* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #442 Date: Sunday 3rd September 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. 2008 Combined I.B.M/S.A.M Convention Announces Co-Chairs 3. FISM Act Endorsements! 4. IBM - Reno - 2007 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 25 - Nick Lewin 6. Scott Wells To Coordinate 2008 Convention Logistics 7. Message From The President S.A.M. To All Magicians 8. Effective E-mail Marketing 9. SAM Convention - Life And A Box Of Chocolates 10. A Dice Stacking Retrospective, Part 19 11. David Ginns Christmas Magic Workshop 12. To All Our Friends In The Australian World Of Magic 13. Participants In The British Ring 2006 Convention 14. S.A.M. Convention, Birthday Parties & Nest of Boxes? 15. A Wild, New Las Vegas Show 16. 2006 MINDvention Schedule of Events 17. Only One Week Left For MARS Discount-Price Registration! 18. 28th New Zealand International Magicians Convention 19. The Amazing Orchante Saga 20. e-zine Archives 21. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- If you decide to use a spam filtering program or service please make sure that Magic New Zealand is on your white list. Due to my time constraints I will longer be able to fill out spam approval forms. If for any reason that Magic New Zealand bounces more than three times, your e-mail address is now automatically removed from our database. ----------------------- Congratulations to Guy Cater Kiwi hypnotist and comedy magician as he has just landed a gig at the Riviera Casino in Las Vegas. More details to follow. ----------------------- In Last weeks issue of Magic New Zealand Kelly Peron's internet was incorrect. If you were trying to make contact try magic4u02@aol.com ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. 2008 Combined I.B.M/S.A.M Convention Announces Co-Chairs -------------------------------------------- Message from Jack White/Public Relations The IBM/SAM 2008 Combined Convention today announced the appointment of Roger Miller and Bradley Jacobs as Co-Chairs of the 2008 International Contest of Magic and Special Events. The first combined convention of its kind in modern history, will offer $20,000 in cash prizes plus performing contracts of equal value, will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, July 21, to 26, 2008. "As we got further into everything that was going to be happening in 2008, and as we listened to our respective constituents," said Roger Miller, "our committee felt that the idea of having a couple of official points of contact made a lot of sense. Now, there's no mystery as to who to contact should any of our committee heads be unable to come up with an answer." "Brad and I have worked well together during the past two years, both during the initial feasibility investigation phase as well as during our Planning phase of 2008. So our committee thought it would improve communication all around to put a couple of names on the door." Roger Miller has been involved with I.B.M. conventions for more than nine years, having served as convention treasurer for most of that time. He has recently completed a highly successful year as International President of the I.B.M.  Brad Jacobs, formerly Executive Director of the S.A.M. convention for 16 years, stepped down from active convention management following the Society's historical centennial convention in 2002. Miller and Jacobs are two of the six managers of the LLC formed to organize the combined convention in 2008. I.B.M. & S.A.M. members are reminded that the registration fee for the 2008 convention, if purchased before December 31st 2006, will be $295 After that date the registration jumps to $395. For registration information members are invited to go to the I.B.M. Website at www.magician.org S.A.M., members will find information at www.magicsam.com. -------------------------------------------- 3. FISM Act Endorsements! -------------------------------------------- Message from Roger Miller, Past International President International Brotherhood of Magicians As I.B.M. International President last year I was approached by quite a few magicians worldwide to endorse their act for FISM competition. If I did not know them I relied on the other friends who had seen or knew about the act in the area or country to inform me of the quality of the act. Unfortunately some of them apparently were not acquainted with the quality needed to compete at the FISM level which resulted in the endorsement of some acts that were definitely not ready yet for "prime time". I have enjoyed Sue-Anne Webster's review of both this year's and the 2003 FISM. To sit through the 150 acts and be able to recall with such detail those acts is a feat in itself. Thank you, Sue-Anne. So, I was anxious to read what her impressions were of some of the acts. I agreed with her wholeheartedly on her honest reviews. Due to this experience I am proposing that the IBM have a set procedure for endorsements which would include a video of the act by a committee if the act had not been seen by the committee. Hopefully this will make it easier for the IBM International President to make endorsements when FISM occurs every three years! And lessen the chance of embarrassment. -------------------------------------------- 4. The Greatest Annual Magic Convention on Earth IBM - Reno - 2007 -------------------------------------------- Message from Mel Kientz IBM Convention Committee If you think you saw the IBM Logo magically appear in the Crystal Ball -- it means you are thinking about IBM's Greatest Annual Magic Convention on EarthT coming up in Reno/Tahoe next year. You should really haul out your calendar right now and mark the dates down.... June 26-30, 2007. Please note that you have until December 31st to get the early registration price of $155.00. This goes to $175.00 on January 1, 2007 and $195.00 after May 31, 2007. The anchor hotel will be the Sierra Grand Resort and the room rates are fixed at $99.00 if you make your accommodations prior to May 31, 2007. Call (800) 648-5080 and tell them the group number in "IBM2007". Oh sure you can pay a lot more to attend other conventions, but where else can you get a better value for your money than the IBM convention? Sierra Mountains, Lake Tahoe, the hotel is close to the airport, great food and we guarantee four fabulous Gala Shows, non-stop seminars, close-up shows, contests, and the largest dealer room ever assembled in the USA. If you have already made your reservations, I look forward to seeing you in Reno! If you haven't made your reservations remember that the registration rate goes up after January 1st and again after June 1st. We have plenty of space this early and just look at this line-up of talent already booked... Stage Rich Bloch - Michael Close - Ali Bongo - Jason Byrne - Murray Hatfield - Hikari - Chuck Jones & Co.