Showing posts with label International Magic Convention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International Magic Convention. Show all posts
14 November 2011
Let the contest begin!
Saturday 19th November at 10am sees the 28th International Magic Close Up Competition for The Kevin Reay Trophy. The international field competing is:-
Ludovic Julliot - France
James Piper - Wales
Benoit Dulche - France
PIPO - Spain
Claes Danell - Sweden
Andost - USA
Javi Sánchez - Spain
Paul Sommersguter - Austria
Hayashi - Germany
Trabuk - Italy
Alexander Popov - Russia
Hector Mancha - Spain
Hide - Japan
Woody Aragón - Spain
René Jensen - Denmark
Lord Lucan aka Magic Paul - UK
I think it's safe to say that I'm looking forward to this year's convention. Hopefully I'll see you there.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
Magic Fever
Today sees the start of a week of magic in London with the launch of the LONDON FESTIVAL OF MAGIC at the intimate Bridewell Theatre, followed by a weekend of action packed magic commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the International Magic Convention at the fabulous Mermaid Theatre (the theatres are within 5 minutes walk of each other).
The Convention weekend kicks off at 7:30pm on the Friday 17th November with the first ever European appearance of Harry Anderson when he not only performs his one man show, "Tipping The Hat" but then dissects the whole show with trick explanations and analysis in the lecture that follows it.
The whole weekend contains many such firsts and surprises with two previously unannounced acts in the Gala Show, the awarding of The David Berglas International Magic Award to it's mystery recipient, and a 'never-to-be-repeated' moment with David Williamson - you won't want to miss it! For more information and schedule details check our site on www.internationalmagic.com
Speak soon
The Cardman :-)
26 October 2011
Truly International
In just over 3 weeks, on Saturday 19th November, 17 competitors from 12 countries (including Japan, Canada, USA, France, Spain, Sweden, Russia, Denmark and Italy) will compete for the Kevin Reay Trophy along with a £1000 cash prize in the International Close Up Competition at The Mermaid Theatre in London. This event forms just part of the packed weekend International Magic Convention which includes lectures, close up shows, a full evening Gala Show and the presentation of The David Berglas International Magic Award. Celebrating it’s 40th anniversary this year, the Convention is at the end of a week when the MacMillan family also produce their very first Festival of Magic at the Bridewell Theatre.
For full details of all the seminars, shows and events in both these talent-packed fixtures please visit the International Magic website.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
For full details of all the seminars, shows and events in both these talent-packed fixtures please visit the International Magic website.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
22 October 2011
Whoa and wow!
Hi folks
More news and information has arrived from the gang at International Magic about this year's convention, which is only 4 short weeks away.
Unfortunately Paul Stockman has had to withdraw from the Mentalism Day of the Festival of Magic being held in central London on November 16th, but we are thrilled to announce that Chris Cox - star of 5 Edinburgh Fringe Shows, 3 UK Tours and "one of the most exciting entertainers in Britain" (The Guardian) - has stepped in and will be making his very first ever lecture/appearance at a magic event. He will be joining Andy Nyman, Luke Jermay and Mark Elsdon for a full day of talks, explanations and discussion all revolving around the most rapidly expanding genre of magic today. Tickets and details are available for not only this day but all the other full day seminars in the week can be found on the International Magic website.
And following the sell out of Max Maven’s One Man Show, the performance of our Magic & Variety Gala on Saturday 19th November has now sold out too, however there are currently still tickets for the same show on Sunday 20th November and also tickets available for all other events in the Convention weekend.
And finally, the convention rate hotel rooms have now sold out at the Crowne Plaza Blackfriars but as an alternative, we have arranged a very good rate for the convention weekend with Thistle Barbican (1.4miles away from the convention site). Contact them directly with booking code INTE181111 on admin.citybarbican@thistle.co.uk
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
More news and information has arrived from the gang at International Magic about this year's convention, which is only 4 short weeks away.
And following the sell out of Max Maven’s One Man Show, the performance of our Magic & Variety Gala on Saturday 19th November has now sold out too, however there are currently still tickets for the same show on Sunday 20th November and also tickets available for all other events in the Convention weekend.
And finally, the convention rate hotel rooms have now sold out at the Crowne Plaza Blackfriars but as an alternative, we have arranged a very good rate for the convention weekend with Thistle Barbican (1.4miles away from the convention site). Contact them directly with booking code INTE181111 on admin.citybarbican@thistle.co.uk
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
15 October 2011
Tickets are going... going... (very nearly) gone!
Hi folks
There is just over a month to go before the International Magic Convention (18-20 November) and the London Festival of Magic (14-20 November) and now is the time to register as some of the events are close to being full (the Sunday Night performance of the Gala Show) while some have only just a handful of tickets left (the Saturday Night performance of the Gala Show). Do not be as disappointed as those who left it too late and missed out on the Max Maven Show (which is now completely sold out although you can join the waiting list).
The Convention has something for everyone, whilst the individual day seminars during the week concentrating separately on Advanced Card Technique, Mentalism, Creativity, Marketing and Making Magic Memorable allow you to focus on your special area of interest and spend even more time with the stars of the Convention.
I've said this a number of times over the last wee while, but the International Magic weekend is one of the highlights of my year and something I always really look forward to. You will not be disappointed!
Full details, as well as information on how to get tickets, are available on the International Magic website.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
08 October 2011
An additional name added to The London Festival of Magic
Hi folks
Today, I have a little bit more information about this year's London Festival Of Magic, taking place next month (yay!) in London. I'm going to hand you over to Noel Britten, the Talent Co-Ordinator of both The London Festival Of Magic and The International Magic Convention who will give you all the details.
“In the world of magic the word ‘genius’ is bandied around rather too freely in my mind. For those of you who would like to experience the presence of someone who truly deserves the title should make sure that they are in London on November 18th.
Lubor Fiedler will be making his first appearance in over 10 years, and joining the Creativity Seminar which forms part of the London’s Festival Of Magic (which is taking place all that week in the lead up to The International Magic Convention). Creator of some of the most stunning visual and original effects in magic, Lubor’s methods are often as entertaining as the initial effect, and many which remain as baffling to you even when you perform them! Often uncredited it was Lubor who invented, amongst many hundreds of other of effects, the Coin Thru Rubber, 4-D, Invisible Zone and Gozinta Boxes (you can check them out on You Tube!).
Lubor will be joining Tom Stone and Mark Setteducati for a whole day of performance, explanations, lectures and discussion and this will be an unmissable day to witness and experience three of magic’s most creative minds. I expect it to be a really fascinating day, and in these days of people thinking that using red-backed cards instead of blue as some huge creative leap, I urge people to come and be inspired into thinking in a more creative way in terms of both what they do and how they do it. The evening sees the start of the Convention with Harry Anderson’s first UK appearance and lecture, so even if you are working at the weekend, this one day alone would be worth attending.”
