Today's Chicago Tribune features a story on Ed Marlo, an important insider magician from Chicago, in Ed Marlo: Behind the magic. Included are comments from many notable Chicago magicians, a video from Bill Malone, and a sidebar article describing five great card tricks.
For more on Chicago magic history, see Bill Pack's website and my Map of Chicago Magic.
If you're a magician who enjoys arcane knowledge about everyday things, check out my review of The Secret Symbols of the Dollar Bill. If you're a magician who doesn't enjoy this sort of thing, well, then try the Magic Cafe instead. Ha!
I recently read the book "And Then There's This: How Stories Live and Die in Viral Culture" by Bill Wasik. I enjoyed it and a few bits stood out as being particularly relevant to the state of conjuring.
Those magicians posting performances, or worse, on YouTube and elsewhere in search of attention might consider the following:
Viral projects spread through decontextualized blog links and email forward, and so viewers tend to pay no attention whatsoever to the domains that actaully host the material--they never learn anything about the creators who entertain them. In the Internet circus, a seemingly infinite cast of clowns, daredevils, and freaks each step into the spotlight, enthrall the crowd for thirty seconds or so, and then exit back into the dark with barely a bow.
In discussing online communities and ghettos, Wasik offers:
The person with no community to betray has nothing left to sell out.
And finally, a reminder about the rush the newest:
If you want to see if something is great, leave it on the shelf for seven days, or seven years, or seventy.
For more about my views of the book, see my review.
Last weekend in San Francisco I had the pleasure of seeing Christian Cagigal's new show, "Now and at the Hour." The hour-long show is at the Exit Theatre, an edgy and interesting theatre complex located at the fringe of the infamous Tenderloin neighborhood. (There is a parking lot right across the street, I noticed.)
Cagigal's show is notable among the many magic shows I have seen for its strong through-line and theatrical structure. Seemingly autobiographical, it's more personally revealing than most magicians would be comfortable with, and Cagical weaves the magic and mentalism into the show in ways that serve the narrative quite well.
In fact, I almost hesitate to call it a "magic show" because it's much more theatrical, and interesting, than that would typically imply. In fact, after thinking about the show quite a bit the following day, I think it's an example of post-Neale & Burger bizarre magic. The mysteries are integrated into the performance, the tricks are respected, and the tone is much more serious than usual. (In fact, while not dour, I think the evening could be improved with the addition of a lighter segment.)
The show is only playing for a few more weeks, and the Exit uses a voluntary sliding-scale payment scale, so I encourge my Bay Area friends to get out and see it. It's important to support fellow magicians, especially so when their work advances the art.
Not that I don't appreciate you reading this blog every once in a while, but perhaps Denny (of Denny & Lee) has some words you might heed. From a recent newsletter:
I have heard from so many younger magicians that they don't bother going to magic shops. They say that all they need is on the internet. This is why so many magic shops have closed up and have decided to just do internet shipping. Believe me, if you are one of these guys who believes this, you are missing the boat on learning magic. I get questions from magicians every day. These are questions that could be answered if you would take the time and hang out at a “real” magic shop. Virtual reality internet shops do nothing more than take your credit card info and send you what you want. A magic shop is where you “discover” things. Talk with the guys that hang out in the shops and you will receive so much information. You will be introduced to things you never even knew existed. The real lessons in magic take place in a real magic shop where ideas are discussed freely. You will also learn to “socialize,” which is something the internet generation seems to be lacking. Get away from YouTube once in a while. Get out of those chat rooms where you don't even know who you are getting information from. Try some “live interaction” with real human beings and you may be surprised at what you will learn. MAGIC IN A REAL MAGIC SHOP IS FUN AND EDUCATIONAL.
What are you waiting for?
Do you have a pile of worn-out, mismatched cards at hand? Of course you do. Read Cut the Cards for some lovely playing card artwork that might inspire you to do something new with your discards.
My glowing review of High Spots, the card magic book from Caleb Wiles, at My Lovely Assistant. You might think I was paid off but I wasn't, just smitten.
Mentalist Stewart Cumberland offers his observations on magic-as-tricks in his post Where Has The Mystery Gone In Magic And Mentalism?.
The comments are worth reading, too. My quick two-cents is that many magicians are afraid of magic. The powerful mystery angle is the antithesis to the "life of the party" promise that permeates modern magic, so you have to really seek good examples and mentors to explore other approaches to the art. In my opinion the work of Robert E. Neale best represents a contemporary, wonder worker who isn't performing magic to be a buffoon or run some sort of power game.
Check out the The Samsung HD Phone Illusion movie at The Merchant of Magic. Many magicians will probably figure it out, but it's very nicely done and fun to watch.
Almost all of the magicians I count as friends have given up on The Linking Ring magazine. I almost did myself, especially during that period between Phil Wilmarth and Samuel Patrick Smith when typos and incomplete sentences multiplied faster than sponge bunnies.
There's still one area where the magazine disappoints me. The important task of crediting inventors with their work. Lately the Hocus Pocus Parades, when they consist of contributions by Rings, often have "pet effects" that are described without any provenance or historical information at all. That's the sort of thing you expect during an informal session, but when an effect is committed to print it should be better documented.
Worse yet is crediting sloppiness by the regular columnists. Two specific example make my point. In his April 2009 "Showtime" column, Peter Marucci describes a card displacement move that he says he read in an early Paul Harris book. That's the sum total of his attempt to credit and identify the technique, "an early Paul Harris book." If Marucci is too lazy to do the research, then the Editor should have sent it back or filled in the gap himself.
Another example is a review "Street Cents" written by Bill Wells. Wells at least attempts to tell purchasers the history of the trick, but in doing so credits Bryce Kuhlman and Eugene Burger with creating "Fading Coin." The real inventor of Fading Coin is Tomoyuki Takahashi. The trick that Wells meant is "Accentuate the Positive" which is published in the book Mystery School.
I get the sense that the organization is struggling, perhaps here is an opportunity to lead again, by making The Linking Ring an exemplar of accuracy and historical preservation. If the I.B.M. won't bother to conserve our historical record, who will?
The Merchant of Magic blog writes about the organizing tool Evernote and how magicians might be able to put it to use. While I'm not a big fan of Evernote, I'm definitely in favor of examining how tools might be applied to our little niche, so see if it's a tool that works for you.
If you're the type of magician who enjoys learning about overlooked symbolism in everyday life, I invite you to read my review of The Secrets of Masonic Washington, available on my personal blog.
I'm happy to announce that I'll once again be filling the coveted "guest slot" at this week's performance of The Magic Cabaret. If you saw my performance in October, you'll find that the overall show is all-new. And I plan on debuting a new piece, based on a 1934 contribution to The Sphinx by Ted Annemann.
Visit The Magic Cabaret website for more info, I'll see you there on Wednesday, April 29, 2009.