- Mark Merchant - Antje Pode Mertens - Terry Seabrooke - Yugi Yasuda - Trevor Lewis Close-Up Jon Armstrong - Henry Evans - Pattrick Przysiecki - Boris Wild Lecture Ali Bongo - William Jarvis - Levent - Mark Merchant - Boris Wild -------------------------------------------- 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 25 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) A lesson in misdirection from Patrick Page. One of the joys of growing up near England in the sixties was getting to visit Davenport's Magic Store in London. The store was housed in an old shop that was directly opposite the British Museum and it sometimes looked as if it should have been in the museum. The shop was very dusty and rather musty. Though I never saw them personally there was rumored to be vast underground storage cellars that stretched all the way under the road towards the cellars of the British Museum. I had a weird vision that one day an employee would venture into their subterranean storage looking for a Zigzag illusion; and by the time he had got it upstairs realizing he'd grabbed an Egyptian sarcophagus by mistake! The shop had a long glass counter stretching across the right hand side of the room. The counter served double duty as a display cabinet and was filled with weird, wonderful and very dusty magic props. How these props could remain dusty was a mystery as behind the counter was one of the freshest breaths of air in London and his name was Patrick Page. For a youthful magician there weren't many places where you could spend an uninterrupted hour with a master magician like Pat. Just standing at the counter watching Pat smoke cigarette after cigarette was an experience. You knew that at some point during your visit you were going to be badly fooled by the big ashtray in which he was stubbing out his cigarette butts. Patrick was the king of misdirection and could palm a selected card out of the deck and leave it under that ashtray. It doesn't sound much in print does it; a chosen card arrives under an ashtray? Maybe when the card arrived there for the first time it wasn't too amazing. However by the time Pat had fooled you for the tenth time with the same trick it became pretty darn amazing! Of course, Patrick was too good a magician to really repeat the same trick that many times. What he really did was to use his knowledge of psychology and misdirection to allow him to fool you by doing the same thing at a different time. Years later I read Daryl's brilliant analogy between performing sleight of hand and playing improvised jazz music. Have all your moves ready and perfectly honed, and then choose the perfect move for the perfect occasion. Another trick where Patrick displayed his spookily brilliant misdirection was when he demonstrated the 'Toppit.' Pat would stand behind that counter nonchalantly vanish item after item, each one more impossible. Please send bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@eartlink.net -------------------------------------------- 6. Scott Wells To Coordinate 2008 Convention Logistics -------------------------------------------- Message from Jack White/Public Relations The IBM/SAM 2008 Combined Convention announced today the appointment of Scott Wells to coordinate on site logistics for the first convention of its kind to be held in North America. "Convention logistics are critical to customer satisfaction", said Brad Jacobs, Co-Chair of the convention. "You can have the best plans in the world but if your execution falls short, you'll have unhappy attendees. This is why we needed someone who could devote full time and attention to this important part of our convention effort. Scott is perfect for the job and we are delighted he has agreed to join the committee." Scott Wells is no stranger to conventions. He currently serves as the convention, facilities and site selection chair for the I.B.M. Prior to this he has been T.A.O.M. convention chair and convention editor for MAGIC Magazine for over 10 years. As a magic dealer and seasoned performer, Scott understands the professional side of the magic business and translates that into his vision to make conventions more appealing to attendees. In his capacity for the 2008 combined convention, Scott will be the principal committee liaison with the Galt House Hotel staff, manage function room set-up and audio visual arrangements. Convention registration is now open to both magicians and the general public. The special early registration fee is $295 if purchased before December 31st 2006. For the following year the registration increases to $395. Registration information and a downloadable registration form can be found on the 2008 convention website: www.IBMSAM2008.com. -------------------------------------------- 7. Message From The President Society of American Magicians To All Magicians -------------------------------------------- Andy Dallas National President, Worldwide Society of American Magicians Just a note to remind your readers about our next S.A.M. Convention in Dallas. My travels as president of the S.A.M. has given me the opportunity to meet many S.A.M. members and non-members. Some of the non-members had misconceptions that our S.A.M. Convention is not open to them, or they have expressed a concern that as non-members they may not feel welcome. Thank you for giving me this forum to assure those with above reservations that nothing can be further from the truth. Would we like to make everyone a member? You bet! We have no illusion that to encourage membership we need to introduce our unique and different approach. I do not expect a non-member to choose to attend our Convention or join the S.A.M. on my words alone. So let me make this effort to explain that not all magic organizations are alike. The S.A.M. is very special. Our new magazine is a symbol of our continued effort to bring our organization to the future and still maintain the tradition of the oldest and second largest magic organization in the world. Our convention is a very unique experience. It's not just another magic convention, but a celebration of magic, magicians and magic enthusiasts. Yes, we have big names like other conventions. We also pride ourselves on discovering new and original talent from around the world. So if you simply compare ads, with no understanding of our perspective, one might say, who are these performers? R.G. Smith is a master at producing magic shows and booking only the finest magicians from around the world. We have asked him to keep our tradition of remaining unique while at the same time providing our convention attendees with programs filled with magic excellence. Not an easy task. We know there are many considerations in choosing a magic destination. All I can do is encourage and invite you to give us a chance. Come to Dallas in '07. I have seen some of the tentative plans that Mike Douglass and his committee are currently working on. I can assure you this is going to be an outstanding year. The only thing that could make it better is you. "Escape into the Magic" -------------------------------------------- 8. Effective E-mail Marketing -------------------------------------------- Message from Kyle Peron www.kyleandkellymagic.com I would like to bring up what I feel is a very interesting topic for discussion and one that is of great importance to me in my own marketing I do every year consistently. This is the effective use of e-mail in your marketing of your magic shows. I will try and share some of my own thoughts and ideas on the topic in hopes that it might be of interest to others or spark further conversation. There are actually two ideas here that are worth exploring and talking about. 