Random thoughts on "Chris Westfall Magic & the Porcelain Princess"

Last night I had the pleasure of catching "Chris Westfall Magic & the Porcelain Princess" at the Papermill Theatre (part of Todmorden Mills on Pottery Road, tucked in next to the DVP).  It's a cozy theatre that seats approximately 150.  I'm guessing there's not a bad seat in the house.

Kidlet had this to say about the show:

• If you ask me what my favourite part is, my answer would be "the beginning to the end."

Kidlet's friend added:

• If I were half as good a magician as Chris Westfall, I'd call myself incredible!

Here are some random thoughts that came to mind about Thursday night's show:

• Ben Train kept the kids captivated in the lobby while we waited for things to get started.
• Chris made the kids laugh as he gave the audience a pre-show sneak peak at Bella. 
• From the beginning, Chris and Bella, deliver a very visual and high-energy show!
• Bella elegantly defied the laws of physics with, among other things, a crystal ball, rings, and a hula hoop.
• (Was I the only one tickled by the visual pun of the dolly being taken off stage on a dolly?)
• Chris masterfully executed illusions large and small.
• Mouth shuffling was unexpectedly entertaining! 
• A Pokéman Go player made a timely and unexpected cameo.
• This is a volunteer intensive show.  By my count there were eight delightful children and one good-natured adult brought up on stage.
• The volunteers were fabulous, and made the evening so much fun for everyone!
• Chris expertly engaged the children, and had them eating out of the palm of his hand (figuratively). 
• Hang out after the show for post-show photos, autographs, and a meet & greet!
• "Is it magic, or is it illusion?"

To learn more about this family friendly show, visit Chris Westfall Magic.  You can purchase tickets for tonight's show (Friday July 22) at Eventbrite.

Disclosure:  My family and I were guests at this show. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own. I did not receive compensation for the writing or the publishing of this article.

Random thoughts on Greg Frewin's "Wild Magic"

My first visit to the Greg Frewin Theatre was almost four years ago.  Kidlet and I had an absolutely wonderful time, and I'd been looking for an excuse to go and see Greg's new show, "Wild Magic."  The universe was paying attention, because earlier this year I was gifted tickets to see "Wild Magic" by some wonderful people!  (I guess the cat's out of the bag that I like magic!)

Greg's appearance at this year's Browser's Magic Bash whet my interest enough that earlier this month we made the trek back to Niagara Falls.

We booked our tickets on a beautiful sunny Friday.  (I was determined to break my curse of The Rainy Drive to or from Niagara Falls.  Kidlet's Other Parent (KOP) drove this time though, so I don't know if I broke the curse or it just doesn't apply when KOP is present.)

Our schedules didn't allow us to make a day of Niagara Falls.  We consulted with Google to find out how long the trek might take, and added an additional 30 minutes to the longest estimated time in an attempt to get us to the theatre by 7pm.  If traffic was good, as it should be in nice weather, we'd be in town early enough to take a walk by the Falls and see a sight or two.

Tip: Arrive as early as you can to ensure good seating (the box office will let you know what time is best).  

Apparently, because of the nice weather, everyone was out in their car on our path to the theatre.  In spite of using all the HOV lanes available to us, traffic did not cooperate.  We arrived in the parking lot at 7:22pm, for a 7:30pm show.  (Thank goodness for a spacious parking lot!)  I was frazzled and desperately had to use the bathroom.

Note to parents:  If you can organize yourselves better than we did and get to the theatre with time to spare, there's a nice photo opportunity for your little ones next to lion statues by the front doors.

We piled into the building and the lovely staff at the box office had our tickets waiting for us, calmly showed us to the restrooms, and then showed us to our booth.  We were no sooner seated when the lights went down and the show started.

