* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * Proudly sponsored by International Entertainment * www.Alan-Watson.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #648 Date: Sunday 5th April 2009 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. Abracadabra And It's Gone! 3. Dreamin Of Debbie McGee 4. FISM 2009 Have Surpassed 1,500 5. Air Prices Going Crazy - Booked For Beijing FISM? 6. Jerry's Nugget Playing Cards 7. Remarkable Magic #88 - Nick Lewin 8. Who Are You Really? - #112 - Kyle Peron 9. Cruising With Paul Romhany #63 10. 4F Again As I Forgot Something ??? 11. Knight Of The Order Of Merit Of The Italian Republic 12. Daytona Magic On The Road 13. Florida State Magic Convention 14. Blackpool Online 15. Melbourne International Comedy Festival 16. 40th Annual Magic Collectors' Weekend 17. Dick Cavett: Conjuring Slydini 18. Ray Crowe Perform In Griffith NSW 19. Wizards Of Winterhaven's First Lady Of Magic 20. e-zine Archives 21. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- **IMPORTANT MESSAGE** Magic New Zealand has been a victim of its own success! We now have over 14,500 members worldwide and when I send out an important **NEWS FLASH** it can now take up to 10 hours for all subscribers to receive it!! Problem Now Solved . On Facebook I have 2,571 friends who I have invited as of tonight to join the: Magic New Zealand's **NEWS FLASH** group. Also I have just set up on Twitter a similar group. If you are a member of the Magic New Zealand Twitter group you can have the **NEWS FLASHS** e-mailed to your mail box or you can have them texted to your cell phone. If you want to join Facebook go to: www.facebook.com Then to join my group of friends, do a search on Facebook for Alan Watson. There is a number of Alan Watson's - you can identify me as I am the one wearing the blue coat. From there you can do a search for: Magic New Zealand's **NEWS FLASH** and apply to join the group. If you want to join Twitter go to: www.twitter.com Currently Twitter is having problems with searching for new members!! But if you go to: http://twitter.com/magicnewzealand you can join the group from there.  In the setting file you can set up how you would like to receive the **NEWS FLASHS** by email or by a text to your cell phone. Gee don't you love technology! Magic New Zealand **NEWS FLASHS** will only to be sent out for MAJOR news items which will be of interest to the majority of subscribers. Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. Abracadabra And It's Gone! -------------------------------------------- Message by Steve Walker (Aust) Sad news that after starting publication with Vol.1 No.1 on February 2nd, 1946 for the price of 7d, the Only Magical Weekly In The World is, unfortunately or possibly predictably, no more. They boasted that they never missed publishing an edition for every week of its existence, but in an ever changing world the need for a weekly whose primary purpose would have been initially at least to keep you up to date with magical news, the internet now is almost instant in this pursuit. The tricks, with a small percentage of exceptions, were unexceptional and the comments, controversy and editorials in this PC world lacked the edge that the founder Goodliffe brought to them for so many years. An 11th hour attempt to sell it as a "going concern" fell through. The magazine has been owned by the Davenport Dynasty for a number of years but it was never treated as a "House Organ" and they announced that they didn't have any time to run it. A quick look through Abra No.1 reveals in the editorial that it had been founded "To Elevate the Art of Magic" borrowing this aspiration from the Magic Circle. Besides the ads for British dealers, my favourite being Henri De'Seevah, who specialised in used magic with full or part exchange, and had the slogan "An effect in the show, is worth a dozen in the cupboard!" there are a surprising number of ads for USA dealers. Part 1 of a serialised version of Jack le Dair's "Tricks of a Trouper" book and a short bio on Edward Maurice are followed by a review of Arthur Worsley the ventriloquist at the Aston [where Aston Martin cars were originally built] Hippodrome, Birmingham where he shared a dressing room with a dance act called Elaine and Hugo from Australia. They had toured with Levante and Elaine was reported as being the first to be shot by Les through a steel plate. Comedy magician, Arthur Dowler was also on the bill, he later went into a magical dealership with partners Harry Stanley and Jack Hughes. I was lucky enough to meet Arthur Worsley many years later when he played St. George Leagues Club with the Black And White Minstrels Show. He had impeccable ventriloquial technique and a novel act where his doll, "Charlie Brown" did all the talking. Abra reported that his 18 minute act at Aston drew no less than 8 curtain calls!!!. Arthur remembered this review when I spoke with him and admitted he wasn't at his best suffering a severe migraine before the show and sleeping with his head on the cold toilet bowl as his only means of relief. There's a "Repeat Magicolour Tube" and an Improved Ball and Tumbler effect to complete that first edition. -------------------------------------------- 3. Dreamin Of Debbie McGee -------------------------------------------- Message by Paul Daniels (UK) It's not every magic assistant who has a parody song written all about her and sung everyday on the nation's number one pop music channel by the channel's number one presenter, but that is what has happened over the last couple of weeks by Chris Moyles on BBC Radio One. You can hear it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhK4b5vaFlQ I guess Debbie, who can be heard every Sunday morning on BBC Radio Berkshire from 9am to 12noon is now as famous, or even more so, than Paul! -------------------------------------------- 4. FISM 2009 Have Surpassed 1,500 -------------------------------------------- Message by Alice Ma Jie (China) Just to  let you know that the participants for FISM 2009 have surpassed 1500! -------------------------------------------- 5. Air Prices Going Crazy - Booked For Beijing FISM? -------------------------------------------- Message by Tim Ellis forwarded on by Tony Wilson In case you haven't heard, the Global Economic Crisis is good news for travelers with airlines discounting flights heavily to get tourists flying again. If you haven't booked your flights to China for FISM yet, this is VERY good news! Take a look at www.webjet.com and see prices starting at $471 each way for Singapore Airlines, Melbourne to Beijing! Qantas say they will match Singapore, but so far have only discounted their prices a little to $746 each way, while AIR CHINA - official FISM carrier - is a ridiculous $1964 each way! (Boy, I'm really glad we cancelled that group booking with Singapore Airlines now!) So get on line and take advantage of the savings! With an airfare of $942, a cheap registration price, and swag of cheap hotels, tell all your friends to head to FISM as well! -------------------------------------------- 6. Jerry's Nugget Playing Cards -------------------------------------------- Message by Lee Asher (US) Jerry's Nugget playing cards have a hidden secret. Do you know about it? Don't worry if your answer is "No", I'm going to let you in on it anyway. Here's one of the ways you can tell the difference between counterfeit Jerry's Nugget Decks, and the real thing. Watch a short video that explains everything. http://www.leeasher.com/cgi-bin/arp3/arp3-t.pl?l=40&c=2401 (cut and paste if not clickable) Enjoy the secret. Speak with you soon Alan. Cheers, Lee Asher PS:   On April 7th, I'm going to make a major announcement about the authentic Jerry's decks being sold on LeeAsher.com. You're going to want to hear about it.  (Note: April 7th IS NOT the day decks will be sold.)  Stay tuned. -------------------------------------------- 7. Remarkable Magic #88 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message by Nick Lewin (US) The evolution of a show I had a wonderful time in Auckland recently visiting with my many friends there. I don't know why it is that I feel so comfortable and happy with all those Kiwis but I do. I finish each visit working on ways to organize the next one. I particularly enjoyed getting to see the evolution of Alan Watson's long running show at 'Rainbow's End' in this fine city. His gig is now going into its 26th year as a featured attraction in this busy theme park and tourist attraction. Now, I have absolutely no experience in performing in this kind of venue. To be honest, to me, it looks like a thoroughly difficult and rather tough audience demographic to work with on a weekly basis. Alan makes it look easy and his performance is just as fresh each visit when I watch him perform there. I am always impressed by long runs because it means that the performer must be doing something very right. This means that there is something going on that I can learn from. This is a simple rule of thumb that has served me well over the years. This long-term residency was no exception. During the last year I had a chance to really observe the care that Watson puts into keeping his show fresh for his audiences and even more importantly the executives who keep renewing his contract year after year. I realized, as one so often does, that continued success in a gig requires a lot of work and planning. Last summer Alan and Michele Watson spent some time with Susan and me in our Las Vegas home. During this visit I watched the first steps towards the next version of his show. Alan purchased several new props and illusions that he envisioned in his show. Amongst other items he acquired were one of Dirk Lossander's magnificent floating tables and a Kevin James Snowstorm Illusion. A visit to a Las Vegas clothing store, that specializes in the kind of outfits that performers favor, resulted in two bright blue suits for Alan. However, you don't create a strong new show just by buying things or you would see more pros walking out the doors of magic shops. It requires a lot of thought mixed with hard work to turn a trick into a routine. During the six months between Alan's visit to Vegas and my stay in Auckland I was able to follow the clicking of his creative brain during our frequent 'Skype' phone conversations. He would excitedly describe ideas he had come up with to add his own touches to the emerging show. Music, pacing and costuming were just some of the elements that he juggled to reinvent his performance. The pay-off to this process