1) How can you use faxes or e-mail to work for you in regards to change suspects into prospects and then ultimately into paying clients? 2) How can you use e-mail and faxing to your best advantage for when you have a public performance and you want to promote this to others? I use both all the time but both do different things and should be handled quite differently from one another as they bring about different results for different purposes. Let me first talk briefly about how I personally use faxing and e-mailing for lead generation and ultimately using it to change a prospects into a paying client. The first thing I want to mention is that I continue to market year round. I also market myself and make sure that what I say, how I say it and what goes out to people is consistent and of a top quality. This in essence is the art of creating a successful brand and brand identity. Let me start by saying that a brand is a visual and emotional image or feeling that one person associates with a company or service. A magician who has a consistent brand message is one that people will remember when it comes time to make the important decision of who to hire for entertainment. The prospect associates good feelings with the magician and that can often influence their buying decisions. You can think of your own brand as an investment. It does not happen over night. The brand must be developed, used consistently and then matured in the minds of your customers before you can really reap the rewards. But is it worth it? YES! Many companies spend a lot of effort developing their brand and making sure that every marketing material conveys the same consistent look, impression and message. This consistent look in their materials helps build the perception of the brand in the minds of the individuals their services are trying to target. Now that you understand what a brand is and the importance it can have on the success of your marketing, we can also safely say that it does not often take or have to take a lot of money to be able to successfully use this branding principle. E-mail marketing is one way where you can keep costs down but ultimately have a very good return on Investment (R.O.I) I always start to market for my entire festival season sometime in January and all of February. This is the time that most of my "target market" is making their decisions on entertainment and I want to market effectively to them at this time by being the best "solutions provider" that I can be for them. I first will send out my promotional packet to a "qualified lead". Once this promotional packet has been mailed, that is when my e-mail marketing kicks into effect and really works strongly for me. After my initial packet has been mailed out to a person whom I know is a "decision maker" at the event I am targeting, I then do a 2 step e-mail follow up process. In the course of obtaining my leads list and qualifying the leads I have on the list, I also obtain the e-mail of the person I am mailing the kits out to. I will always wait 5 business days before I actually send out my first e-mail follow up to them. Now I always make sure to never send the e-mail on a Monday or a Friday and try my best to stick with sending it to them Tuesday - Thursday. The reason for this is that I have tracked e-mail results and realized that on Monday people are so swamped with getting caught up with things and they also tend to be in a mood that is not as eager to receiving a good response from them. Often times an e-mail sent on a Monday will not get read or will be forgotten. Likewise sending on a Friday sometimes tends to get people thinking too much about the weekend and not enough about what you are trying to tell them. When I send my first e-mail follow up, I try to keep it short and to the point and really sure I have a nice "call to action" at the end of it. I also make sure that my e-mails are always personalized to the individual and I never send out a form letter and CC others on it. I want this person to realize they are receiving a personalized response directly from me and that is tailored to them and their needs. The first follow up e-mail I send out first thanks them for their interest in my services and what I can provide to them. It also talks about the fact that by now they should have received my packet in the mail and I hope they have had time to go over it. It goes on to mention that I would be eager and willing to answer any questions that they have and also directs and points them to my website for further information. It ends with a nice call to action and an incentive to get them really wanting to take action upon what I e-mailed to them. Now the above short follow up e-mail works well for me. It is personalized to the person so tends to get read more often. It is tailored to their direct needs and mentions their direct venue and event I am trying to get into. It reminds them of my packet in case they have not read it yet and gives them direct incentive to take further action to contact me. I make it easy for them to do so through a call to action that mentions my website, e-mail, fax and phone. This gives them as many avenues for them to reach me as I can and to do so easily. After this is sent out, I wait 2 business weeks before sending my last follow up e-mail. Now in the course of doing this, if I get a response back from them, and I often do, I stop the e-mails and make a direct call to them to discuss their ideas and answer their questions to land the gig. In the event that I do not hear back, 2 weeks from the 1st follow up e-mail is enough time to send your last one that has the same approach but is worded slightly different. The main thing to remember here is that I do 2 e-mail follow ups and no more. The 2 follow ups are talking about selling to them in an effective way that calls them to take action. Any