Recap (click to show | hide)
From
Part 1
of the series:
In lieu of a physical reunion bringing together past campers and staff,
Canada’s Magic is hosting a virtual reunion of sorts. We’ve reached
out to the Sorcerers Safari community with a dozen or so questions to help
bring us up to date on what everyone has been up to since our magic camp
days.
If you completed our survey, keep your eyes peeled for your segment!
https://forms.gle/umg77yj9QxUzfpm76
Mike, Jen, Sorcerers Safari staff, and alumni, this series is for you.
Part 4 features: an in depth look with
Keith Brown . [Catch Keith at the Edmonton Fringe, Aug 17 - 27.]
Keith Brown
Professional magician, AbsoluteMagic.ca Attended camp as:
a camper (2006 - 2007), counsellor in training (CIT) (2008 - 2009), and
counsellor (2010 - 2013).
Did a local London TV spot and with a trick he learned at magic camp.
(He used this opportunity to also promote Sorcerers Safari. Once
done, while getting lunch, he opened Facebook and the first post he saw
was the announcement about closing camp.)
Graduated university with a double major in Dramatic Arts and
Communications, Media & Film.
Gave a
TEDx Talk on the Magic of Thinking
VIDEO
Toured every year since graduating. Participated in 40+ festivals around
the world.
At Fringe Festivals Keith often receives honour such as Producer's Pick,
People's Choice, Critic's Choice, and Best of Fest.
Performed for:
the President & First Lady of Iceland,
Dave Grohl, and
Joe Thornton (NHL).
One of his greatest accomplishments is the community he has built, and the
people that he has gotten to know by going on tour.
The story of Keith and Hendrix at the Orlando Fringe:
I am a working professional magician. I get to travel the world and
give people extraordinary moments that they hopefully will remember
for the rest of their life. As great as getting a nice paycheck is, to
me it's going back to cities year after year and reconnecting with
people I have met over the years. They get to see me grow as an artist
and I get to see them grow as human beings.
One of my favourite things that I can't quantify is a little boy named
Hendrix who comes to my show every year with his grandma in Orlando.
The first year he was helping me on stage during my needle routine
that put me in the hospital. I asked the audience if they wanted to go
big or go bigger. The audience screamed BIGGER! You could see the
blood in their eyes. This little boy in a quiet whisper said
"smaller". I said excuse me and he repeated himself. He told me that
he didn't want to see me go back to the hospital. He melted the hearts
of the entire audience. I got down on one knee and pinky promised him
I wasn't going to go back. Mostly because I wasn't insured in the
states and couldn't afford it.
It was my second show of my run that year and it was one of the best
moments on stage. My heart was full. I didn't care if I didn't sell
another ticket. I did what I came here to do. I connected with my
audience.
That year or the next one, he invited me to a pizza party at his
grandma's house. How could I possibly say no? I was invited along with
his other favourite performers. I got in the van and drove to his
grandma's. There were jugglers and storytellers from his favourite
shows. We ate pizza and talked. At one point he disappeared. He came
back in a full tuxedo and proceeded to show me card tricks he had
learnt. I realized he was doing his Keith Brown impression for Keith
Brown.
I never knew that I could impact someone so much by doing what I do. I
had to leave the pizza party early because I had a show that night. I
got in the van and I cried. I was this little kid's role model and
hero.
[May 2023] This is my first time in Orlando since 2016. Sure
enough opening night Hendrix and his grandma showed up. He's 14 years
old now. He's taller than me. He's writing an animated TV show.
In his own words:
All of them [my accomplishments] are because of, or were made
easier by, my time at Sorcerers Safari!
I am beyond grateful for camp.
Camp made me a better magician, but it also made me a better human.
I got to meet incredible friends, colleagues and mentors.
People that help build my skills and my confidence.
People who believe in me and gave me guidance.
I can say with absolute certainty that I wouldn't be where I am today
without magic camp.
I would be a fraction of the magician and the person I am.
My life is infinitely better because of magic Sorcerers Safari.
