Sunday, December 23, 2012

January 2013 Magic Magazine

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MAGIC Magazine January 2013 CoverMAGIC Magazine January 2013From The Editor

The January 2013 issue of MAGIC Magazine is now out, available both in print and on the iPad. If you haven't already received your copy, here's a look at what's "between the covers."

But before you jump into the January issue, I want to mention that in my "From the Editor" column last month, I wrote about how impressed I was with Alan Shaxon [1933-2012], both onstage and off. In particular, I cited his Hydrostatic Glass routine, and how simple and effective it was. As the December issue was going to press, I was reminded that Alan gave us permission to print this routine as part of our March 2004 cover story on him. With the permission of the original publishers at Davenports, we have added the instructions, illustrations, and routine to MAGIC Plus for December. So, grab your December copy of the magazine, log into Plus, and learn what I consider to be possibly the best ending to a talking magic act I've ever seen.

Then jump to the January MAGIC Plus and see the complete collection of Danny Cole's Internet videos, including a behind-the-scenes reveal of his most recent installment — only available to MAGIC Magazine readers!

And that's just the beginning of another exciting year of MAGIC.

Stan Allen



Danny ColeStories in MAGIC this month:

COVER: Danny Cole — He Gets It!
By Tod Gerard
He started gaining attention as a teenage magician from Southern California, but today, Danny Cole performs all over the world. And he has turned his talents toward creating unique magic effects for Internet viewers. To date, he's released ten of these short videos — and we've got 'em all on MAGIC Plus. Danny has also given us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at his most recent head-scratcher!

An Evening With HarryAn Evening with Harry
By Joe Givan & Carol Massie-Givan
Magic. Mayhem. Mystery. Murder? Maybe. Maybe not. One thing's for sure: somebody's dead, and the art of magic may have something to do with it.
The scene is the Trocadero Vaudevilles theater at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. has hired Harry Robenstein to perform his magic in a variety show, alongside a number of other acts. Things get hairy for Harry when another magician barges onstage and cuts the wire Harry uses to raise his Hindu Rope in the air. The interloper is the young Erik Weisz. He exposes Harry's method, claiming that he, Erik, will be the greatest magician in the world. Robenstein is enraged that this young man not only exposes his magic, but that Erik wants his spot in the show! And he gets it, replacing Harry with his own magic and escape act. What follows is an interesting and hilarious battle of two magicians trying to make it in the world of showbiz.

AlanaAlana: The Girl Just Wants to Have Fun
By Jaq Greenspon
It's a magician's nightmare. You're set to go onstage at FISM for your competition slot. Standing in the wings with your act loaded, you psych yourself up to go out there and wow the crowd. You see your name on the screen, you hear the microphone turn on, and you take a deep breath. This is it. And then the announcer says that there will be a half hour intermission, and before you can even register your shock and surprise, the house is half empty and you're left with thirty minutes in which to psych yourself back up again. That's exactly what happened to Alana Moehlmann, one of the German participants at last year's FISM in Blackpool, England. And yet, a half hour later, she took the stage and wowed the crowd.

Houdini MoviesTaking Another Look at Houdini's Movies
By Chris Philpott
Houdini's movies are a fascinating but neglected part of his legacy. The conventional wisdom about these movies is that the stories were just excuses for his escapes and that he was a very weak actor. Story-wise, why is it a problem that the films are excuses for escapes? We don't complain that action movies are just excuses for action scenes. The question is, are they a good excuse? A film like The Dark Knight is. Unfortunately, most of Houdini's movies are not. As for Houdini's acting, yes, it's awful in spots, but most of it is fairly good and there are moments of emotional honesty, power, and charisma that hint that maybe, if things had gone a little differently, Houdini might have become a real movie star.

Wayne HouchinI Hereby Resolve…
January is traditionally a time to look forward while at the same time looking back. This month, MAGIC Magazine does the same, with more than two dozen noted magicians — Kevin James, Eugene Burger, Cyril, Michael Weber, Topas, Mac King, John Bannon, Armando Lucero, Derek Hughes, and more — sharing their resolutions for 2013.

