Welcoming a new Friend: Richard Hough

Please join me in welcoming our newest Friend, Richard Hough!

Based out of Vancouver, Richard appreciates that magic performances bring wonder and mystery into our lives.

You can follow him on Twitter @DourHighArch.

Thank you Richard, for becoming an official Friend of Canada's Magic!

Comedy Nest celebration and David Acer in the Montreal Gazette

From the Comedy Nest:

The Comedy Nest 40-ish Anniversary – October 24, 25, 26

Celebrate 40 years of funny at Montreal’s original comedy club with some of the city’s finest comedians from past and present, including JEFF ROTHPAN (The Tonight Show), MARTHA CHAVES (CBC’s Just For Laughs), RICK BRONSON (CBC’s Just For Laughs), BOWSER & BLUE (The Comedy Network), HEIDI FOSS (Comics Unleashed), JOEY ELIAS (The Comedy Network’s MatchGame), DAVID ACER (CBC’s Just For Laughs), PHIL SHUCHAT (The Rick Mercer Report) and many more!

Read more and buy tickets.

This Thursday to Saturday (October 24-26) catch our 40-ish Anniversary celebration with @jeffrothpan @TheMarthaChaves @bowserandblue @TheRickBronson @Heidi_Foss @David_Acer @bruins_514 @Shuchat and more great guests every show! Info/tix: https://t.co/Ut7kpMIO96 pic.twitter.com/a1tjLkmm6S

— Comedy Nest (@comedynest) October 21, 2019

From the October 23 article "Brownstein: Did you hear the one about the Comedy Nest turning 40?" by Bill Brownstein in the Montreal Gazette:

Acer and Shuchat shone among the first wave of anglo comics in the early years of the Nest.

“I go way back to the 1920s with Bob Hope,” Acer quips. “Actually, I did my first set at the Nest in 1989 … when we didn’t have microphones and comedians talked through rolled-up paper cones. Okay, I may be misremembering that a little.”

Read more.

Huge thanks to @billbrownstein and the @mtlgazette for this fun article about The Comedy Nest crossing over into middle age! https://t.co/tfyS2SmFtQ

— Comedy Nest (@comedynest) October 23, 2019

Toronto: Win tickets to see "The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy"

Great news folks! I have been offered two (2) tickets to give away to my readers, to attend the 20th abominaversary edition of "The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy" at the Red Sandcastle Theatre November 15, 2019 at 8:00 pm, Toronto, Canada.

The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy is a play by Eric Woolfe (House at Poe Corner, Doc Wuthergloom’s Haunted Medicine Show) who uses puppets and close-up magic based on the Faust Legend. An eerie tale of unholy larceny and Klondike gold. Based on the sworn testimony of the miserable souls who survived this terrifying ordeal. Strange things loom in the midday moon, where lost men moil for gold.

The show runs from November 13 - November 24th 3019.  If you don't want to leave your tickets to chance, you can purchase them directly at EldritchTheatre.ca/Tickets


I will be holding a random draw for the pair of tickets.  (There will be one winner.)  The draw results will be posted by Thursday October 31st.


To enter:

1. Log into the RaffleCopter widget below, using Facebook or a valid email address.
    
2. Mandatory: Leave a comment in the widget, telling me what you think is the scariest magical effect (either to perform or to watch).
    
3. If you win, you must be willing to provide your full name and contact information so that we can coordinate your prize with the Eldritch Theatre box office.

The fine print:

• To participate in the contest, you must be 18 years of age or older.
   
• One entry per person.
   
• This giveaway is open to Canadian residents, excluding residents of Quebec. (Je m'excuse!)
   
• This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
   
• If you experience difficulties leaving a comment, you may email it to me for posting.  (I am not responsible if your email is misdirected or gets stuck in my Spam folder.)
   
• This giveaway may be terminated or withdrawn at any time.
   
• Entries my be disqualified at any time (reasons for disqualification include but are not limited to the provision of information that is untruthful, inaccurate, incomplete, or suspected fraudulent behaviour).
   
• You must be able to use the tickets as offered.  (No cash value will be offered if you cannot use the tickets.)
   
• Transportation to/from Toronto and accommodations will not be provided.
   
• Photo ID will be required to claim the tickets at the the Eldritch Theatre box office prior to the show on your way into the theatre.
   
• The odds of winning depend on how many people enter the contest.
   
• Contest closes on Tuesday October the 29th, 2019 at 11:59pm ET.

With thanks to the Eldritch Theatre for generously making these tickets available to you!