Here are some random thoughts that came to mind while watching "Wild Magic":

• The show starts strong and keeps getting bigger and better.
• There's a smattering of mentalism, juggling, and close-up magic to keep things varied, but make no mistake, Greg's large illusions dominate the show!
• There were three large video screens making it easy to see the close-up parts from any seat in the house.
• The show was different enough from the last time we were there, that it felt new to us.
• It made me happy that some of my favourites from last time (like the one with water and fire) are still in the show. 
• I was disappointed, that with our late arrival, we ended up sitting as far stage-right as you could.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the view from the seats was still remarkably good!  (The house is deep and narrow and particularly good for viewing magic.)
• A good pair of theatre binoculars gives you a seat upgrade, no matter where you go!
• The show involved a sports car, an invisible deck, tigers, talented ladies, candles, fire, doves, a dog, tigers, kids, Chuck the Duck, a macaw, and a little bit of Sting.  (On seeing the red macaw, Kidlet asked where the blue one was that we saw last time.  This show makes quite a lasting impression!)
• Some of the illusions from 2012 are still in the show, but with very different presentations.  It's fun to see how things get reimagined and repurposed!
• I was delighted to learn that Boomer, the Siberian tiger who battled cancer, was back in the show.
• The show is fabulously entertaining! 

All the excitement and entertainment of a Las Vegas show, for a fraction of the cost!
(A deal made even better with the current exchange rate.)

The show is just the tip of the iceberg.

After the show we queued up to have our photo taken with tiger Cashmere.  Even though KOP and I were hamming it up for the camera by looking scared, there was nothing scary about the experience.   The tiger trainer is right there keeping a careful watch at all times.

Part of the profits from the items in the magical gift shop, including the photo sales, are used to support a tiger sanctuary. 

After the show (photo or not) you can queue up for an autograph from, a bring-your-own-camera photo with, and have a quick chat with Greg!

And that's not all!

If you want to experience the "ultimate magical experience" you can opt for the "VIP backstage tour package add-on."  As part of this experience:

• We had our photo taken with Greg in front of one of the show props.

• Greg answered any question tossed his way.  (Except for one.)
• We learned lots about tigers, spent some time with Rocky, and watched some video of Greg's tigers.
• The group of us got to stand on the stage and watch his blue macaw in action!
• We met Shira the white Siberian tiger.  Here's a photo of her from 2012:

  Hey all meet Shira our newest star .... An absolutely beautiful and lovely lil lady!!! pic.twitter.com/okv9RHCf

  — Johnny Ferrara (@Johnferrara00) August 16, 2012

• We were lucky and got to pet her!  Have a look at a more recent photo of Shira!
• Shira was drinking from a baby bottle the whole time, and the staff were lovingly and patiently wiping up anything that spilled.  Hats off to tiger trainer John Ferrara and to all of Greg's animal handlers.  They clearly love the animals and love what they do!
• Greg entertained a wide variety of questions from the group.

Dare I say it? The post-show experience is almost as exciting as the show itself.  We had an incredible evening!

I pet a tiger!

Thank you to Alex, Kaitlin, Terry, John, Cooper, and everyone else involved in making it such a magical evening for my family.  A special thank you to Greg, for his hospitality and for sharing his magical talent!

Last but not least, thank you to the lovely people who gave me this purrfect gift!

Random thoughts on "Outerbridge Clockwork Mysteries"

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Marion and Ted Outerbridge perform their show "Clockwork Mysteries" last month.  They had just completed a 5,500 mile US lecture tour.  I caught them at the Milton Centre for the Arts.

[As an aside, I encourage you to go and see a show at this fabulous 500 seat theatre.  It's approximately 25 minutes west of Toronto's western border.  The facilities are modern and spacious.  On the lower level, it appears that all seats have amazing sight lines.  (I didn't venture up to the balcony.)  The seats are a little bit wider than standard theatre seats, which makes them very comfortable!  They offer amenities like a coat check (by donation) and the ability to pre-order intermission refreshments.  Best of all, parking is free and plentiful.]

