Mario is a mime, circus artist from Montreal and author of the mime book Body Talk/Corps Expressif. Mario has been touring the globe since 1976. He performs in the corporate, school and circus worlds. Founder of the virtual mime school Body Talk/Corps Expressif and mime teacher in various circus schools in Canada and the United States, he also teaches physical acting to high-level actors and figure skaters as well as postural technique to politicians. His discipline has also brought him to film sets, TV series and commercials, particularly to bring special effects characters to life.
🪄 Comedy Magic 💫 Friday February 7th ! The Comedy House brings you a
hilariously magical twist to standup comedy! It’s gonna be Comedy Magic,
literally! Joins us for a hilarious night of magical entertainment as
magicians Khang Pham and Michael Conway co headline the Comedy Magic
show! Only at the comedy House! Full bar and tapas menu available!
Tickets are on sale now! Get them while they last!
Marc here, taking over the Montreal Magic Jam mailing
list to tell you about an event you absolutely don’t want to miss.
After
a bit of friendly arm-twisting, I’ve convinced my good friends Steph Lac (of
Slim Card Co.) and Chung (from the legendary duo McSorley & Chung) to
bring their one-of-a-kind lecture to the Montreal Magic Jam! These two are
not only top-notch magicians, but they also have impeccable taste in both
magic and whiskey—I can personally vouch for that! They’ve already showcased
their lecture for some of the brightest minds in the U.S., and I wasn’t
about to let them skip over their hometown without sharing this with us!
Here’s
the scoop: 📅 When: Monday, December 2
Steph and Chung have
each been doing amazing work for years, and now they’re teaming up
officially for the first time. Steph will show off his skills in crafting
gaffs and the underground world of card and dice manipulation—he’s even
worked with legends like Sal Piacente and the late Fast Jack Farrell.
And
Chung? He’s been a key player in Montreal’s magic scene for over two
decades, creating some serious magic behind the scenes. His tricks have even
made it into The Nacho Card Notes, which has been getting rave reviews.
Between the two of them, expect some deep insights and practical tips you
can put into action.
Bonjour! Hi! This lecture will be fully
bilingual, with Steph presenting in French and Chung in English. Very
Montreal, right?
Bonus! They’ll also have an exclusive set of
lecture notes (more like a mini-book!) created by Sophie-Anne Vachon from
Conundrum Magazine, available only at this event.
With two
incredible lectures for the price of one, seats won’t last long! Reserve
your spot now. You can easily pay via PayPal.
Dear friends, We wanted to let you know that while we had initially planned a show earlier in the day, due to unforeseen circumstances, tomorrow's magic show (November 29th) will now only take place at 8:00 PM. If you had planned to attend earlier, we warmly invite you to join us at this rescheduled time instead. We promise an enchanting evening full of wonder and surprises! For those who have already purchased tickets, your tickets will be valid for the 8:00 PM show. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to us at upclosemagicmtl@gmail.com We truly value your support and hope to bring the magic back to you very soon! Stay tuned for updates. Thank you for your patience and continued love for the art of magic. 🪄✨ - Up Close Montreal Team
In case you are wondering, Up Close Montreal is not gone! We were very busy with our solo activities this year. However, each member is working very hard to bring the most unique magic to the table to enhance your Up Close Experience. Next time you come to our show, we will double your magic expectations.
Speaking of show…next week, November 29th 2024, Up Close Montreal will join forces with The Canadian Grenadier Guards (CGG) to raise funds for Centraide Charity. We will be performing two times in the evening (French at 6:30PM and English at 8:15PM). As mentioned previously, we will double your expectations. So, the show in French and English are completely DIFFERENT! You can double your Up Close Experience by attending both shows!
My first memory of magic is on my fifth birthday, at the Magic Castle, on
stage with the one and only – Ireland’s Largest Leprechaun, Mister Billy
McComb. I believe he did the vanishing birdcage that day. He eventually got
me on stage as a volunteer and I was in heaven. I thought he was the bees
knees. And as I got older, he just got funnier and funnier. One of my
favorites ever. Rest in peace, Billy.
Other than your family, who were the first professional magicians you
remember seeing?
I was lucky enough to see the Siegfried and Roy show as a young kid,
and that show was truly mesmerizing, larger than life. It felt like being
in another world. I remember the electricity in the room. It was thrilling
and kinetic, and they were so graceful. They seemed to have walked onto
the stage from the clouds.