Magician Burned on TV Show
Wayne Houchin suffered first-degree burns on his scalp, face, and right arm while taping a television program in the Dominican Republic on Monday, November 26. The injuries came at the hands of the host of the show, who doused Houchin with a flaming liquid.

Criminal Kid Shows?
In February 2000, Robert E. Markwood was found guilty of the second-degree felony of indecency with a child, stemming from an incident with a boy in January 1999. He was released from prison last February, having served the full twelve-year sentence. Bob Markwood, now 67, showed up in the media recently, when the Inside Edition television show did a segment on registered sex offenders who are still working as children's entertainers.
Card Shark
Plus…
Steve Truglia's The Card Shark Show debuts at the Mayfair Theatre in London, over 50 invited magicians from 22 countries took part in the first International Magic Carnival in Beijing, Wittus Witt realizes his dream of presenting public exhibitions of his private collection, and Fantasma Toys opens its Houdini Museum of New York.


From the Marketplace this month

Twenty products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Jason England, Gabe Fajuri, Alan Howard, Jared Brandon Kopf, Francis Menotti, Arthur Trace:

Exchange by Wayne Dobson Essence
Essence with Miguel Angel Gea
The Trapdoor Vol. 3 edited by Steve Beam
Mac King's Magic in a Minute Mysteries by Mac King and R.G. Wyatt
The Card Puzzle by Woody Aragón
The Inception by Chris Randall
One by Matthew Underhill
Let's Go Dutch by Fritz Alkemade
Counts Cuts Moves and Subtlety by Jerry Mentzer
An Evening with Charlie Miller by Robert Parrish Essence
Fantasio's Color Changing Lighter 
Ultimate Self Working Card Tricks 
    by BigBlindMedia
Magic with a Christmas Theme by Marc Dibowski
Spectrum by Wayne Dobson
Devious by Brandon David and Chris Turchi
Growing Ring by Dan Hauss
The Cardwarp Tour by Jeff Pierce
Filter by Rick Lax
Card Shark's AlphaWave Deck 
BOOM! by Mick Valenti


Tricks and advice in MAGIC this month:

Joshua JayDirectionsMike BentRick LaxMilt LarsenCory HainesTalk About Tricks: New Tricks for a New Year
By Joshua Jay
An all-card issue, with two impossible locations: Pete McCabe's The Watchman is an impossible location that requires a special "something extra," while Trapper Keeper achieves a similar result with a regular pack. Josh Janousky gives us One Card Monte, an interesting take on a card change, and Ernesto Melero and Christian Grenier share pet moves to add to your toolkit.

Loving Mentalism: Singer Zinger
By Ian Rowland
A seemingly impossible piece of direct mindreading is featured in this month's "Loving Mentalism." Under test conditions, a spectator concentrates on one photograph chosen from eight possibilities. You then tell him exactly which image he is thinking of. You can do this from across the stage, without even looking in the spectator's direction and with none of the usual methods in play — no force, no ambiguity, no electronics, and no preshow. The powerfully deceptive principle is extremely subtle and highly versatile.

Directions: #12. Take a Bow!
By Joanie Spina
The closing of your act or show should be clean and well structured. The show should be riding a steadily increasing momentum that builds to a crescendo and leaves the audience wildly excited and enthusiastic about you. But the show is not over until you exit the stage. The same care that is given to planning your act should go into crafting your bow, as well.

Bent on Deception: Wooly Bully, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Accept the Clown
By Mike Bent
Do you remember Play-Doh, Etch-a-Sketch, X-ray Specs, Sea Monkeys, and the game Clue? These are more than toys; they are art, as important as the simple Campbell's soup can that Andy Warhol immortalized. When an audience sees one of these objets d'art, which have never been out of production since they were created, there's an instant emotional hook, a bonding with the performer.

#LaxOnline
By Rick Lax
Type "magic trick" into YouTube's search bar and see what comes up on the first page. You'll find videos of Paul Annett performing a packet trick called This'n'That (17,913,555 views) and Oren Sashalom performing an interactive Princess Card trick (18,098,117 views). Which brings up an important question: Who the hell are Paul Annett and Oren Shalom?