Here are some random thoughts that came to mind while watching their amazing time travel themed show:

• A fast paced, extremely entertaining, high-energy show.
• All illusions, big and small, were masterfully performed.
• Greta the Psychic Goose earns her keep.
• There is a nice ratio of grand illusion, intimate magic, and mentalism.
• I really enjoy watching "assistants" do magic in their own right.  Marion owns it!
• Those of you who know me well, know that my opinion of magicians is heavily weighted on how they treat their audience members.  One of my favourite moments in the show, lasted no more than 2 seconds.  Ted walked into the audience to select a volunteer.  He found someone he wanted to bring on stage.  She said, "no."  Instead of cajoling or otherwise pressuring her, he simply moved on and found someone else.  That's how you make the audience feel like you can be trusted to treat them right.  Show people respect from the get go.
• Ted has a knack for picking awesome audience volunteers.  Six year old Archer was a really good sport and owned that stage!
• Nine year olds can't be trusted to count down from 90.
• Ted's disco ball jacket is a thing of sheer beauty!
• I love that audiences in 2016, still enjoy watching someone get sawed in half, into halves, into two pieces.  
• Among other wonderful pieces, we were treated to: "The Psychic is Right,"  "The Time Machine," "Alarm Clock," "Floating Barricade Light," "Outside of the Box," and their elegantly performed "Levitation."
• The biggest mystery of the night for me:  How does Marion manage all of those costume changes?

If you get a chance to see them perform their show "Clockwork Mysteries," go and see it!

(If you're at the upcoming CAM convention, you'll get a taste of their show in the Grand Gala performance at the CAMaraderie Convention/Festival de magie de Québec on April 23, 2016.  They're also scheduled to perform at SAM New York's "2016 Salute to Magic" on May 7th.)

To learn more about this fabulous duo, listen to the Scott Wells' podcast 278: The Inner Secrets of the Outerbridges or visit their website at www.outerbridgemagic.com.

Disclosure:  My family and I were guests at this show. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own. I did not receive compensation for the writing or the publishing of this article.

[Guest post] Report on "Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show"

I was generously provided a copy of "Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show." This book, which was shortlisted for an Alberta Children’s Literature Award, is intended for young readers. With that in mind, I found a youthful reader who agreed to read and give me their feedback on the book.  

(For more on "Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show" skip to the bottom of the post.)


The following is a guest post from an author who wishes to be known as Kidlet.

--

My thoughts on Sheldon Casavant's book "Morton the Magician and his Magnificent Magic Show."

• This is a good picture book for parents to read to their kids.
• I really like the drawings, they're very nice.
• Morton is someone that children can relate to.
• I like that there are two tricks in the book that you can do by yourself. 
• It's funny that the rabbit is the announcer.
• If I were younger, it would make me want to try doing magic tricks.
• Parents, if your child under 6 years old likes magic or wants to be a magician, this is the perfect book for them!

Favourite things:

• I like the words in the air before Morton's show, letting us know what's going on inside his head.
• The story tells us we can be anything we want to be if we just put our minds to it.

In conclusion:

• It's a fun story!

--

Thank you Kidlet for guest posting at Canada's Magic!


Watch Behind the Scenes of "Morton the Magician" on Sheldon's YouTube channel:

Random thoughts from the Ring 17 year end banquet

• The year end comes far too quickly.
• People drive a long distance to come to these events.
• A group of magicians is very good at entertaining themselves and each other during delays.
• The young people today spell llama differently than I was taught.
• The even younger people have a totally different approach to llamas.
• La llama es una quadrupido
                                                 ... but I digress.
• In their show "Sketchy Magic," Chris Mayhew and Chris Westfall give a crazy and high-energy performance as one would expect with individual lecture titles like "Calculated Chaos" and "Mayhew Mayhem."
• Rumour has it that Chris Harvison, Andrew Goss and James Alan are back on the executive next year.  And that Phil Pivnick will be joining them.
• Next season opens with a David Ben lecture.
• Thank you Ring 17 for another great season!

Fun Family Day at Dave and Busters

Ontario's Family Day long weekend was just over a week ago.  (As a bonus for the kids it was an extra long, long weekend because of a school Professional Activities day tacked onto the Friday before.)  Going into the weekend, I had high hopes for a low key, low stress relaxing weekend that would include outdoor activities such as skating and tobogganing.

