July Equinox

President's Letter

So, How Are You Doing?

It's vacation season! And as anyone with kids (or anyone who has been a kid) knows, the big question on vacation is "Are we there yet?" For us grown ups, the question to ask at the first of July is "Are we halfway there, yet?"

I subscribe to a number of motivational and management newsletters, most by non-magicians. As a businessman who had never run a business until 3 1/2 years ago, I have eagerly listened to and read the ideas, comments and advice of successful people. Not all of it applies, but often their ideas can be adapted to the magic business. One of my favorite newsletters is from a success coach named Philip Humbert (http://philiphumbert.com). His free weekly newsletters include ideas, encouragement, quotes related the theme of that issue, the obligatory shameless self promotional info, and always close with some type of humorous story, list, or thought provoking anecdote.

I have heard about the importance of setting and evaluating goals for all of my adult life, but had never gotten serious about it until the beginning of 2005. I don't even recall what it was that Humbert wrote, but he finally pushed me over the edge to set goals for my business, my family, and my personal life. It has been an amazing experience to discover the power of setting goals and working toward those goals with intentionality. Evaluating progress has been a challenge, because the evaluation opens me up to the possibility of knowing I have fallen short. For 2005, so far, so good!

I write all that to say this. We are halfway through 2005. Now would be a perfect time to evaluate your progress toward your goals this year, and determine what you need to do to get there. WAY back in January, what did you write or say aloud or promise to yourself that you would get done in '05? To develop a new show? To finally learn a good chop cup or ambitious aces routine? To book 50 more shows than last year? Was it to have perfect attendance at Ring 9 meetings? To get more involved? To win the Coveted Royal Blue Pen? Did you set as your goal that you would do your first real show?

The first of July is a great time to look and see what kind of progress you've made, while there is still plenty of time in '05 to "get 'er done!" If you don't recall having set any goals for the year, this would be a great time to start. You don't have to wait until New Years' Day to make some promises to yourself, your family, and your hobby/profession. Set some goals this week for the rest of the year and work to make those goals a reality. Even if you fall short of the target, you will be closer than if you had left it to chance.

A story is told of an archer who is driving through the country and sees a barn with targets drawn on its side. He is intrigued, so he gets out of his car and walks up to the barn. That's when he notices that there is an arrow stuck in the center of each target's bull's-eye. He is amazed at the marksmanship, and goes around the barn in search of the expert with the bow and arrow. He encounters a 12 year old boy and asks about the arrows. The boy says, "I shot those arrows." The archer, very impressed asks about his training, hours of practice, and equipment. The boy replies, "There ain't nothin' to it. I just shoot the arrows into the side of the barn and then I draw the circles around 'em."

To really know if we have reached our goal, we need to "draw the circles" BEFORE we shoot the arrows. I think you'll be AMAZED at the magic that happens when you set a goal and work to make it come true.

"Are we halfway there yet?" The only way you'll know is if you know where you are going. Set some goals and get started. And let me know if I can help.

Honored to serve Ring 9,

Tommy Johns

Vice-President's Letter

Many of you may have noticed that I was not at the June, 2005, Ring 9 Meeting. I had just returned from out of town and had a serious business meeting that I needed to attend that evening. I had spent virtually the entire time between last month’s meeting and this month’s meeting out of the country. My travels took me to New York, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Poland, Norway and Paris, France. Along the way, I did a lot of casual magic for folks and met several magicians. I was on a Baltic Cruise and the cruise staff started calling me “Mr. Paul” because they all wanted to see my magic. It was hard to eat in peace and quiet for the staff bringing over all the other staff and friends to see some magic!

I was pleased to meet the resident on-board cruise magician. A fellow named Bernard L. Reid. Brit by birth but making his home in the US, Bernard was a consummate professional for the cruise crowd. We spent a fair amount of time together and did some magic and talked about the business of magic. He did two full 60 minute shows and two 15 minute spots on one of the variety shows. Featuring a beautiful torn-and-restored newspaper, thumb tie, cut-and-restored tie, and burnt-and-restored banknote routines and a wonderful pick-pocketing act, he was a big hit! He returned a few nights later and did an impossible card prediction and the cartoon card rise.