I will always be eternally grateful and forever indebted to Mike &
Jen for the wonderful place they created and the community they
fostered. [emphasis added]
Favourite Sorcerers Safari memory?
Omg there's so many.
[Michael] Ammar doing Card to Sky.
The late night cabin sessions. Especially when special guests or the
heavy hitters would pop by.
Tyler Wilson doing the LONGEST ACAAN.
Tyler Wilson & Jeff Hinchliffe playing Eminem's Infinite as time
misdirection and it ending with Tyler ripping his shirt open and he had
shaved his chest into a 7 of Diamonds.
The Bagel/Nair game.
Fridgebox racing
How I discovered Scott Hammell was on Ripley's.
I remember Jason England and Michael Weber coming one year. Jason
England did a bunch of gambling demos I had never seen before. Then
Weber came in for the kill. I walked all the way from the mess hall to
my cabin, without realizing how I got there, because I was so
astonished. It was a trick I thought about for years. It took me 2-3
years to figure out how it was done and it was a method I was familiar
with at the time. I just didn't realize he was using it because he's so
damn good.
I always liked swim time at camp because it meant you got to have one on
one time with the pros while everyone else swam. Having access to the
people that wrote the books, that make a living doing the thing, was
priceless.
I got poked fun of my first year for having bridge cards. Why couldn't I
use poker sized cards like an adult? At one of the evening shows, I told
Aaron Fisher that I had something to show him in the mess hall for late
night snack. He asked me to show him then and there. I said he had to
wait. When everyone got to the mess hall and had their snacks. He asked
me again. I took out my bridge cards and sprung them into the garbage. I
took out poker sized cards. He gave me a good hug and started calling me
Keith "LePaul" Brown. (The cover of the LePaul book has him springing
cards in an impossible fashion.) It was like my BarMitzvah of magic.
The following year I was in a performance workshop being hosted by Lee
Asher. Lee was giving campers any topic and they had to talk for 1-2
minutes on the subject. We were focusing on developing presentation
skills. A handful of campers went and Lee was giving them random
things to talk about, usually boring everyday things. It was my turn.
Lee smiled and said "bridge cards.” Immediately I jumped into a sermon
about how bridge cards were the devil! They were no good and rotten.
No real magician would ever be caught dead with them in their hands.
There was a year that late one night Jason Dean took me aside near some
cabins for staff and special guests. He showed me all the tricks he had
been working on since I saw him last year. Incredible card tricks. Then
he taught them to me. At the end, he saved the best for last. He showed
me a Which Hand routine I had never seen before. Each time became more
impressive than the last. No matter what decision I made he knew EXACTLY
what I did. I realized I hadn't been fooled this badly in YEARS. I
didn't even have a clue of where to begin. It was the one trick he
didn't teach me. It was so nice to experience that moment of wonder so
profoundly and deeply, that I told him that if he ever did want to show
me how that trick was done, was to wait ten years. To give me time to
revel in the moment. To enjoy the mystery and wonder how it was done.
About five years later, I was in Vegas and I saw Paul Vigil do a very
similar routine with a very similar prop. A light bulb went off and I
did some digging. I found the answer on my own accord. I reached out
to Jason to see if my theory was correct. It was nice to catch up with
him and reminisce about the moment he gave me all those years ago at
camp.
In the first couple of days during my first year at camp I saw Jason
Dean perform a trick I had never seen before. A playing card sticking
out of the deck slowly melted through the deck, deeper and deeper. It
stopped and found my chosen playing card. He told me that the trick was
called Deadliest of the Male . If I wanted to learn it I would
have to ask the creator myself.
I found Lee and asked him. He gave me some elusive answer. At the end
of the week Lee hosted a Pulp Friction workshop. He taught us
the move and all the different applications. One of them was
Deadliest of the Male . I remember being so engrossed in what I
was learning I was completely mind-blown. I remember sitting on a
couch with Amazing Dan. We both looked up at each other at one point
and we had the same look on our faces. We were in awe. We had just
learnt a GAME CHANGER. I didn't even know this was possible with a
deck of cards.
