Showing posts with label Gerry Frenette. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gerry Frenette. Show all posts

25 January 2024

Random thoughts about Gerry Frenette's lecture and his memoir "My Life as a Magic Maker"

Last Thursday, IBM Ring 17 (the Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club) was treated to a lecture about the Psychology of Magic by club member Gerry Frenette!

As you may be aware Gerry:

 

      From the back cover:  

    Magic Makers Gerry and Leonora Frenette travelled internationally as headline entertainers, performing their original illusions for major cruise lines, magicians' conventions, corporate events, and at the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. Gerry also designed and built stage apparatus for magicians worldwide. His creations have appeared on numerous TV shows including the Gemini Awards, America's Got Talent, Britain's Got Talent, and touring shows like The Champions of Magic, and more.



    We made the trek to the club on a cold January night, learned a lot, and had a really good time!  

     

    In his lecture, Gerry:

    • demonstrated how assumptions are a powerful tool to use and can sometimes be stronger than "proving" (proving can ruin the psychology of assumption)
    • showed many of the assumptions that can be involved when using a Vortex tube
    • did some magic with his assistant Gwendolyn the Psychic Chicken and showed us something that once fooled Jeff McBride
    • got knotty with a piece of rope
    • ran though some thoughts about using a card box
    • did a beautiful Coins Across for young volunteer Andrew
    • talked about illusion design and worked through examples of how to make an illusion look smaller than it is (showing examples with boxes, illusion bases, and mirror frames)
    • discussed the importance of looking at things from the perspective of the audience
    • showcased his poker skills against David S, Rob F, and two other volunteers (and teased a story from his book which describes how he almost lost big with this "always winning" poker routine),
    • shared some interesting sub trunk stories
    • highlighted more psychological sleights while performing his Chop Cup routine and Slydini Paper Balls for volunteer Nicole (and as a bonus tipped another story from the book, where he stayed in the moment with a drunk audience volunteer and performed an effect powerful enough to be considered a reputation maker!), and
    • talked about his recently released memoir "My Life as a Magic Maker" at Amazon!

      This book starts from his childhood in Amherst, Nova Scotia and is chock full of entertaining stories from Gerry's magic journey, including: early days of illusion building, working with Dean Gunnarson, CRA audits, being suspected of money laundering, thoughts on copycats & exposure, career highlights, a plethora of photos from the past, and more!

      (No magic secrets are revealed in this book.  It is intended for magicians and non-magicians alike!)

     

    It was an entertaining and informative night!  Thank you very much Gerry!




    --

    * What people are saying about "My Life as a Magic Maker" ...

     

    From the January 7th Facebook post by Matt DiSero:

     

     

    From the January 7th Facebook post by Blair Marshall:

    "Gerry Frenette  has put together a fun read with lots of photos of "the big stuff" ( no secrets though lol) and it's available through Amazon. 🙂"

     

    Customer reviews from Amazon:

    MScott - 5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating & fun to read!
    Reviewed in Canada on December 30, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Couldn’t put it down. As a lay person, I felt I stepped into the author’s entertaining world of magical illusions. Buy it & be amazed!

     

    Raman Sharma - 5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Books I have read in a long time!
    Reviewed in Canada on December 29, 2023
    It did not take me long to realize that this book is not just for Magician's. The author does a great job in making the reader live through his experiences. I definitely feel more inspired after having read this book, and will definitely be recommending it to my friends.

     

    Paul - 5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
    Reviewed in Canada on January 4, 2024
    Interesting and fascinating to read all the way through!

     

     

      From the author:  

    "I've spent the last 40 years making magic on stage and in my workshop. All kinds of interesting, amusing, amazing, and downright hilarious things have happened. This recollection of colorful anecdotes and photographs is not only for magicians but for anybody who enjoys a captivating and inspiring story. It looks inside a unique career that started in a small Canadian town and grew to international recognition."

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Disclosure:  I received a free copy of "My Life as a Magic Maker." The opinions expressed above are entirely my own. I did not receive compensation for the writing or the publishing of this article.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    08 January 2024

    Rounding the Central rings in January 2024

    Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website. 

     

    Also of note:


    Montreal, QCRing 62 (20th Century Ring)- N/A.
    Hamilton, ON Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)- N/A.
    Hamilton / Burlington, ON Hamilton Burlington Magic Society
    - N/A.
    London, ONRing 265 (London Magician's Guild)- Classics.
    Kitchener, ONRing 235 (KW Magic Society)- N/A.
    Ottawa, ONRing 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)- N/A.
    Ottawa, ONOttawa / Gatineau magicians- N/A
    Toronto, ONRing 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)- Social meet-up with Mikey V.
    - Gerry Frenette lecture.


    Please leave a comment or email me about corrections or omissions.

     

     

     

     

    12 March 2020

    On the cover

    Congratulations to Gerry Frenette who is featured on the cover of the most recent edition of Northern Peeks, Murray Sawchuck who is featured on the cover of the February edition of Genii, and Sawyer Bullock who is featured on the cover of the March edition of Faith and Friends!

    [With thanks to The Magic Demon and Ryan Pilling for letting me know!]


















    26 September 2014

    Gerry Frenette: The psychology of magic

    From Gerry Frenette's Twitter feed:

    17 May 2013

    Toronto: Gerry Frenette lecture

    From The Browser's Den of Magic:
    'The Psychology of Magic'  &  SPECIAL OFFER

    DATE & TIME: SUNDAY, JUNE 9
    LOCATION: Browser's Den of Magic

    We are so pleased to offer you another fine lecture by magician and illusion builder Mr. Gerry Frenette. Gerry has performed professionally for years all over North America, Cruise Ships, Magic Castle. He has also lectured at the Magic Castle. He is probably best known for being a master builder of illusions for many of the biggest names in magic.
     
    Read more to find out about the Special Offer and buy tickets.