CONTENTS
JULY 2015
VOLUME 24
NUMBER 11
Disneyland's Main Street Magic: The Magic Inside the Kingdom
By Kari Hendler
When Walt Disney opened his first theme park in 1955, he made sure to have a magic shop there from the very beginning. Two years later, a second shop opened, and Main Street Magic has provided the stuff that dreams are made of ever since.
Dan White - Portrait of an Artist
By Jamie D. Grant
Having created effects and routines for some of the biggest names in magic, Dan White has also taken the spotlight with his own televised magic specials. His latest venture is a live show in New York City, where he bewilders audiences each weekend.
Magic Castle Awards: The Best of Both Worlds
By Stan Allen
The 47th Academy of Magical Arts Awards were presented during a gala evening in Beverly Hills, bringing together magicians from around the world and reaffirming the ties between the Academy and The Magic Castle.
The Many Lives of Lynetta Welch
By Jaq Greenspon
She's both a seamstress and a sorceress. Lynetta Welch's background in magic and skill in sewing, along with her work as a researcher and fabric historian, make her not only highly regarded but also unique in her field.
Plus Updates on...
Eighteen products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Gabe Fajuri, Jared Kopf, Francis Menotti, John Wilson:
The Bammo Ten Card Deal Dossier by Bob Farmer
Multitude by Vincent Hedan
Topit Revolution by Edouard Boulanger
Thru by Daniel Bryan and Mystique Factory
Switchcraft by Karl Hein & Gregory Wilson
Impossible Box V2.0 by Ray Roch
Mint by Steve Rowe
The Cube+ by Takamitsu Usui
Tremble by Magician: Anonymous
Bandwidth by Gregory Wilson
Inked by Fred Darevil and Alakazam Magic
Last Laugh by Mark Elsdon
P'ink by Ran Pink
Spirit Slates
Handomatic by Mark Southworth
EVP by Alan Rorrison
Promotion by Kyle Purnell
Portable Pro Busker's Table by Happie Amp
Finn Jon's Esoterica: Multiplying Tennis Balls
Finn Jon
In this effect, the magician takes out a tennis ball and shows his hands to be otherwise fully empty. He grabs into the air in front of him, and successively three tennis balls appear out of nowhere; the magician handles them freely and shows his hands empty at all points during the ball production. Ball productions have always been cornerstone effects in my act since the very beginning. I started out with De Kolta Billiard Ball productions using several half-shells, and in the 1980s, while working in Paris, I experimented a lot with sponge balls, often in combination with multiple shells and novel coatings. Eventually, I ended up preferring the look of tennis balls. Tennis balls are big and clearly visible from any stage, they are "real" objects that the audience may relate to, and they combine nicely with soap bubble work.
Loving Mentalism: Ghost Words
Ian Rowland
A double prediction is on the menu this month, and a neat twist is that both predictions are on view right from the start but will never be noticed! Having introduced a general theme of travel around the world, you get a couple of spectators to mix and shuffle cards bearing the names of countries of the world. They can shuffle as much as they like for as long as they like, until even they don't know the order of the countries - and yet you have successfully predicted the precise outcome of all their random mixing! It all adds up to a playful little mystery with a satisfyingly ingenious finish.
Bent on Deception: It's on Your Back!
Mike Bent
If I'm performing on any given weekend, I most likely have a very powerful magnet in my right back pocket. This guarantees two things: 1) I will wipe out my credit cards at least once a year by accidentally placing my wallet into that pocket, and 2) while pumping gas, my butt will get pulled over and stick to my car with a loud clunk. The reason for the magnet is that, in a kid show, there's nothing funnier than an object appearing on your butt. Over the years, I have had countless fake hairy spiders, missing mittens, animal tails, zombie hands, and sturdy Bristol-board cats appear on my butt - and every time, the kids go nuts.
The Monk's Way: So You Want to Be Famous
Steve Reynolds
Our libraries (digital and otherwise - cough - books!) are filled with great magic - tricks we've read, liked, and quickly passed by. But there's gold in them thar hills! Look through any book by a reputable creator and you'll find some gems. Why do we pass them by? I decided to make a long list of tricks that I knew were good, strong, classic effects. Then I asked the question, Why don't I perform them? At the top of that list was the Torn & Restored Card. I had worked through numerous methods over the years and there was a popularity that "grinded out many a method." But I never performed the trick. Why? It's a good effect.