Remember that registration details can be found at The International Magic website but act quickly as I understand that tickets for all events are going very quickly.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
Today, I have a little bit more information about this year's London Festival Of Magic, taking place next month (yay!) in London. I'm going to hand you over to Noel Britten, the Talent Co-Ordinator of both The London Festival Of Magic and The International Magic Convention who will give you all the details.
“In the world of magic the word ‘genius’ is bandied around rather too freely in my mind. For those of you who would like to experience the presence of someone who truly deserves the title should make sure that they are in London on November 18th.
Lubor will be joining Tom Stone and Mark Setteducati for a whole day of performance, explanations, lectures and discussion and this will be an unmissable day to witness and experience three of magic’s most creative minds. I expect it to be a really fascinating day, and in these days of people thinking that using red-backed cards instead of blue as some huge creative leap, I urge people to come and be inspired into thinking in a more creative way in terms of both what they do and how they do it. The evening sees the start of the Convention with Harry Anderson’s first UK appearance and lecture, so even if you are working at the weekend, this one day alone would be worth attending.”
Remember that registration details can be found at The International Magic website but act quickly as I understand that tickets for all events are going very quickly.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
24 September 2011
International Magic's London Festival of Magic - Bad News and Good News...
Hi folks
Today's blog post brings us more information about International Magic's Festival of Magic, which will be taking place from Monday 14th to Thursday 17th November in the Bridewell Theatre in London, immediately prior to the 40th International Magic Convention - 18th to 20th November at the Mermaid Theatre. I'll pass you onto the gang from International Magic...
“Max Maven – Thinking In Person”, which forms part of the Festival of Magic at the Bridewell Theatre, has now sold out. To compensate for all those Maven devotees that are unable to join him that night, Max has agreed to an intimate evening of interview, including questions from the audience, on the preceding Thursday night, 17th November, at the same location. The evening will be one of the 5 evenings at the venue that comprise the public show element of the Festival.
Monday 14th November sees a rare re-incarnation of John Lenahan’s Monday Night Magic with guests including John Archer and Danny Buckler, Tuesday 15th November comprises of a double bill with a gambling based show comprising of individual sets from Guy Hollingworth, Jason England and Paul Wilson followed by Pete Wardell’s one man show “Hustle”. Wednesday night, 16th November, is another double bill of both Todd Landman and Quentin Reynold’s individual mentalism-based one man shows.
Booking details for all these evening shows and events can be found at the London Festival of Magic pages on the International Magic website which, with the sliding price scale based on the number of evenings you attend, gives unbeatable value for money, starting at under £7 per event.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
Today's blog post brings us more information about International Magic's Festival of Magic, which will be taking place from Monday 14th to Thursday 17th November in the Bridewell Theatre in London, immediately prior to the 40th International Magic Convention - 18th to 20th November at the Mermaid Theatre. I'll pass you onto the gang from International Magic...
“Max Maven – Thinking In Person”, which forms part of the Festival of Magic at the Bridewell Theatre, has now sold out. To compensate for all those Maven devotees that are unable to join him that night, Max has agreed to an intimate evening of interview, including questions from the audience, on the preceding Thursday night, 17th November, at the same location. The evening will be one of the 5 evenings at the venue that comprise the public show element of the Festival.Monday 14th November sees a rare re-incarnation of John Lenahan’s Monday Night Magic with guests including John Archer and Danny Buckler, Tuesday 15th November comprises of a double bill with a gambling based show comprising of individual sets from Guy Hollingworth, Jason England and Paul Wilson followed by Pete Wardell’s one man show “Hustle”. Wednesday night, 16th November, is another double bill of both Todd Landman and Quentin Reynold’s individual mentalism-based one man shows.
Booking details for all these evening shows and events can be found at the London Festival of Magic pages on the International Magic website which, with the sliding price scale based on the number of evenings you attend, gives unbeatable value for money, starting at under £7 per event.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
27 August 2011
International Magic Close Up Competition
Hi folks
Always a high spot of The International Magic Convention, the Close Up Competition has now reached it's allocated number of entrants. If you wish to be added to the waiting list, for a spot in the event of drop outs, please contact georgia@internationalmagic.com.
The winning performer, picked by the international panel of judges which includes many foreign Convention organisers, wins the Kevin Reay Trophy, an invitation to the FFFF Convention in America and £1000 cash. In the year leading up to each FISM Convention the Competition has traditionally had a very high standard and MacMillan family hope that you'll be able to join them this year for another exciting event.
If you do not believe me about how strong the competition can be, get in touch with the gang at International and buy yourself the DVDs of the 2005 International Close Up Competition. The calibre that year was the best I had seen in any competition outwith FISM.
As always, registration details for the whole Convention and other extra magical events in the same week can be found on the International Magic website.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
17 August 2011
International Magic Gala Show
Hi folks
The Gala Show (19 & 20 November) at this years International Magic Convention - known affectionately known as “Ron’s” - once again promises to be a wonderful evening’s entertainment of magic and variety including three completely new-to-the-UK acts. These include a phenomenal Korean manipulator, a German act packed with unbelievable magic and surprises and an act based on one of the oldest principles in magic but brought bang up to date with a contemporary twist. We’d tell you their names but in this day of You Tube we’d much prefer you to experience their magic for the first time live and in person in the comfort of The Mermaid Theatre rather than alone on a computer screen!
Tickets are available for Saturday and Sunday night – but remember if you’re planning to attend the one-off Saturday Night performance of Max Maven’s one man show Thinking in Person: An Evening of Knowing and Not Knowing at The Bridewell Theatre you will definitely need to book Gala Show tickets for the Sunday. Tickets for all shows, the Convention and specialist seminars in London’s Festival of Magic are available on the International Magic website.
The Gala Show (19 & 20 November) at this years International Magic Convention - known affectionately known as “Ron’s” - once again promises to be a wonderful evening’s entertainment of magic and variety including three completely new-to-the-UK acts. These include a phenomenal Korean manipulator, a German act packed with unbelievable magic and surprises and an act based on one of the oldest principles in magic but brought bang up to date with a contemporary twist. We’d tell you their names but in this day of You Tube we’d much prefer you to experience their magic for the first time live and in person in the comfort of The Mermaid Theatre rather than alone on a computer screen!
Alongside these acts premièring in Great Britain, are some old favourites from previous Gala Shows including David Williamson, Simmons and Simmons, and London’s first stage appearance of Sweden’s Tom Stone. A great evening of magic, laughter and speciality acts that you can be proud to bring your friend and families to.
Tickets are available for Saturday and Sunday night – but remember if you’re planning to attend the one-off Saturday Night performance of Max Maven’s one man show Thinking in Person: An Evening of Knowing and Not Knowing at The Bridewell Theatre you will definitely need to book Gala Show tickets for the Sunday. Tickets for all shows, the Convention and specialist seminars in London’s Festival of Magic are available on the International Magic website.
