Author: Inside Magic

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Latest Magic News, Magic of UK

UK’s Crisis Needs Magicians this Christmas

Inside Magic Image of Crisis LogoKaty Star Stocker sent us news of a wonderful program planned by her organization, Crisis.

Crisis is the UK national charity for single homeless people dedicated to ending homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change.  They aim to help the homeless change their lives for good and, simultaneously, change the way society thinks and acts towards homeless people.

This Christmas, more than 4,000 homeless people will spend their festive period with Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people, at one of its temporary Crisis at Christmas centres across London.

Crisis at Christmas centres are positive, bustling places where guests have access to healthcare, podiatry, massage, haircuts and a whole range of activities that they may miss out on the rest of the year. More than 8,000 volunteers will give up their time to provide warmth, shelter and companionship for homeless people this year, along with a range of services designed to help our guests build a better future.

Entertainment is a really important part of what we offer, as the chance to see and participate in performance helps our guests regain confidence, build self-esteem and shake off the depression or frustration homelessness causes.

This year we’re looking for something a little bit… different!

If you’re able to give up some time between 23 – 29 December to make Christmas that bit more magical for our guests then we’d love to hear from you. You can find out more and register on the Crisis Website: http://www.crisis.org.uk/pages/performer-.html

Please watch our film about Crisis at Christmas 2013: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym1_j…ature=youtu.be

…and spread the word!

Thank you, Katy for your work and for sharing the news with Inside Magic readers.  If you have news you would like to share, click the Submit to Inside Magic button at the top of this page and let us know.

Latest Magic News, Magic Castle News

School for Scoundrels Class this Weekend

Pop_Haydn_the_Shell_GameThis weekend, we will be at the feet of the masters, Pop Haydn, Bob Sheets and Chef Anton together teaching the ways of the Scoundrel at The Magic Castle here in Hollywood.  It is a two-day class in the essentials of scoundreling with special attention paid to Three-Card Monte, The Shell Game and Fast and Loose.

The esteemed professors note that the course is “perfect for the historian, steampunker, gambler, lawyer or police officer as well as the magician, this course gives you the inside information.”  We are at least two or three of those types of people so the course should be a perfect fit.

We understand there were only 20 seats available and they may have already been sold out by the time this article posts.

We will report back on what we have learned both in the classroom and in any wayward attempts to scoundrel on the mean streets of Hollywood or Beverly Hills.

We are thinking of getting a specially made cardboard box on which to perform our soon to be acquired Three-Card Monte skills just outside the Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset.

We could make it look like it was a shipping container for Louis Vuitton handbags or Christian Louboutin shoes so it would not arouse suspicion amongst the throngs we expect will encircle us with cash money in their hands and dreams of big winnings in their hearts.

Check out the School for Scoundrels site for more information and peruse their great offerings here.

Latest Magic News

The Illusionists Get Ready in Akron for Broadway Run

Inside Magic Image of IllusionistsAkron, Ohio is magic.

We have said it for years.  Usually it seems out of context but today, finally, it actually matches the rest of our message.

You may know Akron for its proud industrial history – The Rubber Capital of the World with B.F. Goodrich Tire, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Firestone Tire and General Tire all having a historic role in turning the former canal town into a global manufacturing hub.  Or you may know it for the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, the All-American Soap Box Derby or even as the birth place of Alcoholics Anonymous, oatmeal and artificial fishing bait.

And now, Akron is home to The Illusionists – Witness the Impossible as it readies for its run on Broadway.  The cast and crew have been quartered in Akron perfecting the show before moving to New York City.  They will try it out for audience in Akron Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall.

The show has had a 10-day pre-production schedule in preparation for its six-week Broadway run and 30-city U.S. tour.  The show may be new to Akron and Broadway but many of the magicians have been performing together in earlier iterations of the spectacle over the last two years in Australia, Mexico, Latin America, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Who is in the cast?  Funny you should ask.  We have it on good authority that the seven magician are: Kevin James, Dan Sperry, Yu Ho-Jin, Andrew Basso, Aaron Crow and Jeff Hobson.

We love living in West Hollywood for its sunshine, proximity to places where they sell baked goods for domestic animals and The Magic Castle, but wish we were back in Mystic Hollow, Michigan for the short drive down to Akron.  Akron is always magic but this week will be even more so.

Visit their ticket site if you are in the Akron area.  There are just a few seats left.

Read more about their pre-Broadway prep in  The Akron Beacon-Journal here.

 

Magic on TV

Penn & Teller: Fool Us and Masters of Illusion Renewed for 2015

Inside Magic Image of Penn & Teller's Fool UsAccording to Variety, the CW has ordered another season of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” and “Masters of Illusion” for 2015.

That is great news for magic fans and portends great things for the future of our great art.

Fool Us originally aired ITV in the UK in 2011.  The production team edited those episodes and repackaged the shows for the CW’s US broadcast this year.

The series received consistently great ratings and – if you asked us – it was a no-brainer for the network to order a new season.