The Universe had other ideas.  To be fair, there was lots of sleeping in and it was very low key and low stress.  (Thank you to the public library for letting us borrow from your DVD collection.)  The weather outside, however, was close to minus 400 degrees with the windchill and I am not a fan of doing anything in that kind of cold.

On the weekend a Tweet from Bill Abbott caught my attention:

"CHICO IS BACK!!! 2 shows only. This Monday 2pm and 4pm"

How could I resist?

We arrived at Dave and Busters an hour before showtime and were warmly greeted at the door by Ben Train.  After we bought our tickets (bring cash), we went into the theatre to find our seats and settle in.  I was very impressed to find that the theatre was almost half full already.  We ordered some yummy food and passed the time by teaching Kidlet how to do a Bruce Posgate knot with the table decor.

Some notes on the show:

• About 10 minutes before showtime, the room was completely sold out.  
• Bobby Motta did a great job of warming up the crowd.
• Bill Abbott was in fine form.
• Kidlet has seen an effect created by Bill, performed a number of times by people who have purchased his product.  It was very educational for Kidlet to see Bill perform it himself!  (And it's always entertaining.)
• It was a delight for me to finally see Bill live, performing someThing I had only seen him do on video.  (And it looks great live!)
• After all these years, Chico is just as precocious as ever.
• Some magical items were on sale after the show ... parents bring some extra cash.
• The show was very entertaining and well worth the ticket price!

As a bonus, on your way out after the show everyone receives a game card which gives you unlimited play on all the non-ticketed games in The Midway.  Needless to say we spent a good chunk of time exploring all the offerings!  (And got some virtual snowboarding and skiing in to boot.)

Thank you Ben, Bill, Bobby and Dave & Busters for being a part of such a fabulous Family Day outing!


From Ben Train's Twitter feed:

Every Fri & Sat at @DnB_Toronto, come see @bobbymotta and @billabbottlive! 2 shows a night, 8 & 10:15- $20 per show (includes game cards)!
— Ben Train (@ErdnaseinTO) February 22, 2015

Report: Michael Close lecture

From Perfect Magic's Facebook page:

Post by Perfect Magic.

A reminder that Mike Close will be performing at (20% discount at Magic Tonight with coupon code cmagic):

A special Magic Tonight Fundraiser for the Centre for Inquiry Canada Dec 21 http://t.co/7VrwhfUUbl
— James Alan (@james_alan) December 4, 2014

--
* Offer is subject to change without notice.  Canada's Magic earns a commission when you use the coupon code cmagic.

[Guest post] Report on Forcing the Ace

I previously mentioned that I enjoyed Erin Thomas new novel, "Forcing the Ace," from the Orca Limelights series.  However, I'm not the target audience (the book is intended for children ages 11 to 14).  With that in mind, I found a young reader who agreed to read and give me their feedback on the book.

The following is a guest post from an author who wishes to be known as Kidlet.

--

My thoughts on  "Forcing the Ace" by Erin Thomas:

• It was a really good book!
• The synopsis at the back of the book really makes you want to read the book.
• I wish it was longer.
• Some chapters made me want to stop reading and practise magic or learn card tricks.

Favourite things:

• Everyone (boys and girls) can relate to the characters.
• Kids know what it's like to try and get their parents' permission to do things they want to do while trying to keep up with school.
• The accident wasn't as bad as it could have been.
• Injuries were common ground for the two main characters.
• The girl at the hospital with the shaved teddy bear.
• The boy and the girl have to figure out how to work together.
• The book teaches the reader how to deal with difficult people.
• How the main characters ended their routine.
• The line about the advantage of being a female magician.

What I learned:

• Magic can help with physiotherapy.
• Being in a hospital can be boring.
• When you're performing and you make a mistake, it may be hard but you can recover.
• Having fun and connecting with an audience (including things like stage presence and showmanship) can be just as important as technique.