If you have been reading my blog over the last wee while, you will know how much I enjoy the International Magic Convention. The Gala Show is always one of the many highlights and this year looks no different. Book your tickets before it's too late!
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
03 August 2011
The 40th International Magic Convention and The London Festival of Magic
Hi folks
The gang at International Magic have been really busy over the last few weeks, not only putting the 40th edition of the International Magic Convention (18th to 20th November) but also organising the first London Festival of Magic which will take place the week leading up to the Convention itself.
The Festival will feature Workshops and Seminars during the day and performances at night, all taking place at the Bridewell Theatre, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London. The daytime events are 10:30am for an 11am start and the evening events are 7pm for a 7:30pm start. Here is the schedule of what has been organised:-
Monday 14th November
Daytime: Marketing For Magicians with Bob Yelland
Evening: Monday Night Magic - a varied bill of top class magical and comedy performers.
Tuesday 15th November
Daytime: Advanced Card Techniques with Guy Hollingworth, Jason England, Ben Earl and Paul Wilson
Evening: Hustle! - Double bill of performances. Combined show of Guy Hollingworth, Jason England and Paul Wilson followed by Pete Wardell's One Man Show
Wednesday 16th November
Daytime: Mentalism with Andy Nyman, Paul Stockman, Mark Elsdon and Luke Jermay
Evening: Mentalism with Quentin Reynolds and Todd Landman
Thursday 17th November
Daytime: Making Magic Meaningful with Eugene Burger and Larry Hass
Evening: An Audience With David Berglas - A chance to spend an evening with the International Man of Mystery in an intimate setting as he answers questions and looks back at his incredible career.
Friday 18th November
Daytime: Creativity with Tom Stone, Mark Setteducati, Angelo Carbone
Saturday 19th November
Evening: Max Maven Thinking in Person: An Evening of Knowing and Not Knowing
The schedule for the Convention itself has also been announced. As it has the last couple of years, the convention is taking place at the Mermaid Theatre, Puddle Dock, London - in my opinion, a brilliant venue. Here is what has been organised:-
Friday 18th November
Evening (doors open 6:30pm for 7pm start):
Harry Anderson Show
Saturday 19th November
Daytime (doors open 9:30am, first event 10am):
Dealers - open all day
28th International Close Up Competition and Kevin Reay Trophy
Eugene Burger Lecture
David Williamson Event
Jason England Lecture
Dealers - open all day
28th International Close Up Competition and Kevin Reay Trophy
Eugene Burger Lecture
David Williamson Event
Jason England Lecture
Evening (doors open 6pm for 7:30pm start):
International Magic and Variety Show (first performance)
Saturday 19th November
Daytime (doors open 10am, first event 10:30am):
Dealers - open all day
Larry Hass Lecture
Close Up Gala with Eugene Burger Lecture, Larry Hass, David Williamson, Tom Stone, Jason England
Max Maven Lecture
Tom Stone Lecture
David Berglas Award to ????
Evening (doors open 6pm for 7:30pm start):
International Magic and Variety Show (second performance)
So there you have it folks. Now we know what's happening when and I, for one, cannot wait. Just remember, it's only 3½ months away!
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
14 July 2011
Surprise, Surprise!
Hi folks
This time, instead of me typing the words, here's a wee message from the MacMillan Family themselves about this year's International Magic Convention.
“For the last few years the ultimate event of the Sunday daytime of The International Magic Convention (18th to 20th November) has been the presentation of the David Berglas International Magic Award. Always a closely guarded secret the recipients over the last few years include Uri Geller, David Copperfield and Juan Tamariz, all of whom have been happy to answer questions from the assembled audience at The Mermaid Theatre in London following the presentation. The surprise element of who the recipient is going to be has always created an incredible buzz in the theatre leading up to the proceedings and some of our most cherished memories of the Convention. Once again David Berglas has another amazing event planned for this year, and once again we’d like you to join him and us not only for that but also many other fantastic lectures and shows to celebrate our 40th Anniversary”.
Signed - The MacMillan Family
From a personal standpoint, I think Sunday at 5pm at the International Magic Convention is not only a highlight of the convention, but a highlight of the year as a whole. From Uri Geller being willing to face any question (whether he answered them is another matter!) to David Copperfield spending an hour with us via Skype from his base in Las Vegas to David Berglas and Juan Tamariz conspiring to fool every person in the theatre by making us think that the Skype link had failed and then the Maestro walking on stage moments later, I cannot wait for Mr Berglas to make this year's presentation.
Speak soon
The Cardman :-)
04 July 2011
A scoop at the International Magic Convention
Hi folks
International Magic are proud to announce that Harry Anderson will be making his first ever European Magic Convention appearance at this year's International Magic Convention. With multiple appearances on USA’s Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, as well as being a regular guest artist in Cheers, a star of his 2 very own highly successful sitcoms spanning 12 years and as one of the USA’s most revered comedy magicians, it seems inconceivable that he has never before appeared at a European Magic Convention, but that will all change later this year when Harry Anderson not only performs his one man show, but then reveals and dissects everything in it in a follow up lecture at The International Magic Convention in London (November 18-20). If you need any more convincing that this will be a truly unmissable event, check out any review of Mike Caveney’s number one best seller “Wise Guy”.
Harry will open the Convention on the Friday Night and is just one of very many special events planned, not only during the Convention but also in London’s Festival of Magic in the week leading up to it. If you’re a magic fan there will be no better time to visit London – watch magicweek over the next month to read of just some of the spectacular seminar and one-off events that we’ve planned to celebrate this, the 40th year of London’s only annual Convention.
I'll be posting more details in the coming weeks leading up to the convention, so stay tuned!
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
24 June 2011
Williamson Alert!
Hi folks
Well, more information has been handed to me from the gang at International Magic about this year's convention. They are very happy to announce that David Williamson, magic’s greatest comedic force of nature, will be one of the many artists appearing at their 40th Anniversary Convention, taking place in London from November 18th to 20th.
David will be performing in both the Close Up and Stage Gala Shows, and also no doubt popping up in the most of unexpected of places. It marks one of a repeat number of appearances at the Convention (known affectionately as “Ron’s” after Ron MacMillan who started the Convention back in 1970) since 1984 when David made his debut UK convention appearance at this very gathering. Once again this year we plan to introduce similar artistes who, although may be unknown to you now, are in our minds destined to become the next big names in magic.
Registration details can be found in the Convention pages of the International Magic website.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
20 June 2011
"Max Maven Thinking In Person" in London
Hi folks
First of all, my apologies for not posting over the weekend. Family stuff and whatnot. Also, the gang at International Magic have asked me to hold off on mentioning the name that I hinted at in my last blog post. I am respecting that request and hope that you do too. Thanks.
