Our sincere condolences to David Ben and his family

It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the recent passing of David Ben's wife, Jan Howlett.

For those of you unfamiliar with this remarkable woman, I refer you to her tribute site:
http://ljanhowlett.howlettacademy.com/

David penned a touching obituary which can be read here:
http://ljanhowlett.howlettacademy.com/obituary-globe-mail/

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate that donations in Memory of Jan Howlett be sent to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

Updates will be posted on the Facebook page, In Memory of Jan Howlett.  A celebration of Jan's life is being planned for August 10th.  Please RSVP if you plan on attending.

Our sincere condolences go out to David and to his sons Courtney and Harrison.  Our thoughts are with you at this most difficult time.

David Ben wins Milbourne Christopher Foundation’s Masters Award

From Sharing Wonder:

Magicana’s Artistic Director, David Ben, received the Masters Award in recognition for his contribution to the art of magic. The award was presented on July 6, 2013 in Arlington, Virgina at the Society of American Magician’s National Convention.

The Milbourne Christopher Foundation was established to encourage excellence, originality and leadership in the magical arts and to help conjuring to remain on par with other entertainment mediums such as dance, drama, comedy and music.

Read more.

Congratulations David!

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]

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.

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:

• a request for nominations went out in January
• official nominees were announced on March 2nd
• Shawn Farquhar declares on March 3rd, "it is my intention, having already won the award twice, to state in my nominee description that members should not vote for me in the final process."
• voting opens for the official candidates on March 16
• David Ben withdraws from the ballot on March 17

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.

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.

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.

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]

David Ben at the Genii 75th birthday bash!

The website for Genii's 75th Anniversary Birthday Bash, October 4 - 6 of this year, lists our very own David Ben on the performers list!

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.

Watch David Ben on Jay Ingram’s final show

From Sharing Wonder:

Jay helps David Ben with some conjuring on Jay’s Last Show in Video Part 3.

Read the full post at Sharing Wonder.

Luminato in the press

• June 11 from torontoist.com:  A Magical Night Out at Luminato
• June 11 from Mooney on Theatre: Luminato 2011 Review – Natural Magick: David Ben (Produced in association with Magicana)
• June 13 from torontoist.com:  The High and Lows of Luminato's Opening Weekend
• June 14 from National Post:  Tricks Of The Trade

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.