In conclusion:

• It was a really good book!
• I want to read the rest of the Orca Limelights series!

 ~~~~

Enter today to win your copy of Forcing the Ace!


Thank you Kidlet for guest posting at Canada's Magic!

Report: David Kaplan and Buster Keaton

From Joe Culpepper:

Last night I attended my first magic lecture since moving to Montréal. David Kaplan, also known as The Great Kaplan, shared some tips, tricks, and stunts from his professional repertoire.

Since I’m in this city to research the relationship between magic and other circus disciplines, I enjoyed hearing Kaplan’s thoughts on variety material. He performed a version of the torn and restored newspaper for us that ends with a giant, over-sized newspaper that he gets tangled up in. The inspiration for this piece came from a Buster Keaton film

Read more.

Report: Asi Wind at the Comedy Nest

From Perfect Magic:

We don’t get out a whole lot. We used to when we were younger, but now, after a day at the magic shop we are happy to go home and relax. But Asi Wind, New York  Mentalist and Mind-Reader, was giving a one man show at the Comedy Nest at the old Montreal Forum and we wanted to see him as we had heard about him of course but never had seen him.

Read more.

Random thoughts about "An honest liar"

From special correspondent Derek, who was at the screening of "An honest liar" on Friday night:

• The film sketched Randi's early career and then moved on to detail his high-profile debunking of Uri Gellar, faith healers, the channeling movement and paranormal research. It concluded with the deception is his own life: the identity fraud committed by his partner.
• It shone a light on the ethics of disproof by deception.
• It contrasted his public face proclaiming honesty, and his private face where he kept a couple of big secrets.
• It's interesting, go see it!

In addition:

• Randi performed a quick rope tie routine.
• There was a meet and greet as well as photo ops.
• Birthday cake was involved.

Linking Ring (v94, 6) June 2014

There's a nice write-up of Murray Hatfield's lecture for Ring 352 in State College, Pennsylvania on page 54.

Random thoughts on The Uncertainty Project

Last night I had the pleasure of attending The Uncertainty Project by James Alan.  I had spent the day volunteering my time for the benefit of school age children and had already experienced more than my share of excitement and uncertainty.  (All's well that ends well, thankfully.)  I was a little apprehensive about filling my evening with more uncertainty.  I'm glad I did.

• There will never, ever be a show exactly like the show I saw.  (At least, it's highly improbable.)
• The audience is a wild card for which it is nearly impossible to be completely prepared.
• I find it hard to live tweet and watch a show at the same time.  (I really do know how to spell your name Mahdi.)
• As near as I can tell, no rabbits were harmed in the creation of the show.
• Any show with links to Heisenberg, Einstein, Fermat, Schrödinger, and Douglas Adams, is cool in my books.
• I'm not ashamed to admit that I was "one of the two people" who was bothered by claims made on the third piece of glass. I checked.  I'm not going to tell you what I discovered.
• Sometimes it's a good thing that magicians are tall.
• Arithmetic is important.
• Crowdsourcing seems to be a surprisingly effective way to get out of a jam.
• There were some very powerful moments.
• I was absolutely entertained.

The Uncertainty Project continues for two more nights.

Random thoughts about Magic @ The Cage

Over March Break, we made our way to The Cage to catch Abracadabaret in action.   On tap were James Alan, Chris Westfall and Jamie Stam.

• The Crimson Lounge at The Cage is a great venue for dinner theatre.  [This is a cash only venue.]
• Performers who are aware that there minors in the audience, and adjust their script / set to accommodate for young people, win over the children's parents immediately.  Doubly so if the show wasn't billed as a child friendly show.
• Performers who mind their language because of the presence of young persons with perhaps delicate ears, can be more entertaining than if they had ignored the fact entirely.  [Kudos and thank you to James Alan!]
• Adults are surprisingly entertained by children volunteers on stage, as long as the children are enjoying themselves and especially if the children are laughing.
• Kidlet has seen a balloon animal act before, a few times, more times than I can remember and was still well entertained by Chris's handling.  Impressive Chris!