Max Maven will be lecturing all new material to the UK, at the International Magic Convention being held later this year (18-20 November) at The Mermaid Theatre. This will herald Max’s first appearance in London for 10 years, and we are thrilled to announce that in addition to his lecture at the Convention, he will also be presenting his full evening one man show “Max Maven Thinking in Person: An Evening of Knowing and Not Knowing” at the Bridewell Theatre on the Saturday evening. This show, that the New York Times observed as “a category defying mind-reading show that veers into conceptual art”, has never been performed before in the UK, and proves why Entertainment Tonight crowned him at “the master mind reader” in this show which has been described as “a rare and precious piece of magical theatre”. Max’s show will be one of the extra events being organized throughout the week, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of London’s only annual magic Convention.
Tickets for this two hour show are available individually at £25, but may also be taken instead of a Convention Gala Show ticket if you are booking a registration for the convention.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
13 June 2011
2011 International Magic Convention
Hi folks
Five months from now sees one of my favourite times of the year - the International Magic Convention in London (aka Ron's Day or, simply, Ron's). It was established by Ron MacMillan, who started the International Magic shop in London (hence the convention nicknames). Not only is 2011 the 50th anniversary of the shop itself (you can read a great article about the shop on the Spitalfields Life website), it is also their 40th annual Convention and so they are pulling out all the stops, putting them back in and pulling them all back out again to make this year's really special.
The celebrations start on Monday 14th November with the very first London Festival of Magic and while full information has still to be announced, 4 days of workshops and evening performances are promised featuring a Bizarre Night, a Mentalism Night, a Burlesque Night and a Comedy Night.
Friday 18th November to Sunday 20th November sees the 40th International Magic Convention itself taking place at The Mermaid Theatre located on the banks of the River Thames. Please remember that this year's convention is a week earlier than it usually is! The star line up, organised by Noel Britten, looks fantastic and includes...
- Eugene Burger
- Max Maven
- David Williamson
- Jerome Helfenstein
- An Ha Lim
- Larry Hass
- Simmons & Simmons
- and more to be announced!
Another big name is being announced on Saturday and I will post who that is this weekend. Don't ask me to tell you before hand because I can't. No, seriously I can't tell you! Please, stop asking! You'll find out this weekend, OK?! OK.
And don't forget the 28th International Close Up Magic Competition, now regarded as one of the most prestigious competitions in magic with a list of winners that reads like a who's who in close up. If you wish to add your name to the list, get in touch with the gang at International as soon as you can and they will give you details on how to enter.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
01 January 2011
2010 International Magic Convention
As ever at the end of November, International Magic held their annual convention in central London. As ever at the end of November, I was there to enjoy what was, in my opinion, one of the best conventions it has been my pleasure to attend in quite some time. It was a great chance to catch up with friends that I hadn't seen since last year's convention - and some I hadn't seen in 4 or 5 years!
This year, I was staying at the Clink Hostel on King's Cross Road. Granted, it was a bit of a walk from the convention at the Mermaid Conference Centre (about a mile and a half at 2am - after the late night sessions had finished) but it was exactly what I was after - clean, cheap and a bed for the night.
Events kicked off on the Friday night with a show by the German collective commonly known as "The Flicking Fingers". Simply put - brilliant. Running gags through the show, including the most English of English magicians, Guy Hollingworth, trying to join the Germans(!), as well as some brilliant magic immediately made this one of the highlights of the convention. After that, an interview with Canadian magician David Ben. Ben had been a student of Ross Bertram, a brilliant Canadian performer and creator (if you can, you really should try to find both books that he wrote - The Magic and Methods of Ross Bertram and Bertram on Sleight Of Hand - as well as the DVDs that L&L brought out some time ago of his performing and teaching films). The interview, conducted by Matt Field, was both fascinating and entertaining with Ben demonstrating his wide range of skills including coin magic and some brilliant card table artifice.
For me, the Friday ended with the first of 2 amazing dinners to happen that weekend. Somehow, I ended up at the Bengal Tiger Indian Restaurant in Carter Lane (just round the corner from St Paul's Cathedral) with all the Flicking Fingers and around 5 or 6 others. It was entertaining walking into the restaurant without a booking and asking for a table for 20 or so! But, they were great and seated us at a couple of tables. I ended up sitting at a table with 6 of the Germans (there's got to be a joke there somewhere - 6 Germans and a Scotsman in an Indian Restaurant...!). Great fun it was, too. Thanks to Pit Hartling, Jorg Alexander, Gaston and the others for keeping me part of the conversation and for making it a very enjoyable evening.
Saturday morning saw the 2010 International Magic Close Up Competition, which is now widely regarded as one of the most prestigious competitions in magic to win and whose list of winners reads like a who's who in Close Up. The standard of this year's competition was pretty decent with the major prize winners all standing out from the rest of the crowd, yet difficult to separate. In the end, the award winners were:-
1st Prize: Mathew Wright (UK)
2nd Prize: Kim Min Hyung (Korea)
3rd Prize: Alexander Hansford (UK)
Merit Awards: Paul Sommerguter (Austria), Rene Jensen (Denmark) and Andost (USA)
Saturday afternoon saw the first of the lectures with David Ben talking about presentation and illustrating it with a masterful performance of the classic Egg Bag. Very interesting stuff. After David were 2 of the Flicking Fingers - Jorg Alexander and Jorg Willich. Alexander taught a wonderful borrowed ring to nest of boxes routine while Willich talked a lot about presentation, illustrating his points by producing a full can of cola from inside his shoe.
The lectures were followed by a special tribute show in honour of the late, great Jim Cellini. Cellini was a good friend to the International Convention, always there simply to hang out and meet up with friends. He was regarded by those in the know as the greatest street magician of all time - possibly the greatest street performer of all time - and the line up of talent that gathered to pay tribute showed how well loved and well respected he was.
Because of the size of the auditorium at The Mermaid, the Gala Show at the International Convention is performed twice. I usually go on the Sunday night and this year was no different, meaning that I had the Saturday night to do what I like. This year, I went to dinner with a group of people who are regarded as some of the best performers and scholars in magic. I looked at the group I was with and realised that, as a magician, I was the only one I'd never heard of! It was a fascinating evening of conversation, magic and phenomenal Italian food. I also ate crab for the first time!
From left to right, Me, John Carney, David Ben, Paul Kieve,
Michael Albright, Guy Hollingworth and Peter Lamont
My next event is always highly anticipated by everyone who attends the convention. For the last few years, the David Berglas Foundation for Promoting the Art of Magic has presented the Berglas Award to a surprise recipient. The first time, in 2007, it was presented to the MacMillan family for all their work with the convention. In 2008, it was Uri Geller, who then stayed and took part in a fascinating question and answer session. 2009 saw David Copperfield being presented with the award and, thanks to the magic of Skype, he was gracious enough to participate in a Q&A session.
This year, it was presented to the brilliant Juan Tamariz - the Spanish card expert who is a house-hold name in the Spanish speaking world as well as being one of the most respected performers and thinkers within the magic world. As with last year, a Skype conference had been set up between London and Spain so that Sr Tamariz could answer our questions but technical problems caused the image to freeze after only a couple of questions. A few moments later, David Berglas proved that he could fool over 500 magicians by, with a magical gesture, producing Juan Tamariz live on stage in London. Sr Tamariz then went on to answer questions for an hour. It was a great surprise and something that none of us that were there will easily forget.