50 Years at the Castle: And We're Off!
By Milt Larsen
When Stan Allen and I first talked about my writing a twelve-part series celebrating the golden anniversary of the Magic Castle, we agreed it shouldn't be a chronological account of events, but rather a collection of stories about the movers, do-ers, and finger-flippers who somehow worked together to make the Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts a unique success in the world of magic. So let's turn back the clock to the morning of January 2, 1963. We had announced that the Magic Castle would open its doors to members and guests at 6 p.m. Were we ready? Hell no!

Real-World Methods… Protecting Your Assets
By Cory Haines
Theft is a horrible thing. I remember an instance from my childhood, when my brand new bicycle was stolen by one of the "big kids." At the time, that bicycle was my most treasured possession. I felt victimized, helpless, and angry. For most of the magicians I know, the magic routines they have created are among their most treasured possessions, so the theft of these routines by other performers can leave them with similar feelings of helplessness, anger, and mistrust. The good news is that the law can provide some protection for our creations.

For What It's Worth: On the Road Again
By Mark Kornhauser
In order to gain a greater appreciation of magicians who don't live in Los Angeles or Las Vegas (I'm told there are many), I piled my two dogs — Zsa Zsa and Goulash — into the car and headed out on an 8,000-mile road trip. I'm no stranger to the road. I pride myself on expert packing, but the first night, I couldn't find my cell phone charger and tore apart everything in my SUV looking for it. And so it begins. The first rule of travel: there will be problems.

Paynefully Obvious: The Myth of Mentoring
By Payne
A couple of years ago, a documentary was released that IMDb.com describes as "a coming of age journey set in the quirky subculture of magic." Make Believefollowed six young magicians who competed in the Teen World Championships, held in conjunction with the 2009 World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. It is an excellent film that shows what it takes to make it in the dog-eat-dog — or perhaps rabbit-eat-rabbit — world of high-level magic competitions. It is also a film that encapsulates some of the problems I see in the world of magic today. 

Saturday, November 24, 2012

David Copperfield is in the next issue of Reel Magic

Guy,
We're thrilled to bring you this historic interview with David Copperfield, shot LIVE at the SAM National convention in Vegas. Stan Allen and Copperfield talk about David's life in magic. This is very special. Take a look! 


Check out Doc Eason's new column, "Behind the Bar". We're really excited to have Doc in Reel Magic.

Oh and by the way, did you guys see what Curtis Kam said about Kainoa Harbottle's new column "Coin U"?

"Professor Harbottle's Coin U is the smartest stuff anyone is saying about coin magic anywhere. Finally there's someone willing and able to go beyond the usual 
"basic understanding"of coin magic. And yes, this will all be on the final exam"     

If you're not a current subscriber click the link below. 


Magic on TV

A couple bits of upcoming magic on television... 

Fox and Friends Weekend 
Sunday, November 25, 6am ET, Fox News 
Roger Dreyer and his Houdini Museum in New York City will appear on the Fox News morning broadcast. We understand that the segment is slated near the end of the four-hour show, at approximately 9:50am. 

Pawn StarsPawn Stars 
Monday, November 26, 10pm ET/PT, History Channel 
Murray Sawchuck returns to Pawn Starsin an episode called "The Offer." He'll be the magic expert on a Thurston item. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Magic Magazine December 2012 preview

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MAGIC Magazine December 2012 CoverMAGIC Magazine December 2012From The Editor

While 2013 is still over a month away, this issue officially turns the final page on another year of MAGIC Magazine. And it's been quite the year. Cover stories alone featured Pit Hartling, John Bannon, Fielding West, Steve Cohen, Marco Tempest, Jay Sankey, Mike Bent, Neil Patrick Harris, Derek Hughes, David Copperfield, and Korean FISM Winners. And now Milt Larsen and the Magic Castle, which begins celebrating its 50th Anniversary in January. How do we cover such a milestone? By going straight to the founder and twisting his arm to write about the "magic house" he built. Okay, it really didn't take too much arm twisting, as Milt is still a writer at heart. This month, he tells how the club and the clubhouse came to be. And while this starts us at the very beginning, the following twelve installments, like Milt himself, will be jumping all over the place. And like the Castle itself, this should be a fun ride.

