* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #291 Date: Sunday 24th October 2004 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com www.alan-watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================   1. Editor’s Message   2. Paul Daniels Thoughts On TV Reality Shows   3. Duncan Trillo The Magic Circle’s Stage Magician Of The Year   4. IBM International President Tony Wilson’s Magical Adventures   5. Update IBM Convention 2005 Reno   6. Stars Of Magic Wanted   7. UK's Biggest Mind Magic Convention   8. Real Magic In Africa   9. Download The Book For Free At www.pokerWITHOUTcards.com   10. Broken Wand - Cal Weisman   11. Martin Breese - New MagiCDs   12. “Bar Tricks" Article For Urban Male Magazine   13. Tony Griffith - Creative Magic Lecture/Teach-In   14. New Mental Magic/Mentalism Book Announcement   15. Dove From Any Were - Jamie-G   16. The Amazing Orchante Saga   17. e-zine Archives   18. Subscription Management ------------------ 1. Editors Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One One of the major highlights for the year for Michele and I was the New Zealand Variety Artists Club Inc. Entertainment Industry Awards 2004 tonight. Entertainers throughout the night were top New Zealand singers Rob Innes, Jim Joll, Tom Sharplin, Robyn Alexander, Adrian Kielly, Lynne Taylor; bassist Tim McGregor; master magician Jon Zealando with his psychic surgery; Wally Lewis with his comedy act (now living in Queensland) and Alan Pitts played his specialty - the Saw! The Scroll of Honour were presented to: Marion Burns (violinist), Jodi Vaughan (singer), Russ Garcia (orchestra conductor/TV & movie music writer), Roy Phillips (singer), John Bolter (Black & White singer). The Rising Star Award was presented to: Andy Lynch (from the band Zed). The Reilly Comedy Award was presented to: Kevin Lynch. The Agnew Award for Excellence was presented to: Suzanne Lynch. The Benny Award for his contributions to the recording industry - Elvert Stebbing. -------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Paul Daniels Thoughts On TV Reality Shows ----------------- Message from Paul Daniels (UK) Debbie is home again, as from last Saturday morning. The guy we thought would win, won. BUT everyone is saying wonderful things about Debbie so in that respect she is happy. A reality show, for us who were outside it, is a very strange experience. I don't want to sound morbid but it is like being dead and looking down on someone you lived with continuing 'another' life. There is no communication with them at all and you have no control or participation in what you are watching. Very strange. Also it is a hostage situation and both Debbie and I went through instant depression when we came out. I only had two days of it but I came out to being on my own. Debbie had longer and is still getting over it but she has me to 'explain' it and discuss it with. I would NEVER do another one and I would NEVER recommend anyone to take part in such a show. ----------------- 3. Duncan Trillo The Magic Circle’s Stage Magician Of The Year ----------------- Message from David Beckley, Press Officer of The Magic Circle Duncan Trillo Wins The Magic Circle’s Stage Magician of The Year Competition 2004 On Sunday night, Duncan Trillo, a ‘Gold Star’ member of The Inner Magic Circle was presented with the prestigious Stage Magician of the Year Trophy. This event, held every two years, is the UK’s top magic competition being organised by The Magic Circle, the world’s premier magic club. Duncan astounded the judges by presenting a superb display of skill, magic and above all, entertainment. Classic card manipulations combined with his incredible dancing handkerchief, which seemed to take on a life of its own, proved, beyond doubt, that his was the winning act. The Judging Panel, chaired by Sir Bill Cotton CBE, also included Lady Cotton and Paul Kieve - the UK’s foremost magical advisor to theatrical productions and stage plays. Duncan turned Professional in 1979 and since that time has travelled the world earning outstanding reviews for his consummate skill and artistry. Ever modest, he said after winning the award, “to me The Magic Circle Competition is the top award for stage magicians to win and I am, of course, very pleased to have been successful.” The second place was taken by Keith Fields, who presented a very nice comedy act, with strong magic including the production of a bowl of water and an unusual signed card location. In third place was Tensai whose striking oriental act climaxed in the ‘free floating’ of his lovely assistant. ----------------- 4. IBM International President Tony Wilson’s Magical Adventures ----------------- Message from Tony Wilson - IBM International President 2004 - 2005 The day after the Eastbourne Convention finished Mary and I visited The Magic Circle in London. We took my brother and his wife as our guests and were given the conducted tour by Chris Woodward, one of the Council members before attending the regular Monday night fixture. I had been asked by Peter Pinner to head a panel of three for a humorous The Magic Circle versus the IBM contest in a magic quiz. My panel members were Ali Bongo and Alan Sullivan (Australia). We assembled back stage while President