Michael Albright, Guy Hollingworth and Peter Lamont
Sunday gave us another cracking day. The Close Up Gala was of the highest standard. Hosted by John Lenahan, highlights included Tyler Wilson managing to get a card on the ceiling of the theatre and having to climb up a massive ladder at the side of the stage to get to it; Derek Hughes had the whole room laughing while he fooled us and Manuel Muerte performed his brilliant FISM act - and yes, the mouse went kaput! After the Close Up Gala came another lecture from more members of the Flicking Fingers - this time Pit Hartling and Manuel Muerte. This time, it was magic all the way with very little in the way of theory. Some great stuff.
My next event is always highly anticipated by everyone who attends the convention. For the last few years, the David Berglas Foundation for Promoting the Art of Magic has presented the Berglas Award to a surprise recipient. The first time, in 2007, it was presented to the MacMillan family for all their work with the convention. In 2008, it was Uri Geller, who then stayed and took part in a fascinating question and answer session. 2009 saw David Copperfield being presented with the award and, thanks to the magic of Skype, he was gracious enough to participate in a Q&A session.
This year, it was presented to the brilliant Juan Tamariz - the Spanish card expert who is a house-hold name in the Spanish speaking world as well as being one of the most respected performers and thinkers within the magic world. As with last year, a Skype conference had been set up between London and Spain so that Sr Tamariz could answer our questions but technical problems caused the image to freeze after only a couple of questions. A few moments later, David Berglas proved that he could fool over 500 magicians by, with a magical gesture, producing Juan Tamariz live on stage in London. Sr Tamariz then went on to answer questions for an hour. It was a great surprise and something that none of us that were there will easily forget.
Tamariz freezes on Skype with David Berglas onstage
Moments later, and Tamariz joins Berglas on stage
The Gala Show was excellent. Personal highlights included Noel Britten's (usual) brilliant hosting of the show, including running gags galore, Gunther's first Magicians' Anonymous meeting and Tom Noddy performing his wonderful bubble act.
Tom Noddy's Bubble Act
And so, with the Gala Show, the 2010 International Convention came to an end. Well, apart from the late night gathering in the bar. Loads of magicians talking and showing magic until the wee hours of the morning.
Chris Korn, one of the stars of BBC1's new show "The Magicians",
with Derek Hughes "passing by"
with Derek Hughes "passing by"
Next year's convention is the 40th edition and the organisers have a number of special events being planned for next November. If you're a magician, keep an eye on the International Magic website for more details.
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
31 December 2009
2009 International Magic Convention
Hi folks
I know that it was a few weeks ago, but I have not had a lot of time to be able to post this up. So, now that I've got a few minutes, let's get typing. Now, what was I going to type about? Oh yes...
London, London, London. I enjoy my now annual visit to the "big smoke" for a bunch of reasons. The buzz of the Christmas shoppers swarming along the pavements. Meeting up with friends old and new. Oh and the International Magic Convention, or "Ron's Day".
"Ron's Day" is now a weekend full of magic from the best performers in the world. As always, it is a great mix of established names and those that have yet to become established names in the magic world. This year was no different with Rene Lavand, Armando Lucero and Geoff Williams among those on the bill.
One of the real highlights of the convention each year is the International Magic Close Up Competition for the Kevin Raey Trophy. Now in its 26th year, the competition is one of the most prestegious in magic with a list of winners that reads like a Who's Who of Close Up magic in the last quarter of a century. Here's who took part this year, as well as a few notes that I scribbled at the time.
Rob James (UK)
Rob performed some of the material from act that he performed when I saw him at the IBM British Ring Competition in Eastbourne last year. He opened with a great effect with the cards and their case which caught me out and then his very funny routine with his “gag counter”, which, in the end, revealed a selected card. Rob closed with a very funny piece that was done to music but that his “thoughts” being broadcast for all to hear.
Keith Bennet (UK)
Keith came out and performed mentalism with a rubber chicken. This may sound somewhat weird, but there were some very funny moments in this act which ended up with a selected card inside said rubber chicken.
Oliver Meech (UK)
The premise of Oliver’s act was that he had lost his luggage when travelling to the convention so was performing with things he had found in his hotel room – including being dressed in his bathrobe and using its belt as a tie. He performed a clever effect with different spirits being poured out of the same miniature bottle from the mini bar. He also performed a nice Cups and Balls routine with tea cups and tea bags.
Jean Emmanuel Franzis (France)
Some major errors marred the start of this act but he did some really nice coin productions and some excellent coin work, including a clever 3 Fly style routine and ended with a brief tribute to some of Coin Magic’s masters.
Dr Gábor (Hungary)
Gábor presented an act based around card cheating, with Ace productions from a blue-backed deck, only for the aces to change to red backed. Some confusing handling and drawn-out presentations were peppered with moments of genius, especially with his cards out of the box routine. His act came close to the 12 minute time limit and he had to rush the end of his routine.
Alexander Popov (Russia)
Popov came out with the same crazy cuts and off-the-wall attitude that had endeared those of us that saw him at FISM 2006 in Stockholm. Strange whistles and noises as he performed seemingly impossible cuts while constantly finding a selected card caused laughter – mostly because a lot of the magicians watching were being fooled by what they were seeing. Completely unique card handling and he could be the Russian Lennart Green.
Paul Brown (UK)
Sadly, I missed Paul’s act as I was too busy chatting in the Dealers’ Room. Sorry.
Vladislav Kolmykov (Russia)
There seems to be a Russian tradition for making strange noises and whistles when performing magic. Kolmykov performed a Professor’s Nightmare routine which lulled everyone into a false sense of security before they realised they’d been fooled. A very clever version of David Regal’s “Sudden Deck” was followed by an Ambitious Card routine interspersed with the continual re-appearance of the card case around the cards. The Ambitious Card ended up being sealed inside a tin of fruit slices.
Woody Aragon (Spain)
Woody performed a very nice assembly routine with the assembling cards having different backs to the rest of the deck being used. He also performed an excellent colour-changing deck and finished by “painting” with the cards to spell out “38th Ron’s Day”.
Pete Hathaway (UK)
Hathaway came across as having used an unknown compound prior to coming on stage and started with a gag prediction of a mobile telephone number. He continued with some strange card work and an Ambitious Card routine that he seemed to forget part-way through.
Charming Choi (South Korea)
Choi’s performance persona is camper than a row of pink tents with little pink bows on them. He started with an unusual piece where he made a picture of a bicycle out of Bicycle brand playing cards and then caused the wheels to spin before producing a 6-inch high bicycle. He also had a clever twist on the Matrix routine where he made drawings of coins seem to move around the page. Sadly there were a few fumbles during his act that spoiled things a little but his finish – again, to do with drawings – was excellent. I won’t spoil it here – you’ll need to try and see him perform!
