London: Keith Brown and Friends (Graemazing and Paul Hutcheson) [Mar 16]

Tickets at Eventbrite.

 

Learn more about Graeme at GraemeReedMagic.com, Paul at canuckhutch.com, and Keith at instagram.com/keithhbrown.

 

From the February 13th Facebook post by Keith Brown:

Buy tickets today (Tues) or tomorrow (Wed) to be entered into a draw for $50 Downtown Dollars!

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to our personal sponsors for February 2024!

A quick reminder of our earlier Mail as Medicine request for Katie Hunt.  If you have the time, Katie and Doug would both benefit from hearing from their friends!

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Thank you to John Harrison, Richard Lyn, Joan Caesar, Ian Crawford, Matt DiSero, Doug Hunt, John Smithman, Robin Dawes, Loran, Peter Mennie, George Blott, Noah Nogueira, Aaron Matthews, Colin Geddes, Cam Dix, Ian Batterbury, and Eric Bedard for being Friends of Canada's Magic!

It's good to have friends like you.

You too can Be Our Friend for only $20 per year! 

Donations of any size are always welcome.

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Toronto: Kendrick “Ice” McDonald Workshop [Feb 16] (and reminder of Feb 15 film screening)

Details for the film screening with ICE at the bottom of this post.

 

From the February 11th post at the Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club Facebook group:

Kendrick “Ice” McDonald Workshop
Friday February 16
Browsers Den 

Learn from a true master with a passion for perfection who has earned an international reputation for excellence.   He has done it all, illusions, trade shows, closeup.  He’s been seen on most major US networks.

Ice’s workshop will focus on trade show work, parlour, close up magic and more.  
Members $75, guests $100. To secure your spot, message Ian Crawford.

“When ICE takes center stage, he displays a patent passion for perfection.”
Lee Earle, World Class Mentalist

�“It’s not often I write reviews on magic lectures but just lately the standard has been so high that I have felt compelled to put pen to paper… Ice set the tone for the evening by stating that this was a lecture designed for magicians who are serious about their art. Which it was but put over in a fun and entertaining way. In fact it’s hard to do justice as to how good a lecture this was or be able to mention all of the subjects covered…”
UK Guild of Magicians

Read more.

 

 

From the IBM Ring 17 website:

When: Thursday February 15th
Tickets: Free for members and $10 guests
Where: Agricola Lutheran Church - 25 Old York Mills Road

In celebration of Black History Month, we proudly presents the Toronto Premiere of "The Quiet Masters - The History and Relevance of the Black Magical Artist." The director of the film, acclaimed magician Kenrick McDonald will be with us LIVE to host this exclusive event.

 Read more and buy tickets.

 

 

 

 

A peek behind the curtain with Richard Young [2023]*

This is the sixth and last in a series of interviews leading up to the Champions of Magic Worldwide Wonder Tour dates in Western Canada:

• Lethbridge, Enmax Centre  [Mar 16]
• Regina, Conexus Arts Centre  [Mar 17] 
• Winnipeg, Centennial Concert Hall  [Mar 18]
  
• Saskatoon, TCU Place  [Mar 19]
• Lloydminster, Vic Juba Theatre [Mar 20]
  
• Edmonton, Festival Place  [Mar 22 - Apr 6]   
• Prince George, CN Centre  [Apr 7] 
• Vancouver, Great Canadian Casino [Apr 8]  

Check the Champions of Magic website for updates.

 

* Regular readers of the blog may know that there's typically an elapsed time of weeks to months between us completing an interview and having it published.  Case in point.  Due in part to our densely packed December content calendar, we've held Richard's interview (which belongs to our 2023 series of Champions cast interviews that started last October) until now, ahead the Western Canada leg of their tour. 

Read our thoughts about their 2023 show in Toronto:

TLDR: So. Much. Fun!

Random thoughts about "Champions of Magic" 

 

In addition to Champions of Magic you may also know Richard Young through: 

• his weekly podcast What's Going On? which is part of the Magicians' Podcast Network (Apple Podcasts link),
• his manufacture and selling Bob Swadling's "Swadling Magic Changing Card?" at Changing Cards, and
  
•  Young and Strange's show, Delusionists.
  

We're delighted to interview Richard ahead of his Western Canadian Champions of Magic Worldwide Wonder Tour dates!

Do you remember the specific moment when you knew you could or wanted to perform magic full time?