more then 2 tends to get you more into the spamming realm. After the 2nd e-mail, if I do not hear back, I immediately stop my direct e-mail selling approach. However I do not stop marketing to them. This leads me to part two of how I use e-mail effectively to market myself and my magic business. Even though I do not want to hard sell to my suspects week after week or month after month, I can still use e-mail marketing effectively by taking a different angle with it. I always keep a contact database at home. This database has every suspect, prospect or client I have ever worked for or sent any information to. I use this database and the e-mails in it to my advantage. Even though I do not want to hard sell to these folks all the time, I do want to keep my name fresh in their minds throughout the year. It is very important to me to keep marketing effectively to these people by staying in front of their eyes. I do this also through e-mail marketing. The difference here though is that I am not hard selling to them at this stage. At this stage I use e-mail marketing as a means of keeping my name fresh in their mind so that maybe I hit them at the right time where they really are in more need for the services I can provide to them. How do I do this? Let me explain and list a few ways in which I use e-mail marketing in this fashion. 1) Holiday greetings e-mails: These e-mails are sent out at every major holiday and sent to my e-mail group. It simply is saying happy holidays to you and your family and may give them a nice message about the holidays and is simply signed with my name and has my contact and website on it. The e-mail is kept simple and sincere and does not mention selling to them at all. The idea here is to simply send them a nice holiday style e-mail that is a nice gesture on my part and gets my name kept in their mind. 2) Exciting news e-mails: Any time I have exciting news, or landed a major client or won an award or landed an article in the paper, I send out an e-mail to my list letting them know of this exciting news. It gets them excited, shows them I am professional and keeps my name fresh without a hard sell to them. 3) Invites to public shows: Anytime I have a public show that is open to anyone to attend, I send out an e-mail to my entire group personally inviting them to see the show. Once again I am not hard selling to the person. I am simply inviting them to come out for a fun time for them and their family. It is a nice gesture that many of my suspects have taking me up on and in turn landed into a paid gig down the road. There are many more ways I can list, but these 3 give you the idea of how you can use e-mail marketing effectively year round without coming across as spamming a person and not also hard selling to them as well. E-mail should be viewed as another tool in your marketing tool box. It is free and can be used very effectively for some wonderful results. The key is to understand it is a tool and how best to use this tool to your advantage. Use it for follow up direct marketing and then use it year round in a non-selling fashion to keep your name fresh in their minds. If used in this fashion, e-mail can be a great tool that will reward you with a very happy return on investment. I hope this is of some help to you and that it may get you thinking how you can use e-mail to your own best advantage. If anyone has any questions, concerns or issues regarding this article, please let me know. I would love to go over anything in what I stated above or address any questions anyone may have. Please feel free to e-mail me your thoughts on this article or on ideas for future articles, to magic4u02@aol.com. -------------------------------------------- 9. SAM Convention - Life And A Box Of Chocolates -------------------------------------------- Message from Maria Ibáñez Society of American Magicians National President Elect Greetings: So what am I talking about this time? Please allow me to explain. Forrest Gump's Momma said it best "life is like a box of chocolate - you never know what you're gonna get". Reading this quote reminds me of the parallel between a box of chocolate and the SAM Convention....you never know what you're "gonna get" but you know in your heart that whatever it is, it will be good. Whether you get the sticky, gooey, chewy kind that you can sink your teeth into and really get knee high deep in or you get the crunchy, nutty kind, you know you are going to love it. That's right, I am talking about one more box to be piled on that nest of boxes we discussed the last time. Why not give up your magic diet and join us in Dallas to see what chocolate sweets RG Smith has packed into that "box of chocolates" for us? Register today either at the web at www.magicsam.com or contact John Apperson at sam@appsmagic.com. Feel free to contact me at merlina17@aol.com or skype me at merlinamagic if you have any questions I can answer. Looking forward to meeting you in Dallas. -------------------------------------------- 10. A Dice Stacking Retrospective, Part 19 -------------------------------------------- Message from Tony Lewis (US) In the prior article in this series I described how my interest in magic was revived after a fifteen year layoff. After I submitted that instalment, I realized that I had made a glaring omission when mentioning various magicians whom I met in the 1970's. The magician whom I overlooked was Jim Zachary, AKA Jim Zee. As I mentioned earlier in the series, Jim wrote a book on dice stacking entitled "Zack Stacks." He also created a video with the same name. At that time these items were arguably the best sources available for learning the art of dice stacking. I met with Jim at three different conventions. We exchanged our individual ideas on our favorite magic effect. Jim put a great emphasis on stacking large numbers of dice. I find this to be an interesting exercise, but I do not believe that it plays well when presented to laymen. I have always felt that a series of manipulations with four dice and a cup are the best tools for a crowd pleasing dice stacking routine. Each die that is added to the stack consumes more time. You run the risk of losing the audience's attention when you attempt to stack large numbers of dice. Jim showed me how to use a large frozen orange juice carton for stacking eight dice. He later sent me a couple of "chimney cups" that he had made to produce large stacks. I believe that they handled eight and twelve dice respectively. In his prime Jim Zachary produced exquisite coin boxes and tables for magicians. I treasure a three coin box set that I purchased from him. Unfortunately, he was forced to sell off his magic manufacturing business due to his failing health. In 1978 I attended my first IBM convention in Pasadena, California. I have