That’s good news but even better news is that they will need to shoot new shows to meet the CW’s order. Penn Jillette promised if renewed, they would film in the US and with US magicians. We have no doubt he will keep his promise.

“Masters of Illusion” had some fantastic acts in this year’s episodes. We do not know if they will need to tape additional acts to meet the renewal order but will report as soon as we hear.

This is great news indeed.

Magic of UK

Computer App to Replace Magicians?

Inside Magic Library Cover Page for Happy Hollisters and the Perfect FarosJust above the ground-breaking news report, “18 Celebrities Who Clearly Have Fake Teeth,” The UK Daily Mail warns Dynamo that his job may be at risk.
“Watch out Dynamo! Computer uses artificial intelligence to create magic tricks – and now you can download its illusions as an app.”
We were tempted to get to the bottom of the celebrity fake teeth scandal but decided to read about artificial intelligence’s use in the service of magicians.  We don’t think it will replace human magicians like Dynamo, Criss Angel, David Blaine or Pengo the Magic Clown – at least not yet.

Really smart researchers from London’s Queen Mary University used a computer to design a classic puzzle/trick and devise a mentalism app for your Android or iPhone device.  Both still require a real, human (with or without its natural teeth) to perform and both are impressive.

Even more impressive, however, is the work behind the demonstrations.

The two brains behind the effects, Dr. Howard Williams and Professor Peter McOwan found a natural connection between computers and mathematical magic tricks.  They published their findings in Frontiers in Psychology (which we read only for the pictures) and later sold the effects through a magic shop.  You can pick up the phone version of their card trick in the Google Play Store.  It is called Phoney – even more connection to the celebrity fake teeth scandal.

What can a computer do that a well-trained magician cannot?  Dr. Williams notes, “Computer intelligence can process much larger amounts of information and run through all the possible outcomes in a way that is almost impossible for a person to do on their own. So while, a member of the audience might have seen a variation on this trick before, the AI can now use psychological and mathematical principles to create lots of different versions and keep audiences guessing.”

“AI” means “Artificial (or “Fake”) Intelligence.

We bought Phoney and have it on our Android device and are impressed by its method – not what one would think – and the way the creators have it hide on your phone.  To be fair, it is a trick a magician could do without the AI but it is much easier and just as impressive to use one’s phone.

Check out the Computer Science For Fun website for a great survey of neat magic and non-magic things computers can do: www.cs4fn.org/magic.  The site has links to other great sites where you can download free ebooks with neat science-based magic tricks.

By the way, we checked out the fake teeth scandal and were shocked to learn that some of the biggest stars in Hollywood have had dental work – some had whitening, others got caps and one female star apparently had braces to straighten her teeth.  Frankly, we feel faint and need to sit down for a little bit.

Guest Essay, Latest Magic News, Magic Book Review

Submit Your News and We’re So Sorry

Inside Magic Image of IT StaffOh boy, is our face red.

We have a “Submit to Inside Magic” button at the top of every page.  It has been there since we first started Inside Magic in the late 1940s.  The country was getting back to work, the big wars were over, neighborhoods were building, cars had big fins and transistors were just a pipe dream.

When the button was first installed, we received a couple of submissions – some were even magic related.  But we haven’t heard much since.

We had our crack IT staff check things out and we learned tonight why they are called “crack” – but that is a different issue – and we learned why we haven’t seen any submissions.  The staff had the submissions routed to an old website we no longer use: PocketFishermanKnock-Offs.com.

We hadn’t checked that site since the cease and desist letters from Ron Popeil’s blood-thirsty lawyers.

We are so sorry.

The server was filled with news releases, story suggestions, fully written essays and interview suggestions.  Some of them were quite good but are now out of date.

If you have a story, a suggestion, a press release, essay or interview suggestion, please resubmit it for consideration by our previously under-worked editorial staff.

If you previously submitted your news and thought we ignored you, please accept our most sincere apologies.  As a small but earnest magic news daily, we cannot afford to alienate a single reader and it was never our intention to give that impression.

Here is to new beginnings!  Click the button above or this link.

Latest Magic News

Murray SawChuck Wins Twice in One Night

Inside Magic: Murray SawChuckWe learned over the weekend that Murray SawChuck was awarded Career Achievement in the Magic Arts at the beautiful Avalon Theater in Hollywood, California.

Not that everyone visiting Hollywood needs to check in with us.

Inside Magic has never been like some sort of police department where magicians and variety artists need to register before taking up residence (however temporary) here in Hollywood.

Gosh knows we are busy enough listening all night to the various police scanners and searching the ‘net for the latest in magic news.

Still, it would have been nice if we had known.

We would have gone by the Avalon Theater and waived knowingly – even if they would let us in.  Then we would have run back to our spacious studio apartment next to the dog food bakery to listen to the police scanner to hear if anyone noticed.