• I'm always delighted to see James on stage with a roll of duct tape in hand.  Because I know what follows is going to be wonderful.
• Jamie presented some material I hadn't seen him perform before.  Very creative, visual and effective.
• Most of the Sunday (and some of the Tuesday) shows this month have been sold out.  Be sure to purchase your tickets in advance to reserve your seats!  (If you have comps, do let James Alan know which date you're hoping to attend.)

Random thoughts about Ring 17 Members' Night

• Shout out to everyone who hosted and performed at Members' Night last week! 
• It takes incredible courage for amateurs to perform in front of the club.  Well done everyone who made it up to the front of the room! 
• The presence of a child, whom James Alan referred to as Urchin, allowed all of the women in the room to let out a collective sigh of relief.  (They were spared the fate of "volunteering" for the evening.)
• Urchin was treated very well while volunteering.  Impressive.  I've seen highly respected "legendary" professionals treat children horribly.  Keep up the great work folks!
• There are some very talented magicians in Ring 17.
• Ariel Frailich knows a lot.
• The members behaved very respectfully during situations where life wasn't going quite according to plan.  It's nerve-racking performing in front of talented professionals.  Thanks for being supportive!
• There's truth to the proverb:
  'Tis a lesson you should heed:
  Try, try, try again.
  If at first you don't succeed,
  Try, try, try again.
• Are all magicians from Calgary named Chris as talented as the two we saw last week?
• I finally witnessed a peformance by Mark Lewis with young people in the room.  I'm a fan.  Doubly impressed that he took Urchin aside at the end of the night, to teach an alternate presentation of an effect shared that evening.
• James can tie a perfect bowtie without the aid of a mirror.

Report: David Ben at The Walrus Talks

From Sharing Wonder:

Specifically, David talked about one area of card table artifice that has plagued the best of card cheats for centuries. Not only did he flag the problem (while entertaining the audience with a sly nod to his sleight-of-hand wizardry), he also shared how he solved this “tricky”  manoeuvre by tipping his famous mantra: “How do you get in to it, and how do you get out of it”.

Read more.

A day at Niagara Falls

As part of last summer's school break plans, we saved up our pennies to see Greg Frewin's show "Imagine" at the Greg Frewin Theatre in Niagara Falls.

Kidlet and I made the trek to Niagara Falls through the pouring rain and arrived mid-afternoon during a light drizzle.  We made a quick check in to the theatre box office to make sure our tickets were there (they were!) and to get the parking pass for the car.  (Did you know that ticket price includes free parking anytime after 9am on the day of the show?)

From the theatre it's a short walk to Clifton Hill (the "Street of Fun" by the Falls) and a five to ten minute jaunt (depending leg length and ease of distractibility – SkyWheel! Fudge Factory! Ice cream! Wax museum!) to the Maid of the Mist at River Road and Clifton Hill.  Two silver linings to it being a rainy day: 1) we were already decked out in our finest rain gear and were suitably dressed for the iconic boat ride next to The Falls and 2) the line ups were super short!  (Sadly, we weren't able to see any rainbows in the mist itself, but we were warm and dry!)  Exit through the gift shop...

We wandered through the area, grabbed a bite to eat and explored a little more.  Then back to the car for a dash to the Butterfly Conservatory.

Note to Ontario families:  We used a coupon for a free child's admission (as long as we paid for an adult admission) from our "Ontario 2012 Fun Pass" booklet which was given to us at the end of the school year.  The conservatory was FABULOUS!  Highly recommended!

Back to the theatre.  We were seated with a wonderful young couple from New York.  We were later joined by wonderful company from Ohio and Vancouver Island.  The table next to us had plenty of children aged 4 and up – I had as much fun watching the reactions of all the children as I did watching the show!

Tip: Arrive as early as you can to ensure good seating (the box office will let you know what time is best). 