One of the big additions to the MAGIC family this year is MAGIC Plus. It's the bridge between print and digital, and it's available free to everyone holding a print copy of this magazine, whether you subscribe or pick it up in a magic shop. This month, MAGIC Plus features bonus videos from "Talk About Tricks," "Directions," "Bent on Deception," and "The Almighty Dollar." We also have two bonus Pluses this month. Our feature story on Jason England and Paul Wilson's "Road Trip!" is divided into eight parts. Each part has a video available, so you view the clips as you read the story. The other bonus this month is a holiday gift from Joshua Jay. Spoiler Alert: it's a video download called The Bluff Shift Bundle — and it's free! So, if you have not visited MAGIC Plus yet, sit down with your print copy, go to our website, and enjoy.

It's all in the December 2012 issue of MAGIC Magazine. If you haven't already received your copy, here's a look at what else is "between the covers."

Stan Allen

P.S. MAGIC Magazine is also available for your iPad in the App Store. The cost is only $3.99 per issue, and it arrives within a few minutes. Best of all, you only buy it once, then you own it forever and can enjoy it wherever you want.


Stories in MAGIC this month:

The Magic CastleCOVER: Open Sesame?
By Milt Larsen
The Magic Castle in Hollywood is an iconic landmark, known the world over as the clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts. Milt Larsen, one of the founders fifty years ago, reminisces with tales of how the venue came to be, kicking off a series of articles celebrating the Castle's golden anniversary. In this first installment, Milt takes us from first concept up until January 2, 1963, when he found himself waiting for the last of the paint to dry and trying to figure out why his invisible pianist didn't work. Meanwhile, designer John Shrum was out buying flowers to put in the men's room urinals $mdash; but that's another story!

Prince of NightmaresMarcel: Prince of Nightmares
By Jaq Greenspon
Nine years ago, Marcel Kalisvaart, at the time a twenty-year-old upstart illusionist with only five years of experience, had the hubris to compete in the Stage Illusionist category at the 2003 FISM competition in his home country of Holland. It wasn't far from home and he'd already been getting some attention locally $mdash; like winning the grand prix at the 2002 Dutch championships $mdash; so why not? Why not, indeed? Marcel walked off with the top prize in illusions, and did even better in FISM 2012.

Road TripRoad Trip!
By Jason England
In "a quest for great magic, great food, and a flawless false shuffle," Paul Wilson and Jason England recently took a 7,000-mile trip across the US $mdash; a journey that began in Las Vegas, covered 13 states, and ended up in Los Angeles. They spent over three weeks on the road, visiting magicians and pool hustlers, collectors and casino security experts. They interviewed some of the most recognized magicians in the world, gained entry into some of the most wonderful collections one could ever hope to see, and met some really interesting characters. Along the way, they managed to gather enough stories to fill a small book.

Twelve Magical MonthsTwelve Magical Months
By Alan Howard
The end-of-year holidays are sometimes portrayed as a time for over-the-top gift giving $mdash; and over-the-top gift getting! But there is no reason why you have to limit your extravagance to a single season. There's almost always an excuse to celebrate, so you can spread your presents out over the whole year! Here is a month-by-month guide to gifts that any magic fan would be thrilled to receive. Buy them for your magic friends and family, buy them for yourself, or just keep hinting to everyone within earshot just how much you wish someone would give these presents to you in the upcoming months.

Magic Circle Awards
Magic Circle AwardsThe Magic Circle Awards took on a new format this year, jettisoning the usual banquet, cabaret, and "gong show" at a nondescript hotel and moving the new event to the Circle's very own Headquarters in Central London. Members of the public were also encouraged to attend with a promise of top-quality magic and entertainment.

A Moment With… James McKinlay
NBC's America's Got Talent is reaching out to the magic community in an effort to get more magicians to audition for the show. When contacted in late October, Stan Allen raised a number of questions regarding the way magicians had been treated on the show in the past. Co-Executive Producer James McKinlay, with twenty years in the field, the last six of which with AGT, agreed to field those questions.

Plus…
While magicians tried to get Houdini to show up in a séance in Texas, he did return to the silver screen in Hollywood; conjurors gathered in Chile in "the driest place on Earth;" the life and magic of Alan Shaxon is remembered; and much more.


