Sorry I've been gone for so long. It's been a busy couple of months.
Right at the beginning of July I was in the middle of producing a theatrical show called "Gothic at Midnight" starring my friend Joshua Kane. Joshua came out and gave us a fantastic performance, and although the audiences weren't nearly as large as I would have liked, the experience was amazing. Joshua taught me a lot about producing shows as well and so next time around things are going to be much better for my star.
He was an absolute champ.
At the very same time I was busy purchasing a house. That's right, the fates are twisted and while my wife and I had literally spent a year looking around at houses, the perfect one didn't fall into our laps until I was so up to my eyeballs in production work that I literally drove myself crazy trying to keep it all running.
Then, of course, was the move itself, which was mostly handled by me since my lady wife was busy working to pay the bills. Though we did get professional movers to get all the furniture over, which was a nightmare in and off itself. If you happen to live in my area (Santa Cruz, CA) and you need to move - do not, under any circumstances, use Bluebird Moving. You have been warned.
As the world has settled out I have been busy getting my contacts back into play. Working the Ren Faire this year, arranging gigs, and generally getting my entertainment business in shape again.
Soon I will also be teaching at a local Arts Academy as well. A place called "The Radiant Life Academy." I will be teaching acting and magic classes. I look forward to it.
So that's the past few months in a nut shell. I promise that I will have some better thoughts on the world of Magic from this side of things soon.
Thanks!
Friday, September 22, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
What Impresses You?
I was considering some of the things that happened at The Dragonslayers event I did this weekend, and I think I'm finally narrowing in on one particular incident that sort of unsettled me.
The Dragonslayers event was a Ren Fair kind of thing and I had a booth which I preformed magic and fortune telling out of. It was fun and I had a good time.
However I knew that I wasn't going to be the only magician who attended the event. One of the other local professionals was there as well. I've known him for a number of years and typically when someone calls me for a kids show I direct them to this performer because he is very good with kids.
He showed up at the event and came in behind one of the audiences I had gathered while I was performing my three rope routine (yes, I know what it's called, but I'm trying to be general here for the lay people in my audience.) which actually works in a fashion most magicians aren't aware of. In fact every magician I've shown it to claims they have never seen this variation, which is why I keep it this way.
After my show was over he approached me and we caught up with each other. We hadn't seen each other in a number of years and the last time that he and I actually even worked a gig together was something like 8 or 10 years ago.
After a few minutes of catching up he pulled out one of the ubiquitous card wallets that magicians are plagued with and proceeded to show me a trick. Now you have to understand that these little care wallets, or as they are often referred to: "packet tricks," are sometimes very problematic. After all, when you pull one of these out, the first and automatic assumption on the part of the spectator is "these must be faked/gimmicked." And very often they are correct.
Okay, admittedly I have one or two of these myself. I stopped buying them years and years ago when I realized the problem with them I just mentioned. But to be perfectly fair, there is one that I still use once in a while. I choose to use it because I feel that the effect is strong enough to outweigh the obvious problems and suspicions.
However this particular effect presented to me was, well, kind of lame. In my opinion anyway. I'm sure that it is probably impressive to some people. I'm certain that it must be impressive to the children who are his primary audience.
What struck me as strange in this case was that he seemed to think that I would be impressed as well!
Now I'm not saying that to somehow brag. That isn't the case at all. Rather what I'm getting at is that when magicians get together to talk shop we aren't usually going to try and impress one another with a "packet trick." It just isn't going to happen. We'll show them to each other to discuss the mechanics and see how clever the creations can be, but trying to impress one another with a "packet trick" is just plain foolishness.
This morning I realized why this bothered me so much. When last he and I worked together, all those years ago, this was the same kind of thing he was doing then. He was doing a number of other things as well, but this was indeed a substantial part of his work. Over the years I have worked hard to expand my repitior and to move away from these kinds of things because they are so common and so "obvious" to me and therefore I assume to my audiences.
That was a long time ago and I'm sorry to see that this performer is still stuck in the world of "packet tricks." I would have thought that he would have moved on from there by now.
Damn.
The Dragonslayers event was a Ren Fair kind of thing and I had a booth which I preformed magic and fortune telling out of. It was fun and I had a good time.
However I knew that I wasn't going to be the only magician who attended the event. One of the other local professionals was there as well. I've known him for a number of years and typically when someone calls me for a kids show I direct them to this performer because he is very good with kids.