Classic Correspondence: Milbourne Christopher to Delmas Jenkins
Mike Caveney
It seems fitting that Milbourne Christopher should take center stage in "Classic Correspondence," considering the vast influence he cast over an entire generation of magic historians, myself included. And this is not the first time that Delmas Jenkins' name has appeared in the "Classic Correspondence" series. Letters number 3 and 6 (this is letter number 67) were addressed to him. Delmas was a magician from Nashville who specialized in mentalism. During the 1920s, his personal stationery read: Delmas Jenkins The Magical Wizard - Presenting the Greatest Mystery Show on Earth. In his later years, Delmas collected magic memorabilia, including posters, photos, brochures, and the like. David Price, who also lived in Nashville, was a close friend and thus, upon Delmas' demise in 1985, his collection was incorporated into Egyptian Hall Museum.
For What It's Worth: The Convention is Coming! The Convention is Coming!
Mark Kornhauser
Two years ago at MAGIC Live 2013, I began a project called "My First Trick." We interviewed more than seventy professional magicians who talked about, and often demonstrated, the first trick that inspired them. There was a remarkable commonality in the stories, and some themes began to emerge. At MAGIC Live 2015, we will create additional footage with interviews on the convention floors. We want to see who and what inspires the young magicians of today and what aspirations they may have. And we will interview the older magicians of today who may reflect on their current aspirations and ponder "My Best Trick." But like everyone else attending the convention, I am looking forward to the shows, lectures, dealer room, surprises, and friends.
Walkabout Soup: The First Magic Lesson
Simon Coronel
One of the issues I've always noticed with the way magic is taught for beginners - whether via books, videos, or an in-person teacher - is how frustratingly "cookie-cutter" it tends to be. Students are usually taught just how to "do" the trick rather than how to fully perform it, and when they are given presentational advice, it's usually just a generic canned script. Back in Melbourne, between about 2007 and 2011, I taught a course called "Close-up Magic For Beginners" at the Centre for Adult Education, a government-sponsored short courses organization. In that time, I taught the course to about 150 people with their own very different backgrounds, personalities, and reasons for being there. I kept trying to find ways to get the students to bring their own personalities and backgrounds into their performances, right from the very first lesson.
JULY 2015
VOLUME 24
NUMBER 11
Disneyland's Main Street Magic: The Magic Inside the Kingdom
By Kari Hendler
When Walt Disney opened his first theme park in 1955, he made sure to have a magic shop there from the very beginning. Two years later, a second shop opened, and Main Street Magic has provided the stuff that dreams are made of ever since.
Dan White - Portrait of an Artist
By Jamie D. Grant
Having created effects and routines for some of the biggest names in magic, Dan White has also taken the spotlight with his own televised magic specials. His latest venture is a live show in New York City, where he bewilders audiences each weekend.
Magic Castle Awards: The Best of Both Worlds
By Stan Allen
The 47th Academy of Magical Arts Awards were presented during a gala evening in Beverly Hills, bringing together magicians from around the world and reaffirming the ties between the Academy and The Magic Castle.
The Many Lives of Lynetta Welch
By Jaq Greenspon
She's both a seamstress and a sorceress. Lynetta Welch's background in magic and skill in sewing, along with her work as a researcher and fabric historian, make her not only highly regarded but also unique in her field.
Plus Updates on...
- Greg Wilson's The Magic of Imagination onstage with Tomorrowland.
- Ashley Springer's web series, The Impossibilities.
- A new TV season of Masters of Illusion.
- The Surrealists on Fake Off.
- The Midwest Magic History Weekend.
- Magic on TV, stage, and in exhibition in the US, the UK, and Germany.
- MAGIC Magazine "Conventions at a Glance."
- Greg Wilson onstage with a grand illusion performed only once in The Magic of Imagination.
- Jim Burns' Nickel-Dime Dazzler routine, described by Mike Rogers and Jon Racherbaumer.
- The full listing of cast and effects on each episode of the upcoming Masters of Illusion series.
- All 18 of the products reviewed in the July issue, plus 435 reviews from previous issues, are all now available at the fully searchable "Marketplace" section of M360.
- A link to a documentary on the work of linocut artist Dave Lefner.