From the Marketplace:

Twelve products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Jared Brandon Kopf, Francis Menotti, and Arthur Trace:

The Definitive Sankey by Andi Gladwin and Joshua Jay The Bumblebees
Unreal by Bruce Bernstein
The Bumblebees with Woody Aragón
In the Frame by Mark Elsdon The Definitive Sankey
The Essential Sol Stone by Stephen Hobbs
TKO 2.0 by Jeff Kaylor
The Complete Walton Vols. 1 & 2 by Roy Walton
Lincoln's Best Boon by Lincoln Kamm
Carey On by John Carey
The Money Card by Shaun Robison
Stitched by Alexander Kölle
Chill by Tom Wright


Tricks and advice in MAGIC this month:

Joshua JayAlmighty DollarDirectionsMark KornhauserMike BentTalk About Tricks: Best of 2012
By Joshua Jay
This month, Walt Lees brings us a lovely match effect with a — forgive the pun — strikingly unorthodox method. Justin Higham delivers a high-caliber card effect, and Chris Piercy shows you how to take one of Sankey's cleverest effects to new heights. Harapan Ong and Waseem Mohammed round out the issue with two clever card ideas.

The Almighty Dollar: Taken For Granted
By Gregory Wilson
With only a $50 bill and a $1 bill, the classic Slow Motion Bill Transposition is demonstrated as a two-phase shortchange swindle. One of the bills is in your hand and the other is placed in your pocket. The bills secretly change places, apparently based on clever and confusing "crosstalk." This is immediately repeated, but this time in the spectator's hand.

Directions: #11. Music, Maestro
By Joanie Spina
People watch a performance to be moved in some manner, to laugh, to cry, to be amazed, etc. Music can greatly enhance a presentation and further help you fulfill those expectations of the audience. Music sets mood and energy, and when chosen wisely can kick up the impact of a routine. If you don't presently use music in your act, you should consider it.

Bent on Deception: The Overly Complicated Simplex Bill in Lemon
By Mike Bent
When Mike Bent is working with a classic effect, he searches for super-easy methods, with maybe just a little James Bond gadgetry thrown in. Here's his take on the Bill in Lemon. "This miracle, created by Emil Jarrow, is a classic for a reason: it's a stunner. For audience appeal, you just can't beat it. No matter what else you do in your show, you know the audience will be talking on the way home about how the bill got in that damn lemon."

Loving Mentalism: Navigate To Icy
By Ian Rowland
Ingenious word play and some slightly eerie surprises feature in this month's helping of "Loving Mentalism." It's a story routine based around a famous historical tragedy. Are there really strange forces at work, reaching from the past to the present, to bring about a diabolical series of coincidences? Maybe not, but that's what it looks like to the audience! What's more, the routine is easy to do and only requires simple props that you can make in an evening.

For What It's Worth: Coca-Cola and the Fourth Dimension
By Mark Kornhauser
Sound, lights, sets, music, video, costumes, script, staging, direction, pyro, props — all are as much a part of an illusion as bubbles are to "The Real Thing." When performers give appropriate importance to these other "dimensions," it provides valuable perspective. It's not just Coke that goes flat. When your audience is farther than eighteen feet away, you go flat. Stereoscopic vision flattens out. People who are more than eighteen feet away will have a diminished sense of your three-dimensionality. You begin to lose one of the few advantages of a live show: the all-important third dimension. You need every dimension you can get!

Paynefully Obvious
By Payne
"Where can I find a trick that will fool magicians?" This question is usually asked by novices in the craft of magic, individuals who are under the mistaken impression that instant fame and respect can be garnered if they can fool the socks off of other magi. I suppose they believe it is the magical equivalent of counting coup. Their quest is doomed on multiple levels.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Magic Magazine November

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MAGIC Magazine November 2012 CoverMAGIC Magazine November 2012From The Editor

It's hard for me to believe that the November issue is already out. I'm barely thinking about Halloween. And Thanksgiving is "months away." Of course, all the major department stores and the mall already have their Christmas decorations up, but I'm choosing to ignore that, at least for a little while longer. It seems like we only have two holiday seasons these days: Christmas and Un-Christmas — the Un being the shorter of the two. If you're one of those people who like to count down to significant events, and you happen to receive this magazine right on November 1st, you have exactly 55 shopping days left. Well, 55 if you celebrate Christmas. Actual shopping days may vary depending on your celebratory habits. No matter which countdown calendar you're on, I hope that it's filling up with magic shows. After all, 'tis the season! And the Un will be upon us before you know it, so enjoy!

