Penn & Teller: Fool Us, winter edition

From Michael Close:

Here's some fun news from Fool Us executive producers Andrew Golder and Lincoln Hiatt:

Penn & Teller: Fool Us has been rewarded with a pickup for a winter edition on the CW Network.

We encourage you to spread the good word. We are beginning to look at submissions for another taping this year as soon as conditions allow. Shoot dates are uncertain, of course, but think September/October-ish. We will do this, however we do it, in a safe and prudent way.

Remember, originality is important, being entertaining is everything, and fooling Penn & Teller is icing on the magic cake. Fool Us alumni are welcome to submit tricks, too.

Submissions/magicians should use our casting email address:
fooluscasting at gmail dot com

Thanks again and warm regards! Send us your friends! Send us your tricks!

Welcoming a new Friend: Loran

Please join me in welcoming our newest Friend, Montreal based Loran!

I had the pleasure of first meeting Loran almost 20 years ago at the Magical Arts Festival in Toronto, and then being reacquainted with him through Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp.  His shows are consistently a feast for the senses (and often involve fire)!

You can see some recent video of Loran 5 seconds into the video "Magic in Canada - 100 Magicians Come Together for Food Banks Canada," at 1 minute and 17 seconds into the video "Magiciens au Québec - Magicians in Québec," and in his magical Steampunk glory at the 5 minute 5 second mark of the video "Pass the Map."

Learn more about Loran at his website LoranIllusion.com and follow him on Facebook.

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

Magiciens au Québec

The Vancouver Magic Circle magicians aren't the only ones with video tricks up their sleeves!


From Loran's YouTube channel:

La magie existe au Québec. C’est pourquoi nous somme 20 magiciens québécois se sont réunis pour vous offrir un petit brin de folie et d’émerveillement. Merci à tous ces magiciens qui habitent partout en province ainsi qu'à Romain Kowalsky pour le montage. À partager sans retenu pour transporter la magie partout !

Magic exists in Quebec. This is why we are 20 Quebec magicians who have come together to offer you a touch of madness and wonder. Thank you to all these magicians who live throughout the province as well as to Romain Kowalsky for the editing. Share the magic everywhere!

Vancouver Magic Circle presents ZOOMagic!

From the IBM Facebook page:

Take a look at what our International President Alex Zander's local Ring did together!

Well done Vancouver Magic Circle, IBM Ring #92! Way to #KeepCalmAndPerformMagic

With Murray SawChuck Rod Boss, Kelvin Ng Rod Chow Juliana Chen, Glen LaBarre, Graham Kita, Henry Tom, Shawn Farquhar.

Video production: Shawn Farquhar
(Music: Benjamin Tissot Thanks www.BenSound.com )

You'll need a Facebook account in order to view the video.

Jamie Allen interviews Paul Romhany

Congratulations to Paul Romhany who is featured on the cover of the April 2020 edition of Northern Peeks (vol 24, 2).

Paul is also taking on the role as producer/designer of Northern Peeks, the official publication of the Canadian Association of Magicians.  Thank you Paul for taking on this important role!

From the Jamie Allen's May 8th iMagician Live Show 6 featuring Marc Spelmann, John Archer, and Paul Romhany.

Chris Ramsay in The New Yorker

From the May 15th article "Quarantine Is Making Puzzle Enthusiasts of Us All" by Crispin Long in The New Yorker:

The professional puzzler Chris Ramsay, whose YouTube channel has millions of subscribers, is sensitive to the power of playful concentration. In the video above, he talks about why people are enjoying puzzles so much during isolation and how he arrived at his unusual career. A magician, he found his current calling when he recorded a video of himself using the tricks he’d picked up through magic to unlock a three-dimensional puzzle that resembled a padlock.

Read more.

David Acer in the Montreal Gazette

From the May 7th article "Brownstein: Is it too soon to laugh?" by Bill Bronstein in the Montreal Gazette:

While the Comedy Nest is dark these days, Acer has created another outlet for fans. Performance videos from the club are available on YouTube.com/comedynestmontreal and feature more than 30 of the city’s leading anglo comics, including Abdul Butt, Joey Elias, Heidi Foss, Derek Seguin and Harrison Weinreb. And Acer.

Weinreb, incidentally, has come up with this fascinating epidemiological theory: “This pandemic can only mean one thing … the five-second rule has failed us.”


Read more.