Alan Shaxon gave members and visitors (many!) a summary of the recently completed Convention plus some other announcements. Peter introduced several acts and, instead of filling time between the acts he conducted the maqic quiz. Alan Shaxon led The Magic Circle team of three and a great time was had by all answering questions based on a recent survey of members of TMC on things magical. Two female scorers were used in the humorous presentation which all enjoyed. The score ……….a dead heat! What was also of interest is that both teams competing against each other were members of both TMC and IBM! Alan had invited Mary and me to supper together with some overseas guests after the function and we enjoyed an Italian meal together before saying our goodbyes until the end of next July when we plan to attend The Magic Circle’s Centenary. ----------------- 5. Update IBM Convention 2005 Reno ----------------- Message from Mel Kientz (US) The International Brotherhood of Magicians Presents their 2005 Edition of The Greatest Annual Magic Convention on Earth June 28th to July 2nd, 2005 - Reno/Tahoe, Nevada Grab your mules, boots, spurs, buckboards and a deck of cards.. We're heading out to the Wild Wild West for 2005. The Biggest Little City in the USA will play host to one of the most memorable Magic Conventions we have ever presented. You can get registration form by going to: www.magician.org/convention2005_registration.htm. But don't wait too long! While The Reno Hilton Hotel has plenty of rooms at $99.00 a night but we will be limiting the number of registrations to only 1400 for the four (yes, count them.. four) Evening Gala Shows.. not to mention at least 10 Lectures, MYI X-treme, special events and the Sierra-Nevada Mountains.. A convention bonanza for any magic enthusiast and a treat for the entire family! ---------o0o------- Roger Wicks, Registrar International Brotherhood of Magicians 9745 South Third Street Woodstock, OH 43084 USA Phone & Fax: (937) 826-1133 Email: ibmreno2005@yahoo.com For Hotel Reservations Please Call: The Reno Hilton - (800) 648-5080 or (775) 789-2129 Reference Group Code: IBM05 For online Convention Info on the web go to: www.magician.org/convention2005_location.htm For online hotel reservations go to: www.caesars.com/reservations/main.aspx?hotelid=06&specialgroupcode=IBM05 ----------------- 6. Stars Of Magic Wanted ----------------- Message from Melissa May forward on By Tony Wilson On behalf of The Stars of Magic of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Florida, I would like to extend my greetings. Please let me take this opportunity to introduce myself and tell you a little about our mission and how we are trying to impact the magic community. My name is Melissa May and I have recently joined the staff in producing quality magic shows with strong family values. Richard A. Staub, Jr. is our executive producer and mastermind. Our latest venture is bringing a show to beautiful Wilmington, NC where people come to enjoy the sunny beaches and historic downtown. Our show is being held at historical Thalian Hall, constructed in 1855- 1858, and has served as the regional center for the performing arts. Our goal has been to bring the community together by raising money for well known and local charities in the area. Businesses and individuals alike have shown immense interest in supporting our show for the families of Wilmington. There is excitement in the air for the stars we are bringing to the stage: * Bev Bergeron who has performed over 20,000 shows, a former National President of International Brotherhood of Magicians, and is well respected by audiences and magicians alike. * Dan Garrett is an International Award Winner in magic and was the National President of the Society of American Magicians. * John Duffy joins us from England, a premier illusionist for over 20 years, brought to us by Carnival Cruise Lines and has dazzled his audiences with his magic. We would like to express our interest in becoming more involved with the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the Society of American Magicians, and the magic community as a whole. Please accept our invitation to your organization to come down and see what hundreds of Wilmingtonians are excited to experience. We would like to offer accommodations for the hotel, dinner, and to attend the magic show at Thalian Hall on us. Please join us on your preferred dates of November 4th through the 7th and enjoy a wonderful visit of magic, fun, and community. Richard A. Staub, Jr. would like the opportunity to speak with you further regarding the opportunities that lay ahead. Please accept his phone call at 7:00 p.m. EST, 12:00 p.m. your time. Thank you! Sincerely, Melissa May Vice President, East Coast US area code (910)-352-6831 cc: Richard Staub, Jr., CEO & President Dave Archibald, Regional VP of Sales, East Coast ----------------- 7. UK's Biggest Mind Magic Convention ----------------- Message from Spyros Melaris (UK) 'The Great Escape' (the UK's biggest Mind Magic Convention) is on the 7th of November 2004. A line-up of those lecturing/performing can be found on www.MagicInMind.com The day is hosted by myself, Spyros Melaris at my TV Studios in West London. For more details please contact me