He showed up at the event and came in behind one of the audiences I had gathered while I was performing my three rope routine (yes, I know what it's called, but I'm trying to be general here for the lay people in my audience.) which actually works in a fashion most magicians aren't aware of. In fact every magician I've shown it to claims they have never seen this variation, which is why I keep it this way.
After my show was over he approached me and we caught up with each other. We hadn't seen each other in a number of years and the last time that he and I actually even worked a gig together was something like 8 or 10 years ago.
After a few minutes of catching up he pulled out one of the ubiquitous card wallets that magicians are plagued with and proceeded to show me a trick. Now you have to understand that these little care wallets, or as they are often referred to: "packet tricks," are sometimes very problematic. After all, when you pull one of these out, the first and automatic assumption on the part of the spectator is "these must be faked/gimmicked." And very often they are correct.
Okay, admittedly I have one or two of these myself. I stopped buying them years and years ago when I realized the problem with them I just mentioned. But to be perfectly fair, there is one that I still use once in a while. I choose to use it because I feel that the effect is strong enough to outweigh the obvious problems and suspicions.
However this particular effect presented to me was, well, kind of lame. In my opinion anyway. I'm sure that it is probably impressive to some people. I'm certain that it must be impressive to the children who are his primary audience.
What struck me as strange in this case was that he seemed to think that I would be impressed as well!
Now I'm not saying that to somehow brag. That isn't the case at all. Rather what I'm getting at is that when magicians get together to talk shop we aren't usually going to try and impress one another with a "packet trick." It just isn't going to happen. We'll show them to each other to discuss the mechanics and see how clever the creations can be, but trying to impress one another with a "packet trick" is just plain foolishness.
This morning I realized why this bothered me so much. When last he and I worked together, all those years ago, this was the same kind of thing he was doing then. He was doing a number of other things as well, but this was indeed a substantial part of his work. Over the years I have worked hard to expand my repitior and to move away from these kinds of things because they are so common and so "obvious" to me and therefore I assume to my audiences.
That was a long time ago and I'm sorry to see that this performer is still stuck in the world of "packet tricks." I would have thought that he would have moved on from there by now.
Damn.
Monday, June 12, 2006
John Edward is at it again....
Holy crap. He's on TV again. A new series. "John Edward Cross Country." Now he's going every where to get the audiences.
TiVo caught it for me. I'll be letting TiVo know that was a bad thing. "Bad TiVo. Bad bad TiVo."
In the meantime I decided to watch. Definitely the same old tricks which anyone who picks up their first book of "mental magic" would know. Interestingly enough he has a few new tricks for how to pass the buck. At least they are new tricks to my experience.
Okay, I know I don't need to tell all of you this, but I feel a need to state this anyway.
John Edward is a fraud. He can not "speak with the dead." No one can. He is doing nothing more then a battery of well known linguistic tricks and basic salesmanship skills such as active listening. He is using techniques familiar to magicians all over the world.
Don't fall for this crap. Even when I do it as a magician to entertain you, don't fall for it.
Please.
TiVo caught it for me. I'll be letting TiVo know that was a bad thing. "Bad TiVo. Bad bad TiVo."
In the meantime I decided to watch. Definitely the same old tricks which anyone who picks up their first book of "mental magic" would know. Interestingly enough he has a few new tricks for how to pass the buck. At least they are new tricks to my experience.
Okay, I know I don't need to tell all of you this, but I feel a need to state this anyway.
John Edward is a fraud. He can not "speak with the dead." No one can. He is doing nothing more then a battery of well known linguistic tricks and basic salesmanship skills such as active listening. He is using techniques familiar to magicians all over the world.
Don't fall for this crap. Even when I do it as a magician to entertain you, don't fall for it.
Please.
Thursday, May 11, 2006
David Blaine Drowned Alive???
Since I was asked about my opinion regarding the New York Underwater Bubble Guy, AKA David Blaine, I thought I'd go ahead and make a general post about him.
Personally, I have never liked him. My reasons are fairly straight forward.
When he first appeared on the air waves a few years ago, he was performing his "Street Magic." David is pretty much responsible for the current wave of popularity in this particular field of magic, and while I can't fault him for that, I do have a problem with the impression it has created.
