David Ben's "Hocus Pocus" in the media

From Magicana's Twitter feed:
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"Eyes widen...Jaws drop...hearts skip a beat...David Ben is the real deal" Toronto Stage https://t.co/hDqSNvMU52 pic.twitter.com/FRKhOqrVMK

— Magicana (@sharingwonder) December 23, 2016

From Magicana's Twitter feed:

The hottest tickets in town: Five things to do in Toronto /via @globeandmail https://t.co/51BfCNYMp3 Come see #HocusPocus @Soulpepper pic.twitter.com/YbqYcxlUzv

— Magicana (@sharingwonder) December 22, 2016

Also from Magicana's Twitter feed:

@theconjuror chatting with #MaryWiens on @CBCHearandNow pic.twitter.com/bqeFVfbQS7

— Magicana (@sharingwonder) December 22, 2016

David Ben on the "Toronto Files"

From the Twitter feed of Rogers TV Toronto: A note to subscribers: the content of this post is embedded from another website and is not available to preview. To view the content of the post, please visit http://CanadasMagic.blogspot.com. Some of the embedded code may be visible in this notification.

Magician and author David Ben appears on #TOfiles! CHECK IT OUT: https://t.co/gD63Jlhd8J #mondaymotivation #mondaymagic pic.twitter.com/SrLBf7iuHZ

— Rogers tv Toronto (@RogersTVToronto) December 5, 2016

Julie Eng on the cover of Genii

Congratulations Julie!


From Richard Kaufman's Facebook page:

This issue our cover is adorned by the remarkable Julie Eng. Lest. As the author of our piece, David Ben, aptly points out, not only is Julie a beloved figure and an accomplished magicienne, she also possesses the near superhuman ability to get almost anything that comes her way DONE. Yes, all caps for emphasis. She does much good work for kids, seniors, and behind-the-scenes good deeds for magicians that goes unheralded—but the word is now officially out. 

Rounding the Central rings in October 2016

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

Montreal, QC	Ring 62 (20th Century Ring)	- Free form Fridays. - Public open house. - Stage workers. - Trix R Treats. - Houdini Halloween supper.
Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- TBA.
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- TBA.
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- David Ben lecture.
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- TBA.
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- TBA
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Lawrence Hass lecture and workshop.

Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions

"Hocus Pocus" discount code and David Ben lecture in Kitchener

From Magicana:

Individual tickets are available for Hocus Pocus, an intimate evening of magic by David Ben - part of Soulpepper's Family Festival and 20th anniversary celebration. Performances run from December 10 to December 31 with twenty-two performances to choose from. Join us at Soulpepper at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts - located in Toronto's Distillery Historical District.

Single and subscription tickets are available now starting from $25.00. Our subscribers receive a 10% discount on shows from December 10 to 21 by entering the code MAGIC10 (near the top right corner of the Buy Tickets page).  

Read more and buy tickets.

From the KW Hat and Wand Magic Club:

• Thursday, October 13th 2016 - Lecture by David Ben

Toronto: David Ben in "Hocus Pocus"

Edited September 27th to add:

•  From Magicana's website: "Receive a 10% discount for shows from December 10 to 21 by entering the code MAGIC10 (near the top right corner of the Buy Tickets page)."

Show dates from December 10 - 31, 2016.

From Magicana:

Spoken word, cinema, sleight-of-hand; the old, the new, the beautiful and the mysterious: it's all Hocus Pocus.

World-renowned magician David Ben returns to Soulpepper's Family Festival with his ever-evolving exploration of spellbinding illusion and wonder. Ancient mysteries with modern twists for all ages performed in an intimate salon-like setting.

Read more and buy tickets.

Catching up with David Peck's "Face 2 Face"

Edited at 10:15am to add a list of magicians David's interviewed over the years:

• Matthew Disero - episode 3
• Jay Sankey - episode 5
• David Merry - episode 27
• Anthony Lindan - episode 45
• Gabe Fajuri - episode 48
• Tom Ogden - episode 102
• David Ben - episode 145
• James Alan and Mike Close - episode 79
• Lawrence Hass - episode 150
• Viveka Melki - 177 - On the Circus
• Marcie Hume - filmmaker - about the movie "Magicians" - episode 187
• Jeff McBride - episode 188
• Mac King - episode 189

Coming soon:

• Lawrence Hass (Part 2)
• Bobby Motta 
• Jeff and Tessa Evason
• Matthew Disero (Part 2) 

David's got a long list of interesting guests on his "Face 2 Face" podcasts this year.  Check out his interviewees, then click through to his site and have a listen!  (I'm hoping to get a chance to listen to the Mac King and Jeff McBride interviews soon.)

