Winnipeg: Cabinet of Curiosities -- Masquerade [May 7]

For tickets and more information, visit MyParkTheatre.com.

 

From the May 3rd Instagram post by Patrick Gregoire: 

Variety circus show featuring mind-reading, comedy, circus, burlesque, and dance.

Read more.

 

Montreal: Jaana Felicitas & Nikolai Striebel Lecture [May 11]

Early bird discount until May 5! 

 

From The Montreal Magic Jam: 

Magic doesn’t only happen in the hands. It happens in the body.

In this lecture we explore the connection between magic and movement. How timing, posture, rhythm, and direction shape what an audience sees— and what they don’t see. Sometimes a small shift of the body is stronger than the most complicated sleight of hand.

Using pieces from our own work, we share ideas, techniques, and practical thinking about staging magic physically. How do you guide attention without words? How can movement create meaning, tension, and surprise?

Read more and buy tickets. 

 

 

 

 

Top 5 posts in April 2026

There were 24 posts at Canada's Magic this month.  Here are the top 5 posts in the previous 30 days:

        

5.  BC, AB, SK, & MB: Darcy Oake [Oct 9 - 24] - Catch Darcy on his Canadian tour in the fall! 

4.  Toronto: Chaos with Giancarlo Scalia [May 19] - We just found out Giancarlo will be in Montreal.  As with Toronto, there will be a show, a lecture, and a workshop!

3.  Request: Nominate Dale Harney for the Alberta Award of Excellence - Have you made your submission in support of Dale?

2.  Toronto: 52 Secrets [Apr 30 debut] - Opening night's tonight!  Who is the masked magician?

 

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1.  Broken wand: Glenn Ottaway - Our condolences to Glenn's family and friends.  We will post more information as it becomes available.

 

 

 

 

Chris Mayhew interviewed by Randy Ai

From the April 26th upload "Toronto Magician Chris Mayhew Full Interview - The Randy Ai Show Episode 4" at the Randy Ai YouTube channel:

From the smoky philosophy of "What is magic?" to a hands-on demonstration of mind-bending illusions, Chris Mayhew shares the secrets of his craft and his unique professional journey. 

Read more and watch interview. 

 

Found at the April 28th Facebook post by Chris Mayhew. 

 

 

 

 

Halifax: Actual Sorcery with Vincenzo Ravina [May 23]

For tickets and more information, visit ActualWizard.ca. 

 

From the April 27th Instagram post by Vincenzo Ravina: 

On Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm, actual wizard and Halifax magician Vincenzo Ravina returns to the illustrious and mysterious Bus Stop Theatre with his newest weird magic show! This show is for you, specifically and in particular. 

Read more. 

 

 

 

 

 

Mirrors vs video camera for practise -- a false dichotomy?

Last September we had the pleasure of listening to two well respected master card magicians speak.  Both of them touched on the topic of practise.  

• Magician A suggested that reviewing video recording of one's performance was optimal because among other things, magicians are unlikely to catch a poorly performed sleight in the mirror.*  
• Magician B suggested that performing in front of a mirror was the way to go, because you need to learn how to adjust in real time, if something goes wrong in the execution of a move.        

They both raised valid points.  We got to wondering how you, dear readers, practise?

In October, we asked the following on Facebook and Instagram:

What do you do when you practise?  Do you:
A. Use a mirror 
B. Video record the session 
C. Both of the above 
D. None of the above 
E. I don’t practise 

 

Seven people replied.  Two were 3-way mirror responses, two were video responses, we had two responses from those who do neither, and one of you have a very thoughtful practise involving both mirrors and video.  

The practise preference was divided along social media platforms. 

• Facebook preferred video,

• Instagram favours mirrors or neither. 

 (With N=7 it's difficult to draw meaningful inferences.  We found it interesting nonetheless.) 

From the April 27th Instagram post @CanadasMagicDotCom: 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Canadas Magic (@canadasmagicdotcom)

 

 

A thought from the pro-video camp:

• Chris Yuill wrote: 
  " If you use a mirror but look down to look at the props you miss seeing what happened at that moment. Just my opinion.
  
  "PS if you video yourself to post on social media, watch the video first before posting. See too many crappy videos of crappy done magic on FB and the gram." 
  
  

 

A very thorough and insightful answer from Eric Bedard, who kindly took the time on October 2nd to write [emphasis added]:

"Mirror at home when first learning a new sleight or routine (3 mirrors one head on, two at 45 degrees on each side), also practice facing the mirror, then turn right angle to one side so you can see what people see over your shoulder or looking behind you, then repeat on the other side - when you are satisfied that you do not flash, then record at home several times while tweaking, adjusting blocking, checking script and timing, etc. and then definitely record the first time if it is a stand up routine. Close-up if you do all of the above, you should be bullet proof when you perform. However, you will continue to make adjustments and improvements once you have performed the first 100 times - in Martial arts it is said that you must do a move 10,000 times before you can start to really learn it - in Magic it is not 10,00 but definitely after you have field tested a routine, trick or sleight a minimum of 100 times, you can start to really understand the subtleties involved. Real world practice is best, just make sure you are bullet proof before you perform out in the world or you make us all look bad. Carry on......" 

 

We have nothing to add to Eric's excellent answer.  It seems that the method of practise is often presented as a false dichotomy.  One or the other.  In reality, a blend of both may be the recipe for optimal results.

In the comments, let us know whether you use mirrors or video or both in your practise!

-- 

* We have heard it said that when practising in front of a mirror, magicians are more likely to blink while performing the sleight, and therefore will be unable to see themselves flash or make a mistake.  We wondered if there was any literature to back this claim.  This is what we found: 

• From a 2022 paper by Anthony Barnhart [emphasis added]:
  "Indeed, magicians were more likely to blink when engaging in deceptive action than when not, and blinking was more prevalent when performing more difficult sleights. However, this tactical blinking was only evident in the performance setting." [1] 
  
  
• A quote from Anthony from a September 2022 article [emphasis added]:
  "'While my magician participants were more likely to blink their eyes when carrying out deceptive action than when not, this tendency was increased in a performance setting without a mirror compared to a rehearsal setting with a mirror,' Barnhart explained to PsyPost. 'This was surprising and didn’t match the predictions from the world of magic.'" [2]

 
Other thoughts about practising in front of a mirror:

• "Do not watch yourself in a mirror as you practise. You cannot perform the action naturally if you divide your attention between what you do and how it looks. Moreover, mirror watching has a tendency to cause the eyes to widen; this is not attractive and can become a fixed habit." [3]

References: 

1. Barnhart, A. S., Richardson, K., & Eric, S. (2022). Tactical blinking in magicians: A tool for self-and other-deception. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice, 9(3), 257. DOI:10.1037/cns0000321
   
   
2. Ellwood, B. (2022). Study suggests magicians unconsciously blink their eyes to manipulate the audience during difficult tricks.  PsyPost.
   https://www.psypost.org/study-suggests-magicians-unconsciously-blink-their-eyes-to-manipulate-the-audience-during-difficult-tricks/
   
   
3. Hugard, J, Braue, F. (1948). The Royal Road to Card Magic. pg 358

 

 

 

 

 

Broken wand: Glenn Ottaway

Updated May 1st to add:

•  link to Tim's May 1st Facebook post with a link to the obituary and a time change for the celebration of life

 

We were informed of the recent passing of Glenn Ottaway.  We will post more information as it becomes available. 

Our sincere condolences to Glenn's family and friends at this difficult time.  

 

Visit the April 25th Facebook post by Tim Ottaway.