Spiz@DrMagic.co.uk ----------------- 8. Real Magic In Africa ----------------- Message from Paul Romhany (NZ) The past few weeks Natalie and I have been cruising through Africa and have experienced some truly magical events. There were two occasions that will live in my mind forever. We went to a village in Togo and continued on foot behind the village where the people lived. There were a group of African men sitting around so I went over and started talking to them. I started performing some magic and before you knew it, was surrounded by the village men with wide eyes watching me doing tricks while sitting on the dirt ground using sticks, stones and dirt. Then next thing we knew, the local village magician came over and we had a 'jam' session sitting on the dirt ground doing magic tricks .. he even started producing eggs from the ground! His sleight of hand was excellent and he just used 'natural' objects. We managed to film it and get many wonderful photos. A few days later our ship was in Ghana where again we went (with a few crew) to a small remote village and the children surrounded us. I performed again and the wonderful expressions of these native children was something to behold. Our amazing journey continues as we head to a few other ports in Africa including Cape Town at the end of the week. ----------------- 9. Download The Book For Free At www.pokerWITHOUTcards.com ----------------- Message from Benjamin Garth (US) I am a Magic Castle award winning magician, a graduate of the Castle's Junior program and author of the best selling book on fire eating. My mentor in magic was Lorrenzo Clark, now on the board of directors for The Magic Castle. I have a novel coming out in Late November. I employ the perspective of "the magician". I am currently seeking advanced readers who can download the book for free at www.pokerWITHOUTcards.com You can see quotes that I have received there. I am hoping to get more quotes from more readers, especially those outside the United States. Best wishes, Benjamin Garth aka Ben Mack aka Benjamin Garth Mack (pick the stage name or publication) ----------------- 10. Broken Wand - Cal Weisman ----------------- Message from Maria Ibanez - SAM National 2nd Vice President Last evening, October 20, 2004, at the meeting of S.A.M. Assembly 280, members took part in a Broken Wand ceremony held for Cal Weisman, Assembly Vice President. The Broken wand ceremony was performed by Assembly President Maria Ibanez. Cal was a member of Assemblies 49, 76 and 274 as well and never missed a meeting until he became ill. A faithful member and lover of the art, Cal left the hospital this year in May in order to attend the Florida Magicians Convention which was hosted by S.A.M. Assembly 280 and the Magic City Conjurers. Cal was a very talented entertainer and was a ventriloquist, voice imitator, caricaturist and clown. Gentle, kind, giving and lovable, Cal was married to his lifelong sweetheart, Irene, who never left his side during the months of hospitalization, chemo and other treatments. He is survived by his wife as well as two sons, daughter in law and two grandchildren. Cal will be deeply missed by all of us who knew him and our assembly and magic community will suffer by his loss. ----------------- 11. Martin Breese - New MagiCDs ----------------- Message from Martin Breese (UK) I am afraid what follows is a bit of a commercial puff but if it is permitted then can I share my enthusiasm for a number of new MagiCDs that I am releasing this week. The first is the fourth volume in New Zealand's Richard Webster series on Cold Reading. The title is How to Profit from Cold Reading and it is packed with very interesting and informative material on the subject. Mastering Cold Reading the third in the series was only released a month or so ago as well. I finally persuaded Paul Gordon who is a full time entertainer to release some of his treasured secrets on how he makes a living from a pack of cards. Paul has kindly entertained at two of my parties and his strolling style and the material entertained my guests and determined me to persuade him to work on a MagicCD for me .. and he did at last. Virtually every effect he uses at his pro engagements is published in his best-selling books. The MagiCD is called: Paul Gordon: Secrets of a Commercial Card Magician. Following the success of the MagiCD programme I released on Australia's Piddingtons I have now completed a very exciting project which is on Chan Canasta. David Britland wrote the script and I used a professional voice-over to narrate and there are countless audio clips of Chan Canasta performing on TV. The effects are explained and analysed including the best book test in the world. The MagiCD comes with a booklet written by David Britland. I am really thrilled with the final recording as Chan Canasta is one of my great heroes. All of these audios with the exception of Chan Canasta are priced at £13.75 and the Chan Canasta one at £30. Further info on www.abracadabra.co.uk. Martin Breese International - Breese Books Ltd www.abracadabra.co.uk 10 Hanover Crescent, Brighton, East Sussex BN2 9SB, England 01273 687 554 ----------------- 12. “Bar Tricks" Article For Urban Male Magazine ----------------- Message from Patrick Drake