From David Peck Live:

• Greg Paul – Episode 193

• Brian McKenna  – Ep. 192

• Alex Hinton – Episode 191

• Jay Whitelaw – Episode 190

• Mac King – Episode 189

• Jeff McBride – Episode 188

• Marcie Hume – Episode 187

• Michael Coren – Episode 186

• Mitch Abrams – Episode 185

• Nicholas Greco – Episode 184

• Susanne Regina Meures – Episode 183

• Peter Stockland – Episode 182

• Christal Earle – Episode 181

• Alethea Arnaquq – Episode 180

• Todd & Jedd Wider – Episode 179

• Anjali Nayar – Episode 178

• Viveka Melki – Episode 177

• “Best and Most Beautiful Things” – Ep. 176

Read more and listen to podcasts.

David Ben in the National Post

From the National Post:

DAVID BEN: Canadian magician. Recognized as one of the world’s greatest sleight of hand artists.

There’s something I’ve worked on (the Dad Stevens Riffle Cull); it’s probably the most difficult sleight of hand technique in the world. The famed magician Dai Vernon discovered it from a gambler, who told him it took 18 years of practice. I thought that was crazy, but I also thought I was young enough that I could give it a shot. I’ve now been working on this technique every single day for 15 years (45 minutes a day at first, but now it’s about 15 minutes) and I’m only just getting it. I studied with master magician Ross Bertram, and he told me that the one thing he couldn’t teach me was enthusiasm. That has to be innate.

Read more.

David Ben raised over $220,000 for #nohairselfie !

Congratulations David!

From Magicana:

David Ben’s #NoHairSelfie campaign concluded yesterday, February 4, 2016 with a public shaving at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. With some last-minute donations arriving by mail, the total has now passed $214,000 raised for the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation.

As promised earlier, donors who requested our Unusual Collectible your hair will be in the mail very soon. We’ve also learned that the cards will be signed by Pat Lyons, the artists who designed them.

For those wishing to verify the authenticity of the hair, you can watch it being severed below. The shaver is Gary Slaight, son of Allan Slaight.

Read more and watch video.

David Ben's ‪#‎NoHairSelfie‬

World Cancer Day is February 4, 2016.

From James Alan's Facebook page:
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My friend David Ben is raising money for cancer research, and he's willing to shave off his glorious mop for the cause. Check out his campaign, the #NoHairSelfiehttp://www.nohairselfie.com/davidben
Posted by James Alan on Monday, 16 November 2015

More "Tricks" to be had

From Magicana:

We've been having a wonderful week full of magic with Tricks at Soulpepper in Toronto. In fact, Sunday's matinée is now sold out.

To accommodate the demand, we've added one more performance to the schedule on Saturday, January 2 at 8:00 PM. Tickets just went on sale, so there are some excellent seats still available so you can be right up close to the action. Don't forget, we have special discounted family packs for groups of four or more (with at least one child).

Read more.

Read this review from Toronto Stage:

As a youngster, I remember my father once cautioning me to watch out for people who ask you to share a secret, used car salesmen of any kind and smooth talkers who want to show you a good card trick.

Falling into the latter category, of course, is David Ben.

That’s because he’s the kind of guy who could make a lot of money hanging out at Union Station mingling with stop over travelers with a little extra time on their side. He may not have anything up his sleeve but he’s definitely got something, somewhere.

The return of Tricks, is anti-pomp and pageantry. The stripped down production relies on basic furnishings to accomplish what great all tricksters need to put on a smoking good show.

Read more.

David Ben on CBC's "q"

From the CBC:

Three decades ago, David Ben left a career in law to pursue his passion: magic. Now he's one of the top sleight-of-hand artists in the world, performing over the years at Shaw Festival and Luminato.