On the downside, for some strange reason, the cruise line let one of the “staff” do a mentalist act. His name was “Mendel”. This was his first time on stage in public. He opened with the Magic Square that he goofed up doing the slight bit of addition one needs to do in a Magic Square so the math came out wrong. He then followed with a card prediction that went wrong. He had four spectators put an item each in four different envelopes and missed on the first two (he had his “envelope order” reversed apparently). He had a spectator in the audience think of a card (or draw one from a deck... I forget which) and missed. He didn’t have ANY outs and just kept saying, “That’s okay...” and would go on to the next piece! He did have a couple items that worked, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what they were!

Finally, I spent a week in Paris and had the good fortune to go to the “Crazy Horse” for a full evening show and dinner. Of course, the show is a feast for the male eye, but also on the bill were “Elan” and “Otto Wessely”. Elan did a great mime/magic act with some wonderful bits. Too difficult to describe! The capper for the evening for me was finally to get a chance to see a version of Otto Wessely’s full act. Prior to this time, I had only seen bits of it that were on a Montreal Comedy/Magic special some years ago. He was a delight. “Multiplying Rabbits”, things crashing everywhere, complete disrespect for his props and a very funny “nature calls” bit made for an hilarious act. My one tiny bit of disappointment was that he did not do the finale that I had seen on tape (the production of a full size assistant).

All in all, it was a great magical vacation.

Paul Sponaugle

Vice President

Secretary's Letter

I've been pestering a lot of folks for columns and people have really stepped up and delivered. So I wanted to thank everyone who has written me a column last month and this month - I really appreciate it. Doyne has consented to write (hopefully) a column a month - I asked him to just reminisce and tell us some of the stories he's acquired over the years and he's delivered a pretty good one. Joe, Dan, Ken, Tommy and Paul have been extraordinarily helpful as well and I really appreciate it. I will keep asking folks for columns as I see or think of things that I think will be interesting, and if you do anything (convention, lecture, see a show, whatever) I'd love to get a note from you about it for an Equinox - and if you get a request from me don't be surprised!

Bill Packard had a Balloon Jam and it went amazingly well. I saw quite a few other magicians there and had a pretty good time. Bill took the time to show me how to vastly improve a few balloons that I wasn't very happy with, and I really appreciate his donating his time to help me and everyone else out like that!

I started a subscription to Antinomy Magazine. So far I'm impressed - they are focused (so far, there's only been two issues) on taking tricks and analyzing and thinking about them rather than just presenting them. I just finished the first issue and am about to read the second but am quite pleased with it so far.

Evan Reynolds

A Pocket Tip for Cups Workers
by
Joe M. Turner

For magicians who perform the cups and balls or the chop cup, finding a good place to keep a final load is a real problem. Many magicians talk about having their pants custom tailored to hold loads in more accessible and less visible positions. I perform the chop cup regularly and have a helpful tip for gentlemen who perform in slacks, especially if you wear a jacket.

The pockets in most dress slacks run relatively deep – far down the leg. If you put a lemon in your pocket, it is likely to bulge out and be visible below the bottom of your jacket. If you put two lemons (or other loads) in your pocket, it gets even worse. However, the most visible load is the bottom one; the upper load starts to be hidden by the jacket. So here’s the idea: take a safety pin or a steel spring-clip and reduce the depth of your pocket. I pull my pocket inside out, tightly roll the bottom edge up a bit, fold the rolled portion in half, and safety pin it. Now my pocket is shallower and the bottom load will not peek out from underneath my jacket.

An additional benefit comes from the fact that most men’s slacks are tailored with extra space in the upper part of the pocket. Reducing the depth of the pocket means that a second load sits higher in the pocket. Because there is usually extra space there, it doesn’t seem to bulge as obviously. And being higher up on your leg, your jacket covers the loads more effectively. Finally, the loads are easier to reach because you don’t have to dive down to your kneecap to grab them.