was fully evident while I watched the newly updated version of his magic show onstage at 'Rainbow's End.' It was a markedly different version of his show that combined new tricks and several old favorites into a 30-minute show that was designed and tailored especially for the theme park. The show fitted the venue as neatly as the new blue suit fitted Alan. This is what keeps a show booked into the same venue for 26 years, the attention to detail that leaves an employer happy in the knowledge that a job well done is still being well done. Keeping things fresh is a great tool for a performer who is starting to book kids shows for the children and then grandchildren of people who saw him in their childhood! For details on my recession busting lecture 'Making Money with Magic,' check out my website www.nicklewin.com it is a great way to get some of those old props out the cupboard and make some money with them! -------------------------------------------- 8. Who Are You Really? - #112 - Kyle Peron -------------------------------------------- Message by Kyle Peron (US) magic4u02@aol.com http://www.kyleandkellymagic.com Who are you really? I know this sounds silly, but I am not asking for your name or where you live or how you grew up even. I am asking a deeper meaning as it relates to magic and the magic that you do. Who are you? Have you ever asked yourself that question? Let me dive in a bit and talk about this very subject in hopes that it may open some eyes and gets you thinking in a different way. In many ways magicians feel that the magic and the trick is everything. After all, why shouldn't it be? I mean we buy the trick to perform the trick to seek a reaction from the audience? Right? Well not entirely. In many ways we get into this false assumption that the trick is everything. We often times focus so much of the magic or the props. But I ask you this simple question? What do you want your audiences to remember after your performance? If you focus so much on the props or the effect the only thing they may remember is the trick itself and nothing more than that. If this is the case, you might as well just place a deck of cards on a table and walk away. Why even bother performing if the only thought you are leaving them with is that card deck? To me, magic is and should be so much more than that. It is about YOU and the entertainment value and experience YOU directly create for any audience. I want my audiences remembering ME and the experience I created for them. The feelings and the emotions and the journey I take them on are what matters most to me. So asking yourself, "who are you?" is simply asking yourself to define who you are to an audience. What is it you are trying to say to them about you? Defining who you are helps to also define the magic that you do and how you do it. This is very important. You can almost think of it in terms of an actor in a movie. An actor creates a character and you know right off hand who that character is. You also know what that character would do and what he would not do. If the character does something that does not fit, it becomes so out of character, that it simply does not make any sense. This is what defining yourself is all about. When you define yourself, you know what magic works for you and what does not. It helps you to determine what tricks may make sense and even will help you to define routines that work best for you. Defining who you are even can help you to realize what markets make sense for you to perform for and what ones simply do not. Defining who you are is critical, but defining who you are NOT is even more important. Too many magicians try to be a jack of all trades. How many magicians have you seen that have on their business cards, "magic for all occasions"? A lot right? Well to me, this is not defining anything. If you define who you are, you should know exactly what markets you specialize in and which you do not. If you know who you are, you know your focus should be in certain markets only simply because that is who you are and what you are best at doing. For example, I see so many magicians become children's entertainers and perform kid's shows. There is nothing wrong with this. Well nothing wrong with this if you like children and enjoy performing for them. But how many people out there have you seen that do kid's shows and hate it? When asked why they do it, they state they have to cause the money is good and it's "easy money." Well I am sorry but to me that is NEVER a good enough reason. If you hate kids then you should not be doing kid's shows. Defining yourself will tell you this. Likewise, why call yourself a comedy magician if you are not in the least bit funny or comical? It only hurts yourself and hurts other magicians around you. Now you may be saying that it is hard to define one 's self. This can be certainly true. No one ever said it was easy. But it is absolutely worth it. It makes you who you are and makes your magic unique. If you want a great way to assist in finding out who you are, do this. Find 5-6 people you absolutely trust to be as honest as they can be. You tell them to write down just 5 adjectives that BEST describe how they see you as a person. They are to write 5 or 6 words that best defines who you are and your