September 17th 1995 when I saw David Copperfield’s show in Birmingham in the U.K. My Dad often tells the story that on the drive home that night I asked him if it would be at all possible for me to do something like that as a job when I grew up.

 

 

 

 

 

Have you studied anything magic-adjacent (eg. theatre, voice, musical instrument, acting, dance, art, movement, or photography)? 

I haven’t and I really wish I had. If I was to give any younger magician some advice it would be to go and learn all this stuff. It seems like a lot of fun and would have helped me so much over the years.

 

 

Richard Young listening to Sam Strange

 

 

 

 

 

After seeing a recent Champions performance in Toronto, one of our readers thought they spotted a small but meaningful detail in the show, that you may have included as an homage to David Copperfield.  Is this an intentional 'Easter egg'?

I was thrilled someone spotted it. Absolutely. It’s supposed to showcase that I’m living my childhood dream in his shows following my tribute to him 15 minutes earlier.
 

 

 

 

The Champions show order changes from time to time, based on the constraints of the venue and the health of the performers.  We imagine that sometimes muscle memory reverts to the show order you do most often.   How do you and the rest of the cast and crew remind yourselves of set deviations?

In 2021 we were developing a lot of new material and the show was changing almost every night. It was stressful and frankly impossible to stay on top of. We have stage prompts printed on the stage floor and other similar techniques. I remember there was one night where I got the show order wrong, it happened to be on a night when there was no sound relay backstage and as I walked towards the stage I saw a scene playing out on the stage I was supposed to be in, without me in it!  

 

 

What's your go-to time filler if the crew needs you to stall for more time than "hands"⁺⁺ provides?

We really do just have ‘hands’ to save some time. Anything needing more than that will be a show stop. We have only had a few of those over the years. Although it’s nice if you can fill a mistake or buy some time without the audiences noticing, a show stop is nothing to be embarrassed about, I’ve seen West End shows in London with show stops and as an audience member you appreciate they are stopping because they want you to see the best possible show rather than some sort of bodge job attempt to wrangle through. If you do hundreds of shows, there’s no way to avoid it. Eventually you’ll need to stop and restart.    

⁺⁺ To learn more about "hands" have a listen to Episode 127 of Through the Magic of Television with host Alex McAleer, on Magicians' Podcast Network (Apple Podcasts link).

 

 

 

Richard Young, Champion of Magic

 

Do you have any guilty pleasures while on tour?

When we are touring I really miss British chocolate but honestly it’s probably good I can’t access it, keeping weight off while touring I find basically impossible. I don’t watch things, I tend to just find my head is completely immersed in what we are doing.

One imagines that it’s sometimes hard to leave the comforts of your home for a lengthy tour.  Do you bring a special something from home with you? 

I do indeed have a little mascot who travels with me. He’s a stuffed toy raccoon called Rufus, my girlfriend bought him for me when we visited a national park in Tucson, Arizona together. Unfortunately Rufus accidentally forgot to get inside my suitcase when I left a hotel in Los Angeles and despite many phone calls to the hotel after I left, he was not found. I however managed to find him for sale on a website and quickly had him sent to me by FedEx hoping my girlfriend would not notice he wasn’t exactly the same Rufus. She didn’t but eventually my conscious made me tell her the truth that Rufus is in fact now Rufus 2.0. 

 

 

Rufus 2.0

 

 

Every performer has experienced some level of post-show blues.  Post-tour blues, we expect, are on a whole different level.  Do you have any tips for touring entertainers with respect to re-entering one’s non-touring life, after an extended time away from home?

It’s so so hard. Coming off the road and re-adjusting to a much slower pace of life for me personally takes quite a long time. When we finished after a 9 month solid tour in May 2023 I truly was burnt out and needed a break, but honestly that’s the first time I have ever felt like that. Usually I am sad when we finish and do worry a little about how I’m going to re-adjust. I have however learnt how to take care of myself. I immediately get my head into other work. I don’t take time off, I tend to actually have a lot of new energy I can place into podcasts or some other kind of creativity. The fact is for many of us this is the biggest part of our lives and so although sleep, no airports and less stress is welcome, life does feel a little empty when away from the road. I truly believe 1 year of touring is the equivalent life experiences to about 20 years of life for a normal person in terms to fun, emotional ups and downs and pure experiences.  

 

 

 

Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers of Canada’s Magic?

We're really looking forward to sharing our show with your readers in Western Canada.  

Thank you Richard, for making the time to answer our questions!