maintained my membership in that organization from that time to the present. The most memorable person I met at that gathering was Art Emerson. Art, along with his partner Larry West, produced an impressive number of packet tricks. Art was one of the best salesmen whom I have ever encountered. He also presented his tricks in a most pleasing and proficient manner. Therefore, I became the possessor of far more of his products than I would ever use. At another time I will write an article about an Emerson and West trick called "The Whole Thing." Tony Griffith makes a stage size version of this effect that goes over very well in my current magic act. After the IBM convention ended I drove to Los Angeles where I had been invited to stay with some friends of mine. At that time I was a member of the Magic Castle. My magic had gone over pretty well with some of my fellow magicians at the IBM convention. Hence, I got the idea that I could produce an act that would qualify me to perform in the close-up parlour of The Castle. I practiced diligently for a couple of days before I visited The Castle to see how I could set up an audition. Fortunately, a friend of mine was The Castle's manager. This was the inimitable Don Lawton. Before he joined The Castle staff, Don was closely associated with The Town House Magic Company in Saint Louis, Missouri. He traveled extensively to hawk magic effects wherever he was able to do so. I had encountered him several times at Magic Inc. in Chicago, Illinois. Don was a terrific pitchman. He had the ability to turn a small pocket trick into a minor miracle. Needless to say, he sold a lot of magic tricks. Although Don is no longer alive, his book entitled "Lots of Lawton" is still in demand today. When I met Don at The Castle, he referred me to the officer who was in charge of auditions. That fellow arranged for me to appear in the Sunday family show. I found out that was a common way of auditioning magicians who had to prove themselves as opposed to those whose reputations were strong enough to warrant a gig at The Castle without any screening. In my next article I will continue to describe my attempts to land a gig at The Magic Castle. Regards, Tony L. Lewis Tonylew1@SBCglobal.net -------------------------------------------- 11. David Ginns Christmas Magic Workshop -------------------------------------------- Message from David Ginn (US) This fall only, DAVID GINN will present a series of eight Christmas Magic Workshops across the eastern half of the USA. If you live in Texas, FL, GA, NY, MA, MI, or Chicago areas . check this out . otherwise, pass it on to your friends who do live there! Christmas Magic Workshop Starring Author/Magician David Ginn With Special Guests Bert & Joanne Midyette Or Steve Harmer Sept. 16 : Dallas TX 9 am - 4 pm Highland Meadows Christian Church 2600 Hall Johnson Road Colleyville TX 76034 Directions: (Brett) 972 255-5978 Sept. 17 : Houston TX 2 - 8 pm Holiday Inn Select Greenway 2712 Southwest Fwy I-59 info Scott Wells: 281-772-6014 Sept. 23: PENSACOLA FL 9 am - 4 pm Bayview Senior Center 2000 East Lloyd, Pensacola FL Info: Bruce Walstad 251-964-5207 Sept. 24: Loganville GA 2 - 8 pm O'kelly Memorial Library 3l63 Conyers Rd . HWY 78 at Hwy 20 30 miles east of downtown Atlanta Oct. 14: Long Island, NY 9 am - 4 pm Community United Methodist Church 100 Park Blvd . Massapequa NY 11758 info: John LePre 516-799-8420 Oct. 15: Boston area MA 2 - 8 pm Worcester Hotel 500 Lincoln St (Rt 70) . Worcester MA 01605 info: Fran Flynn 508-854-1392 Nov. 11: Flint, MI . 9 am - 4 pm Encore Magic Shop 5270 Corunna Rd . Flint MI 48532 Reg w/Chris: 810-732-3694 Nov. 12: Chicago area IL . 2 - 8 pm American Legion Hall 6431 Pershing Rd (39th at Ridgeland) Stickney, Illinois $35 advance / $45 at the door. Spouse free with paid performer. Junior Magicians/Clowns $35 with one parent free. Ten children ages 6-12 will be allowed FREE with paid parents, if they are well-behaved and willing to assist on stage. Workshop includes four lectures, a live show, tricks and routines for Christmas performances, and information on how to work Christmas parties as a magician or clown. Send registration to: David Ginn, 370 Bay Grove Road, Loganville GA 30052. Email registrations with credit card: david@ginnmagic.com phone registrations: 770-466-8421 Line #1 FREE BOOK!!! Each registrant gets a free copy of David Ginn's NEW Christmas Magic Workbook, filled with over 35 pages of routines, ideas, and ways to work Christmas Party Shows. Book is NOT FOR SALE! Please pass the words to your friends in these areas of the USA! -------------------------------------------- 12. To All Our Friends In The Australian World Of Magic -------------------------------------------- Message from Elio Simonetti (Aust) Eva and I will be giving a series of performances that are free for the public during the upcoming school holidays. Dates and venues are as follows: Monday 11 September to Wednesday 13 September 11.30am and 2.30pm daily Centrepoint Shoppong Centre 70 Murray St Hobart TAS Thursday 14 September to Saturday 16 September 11.00am and 2.00pm daily Centro Meadow Mews Shopping Centre Kings Meadows TAS Monday 18 September to Sunday 24 September 11.00am and 1.00pm daily Centro The Glen Shopping Centre 235 Springvale Rd Glen Waverley VIC Monday 25 September to Friday 29 September 11.00am and 1.00pm daily Gladstone Park Shopping Centre Mickleham Rd Gladstone Park VIC Tuesday 3 October to Saturday 7 October 10.30am and 1.00pm daily Lakes Village Shopping Centre 21 Helen St Mt Gambier SA Monday 9 October to Friday 13 October 11.00am and 1.00pm Centro Hollywood Shopping Centre Cnr Windzor St and Spains Rd Salisbury Downs SA If you have a chance, drop by and introduce yourself. We look forward to seeing you there. Warmest regards - Elio Simonetti web: www.eliosimonetti.com -------------------------------------------- 13. Participants In The British Ring 2006 Convention -------------------------------------------- Message from Bob Hayden (UK) (In alphabetical Order) Silly Billy - Black Fingers - Vanni Bossi - Noel Britten John Calvert - John Carney - Dave Cass - Craig Christian Michael Close -Tim Cockerill - Tim Conover Roy Davenport - Eddie Dawes - James Dimmare & Monique Wally Eastwood - Moira Fletcher - Paul Freeman Charlie Frye & Co - Gingernutt - Paolo Giua- Jack Gleadow Peter Greenwood - Joe Harper - David Hibberd - Jeff Hudson Shep Hyken - IBM Clowns - Martyn James - Jimbo Tony Josdyne - Graham P Jolley - Mac King -Seth Kramer John Lenahan - Mark Mason - Elizabeth Maskell Nick Mohammend - Bharat & Jyoti Patel - Pinou Vanni Pule - Reuben - Colin Rose - Magic Rose Terry Seabrooke - Brian Sefton - Soul Mystique Mikael Szanyiel - James Tetlow - Peter Wardell - Paul Zendin The Programme for this year's Convention has now been