personality as THEY see it. They are not to think about it. They are to do this quickly. They are also to be dead honest with you. When you get these back, you will be often times shocked that how you THINK you are is way different then how OTHERS see you. This is important because it is the lay audience that is important to us as magicians. If they do not think we are a funny person at all, then maybe comedy magic is not the area we should go in. This exercise can really help one to define who they are and the magic they do. So take some time this week and really sit down and ask yourself who you are. Define it for yourself and get others to assist you with it. Instead of trying to guess or be a jack of all trades, help to really figure out what your magic is trying to say and how you are saying it. It makes you a better performer and your audiences will thank you for it. As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you. - "Encore! Creativity in the Art of Magic" Ebook. Order online now at: http://www.magicenhancer.com/Encore.html - "Tips and Techniques on the Chair Suspension" Ebook. Order online now at: http://www.magicenhancer.com/ChairSuspension.html Kyle Peron Magician and Illusionist www.kyleandkellymagic.com Chair Suspension Ebook Author http://www.magicenhancer.com/ChairSuspension.html New E-Book: Encore! Creativity in the Art of Magic! http://magicenhancer.com/Encore.html -------------------------------------------- 9. Cruising With Paul Romhany #63 -------------------------------------------- Message by Paul Romhany (NZ) Here is part two of my basic article for working on ships. It doesn't hurt sometimes to get back to basics. For a much more detailed account of how to get work on ships, be sure to check out my book Entertaining On A Cruise Ship - The Ultimate Guide. This is now available from pretty much every magic dealer around the world. Requirement of Shows Each cruise line will have different requirements from their Guest Entertainers, what I offer is simply a guideline - Length and number of shows I checked the guidelines in the manual for the cruise line I work on and they state that a minimum repertoire of two 30-minute and one 15-minute show is required. On longer cruises it may be necessary to perform three of four 30 minute shows. On the ships I work I have never done two different 30 minute shows, rather one full show and a split show with another act or two different 45 minute shows. On the cruise I am on at the moment, as of writing, I am performing two 45 minute shows and a close-up show. The close-up show is at my suggestion to the cruise director as it gives me another chance to push my DVDs plus I thoroughly enjoy close-up magic. How many shows you are required to perform depends entirely on the length of cruise. If you are doing the short seven day cruises then more often than not you will only be required to do one full show, perhaps maybe another show sharing the bill with another act. On the longer cruises of say twenty four days you can be assured you will need to do two different full shows. This requires a lot of work and it is important that your second show is as strong as the first. Speaking from experience I prefer just to do my one main show as it contains all my number one material, rather than try and split it up between two shows. After experimenting with my act I realized how important it is to make sure your first show is very strong, that way people will talk about you, get to know you and come back for the second. You will hear other entertainers say they have an A and a B show, in my opinion if you want a long career in Cruising make sure both your shows are A material. If you can do a close-up show then by all means mention it to the cruise director as it all helps in the long run keeping your name in front of the passengers when they fill in the comment cards. The general rule of thumb is that you will do your main show twice in one night. Your schedule Your schedule will vary from ship to ship and cruise to cruise. Generally speaking, on a seven day cruise you will be required to work one night with your main 45-50 minute act. This you will do twice, once at the early show, usually 8.30pm and the other at 10.30pm for two different audiences. On the larger ships they are now getting us to work more, so we will work one night with the two shows, then repeat the show again the next night for the crowds who missed it. The large ships now carry up to 2800 passengers so you are required to do an extra show. On the seven day cruise you may also be asked to do an extra ten to fifteen minute spot on the last night, along with other guest entertainers. Because I have two different full 45 minute acts plus the close-up show, I tend to get the longer runs which also means the better contracts where the ships travel to more exotic locations around the world. It makes sense to keep me on a ship longer as I can do two different nights of entertainment and the close-up show on a sea day. However, having said that next week I will be leaving the ship I have been on for three months and transshipping to another ship for a little over a week where I will be on the last part of the cruise and the beginning of a new one, then fly to join another ship for a little