Nonetheless, Murray did receive the Career Achievement in the Magic Arts award right here in Hollywood.  His lovely wife, Chloe Crawford, joined him at the LA Music Awards and Hollywood FAME Awards.

But as if that was not enough, he was also named the Best Comedy Variety Act for 2014 by LA Comedy Awards for his show at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mr. SawChuck was gracious in victory, telling reporters “This has been a fun week! I announced my new hotel I’ll be moving my show to and received two new awards to add to my wall, not a bad week for a guy that does magic tricks for a living!”

Word, brother.

Mr. SawChuck’s show MURRAY Celebrity Magician is moving from The Tropicana (or “Trop” in Sinatra-lingo) to The Sin City Comedy Theater at Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino.  His is a wonderful, high-energy show with Ms. Crawford and sleight-of-hand artist Douglas “Lefty” Leferovich that makes you proud to be a magician.  He will open at his new digs on December 10, 2014.

Congratulations to a hard-working performer with mad skills.

Read more about Mr. SawChuck’s work and life on his website here.

Magic News

David Copperfield Speaks About Making It

Inside Magic Image of David CopperfieldMagician David Copperfield knows magic and business and how to make the two work together.  He recently spoke to budding entrepreneurs and start-up enthusiasts at a recent Tech Cocktail Celebrate Conference in Las Vegas.

Mr. Copperfield tells the audience things do not become simple once you’ve made it.  “I wish I could tell you that it’s easier when you’ve had a career for years,” he said. “If you’re doing something new, everything will be difficult.”

Of course, it was not easy to start out either.

The key is to keep pushing despite the setbacks and use the negative feedback to hone your message.

“I knocked on doors and I always had a point of view. I had something that I could identify as a special thing and say what I did very clearly,” Mr. Copperfield said. “My mentors were in my head; my mentors were people I admired in the field that had done it.  I just found enough strength to get past all the no responses. You’ve got to get up and keep fighting.”

Check out the video here.

Latest Magic News, Magic of UK, Magician Feature

Magic Megs is Magic Circle Officer and Female!

Megan Knowles-BaconMegan Knowles-Bacon is 22-years-old and a female and, according to the UK Telegraph, is the only “female magician to be elected to the upper echelons of The Magic Circle.”

The Magic Circle just began accepting female members 23 years ago and has less than 100 total (compared with 1400 total membership).  But the 109-year-old magic organization has made huge strides towards gender parity by electing Ms. Knowles-Bacon to Secretary.  She is used to the gender ratio being so skewed.  She was elected on November 7th.

“When I was first into magic I didn’t realise girls didn’t do it. It was normal for me. It was only when I joined the Young Magician’s Club aged 10 and there were about 70 boys, it was this sudden realisation of: ‘Where are all the girls?'”

Ironically, we had exactly the same “realization” when we joined magic clubs in junior high school.  We wondered where all the girls were and if we had chosen the right hobby to pursue.  We spelled “realization” differently than Ms. Knowles-Bacon though.

Ms. Knowles-Bacon sounds like our kind of enthusiast:

“I can talk about it for hours and hours,” she cries. “I just love entertaining people and giving them happiness. It’s watching their faces light up in shock, or wonder. Magic shows you can create the impossible.”

Her pals call her “Magic Megs” and she adopted the name for her web presence: magicmegs.com.

“There’s quite a few tricks that I wouldn’t be able to do,” explains Knowles-Bacon. “Like the ‘card on tie’ or wallet tricks, because they’re designed for men. If there were more women in magic, maybe they’d make more women’s parts.

“But it makes you more creative. Women can bring a different character. I demonstrate that with my ballet. I used to do tricks with make-up as well. I really played on being a girl and it went down well. You get some real comedy out of it, like asking a man [in the audience] to unscrew an eye shadow lid.”

Read the rest of the profile at The Telegraph.   We were very impressed and wish her the best of luck!

Latest Magic News

Criss Angel to Play Easton PA

criss angelCriss Angel’s Mindfreak Live! is heading to the Lehigh Valley, about 70 miles north of  Philadelphia this winter.

According to local press, Mr. Angel will bring his newly developed Mindfreak touring show to the beautiful State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania on January 20, 2015.

The show is recommended for guests 12 and older for some of the more intense aspects of the presentation

Mr. Angel will perform two shows: 6 PM & 9:30 PM and tickets go on sale for State Theatre Members tomorrow, Thursday, November 13th at 10 am at the State Theatre with public sales starting on November 20th.

Promoters are limiting sales of six tickets per State Theatre members.  That kind of limit speaks volumes about their expectations for the show.  They have reason to believe it will sell out quickly.  Mindfreak is seen in more than 90 countries with more than 100 million viewers each of its six seasons.

Mr. Angel has family in the Lehigh Valley, including cousin Billy Kounoupis, owner of Billy’s Downtown Diners in Bethlehem and Allentown. Early in his career, he was mentored by Easton’s Lou Reda and has been on the State Theatre stage in 1991 for a promotional photo shoot.