posted on this website and you will have noticed several changes to the format previously used. Wednesday evening has always been Civic Reception Night preceded by the Parade of the Flags and the introduction of our Overseas Visitors to the Mayor of our Host Town, our own President and his Lady and the International President and his Lady. This year there will be no Civic Reception. Instead as part of the opening ceremony on the Wednesday morning, all our Overseas Visitors will be seated in the auditorium and individually introduced to the Convention from the stage. Their national flags will be bedecking the stage as a colourful backdrop. The stage competition for the British Ring Shield moves from Thursday to Wednesday evening allowing for the introduction of an additional stage show on Thursday evening. This year the show's accent will be on fun, demonstrating how different forms of humour have found their way into various magic acts. You will also see there will be two Trade Show Magic sessions on Wednesday and two International Close-up sessions on Saturday. Admission to these will be by coloured ticket, which will be available at the Registration Desk from Wednesday 20th September. This is being done to ensure that all in comfort can see these two events. It was tried at Southport last year and proved to be successful. If you wish to attend both the History of Mystery seminar and the International Close-up Gala make sure you obtain a ticket for the first session of the close-up. Likewise those wishing to see Children's Showtime and the international Close-up should opt for the second session. Dealers Exhibition Organiser, Jim Boyd, reports considerable interest is being shown by traders to take a stand in the Exhibition guaranteeing a varied choice of props large and small, books, videos, DVD's and a wide range of all those essential accessories and gimmicks. However this year the Exhibition will not be open on the Sunday morning with trading ending at 5.15pm.Saturday afternoon. So make sure you have made all your essential purchases of those new effects that you require for your shows in the forthcoming season before it is too late. Convention Talent Co-ordinator Paul Stone has brought together a dazzling and impressive array of magical talent from all parts of the world that has rarely been seen in this country. So even if you have only an interest in one particular branch of the art, there is some stunning magic for you to enjoy from the very best exponents of wizardry. Obliviously there will be some events that come in the category that you will classify as 'I must see', but if you are one who wants to see as many different sessions as possible, you are urged to carefully study the complete schedule on the Programme page of this website and plan your week. Considerable interest to attend the Convention has been shown from overseas magicians. We are, as always, delighted when the International President and his Lady accept our invitation to join us. This year Past International Presidents Obie O'Brien, John Browne III, Jack Greenberg and their respective wives and Jerry Schnepp will join the current President Fred Castro and his wife Mayna. Also registered and making a welcome return are, from the United States, Lance Burton's Manager Peter Reveen, Hank and Jackie Moorehouse, Bob Little, Craig Dickson, and Mike Shelley. Coming from Australia are Alan Sullivan and Steve Walker, from Denmark Peter Borsch, from Belgium Tony van Rhee and from Italy Dominic Dante together with many others from these countries plus Canada, Sweden, Germany and Ireland a lot who are joining us for the first time. The large contingent from Holland who made such a colourful impression at Eastbourne two years ago return with a further three of their countrymen. Prior the Convention Michael Close is in the country doing a lecture tour. Last year in Southport Michael endeared himself to us when he bewildered us with his close-up magic in the International Close-up Show and as Master of Ceremonies, his more than competent handling of the International Gala Show. As Elizabeth Warlock observed in her gala show report he was an unlikely choice as emcee but more than proved his worth with a great fund of gags and stories he held the show together without a single hitch, thus squeezing the maximum entertainment into the short spots between the acts. Trevor Lewis in his report in the Budget described Michael's informative lecture as going far beyond showing a series of tricks. He explained his original thinking regarding the initial approach, making magic meaningful and searching for the right emotional 'hook' to hold and entertain his audience. Michael enjoyed his time so much that he has decided to join us in Eastbourne. Not only that but he has generously offered to conduct a close-up workshop in the Headquarters Hotel, The Lansdowne at midnight on Wednesday 20th September. Unfortunately the number that can be accommodated in the Lansdowne is strictly limited. It has therefore been decided that the workshop will be limited to lucky registrants and will be by ticket only. Tickets will be available from the Registration Desk on a first come first served basis. This is an unexpected bonus and unexpected opportunity for 50 lucky registrants to learn from one of the world's master close-up magicians. In a message to Duncan Trillo's Magic Week Michael reveals he has a couple of surprises planned for the Convention. One has been unveiled above. But what is the second one? Perhaps a visit to his website www.michaelclose.com will give a clue. It also details the various venues where Michael will be lecturing prior to the Convention. You can still register for the Convention by going to the Payment on Line page of this website and following the instructions. Every day John Pye, Neville Johnson and Bob Hayden are receiving enquiries about the Convention either by telephone or e-mail. It would seem that with the number already registered, our 70th Convention is heading for a record attendance. However you can still be accommodated, so why not join us. You won't regret it! -------------------------------------------- 14. S.A.M. Convention, Birthday Parties & Nest of Boxes? -------------------------------------------- Message from Maria Ibáñez Society of American Magicians National President Elect Greetings: Wondering what the subject of this e-mail means? Could it be a riddle? What could they possibly have in common? Read on and find out. Remember back to your childhood birthday parties and how you looked forward to them? Remember how much fun it was and how you looked forward to spending time with your special friends and relatives? Remember how you looked forward to that special dessert - the birthday cake? Remember how you looked forward to opening