Darcy Oake at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre

From the Winnipeg Free Press:

For the first time in his 15-year-career, Winnipeg illusionist Darcy Oake will literally be playing with reality.

He'll hang by his ankles five metres above the ground, bound by a straitjacket. Reality will be waiting -- with giant metal jaws held open by a piece of burning rope -- to devour him if he doesn't get out in time.

"It's a race-against-time type of effect," says Oake, 24, who will perform the stunt at three shows at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre this Thursday and Friday.

Escaping Reality is his first full-scale solo show in his hometown. It's also a benefit to raise money and awareness for the Bruce Oake Memorial Fund. 

Read more.

Winners of Sorcerers Safari scholarships

From the Sorcerers Safari Facebook page (requires a FB account):

The Society of American Magicians Magic Endowment Fund Scholarship Chairman, Warren J. Kaps, is pleased to announce that two young magicians have been awarded scholarships to Sorcerer’s Safari Magic Camp in Toronto, Canada.

Read more to find out who the winners are.

Congratulations to the winners!  I have no doubt that you'll have a fabulous time at camp this summer!

Richard Turner on The Morning Show

Watch this Global Toronto video of Richard Turner on The Morning Show:



Did you catch Richard at Luminato's Mind Over Matter?  There's still time!

David Copperfield talks about Doug Henning

In his Reddit Q&A, David Copperfield answers the question "What is your favorite memory of Doug?"

Doug Henning opened a lot of doors for us in magic. He was someone I admired since I was a teenager. Amazing.

Read more.

[h/t: iTricks]

Seventeen secrets

Prior to Ring 17's annual banquet, this tweet came through the stream:

We have Seventeen Secrets to share at our Banquet on June 7th. Hope to see you there: bit.ly/nXk5mm
— Hat & Rabbit Club (@IBMring17) May 31, 2012

What could that possibly mean?


There was a good sized crowd at the banquet and I very much enjoyed the company at my table.  Paul Wildbaum did a wonderful job of entertaining us -- I always look forward to watching him perform!

Lifetime membership to the club was bestowed by Gordon Precious:

Congratulations to Sig Kusatz, our newest Lifetime Member.
— Hat & Rabbit Club (@IBMring17) June 8, 2012

Congratulations Sig!  Well deserved!

Apparently, this was also the 70th Anniversary of the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club!  Happy anniversary to us!

But what about the Seventeen Secrets?

Since last September, the executive complied secrets from the talent that had particpated in this year's calendar and published them under the title Seventeen Secrets*.  Here is the table of contents:

• James Alan - Psycho Psychometry
• James Biss - Password Projected
• Matthew DiSero - Hold the Prosciutto
• Richard Forget - Fear and Loathing in Hong Kong
• Murray Hatfield - Musical ESP
• Will Houstoun - Guestimation
• Joshua Jay - Inflated (Canadian) Transposition
• Michael Weber - Band-Aid
• Tyler Wilson - That's What Key Said

From James Alan:

There is a mix of tricks ranging from informal close up magic, to close up, parlour and stage material for formal performances. The tricks use cards, bills, iPads, and SpongeBob Band-Aids. (Seriously!) There are also true stories from life on the road with performing professionals. The material is eccentric, irreverent annotated with credits unusual and obscure.

The book is 8.5" x 5.5", 56 pages with photos, saddle sewn. It was printed in a limited edition of 100 numbered copies which are available for sale through the Hat & Rabbit Club.

The proceeds of the book are being put to good use. With the assistance of David Ben and Julie Eng at Magicana, we were able to acquire several sets of the Ibidem Reprints which were gifted to the junior members of the club so that they can spend the next several years devouring their contents and learning about Toronto's rich magic history. 

--
*Seventeen comes from IBM Ring 17. There aren't actually seventeen items in it. It just sounded nice.

I haven't read it cover to cover yet, but what I've read I've quite enjoyed!

Las Vegas: The Amaz!ng Meeting 2012

From The Amazing Meeting:

The Amaz!ng Meeting (TAM) is an annual celebration of science, skepticism and critical thinking. People from all over the world come TAM each year to share learning, laughs and the skeptical perspective with their fellow skeptics and a host of distinguished guest speakers and panelists. Make sure follow @jref on Twitter for the latest #TAM2012 news and announcements.

Read more.

This year offers a special presentation by Penn and Teller as well as appearances by magicians Max Maven, James Randi and Jamy Ian Swiss.

Banachek: prediction results and show reviews

From The Star:

The surprise retirement of I’ll Have Another was there. The out-of-the-blue bid for the 2024 Olympics was there. The story on gang violence? There. He even had the feature article on Australian Aboriginals.


Read more.

From Torontoist:

For someone who makes his living performing feats of mentalism (telepathy, psychokinesis, hypnotism, seances, and dermaoptics, a.k.a. “the magic of sensing without sight”), British-born performer Banachek’s entire backstory is pretty unique. And given that the audience at last night’s opening night show was not short on skeptics—a handful of whom we spoke to during intermission, or casually eavesdropped on, and a number of whom were volunteers on the stage itself—it is the highest praise to say the entire audience left looking absolutely baffled, but also delighted.

Read more.

From Mooney on Theatre:

A lot of people believe in telepathy, psychokinesis, past life regression and ghosts. These people go to a magic show ready and willing to believe. Others, like me, are skeptics who go simply for entertainment. Banachek’s The Alpha Project, playing as part of Luminato, is a great show for the latter. I suspect it might be a bit confusing for the former. For both kinds of people (and those in between) it’s still a fun night.

Read more.