 

Learn more about Richard at RichardYoungMagic.com and check out his podcast at the Magicians' Podcast Network (Apple Podcasts link), and learn more about Bob Swadling's "Swadling Magic Changing Card" at Changing Cards.

 

 

 

  Champions of Magic  

Catch Richard in Champions of Magic touring in Western Canada this spring:

• Lethbridge, Enmax Centre  [Mar 16]
• Regina, Conexus Arts Centre  [Mar 17] 
• Winnipeg, Centennial Concert Hall  [Mar 18]
  
• Saskatoon, TCU Place  [Mar 19]
  
• Edmonton, Festival Place  [Mar 22 - Apr 6]   
• Prince George, CN Centre  [Apr 7] 
• Vancouver, Great Canadian Casino [Apr 8]  

    Check the Champions of Magic website for updates.

 

Read our 2023 interviews with:

• Alex McAleer
• Michelle Mazzarella
• Hollie England 
• Sam Strange 
  
• Fernando Velasco   
  

 
Learn more about Champions of Magic at ChampionsOfMagic.co.uk and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

 

 

 

London: OEV Palace of Wonders [Feb 16, Mar 22, and Apr 19]

From the Palace Theatre website:

Presented by the Old East Village BIA, Palace Theatre Arts Commons and The London Magicians’ Guild
OEV PALACE OF WONDERS!
The London Magicians’ Guild 2024 Spring Cabaret Series

Experience three mesmerizing shows of adult-contemporary magic at our OEV PALACE OF WONDERS events! Each salon will feature a different lineup of talented local performers from the London Magicians’ Guild, resulting in a captivating blend of unique styles and mind-bending illusions. No two shows will be alike!


Prepare to be astounded as both professional magicians, and highly-skilled magic enthusiasts, showcase their awe-inspiring tricks and illusions, taking you on a wondrous journey into the realm of sophisticated, adult-contemporary magic.

Three evenings of wonder and enchantment that will leave you spellbound! Our first two performance dates will be close-up and personal, in the intimate surroundings of Procunier Hall, with our larger finale, “Le Grand Spectacle”, taking place on the Palace Main Stage, wrapped in the nostalgic surroundings of our period 1923 movie house.

Don't miss out on the extraordinary, OEV PALACE OF WONDERS! 

Presented by the Old East Village BIA, The Palace Theatre Arts Commons, and The London Magicians’ Guild.
 
Feb 16, 2024
FEATURING: STEVE OZ, ANDREW OLMSTEAD, LEONARDO MARTINS, KEITH O’BRIEN

Mar 22, 2024
FEATURING: ANDREW OLMSTEAD, MARK THE REMARKABLE, CAPTAIN CORBIN, RYAN JOYCE, PETER MENNIE: THAT MAGIC GUY

April 19, 2024
FEATURING: AMAZING CORBIN, SCOTT THE MAGICAL GUY, DAD MAGIC, MARK STRANGE, BYRON BERRY

Read more and buy tickets.

From the January 24th Facebook post by Scott Hood:

Looking forward to performing on this bill with such talented magicians.

 

 

 

 

 

ICYMI: The CAM Creators' Contest is back! (and Feb updates from CAM)

From the CAM website:

Here are a few important details.

• The contest is open all of February!
• Open to magicians WORLDWIDE!
• You DON'T need to be a CAM Member.
• Earn industry standard rates!

 

From the February 4th Facebook post by the Canadian Association of Magicians:

CAM Creators Contest is back!  
Calling all innovators of illusion and masters of magic!  Click the link to find out more. 

 

 

 

From the February 5th Facebook post by the Canadian Association of Magicians:

5 updates you’ll want in on!

 

 

 

Thank you to our February 2024 sponsors!

Thank you to our sponsors for their generous support. 

This site would not be possible without their backing.

We're grateful to have the support of:

• Clive Court - Life Member, Canadian Public Relations Society,
• Jeff Pinsky, owner of The Browser's Den of Magic,
• Michael Close, author of the new Paradigm Shift ebooks, the Workers series and others,
• Ryan Joyce's "Magician Masterclass" and the "OWOW Magic Festival,"
• Toronto's IBM Ring 17, the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club, and
• The Hermit Magazine by Scott Baird!
  

The next time you see them, let them know you saw their sponsorship here!

 

Magician Masterclass

OWOW Magic Festival 

 

 

 

Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club 

 

 

 

For more information about purchasing Sponsored Posts or about our Platinum, Gold, or Silver level sponsorships, please visit our Sponsorship page.

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