over a week, then fly to another ship for only one night before flying home. There is no set rule for how many times you will perform and you usually only find out when you join. My advice is to make sure you are prepared before starting your cruise ship career, otherwise it will be short lived and chances of getting re-booked are very slim. There somehow seems to be an invisible network amongst the Entertainment Department in the cruise industry and word travels fast. Remember that Carnival cruises owns about 70% of the cruise industry including; Carnival Cruise Lines, Windstar Cruises, Cunard Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Costa Cruises and The Yachts of Seabourn. That is a huge market and Entertainment is now overlapping with these companies as they all come under one umbrella. Material I have always made sure my material was never 'adult' orientated or 'blue', unless asked to do the midnight show -  in which case you can do routines that are a little more on the edge. Make sure you find out the demographics of the cruise line you will be working for. Because of my Charlie Chaplin act, they tend to put me on longer cruises, which suits me fine because they have the better itineraries. There is a joke amongst entertainers when asked the average age of the passengers they say, "between dead and deceased!" I am currently on a 24 day cruise as I write this and the average age would be sixty plus. On the shorter cruises, such as those in the Caribbean, you will find the average age much lower with children traveling. One of my good friends works for a cruise line where he is required to do a 30 minute family orientated show and a 30 minute midnight adult show, so he obviously has his material suited for those audiences. According to marketing the cruise ship attracts a vacationing crowd from a cross-section of North America, the UK and sprinkles of other nationalities so your material will need to be international. I have appeared on cruise ships where the majority of passengers didn't speak English, magicians at least have a slight advantage over comedians in that we have the visual aspect of our shows to help in these conditions. My advice is very simple, chose material for your act that is suitable for all ages. -------------------------------------------- 10. 4F Again As I Forgot Something -------------------------------------------- Message by Obie Obrien (US) I forgot the most important thing for 4F this April. Henry Evans from Buenos Aires Argentina is my 4F guest of Honor for 2009. A FISM winner who will be touring China in about 7 days. He Rocco (another 4Fer) and a few other magicians will be doing a close up tour for TV in about 5 cities. -------------------------------------------- 11. Knight Of The Order Of Merit Of The Italian Republic -------------------------------------------- Message by Tony Binarelli (Italy) I am attaching the official letter and its English translation, it is one of the most important ones that the President of the Republic can assign to individuals who have particularly distinguished themselves in their field of work, enhancing the value of their professionalism both in Italy and abroad, and contributing to the pervasiveness of Italian culture in the world. It is the first time that an honorary title of this kind has been granted to an illusionist. -------------------- (official seal) General Secretariat of the President of the Republic  ------ Head of the General Secretariat Cabinet OILARCHONOMR06/164 Rome, 6 February 2009 Dear Mr. Binarelli, I am very pleased to announce that the President of the Republic has signed a decree through which, on 27 December 2008, you have been granted the honorary title of Cavaliere dell'Ordine "Al merito della Repubblica Italiana" (Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic). With our very best regards. (Giulio Maria Viola) signature ______________ Knight Mr. Antonio BINARELLI Via Valmarana Giuseppe, 40 00139 Rome -------------------------------------------- 12. Daytona Magic On The Road -------------------------------------------- Message by Irv Cook (US) For those of you that want to visit my partner Harry Allen when he is lecturing or working at conventions, here is his schedule for the near future: April 20 - 27 COAI Clown Convention, Clarksville, IN April29 - May 4 Battle of the Magicians, Canton, OH June 29 - July 6 IBM Magic Convention, Nashville, TN September 2 - 8 TAOM Convention, Houston TX -------------------------------------------- 13. Florida State Magic Convention -------------------------------------------- Message by Harry Allen (US) The Daytona Festival Of Magic (Which has become the official Florida State Magic Convention) is once again going to be the 1st weekend in November at the beautiful Daytona Beach Resort and Conference Center. The Convention dates are November 6th thru the 8th. We have already confirmed such acclaimed magical entertainers as Harry Allen, Chris Capehart, David Garrard, F.I.S.I.M. Winner: Hector Guimaraes, Kostya Kimlat, David Merry, Barry Mitchell, Scott Humston, "Normando" (Norm Barnhart), and Pavel. We are also waiting to announce the addition of an internationally known performer in the world of magic and comedy that we can't wait for you to hear about. (Stay