By what mechanisms did you begin learning magic?
I learned magic at Magic Camp as a kid (that’s right, folks!) in Idyllwild,
California. I also learned from dear family friends, and from books.
Liberty Larsen
Who inspires you that is not a magician?
Outside of
magic, I’m inspired by Joanna Newsom, Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen (two
very special Canadians who almost dated!), Jesca Hoop, Martha Graham,
Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Peter Brook, Carmen Amaya, Kate Bush,
Harry Nilsson, Tom Waits, Remedios Varo, Robert Moss, on and on… I love
people who make worlds out of their dreams and stubbornly insist on living
inside them.
Who inspires you magically?
I’m inspired by Rob Zabrecky, Michael Carbonaro, Jared Kopf,
Voronin, The Swedish Monkey Opera, René Lavand (rest in peace) and many
other gems.
In addition to performing magic, we understand that you are also a
musician. Have you studied anything else magic-adjacent? How have these
studies informed your magic performance?
Though I can’t say I’ve officially studied art, film or photography, I’ve
definitely been influenced by my own rogue education in all of those realms.
Everything that inspires, everything that lights up the circuitry,
everything that gives goosebumps, can translate into magic, I think.
I
draw from music more than anything else, because I look to magic to create
strong feelings. I’m not really drawn to cerebral stuff, or puzzles, it’s
not how my mind is wired. I can appreciate them but they don’t motivate me
to get on stage.
On stage, I don’t want to be clever. I want to
feel connected to people When I’m in an audience, I want to feel like the
performer is cracking my heart open like a walnut, and melting me. So, I
look to music for how to do that, because that’s how I’m wired. So I often
sing, because it’s a quick cheat to shift things from intellect into
feeling. But even when I’m not singing, the same elements of music – rhythm
and pacing, tone and resonance, harmonics and dissonance, dynamics and flow
– all these things go into good theater, and satisfying magic.
What, if anything, makes you nervous about joining the Champions
family?
Giant theaters! Exciting, but not something I’m used to. I’ve
performed in a lot of very small, cabaret style venues. This is a whole
different ball of wax.
What are you most looking forward to about joining the Champions of
Magic family?
The adventure of it! I love the electrical current that’s running
through this project. It’s got a strong pulse. It seems like I’m hopping
on a train that’s changing platforms and going to a whole new dimension.
This is such a fantastic group of people, and it’s an ambitious risk we’re
all taking together, which is a truly exciting challenge.
If you could go back in time to study (magic or otherwise) under
anybody, who would you choose to be your mentor?
I think I would go back in time and study dance with Martha Graham. I devoured
her autobiography and am so inspired by the way she lived her life. She was a
genuinely magical person, and a profound teacher. I feel like what she taught
could translate beyond dance into just about anything. She taught people how
to be deeply in their bodies, truly themselves and radically open to their own
source of inspiration.
Liberty Larsen
If you could prevent other performers performing an effect forever, what
would it be?
I read a truly terrible “gag” in an antique magic book about having
your Thanksgiving turkey get up and walk off the table. It involved using a
real chicken, plucked, and doing some terrible things to force it to be
still, and painting it brown as if it was roasted. I would outlaw that
turkey trick, punishable by tarring and feathering.
If you could only perform one effect for the rest of your life, what
would it be?
I am not sure I could ever be up to that challenge. But if I could
shapeshift into a bird while singing, and land one someone’s shoulder,
maybe deliver a secret message that only they would understand and that
would inspire a huge gasp, it would be that.
What’s your go-to Karaoke song?
“Get it While You Can” by Janis Joplin. Not because of the lyrics,
necessarily, but because her emotional range is just so great to sing.
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about
performing in Canada?
From the October 31st Instagram post by Young Hollywood, Liberty Larsen, and Fernando Velasco (one of her Champions of Magic co-stars) are interviewed about the Magic Castle:
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I just learned that, “The first reference to throwing rotten
vegetables at bad stage acts came in an 1883 New York Times article after
John Ritchie was hit with a barrage of tomatoes and rotten eggs by an
unpleasant audience in New York. A large tomato thrown from the gallery
struck him square between the eyes and he fell t the floor just as several
bad eggs dropped upon his head.” The more you know…!
Thank you Liberty, for making the time to answer our questions!
The cat's out of the bag. 