the beautifully wrapped presents and seeing what you had received as a gift? That is just what an S.A.M. Convention is like -- a special birthday party complete with a special dessert and beautifully wrapped presents. Imagine coming to an S.A.M. convention where you can spend not just a few party hours but a full four days with your magic friends from all over the globe, friends who in some instances have become like family. Partying for four days full of activity and special events planned just for you, the friends we look forward to seeing each year. Imagine coming to an S.A.M. convention where you can savor the special dessert - the Presidential Dessert chosen by the incoming President for the Presidential Banquet....remember the days of John Apperson's peach cobbler? There's been ice cream socials and special cakes and everything in between....I won't let the cat out of the bag on what I've told Lori Douglass to arrange for this year that I will get to make the choice, but, it comes from France, but it will require terrific custard on the dish before the sugar is caramelized on top with a torch in the kitchen before serving. What about the nest of boxes? I haven't forgotten. It is R.G. Smith's undertaking to bring all the gift "boxes". Each of these symbolic "boxes" is made up, one each, by the talent he brings each year to the S.A.M. Convention to make it as special and as unique as it is. Each year he has brought us a theme night show, each of which has been more extraordinary than the last. Think back to the days of the all Canada Show, Magic Circle Show, Souldiers of Sorcery, All Gal Gala, Bargatze's Boys, Topas' Review, Mac King Homecoming, The Legacies, All Japan and so many others. This year is no exception; R.G. has been diligently working towards bringing us one of the most memorable themed nights to date. Unfortunately, I cannot give you the secret - it is not mine to give, but trust me when I tell you it will be one to go down in the record books and that is in more ways than one. There are also the other gift boxes that have to be opened -- S.A.M. special sessions, and as the Special Sessions Coordinator, I can honestly tell you this year will more than exceed your expectations. More details will be given in future e-mails... The box that will unveil this year's official logo for the annual t-shirt; a logo which also becomes the Official Pin for the 2007 Dallas convention... The box that contains all the different trading pins designed by assemblies, magicians, officers and council members annually for the pin trading....(if you need to have a pin made, drop me a line at merlina17@aol.com or contact John Apperson at sam@appsmagic.com and we can have them made for you at very reasonable prices) The box that contains the registration packets with all the goodies which we have started putting in for you -- tokens, pins, pens, autographed photos, etc.... This in addition to your badge, and more... The "box" that contains this year's convention program. A program that contains personal ads of good wishes for the incoming officers, a word of thanks to the outgoing President and many more ads in addition to the list of performers, schedule and other tidbits. Want to buy an ad? Contact Jann Wherry Goodsell at bravesjann@comcast.net need help with designing your ad? Contact David Goodsell at superg13@comcast.net. I've only touched on a handful of "gift boxes" that are a part of every S.A.M. Convention...there are many more which I will touch upon in future e-mails. But it takes all those boxes stacked one on the other to make for the truly extraordinary conventions that the S.A.M. organize every year. It also takes you, our friends to make it complete....no party would be complete without our special friends to enjoy it with, so, don't delay, register today and be a part of the 2007 Dallas S.A.M. Convention Party. Register on line at www.magicsam.com or drop an e-mail to John and Virginia Apperson at sam@appsmagic.com today before all the best seats are gone. -------------------------------------------- 15. A Wild, New Las Vegas Show -------------------------------------------- Message from Steve Dacri (US) A Wild, New Las Vegas Show, from veteran producer John Stuart and Steve Dacri. Potential for a long-running production in Las Vegas and other cities. Need: All types, especially ALL celebrity impersonators, character actors who may also sing, and emcees. All actors must have strong comedy improvisation skills, with previous experience preferred. Some parts require singing, others do not. Among characters needed: Peggy Sue - The Girl Next Door Ace - The Car Salesman Trudy - The Over-the-Top Ex-showgirl Bambi - Overweight Horny Lady Zina - The Happy Hooker Willie - The Hillbilly Neighbor Mister Dudley - the outrageous (yet in control) emcee Absolutely No Phone Calls, Please. Auditions will held at: JSP, Gibson Road, Henderson. Date: September x Time: 3 pm - 6 pm Follow-up: September xx Time: 3 pm - 6 pm Final Auditions Location: TBA DATE: September xx Time: 3 pm - 6 pm Singers: bring CD track. ALL must bring 2 photos and current resume for consideration. A splendid time is guaranteed for all. -------------------------------------------- 16. 2006 MINDvention Schedule of Events -------------------------------------------- Message Danny Archer (US) Sunday 5th 1 pm Registration/Dealers Open 2:30 Greg Arce Lecture 4:30 Panel Discussion - C.O.M.E. Creating Original Mentalism Effects/Scripts 6:00 Dinner Break/Dealers 7:30 Attendee Show - effects from convention attendees 9:00 Rick Maue Lecture Monday 6th 11:00 am McCambridge Interview 12:00 Lunch/Dealers 1:30 Dennis Laub Lecture 3:30 Attendee Show 5:30 Dinner Break/ Dealers 7:00 Docc Hilford Lecture 9:30 Francis Menotti Off Color Show Tuesday 7th 11:00 Anton Zellmann Lecture 12:30 Lunch/Dealers 1:30 Attendee Show 3:00 Panel Discussion Three Stooges - The Use of Stooges 4:30 John Riggs Lecture 6:00 Dinner Break 8:00 All Star Show Schedule/performers subject to change The World's Greatest mentalists will gather in Las Vegas, NV from November 5th -7th for three days of education, entertainment and enlightenment ... find out how you can join them .... Mindvention Danny Archer Magic 1911 Yosemite Street Denver, CO 80220-2254 303-321-6267 www.dannyarcher.com -------------------------------------------- 17. Only One Week Left For MARS Discount-Price Registration! -------------------------------------------- What do you get when you mix a magic seminar with an unforgettable vacation? You get to be a part of magic history at a beautiful resort on the shores of the Red Sea. Roei Zaltsman , in conjunction with Isrotel , is proud to offer hospitality to the fraternity of leading magicians from Israel and the world over attending the international magicians seminar.  