tuned for that announcement coming soon!) We are also continuing to search the globe for many more performers and entertainers to make your weekend with us truly magical! The cost for the ENTIRE convention (which includes a Friday night dinner) is only $135! To date, we already have close to 200 registrants and we ALWAYS sell out each year! Don't miss out on this fantastic event! Register now by calling Harry Allen at (800) 346-2442 or, (386) 252-9037. You can also register online right now by clicking the below link. http://www.daytonamagic.net/customer/index.cfm?action=detail&ProductId=17230 Hurry! Seats are going fast! We'll see you in Daytona in November! Harry Allen & Irv Cook Daytona Magic Inc. 136 S. Beach Street Daytona Beach, FL. 32114 (386) 252-9037 (800) 346-2442 www.daytonamagic.com -------------------------------------------- 14. Blackpool Online -------------------------------------------- Message by Andrew Green A Registration Form for for the 2010 Blackpool Convention, 19 - 21 February 2010, is now available to download from www.blackpoolmagic.com, the new website for Blackpool Magicians' Club. The Blackpool Convention, organised by Derek Lever, is an event not to be missed. Over 3500 visitors and more than 150 dealers from all parts of the globe every year can't be wrong. For the best lectures, shows and other spectacular events it has to be Blackpool. Along with the Convention Registration Form the new website also gives up to date information on the fantastic line up of club events and celebrity lectures at the club headquarters during the year. There are also details of a brand new exclusive 'Blackpool Magicians' Club Newsletter' which is completely free via the new website. Later this year an archive area will be added to the site featuring video clips, photo galleries and reviews of the Blackpool Magic Conventions over the past 57 years. If you would like to contribute to this archive Andrew Green, the website developer (Andrew@modernmysteries.co.uk), will welcome hearing from you. -------------------------------------------- 15. Melbourne International Comedy Festival -------------------------------------------- Message by Cath Jamison (Aust) I've got a new show for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival which is more Family orientated this year. For those who are a kid or a big Kid at heart. Be entertained and enthralled by this dynamic and hilarious magic show. Dove whispering, swords, rings and all things magical. Give your child the chance to be a real magician's assistant on stage and see the wonder of snow like you've never seen before. Cath excited packed houses at the Melbourne International Comedy and Fringe Festivals with her own highly successful sell out show Secret life of a Woman, offering a unique feminine twist and an edgy sassy approach to the world of magic and intrigue. Cath Jamison is undoubtedly the best and funniest female magician in Australia. "Australia's number one female magician." The Age "A fantastic response from the audience!" Brett Haylock, The Famous Spiegeltent www.cathjamison.com.au Date 15 - 18 April Times Wed 4.30pm, Thu 6.30pm & Sat 11am Venue Gasworks Arts Park - Gasworks Theatre 21 Graham St, Albert Park Bookings Venue Bookings 9699 3253 & at the door & www.gasworks.org.au (Magic Workshops available see Gasworks website: http://www.gasworks.org.au ) -------------------------------------------- 16. 40th Annual Magic Collectors' Weekend -------------------------------------------- Message by Gabe Fajuri The 40th Annual Magic Collectors' Weekend is scheduled for April 23-25th, 2009. A stellar lineup has been booked for the event. This year's guest of honor is magic's great general practicioner and Chicago's own Johnny Thompson. Just added to the program is a lecture by Joseph Dunninger - not a recreation! - regarding his association with great magicians of the past. The tentative schedule of events includes: Thursday, April 23rd *Dealers' room opens - 1:30 p.m. *Dessert reception Evening presentations *Eugene Burger - Growing Up in the Second City of Magic (and an original Okito effect, live on stage!) *Just Added: Joseph Dunninger - The original mentalist lectures on his association with magic's greats: Houdini, Kellar, and Thurston! Friday, April 24th *Dealers' room open for the day Morning and Afternoon Presentations: *Joel B. Silver - Deception in the Library *James Alfredson - MCA Weekends: The Magic Inc. Years *Kirsten Voris - The Girl with the Radio Mind Evening Presentations: *Diego Domingo - The Showmen's Bible *David Ben - Sid Lorraine: Witness to Yesterday (screening of vintage film footage from Lorraine's untapped collection) *Johnny Thompson - Our Guest of Honor, In Person Saturday, April 25th *Dealers' room open for the day Afternoon Presentations: *Phil Schwartz - Thayer at War *Robert Olson - Seeker of Large Noses; The Life and Times of Mr. A. Walker *Jay Marshall Auction Preview *Evening Reception and Banquet *The big show, including Mark Faje, Ken Mate, and the Wizard from Warsaw (in a very un-Polish prestidigitorial production)! *A final whirl through the dealers' room Registration covers all lectures, admission to the dealer room, as well as a Thursday night desert reception and banquet on Saturday evening, preceding