Canada's Magic

24 June 2014

David Merry, Bob Cates nominated for Best Variety Act

Voting opens today. Best of luck Dave and Bob!

From Canadian Comedy:

NOMINEES IN THE 2014 CANADIAN COMEDY AWARDS

Live / Best Variety Act

Bob Cates

David Merry [warning: sound]

Morro and Jasp

Shirley Gnome

Wes Borg

Read more.

23 June 2014

Toronto: Return of The Conjuror

From Soul Pepper Theatre:

December 30

Embark on a voyage of imagination and wonder as David Ben brings his critically acclaimed The Conjuror to Soulpepper. Be transported back to the year 1909 and the legendary St. George's Hall in London where audiences came to be enchanted by paradox - the Golden Age of Magic!

Read more and buy tickets.

22 June 2014

Greg Frewin on Breakfast Television

From the Greg Frewin Theatre Facebook page:

Post by Greg Frewin Theatre.

21 June 2014

Review: Card Table Artifice

From The Star:

Ever wanted to be a card sharp or a Mississippi riverboat gambler? Then S.W. Erdnase’s The Expert at the Card Table is essential reading.

Known in magical circles simply as Erdnase, this much admired Bible of card manipulation was published in 1902 and, in detailed, polished and unemotional prose, exposes many tricks of the trade, including blind shuffles, bottom dealing, stocking and locating specific cards, palming and legerdemain.

The work inspired a string quartet with narration, written by composer Gavin Bryars and Spanish poet Juan, which premiered in 1997. And now Toronto magician David Ben has added yet another layer for the 2014 Luminato Festival.

Read more.

20 June 2014

Random thoughts on The Uncertainty Project

Last night I had the pleasure of attending The Uncertainty Project by James Alan. I had spent the day volunteering my time for the benefit of school age children and had already experienced more than my share of excitement and uncertainty. (All's well that ends well, thankfully.) I was a little apprehensive about filling my evening with more uncertainty. I'm glad I did.

There will never, ever be a show exactly like the show I saw. (At least, it's highly improbable.)
The audience is a wild card for which it is nearly impossible to be completely prepared.
I find it hard to live tweet and watch a show at the same time. (I really do know how to spell your name Mahdi.)
As near as I can tell, no rabbits were harmed in the creation of the show.
Any show with links to Heisenberg, Einstein, Fermat, Schrödinger, and Douglas Adams, is cool in my books.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I was "one of the two people" who was bothered by claims made on the third piece of glass. I checked. I'm not going to tell you what I discovered.
Sometimes it's a good thing that magicians are tall.
Arithmetic is important.
Crowdsourcing seems to be a surprisingly effective way to get out of a jam.
There were some very powerful moments.
I was absolutely entertained.