His new show, simply called Tricks, is now playing at Toronto's Soulpepper theatre. Ben talks to Shad about the surprising array of people that inspired the program — from Frank Sinatra to Glenn Gould — and how he straddles several decades with his performance.

Read more, watch videos and listen to the interview.

Reviews: "The Experts at the Card Table"

From Magicana:

The reviews are starting trickle in on our latest publication, The Experts at the Card Table: 

"This book is a pleasure to page through, and is an important and welcome addition to Erdnasiana." / John Lovick  

"David has made the once-daunting material more accessible than ever. For my first time, I read the text cover to cover, and it all made sense." / Steve Bryant  

"...if you have some card technique under your belt and if you’ve wanted to plunge into the Erdnase pond, this is a great way to experience the material…" / Michael Close

Read more.

California: David Ben at A "Day of Lectures 2015"

From A Day of Lectures:

The Magic Apple is proud to present the 8th annual A Day of Lectures, back at the beautiful Sportsman's Lodge in Studio City, CA! 

NOVEMBER 8TH 2015    

This year's A Day of Lecture is one of the most diverse ones we have ever produced!  Three COMPLETELY different styles of magic and teaching!  All 4 of the guests have perfected their own style of magic and you will learn magic and routines no matter who you perform for!  If you are a full time pro and are looking for new routines, if you simply perform for friends and families, or just kids or are a fan of flourishes and unique card magic this is the event for you!    

Read more and register.

Toronto: David Ben's "Tricks"

From Magicana's website: 

Shamans, ravens, jesters, jugglers, conjurors, and magicians come in all shapes and sizes. In Tricks, David Ben - Soulpepper's resident trickster - presents a concert of magic inspired by an eclectic range of people and events: Frank Sinatra and Telford Fenton; Glenn Gould and Charles Bertram; Harold Lloyd and Harry Houdini; Tom Waits and Erik Satie; Hammer Studio Films and Southern Baptist preachers; and Dai Vernon and the cherry blossoms in Japan.

Ben, recognized as one of the top sleight-of-hand artists in the world, will showcase some of the most challenging and seldom-seen pieces of magic, all completely different than last year’s The Conjuror. There is no timeline or plot - just great tricks - comical and mysterious, beautiful and visceral - performed with twists and turns.

Read more and buy tickets using their promo code.

Rounding the Central rings in September 2015

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

Montreal, QC	Ring 62 (20th Century Ring)	- TBA
Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- Mark Mason lecture.
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- What you learned this summer.
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- TBA
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- TBA
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- TBA
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- David Ben lecture.

Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Toronto: "Trick of the Eye and Sleight of Hand"

From David Ben's Twitter feed:

Looking forward to "Trick of the Eye and Sleight of Hand" w/ visual artist Alexander Pilis, Aug 30 @kofflerarts @2PM http://t.co/xP3RYVgAHq

— David Ben (@theconjuror) August 24, 2015

Review: Michael Close reviews "The Experts"

Read Michael Close's thoughts on "The Experts" from the July issue of MUM Magazine.

From Sharing Wonder:

Mark Twain said a classic is a book that people praise and don’t read, a definition that certainly applies to The Expert at the Card Table by S.W. Erdnase. Dai Vernon was the primary champion of the book; his approach to card handling, shaped by Erdnase’s philosophy and techniques, astonished everyone. Vernon shared his insights to the members of the New York inner circle, and years later even offered personal lessons on the techniques (a project abandoned because of too few interested parties). Charlie Miller and Ross Bertram (in Canada) were also exponents of Erdnase.

Read more.

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!

Review: The Conjuror

Reminder: The Conjuror ends on January 4.

From Mooney on Theatre:

The Conjuror David Ben showed off some family-friendly hocus pocus at Toronto’s Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Watching The Conjuror in action was a enchanting way to welcome the new year for me and my little companion.

Set in 1909 at London’s St. George’s Hall, the show was a mesmerizing series of magic feats typical of the Golden Age of Magic: we saw a person being sawed in half (ouch!), a handkerchief playing hide and seek, and an egg being thrown around without breaking.

The set was simple. We did not see a flashy David Copperfield-style spectacle, but instead saw classic acts performed against a relatively plain background. No neon lights or booming music. As a result, we were successfully transported to an early 20th century London stage.

Read more.