the evening's gala show. A number of surprises -- not listed above -- are also in store. And as an added bonus, a copy of the Jay Marshall auction catalog - a $25 value - will be provided to all attendees of the event! The auction takes place the day following the convention - Sunday, April 26th, at 10 am. Space at the hotel is filling up rapidly, and the deadline for room reservations has just been pushed back to April 10, so attendees are encouraged to book their space as soon as possible. More details are available at www.squashpublishing.com -------------------------------------------- 17. Dick Cavett: Conjuring Slydini -------------------------------------------- Message by Walter Blaney (US) Here is a truly magical experience to see Slydini performing on TV on the Dick Cavett Show in 1977. He was a dear friend, a real gentleman, and a one of a kind artist in the magic world. I hope you will enjoy this . Walter Link to Dick Cavett: Conjuring Slydini -  go to: http://cavett.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/conjuring-slydini/?emc=eta1 -------------------------------------------- 18. Ray Crowe Perform In Griffith, NSW, Australia -------------------------------------------- Message by David P Boyd (Aust) I had the pleasure of seeing Ray Crowe perform in Griffith last week. Like many Australian & NZ magicians I have seen Ray perform at a Melbourne Convention many years ago when he brought the house down with his shadowgraph show. Well as the saying goes "You aint seen nothing yet" He doesn't call himself a magician, he now performs as an unusualist. A great title, he performs of course the shadow show at the beginning and end, he performs with his giant rings, his vent' work is brilliant and has the whole audience holding their sides with laughter, plus of course some magic. Not the latest wing dang magic, but much most magicians would not dream of using, but with Rays special interpretation he gets about 15 minutes for a trick that most magicians would perform in less than a minute, a classic example is the old silk to egg. What normally would be a ho hum magic item in Ray's hands is entertainment all the way. Any budding magicians would be advised to get to Ray's show if it comes anywhere near you. Don't go expecting to see lots of magic, if for no other reason, go to see how to perform and entertain an audience. Something most amateurs and even some professionals fail to do. I retired from Magic Mountain a couple of years ago after around 20 years there, under contract for all school holidays, sold my house, bought a caravan and Jeep to do some grey nomading, which I did with my now wife Trish, and saw a lot of Australia plus a couple of months in the UK, doing the round trip, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Fantastic trip. On return I moved to Griffith in New South Wales. It is amazing how the word gets out, I was only here for a few weeks when someone asked if I would do a birthday party show for their 7 year old. I had sold most of my big magic but kept my basic kid's show things and I have developed a Mind magic show. It packs small but plays big for adult audiences. I performed a show at a pre-school with all the proceeds going to our Bush Fire appeal, this got a centre page spread in the local paper that opened the flood gates. Bookings flooded in from other pre-schools, birthday parties, even the bowling club phoned and booked me for their Christmas Party, (nothing like getting in early). I am being very selective only taking shows that fit in with my leisure time travelling etc. I must admit I still enjoy performing, but as I will be 75 on the 1st Sept I honestly didn't think I would still be performing. But it comes in handy, paying for our travels around Oz etc. What do they say "old magicians never die, they only smell that way".  So tell my old mate Jon Zealando there is hope for him yet, he is a few years behind me in age, but catching up fast. Regards to all the Kiwis I have met over the years. Dave Boyd Magic Mountain's Mr. Magic. I can also be contacted by phone on 0428 922940 -------------------------------------------- 19. Wizards Of Winterhaven's First Lady Of Magic -------------------------------------------- Message by Kelly Forkner Wizards of Winterhaven's first lady of magic needs your prayers. Carolyn Bristow, one of the original founders of the Wizards of Winterhaven in Florida has been battling cancer for quite some time and she is not doing very well. She and her husband Marty Bristow needs everyone's prayers to get through this tough time. You them you can send your emails to me at: flamagicman@aol.com and I will make sure she receives them. Carolyn is our First Lady of Magic at the Wizards of Winterhaven. Carolyn and Marty have been a very integral part of the success of our magic club. We wish them both the very best and pray for a miracle. Your thoughts and prayers are sincerely appreciated. Kelly Forkner -------------------------------------------- 20. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives -------------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.Alan-Watson.com 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.Alan-Watson.com 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 2009 Alan Watson