Johan Ståhl (Sweden)
Johan invited the rest of the audience to watch in as he performed a cup and ball (sugar cube) routine for one member of the audience, who turned out to be a phenomenal spectator! She reacted to everything wonderfully and really helped “make” the act, during which he produced items such as cup cales and a flask of coffee. Brilliant act.
John Van Der Put (UK)
John started by changing a balloon into an egg (interesting) and followed with a very nice 3-phase card under case routine. He then finished with his well-known card into computer screen act and his “VDP Card” effect.
Later on the Saturday afternoon, the award winners were announced. They were:-
1st - Johan Stahl (Sweden)
2nd - Woody Aragon (Spain)
3rd - Rob James (UK)
Awards of Merit - Alexander Popov (Russia), John van der Put (UK) and Charming Choi (Korea)
This year's convention was being held in a new venue - The Mermaid Theatre in Blackfriars. The venue was fantastic and the staff there were superb, friendly and very helpful. It looks like the Convention has found a new home - and it's a good one!
A performer regarded as the greatest Quick Change artist in the world, Arthuro Brachetti, took time out from his busy performing schedule to come and talk to the attendees of the convention and what a fascinating talk it was, too. If you get the chance to see him perform, or if you get the chance to hear him talk about his thoughts on performance, take it!
Meeting Arthuro Brachetti
As usual, there were lectures and performances galore. Two highlights for me from the lectures were Geoff Williams, whom I had met at the FFFF Convention in America back in April. His lecture was full of clever material as well as being very entertaining and REALLY funny. If you get a chance to see him lecture or perform near you, take it!
Geoff Williams performing in the bar before the Gala Show
Another highlight from the weekend was a stroke of complete luck! On the Saturday afternoon, I was walking back into the Convention Centre after lunch and heard the phrase "let's ask Peter" as I walked by the Registration Desk. I stopped and enquired what was wrong. I was asked "would you like to help Rene during his lecture?" Hmmmm, would I like to sit on stage and watch Rene Lavand up close during his lecture? Let me think about th... OK! And so, an hour or so later, I was on stage with close up legend Rene Lavand as he presented his lecture at the Convention. It was an excellent lecture - not just because I was sitting on stage with him. He told stories, he performed brilliant card magic and he answered questions. Fantastic stuff.
Watching Rene Lavand during his lecture
One final highlight from the weekend was the presentation of the David Berglas International Award for the Promotion of Magic. This is the third year of the award with the first recipients of the award being the MacMillan family, who have organised and run the International Magic Convention since the start of the 1970s. Last year, it was Uri Geller, who was kind enough to participate in a Question and Answer session.
This year's recipient could not make it to London to accept the award as he was in Las Vegas. But, thanks to a conference link, the award was presented to David Copperfield! The magician who got me interested in magic when he vanished a 7 ton LearJet a year or 20 ago. Even though it was early morning in Vegas, Mr Copperfield was kind enough to accept questions for a room full of magicians. An interesting and entertaining hour that I will not forget in a hurry - especially since I got to ask him a question directly!
David Berglass on stage with David Copperfield
on screen live from Las Vegas
on screen live from Las Vegas
And so, another International Magic Convention came to an end. Another great weekend filled with good friends, good laughs and great magic. If you've never been to one, you don't know what you're missing. I look forward to seeing you there next year!
Speak soon
The Cardman :-)
03 December 2008
2008 International Magic Convention, London
Well, another convention has come and gone. The International Magic Convention – otherwise lovingly known as “Ron’s Day” (even though it is now held over a weekend) after the late, great Ron MacMillan who started it back in the 1970s - is held in London at the end of November each year and has become one of my favourites over the years that I have attended it. This year’s line up had 2 major highlights for me, 2 cardmen – Richard Turner of America and Germany’s Denis Behr.
I arrived in London on the Thursday evening, straight from work and after checking into my hotel, I was staying at the Wardonia Hotel once again, I went and got some food which I took back to my room to eat and then fall asleep. I needed the sleep!
Friday
Since the convention did not start until the evening, Friday daytime was spent going around some of the shops in London. I spent some time on Tottenham Court Road (aka “Electric Avenue” due to the large number of computer and electrical stores there are on that particular stretch of road) and also visited Davenport’s Magic Studio – the “London branch” of Glasgow’s “Tam Shepherd & Co”.
The evening saw this year’s International Magic Convention starting with a couple of shows. The first was by Richard Turner, The Cheat, someone I had seen performing a long number of years ago on the Paul Daniels Magic Show on BBC1. He performs gambling-related magic and routines that show how people could have been (and still could be) cheated while playing cards, whether the game is Poker, Blackjack or whatever happens to be the game of choice at that time. During his flawless display, Richard also told a bunch of stories including ones about his time learning from Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles. Some great stuff.
This was followed by an interview with Richard by Matthew Field, current editor of The Magic Circle's in-house magazine, "The Magic Circular". It was at this point that, for those that did not already know, it was explained that Richard Turner is legally blind. Since the age of 9, his eyes have suffered from a degenerative disease that nowadays means that all he can make out is light and shadow. There is no detail in vision. That bit of information made what we had seen in the previous hour all the more impressive.
Me with Richard Turner
Then came a stand up comedy show which was hosted by Phil Butler and had John Lovick as his alter ego of Handsome Jack, David “The Great” Kaplan and Rafael performing acts. Some of it was hit-and-miss while some was both very funny – Phil Butler had an incredibly funny and extremely rude bit with toys for teaching very small children letter sounds and music – and pretty amazing – Rafael’s bit with his tie changing places with a length of rope he had been performing with caught me out completely.
Saturday
Saturday morning saw the 25th International Close Up Competition for the Kevin Raey Trophy. This competition is regarded as one of the most prestigious competitions in close up magic the list of winners reads like a who’s who in close up magic over the last quarter of a century. With next year being a FISM World Championship year, the standard was expected to be high.
This year’s competition started some 10 minutes earlier than advertised meaning a few latecomers arriving during the first act, who was...
Troy Von Schreibner (UK)
Troy was funny from the start of his act and he has a great personality. He did a nice wee colour change routine, including his t-shirt. From a technical standpoint, he nailed 4 Forton Pop Outs in a row. A very entertaining opening act.
Vittorio Belloni (Italy)
Vittorio did some nice stuff with coins and fire and the first matrix of the competition – Shoot Ogawa’s one-hand matrix. A charismatic personality, he did some great looking vanishes and even did Matrix with clear cards. Looked good, too, although some of his stuff did seem to get a little confusing. But then that’s maybe just me and the earliness of the hour. Could be a possible prize winner.
Woody Aragón (Spain)
Woody is a bit of a manic Spaniard – almost in the style of Tamariz. He performed a very nice “Call To The Colours”-style routine using the red and blue backed Jokers and finishes with the backs of all the cards that he used changing to various different colours. A very nice act that could win something.