Months before I found myself sitting in the balcony of the Blackpool Opera House, watching the FISM finalists compete for the Grand Prix, Charlie Frye had tipped me off that 2012 was going to be Korea's year. And he wasn't talking about the country being awarded the bid to host the World Championships in 2015, which ultimately went to Italy. Nope, Charlie was talking about the crop of outstanding magicians developing in Korea. And was he ever right! A few hours later, when the awards had all been handed out, Korea had chalked up 8 of the 32 trophies presented — exactly 25 percent — prompting many of us to ask, "What's going on in Korea?" This month, Gregory Bracco, who has been living and working in South Korea for the past decade, answers that question and introduces us to a new, exciting community of magic.

It's all in the November 2012 issue of MAGIC Magazine, available both in print and on the iPad. If you haven't already received your copy, here's an advance look at what else is "between the covers."

Stan Allen




Korea: A Magic CommunityMore stories in MAGIC this month:

COVER: Korea, Community of Magic
By Gregory Bracco
Korean magicians swept the Manipulation category at FISM this year, and in recent years have been earning more and more accolades around the world. What is going on in Korea? Just the creation of an inventive, sharing community that encourages and nurtures conjuring talent.

Jan Rouven: The Man With Nine Lives
Jan rouven Jan rouvenBy Rory Johnston
Jan Rouven is known as "The Man With Nine Lives" because his act features death-defying illusions, and his onstage persona is that of a man who enjoys taking dangerous risks. Interestingly, this is also an apt description of the career path of Las Vegas' newest magic headliner.

Bernstein's Unreal
By Gabe Fajuri
Bruce Bernstein has spent over three decades creating, refining, and developing dozens of devious feats of mindreading and mentalism with cards, prediction tricks, cold reading, and techniques that have become standard operating procedure for thought-stealers of every stripe. He has been a trusted, go-to consultant for many of the world's top psychic entertainers, enjoying an enviable reputation in the field. If there is one hallmark of Bernstein's work, it is simplicity of method. All of his routines are within the grasp of the thoughtful performer. The two tricks and technique presented here give a flavor of how he constructs effects and how his mind works.

Ta-Da! The SAM Hall of Fame Reappears
By Alan Howard
It's a classic magic plot. A living, healthy being is apparently dispensed with -- cut in half, dismembered, cremated, vanished in a cloud of smoke -- but then rises to live again, fully functioning and seemingly no worse for the experience. Onstage, it happens regularly to assistants, doves, and other animals. Offstage, it happened to the Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

ElectrifiedElectrified
"Electrified: One Million Volts Always On" was the full title of Blaine's latest stunt, which placed the "endurance artist" atop a twenty-foot-high platform erected at the end of Pier 54 in New York City. Blaine remained standing on his perch for 72 hours. But he was not merely remaining awake and waving to the crowds who came to watch -- he was surrounded by an array of seven Tesla coils, subjected constantly to electricity that arced down toward his body. The whole event was streamed live on YouTube as a promotion for Intel Corp.

Lost Magic Decoded
Lost Magic DecodedRobert-Houdin's Light & Heavy Chest. The miraculous chess-playing Turk. The infamous Bullet Catch. The legendary Indian Rope Trick. These fabled magical effects and more are explored by Steve Cohen in a new two-hour television special, Lost Magic Decoded, which premiered Thursday, October 18, on the History Channel.

Plus…
David Copperfield analyzing trick football plays on NFL Top 10, Michael Grandinetti performing at halftime at a Carolina Panthers' game, the buzz on the Genii Bash, as well as the latest on IMX, Magic-Con, Columbus Magi-Fest, and a lot more.


