Halifax: The Actual Wizard’s Mystery Parlour [Nov 30]

With Vincenzo Ravina and Ian Stewart!

 

From the November 18th Instagram post by Vincenczo Ravina:

The Actual Wizard’s Mystery Parlour opens on Nov. 30 at the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts at 7:30 pm with special guests @ianstewartandstuff, world record magician and juggler, and @theunderstudieshfx, award-winning improv trio! Advance tickets are 20% off at ActualWizard.ca! 

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Vincenzo Ravina: Actual Wizard (@halifaxmagician)

 

 

 

Canada's Got Talent: Getting to know Vincenzo Ravina

Next in our series of short interviews with some of the magic acts listed in the March 5th Canada's Got Talent media release is Vincenzo Ravina!
 

You may already know that Vincenzo:

• performed on Penn & Teller: Fool Us,
• won the 2023 overall Audience Choice Award at the Halifax Fringe Festival with his show Actual Magic, and 
• wrote a collection of short stories, Peril & Exploit and Other Mysterious Tales,
  

We're delighted that Vincenzo made time to answer our questions! 

 

Who inspires you that is not a magician?
 
I'm inspired by Wes Anderson, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Lemony Snicket, David Lynch, the Muppets, and Fiona Apple. And I'm inspired by TV shows like The Twilight Zone, LOST, and Taskmaster. I'm inspired by events like the theft of the Mona Lisa.

 

What is your first memory of magic? 

I'm not sure how old I would have been, but my earliest memories of magic are of a family friend making a coin vanish and reappear inside several small nesting boxes with rubber bands wrapped all around, and of my family regularly going to a restaurant in Halifax where a magician named Dave Moon would perform. He had a long, white beard, and wore purple robes and a tall pointy hat. I loved the feeling of watching his magic and I wanted to share that feeling with others.
 

 

Who from the magic community inspires you?

I am regularly inspired by the magicians in my local club, the Halifax Magic Club. They have made my work so much better with their feedback and ideas. 

In the broader magic community, there's too many... I love Charlie Caper, Penn & Teller, Zabrecky, Carisa Hendrix, Morgan & West, Ben Hart, Joshua Jay, Derek DelGaudio, Mac King, Piff the Magic Dragon, Andy at The Jerx, and the two big Davids (Copperfield and Blaine). I've learned something important from every single one of these folks and I'm definitely forgetting others.

 

Was there anyone or anything instrumental to you becoming a magician?

Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic was a treasure trove of knowledge which I'm still using today, and a subscription box service called Magic University started me off with a lot of props, which I used a lot when I was doing shows as a kid. 

📸 : CGT

Did you ever get discouraged and think about quitting magic?  
 
I think like a lot of magicians, I learned magic in my youth, and then at a certain point, I drifted away from it and didn't do magic for some years. I got tired of birthday parties and I started thinking magic was uncool in high school. I also got to thinking that magic couldn't be a career or creatively fulfilling, for some reason. So I focused on creative writing and journalism. But Rod Doiron, who was the president of the Halifax Magic Club at the time, reached out to me in 2009 and invited me to come to a meeting. I started going regularly and I got back into magic again. At first, as a hobby. And then I realized that pretty much anything I want to do creatively, I could do through magic. So I started going to open mics and developing new routines and material and got one of my pieces onto Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Since then I've been regularly performing my show, Actual Wizard, at different venues and theatres in Nova Scotia, and writing a new show every year for the Halifax Fringe Festival.

Do you have any tour or pre-show rituals you’d be willing to share with our readers?
 

A lot of magicians like to pack small and play big. Me, I pack pretty big. So the majority of my pre-show ritual is just setting up my tables, lights, sound, props, hanging strings from the ceiling, putting programmes on seats, checking and double-checking my lists, going over cues, greeting people as they arrive, etc. and then suddenly it's time to perform. I always feel like I'm planning a surprise party or wrapping a gift when I'm setting up my show. I'm excited to surprise people.

Those rare times when I have time between setting up and performing, I will think about Joshua Jay's pre-show mantras "Tonight is part of the process. Perform like it's the first time and the last time. Enjoy the show," and I will think about how appreciative and privileged I am that people have bought tickets and have taken time out of their lives to come see me.

 

 

Why is now the right time for you to be a part of Canada's Got Talent?
 

When I performed on Penn & Teller: Fool Us, I was basically going directly from open mics to onstage in Vegas in front of a huge audience and celebrities, so I was not entirely at ease. Now is the right time for me to be a part of Canada's Got Talent because I feel more comfortable with my character and my performance than I've ever felt. I created the piece that I brought to my audition at CGT four years ago and I've performed it in nearly every show I've done in that time. It has grown, changed, and evolved into what I think is a quite good piece of magic, so I was eager to share it with the judges, the live audience, and the rest of Canada.

 

 

 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
 

If you're in Nova Scotia or visiting, come out to one of my shows! I try to have one or two public shows every month and tickets are available at ActualWizard.ca

 

 

Thank you Vincenzo, for making the time to answer our questions!  Break a leg on CGT!

Learn more about Vincenzo at his website ActualWizard.ca and follow him on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

 

 

 

Watch Canada's Got Talent Tuesdays on CityTV.

 

 

 

 

Magicians on Canada's Got Talent [Mar 19 premiere]

Good luck to all!  

 

Who'd we miss?

