Shezam with Carisa Hendrix and Kayla Drescher

Ryan and Graeme haven't been the only ones busy releasing podcasts over the past quarter.  Have a look and a listen to the podcasts (including an interview with Juliana Chen!) Carisa and Kayla have released at Shezam since March:

• 049 – Cat Galesky about the women behind magic
• 050 – Corona’s 13 Steps to Isolation
• 051 – Creative Quarantine with Bizzaro
• 052 – How to do a lecture with Marc DeSouza
• 053 – Livestreams: You’re doing it wrong!
• 054 – Catie Osborn on Shakespeare and tips from an entertainment director
• 055 – Margaret Steele on Adelaide Hermann and a dark tale of a show gone wrong
• 056 – Juliana Chen!!
• 057 – Hierarchy of Needs
• Black Lives Matter
• 058 – Sonia Benito on movement in magic

2020 Canadian Rising Star

Congratulations to Chris Mysterion and Steffi Kay, The Sentimentalists, on winning the Canadian Rising Star award!


From the June 29th article "Canadian Rising Star 2020" at Magicana:

We are so excited to share the news.

Every day this week, we will announce a recipient for each category of the Allan Slaight Awards on behalf of the Slaight Family Foundation.

We are delighted start by naming this year’s 2020 Canadian Rising Star—make that Stars.

This award acknowledges outstanding work by an emerging Canadian magician and it comes with a prize of $5,000 from the Slaight Family Foundation, and it also includes an engraved iPad to commemorate the occasion. Past recipients of this award include Mahdi Gilbert, Luc Langevin, Eric Leclerc, Nick Wallace and Carisa Hendrix.

Read more.

Top 5 posts in June 2020

There were 25+ posts at Canada's Magic last month.  Here are the 5 most viewed posts in the past 30 days:

5. [Day 92] Because I'm too tired to contact each of you individually - Sending you all virtual applause and gasps of astonishment.

4. A safe place to scream into the void - A place to vent your frustrations anonymously.

3. David Ben and Julie Eng in "College Of Magic's Anniversary Show" (June 27) - So many talented people working together.

2. Michael Kras in the Hamilton Arts Council Online Performance Series - Magicians have so many talents!

and the most viewed post this month  ...

1. Carisa Hendrix and Billy Kidd in a magical "drop the brush" - Getting show ready has never been so much fun!

Magical Women with Connie Boyd

Connie Boyd (originally from Newmarket, Ontario!) started the "Magical Women with Connie Boyd" YouTube channel during quarantine.  Since that time it has grown into a series of in-depth talks with  magicians in different magic genres.   Weekly talks are uploaded to the Magical Women YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Connie's off to a strong start featuring Canadian magicians Ekaterina and Billy Kidd.   Juliana Chen's episode will be released this week.  (A little birdie has told me that Carisa Hendrix will be in a future episode too!)


Watch the teaser for the Magical Women series on YouTube:





Episode 1 with Ekatarina:








Episode 2 with Billy Kidd:

A safe place to scream into the void

Many of you are processing the impact of COVID-19 on your livelihood, family, and sense of self.  Some of you are open about it and share your concerns publicly.  This can provide a feeling of relief to others reading, knowing that they're not alone in feeling the things they're feeling.

We've created this post to act as a "Post Secret"* type of electronic repository, where magicians can ANONYMOUSLY document things that they may not want to share on their own social media.  We're hoping this repository can serve two purposes:

1. To let others in the community know that they are not alone in feeling what they're feeling.
2. By putting in writing the thoughts in your head, it may help you to dwell on them less and provide some catharsis.

To participate:

1. Comment ANONYMOUSLY on this post.
2. Do NOT identify yourself.
3. You may state whether you're full time, part time, or semi-retired.
4. You may state the number of years you've been in the business.
5. You may state what country you are from.
6. Do NOT use profanity. 
7. This is not a place to ask about or reveal the secrets of magical effects.

If your life is in danger or you know someone’s life is in danger DIAL EMERGENCY NOW (often 911 in your area) DO NOT HESITATE!

LifeLine Canada has a list of Canadian Crisis Centres

 Canada Suicide Prevention Service (CSPS)

enables callers anywhere in Canada to access crisis support by phone, in French or English: toll-free 1-833-456-4566 Available 24/7  

Comments are moderated, which means they won't show up until we get a chance to review them. Canada's Magic reserves the right to refuse to publish any comment we don't feel is appropriate for this project.




--
* From Wikipedia: Post Secret is an ongoing community mail art project, created by Frank Warren in 2005, in which people mail their secrets anonymously on a homemade postcard. Selected secrets are then posted on the Post Secret website, or used for Post Secret's books or museum exhibits.

Magicians Talking Magic with Ryan Joyce and Graeme Reed

Ryan and Graeme have been super productive since quarantine began.  Have a look and a listen to the podcasts (including an interview with Chris Pilsworth) they've recorded since early March:

• #34 - How to Structure a 15-minute magic/mentalism set
• #35 - Magicians Coronavirus Impact
• #36 - Coronavirus Stay Home Part I: “Why Magicians Must Write More”
• #37 - Coronavirus Stay Home Part II: “Guide to Content Creation”
• #38 - Coronavirus Stay Home Part III: “Essential Website Checklist 2020”
• #39 - Coronavirus Stay Home Part IV: "Side Hustle! Ideas in the Era of Livestreaming”
• #40 - Coronavirus Stay Home Part V: "Scripting, Research & Developing A Show”
• #41 - Coronavirus Stay Home Part VI: "Social Media: YouTube & TiK Tok”
• #42 - Comedy Writing & Tips for Better Jokes
• #43 - MAGICIAN FLASHBACK: Ten Influential Moments from the Golden-Age of Magic
• #44 - Beginning a Five-Part "Reinventing Yourself in 2020" Series
• #45 - 6 Stay Home Productivity Tips for Magicians | Reinvent Yourself Part I
• #46 - We CREEPED 16 Magician Websites! Here’s what we discovered...
• #47 - (Interview) Ryan Kane, Magician & Author, "Out of Stock: A Magician’s Guide to Writing Your Own Lines"
• #48 - Landing Pages: The most important page on your website
• #49 - (Interview) Chris Pilsworth "Creating Magic"
• #50 - Why entertainers need to up their graphics game
• #51 - (Interview) Magician Joel Meyers
• #52 - Virtual Shows! How Entertainers Survive & 10 Things We Didn’t Expect!
• #53 - Josh Janousky Magician, Animator "Creating Visual Magic"

David Ben and Julie Eng in "College Of Magic's Anniversary Show" (June 27)

From the June 11 article "Taylor, Koch And Moosa To Host Magicians From Around The World For College Of Magic's 40th Anniversary Show" by BWW News Desk in Broadway World:

South Africa's top comedians and proud graduates of the College of Magic, Stuart Taylor, Conrad Koch and Riaad Moosa will host the Stars of Magic show, presented in association with Web Shows (PTY) Ltd and featuring a star studded line-up of international and local magicians.

Audiences will be able to experience the magic virtually via a special streaming link. All proceeds raised from the Stars of Magic show will be used for the College of Magic's various outreach programmes.

Taylor, Koch and Moosa will be hosting live from the College of Magic in Cape Town, South Africa with special guests streaming in from around the globe, including:

• David Ben
• Julie Eng
• Chris Capehart
• Olwethu Dyantyi
• Guy Hollingworth
• Larry Soffer
• Ran'D Shine and
• R. Paul Wilson

Read more.