In the same moment as creating the popular movement of "Street Magic" David also convinced a huge segment of America's youth that it would be cool to be a "Street Magician." The only problem is that for the most part they all STINK AT IT! More then any other popularity boom in the magic world that I have had the opportunity to witness, "Street Magic" has led to a higher percentage of "bad magic" then any other type.
Like most magicians, David spent the entire hour doing various small effects while hyping the one "grand illusion" that would be presented at the end of the show. He would levitate himself in the street.
Now, for what it's worth, I know the levitation that he used. I know how to perform it, though I haven't practiced it in the least. And I know that you can get a couple of inches off the ground when you do it. But more about that later.
So, the rest of the TV special David is doing a selection of card tricks, one coin trick and one 'body' trick (a kind of controtion). The entire time his presentation almost always involves him walking up to someone, looking down at his shoes and mumbling something that sounds a bit like "heyyawannaseeeatrick."
Poor presentation, poor presence and nothing at all to make me want to like him.
Now before I start sounding like a bag of sour grapes, let me just say that David's *technical* skills are really impressive. Some of those card manipulations he does are certainly beyond me. He is an extremely good technician. It's his persona that I have problems with.
Then it was time for the grand illusion. He is going to levitate himself on the street in front of people. And he does it! Except that what we all saw on TV and what they saw live WERE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS! That's right, David used a camera trick. The people who were there live saw David come off the ground a couple of inches. On TV we saw him come off the ground by 12 to 18 inches.
Since then every special David has done has followed the same basic format of about four tricks repeated over and over again for different street audiences spliced together with hype for whatever "grand illusion" he is currently doing.
Except that after the levitation he hasn't done another "grand illusion." Instead he has done various kinds of "endurance stunts." So far he is been put into a block of ice for how ever many hours it was (which was done by James Randi years ago when he was still performing regularly by the way), he has been suspended in a box over a river for several days, he has stood on top of a pole for several days and then jumped off into a pile of cardboard boxes and now it's spending time in a bubble of water. YAWN.
Did you know that when he was hanging from the bridge in a box he actually had an active internet connection? There was a big deal about it because a bunch of people kept sending him email telling him how lame the stunt was.
He also had a show in Vegas. A show that opened and closed in less then a week. Why? The audiences were bored. He simply couldn't sustain their interest.
But there is some sense of justice. The "kids" who all want to be "Street Magicians" are getting bored with him as well. At least as far as I can see in the various forums I watch. They are complaining that the stunts are stupid and boring and they want to see magic instead. Not only that, they are starting to realize that David isn't that interesting a person either.
So I have some hope. A tiny flicker of hope anyway. And maybe, just maybe, even David Blaine will start to realize that stunts are not magic and there are better things for him to be doing.
Personally, I have never liked him. My reasons are fairly straight forward.
When he first appeared on the air waves a few years ago, he was performing his "Street Magic." David is pretty much responsible for the current wave of popularity in this particular field of magic, and while I can't fault him for that, I do have a problem with the impression it has created.
In the same moment as creating the popular movement of "Street Magic" David also convinced a huge segment of America's youth that it would be cool to be a "Street Magician." The only problem is that for the most part they all STINK AT IT! More then any other popularity boom in the magic world that I have had the opportunity to witness, "Street Magic" has led to a higher percentage of "bad magic" then any other type.
Like most magicians, David spent the entire hour doing various small effects while hyping the one "grand illusion" that would be presented at the end of the show. He would levitate himself in the street.
Now, for what it's worth, I know the levitation that he used. I know how to perform it, though I haven't practiced it in the least. And I know that you can get a couple of inches off the ground when you do it. But more about that later.
So, the rest of the TV special David is doing a selection of card tricks, one coin trick and one 'body' trick (a kind of controtion). The entire time his presentation almost always involves him walking up to someone, looking down at his shoes and mumbling something that sounds a bit like "heyyawannaseeeatrick."
Poor presentation, poor presence and nothing at all to make me want to like him.
Now before I start sounding like a bag of sour grapes, let me just say that David's *technical* skills are really impressive. Some of those card manipulations he does are certainly beyond me. He is an extremely good technician. It's his persona that I have problems with.
Then it was time for the grand illusion. He is going to levitate himself on the street in front of people. And he does it! Except that what we all saw on TV and what they saw live WERE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS! That's right, David used a camera trick. The people who were there live saw David come off the ground a couple of inches. On TV we saw him come off the ground by 12 to 18 inches.