Kolos (Hungary)
Kolos performed his routine silent to music. The act was OK, but it didn’t thrill me the way that others have done – even at this early stage. Some nice things in his act but nothing earth shattering.
As Paul Wilson is pointing out, Guy Hollingworth is finding
things far too exciting in the Close Up Competition
Igor De Ruitz (Italy)
Igor performed as a nutty doctor character. It was a carefully scripted act but one that immediately lost this spectator. This act was, what I like to call, “quality shite”. Coin effects that had no real effect with barely understandable stories and links to a Pinocchio doll. Very strange and the sort of act that makes a lot of us watch competitions.
Tatsuya Mishimagi (Japan)
Tatsuya dressed his spectator like a princess - in a tiara and given a magic wand. His act was about size and scale. Very nice effects but also had a funny finish where he shrank in size. Very, very funny ending where the performer shrinks to a puppet who then puts the miniature props into his miniature case before reappearing full-sized to take his final bow.
Shawn Farquhar (Canada)
As always, Farquhar buzzes on the stage in his loud purple suit. Performs his FISM Act as seen several times before – an excellent time travel effect where a deck of cards re-seals itself in its case with a signed selection in the right place in the new deck order followed by his Cups and Balls routine ending with the cups ending as solid blocks of metal - and gets the best reaction of the day so far. Also the best act of the day so far.
Matthew Wright (UK)
Matthew is the current Magic Circle Close Up Magician Of The Year and he performed a nice act with some good bits in it, including Michael Ammar’s Cups and Balls routine with a TON of magicians’ in-jokes in it. Could be in with a shout of a prize.
Gary Charm (Hong Kong)
Gary had some nice effects but it was a little annoying when his mobile phone went off a couple of times during his act. He did, however, perform a couple of nice wee bits with his phone, including shrinking it. An excellent finish with his mobile phone changing to a very early style telephone but I don’t think this will win any prizes in this competition.
Dynamo (UK)
It’s time – It’s the Dynamo attack!!! Steven performed an excellent lottery number prediction and followed with a wallet prediction trick that apparently went wrong, but when the true outcome was revealed completely fooled everyone in the audience. Very much in with a shout of winning a prize.
Toto (Japan)
I thought he was from Africa!!! (subtle musical joke!) Toto did a couple of rubber band tricks and what I found to be a couple of confusing coin pieces before catching the audience with some excellent card magic with cards rising and popping out of the deck in impossible ways. This has become a pretty tight contest!
Johan Stahl (Sweden)
And now it’s time for another Cup and Ball routine but this routine is this performer’s entire act! There was a nice wee moment with the pen that he was using as his magic wand in his act where it vanished from his hand only to find it behind the spectator’s ear! Sadly, this one routine went on way too long but he did have a nice finish where he poured some liquid from the cup.
Giacomo De Carlo (Italy)
This routine, bizarrely, was a series of card tricks all based upon the 2006 football World Cup Final between Italy and France! Seriously!!! A bunch of card tricks with the story of the match!!! He had some nice effects in the act but I feel that the presentation was too off-the-wall for him to win anything.
Kiko Pastu (Spain)
Things didn’t start off too well for Kiko as he was attempting what is a nice production of the aces by blowing them out of the deck of cards which had been spread across the table only for a couple of the aces to refuse to appear. After that, however, his act was excellent. He performed a very nice effect in the style of “Invisible Palm Aces” based around “Alice Through The Looking Glass” followed by cutting to all the cards of a named suit, one-at-a-time and in order, only for these 13 cards to change into the cards from another previously named suit. Very clever stuff.
René Frotscher (Germany)
René started with a great gag handing out laughing permits to the Germans in the audience. Sadly, this was the highlight of the act for me as his routine went downhill pretty rapidly. It didn’t help that he kept dropping things and apologising for doing so.
There are 6 awards for this competition. The “Awards of Merit” are awarded, alongside the cash prizes that are for first, second and third places. Since the awards were not to be announced until later, I made the following predictions:-
1st – Shawn Farquhar
2nd – Dynamo
3rd - Woody Aragón
Merit Prizes – Kiko Pastu, Matthew Wright and Toto
Between the competition and the announcement of the results, there were to be 3 lectures. The first was one of the 2 that I was really looking forward to – Richard Turner. The previous night had been a nice wee taster of what he could do with a deck of cards. Here, he showed not only what he could do, but told us how to do it – including a few more stories along the way. False deals, false shuffles, ways to cancel out the cut in a card game, they were all in here and although he did not have a lot of time to explain in the fine detail required, the spectators saw enough to make them head out after his lecture and buy his lecture DVDs immediately (I was one of them!).
At this point, I needed to go and take a break from the magic for a wee bit but was back in time to hear the results for the Close Up Competition. They were:-
1st Place (£1,000 cash and the Kevin Raey Trophy) – Shawn Farquhar
2nd Place (£500 cash and a trophy) - Giacomo De Carlo
3rd Place (£250 cash and a trophy) - Vittorio Belloni
Awards Of Merit - Woody Aragón, Matthew Wright and Toto
I have to admit that I was surprised not to hear Dynamo’s name being read out as a prize winner. I was not alone in that thought. Many others were equally baffled, not only by his act but that he did not receive any sort of prize. However, there were an equal number who thought that it was right that he should not have received a prize as they thought that his act had made use of a pre-arranged stooge (something that is, I believe, against the rules of competition). Still, that’s magic competitions for you – there’s almost ALWAYS some sort of controversy with the results.
While the final lecture of the day was going on, I went back to my hotel room to change into my suit as I had been asked to perform in the Theatre Bar for the people arriving for that night’s performance of the Gala Show. As always, it was great fun to do with lots of great people to perform for.
Dinner was, to say the least, interesting. Interesting on a couple of counts – first of all by way of the company I had, which included several of Britain’s top Close Up Magicians, and secondly by the menu of the Shezuan Restarant that we went to. We thought Guy Hollingworth was kidding when he started to read out the restaurant’s menu off his internet connection on his iPhone, but he wasn’t kidding, as the photo below will testify to (yes, I took a picture of part of one of the pages of the menu, but I had to!). I played it pretty safe, going for one of the set menus with (TV’s) Paul Wilson and Dr Peter Lamont, someone whom I have not seen for far too long. I hope it isn’t such a long time before we meet up again. Tim Bran (a magician and music producer who’s credits include the current album by The Verve) and (TV’s) Alex Conran also played it safe with another of the restaurant’s set menus. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Mr Hollingworth and Shiv Dougal (one of the UK magic’s best Close Up Magicians) decided to be somewhat adventurous going for the likes of duck’s tounges and a dish involving intestines. Those of you that know me really well will not be surprised to read that I didn’t try either of them!
A few of the options in the restaurant menu
Sunday
Traditionally “Ron’s Day” itself. One of the great things about this convention is that they do not start things off too early. The Dealers Hall opens at 10am and the first event starts at 11am. This year, the first event was the International Close Up Show which had performances by Americans John Lovick, Peter Samelson and Andrew Goldenhersh and Germany’s Denis Behr.