Photo By: Lyon Smith

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Correia at The Castle

Next month, Mark Correia will be making his premiere performance in the Parlour of Prestidigitation at The Magic Castle.  Details at the end of the post.

You can also find Mark in and around New York City for the rest of this month.


From Mark Correia's Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

I'm back and ready to blow minds! (Also have a HUGE announcement coming at the end of next week) 📷: @kennyrodz . . #magician #comedian #nyc #newyork #comic #comedy #magic #tricks #card #newyorkcity #manhattan #ny #performer #live #show #performerlife #mindreader #mindreading #instamagic #cardistry #broadway #funny #variety #amazing #bigapple

A post shared by Mark Correia (@markcorreia) on Oct 8, 2019 at 4:12pm PDT

Also from Mark Correia's Instagram:

View this post on Instagram

The cat is out of the bag 😼 From November 18th-24th I will be making my premiere at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. It has been my dream to perform at the castle ever since I first attended the all ages brunch at 14 years old. I've worked very hard since that day to come back and make an appearance... It's been 10 years... Now I am ready to rock the Parlour room at 7:15pm, 8:15pm, and 9:15pm all week! I'd tell you to go buy tickets but the Castle is an exclusive members only club and all seats sell out a good 6 weeks in advance... If you're lucky enough to have gotten a spot, I will see you in November! If you're in LA at that time, give me a shout. So, so exciting to see some hard work pay off! ✈️

A post shared by Mark Correia (@markcorreia) on Oct 18, 2019 at 4:24pm PDT

Winner of tickets to see "The Art of Magic with Asi Wind"

The contest to "Win tickets to see 'The Art of Magic with Asi Wind'" closed last Friday at midnight.



The winning entry is an email submission from Ryan Goldin:

“As a father of an 11 year old magician discovering the Toronto Magic Company and its amazing network of magicians it has sparked a new zest for life for my son. He’s inspired after every event we attend having learned new tricks, having an opportunity to share what he’s been working on and counting the days till their next event or performance. He’s been welcomed with open arms and is treated as a peer.”

Congratulations Ryan!   You'll be hearing from Ben with the details about how to claim your prize.


Thank you to everyone who entered.


With thanks to the Toronto Magic Company for generously making these tickets available to you!  

Sleightly Sketchy: Magician trading cards [MTC191020]

Imagine if magicians had trading cards.

Did you need all three hints to guess whose trading card back this is?






Previously posted:

• MTC190714
• MTC190721
• MTC190728
• MTC190804
• MTC191020 

A peek behind the curtain with Kayla Drescher

Upcoming Champions of Magic Canadian tour dates:

• 12/8/19     Brandon, MB
• 12/12/19   Ottawa, ON       <<<  ** recent addition **
• 12/14/19   Oshawa, ON
• 12/15/19   Laval, QC
• 1/16/20     Saskatoon, SK    SaskTel Centre
• 1/17/20     Regina, SK    Conexus Arts Centre
• 1/26/20     Prince George, BC
• 2/29/20    Rama, ON         <<<  ** recent addition **

Read more and buy tickets.

 

I was delighted to receive an invitation to email interview Kayla Drescher, as part of a Champions of Magic promotion.  You may know already know Drescher as the winner of the Today Show's “The Next Great Magician” (judged by David Copperfield), from appearing on season four of Penn and Teller Fool Us, or from lecturing in Toronto last January. 

(Read on to learn more about Drescher's connection to the Canadian magician known as "The Beauty of Magic.")

Who inspires you magically?

My mentors are a couple from Indianapolis - Christian and Katalina.  They are my biggest inspiration magically.  I enjoy watching magicians that are grounded and “real”, like you want to buy them a beer after the show.  That’s what I aim for as a performer and am inspired by those that do the same.

What is your first memory of magic?
 
My first memories were from seeing magic at a magic shop at 7 years old.  That’s where I caught the “bug.”

Why do you think people are still fascinated by magic, especially live magic? 

Because it’s happening directly in front of you.  When magic is happening with no screen or special CGI, it adds to the impossibility.  Add in magic happening in your hands… well there’s nothing better.

Where do you find non-magical inspiration?
 
I love watching dance and choreographers tell a story through movement, listening to music that motivates something magically, or watching a movie suspend the audience’s disbelief and transport you to another world.  Comedy is also a huge influence, especially improv and character-based sketch comedy.  I’m also super inspired by Celine Dion and basically everything she does, especially her fashion.  My choice for clothing on stage is highly motivated by hers. 