Note to parents: Bring along some distractions for little ones (such as crayons with paper, playing cards, books, quiet hand-held video games etc.) to help pass the time between arriving for the best seating and show time.  We were lucky that the delightful couple from the Rochester area, kindly joined us in a game of Crazy Eight Countdown  and the time flew by! 

If you think your child would be scared sitting right up close to the tigers at level one, level two offers an equally good view of the stage along with the sense of a physical barrier between you and the big cats.

The theatre also has some entertainment while you wait: tiger and magic trivia on the big screen!  In addition, there was a creative pre-show animated short from the Vancouver film school.

Note to parents:  Some of the kids 8 and under in our area found the short a little scary at times.

My favourite part was a fabulous video promoting Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp.  It put a big smile on my face!

As for the show itself, how could you not be entertained by helicopters, a bowling ball, an invisible deck, Oreos, tigers, talented ladies, fire, milk, tigers, a dog, doves, tigers, Chuck the Duck, and macaws?  Did I mention the tigers?  What's not to like?  (Throughout the show, one of our evening's companions could be heard muttering, "How did he do the thing with the duck?")

Note to parents of young children:  The last big illusion, which I'll refer to as the Assistants' Revenge, was a little tense for some of the younger children.  But it ended with happy faces!

After the show there's an opportunity to have your photo taken in the same cage with a tiger!  (Well worth it in my opinion.)  Technically, you're not really in the same confined space as the tiger, but it sure looks like that in the picture.  The tiger trainer is right there, which made this parent feel a whole lot more relaxed about the experience.  Part of the profit from the items in the magical gift shop, including the photo sales, are used to support a tiger sanctuary.  After the show, you can queue up for an autograph from Greg!

Needless to say, Kidlet and I had an absolutely wonderful time at the show!  A picture with a tiger, a souvenir from the gift shop, and the chance to chat with Mr. Frewin himself!

As impressed as I was with the show, I was equally impressed with all of the staff at the theatre.  Everyone was friendly, professional and customer focused.  Huge thanks to:  the very patient box office staff (Caitlin, Roxanne and Nina), the ushers, the fabulous assistants who we met while in line for having our photo taken, Johnny Ferrara the tiger trainer, the gift shop staff and all of the fabulous people who kept things orderly and moving for the post-show autographs. 

Thank you Greg et al, for a most magical ending to our wonderful day in Niagara Falls!

The secret to Sorcerers Safari's success

Almost sixteen years ago, armed only with the idea of making magic more accessible to kids who want to learn magic, "Magic Mike" Segal opened the doors to Sorcerers Safari magic camp.  Flash forward to 2011 to see how far Segal's magic camp has come from its humble beginnings.  Sorcerers Safari is Canada's only sleep away magic camp, hosting up to 150 campers a year.

What is the secret to this Canadian magic camp success story?  I spent 24 hours at camp in August 2011 and here's what I discovered.

Harry Anderson in "Harry the Hat Tonight"

Anyone who has known me for any length of time, knows that I have a soft spot in my heart for Harry Anderson's three card monte routine, Monarch Monte.  Seeing his live show has been on my bucket list for quite some time.  (I even briefly considered finding my way to Regina in November of 2010 to see him perform there.)

Imagine my delight when I first learned that he was scheduled to perform and lecture in Whitby, ON.

And so, last weekend, I went to the Class Act Dinner Theatre for the very first time. The theatre itself is spacious.  It looked to me like there were no bad seats in the house.  The buffet was plentiful and delicious.  My dinner companions made more than one trip to the servery before their meal was done.  The roast beef and Yorkshire pudding were the highlights of my meal and the desserts were yummy!

There were quite a few familiar faces in the audience:  David Ben, Julie Eng, Suley Fattah, Mike Segal, Jen Segal, Lee Elliott, Michael Close, Lisa Close, Owen Anderson, Peter Mennie,  Michael Fisher,  Deborah Fallick, Sammy Jakubowicz, Scott Hood, Ken McCreedy,  Richard Forget, David Sutherland, Phil, Bob Johnston, David Lax, Philip Groff and Gordon Precious.  There were other faces to which I've been unable to put a name and some I've just plain forgot.  (It was a busy weekend.)  Apologies if I've left you out.*