 

From the March 5th media release:

ALBERTA
JEFF NEWMAN – Magic Act, Calgary

NOVA SCOTIA
VINCENZO RAVINA – Magic Act, Halifax

ONTARIO
ALEXANDRA - Stunt, St. Catherines
CARSON & TAYLOR – Magic Act, Toronto
EKATERINA – Magic Act, Barrie
MARK CLEARVIEW – Magic Act, Toronto
MARK LEWIS – Magic Act, Toronto

QUEBEC
BAO HOANG – Magic Act, Montreal
THE AMAZING TODSKY – Magic Act, Montreal

SASKATCHEWAN
MITCHELL HRYCAN – Magic Act, Saskatoon

ABROAD
NICOLAS RIBS – Magic Act, Lyon, France

 

 

 

 

Vincenzo Ravina in SaltWire

From the April 28th article "Fun childhood experience unlocked Vincenzo Ravina's inner wizard" by Katy Jean at SaltWire:

Though many questions could be asked of someone who has a career in wizardry, asking how he became one seemed of most importance.

“When I was a kid my family and I loved going to this restaurant downtown that had a guy named Dave Moon and he would go around table to table doing magic. And he wore this long flowing purple moon and star robes and he had a long white beard,” Ravina said of a childhood experience that would unlock a lifelong interest.

“I loved seeing magic and being left in a state of mystery. I wanted to learn how to do that and share it with other people.”

Read more.

 

 

From the May 1st upload "Vincenzo Ravina: Actual Wizard" at the SaltWire YouTube channel:

SaltWire's Katy Jean has a wish fulfilled by wizard and magician Vincenzo Ravina.
Ravina shares his story of becoming a career wizard and his experiences in the magician industry.

 

 

 

 

 

Halifax: Vincenzo Ravina -- Actual Wizard and Global News interview [Apr 22, May 13, Oct 30]

From Halifax Magician:

After two sold out performances, Actual Wizard returns to the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts by popular demand.

In this unusual show, actual wizard and Halifax magician Vincenzo Ravina brings his magic to an odd little room with two pianos in it.

Vincenzo will emerge from his mysterious smoke-filled cave to show you some strange stuff.

There will be: Potions! Ghosts! Playing Cards! Murder!

Actual Wizard is funny, mystifying, absurd, and experimental.

Read more and buy tickets.

From the April 5th upload by Global News Morning Halifax:

Global’s Eilish Bonang is joined in studio by actual wizard and magician, Vincenzo Ravina to talk about his upcoming magic show at the Maritime Conservatory and perform a mind-blowing magic trick!

 

 

 

 

 

Halifax: Vincenzo Ravina's Actual Wizard [Feb 25]

Tickets at Eventbrite.

 

From the January 26th post at the Conjurers' Court Facebook page:

 

 

 

 

Halifax: Vincenzo Ravina's "Actual Wizard" [Sep 1 - 11]

From the August 16th Facebook post by Vincenzo Ravina:

My new show, Actual Wizard, will be at the Bus Stop Theatre for the Halifax Fringe Festival in September! Tickets are on sale now at
https://www.tickethalifax.com/events/127836120/actual-wizard-halifax-fringe-2022

Why not share this post with your friends? That could be cool!

Dates and Times:
Thursday Sept 1st - 8:20 PM
Saturday Sept 3rd - 3:00 PM
Tuesday Sept 6th - 8:20 PM
Saturday Sept 10th - 11:59 PM (midnight)
Sunday Sept 11th - 6:00 PM

In this unusual magic show, actual wizard and Halifax magician Vincenzo Ravina (as seen on the CW’s hit show, Penn & Teller: Fool Us) will emerge from his mysterious smoke-filled cave to show you some strange stuff. There might be: Potions! Ghosts! Playing cards! Guests! Murder! Actual Wizard is funny, mystifying, absurd, and experimental. 

 

 

 

 

Magic at the Halifax Fringe

There's magic at the 31st Halifax Fringe Festival this September 2nd to 12th! 

 

From the Halifax Fringe:

Magic From the Twilight Lodge
VINCENZO RAVINA

In this unusual magic show, fully vaccinated magician Vincenzo Ravina (as seen on the CW’s hit show, Penn & Teller: Fool Us) will take you into an alternate dimension and show you his collection of weird magical curiosities.

Dangerous Lies
TABRAZE SHEIKH

“I’m not racist, but…” Dangerous Lies is an honest and suspenseful true story about growing up as a visible minority post 9/11. Award-winning performer and mind-reader Tabraze Sheikh takes the audience on an intimate and interactive journey of discovering his place in the world, while facing the dangerous lies society thrusted upon him.

Read more.

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A post shared by Halifax Fringe Festival (@halifaxfringe)

Vincenzo Ravina in CTV News

The Penn and Teller's "Fool Us" episode with Vincenzo Ravina aired on August 3rd.

From the July 27th article "Halifax magician uses sleight of hand to earn way into Vegas-based show" by Amanda Debison in CTV News:

"It was very intimidating and I was very nervous," says Ravina. "I usually perform at little open mics around town, or at the Bus Stop Theatre for an audience of less than a hundred. This was an audience of 500, plus Penn and Teller, plus Alyson Hannigan, so it was a whirlwind."

Ravina's love of magic began when he was little.

"There was a magician who worked at a restaurant downtown, his name was David Moon," explains Ravina. "He looked like a wizard and would do magic. I loved going there as a kid and would just be amazed. I started studying magic after that."

Read more.

[via The Society of American Magicians]