Month: October 2005

Magic News

India’s Magic Academy Brings Mazma to Life

Gopinath Muthukad

Mazma is a Hindi word meaning “Fair at the Street.”

So
when you combine famous Indian magician Gopinath Muthukad with Mazma,
it translates as two-days of great magic by some of the best Indian
Street Magicians.

 

The Magic Academy is throwing the
shindig in Thiruvananthapuram, the cute capital city of Kerala State in
India. The Department of Culture and Sangeetha Nataka Akademi of Kerala
is encouraging the festival as part of its effort to promote magic as a
performing art. 

How is that for cool?

We think it’s
pretty cool.  As long-time readers of Quinlan’s Inside Magic know,
Kerala is the only State in India to recognize magic as an art and this
is the first time a Street Magic Festival will be held with the support
of the government.

The festival is set for December 10th and 11th this year. 

The
celebration of Indian Street Magic is long-time coming.  Like the
American and European colleagues, Indian street magicians live off
their craft — seeking tips or in-kind donations to keep them fed and
sheltered. 

Mr. Muthukad tells us the festival will be more than just a convention. 

Competitions
will be held to kindle their inherent talent. The first prizewinner
will be honored with the title of ?Jadu Samrat? and a purse of Rs.25000
whereas the runner up can receive a cash award of Rs.10000. A
demonstration by these winners will mark a euphoric finale to Mazma.
All other contestants will be honored with mementos offered by the
cultural department of Kerala.

According to Mr.
Muthukad, these performers are also “guardians to a number of
unexplored routines and intriguing practices in magic that have been
traditionally passed on through vagrant generations.”

The street festival is a great opportunity to bringing the varied styles and traditions to one place.





Continue reading “India’s Magic Academy Brings Mazma to Life” →

Magic News

Magician Aaron Radatz Makes Real Magic at Fort Eustis

Aaron Radatz

We
are always happy to hear from Las Vegas magician, Aaron Radatz. 
He has been working hard to work just as hard but in greater
venues. 

He brings his incredible show to the troops and families of Fort Eustis on October 22nd.

Mr. Radatz was invited by Susan Engler, president of the Aaron Radatz Fan Club for this very special show.

Ms.
Engler knew the incredible magician would be in the area performing his
shows at Busch Gardens in beautiful Williamsburg, VA.  Mr. Radatz
jumped at the chance to give a show for those who work here and abroad
to defend us.

Mr. Radatz’ told us he feels honored to be asked
to perform for the troops.  “Performing for these amazing men and
women is something I feel privileged to do as an entertainer and an
American.  We all need a little magic in our lives.”

Chief
of Marketing for Fort Eustis, Sherri Noland, said, “We are honored to
have Aaron demonstrate his dedication to the troops by donating his
time and talent.”

Mr. Radatz has worked on behalf of our troops
in previous shows around the country.  In fact, his dedication and
efforts earned him many international awards, including The Commanders Coin of Excellence and the Scroll of Appreciation of Honor and Admiration.

He’s been making our art look good through shows from Iceland to Germany, and from Kuwait to Bosnia.

Name
a continent other than Antarctica and Mr. Radatz’ has performed
there.  At last count, his troupe has toured 37 states, and 25
countries.

We think the world of Mr. Radatz but we are not alone: Time Magazine
said, “He is the magical entertainer to see.”  FOX News thought he
was “fabulous!”  General Motors Corporation said, “He is
masterful!”  And Bally?s Casino described this young man as,
“unique and polished”

We are proud he is one of Quinlan’s Inside Magic readers. 

Details:
Mr. Radatz will be performing on October 22nd at the Fall Festival on
the base of Fort Eustis at Youth Services at 2pm.  You can also
witness Aaron Radatz? show at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg in
NightScares.  Performances are nightly Friday ? Sunday now through
October 30. 

Check out Mr. Radatz’ incredible web site for more information.  This guy rocks!


