CBC: David Ben talks magic

From the CBC website:

CBC is a media sponsor of Luminato, Toronto's Festival of Arts and Creativity. One of the shows this year is Natural Magick . It features magician David Ben. David is also artistic director of Magicana , an organization dedicated to the study and exploration of magic as a performing art. He joined Mary to talk about the allure of magic and his own powers of prestidigitation.

Visit the CBC website to listen to Mary Ito's interview of David Ben.

David Ben performs on Daily Planet Sunday June 5

Edited June 23rd to add the link to the show video.

From Sharing Wonder:

Magicana’s artistic director, David Ben, was invited to perform on Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet to commemorate co-host, Jay Ingram’s Last Show. The one-hour special also features memorable moments from Ingram’s sixteen years as the show’s co-host.

Read the full post at Sharing Wonder.

Watch Jay help David with some conjuring on Video Part 3.

Magical blogs

Recently, someone asked "Any good magic blogs out there?"  Good question. 

Here's a list of blogs written by magical Canadians (former and current) about which I'm aware:

• Aaron Jones
• Andrew Musgrave: Ye Olde Magick Blogge
• Chris Philpott's Film and Magic Blog
• David Ben: Tricks and Tweets
• Evelyn Matlin: Perfect Magic Then and Now
• Gwyn Auger: The Magic Assistant
• Jay Sankey
• Jeff Hinchliffe
• Keith Brown
• Magicana: Sharing Wonder
• Mark Lewis: Ramblings of a magic genius
• MCA: Mystery & History
• Ryan Joyce
• Shawn Farquhar

Please leave a comment if you'd like to be included or know of others that I'm missing.  The list will appear as a feature in the middle column, below the "Sponsored by" section, under the title "Magical blogs."

Advance tickets: Magic at Luminato 2011

From Sharing Wonder:

From April 11 to 15, we invite you to purchase your tickets to 2011 Luminato events before they go on sale to the general public. Buy your tickets today, and receive early access to tickets for the extraordinary lineup of theatre, dance, music, literature, magic and other events.

Visit Sharing Wonder to learn more about the shows, obtain the advance ticket code and to purchase tickets.

Toronto: Luminato Announces 2011 Magic Programs

From the Luminato website:

Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, today announced the Festival’s 2011 Magic programs. The fifth anniversary edition of Luminato introduces two original magic shows and features world premieres, vaudeville nostalgia, and the interactive, improvisational style of modern magic.

 
About the shows:

Natural Magick: A 90-minute show written by David Ben and Patrick Watson, with music by John Lang.  Ben recreates magic from the repertoire of the world’s master magicians, revisiting feats of wonder in the context of “scenes” realized through the prism of projected imagery and John Lang’s playful score.

Vodavil:  Featuring some of the world’s most gifted variety artists, including comedian-magician Mike Caveney, mime and magician Tina Lenert, physical illusionist Ardan James, magicians and parodists The Great Tomsoni and Company, and Gaetan Bloom, a master of the absurd.

Eric Mead - Toast of the Town: Showcasing Eric and the art of improv 'bar magic.'

From the Sharing Wonder website:

Tickets will go on sale in mid-April. We will be giving an advance purchase option to subscribers, so make sure that you join the Magicana eList to receive word.

Visit the Magicana website for more information.

Links for 2011-Mar-11

• Caleb Wiles blogs about his lectures in:
  - Toronto (mentions of Ben Train, Simon Lovell,  Greg Frewin, Lee Asher, David Acer, Jay Sankey,  and videos of Jeff Hinchliffe, Chris Westfall, Glenn West and Mahdi Gilbert)
  - Ottawa (video with Eric Leclerc and Ben Train)
  - Montreal (mentions of  Derrick Chung, Grant McSorley, Yves Tourigny, Ekaterina)
  - New York (video of Ben Train)
   
• Piff Paff Poof!
  - reviews
  - another contest to win tickets and prize pack
  - ticket deals
   
• Rocky the tiger takes a well deserved snack break during his visit with Greg Frewin on Real Life! [h/t: @LeeAsherMagic]
   
• @magicassistant raising money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters
   
• The Flight of Time by David Ben
       
• Lecleric Show episodes on YouTube:
  62. Beginner Lego Magic Trick - Day 62 of 365
  63. The Charlie Sheen Magic Trick - Day 63 of 365
  64. Julie the Magnificent - Day 64 of 365
  65. This one time... at Magic Camp... - 65 of 365
  66. Pizza Man Mentalism - DAY 66 of 365
  67. Magic Trick While Getting Chest Waxed - DAY 67 of 365
  68. 4 Phase Colour Change - Day 68 of 365

Tax lawyer transforms self into conjuror

That's the title of Michael Rappaport's article about David Ben in the January 28th issue of The Lawyers Weekly.

To access a PDF version of the article, visit Sharing Wonder.

Sid Lorraine: Peeling away the Hull

Read the latest posting of Sid’s handwritten memoirs, Peeling away the Hull courtesy of David Ben and Magicana.