Eighteen products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Gabe Fajuri, Jared Kopf, Francis Menotti, John Wilson:
The Bammo Ten Card Deal Dossier by Bob Farmer
Multitude by Vincent Hedan
Topit Revolution by Edouard Boulanger
Thru by Daniel Bryan and Mystique Factory
Switchcraft by Karl Hein & Gregory Wilson
Impossible Box V2.0 by Ray Roch
Mint by Steve Rowe
The Cube+ by Takamitsu Usui
Tremble by Magician: Anonymous
Bandwidth by Gregory Wilson
Inked by Fred Darevil and Alakazam Magic
Last Laugh by Mark Elsdon
P'ink by Ran Pink
Spirit Slates
Handomatic by Mark Southworth
EVP by Alan Rorrison
Promotion by Kyle Purnell
Portable Pro Busker's Table by Happie Amp
Finn Jon's Esoterica: Multiplying Tennis Balls
Finn Jon
In this effect, the magician takes out a tennis ball and shows his hands to be otherwise fully empty. He grabs into the air in front of him, and successively three tennis balls appear out of nowhere; the magician handles them freely and shows his hands empty at all points during the ball production. Ball productions have always been cornerstone effects in my act since the very beginning. I started out with De Kolta Billiard Ball productions using several half-shells, and in the 1980s, while working in Paris, I experimented a lot with sponge balls, often in combination with multiple shells and novel coatings. Eventually, I ended up preferring the look of tennis balls. Tennis balls are big and clearly visible from any stage, they are "real" objects that the audience may relate to, and they combine nicely with soap bubble work.
Loving Mentalism: Ghost Words
Ian Rowland
A double prediction is on the menu this month, and a neat twist is that both predictions are on view right from the start but will never be noticed! Having introduced a general theme of travel around the world, you get a couple of spectators to mix and shuffle cards bearing the names of countries of the world. They can shuffle as much as they like for as long as they like, until even they don't know the order of the countries - and yet you have successfully predicted the precise outcome of all their random mixing! It all adds up to a playful little mystery with a satisfyingly ingenious finish.
Bent on Deception: It's on Your Back!
Mike Bent
If I'm performing on any given weekend, I most likely have a very powerful magnet in my right back pocket. This guarantees two things: 1) I will wipe out my credit cards at least once a year by accidentally placing my wallet into that pocket, and 2) while pumping gas, my butt will get pulled over and stick to my car with a loud clunk. The reason for the magnet is that, in a kid show, there's nothing funnier than an object appearing on your butt. Over the years, I have had countless fake hairy spiders, missing mittens, animal tails, zombie hands, and sturdy Bristol-board cats appear on my butt - and every time, the kids go nuts.
The Monk's Way: So You Want to Be Famous
Steve Reynolds
Our libraries (digital and otherwise - cough - books!) are filled with great magic - tricks we've read, liked, and quickly passed by. But there's gold in them thar hills! Look through any book by a reputable creator and you'll find some gems. Why do we pass them by? I decided to make a long list of tricks that I knew were good, strong, classic effects. Then I asked the question, Why don't I perform them? At the top of that list was the Torn & Restored Card. I had worked through numerous methods over the years and there was a popularity that "grinded out many a method." But I never performed the trick. Why? It's a good effect.
Classic Correspondence: Milbourne Christopher to Delmas Jenkins
Mike Caveney
It seems fitting that Milbourne Christopher should take center stage in "Classic Correspondence," considering the vast influence he cast over an entire generation of magic historians, myself included. And this is not the first time that Delmas Jenkins' name has appeared in the "Classic Correspondence" series. Letters number 3 and 6 (this is letter number 67) were addressed to him. Delmas was a magician from Nashville who specialized in mentalism. During the 1920s, his personal stationery read: Delmas Jenkins The Magical Wizard - Presenting the Greatest Mystery Show on Earth. In his later years, Delmas collected magic memorabilia, including posters, photos, brochures, and the like. David Price, who also lived in Nashville, was a close friend and thus, upon Delmas' demise in 1985, his collection was incorporated into Egyptian Hall Museum.
For What It's Worth: The Convention is Coming! The Convention is Coming!
Mark Kornhauser
Two years ago at MAGIC Live 2013, I began a project called "My First Trick." We interviewed more than seventy professional magicians who talked about, and often demonstrated, the first trick that inspired them. There was a remarkable commonality in the stories, and some themes began to emerge. At MAGIC Live 2015, we will create additional footage with interviews on the convention floors. We want to see who and what inspires the young magicians of today and what aspirations they may have. And we will interview the older magicians of today who may reflect on their current aspirations and ponder "My Best Trick." But like everyone else attending the convention, I am looking forward to the shows, lectures, dealer room, surprises, and friends.
Walkabout Soup: The First Magic Lesson
Simon Coronel
One of the issues I've always noticed with the way magic is taught for beginners - whether via books, videos, or an in-person teacher - is how frustratingly "cookie-cutter" it tends to be. Students are usually taught just how to "do" the trick rather than how to fully perform it, and when they are given presentational advice, it's usually just a generic canned script. Back in Melbourne, between about 2007 and 2011, I taught a course called "Close-up Magic For Beginners" at the Centre for Adult Education, a government-sponsored short courses organization. In that time, I taught the course to about 150 people with their own very different backgrounds, personalities, and reasons for being there. I kept trying to find ways to get the students to bring their own personalities and backgrounds into their performances, right from the very first lesson.