Continue reading “Magician Aaron Radatz Makes Real Magic at Fort Eustis” →

Magic News

The Houdini Museum: Unexplained Horrors

$2,000.00 Ghost Guarantee

We love Houdini.We love reading about Houdini, talking about Houdini, looking at pictures about Houdini, and talking to people who have read about looking at pictures of Houdini.

 

If there was a Houdini sandwich, we’d buy it but we wouldn’t eat it.

 

Our love for Houdini brought us to Scranton, Pennsylvania this summer to see the outstandingly satisfying Houdini Museum run by Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich.

 

But our love for Houdini-esque things got us on the mailing list announcing The Houdini Theater’s Special Schedule plus a $2,000.00 Ghost Guarantee.

Continue reading “The Houdini Museum: Unexplained Horrors” →

Magic News

Curtis Adams Hits Vegas with New Show!

 

Curtis Adams Mike Weatherford’s entertainment column each week in the Las Vegas Review-Journal is always a must-read.

Mr. Weatherford has his boot on the pulse in the neck that is Las
Vegas Entertainment. Today’s story is a cautious one. Mr. Weatherford
doesn’t come out and say it, but he’s seen a few magicians enter Vegas
with a new idea, lots-o-energy, and hopes; only to leave sapped of
ideas, energy and hopes.

In that way, Vegas treats the entertainer like the gambler.

Some win, just like those people pictured with the over-sized check
plastered in the buffet areas of the casinos. Lance Burton, David
Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, are just a few of Magic’s version of
the over-sized check winners. But for every big winner, every Player;
there are thousands of players with a lower-case “p” betting away their
hard-earned cash. Some losers will walk away and describe the fleecing
as “entertainment.” Some will never make it home or the home to which
they return will have changed as dramatically as their fortunes.

“Those are big dice,” Tom Hardy III said to the pit-boss during his
first trip to Vegas. The statement was filled with sage wisdom and a
sense of blithe acceptance of the inherent risk one accepts upon
entering the casino. Few recalled the statement but did recall the very
quick fist-fight that landed our ancestor in the Clark County Hospital
from the husband of a woman playing next to Tom Hardy.

He may have mistaken Tom’s meaning and became violent. Perhaps the
husband thought the magician’s comment pertained not to the risk
associated with Craps, but with the wife’s shapely figure.

It is always tough to read another’s true intentions.

The fact that Tom, the woman and her jealous husband were playing
Blackjack at the time of the comment undercuts Tom’s later claims that
the statement was innocent.

At 23, “Curtis Adams is the youngest magician to materialize as a
local headliner. He hopes to rock downtown with his self-produced show
at the Plaza.”

So is Mr. Adams a Player? Or will he, as they say in the NFL, “get run”?

His ambitions are high but not new. “Adams turned 23 on Monday, but
figures he’s still young enough to ‘change the face of magic.'” “It’s a
big goal,” he adds with laugh. “We’re not there yet.”

Mr. Adams tells Mr. Weatherford, “‘Adrenaline — Magic That Rocks’
aspires ‘to make magic cool and to make it mainstream.’ I want to make
it all right for people to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to see this magic
show.'”

Who knew? We didn’t. We had no idea there was a stigma attached to seeing a magic show.

Mr. Adams will redefine the way a magician moves and talks onstage.
“A lot of people say they’re doing it,” he says, “but a lot of people
aren’t doing it.”

Mr. Weatherford asks the obvious question — actually, the second
most obvious question. There’s no sense in asking the most obvious one,
the guy already has a gig.

Magic Stories

Don’t Miss the Ultimate Close-Up Convention: 9th Annual Motor City Close-Up
Magic Students Share Notes

Mark the dates: November 11 – 13, 2005.

Why? Because John Luka says so and what Mr. Luka says in the Motor
City goes. He is a big wheel in a town that has wheels of many sizes.