I learnt that trick when I was 13 years old. It's still one of my
favourite and something I perform all of the time.
Before magic camp, I had only participated day camps. I had never gone
to sleep over camp before. My parents drove me to to the bus pick up at
Yorkdale mall. There was a small gathering of magicians from all over. I
remember my dad saying "hey that's Chad Juros" I had just seen him on an
episode of Criss Angel's tv show and I couldn't believe he was a fellow
camper. Amazing Dan checked me on to the bus. There were all of these
kids reconnecting with their friends. That bus ride was awesome. The
excitement to go to camp was palpable. The magic started immediately. It
was 3+ hours of card tricks the entire way to the camp ground. I already
had friends by the time we made it to camp. Taking the bus to and from
camp became one of my favourite parts in years to come. It was the first
time we had seen each other since last year. Everyone was READY for camp
and it made one of the best jam sessions ever and camp hadn't even
technically started yet. The bus home was also the LAST jam session we
had together until the following year.
One of the things I love most about camp, is that it didn't matter how
long it had been since you saw someone, the moment you did it was as if
the other 51 weeks of the years didn't exist. Our friendships picked up
immediately where we left them. It didn't matter if you had been away
for years. We were always warmly welcomed back to camp.
I got in trouble my very first day at magic camp. I was the only card
magician in my cabin. There were stage magicians and jugglers. Card
tricks felt like an afterthought to them. The cabin beside mine was
FILLED with card magicians and their special guest bunking with them was
Sean Fields. I became a regular at my neighbouring cabin because there
was always card magic happening. The very first night I was there in an
awesome jam session. The head counsellor paid a visit and found out I
was not in my cabin and that I had to go back to my cabin. I told her
none of the kids in my cabin did cards tricks. She didn't care. I told
her my counsellor knew where I was. She didn't care. She told me to stop
doing magic and go back to my cabin. Stop doing magic at magic camp? I
couldn't believe it. I came here to learn and do magic and I was being
told to stop on the very first day. I packed up my cards and went back
to my cabin and started hatching a plan.
The very next day I started asking my counsellor, Marc Chalmers, when
and where I had to be next? We made a deal that I would always be
where I needed to when I needed to so that he didn't get in trouble or
that he had to go searching for me. In return I got free-reign to do
whatever I wanted in the mean time, which was as much card magic and I
could possibly squeeze in before I had to show up for lunch time or
the late night show.
I really appreciated Marc for doing that for me.
Before magic camp, I didn't have many interactions with other magicians.
I didn't really have anyone to compare myself to. I remember going to my
first ever card class at camp. It was hosted by David Mitchell. The
class started with everyone doing a trick so that Dave could assess our
skills and see where we were at. I performed a trick I had recently
learnt off of Ray Kosby's VHS, Ray's Rise . I don't even think I
was finished before Dave said "oh you're advanced, you'll be reassigned
tomorrow". No one had ever told me that before. I was just learning as
much as I possibly could at the time. No one told me the books or videos
I was watching were hard. I just thought it was what you were supposed
to learn. The next day I got moved to the Advanced Card class that was
being taught by Aaron Fisher.
Aaron became my first serious card mentor. He always answered my
questions. He always gave me homework for after camp. Books to read or
things to explore. One thing I always remember about camp is seeing a
specific trick from a working pro and asking to learn how it was done.
Sometimes they would teach you on the spot. But more often than not they
would ask you what you were working on. You'd show them a trick and then
they'd give you this nugget of gold, something that would propel you
forward. They had spent their life working on these things and why would
they just give you the keys to the kingdom? You had to earn it. You had
to show them you were serious enough. That you respected the craft. In
showing them what you were working on they got a good sense of where you
were at and where you needed to go.
It was always great reconnecting the following year because you could
show your mentors and your idols all of the things that you learnt
during the year. You could show them hey I did do the homework you gave
me, I found that book, here's what I learnt. Then they'd give you more
homework and send you on your way.
