Canada's Magic

10 July 2014

Escaping Parkinson's now underway

Best wishes Mark!

Watch his Day One video on YouTube:

From Global News:

Toronto teen Mark Correia got strapped into a straitjacket Tuesday morning — a straitjacket in which he plans to spend the next two weeks.

The 18-year-old magician and actor hopes to raise $25,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research by living in the straitjacket until July 22.

“This is real,” he said, as Liza Fromer of Global’s The Morning Show helped buckle him in. “No breaks. No freedom. No escape until the last minute.”

Read more and watch video.

From Inside Halton:

Escaping from a straitjacket has become a mainstay trick for many magicians. Illusionist Harry Houdini made it a staple of his own act while hanging upside down from a crane.

Now, Mark Correia is putting his own twist on the age-old magic trick by spending two weeks — as of today (Tuesday) strapped into one in support of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Read more.

Family Fun Day with Greg Frewin

This is a great idea for families. A nice early show for the kiddies and a rare chance at a Q&A with Greg himself! (As you know, I think the experience is wonderful even without the Q&A.) Don't just take my word for it, Yashy Murphy wrote about her experience too. Read Murphy's post Greg Frewin's Imagine Magic Show!

From Greg Frewin Theatre's Facebook page:

Post by Greg Frewin Theatre.

09 July 2014

Review: Rosemary Reid

From Mooney on Theatre:

Rosemary Reid is one of the buskers at this years Fringe Club. If she comes over to your table and asks if she can sit down and do some magic, say yes. We did and all five of us thought she was terrific.
She impressed us with her card tricks, always a good thing, but what really dazzled us was her wit and personality. She was at ease before she even sat down; funny, fast, and delightful.

Read more.

Canadians at the World Championships of Magic

Updated July 10 to add this article from The Now Newspaper:

NORTH DELTA — A North Delta couple was crowned “North American Champions of Stage Magic” after traveling to St. Louis last week for the International Brotherhood of Magicians, Society of American Magicians and North American F.I.S.M. Championships Combined Convention.

Trevor and Lorena Watters met while studying at Douglas College, and now the couple, who reside in North Delta, perform comedy magic routines together, competing at an international level.

Read more.

Congratulations to Shin Lim and Lorena & Trevor Watters on their successes at the IBM/SAM competitions! Wishing you all the best at the FISM World Championships next July. (Visit the IBM website to read the full list of contest winners.)

From The Province:

Trevor Watters has a magic touch with women.

On one of his first dates with an 18-year-old named Lorena, Watters invited her back to his parents’ house in Delta.

Some men might have chatted a bit before quickly moving to hanky-panky. Not Watters.
He had placed a large illusionist’s box in the living room. He invited Lorena to climb into it so he could stick 12 swords into her.

Read more.

From the Edmonton Journal and CTV News:

Three Canadians from the Vancouver-area will represent North America at the World Championships of Magic in Italy next summer.

Trevor and Lorena Watters, a North Delta couple, beat six other finalists to win the North American Stage Magic Championship in St. Louis this weekend.

Vancouver-born Shin Lim will represent North America under the category of magic acts performed to a small audience without a stage.

Read more.

Montreal: Lab Magique

From Perfect Magic:

There is a magicians’ association in Montreal called REGROUPEMENT DES MAGICIENS QUÉBÉCOIS. Its purpose is to promote the art of magic in Quebec and is open to professionals and amateurs to exchange ideas, techniques, etc. Phil and I were invited to a show they were presenting in an intimate cabaret like theatre in a room upstairs of Le Fripon, a restaurant in Old Montreal, on Jacques Cartier Square. Go know! It’s a “LABATOIRE EXPÉRIMENTAL POUR MAGICIENS ET ARTISTES DE VARIETÉ”. I say its a great idea because its a place that seats about 65 people and it was full, and it’s presented like a real show, which it is, with an M.C. who was Eric Electrik that night, with several magicians performing. This is a place for them to try out their stuff.

Read more.

Also from the article: