* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Zealand's MagicNZ e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #61 Date: Sunday 18th February 2001 Editor: Alan Watson www.magician.co.nz www.alan-watson.com e-mail alan@watson.co.nz ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editors Message 2. 26th NZ Magician's Convention update 3. Gidday from Bahrain 4. World Wide Magicians Data Base 5. PCAM 2001 6. Undercutting By Fellow Entertainers 7. Invitation to Auckland magicians 8. 'Magic Circle Regional Day' 9. The Washington Magic Summit 10. The Wonders Of Magic 11. Referring to Clive Court's recent piece 12. IBM Irish Ring 85 13. The Orchante Saga #17 14. Diarise these events 15. MagicNZ e-zine archives 16. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- 1. Editors Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Leo Ward is back from joining the QE II in Sydney. While in Sydney he had the chance to go and see the Millennium Magic at Wonderland. Tony & Juleen, and four dancers present a forty minutes show with slick, well presented illusions, nice audience routines and the best child illusion Leo has seen. Wayne Rogers, Chicane Enterprises New Zealand, will be visiting Vancouver for a few days in March and will present a lecture on Sunday 11th March at 7.30pm. Wayne is from Auckland where he performs professionally as The Amazing Chicane. He is author of "Out Of The Pole Vault" a book of ideas and routines using the Appearing Pole, plus the creator and manufacturer of the Appearing Ladder from Briefcase, Appearing Broom, Missing Spade, Hot Video, Appearing Shovel, Quick-Draw-Straw and a new release, Pinocchio's Nose. www.nzmagic.com The lecture is being hosted by the Vancouver Magic Circle, IBM Ring 92 Contact is Greg Dietlein: greg-dietlein@home.com Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: alan@watson.co.nz ---------------------------------- 2. 26th NZ Magician's Convention update ---------------------------------- Message from Tony Wilson (NZ) convention Secretary 27th December 2001-31st December 2001 CONFIRMED SPECIAL GUESTS Two guest artists have already been confirmed and will be performing and lecturing for the FIRST time in New Zealand. From the USA HANK MOOREHOUSE Hank Moorehouse has performed and lectured throughout the U.S. and Canada. Overseas tours include Australia, England, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, Japan and now New Zealand. Hank will lecture on comedy magic and have material from stage to close-up and have a dealers stand with new magic from the US and Europe. Hank presented six different lectures at the Magic Castle over an eleven year period. Most importantly, for over 30 years he's been a magic dealer and professional ENTERTAINER! Awards and honours include:- National President (1981-1982) of the Society of American Magicians Nominated twice as lecture of the year - Academy of Magical Arts, "The Magic Castle" Represented the U.S at the last two FISM's on the Jury. Awarded the "Murray Award" for service to magic in 1999 by the Blackpool Magicians Club at their annual convention, Blackpool, England. From England RICHARD PINNER Richard is a busy full time professional entertainer based in Britain whose work has taken him to over thirty countries and has cruised for P&O for seven years performing cabaret, children's shows, teenage shows and late-night close-up. Richard was the Magic Circle's Millennium Close-up magic champion and was honoured to be part of the show alongside Paul Daniels to celebrate the opening of The Magic Circle's New Two Million Pounds H.Q. A versatile magician who will bring his brand of close-up magic, balloon modelling, cabaret magic and magical advising to the New Zealand convention. We are very excited to have Richard perform and lecture at the convention plus a few other extra surprises. ---------------------------------- 3. Gidday from Bahrain ---------------------------------- Message from Guy Cater (NZ) My last show in Singapore was a good one but a bit late and then it was a mad scramble to get from the gig to the airport by 1:30am. The flight to Dubai was fine but the five hour wait there was a bore. Once on Gulf Air things were wonderful. As it is a short flight to Bahrain I grabbed a window seat and the view was so impressive. It was 10am in the morning and we flew over the Emirates then across the Gulf to Bahrain. From the air you could see in the distance Iran, Iraq and Kuwait and then to the left Saudi Arabia. Sadly midway we flew through smog ... right in the middle of the Gulf!! It's from the oil rigs and felt like we were approaching Los Angeles ... but it didn't last for long. Unlike the golden sands of Dubai and Abu Dhabi (like in Lawrence of Arabia) the sands of Bahrain are white and all the buildings are white and the men all wear white so it is a very uncolourful country. With a population of only 615,000 there is not much bustle and despite the lack of colour it is a fascinating place to be. Have another three nights here then one gig in Dubai then head home arriving in Christchurch at 3:30pm 18the Feb and then work that same night at Canterbury University. I may be a wee bit tired. My first gig here last night was for mainly expat poms ... turned out to be a beauty of a show. I'm working with a band from Coventry who kick off the night at 10pm then I do 30 minutes of Stand-Up after which the DJ plays music for 20 minutes and then I go on again with an hour and half Hypno Show and the band returns until 2am. During their last set last night the sound system blew up so a new one is being installed today so I have to get back there shortly. ---------------------------------- 4. World Wide Magicians Data Base ---------------------------------- Message from Dave Boyd (Aust) I must first apologise for the delay in returning the information regarding the World Wide Magicians Data Base. Unfortunately my wife collapsed with an aneurysm just prior to Christmas and had to have major brain surgery. Although she is now on the mend, I have fallen a long way behind on my office work. In addition to my contractual obligations to Magic Mountain performing there 7 days a week of the 5 weeks of the Christmas school holidays, I have also had to take on the extra duties normally performed by my wife Mary, both in the office and in the home. I am now Magician, office assistant, nurse and head cook and bottle washer for the next six months. The object of the data base is to give persons looking to book a magician or clown for an event, be it a children's birthday party to a cruise ship, a one stop page where they can click on the country then the state, province, county etc that they require the entertainer for. The service is a free one to both the entertainers and the bookers. With your co-operation I hope to have the database up and ready by the end of the month. I have already had hundreds of replies from everyone from Floss the Birthday Clown to such greats as Doc Eason, and we have listings from 6 countries so far and it has had very little publicly yet. Entries will be listed in the order the completed forms are received, so by clicking on the URL now and completing the form, you will be near the top of the list. All you need to do is click on the following URL. This will take you to a form in which you type your details and click the submit button. I take over after that. You will be notified as soon as the site is published. This will enable you to check that your details are correct. Click here: http://magicianandclowndatabase.homestead.com ------------------------------------- 5. PCAM 2001 ------------------------------------- Palm Springs, California - August 2-5, 2001 Chuck Jones & Company - David Ginn - Terry Seabrooke - Walter Blaney -Danny Archer - Jon Racherbaumer - David Malek - Shawn Farquhar - Rocco - Michi Hasegawa - Luciano Scala - "Dr Bob" - The "Mighty" Quinn 20 Dealers Expected From Near & Far 9 Informative Lectures - 4 Hands on Workshops 3 General Contests The $2,000 Pro Challenge Reserved Seating For 2 Big Evening Theater Shows Sunday Awards Brunch and Show INCLUDED With Your Registration Daily Prize Drawaings MEGA SUNDAY PRIZE DRAWING Close-Up Festival Huge Display of Harry Houdini's Personal Effects (Harry May Attend Too, We're Still Waiting For Confirmation) The President's Luncheon & Show Thursday Reception - Sunday Farewell Gathering $79 Rooms Single or Double The Palm Springs Hilton Resort Register Now!!!! $150 for registrant $75 for Spouse and Kids Accompanying Registrant Master Card - Visa - Discover - American Express (800) 659-4748 or PCAM2001@aol.com PCAM 2001 DON'T MISS IT!!!! www.magic-links.com/pcam2001 ------------------------------------- 6. Undercutting By Fellow Entertainers ------------------------------------- Message from Nick Nickolas (NZ) I don't know all of you out there but presume from what I've read that most of you have been in the magic/variety business for as long or longer than I have (17yrs) and have played all aspects of audiences from kids shows, shopping malls, cruise ships, theme parks, cabaret/comedy clubs, theatre, corporate etc..... During my career something has always bugged me and I would like to put it out to you all, it is the subject of undercutting, by this I mean performers of a similar ilk pricing themselves at less than the market value, therefore causing disarray amongst fellow entertainers. I'm genuinely interested in others' opinions, performers and promoters alike. ------------------------------------- 7. Invitation to Auckland magicians ------------------------------------- Message from Andy Derijk (Aust) I am a magician in Sydney and I would like to extend a free invitation to all our Auckland readers to a seminar where they can learn about a brilliant new system where they can easily set up their own website. (I have just bought one) Date: Thursday 22nd February 2001 Venue: Waipuna Hotel & Conference Centre 58 Waipuna Road Mount Wellington Auckland Time: Start 6:45pm - Finish 8:15pm I'm sure anyone that attends will get a lot out of it and potentially increase their magic business! ------------------------------------- 8. 'Magic Circle Regional Day' ------------------------------------- Message from Peter McCahon (UK) This is an early warning of the upcoming 'Magic Circle Regional Day' to be held in Sheffield. The date will be: Sunday 22nd April Venue: Merlin Theatre 2 Meadow Bank Road Sheffield On Sunday 22nd April, The Magic Circle whose headquarters are based in London will be holding the first of this years regional events. Initial information available is that this will be an all day event featuring, dealers, lectures, Young Magicians Workshops and culminating with an evening show. The evening show will also be open to the general public. More details will be posted as soon as they are confirmed, however it promises to be a great day and worth making the effort to attend. The day itself will be free to members of The Magic Circle with a nominal charge for the evening show. Any questions or requests please contact Peter McCahon the Magic Circle Regional Day Coordinator direct at sheffield@mccahon.co.uk ------------------------------------- 9. The Washington Magic Summit ------------------------------------- Message from Jim Pace This was a good event ...when it was at the Tropicana. I felt that every one that I spoke with felt pretty much the same way. I did get to see some wonderful magic. I met a fellow from South Africa again, Derek was his name. He bought one of my new business card wallets. He spent $50 American....I know that the exchange rate does not benefit our South African friends, I felt both bad and great that he actually considered buying my wallet in addition to what ever else he took home. I am very flattered, thank you Derek. ------------------------------------- 10. The Wonders Of Magic ------------------------------------- Message from Lee Jacobs (US) Some time ago, we acquired The Ridgeway Press from John Booth. In John's book, THE WONDERS OF MAGIC, there is an interesting chapter on Jasper Maskelyne. Unfortunately, the book is out of print at the moment. But we are working on a new edition right now. "Anyone interested in an in-depth 22 part series delving into the reality of Jasper Maskelyne and his exploits, with some very interesting revelations, should seek out the series by historian Richard Stokes that was published in the Geniis Magic Journal (Australia) starting in November 1993. It ran through to November '95." I would love to be able to read these. Is there any chance of someone reprinting them or posting them on the web? http://www.LeeJacobsProductions.com Post Office Box 362 Pomeroy, Ohio 45769-0362 U.S.A. Phone 740/992-5208 Fax 740/992-0616 LEEmail LJacobs@frognet.net ---------------------------------- 11. Referring to Clive Court's recent piece ---------------------------------- Message from Michael Bailey (UK) President The Magic Circle John Nevil Maskelyne encouraged The Magic Circle to hold some of its early meetings at St George's Hall where he and his partner David Devant performed so successfully for many years. St George's Hall opened its doors in 1905, the same year as the Society was founded (by Herbert Collings and two others). The Circle's first President was, of course, David Devant, one of the all time greats in magic's history. St George's Hall, situated in Langham Place (next to the BBC's Broadcasting House), ceased to be the venue for Maskelyne's Mysteries in 1933. I hate to disappoint Clive Court, but when he appeared for The Magic Circle it was not at St George's Hall, but on the stage of King George's Hall. This hall of considerably lesser fame was where The Magic Circle held its monthly concerts in the 1950s and was just off Tottenham Court Road in London W1. Still, Clive has the consolation of knowing that he was probably the only performer who had his show set for him on stage by the founder of The Magic Circle, Herbert Collings and Britains's greatest magical craftsman, Gil Leaney. ---------------------------------- 12. IBM Irish Ring 85 ---------------------------------- Message from Blair Wallace (Ireland) We are delighted that we will be welcoming a party of Magic Circle members, including Peter McCahon, Richard Pinner and a certain gentleman from Pongolia, none other than Ali Bongo himself! During the course of the week-end they will be presenting a number of Magic Circle Regional events in conjunction with IBM Irish Ring 85. Remember the dates......4th, 5th and 6th of May 2001. ---------------------------------- 13. The Orchante Saga #17 ---------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) FIRE-EATING -'Little boys shouldn't play with matches' - Oh, Really! 1960 -61 When I first started this episode about Fire-eating, I couldn't think what to say, except, Practice, Perseverance, Putting up with burns - etc., but on reflection, there's more to it than just that - it's now turned into what could be an extended edition. SOME LIKE IT HOT, and I'm not talking about Mexican chilli peppers (although there is a rather messy story about those, that I may relate later). DON'T BREATHE IN - BREATHE OUT! is the golden unwritten law/advice given by mentors to apprentice fire-eaters. A Mentor? Such luxury -I'm completely self-taught in all aspects of my skills, fire-eating being no exception. Consequently my techniques are my own, so BREATHE IN I did - quickly learned it's not such a clever thing to do, unless you apply controlled Yoga breathing disciplines, which I did, once I got the basics sorted out, like, blisters - inside and out - fearsome burns, patchy/singed eyebrows and hair, correct angles, etc. Thank God for self-hypnosis. Fumes, from whatever type of fuel you are using, can get down into the lungs and do some awful damage. Worst case scenario - as you bring a flaming torch towards your mouth, it could ignite the fumes which have accumulated in your lungs, and KA-BOOM - your chest would explode!! Unfortunately for some, this has happened. My exclusive routine requires that I DO inhale fumes - most dangerous, as the slightest error in judgement or breathing would result in an internal explosion - I would, in fact, blow up. ('wow - that guy has guts' 'You're telling me - they' ve splattered all over the place) My first fire torches were the wooden dowling rods from coat hangers (with the wire removed, of course). Silver paper from cigarette packets wrapped around 4" of one end - stopped the fire and heat from burning through the dowling. Next, an old sheet from Mum's linen cupboard (I think it was old), torn into long strips, and wrapped around the silver paper, building it up to a size which would fit right into my mouth. In fact the 'heads' of my torches are much larger than those of other fire eaters I've seen (larger the torch head, the bigger and hotter the flame). One I made up was so big that I had to physically 'push' it into my mouth. This I used when going around the audience to 'feel the heat' of the flame. It sure came in handy for 'smart arses', and reporters, also those fire-eaters who would come backstage to 'prove' that they could do better, using my torches. Ha! In forty years, I've yet to meet anyone who could get THAT torch near their face, let alone into their mouth - too big and too hot - so, how did In manage it? Two things - the torch was custom made to fit (only by cramming) my mouth, and Self Hypnosis. I simply blocked the searing heat from my mind (actually, self hypnosis was the driving force behind the entire Fakir show). Most fire-eaters include 'body burning' in their routines - where you run flaming tapers over your bare arms, body, etc. If done quickly enough, no problem. Not me, it was done 'painfully' (as far as the audience was concerned) slowly - again, hypnosis. Years ago, in a dressing room after a gig, Veronica said 'I've never noticed it before, but your arms come up in goose-bumps when you run the fire over them'. Well, yes, because I've convinced my subconscious that my arms are ice-cold -it only takes a few seconds to do this. There is a well known hypnotic experiment where a hypnotised subject, when told that a pencil -(or anything else, for that matter), is a red-hot poker, will jump, scream, and blisters will develop where they' ve been