Lovick showed his mastery of what is now commonly known as the “$100 Bill Switch” and performed a very funny routine to do with a “Dear John” breakup letter. Samelson gave some fantastic presentations and had an intriguing effect in which coins appeared one-at-a-time in a smoke-filled glass. Behr had a great effect in which a rubber band was wrapped around a deck of cards only to visibly vanish and reappear wrapped around a selected card – twice (the second time was in slow motion and looked fantastic!). Finally, Goldenhersh produced a butterfly (yes, a real one!) and performed the “Hindu Needle Trick” which saw him swallow some 25 needles and a length of thread, only to pull them back out of his mouth with the needles threaded onto the thread.
Afterwards came the lectures but, due to the overrunning of the Close Up Show, I wasn’t able to see the first 2 – food was desperately needed as I hadn’t had any breakfast (yes, my own fault but I didn’t really want to get up any earlier!). I did, however manage to catch the final lecture of the weekend – Denis Behr. He gave a short performance at the start performing a few effects that were simple for the spectators to understand and then went on to discuss some of the techniques involved. I enjoyed the lecture and if you get the chance to see him lecture at a place near you, take it!
At last year’s convention, David Berglas, former President of The Magic Circle, presented the first “David Berglas Award For Promoting The Art Of Magic” to the MacMillan Family, for all the hard work that they have done over the years running their shop and organising, promoting and running their annual convention. It was a huge surprise to them. This year, Mr Berglas was going to present the second award for helping promote the art of magic around the world. This presentation also tied in with this year’s “Surprise Event”. The recipient was Uri Geller – a man who is not, and has never claimed to be a magician. After a long ovation, he sat down and answered questions on a whole number of subjects. He was funny, he was interesting and it was amazing to hear this man’s thoughts on various subjects. My favourite bit of information was that there is no such thing as bad publicity. We’ve all heard that before. He went on to say, however, that you should not read your reviews in the papers – you should measure them!!! Imagine how much it would cost to buy that space in the paper and you’re getting it for free. As I said, very interesting stuff.
Uri Geller receiving his award from David Berglas
Getting to meet Uri Geller
After doing more close up in the Theatre Bar, it was time for the second performance of this year’s Gala Show. The line up was, as ever, a truly international one and the audience were really up for it as attested to when the traditional “Ron’s Day Gala Show Overture” started up and the whole audience started clapping along with it. As is usual these days, Noel Britten was our host for the evening and, as is usual these days, he was on top form with gags and jokes too numerous to write down!
The show opened with Suma from Hungary who performed an act mostly based around mobile phones, performing some nifty manipulations with them. Clever wee act. He was followed by David “The Great” Kaplan from American who came on with a totally different act from the one seen on the Friday comedy show. He is a true Vaudevillian combining magic, juggling, deadpan comedy (his material with a bowling ball was hysterical) and music (how much time does someone need to have on their hands to work out how to make a balloon play a song???). Really, really funny stuff.
Fellow American Peter Samelson (Noel thought it cheaper to get these 2 guys to come over the London than to fly everyone in the audience to them!) followed with a nice act which once again showed his real prowess at presentation. He also finished with one of the best ‘traditional’ “Snowstorm In China” presentations I have ever seen. The first half finished with Rafael from Belgium. I have seen Rafael perform on a number of occasions but tonight would be different as he was presenting 3 pieces that had never been seen before. This first one was a very clever quick change act.
After the interval, the house lights went out and the curtain opened to reveal someone sitting on a chair. A voiceover came on explaining that he was a child trapped inside a man’s body but that he had a unique gift. This was to be the first act of the second half, Robert and Emiel from The Netherlands, who, it must be said, performed one of the best 2-person mental acts I have ever seen. I have no idea how they did it! Now, I have known these guys for some time now and I have to admit that I did feel somewhat uncomfortable at the start of the act, especially with someone acting as if they have some form of learning disability. However, as the act went on, I seemed to get “into” the act more and enjoyed what they did.
Next up was a little less controversial – British Juggler Rod Laver. Laver isn’t a juggler in the traditional sense. He juggles ping-pong balls. With his mouth! And we’re not talking one or 2 – he was doing 5 at a time! Brilliant – if somewhat bizarre – stuff! We had our second visit of the evening from Rafael who performed a short piece in the guise of a mad scientist who placed a disembodied head onto a headless body, only to have the whole body come to life. Short and clever. Andrew Goldenhersh from America followed with a fascinating minimalist performance that included the production of a live butterfly, a very entertaining Misers’ Dream and a very funny, and baffling, straitjacket escape.
To finish the show, Rafael was re-introduced with the third and final of his new pieces. His performance of the now classic “Excalibur” Illusion but done in the style of “Monty Python’s Spamalot”. Very entertaining stuff and very well presented.
3 good friends - Stephen, Kerry and Andi
Now, you may have noticed a distinct lack of mentions of late night activities. Well, there were some late night sessions going on but the convention hotel decided to try their best to stop this from happening by closing the bar unbelievably early on both Friday and Saturday nights (around midnight) and then on Sunday night, closing the bar at midnight and then throwing all the non-residents out of the hotel. We, politely, decided not to move so the management decided to call the police. When they turned up, they told the Duty Manager that they were not going to do anything as nobody was breaking the law. But, sadly, the hotel’s security (read “thugs”) decided that they wanted everyone out, so they made sure we left.
Monday
As is now usual after Ron’s Day, I went and stayed with my good friend Julie and her family near Watford. What was funny was that she hadn’t told her kids that I was coming to visit so when the twins, Anna and Michael, arrived home from school, I was duly rugby tackled for hugs. That evening, Julie and I made our way into central London to go to the Magic Circle. After a visit to the library where I bought a few manuscripts including a copy of the original manuscript of John Ramsay’s “Cylinder And Coins” routine for the princely sum of £3. Fantastic!
That evening’s event was a Dealer’s Dem by The Magic Cave, who have a stall at Covent Garden market (always worth a visit). They had a few interesting toys on offer, but after a weekend at a magic convention, I was starting to get a bit “magiced out”.
There was also one more small thing that happened that evening that has had me smiling ever since. I was handed an invitation to one of the most prestigious close up magic conventions in the world - Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic (aka “FFFF” or “4F”) – by “Head Forker” Obie O’Brien. I am really honoured and pleased to have received this invitation and am currently looking at getting myself over to New York State at the end of April 2009 for this very special convention.
Tuesday
Time to go home. I spent some time going around Watford with Julie, managing to get some more Christmas shopping whilst I was there. Before I knew it, it was time to head to the airport and make my way home.
And so, another International Magic Convention is now in the history books. It was a great weekend and an excellent convention. I was taught a fair bit, now I need to go away and actually learn it!
Speak soon.
The Cardman :-)
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