Mr. Luka has run what is generally agreed to be the finest close-up
convention in North America for over the last nine years. Why is it so
good? He has the best performers in a very intimate setting. You will
be able to not only learn from the best during the lectures and special
optional events, you’ll also see them perform in the perfect venue.

Plus, and to us this is a big plus, you get to hang-out with the stars.

Mr. Luka has booked Gazzo, Paul Green, Lonnie Chevrie, and Nathan Kranzo.

All events take place at the Ramada Inn of Taylor, Michigan, located
four miles east of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport at I-75 and Eureka
Road.

http://www.hometown.aol.com/johnlukamagic/convention.html

There will be four lectures, two optional workshops and three
close-up shows. Both, Gazzo and Paul will be conducting workshops. The
workshops will fill up quickly. Sign up for the workshop of your choice
as soon as possible.

Gazzo is one of the world’s most entertaining and experienced street
workers. He has performed on stages all over the world including
festivals, nightclubs, and world famous cruise ships — including the
Queen Elizabeth II.

From cruise ships to Las Vegas showrooms, Gazzo has wowed them all.
His brand of comedy is perfect for almost any situation, and his skills
as a performer of the impossible are beyond even the wildest of
imaginations. Gazzo is a favorite at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. His
rare appearances at magic conventions are always a hit.

This will be a chance for you to experience a performance from a
magician and entertainer who is rightly regarded as one of the best
there is.

“When you see Gazzo perform, you’re getting 200 percent,” said Ed Parrish in Magic Magazine.
“He’s 100 percent magician and 100 percent comedian. The two aspects of
his character simultaneously feed and devour each other to produce a
riotously entertaining street act that would burst Merlin of Camelot’s
eyeballs and the spleen of insult comedian Don Rickles.”

Paul Green works the close-up pad at private parties for the
Hollywood elite, Beverly Hills restaurants, to trade shows for Fortune
500 companies, he has done it all! He is a friendly and approachable
guy. He loves talking about magic with everyone. This is your chance to
meet him and learn from him.

Paul has been a regular performer at the Magic Castle for 30 years.

He has appeared at conventions from Las Vegas to Australia.

He specializes in making magic memorable for audiences in the real world. He’s done it and he can teach it.

Paul Green was awarded the Lecturer of the Year Award from the
Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle in 2002. His DVD on the
Classic Force is the essential learning tool for those bent on mastering this fundamental sleight.

Mr. Luka says Mr. Green’s DVD In the Trenches, has been touted around the world as being filled with some of the…
Continue reading “Don’t Miss the Ultimate Close-Up Convention: 9th Annual Motor City Close-Up” →

Magic News

Penn & Teller: Off the Deep End
Penn & Teller – Dry for Now

Zap2it.com reports Penn & Teller are about to take the plunge.

David Copperfield has made the Statue of Liberty disappear, and
David Blaine has spent inordinate amounts of time encased in things.
But neither of them have ever performed a televised magic special
underwater.

To that, we must turn to the prestidigitating team of Penn &
Teller, who will take to the seas for an NBC special that the network
says is the first of its kind ever to be performed entirely underwater.
“Penn & Teller: Off the Deep End” is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 13.

“We’ve been living in the Las Vegas desert for years. Nothing but
cactus, sand, scorpions and Wayne Newton,” says Penn Jillette, the
vocal half of the duo. “And we realized it was time to do a show
underwater. Magic needs a good head-soaking.”

The pair, who also host the Showtime series “Penn & Teller:
Bulls***!,” filmed the special in the Caribbean, off the coast of Grand
Cayman and the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas.

As part of the two-hour special, they’ll make a submarine disappear
and do tricks with sharks and “psychic” dolphins. They also have a new
“super illusion” planned in which they’ll walk on water.

As with their Vegas stage act, Penn will provide running commentary
on each trick and reveal how he and Teller pull off their illusions.

Penn & Teller are executive producing the special with Mark
Wolper (“Salem’s Lot,” “Bulls***!”). Star Price (“Bulls***!,” “The
Tonight Show”) will direct and also receive an exec producer credit.