Since then every special David has done has followed the same basic format of about four tricks repeated over and over again for different street audiences spliced together with hype for whatever "grand illusion" he is currently doing.
Except that after the levitation he hasn't done another "grand illusion." Instead he has done various kinds of "endurance stunts." So far he is been put into a block of ice for how ever many hours it was (which was done by James Randi years ago when he was still performing regularly by the way), he has been suspended in a box over a river for several days, he has stood on top of a pole for several days and then jumped off into a pile of cardboard boxes and now it's spending time in a bubble of water. YAWN.
Did you know that when he was hanging from the bridge in a box he actually had an active internet connection? There was a big deal about it because a bunch of people kept sending him email telling him how lame the stunt was.
He also had a show in Vegas. A show that opened and closed in less then a week. Why? The audiences were bored. He simply couldn't sustain their interest.
But there is some sense of justice. The "kids" who all want to be "Street Magicians" are getting bored with him as well. At least as far as I can see in the various forums I watch. They are complaining that the stunts are stupid and boring and they want to see magic instead. Not only that, they are starting to realize that David isn't that interesting a person either.
So I have some hope. A tiny flicker of hope anyway. And maybe, just maybe, even David Blaine will start to realize that stunts are not magic and there are better things for him to be doing.
Monday, May 08, 2006
"Gothic at Midnight"
Yes, I have been gone for a bit. I've been busy. I am preparing to produce a show here in Santa Cruz. My good friend Joshua Kane is coming to do his one man show "Gothic at Midnight."
Want to know more? Of course you do!
Gothic at Midnight
A Tribute to the Masters of the Macabre!
The Demons of Darkness have come to Santa Cruz!
Join us as we cheer away an evening with tales of revenge, madness and despair. Classically trained actor Joshua Kane, inspired by the old-time radio dramas of Orson Welles and Vincent Price, populates the stage with unforgettable characters, bewitching audiences with a devilish sense of fun and whimsy. Audiences will experience a roller coaster ride of terror and laughter.
June 30th, July 1st
8:00 pm
Rio Theater
Downtown Santa Cruz
For more information and to buy your tickets visit:
http://www.wildbabu.com
An award-winning tribute to the Masters of the Macabre drawing from the works of Poe, Dickens, and Bierce, Kane “amuses you with his antics, frightens you with his intensity and charms you with his tales of the fantastic.”
—The Charleston City Paper, Spoleto Festival, SC
“If you have forgotten how good it can be to listen to a real storyteller and be swept up in a story, or if it’s been too long since you experienced the joy of listening to someone tell you a tale that makes your blood run cold, you need to listen to Joshua Kane, a man whose voice is an instrument of delightful terror.”
—Neil Gaiman
author of American Gods, Neverwhere, and Sandman
"Savvy, witty, and spell-binding....
-Peter Straub, bestselling author of Ghost Story
Want to know more? Of course you do!
Gothic at Midnight
A Tribute to the Masters of the Macabre!
The Demons of Darkness have come to Santa Cruz!
Join us as we cheer away an evening with tales of revenge, madness and despair. Classically trained actor Joshua Kane, inspired by the old-time radio dramas of Orson Welles and Vincent Price, populates the stage with unforgettable characters, bewitching audiences with a devilish sense of fun and whimsy. Audiences will experience a roller coaster ride of terror and laughter.
June 30th, July 1st
8:00 pm
Rio Theater
Downtown Santa Cruz
For more information and to buy your tickets visit:
http://www.wildbabu.com
An award-winning tribute to the Masters of the Macabre drawing from the works of Poe, Dickens, and Bierce, Kane “amuses you with his antics, frightens you with his intensity and charms you with his tales of the fantastic.”
—The Charleston City Paper, Spoleto Festival, SC
“If you have forgotten how good it can be to listen to a real storyteller and be swept up in a story, or if it’s been too long since you experienced the joy of listening to someone tell you a tale that makes your blood run cold, you need to listen to Joshua Kane, a man whose voice is an instrument of delightful terror.”
—Neil Gaiman
author of American Gods, Neverwhere, and Sandman
"Savvy, witty, and spell-binding....
-Peter Straub, bestselling author of Ghost Story
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