I will be writing a "bar tricks" article for Urban Male Magazine (ike Maxim) the mag is available in Canada and the US..any contributions from readers would be great..stuff that can be done impromptu in a pub/nightclub situation..thanks..I can be reached at pdrake99@yahoo.com. The magazine is at www.umm.ca I will be doing a video "trick" weekly starting soon on the web page. ----------------- 13. Tony Griffith - Creative Magic Lecture/Teach-In ----------------- Message from Tony Griffith (UK) David Ginn has just completed a highly successful lecture tour of the UK which I organised for him. He lectured in London (The Magic Circle), Reading, Gloucester, Bristol, Bradford, Glasgow, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Birmingham, Manchester, Hull and Ipswich. Tony Griffith has only a few spaces left for his CREATIVE MAGIC LECTURE/TEACH-IN on Sunday 21st November 2004. This is being held at his home in Bristol U.K. The material presented in this lecture/teach-in places emphasis upon subtlety, routining and entertainment. Areas covered include, Close Up Magic, After Dinner Speaking, Trade Shows, Entertaining Children, Promotion, Publicity and Organisation. The cost for the day is £40 and includes Morning Coffee, Buffet Lunch and Light Tea. Contact Tony as soon as possible if you wish to snap up the last few remaining places. Tony Griffith, +44 (0) 125 837017 E Mail tony@tonygriffith.co.uk www.tonygriffith.co.uk ----------------- 14. New Mental Magic/Mentalism Book Announcement ----------------- Message from Angelo Stagnaro (US) “Something from Nothing: A Guide to Modern to Cold Reading” by Angelo Stagnaro. Psi-Books Series: Volume 2 "Something from Nothing" represents the first and only mentalism/magic title simultaneously printed in two languages (German and English.) The 1st edition of the German-version of this book was sold out in six-weeks. The book is currently on its second printing and the English-version is finally available. It is published by Manipulix Publishers of Lalling, Germany and has an excellent foreword by Germany's foremost mentalist, Ted Lesley. "Something from Nothing" explores the topic of cold reading on a very practical level. The title was chosen to express the idea that the mentalist should be able to come on stage unaided and, with nothing in hand, simply read a spectator's mind. Many topics are explored including: performance philosophy, precognition, telepathy, body language, voice inflection, developing one’s intuitive sense, deductive reasoning, cultural anthropology, muscle reading, equivoque, casual observations, contact mind reading, medical observations, the skillful use of personal charm and psychology forces. The book also contains horoscopy and tarot cards notes. "Something from Nothing" comes with a large glossary of mentalist terms, an extensive mentalism bibliography and a collection of cold reading one-liners. This 148-page, hard covered text has already been praised by Europe’s top mentalists. The book’s dustcover was designed by Joseph Mein, one of New York’s up incoming graphic artists. The cost is €35 (US$47.50) Pre-orders will be available until the end of October 2004. Prices include shipping. If you have any purchasing questions about "Something from Nothing," please direct them to the publisher: Zauberhandlung Manipulix Publishers Ahornweg 11, D94551, Lalling, Germany Tel: + 49 (0) 99049 96 Fax: + 49 (0) 99049 59 URL: www.manipulix.com Editorial and content questions can be directed to the author: StagnaroAngelo@hotmail.com This book is available in English and German (titled, Etwas aus Nichts) and will be released in Spanish and French in 2005. ----------------- 15. Dove From Any Were - Jamie-G ----------------- Message from Jamie-G (Canada) Effect: You show a handkerchief front and back, You tell everyone that you are going to do a great piece of magic just like David Copperfield. You tell them that you are going to produce a dove from the folds of the handkerchief. You fold up the hanky wave your hand over it and say some funny magic words. When you reach into the folds of hanky some thing went wrong you actually produce a dove but not the dove every one thinks but dove soap. (A bar of soap in its box) Props: You need a devils handkerchief and an unopened box of dove soap. Method: This trick is quite easy all you do is put the soap in the devils hank do the by play show the hanky front and back fold it up and pull out your dove. This is great comedy for any type of show. Tip: If you have a sponge dove you can say your going to change it in to a real dove and when you fold the devils hank up exchange one for the other this is just a little bit of a different method to try something new. I like this kind of comedy magic because you are really doing what you say you are doing just not what the other people think. Lets keep people on there toes and keep them laughing at the same time. Hope you guys like this one. It’s on me..................JAMIE-G ----------------- 16. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 22 1961/62 It’s a Time Warp! I’m stuck in the ‘60s well I was, for 10 years! I have a very large aluminium trunk - stuffed full of programmes, newspaper clippings, magazines, write-ups, posters, etc., from 1960 to 1996 (and if I hadn’t contracted Emphysema, I’d still be stuffing them in). Charles Hikana, ‘The Voice of the Pacific’ (he had won the Canterbury heat of Joe Brown’s Talent Quest 1960) teamed up with Trevor King of Christchurch, and put a show together, featuring some of the Artists from Joe Brown’s show. They called it ‘TALENT TOPPERS - RADIO AND STAGE SHOW - on Tour’. This hit the road around March 1961. I found the original programme (in ‘the trunk’), but unfortunately, it doesn’t show the touring dates. The following, from the original programme, are the brief descriptions (not by me) of myself; in the first half, Quote: ‘Act Three - The Amazing Mr Orchard, versatile teen-age magician who created a sensation in his previous tour through the Islands, and New Zealand’ Unquote. The second half - Quote; ‘Act Eleven - The Amazing Mr Orchanti (spelled with an I instead on an E) sensational teen-age Fire-eater of the Mysterious Orient’ Unquote. (The Mysterious Orient? Gawd almighty! I ask you!) Looking in the mirror, a reflection of silver hair, goatee, been there, done that, seen-it-all, craggy face, stares back, and I think ‘Dear God - it’s 2001 - was that sixteen years old teenager really me, all those years ago? There is one incident from that tour (forty years ago), which I have never been allowed to forget, to this day. I decided how clever it would be to ‘show off’ my juggling skill, using three ‘Fire-balls’ approximately 3” in diameter, during my fire-eating act. I can tell you, it looked quite spectacular, as the Theatre lights were faded to ‘black-out’ during the fire performance. One night, in the Invercargill Town Hall (Invercargill - the most Southerly City of the South Island of N.Z) I dropped a fireball. It ambled across the stage, and bounced off the front upstage side curtain. Now, curtains in old theatres become quite dusty, (dust is extremely flammable) and these were no exception. When the ball ‘hit’, the dust (not the curtains) caught fire. It ran continuously, like a child’s sparkler, right up the curtain, 20 feet above the stage, to the pelmet curtain then, uninterrupted, took off on that, across the 30 foot wide stage to the other side front curtain, where it sparked and spat all the way back down again - then just petered out! The packed auditorium had gone ‘WOOOAAAHHHHH’ at the start, and then fell into a hushed silence during this rather startling episode, spontaneously bursting into wild applause at the finish! As far as they were concerned, it was all part of the act. The late Frank Stapp, then Theatre manager (‘The Master’ - another New Zealand legend among entertainers far and wide) was in hysterics - he nearly had a fit! Over all these years, Trevor King has never stopped reminding me of ‘that’ incident’ it’s become our ‘running joke’. Let me quote, word for word, from his latest letter received last week, where he is telling me about Mary Throll (a retired Auckland agent) who is writing a book about New Zealand ‘Stars and Entertainers’. Quote; ‘I will tell her of the fire-eater (Tommy Orchard - Orchanté) who set fire to stage curtains in Invercargill; Council sent A/c to promoter (Mr King) in Christchurch. Both late Charles Hikana and Max Merritt (H.M.V. recording Star, now resident, and still working in L.A) are still laughing over this ‘accident’. ‘Poor Mr King, he is still paying $20 a week to Council at Invercargill - ha ha! Unquote. C’mon Trev’ old mate, $20 per week since 1961, x 40 years; that’s $41,600 - so far! An overpowering whiff of Bull ‘Manure’ is wafting through the air! ------------------ 17. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives ------------------ Back issues of the Magic New Zealand 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: magic Password: kiwi When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999) ------------------- 18. 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 Magic New Zealand e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Magic New Zealand e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors and not those of Magic New Zealand. Neither Magic New Zealand or Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand e-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree that they will not hold Magic New Zealand and or Alan Watson liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed herein. We reserve the right to edit, correct or, in our discretion, choose not to publish any submissions provided to Magic New Zealand for potential publication. Magic New Zealand welcomes readers to submit timely articles or news items which appear to be of interest to our readers. Those submitting to this e-zine agree that we have permission to publish their submissions and that they have the full copyright to the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand are fully protected by international copyright as provided by law, and articles cannot be published for profit by anyone other than the individual author without the written permission of Magic New Zealand. >>This publication may be freely redistributed (but not sold) to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY including the copyright notice below and the above disclaimer.<< © Copyright 2004 Alan Watson