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Magic Stories

Magic as Popular Non-Fiction Considered: Can Knowing Too Much Be Good For Magic?

Jerome Weeks of The Dallas Morning News reviews three magic books and considers the new wave of magic publishing for the masses.

His article begins with a neat reference to the "magic" of Penn & Teller's Bullet Catch in light of what a modern audience expects from performers.

In the past 100 years, Mr. Weeks observes, many magicians have failed to plan adequately and have died attempting to perform what some would call a "neat trick." According to Mr. Weeks, when Penn & Teller brought it to Dallas in 1997, they labeled it a "fun new trick."

But the "fun new trick" presented a very real risk to both performers.

Today's modern audience may or may not believe the real risk presented by the effect but they are willing to believe there is little chance to horrific failure. Perhaps it is that "little chance" that keeps them coming back. Houdini said, "no one wants to see a man die, but they want to be there when it happens."

The Penn & Teller story is best understood, suggests the author, when the reader has an understanding of magic's history.

Mr. Weeks selects four books from the bookstore's Best-Sellers list: Hiding the Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear by Jim Steinmeyer; The Glorious Deception also by Mr. Steinmeyer; Peter Lamont's The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick ; and Karl Johnson's The Magician and the Cardsharp .

We agree with Mr. Weeks' concern the new wave of books about magic's proud history will also take away some of the mystery and expose secrets:

It's not true, as is commonly believed, that conjurers never tell their secrets. A…

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Magic Stories

Quinlan’s So-Sure Deck is Here! Read the FAQs

So-Sure You’ll Love It!

The brand-new Quinlan So-Sure Deck is Ready and Starts Shipping Soon! 

We are so excited we can’t even stand it!

Read more about how you can catch the magic wave of the future and have
it gush all over your audience and their furniture! 

It takes the best
of all the old and makes it new!

A Marked/Stripped/One-Way Force Deck brought together through the genius of the magic labs in Mystic Hollow, Michigan.

We’ll be offering limited chances for you to get in on the ground floor of this sure-bet money-making opportunity!

Can you become a millionaire in a weekend?  Yes.  We’re So-Sure!

Frequently Asked Questions About the Quinlan So-Sure Deck

  1. What Is the Quinlan So-Sure Deck?
  2. What Can I Do With a Quinlan So-Sure Deck?
  3. How Does the Marking System Work?
  4. Why Not Just Mark the One Different Card?
  5. How Much Does the Quinlan So-Sure Deck Cost?
  6. What’s Next?  New Products?

Answers

  1. What Is the Quinlan So-Sure Deck?

    The Quinlan So-Sure Deck is the best of three different magic decks combined into one fantastic utility deck.

    It is an one-way forcing deck combined with a marked deck and stripper cut.

    You read right!

    Genius!  We know.

    [Back to the top]
     

  2. What Can I Do With a Quinlan So-Sure Deck?

    Well, maybe the question should be, “What can’t you do with a Quinlan So-Sure Deck?”

    First, let’s pose the problem. 

    If
    you are like us, your whole act depends on your volunteer selecting a
    particular card.  We have seven different tricks we use in our
    routine all based on the volunteer taking one particular card – the
    Nine of Hearts.

     Every one of the effects in our one-hour routine works as a revelation of that chosen card.  

    It
    has to be the Nine of Hearts to be shown when the mechanical duck picks
    a card, when we open our “insurance policy,” when we pull a silk out of
    another spectator’s bra, when we pop the balloon, when we do the
    Twentieth Century Bra-Trick with a different spectator (the number “9”
    is on one cup and the “Heart” is on the other), etc.

    But maybe your audiences are less-demanding than our kid show audiences and wouldn’t care if every trick you did failed. 

    But you can also use The Quinlan So-Sure Deck to do the Ultimate Ambitious Card!