What’s is it about Champions of Magic that has allowed you to draw large audiences on 6 UK tours and 3 North American tours over the past six years?

Champions of Magic features every type of magic you could possibly imagine while keeping it fun for the whole family.  But really what we feature over any other show, TV program, movie, etc, is us.  The 5 performers have strong, enjoyable, and engaging personalities.  You get to know us individually and as a performing “family.”  We truly enjoy touring together and you can see that on stage.  We probably feature more high-fives than any other show has.  Audience members come back show after show because they enjoy “hanging out” with us.  And because the audiences are different, the show is just a little different each time, making each show super memorable.    We work hard to make the show not just magically impressive, but an absolutely fun time.

What surprised you most about performing in different countries?  Have you experienced anything specific about Canadian audiences in particular?

The biggest difference is the style of humor.  Because I’m primarily comedy/improv based, I have to study what each audience would find funny.  What I love most about Canadian audiences is the immediate excitement when the show starts.  The roar of the audience when the lights go down is everything a performer wants to hear.  We LOVE LOVE LOVE performing for Canadian audiences and cannot wait to do it again!

Do you have a favourite touring anecdote and / or any advice for touring magicians?

There are so many stories from tour and we certainly don’t have time for them all.  My favorites come from pranking Sam Strange, like when he leaves his belongings on stage during rehearsals and I hide them in one of the cup holders in a 4,000 seat theater.  That’s always fun.

My biggest advice is to just be open to any adventure the tour can bring.  I’ve tried different foods, seen amazing parts of various countries, and rode my first Bird scooter (which I fell off) with the tour.  It’s like an adventure of no other so make the most of it!

 

With respect to your connection to Canadian magic, most of our readers will be familiar with the podcast you do with Carisa Hendrix (Shezam! the podcast hopes to make itself obsolete), and many will know about your connection with the Toronto magic crew.  Do you have any other connections to Canadian magic?

I was influenced by Greg Frewin at a young age.  And there's also Celeste Evans.

I first met Celeste Evans and her daughter Evanna at a magic convention when I was roughly 15/16 years old.  Celeste was a hero of mine, being such a trailblazer in the community and having created a full stage act in a tight dress and no suit jacket (which I was wearing at the time).  Celeste often offered unprompted advice to young magicians, especially women in the community.  She was an amazing human being and a fantastic magicians.

When she passed away, Evanna kindly sent me some of her magic-themed jewelry. After I finished crying of pure joy and honor, the jewelry quickly made its way into my usual performance attire.  Her necklace charm, in the shape of a hand with 4 multiplying balls, is what I mainly wear every show, although the ring in the same shape is often on my hand.  I’m honored to carry on a piece of Celeste through everything I do.  

Do you have any tour or pre-show rituals?

I lay on the floor a lot. It’s very comfortable.  Then I do a ton of dancing to loosen up and get happy, give Fernando a high-five, and get on with the show!

You sometimes perform extremely dense runs.  What do you do to keep your performance fresh for both your audience and you?

I try to change little things about my show each time I start to feel myself get complacent.  It could be adding in a new joke, doing a different dance, wearing a new jacket or shoes, just anything to change things up a bit.  We also all try to keep things fresh, from playing tag on stage to making each other laugh in the wings.  I’m thankful to be with a group of people that all know how to have fun and keep things fresh.

What interests do you have outside of magic?

I’m a big basketball fan and keep up with the WNBA and women’s college basketball regularly.  I try to read a lot but always just end up watching Harry Potter.  And I have a really great dog that I enjoy snuggling with.

If you could be endowed with the talent to take on any Broadway role past or present, who would you pick?

Elphaba from Wicked.

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

California weather. I’d share California weather with all of Canada.

Ohhh... best gift ever! Don't forget to bottle some for yourself though.  You'll need it when you hit SK in January!

Thank you Kayla Drescher for making the time to answer our questions!



Catch the Champions of Magic on tour in Canada!

Upcoming Champions of Magic Canadian tour dates:

• 12/8/19     Brandon, MB
• 12/12/19   Ottawa, ON       <<<  ** recent addition **
• 12/14/19   Oshawa, ON
• 12/15/19   Laval, QC
• 1/16/20     Saskatoon, SK    SaskTel Centre
• 1/17/20     Regina, SK    Conexus Arts Centre
• 1/26/20     Prince George, BC
• 2/29/20    Rama, ON         <<<  ** recent addition **

Read more and buy tickets.