More tricks and advice this month:

Joshua JayAlmighty DollarDirectionsMark KornhauserLarry WilsonMike BentTalk About Tricks: Joshua Logan One Man Issue
By Joshua Jay
This month, we feature an in-depth examination of the repertoire of California's Joshua Logan. Logan is a professional magician in Santa Cruz, and he joins us to share several interesting moves and sequences, along with what is sure to cause a stir: his controversial Freak Out effect, which has a method befitting its title.

The Almighty Dollar: Defaced
By Gregory Wilson
You borrow a $1 bill, fold it in half, and clearly tear Washington from the center. With a snap of the bill, this gaping hole is fully restored, and the bill is returned to the suitably stunned spectator.

Directions: #10. Let There Be Light
By Joanie Spina
Lighting is key in creating mood, tone, sculpting, and landscapes. Lighting transforms an ordinary scene into an extraordinary composition. The lighting should enhance the overall dramatic presentation of your act or show.

Loving Mentalism: An Ancient Game
By Ian Rowland
Everyone has played the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors at one time or another. It's a simple game and everyone knows that it's fair. This month's routine is a bare-faced swindle based on this game. First, a spectator makes three random choices and achieves an extraordinary result without knowing how. You then show that you predicted his three choices exactly, via a printed prediction that was in play from the start!

Viewpoint: MAGIC, Tiger Beat for Finger Flickers?
By Larry Wilson
In the August issue of MAGIC Magazine, one stalwart reader questioned why so many photos of Neil Patrick Harris accompanied the cover story, and he asked whether MAGIC was a magazine for magicians or a fan mag. He implied that the editors had stars in their eyes when it comes to Neil Patrick Harris and that starlight had blinded them to their duty. An argument can be made that Neil Patrick Harris is the most important person in magic today -- more important than Criss Angel, or Penn & Teller, or Copperfield.

For What It's Worth:
A Personal Letter to My Millionaire and Billionaire Friends

By Mark Kornhauser
Money. Most magicians don't have much. That's where you come in. With disproportional power comes disproportional responsibility. You can alter magic history. You can be a legend. And I'm sure we can work out some tax breaks, as well.
I recently surveyed some of the most respected minds in magic (I was saving you until now) and unanimously determined that the current state of the art of magic (The Age of the Stooge?) can be thoroughly renovated! There can be a magical renaissance! The "made for TV" doldrums can end; a rush of wonderful ideas and live shows can flourish!
It's just going to take a little cash. Some lucre. Moolah. Scratch. Spondulicks.
How much for a renaissance? According to our calculations, 4.3 million dollars would be sufficient for a Magic Stimulus Package.

Paynefully Obvious: The Play's the Thing
By Payne
Many magicians appear to be unaware of the valuable tool set one can acquire by participating in a theatrical production. Understanding how to move onstage or how to effectively use one's voice is just as important to the performance of magic as knowing how to control a card or palm a coin. I often hear "I don't want to sound mechanical or stilted" used as an excuse for not scripting performances. Delivering scripted dialogue in a natural and extemporaneous-sounding manner is one of the first skills that theatrical artists learn.

Bent on Deception
By Mike Bent
Here's a way to burn your web address into your audiences' retinas and brains at the best possible time -- while they're having a blast during your show. That's right, build an infomercial right into the middle of your show, and entertain your audience while you do it!


In the Marketplace this month:

Nineteen products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Gabe Fajuri, Brad Henderson, Jared Brandon Kopf, Francis Menotti:
Random
Random by Peter Nardi
The Big Revelation by Wayne Dobson
Childsplay by Chris Congreave
Repair Bill by Bob Solari
Making the Cut by Ryan Schlutz
Monster with Mott-Sun
Element 80 by Jason Reed
Tricky Bottles by U.F. Grant
Wunderbar by Steve Dusheck Big Revelation
Hole by Mickael Chatelain
Visions from Vegas by Steve Gore
Poor Man's Cups & Balls by Stephen So
Show Cues by Carl Andrews
Recall with Tom Crosbie
Noteworthy by David Gabbay
Enigma Card by Bob Solari
Sticky by Kevin Schaller and Oliver Smith
Professional Children's Magic
     with Tony Clark
The Perfect World by Mago Migue


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