touched. If however, they are told that the arm was cold/frozen, it develops (like mine) goose-bumps - and if you hold a burning match or such under their arm, they will feel nothing, nor does the skin blister, (although it will eventually, if 'burnt' for too long). Many stage hypnotists, as part of their performance, tell their subjects 'you're in Antarctica (or similar). You're so cold...etc.etc' If you were close enough, you would see that these subjects do react PHYSICALLY - shivering, goose bumps - as if they had been 'magically' transported to such an extreme climate. The reverse is also true. When told they are in the Tropics, they will not only throw off clothing, but, break out into beads on perspiration. Such is the power of suggestion. I have a four inch scar on my right arm, the result of a News reporter 'roasting' it himself, with one of my torches - trying to prove that I was a fake. Hypnosis controlled the pain, but of course, the skin still burnt, eventually. This reporter in fact wound up giving me a good review, and I can't think of a better way to finish this episode, than to quote his review, word for word. It is from the Auckland Star's 8 O' clock News and Features, Sat June 23rd 1973. Headed 'EATING OUT WITH FIERY FLETT' Quote; 'I USED to think there was a trick to most stage acts - until I tried fire eating. It was when the flaming torch was level with my teeth that it suddenly dawned on me that there was no trick to the art. Now I won't have to shave for a month and I've a permanent 5 o'clock shadow of charcoal. Auckland fire-eater, hypnotist, magician and sword swallower Orchante showed me this week how to do it. He swallowed two burning tapers - held the fire in his throat, then re-lit them by blowing out. He let me hold a burning taper under his forearm, he didn't mind, and I swear there was no trick attached. He swallowed a 3 ft chrome sword, ran flaming sticks across his stomach and then, lying on a bed of nails, placed another bed on his chest and asked two men to jump on it. Unlike some similar acts, the nails were all sharp enough to draw blood. He claims he does it with self-hypnosis. Well, if he could do it, I could.... The 30 year-old entertainer handed me a taper dipped in white spirit and showed me how to hold my mouth. I should have held my mouth three hours earlier when the editor handed out the job. Flames The flames from the taper flared about 18in into the air, blackening the ceiling in the process. I tilted back my head, opened my mouth and tentatively poked the flaming mass towards my face. Only the smell of burning eyebrow made me stop. Then I tried again. The torch was lower this time and it passed lips, singing off excess skin, and reached my teeth. If you've ever held a burning torch against your teeth, you'll know how it felt. That's when I decide there was no future in fire-eating. But Orchante does that much and more. He plunges flaming torches into his mouth and closes his lips around them. His head lights up like a Chinese lantern. Personally, I prefer eating crepes-suzette. Unquote. I had a 'short' footnote to add here, about the fuel used by fire-eaters - it's now become next week's saga. I did say at the beginning that this could become an extended edition. NEXT WEEK - 'okay, Lucifer - now what's your poison? Sorry - fuel!' ------------------------------------- 14. Diarise these events ------------------------------------- The 26th NZ Magician's Convention will be held at the Waipuna Hotel and Conference Centre, Mt Wellington, Auckland, New Zealand from Thursday 27 December 2001, and concluding with a New Year's Eve Celebration on Monday 31 December 2001 ------------------------------------- 15. MagicNZ e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: ezine Password: newzealand When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001nov0699.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (nov06) and the last next two numbers the year (99) If you want to print copies of MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive ------------------------------------- 16. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the MagicNZ e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html MagicNZ e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors. Neither MagicNZ or Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via MagicNZ e-zine. We reserve the right to correct any errors or omissions as we see fit. >> This publication may be freely redistributed to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY << (c) Copyright 2001 Alan Watson