Random thoughts about Magic @ The Cage

Over March Break, we made our way to The Cage to catch Abracadabaret in action.   On tap were James Alan, Chris Westfall and Jamie Stam.

• The Crimson Lounge at The Cage is a great venue for dinner theatre.  [This is a cash only venue.]
• Performers who are aware that there minors in the audience, and adjust their script / set to accommodate for young people, win over the children's parents immediately.  Doubly so if the show wasn't billed as a child friendly show.
• Performers who mind their language because of the presence of young persons with perhaps delicate ears, can be more entertaining than if they had ignored the fact entirely.  [Kudos and thank you to James Alan!]
• Adults are surprisingly entertained by children volunteers on stage, as long as the children are enjoying themselves and especially if the children are laughing.
• Kidlet has seen a balloon animal act before, a few times, more times than I can remember and was still well entertained by Chris's handling.  Impressive Chris!
• I'm always delighted to see James on stage with a roll of duct tape in hand.  Because I know what follows is going to be wonderful.
• Jamie presented some material I hadn't seen him perform before.  Very creative, visual and effective.
• Most of the Sunday (and some of the Tuesday) shows this month have been sold out.  Be sure to purchase your tickets in advance to reserve your seats!  (If you have comps, do let James Alan know which date you're hoping to attend.)

Montreal: Chris Westfall's Calculated Chaos

From Montreal Magic Jam:

April 3rd

One of the things we enjoy most about organizing these lectures is being able to introduce you to new up-and-coming magicians, so we’re very excited to be bringing Chris Westfall to Montreal. Chris is a true student of magic as well as a worker in every sense of the word. With thousands of performances under his belt in a multitude of venues, Chris has developed a style and repertoire suited for the real world. Chris’s material has been published in Magic, Genii and M-U-M, and he was an invited speaker at the acclaimed 2013 Magi-Fest convention.

Read more (également en français) and buy tickets.

I should also remind you that Chris is giving his lecture in Ottawa on April 1st:

pic.twitter.com/2dTXs9Hro1
— Chris Westfall (@westfallmagic) January 7, 2014

Wendy's missing seven

Earlier I mentioned that there were 7 missing videos from the “Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger Magic Show.”

Here they are!

Watch Extra Trick 4, Ken Margoe, on YouTube:





Watch Extra Trick 5, Baldini, on YouTube:





Watch Extra Trick 6,  Rob Testa, on YouTube:






Watch Extra Trick 7, Baldini, on YouTube:





Watch Extra Trick 8, Baldini, on YouTube:





Watch Extra Trick 9, Mark Lewis, on YouTube:





Watch Extra Trick 10, Adam Swaye, on YouTube:

Wendy's makes magic

Last summer, a number of Canadian magicians were involved in an ad campaign for Wendy's.

From Strategy Online:

Working with agency MacLaren McCann, Wendy’s auditioned 10 different magicians and asked them to incorporate the burger into their routines. The stunt was filmed, with each of the 22 magic tricks shot in one take, and uploaded to Facebook and YouTube over several weeks as part of the “Wendy’s Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger Magic Show.”

Read more.

[via Reality Based Magic]


Those of you who were paying close attention, remember the following acts:

• Act 1 - James Alan
• Act 2 - Baldini
• Act 3 - Magic Mike Segal
• Act 4 - James Alan
• Act 5 - Mike D'Urzo
• Act 6 - Ken Margoe
• Act 7 - Baldini
• Act 8 - Rob Testa
• Act 9 - Mike D'Urzo
• Act 10 - Rob Testa
• Act 11, Mike D'Urzo
• Act 12, Baldini
• Extra Trick 1, Rob Testa
• Extra Trick 2, Phil Pivnick
• Extra Trick 3, James Alan

Which means we're 7 tricks short of the 22 shot.  According to the post at Reality Based Magic, at least one of those involves Mark Lewis.

Off to search the internet we go!

Review: Sankey lecture, Card collectors and Bobby Motta

From the Browser's Den:

Since most of us are talking as much about the weather as we are about our latest sleight of hand moves I am pleased to report that I will make a prediction.

As popular is mentalism these days it was never of much interest to me for most of my formative years studying magic.  Though I do appreciate it more now than then...I still enjoy scarves changing colour and canes changes to candles, linking rings and coins and cups and balls, etc.etc.

That being said, I have decided that I will make a prediction regarding our weather. The cold will disappear by the time I write my next Blog!

Read more.

Jeff, about your prediction, I hope you're right!  (And write soon!)

Murray Sawchuck on Penguin Live

From Penguin Magic:

Murray Sawchuck LIVE: Sunday Mar 23rd 

Who is he?

Murray’s star power has exploded onto the entertainment scene with the charisma, personality and talent of an entertainer born to be on stage and screen, after his successful run as a semi-finalist on NBC-TV’s “America’s Got Talent.”

The #1 network summer series was viewed by over 22 million fans nationwide. Murray dazzled the judges: Piers Morgan, Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel by producing a Ferrari from thin air, transforming a girl locked in a cage into a 450 pound tiger and did the largest trick ever on “AGT” by vanishing an entire 1918 steam train locomotive in mere seconds.

All of these illusions took place before a “live” and national “TV” audience, and brought standing ovations from the judges.

Read more and buy ticket.

[via iTricks]

Sharing wonder with the help of Magicana

From Magicana:

Through our Tony Eng Youth Fund, Magicana sponsored two young people to attend the John Carney Lecture in Toronto on Feb 15, 2014.

The pair are actively part of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Toronto – an organization near and dear to Magicana as past partners in our My Magic Hands program. Through a happy coincidence, Big Brother, Mike Johns, happened to hear about the lecture and thought it would be the perfect outing with his Little, Wes.

Wes is a budding 12-year old magician with a huge interest in magic and his Big, Mike – equally interested in magic – thought it would be the perfect outing for the two of them. But, limited funds proposed a challenge. Resourcefully, Mike reached out to Magicana and through our Tony Eng Youth Fund, we were able to make their attendance possible. After all that’s what the fund is all about – to motivate and inspire young people who are passionate about magic.

Read more.