    Your
    spectator selects a card, say the Nine of Hearts, you can have them
    sign the card and put it back in the deck.  With a few cuts, their
    card comes to the top of the pack.  It is not just a matching
    card, it is their signed card!

    How about a Card at Any Number trick? 
    (You can’t show the other cards along the way, though).

    How…
    Continue reading “Quinlan’s So-Sure Deck is Here! Read the FAQs” →

Magic Stories

Harris Deutsch: When is a Clown not a Clown?

Although Harris Deutsch does not wear a clown face, he is a clown at heart.

This
is clear in his animated performances, and cut of clothes. His latest
addition was given to him by his Nearly Normal Wife, Annie.

They
remind him that he is “mad about saffron, and saffron is mad about him.
They call him mellow jello, er yellow. His Ducky Shoes let the patients
know they are in for some sewious fun.”

Insider scoop: Annie’s nickname for Deutsch is “Ducky” A Nearly Normal Prize to the person that writes to harris.deutsch@leesummit.k12.mo.us with the movie featuring a character with the same nickname.

(Hint the actor has been in a USA sitcom featuring a fraction in the title of the show)

He has been sharing at a Friday’s Magnificent Carnival at Children’s Mercy Hospital for about a year.

Some magicians are not into Sony Bono, er Pro-Bono work.

This
nearly normal guy is. He reports he gets much more than he gives during
his monthly visits to the Hospital. Andrew Wiester was the magician
that joined Harris for the September Magical Friday.

You have to give it away in order to keep it.

It is great to help our distant neighbors as well as those closer to home.

Thank you, Harris

Continue reading “Harris Deutsch: When is a Clown not a Clown?” →

Magic News

New Shop and New Hopes: The Grand Magic Shop Opens
John Paul Scirica

The North County Times (San Diego, CA) has a great spread on John Paul Scirica and the new Grand Magic Shop’s opening.

The article notes the shop’s sales include a broad-range of items from itching powder to dove effects — an essential mix for the modern brick-and-mortar shop.

We were saddened to read Brad Burt’s shop is no longer in business down in San Diego. Mr. Scirica points out the traditional magic store is a vanishing institution. His new store is an effort to fight against the trend.

Like almost all magic shop owners, Mr. Scirica works essentially seven days a week. Monday through Saturday, the shop is open to sell not only itching powder but to also hook the itching powder buyer (IPB as we say in the trade) into the wonderful world of magic.

On Sundays, Mr. Scirica offers magic lessons and puppet shows for kids at the shop.

The itching powder is Scirica’s top-selling novelty, at $1.60 for a can, followed by the no-tear toilet paper and shocking pens. Scirica sells to amateurs, professionals, pranksters and collectors alike.

Collectors tend to buy top-shelf items, such as a box that transforms doves into a rabbit ($430), or a fish tank that fills with water and live fish after a mere wave of the hand ($110).

The product mix can make or break the magic shop owner. It has to be tuned to the traffic and the traffic has to exist. Fortunately for Mr. Scirica, the shop is right on the path to the local school. The location makes for a busy afternoon.

“The kids along this complex and along this street have kind of kept us going,” said Scirica’s wife, Lauren, who helps run the shop.

Just like the kids running in and out of the shop every afternoon, Mr. Scirica started out in his magic addiction by hanging out at the local magic shop. His story is identical to ours and maybe yours:

Mesmerized, Scirica visited the magician’s shop to learn the trick. It became a regular after-school hangout for him, and the magician changed into a mentor.

“He would give me pointers. He’d say, ‘OK, J.P., your sleight of hand needs a little work there.’ “

He bought the card trick and an instruction book, and buried his nose in it for three months.

“That taught me the fundamentals of how to shuffle, how to control cards, how to force a card onto somebody.”

He’s working hard to apply his knowledge of sales and marketing from his prior job to make the shop a success. Good luck to him.

We would normally include a link to his shop’s web page but we were not able to find one for him. If you have a link or email address, let us know so we can update this article.
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