Richard Forget was the opening act for Harry Anderson. Apparently, one must be at least 6 feet tall to get onstage tonight.
— Sammy Jakubowicz (@Doc_Sammy) May 19, 2012

For entertainment, we had Glenn Ottaway, David Merry (who was non-stop with fantastic zingers, "I've been happily married for six years ...") and Richard Forget to warm us up.  Richard performed many of the effects he discussed at last September's Ring 17 lecture.  (I've never been so happy, to not see a skipping rope on stage.)  Then it was time for the headlining act!

Harry Anderson, complete with signature Borsalino and hand-painted tie, opened with Wise Guy Monte, followed with a discussion of card counting, some reminiscing about his performance with Skippy the guinea pig on SNL, and a straitjacket escape I'll not soon forget.  He also did some snazzy dancing while demonstrating card memorization and card counting in real time.  He finished with a larger than life magic square.   For an encore, we were treated to his very special chapeaugraphy routine.

Hilarious show last night @ClassActDinnerTheatre #HarryAnderson
— Peter Mennie (@petermennie) May 20, 2012

As for the lecture, "Tipping the Hat," Harry took us through each of the routines in his show, discussed volunteer selection and regaled us with stories from his past.  (My favourite is how an expensive impulse buy started a chain of events which lead to his being cast in Night Court!)  Dave Merry was on the money when said (in April) that "the stories alone are worth the price of admission."  (And this weekend with Harry cost less than a round trip flight to Regina!)

Thank you Class Act Dinner Theatre and Harry Anderson for a wonderful weekend!


"There's just one f***ing rule!"

Poor Yvette.

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* If I’ve missed listing anyone who was there please send me an e-mail or leave a comment below! Thank you to Owen, Deborah and Sammy for helping me put names to some of the faces.

The opinions expressed above are entirely my own.  I was not compensated in any way.

Book launch: "The Lives of a Showman"

Last Friday I had the pleasure of attending a book launch party for “The Lives of a Showman” by Mark Lewis. (I live tweeted the event with the tag #TLOAS though I missed tagging a few tweets here and there.)

Upon entering Browser’s Den of Magic, I was instructed to direct my attention upward. Hanging from the ceiling were more than a dozen cheerful Lee Asher sign creations containing “Markisms” such as “If they were all the nine of hearts it would look like this” and “You're quite slow, do you work for the post office?” The mood was set!

It was clear that Mark has a tremendous amount of support in the local magic community! I found myself shoulder-to-shoulder with Jeff Pinsky, Jeff Hinchliffe, Ariel Fralich, Mia Ngueyn and Adam Harmes who had all made contributions to, or were mentioned in, the book. Other notables present include*: Gordon Precious, Owen Anderson, Paul Pacific, Chris Westfall, John Pellatt, Richard Lyn, John Michalson, Shawna Ross-York, Dan McLean, Steve Shrott, Joe Schwarcz and young Daniel (one of Mark’s students).

While reading from his book, we were regaled with stories of Mark’s experiences with The Worst Audience Ever at The Blue Angel and his early days of (not so) psychic readings in Ireland with Adam Harmes. Mark also read a piece written about him by Mai Nguyen, winner of the Jerry Gladman Memorial Scholarship in Journalism.

To round out the evening we were treated to James Alan’s rendition of Mark’s “Pig Trick” and then we all laughed ourselves silly through Jeff Hinchliffe’s impersonation of Mark doing his Svengali deck hustle.

It is always a delightful experience to hear an author read his own words. If the rest of the book is even half as entertaining as the launch party, it should be a good read indeed!

To purchase “The Lives of a Showman” visit Mark's website, Browser’s Den of Magic or contact your local magic dealer.


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* If I’ve missed listing anyone who was there please send me an e-mail or leave a comment below! Thank you to John Pellatt, Ariel Fralich and James Alan for providing attendee intel on the parts of the room I didn’t make it to.