Showing posts with label David Ben. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Ben. Show all posts

04 June 2013

Toronto: Lunchtime Illumination - Magicians David Ben & Steve Cohen

From Luminato Festival:
During this transformative discussion, Toronto-based master magician David Ben and the Millionaires' Magician, Steve Cohen, will be joined onstage by a molecular gastronomist and chef John Placko who knows a thing or two about magical effects in the kitchen. Magic happens every day, it is about believing what you see, taste, or smell. (David Ben advises that all who attend must swear a vow of secrecy!)

Read more.
 
To whet your appetite, have a look at David's interview in Light News:
I am interested in the secrets that transform common fare into the divine.

I have collected and explored these secrets for over thirty-five years and I have come to realize the secrets are what can be described as “tacit knowledge,” information, tips, and techniques that are difficult to describe, particularly to another person, but which are understood, and often discovered, by masters in any given field, craft, or art.

Read more.
 

[via Magicana]

20 March 2013

David Ben's review of "The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini"

Late last year, John Cox at Wild About Houdini posted about Bruce MacNab's book The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini, which details Houdini's 1896 Canadian tour.

From Sharing Wonder:
... David Ben, artistic director of Magicana, has penned a review, “The Handcuff King” for the Literary Review of Canada which has just been released (March 2012: Vol. 21, No. 2, p. 27). According to Ben: “Part biography, part travelogue, part magic book, Bruce MacNab’s The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini follows the exploits of Houdini as he laid the groundwork for becoming a 20th-century icon.”

Read more.

19 March 2013

Vote now for CAM Magician of the Year!

Voting is now open for The Canadian Association of Magicians' "Magician of the Year" award!  From CAM:
Below, in alphabetical order, are the four official candidates for the 2013 Canadian Magician of the Year. Each of the candidates were asked to submit a short biography outlining their accomplishments.  Voting comences today and will continue until April 23rd, 2013. The results will be revealed at the CAM JAM Spring edition on April 28th at the Greg Frewin Theatre.  In your eMail inbox will be a communication from the CAM offices via BallotBin.com  In this eMail will be a unique link created just for you to use to select your choice for the award.  Once you have voted it can not be changed.

Read more.

A recap of the process:



10 February 2013

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.

13 January 2013

Calgary: David Ben at The Walrus Talks

From Sharing Wonder:
We are delighted to announce that David Ben is presenting a unique speech for the The Walrus Talks Performance on Tuesday, January 29, 2013, 7:30 PM, at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, Alberta.

The Walrus Talks Performance at High Performance Rodeo promises eighty minutes of lively, thought-provoking presentations from eight diverse individuals including our Artistic Director, David Ben.

Read more.

29 August 2012

Niagara-on-the-Lake: Ragtime

From Sharing Wonder:
David [Ben] had a first-hand glimpse during pre-produciton as he was retained to coach Kelly Wong, the actor who plays “Houdini”, prepare for the role. Jackie Maxwell, director of Ragtime, expanded Houdini’s role for this particular production, and it pays off in spades.


Read more.
 

Ragtime is part of the Shaw Festival and runs from April 10 – October 14.

18 June 2012

CBC: Magic world standoff over tricks of the trade

Should magic secrets be kept secret?


From the CBC:
Professional magicians dazzle audiences, but in the age of Google and instant answers, might tell-all books and video explainers forever expose what's up performers' sleeves?

According to Alex Stone, author of Fooling Houdini and a practising magician who has competed in The Magic Olympics, it's high time to reveal the magic world's secrets to the public.

Read more.

Watch the video (including comments by David Ben and Julie Eng):



[h/t: Sharing Wonder]

05 December 2011

Everything Erdnase: Dodd Vickers interviews David Ben & Julie Eng

From the Magic Newswire:
Who was S.W. Erdnase? Most likely, anyone reading this knows this name as the pseudonym used by the author of "The Expert at the Card Table" which is arguably one of the most important books ever written on sleight of hand with cards. On this episode of the "Spirit of Magic" podcast, I am joined by David Ben & Julie Eng of Magicana and the publishers of Magicol.
 
Read more and listen to Dodd Vickers interview David and Julie.

05 June 2011

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.

04 June 2011

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.

09 May 2011

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:
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."

11 April 2011

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.

29 March 2011

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.

07 February 2011

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.

26 November 2010