One of my favourite times was the process of learning the
Gravity Half Pass . It was struggling with the move at camp. I
kept using my hands rather than let gravity do the work for me. I went
home and practiced and practiced until it finally started to click.
The following year at camp, it was near the end of the week, I showed
Fisher my half pass. He was like a proud father. He asked me why I
didn't show him sooner. It immediately proclaimed me as gravity half
pass certified which he signed and dated on a set of lecture notes. I
could do and teach the move.
I loved that camp had shows every night that were filled with
professional magicians. To see them showcase their talents was a lesson
in and of itself.
The camper show at the end of the week where the campers got two minutes
to showcase a trick that maybe they learnt during the week at camp, or
had spent all year honing was an incredible opportunity. Every time I
got on the Pinetages [Theatre] stage at camp I always felt
welcomed and supported by my fellow campers, staff, mentors and
community. It was really the best place to workshop and develop your
skills because every person in the room was rooting for you.
I remember in particular another camper named M getting on stage. His
card trick didn't work. There was an audible "ahh " from the
audience. He was flustered and a bit embarrassed, but instead of
quitting, he tried again. The second time around the trick worked.
Everyone applauded and cheered loudly. He left the stage with a proud
smile on his face. To see your friend stare failure in the face, try
again and triumphantly succeed was awesome. I always admire M for his
courage that night.
The access to high level talent was unparalleled.
I remember a round table discussion that Shawn Farquhar was a part
of.
[Editor's note: Shawn told the story from early in his career,
about his experience with hecklers and apartment fires.]
This entire story made Shawn rethink his persona on stage and tried to
eliminate the adversarial relationship many magicians have with an
audience. He wanted to be so nice on stage that if anyone did heckle
him, everyone else would know the heckler was the a$$hole.
Hearing this story as a young teenager made me re-examine my persona
on stage and adopt a similar one to Shawn. Be so nice that they want
to help you and they never heckle. At any point on audience member can
just say no magic boy that's not my card if they aren't on your side.
Being so nice has helped me countless times in my career winning over
audiences by approaching it with love and good intentions. Because
magicians need audiences. We can practice as much as we want but we
need a willing audience because the magic happens in their minds. We
know how the tricks work and we can't fool ourselves. We need an
audience to live vicariously through them so that we get a glimmer of
that moment of wonder that got us into magic in the first place.
Biggest take-away from Sorcerers Safari?
All of it.
One of my biggest take aways in the tangible sense of community and
camaraderie. We all decided the gather in the woods in northern Ontario,
year after year, because we love this thing so much. We got to share
that love with other people who loved it as well. We were able to foster
our love and talents with each other and get better every year.
Camp friends and friends for life. It doesn't matter how much time
passed, we always picked up right where we left off.
Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp as the closest thing to
Hogwarts because it was. It was a magical place that has given me
friends and profound education in magic.
What I've written so far is me just scratching the surface. I haven't
even told you about the late nights around the camp fires telling jokes.
Or the notebooks I have from every year at camp that I still have to this
day. They're some of my most prized possessions as they a time capsule
filled with magic. I took more notes in those books than I would in an
entire semester of school.
Camp gave me access to a lot of incredible people that were willing to
answer my questions and give me guidance.
Sorcerers Safari enriched my life with friends and skills. It
fostered my talent and helped me become the person I am today. It
allowed me to pursue my passion with like minded people. It gave me
the career I have today.
I will always remember Sorcerers Safari fondly and would do ANYTHING
for one more year at camp.
Thank you Keith, for sharing your fantastically detailed memories!
[Catch Keith at the Edmonton Fringe, Aug 17 - 27.]
Check back throughout the month to read updates from other Sorcerers Safari
alumni and staff!
Previously featured
Learn more about
Sorcerers Safari .
part 1
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part 4
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part 5
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part 6
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part 7
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part 8
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part 9
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part 10
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part 11 | part 12
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