Now – the impromptu version, for when you can’t find a safety pin. Pull your pocket lining inside out and tie a regular overhand knot in the end, then tuck it back in your pocket. That will accomplish the same thing. I’ve also used a rubber band in a pinch.

I asked Doyne Michie to share some stories from his years in magic with us. This is hopefully the first of many stories from one of our most treasured members - thanks, Doyne! --Evan

Blackstone Fooled ME, too!
by
Doyne Michie

The feature stories about Jay Marshall in both major magic magazines carried his story about how, in his youth, he sat through six performances of Blackstone, Sr.'s show trying to figure out one of his illusions. I had a somewhat similar experience watching Blackstone.

During W.W.II, I was stationed for nine months at the Army Induction Center at Jefferson Barracks, just outside St. Louis. St. Louis had a great USO center ("recreation centers" for you young guys who can't remember W.W.II), and one of its main "perks" was free tickets to movies and stage shows. Blackstone (Sr.) was still one of the big touring magic shows, in the Thurston tradition, and he was playing the American Theatre there in St. Louis. I was quite into magic at the time, so of course I asked for a free ticket for this big illusion show "...and its Company of 20."

His big opener started with a stage full of props, dancing girls, etc., into which he would make a dramatic "tails, with cape-costumed entrance" and proceed to produce all kinds of things from everywhere all over the stage -- lots of big feather-flower bouquets*, more dancing girls, and in the process, six or seven live ducks. He would place each duck in an appropriately decorated "duck house", isolated from anything, a good twenty feet away from the side curtain of this huge stage. At the end of this whole big production sequence he then went over and dramatically disassembled this plywood house, fairly showing everything front and back, and causing an audible gap from the audience, including me -- everyone wondering "where did those damn ducks go?!?!"

The next day (I had a "Class-A pass," meaning I could leave the base every day at 4:00 p.m.), I was in the St. Louis magic shop** and several guys were discussing Blackstone's show, including, of course...and especially...the disappearing ducks number. Fortunately (for me), one of them either knew...or had figured it out...because he tipped the secret. So I hustled back to the USO, got another ticket for that night's performance, and gleefully watched exactly what happened -- about the most brazen use of misdirection I have ever seen in magic! Six or seven live ducks just gone!!!

This is already too long, so I won't tip it to you folks now, but I'll gladly explain it to any who ask me about it at the next club meeting. (And, Evan, since you invited me to share stories like this from my 65 years of enjoying magic, you can tell by the number of people who might ask me about "the rest of the story" whether or not anyone is even interested in stuff like this.)

( * As I recall, he produced -- mostly from inside his flowing cape! -- about twenty 18" high feather flowers that had darts on the end of them. He would dramatically throw them evenly spaced along the front of the stage so that at the end of this big "production opening" he had the front edge of the stage lined with a beautiful row of magically-produced "flowers."

** Yes, there were still great "brick and mortar" magic stores then, about the death of which and the proliferation of "internet Magic Stores we are hearing much lagely. And they were true "magic shops," not "one counter amongst lots of novelties and costumes." And us novices could rub elbows with (wow!!!) professional magicians...and get generous tips from them...etc. I once was in Tannen's in N.Y.City at the same time as the legendary Cardini...but that's another story, for another time.)

Joe M. Turner was the magic consultant for a upcoming production about Chung Ling Soo. It's called "The Mystery of Chung Ling Soo", by Amy Rebecca Boyce, Adam Koplan and the Flying Carpet Theatre Company, and directed by Adam Koplan.

The guys at Top Hat Magic in Bristol, TN, have put together a winner in a regional convention for it's second year. About a 4.5 hour drive from Atlanta, the convention HQ was held at the Holiday Inn Convention Center, and the Saturday evening show was in the Paramount Center for the Arts. The convention was cozy and informal, with just under 100 magicians in attendance. These are often much more fun than the large conventions. I think this was the case for me.

