The SCAM Wrap-UpInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

The final event of the South Carolina Association of Magicians (“SCAM”) was the Gala Show. It was a perfect ending for a great conclave.

I have never had a chance to see Scott Francis perform. He served as emcee and was outstanding. Like Glenn Strange, he had just the kind of twisted, freakazoidal humor that I love. He was quick with ad libs, funny poses (like the Karate Kid stance for no apparent reason) and his interplay with the audience was comfortable and funny seemingly without effort.

I recommend you grab any opportunity to see Scott Francis perform. Of course, if you don’t have a twisted, freakazoidal sense of humor, I still think you’ll find him funny.

Dan Sperry took the stage next. Dan had provided a fantastic lecture the day before as he patiently provided all we would need to know to do a dove act. I’ve never done doves (or even a rabbit). I used to do a special thing with a tapeworm but it wasn’t magic per se — it was kind of like snake charming; it wasn’t even healthy. But I digest.

Dan Sperry’s lecture was clearly from someone who knows what he is teaching. He showed us handling and techniques you would not find in the standard literature of the art. He is an exceptional lecturer and will do well in that field, if he chooses. But he is an even better performer. Dan is only 18 years old but has the talent of a long-seasoned professional.

His moves were natural, his productions were surprising and his appearance was so professional. He reminded me of Lance Burton performing his FISM act. In fact, Dan was a winner of Lance Burton award for best teen magician.

His routine is what makes inspired me. I think my routines are often just the ineffective linking of “tricks” but every move he made was there for a reason; a natural, logical reason. He was so cool and relaxed during the entire act. From his webpage, it looks like he’ll be performing around the country and I hope you will take the time to see him. It is inspiring.

Dave Tanner was another person I had not previously met. We corresponded by email so that I could register for for the stage competition. I got to meet him when I arrived and even saw him the next morning at about 7:30 am as we prepared to compete. He seemed like a nice guy; a funny guy. I had watched him work the dealers’ room pretty much the entire day so I knew he had been on his feet working and performing since before 7:00 am. I tell you all this to prove that I am clueless.

The first act in the Gala was Dave Tanner’s illusion act. I looked carefully from my seat at the back of the auditorium and sure enough, it was the same Dave Tanner. What a great act he has. His natural style and humor comes through so well and so effortlessly.

I am biased against illusion acts. It is unfortunate that most of the ‘illusionists’ out there today are either: rich people with money to spend on the latest effects; or copying one of the major professional illusion shows. I’ve seen so many folks do David Copperfield or the Pendragons or…

The final event of the South Carolina Association of Magicians (“SCAM”) was the Gala Show. It was a perfect ending for a great conclave.

I recommend you grab any opportunity to see Scott Francis perform. Of course, if you don’t have a twisted, freakazoidal sense of humor, I still think you’ll find him funny.

I am biased against illusion acts. It is unfortunate that most of the ‘illusionists’ out there today are either: rich people with money to spend on the latest effects; or copying one of the major professional illusion shows. I’ve seen so many folks do David Copperfield or the Pendragons or Brett Daniels. They steal the music, the moves, the theme and even the smoke machine.

By the theory of natural selection, there must be some reward that comes from stealing an illusionist’s well-rehearsed routine. They wouldn’t survive otherwise. They’d fade from the environment like birds that can’t fly or cats that forget to use kitty litter.

All this is to say that despite my bias, Dave Tanner is unique in his presentation. It is not derivative. It is new, high energy, touching and funny. Dave and his assistant are in perfect coordination and obviously care about doing an original act. His stage presence is outstanding, his style is unique. It was such a pleasure to watch someone I knew to be a nice, hard-working guy do so well.

I have never hidden my appreciation for Trixie Bond. She is, in fact, one of my favorite performers and she’s a great person to boot. Trixie took the stage with a beautiful routine complete with a great stage set-up.

She was dressed as Mary Poppins and her stage was decorated with whimsical, colorful props. Clearly she must have used had a pretty big truck to get all of the equipment from Houston to Columbia, South Carolina. Trixie’s style is so warm and pleasant to watch. She performs in perfect synch with her music and you cannot detect her moves — it could be that she doesn’t execute any moves at all but by the pure force of her charm, the magic really occurs.

I understand that she had not performed the routine used in the Gala in the last four years. You couldn’t tell. It was so well-rehearsed, so fluid. I know that Trixie is a regular at the Magic Island in Houston and that may be reason alone to see the magic club if you are ever in the area. Simply outstanding. I noticed that people love to watch Trixie perform because she genuinely appears to enjoy performing.

Check out Trixie’s website — professional and complete. Dale Quick was great. I met Dale earlier in the day when we were both back stage getting ready to compete in the stage competition. Our appearances were set by alphabetical order so he was to go on right before me. He claimed to be nervous, and told me he had barely slept because he was so worried about the routine. I watched as he loaded his silks and set up his gaffs.

And then I watched as he took the stage and dominated the contest. He was great! His silk handling was outstanding. He had new color changes using a silk ball. Maybe others have seen this technique — he would stroke the silk to load one and pull the other — but I had never had the pleasure.

It was genius.

Between the time Dale won the 1st place and appeared on the big stage in the Gala, he was so much more relaxed. His routine was again flawless and so inventive. I had heard this was his very first competition — I am sure it will not be his last. The man has amazing talent.

Fukai and Kimika closed the show with their spectacular parasol production routine. This is an act clearly done with split second timing. You know they have to be getting the parasols from somewhere but I’ll be darned if I could see their loads. Interestingly, Fukai’s lecture was on the importance of misdirection. He demonstrated just how effective well-planned actions could provide the cover necessary to load and produce just about anything.

The stage starts out open, clean and uncluttered. There was virtually nothing on the stage at the outset but by the end of the perfectly choreographed routine, the stage is completely covered with silks and parasols. Amazing.

I fully intend to return to SCAM next year. This is a very well-run convention and one of the friendliest groups of people I’ve found at a convention. Within minutes of arriving, I felt like I had perhaps 30 new friends.