgan and West on Thursday 26th
at 8pm. Non SMC members can attend for £10 using the following link:
www.the-sussex-magic-circle.mailchimpsites.com.
21.11.20
Book
Vouchers now available for CollectingMagicBooks.com. The perfect
gift for magicians and magic history fans, CollectingMagicBooks.com now
sells book vouchers. Vouchers can be redeemed across all books on their
site. They've also launched the Magic Readers' Gift Box which includes a
range of useful reading accessories along with a book voucher. Have a
look here:
www.collectingmagicbooks.com/exclusives.
21.11.20
E-Club
Pro Live 2021 - the new Mark Leveridge Zoom lecture is ready! After
several months in preparation, Mark Leveridge is pleased to announce
that his new lecture is ready for presentation. Designed to be delivered
via Zoom, all the material has been specially selected from the E-Club
Pro web pages and contains a wide selection of magic to suit most
tastes. All the effects are practical and are usually simple to do,
making the new lecture ideal for club members of any standard or
experience. Following its inaugural performance, Tony Griffith
commented, "That is the most professional Zoom lecture I've seen."
Damian Surr sent a text to say, "Some great ideas in your lecture Mark",
Callum Weaver emailed with "The club and others thoroughly enjoyed the
lecture. It was super practical and very informative", Grant Maidment
wrote "Really enjoyed your lecture, some top notch stuff within. Very
workable and most of it was easy to do", while Ivan Hatvany (as he
signed up for E-Club Pro) said, "Thank you for a very enjoyable Zoom
lecture". For more information and to book a date for your club, go to
www.markleveridge.co.uk/lectures where you can also watch a live
trailer of the lecture itself.
21.11.20
Black
Friday Offers from Mr E Enterprises. This coming Friday 27th
November is traditionally a Black Friday in which we offer items at
reduced and bargain prices. Black Friday offers will end promptly at
midnight on Sunday 29th November; when everything will return to normal
retail prices. You can save, save and save again by going to the
following link now and checking out all the goodies we are offering this
time around – there are some great money saving offers to be had over
this limited period of time, so please act now
www.mreenterprises.co.uk They make the ideal Christmas presents for
the Magician in your family!
21.11.20
Mental
Die by Anverdi at Merlins. "You hand out a single die and even though your back is turned, you know with
100% confidence which number has been chosen. This classic
effect has been 100% upgraded with today's modern technology and
materials. The possibilities are endless. Way beyond the
typical 'I know your number' routines." Watch the video and find out
more at
www.merlinswakefield.co.uk.
21.11.20
Close Call
eBook & Video by Looch - Read My Mind.
In September 2017 Looch was flown out to Cologne, Germany to give a very special
lecture at Mind Summit. The lecture, entitled ‘Close Call’ has been described as
the blueprint for successfully entertaining at close-up events around the world.
In it Looch outlines the top 3 logistical problems that can destroy a
performance, and teaches how to tackle those problems to ensure a smooth an
effective close-up show.
‘Close Call’ consists of the physical lecture that was filmed live at Mind
Summit 2017, along with a detailed eBook of lecture notes that breaks down each
problem and arms the reader with a wide range of tips and techniques to utilise
at your own gigs to ensure a smooth and successful performance. In addition,
Looch teaches a range of subtleties that he uses at each of his close up
bookings. The goal is to maximise the impact your performances will have on your
audience, and to ensure a smooth and trouble free event for all concerned.
‘Close Call’ by Looch: Online lecture (filmed live at Mind Summit 2017),
44 page detailed eBook (eBook contains link and password to video). See
www.readmymind.co.uk. 21.11.20
Imagination
- Mark Leveridge Magic: Originally only available to members of
E-Club Pro, or those who have seen it in the E-Club Pro Live lecture,
this terrific commercial routine is now being generally released. A
spectator is handed an invisible deck and is asked to spread the cards
and note that all the red cards are bunched together and all the black
cards are together. Splitting the deck so that he holds all the
invisible red cards in one hand and all the blacks in the other, he
hands over one half which is placed by a second spectator into the
invisible cards box. Now the cards are spread again and the spectator is
asked to note that all the court cards are together, and all the spot
cards are together. Splitting them into their two groups he is invited
to hand either section over to be replaced into the box. From the
remaining cards he selects any one and names out loud which one he has
chosen. The invisible selection is dropped momentarily into an empty
envelope. Moments later a real card is tipped from the same
envelope and it turns out to be the one selected by the spectator!
Designed specifically for commercial walkabout performance,
Imagination is simple to do and packs a strong magical punch.
Instantly repeatable, this takes up virtually no room and so is
practical for the strolling magician. No gimmicks or sleight of hand
required, this can be performed surrounded. This Premier E-Routine
Download comes as downloadable PDF text instructions along with a link
to also watch and/or download video instructions.
www.markleveridge.co.uk/product/imagination.
21.11.20
Gogglebox. The armchair critics share their opinions on shows including The Yorkshire Vet, Britain's Got Talent, Dynamo: Beyond Belief and The Nest. Plus, they offer thoughts on news coverage of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Covid-19 recovery and President Donald Trump's various proclamations. (Repeat) Saturday 28th November on E4. See TV Magic. 21.11.20
Magicians wanted for Zoom Show! Colin McDabra
writes: I am a keen amateur / hobbyist magician [for over
twenty years!] and host Variety Shows on Zoom every Friday. At this
stage I will make it clear that I do not benefit financially from the
shows, nor do the acts, all contributions are voluntary! The aim of the
shows is to provide a space for performers who are hampered by the
restrictions of Covid to perform their craft and to brighten up the
lives of those who watch.
The shows have a broad and inclusive range of performers of all
ethnicities, genders, and from all over the globe, but mostly Europe and
the US. We have a variety of acts: spoken word, dance and music. Some
acts are pre-recorded, some are archive YouTube videos and about half
are live. I take the time to have a technical / dress rehearsal with
performers before the show to ensure they are content and everything is
working well for them to perform on Zoom. The running time is around one
hour from 8pm GMT.
I have hosted these shows since the first lockdown in spring 2020! I
always start with a magic effect as a warm up to the show. | have found
it can be quite a challenge to do magic on Zoom compared to the analogue
world, but each week I have adapted or found magic that works.
The audiences average 20-30 each week and are very supportive.
I would like to provide other magicians with an opportunity to perform,
have a bit of fun and put a bit of light into Friday nights. As I have said unfortunately there is no
money to be made, but it is an opportunity to perform. Email Colin McDabra
colinmcdabra@gmail.com for
more details if you'd like perform.
21.11.20
Sharron
Rose. So sad to hear that Sharron had died on Tuesday. She was such
a warm loving person and will be greatly missed by so many magicians,
not just here in the UK but overseas too, who got to know her at magic
conventions on the 'Five of Hearts Magic' stand. Sending love to Colin
and the family. The Five of Hearts was the card she picked when they
first met. Duncan.
21.11.20
"David
Copperfield crew member catches Covid, show suspended"
Click Here • David Copperfield on Mystery School Monday
Click Here • "The Journey review – a polished magic show in search
of deeper meaning"
Click Here • "Infamous north-east magician and the mystery of
Houdini’s vanished electric chair"
Click Here • "Watch: Magician sets record by performing 20 tricks in
3 minutes under water"
Click Here • "Magician completes 20 magic tricks while submerged in
tank of water"
Click Here • "The Devon magician whose virtual shows have been seen
across the world"
Click Here • "Magician Mat Franco’s show returns to the Linq on
December 17"
Click Here • "Celebrities That Love Casinos"
Click Here • That's it for this week, see you next week, Duncan.
21.11.20