There will be three days of lectures, workshops, performances and various attractions. Participants will be accommodated at their choice of one of the hotels of the Isrotel chain. This seminar will enable the professional magicians to familiarize themselves with the latest updates as well as serving as a stepping stone for the amateur magician. -------------------------------------------- 18. 28th New Zealand International Magicians Convention -------------------------------------------- Hosted by Palmerston North Magic Circle (Inc) Palmerston North, New Zealand. 20th to 23rd October 2006 For the registration html form to print off Go to: http://www.joel.co.nz/convention/reg_form.htm Information on the convention Go to: http://www.watson.co.nz/convention.html The Schedule of events Go to: http://www.joel.co.nz/convention/timetable.htm Convention headliners: David Williamson (USA) Lisa Menna (USA) Duane and Mary Laflin (USA) Joel Howlett (Aus) Alan Martell (UK) If you are planning to attend and have not booked - BOOK NOW - as seats are NOW VERY limited. ----------------- 19. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 116 Trevor King - Q S M. 'The Master' - The Legend! The key figure behind the successful shows of many local and international entertainers touring New Zealand has been Trevor King, tour manager extraordinary for the Kerridge - Odeon organisation. If you were living in Christchurch there must surely have been times when you've been slowly edging towards the entrance door to 'His Majesty's' or the town hall amid an expectant throng of theatregoers all eager to enjoy a night of glamorous excitement on stage, when suddenly a voice of anguish from a programme seller or ticket seller summons a tall, efficient looking, saviour! Maybe someone has been double-booked, or the programme seller has run out of change. Whatever the crisis, it is the job of the tour manager to put it right, in an instant. But these instances are surely minute among the countless duties to which Trevor King has attended throughout his career as New Zealand's most experienced tour manager. Trevor is a well - known Christchurch identity; he began in theatres as an ice-cream boy and progressed, over the years and through the ranks, to have managed the Christchurch theatre chain for the Kerridge Odeon Organisation. Always approachable, and with a brilliant and dry wit, he makes new friends daily, but never forgets the older acquaintances, often dropping them a line or reminiscing over a polite ale or two. Show people are mysterious people. You never know what to expect of them. Some are the happiest and most enjoyable people imaginable. Others are downright impossible. Either way, they are 'Show Business', and Trevor King knows show business and its people, better than anyone I know, in New Zealand. He has rubbed shoulders with the Stars, and many of them still correspond with him. The walls of Trevor's home bear mementos of his involvement with innumerable visiting artists. He has toured with performers such as the Beatles, the Vienna Boys Choir, Andy Stewart, Gene Pitney, the Seekers, Rolf Harris, and Frank Ifield, to name a few. (I gave an extensive list back on Page 107). Of the Beatles, he says, "Nice boys - I had no trouble with them". Entertainment has been in Trevor's blood since his days as a boy in Sydenham when he used to charge his friends a penny to watch 'magic lantern' slides, with a free comic thrown in. He ran a Youth Club for many years, and thousands still know him as 'Uncle Trev' from the days of his 'Saturday Chums Club' at the old Liberty Theatre. As I mentioned earlier, he worked as an ice-cream boy at the Metro Theatre in Sydenham and, before long, he had been promoted to doorman. That duty earned him half-a-crown a night - a sum he took a week to earn - as an ice-cream boy. Leaving school at 14, he gained full time Theatre work, and was Custodian at the age of 16. Soon he was Publicity man at the old St. James Theatre, where he was responsible for advertising movies in the Newspapers, and the Posters in front of the Theatre. Trevor's intimate knowledge of the screen world and its workings quickly took him into Theatre management and, by the time he retired, he had managed every Theatre in Christchurch. A devoted Elvis Presley fan (I bought him a very good book about 'Elvis' myself, as a way of saying 'Thank You' for the rare publicity/photographs/reviews he has sent me - at enormous cost I must add, which must have put a small dent in his wallet - of my own 'personal hero' Franquin), Trevor has every record his 'King' namesake ever made, and met him after a concert in Madison Square Gardens, New York, where Elvis autographed a photograph for him. He has also met boxing great, Muhammad Ali, and is equally proud of the autographed photo with which he was presented. Trevor has no difficulty in naming the performers with whom he most enjoyed travelling: (The Vienna Boys Choir have that honour). He says, "They were a pleasure to work with - well-mannered, cheerful and friendly." He became a real "Uncle Trev" to the boys on their visits and, so impressed the touring company that they insisted on returning some of the kindness by this unusual gesture. When he visited Vienna in 1977 during a tour of the United States and Europe, he was given the VIP Suite, which is maintained by the school that the boys attend. Continues. -------------------------------------------- 20. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives -------------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/fezine.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) -------------------------------------------- 21. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to any other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand® E-zine at www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html. Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday. The opinions expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson 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 they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed therein. Magic New Zealand® reserves the right to alter, correct or disregard any articles submitted. Readers are encouraged to submit timely articles or news items which may be of interest to subscribers. By submitting articles to this e-zine, the authors grant Magic New Zealand® the right to publish such articles and such authors confirm their copyright of the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand® are protected by international copyright legislation and articles must not be published for profit by anyone other than the individual authors without the written permission of Magic New Zealand®. Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 2006 Alan Watson