It was a nice theatre with 3 good acts and a barely adequate MC. Opening was Shayna Reed (assisted by her sisters Mandy and Jessica) whose act was described as Beauty, Magic, and a little bit Rock and Roll. Sixteen-year-old Shayna stole the hearts of the audience. Juggler Tommy Curtin was a professional show-biz performer, who also had the audience in the palm of his hand. I've been a fan of Tommy Curtin since the 70's. I used to see his act in Gatlinburg at several of the Winter Carnivals. As emcee Dan Garrett performed with his Acey the Rabbit puppet in the hat routine, and kept the show moving along smoothly. The closing act was Jason Michaels, who did about 40 minutes of material from his full-evening show entitled 'Illusion: the Many Faces of Jason Michaels. I was pleased that he had a very theatrical approach. Young and handsome, he opened with the Shadow Box and closed with the classic Metamorphosis, done with style. In between, he performed several routines 'in one,' switching costumes, persona and accent to become different characters presenting their mysteries. For a time, he was a medieval magician (great British accent!) performing the cups and balls. Then he was a 70's 'hipster' performing his version of Cardiographic.

I learned that Jason studied quite a bit with illusionist Bret Daniels. Jason also knew my good friend Dana Nelson, who is the showroom manager at a casino in Tunica. Dana performed his comedy balancing/juggling act on the Bret Daniels Show during the year or so Bret worked in Tunica. I got Dana into show biz by hiring him out of high school as my stage manager for the touring Magical Burger King shows! It was fun chatting backstage with Jason, Tommy Curtin (great showbiz stories!), Shayna Reed and her sisters and parents. This makes a good bonus, in addition to getting paid to do this! (:}D)

Dan Garrett did his "Palindrome" lecture and made a good impression. Chastain "Enigma" Criswell gave the opening lecture and featured his card effect "Tag"
which is marketed by JB Magic (Mark Mason out of England). I bought one. John Pyka ("Big Daddy Cool") and Jason Michaels did a dual lecture. And the main performer, Darwin Ortiz, gave a card clinic lecture that was amazing and entertaining.

Close-up show was opened by Dan Garrett, who performed Tap-A-Lac by Paul Cummins with a borrowed deck. (Also known by some as the Joe Turner Mind Blower.) For an audience of magicians, the reaction was one of complete amazement and vocal gasps, especially from the magician/participant whose deck I borrowed! (Of course, this trick appeared in MAGIC which arrived when I returned home. Fortunately, no one at the convention had received their issues before they came.) Garrett also performed some of his 'A' close-up material, including his Pin-Demonium (linking safety pins) routine.

Chastain "Enigma" Criswell, wearing a plaid 'zoot suit', performed very unusual close-up routines, including his "Tag" card routine which continued to amaze. Johnny "Big Daddy Cool" Delarocca (aka John Pyka), also in 'zoot suit' and hat, played a great character piece and performed Ring and Rope and good card stuff. Darwin (who along with me felt out of place NOT wearing a zoot suit) showed why he considered one of the top card men in the world. Included in Darwin's performance was his highly-touted "The Color of Money" routine. It's a pseudo-'center deal' demonstration with surprise after surprise after surprise.

Ricky Boone won the stage contest with a great show. He also had a dealer booth. Dealers were Top Hat Magic (the hosts), Darwin Ortiz, and among the others were my good friends Michael Lair and George Kimery (Chalet Magic). It was fun chatting with these long-time buddies during the slow times in the dealers rooms, which, thankfully for sales (due to judicious limiting of dealer hours) was too short. George Kimery has obtained the rights to Warren Stephens magic.
Warren is currently very ill (I had the pleasure of spending some time with him at FFFF this year), but his creations are clever and very entertaining. I bought a new kidshow item by Warren Stephens from George, and will put it into my kidshow routine.

Go to the following link to read more about the convention performers. It's worth a few extra minutes of your time.

http://www.tophatmagicsupply.com/convention/performers.html

Our next meeting is July 18th at StarTime. Table magic starts at 6:30. There will be a mini-lecture at 7:00, and the meeting starts at 7:30. The theme this month will be "Magic of the Mind". See http://www.gamagicclub.com/ for directions and more details.