Dan Trommater: Quantum Pie

From Quantum Pie:

Quantum physicist Krister Shalm and magician Dan Trommater team up to show how similar the worlds of Harry Potter and quantum physics really are. From invisibility cloaks to powerful computers Krister and Dan introduce some of the revolutionary future quantum technologies being developed; technologies that will bring us closer to some of the magic of Harry Potter.
 
Read more.

Watch the video of the educational event filmed in Waterloo, Ontario, on July 14 and 15, 2011.

Mosquitoes Suck with Matt DiSero and David Peck

From Babble On Communications:

Malaria is no laughing matter but comedian Matt Disero (who opens for Drew Carey and Jerry Seinfeld) and David Peck, the founder of So Change, a social justice organization, know that if you don’t engage your audience, you might as well be laughing alone.
 
So they created Mosquitoes Suck, a fast-paced, laugh-packed, high-energy school show about Malaria coming to Ontario schools in the coming months and later across Canada. The show is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and is produced in partnership with Spread the Net founders Belinda Stronach of the Belinda Stronach Foundation and comedian Rick Mercer.

Read more.

Watch a promo video:


MST intro part 2 from MosquitoesSuckTour on Vimeo.

Lee Asher: Promo video for trip to China in March

Chris Mayhew and folks at the Classic Force put this video together, promoting Lee Asher's upcoming tour of China.




Bon voyage Lee!

Rounding the Western rings in March

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

City	Club	Event(s)
Calgary, AB	Ring 66 (Calgary Magic Circle, Les Brocklesby Ring)	- N/A
Edmonton, AB	Edmonton Magic Club	- N/A
Winnipeg, MB	The Magic Club of Winnipeg	- N/A
Vancouver, BC	Ring 92 (Vancouver Magic Circle)	- N/A
Victoria, BC	Ring 183 (Victoria Magic Circle)	- meeting and round table

 
Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Rounding the Ontario rings in March

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

Hamilton, ON	Ring 49 (The Doug Henning Magic Wand Club)	- Ring exchange to and from Buffalo Ring 12
London, ON	Ring 265 (London Magician's Guild)	- Doug Hunt lecture
Kitchener, ON	Ring 235 (The Caesar Hat & Wand Magic Circle)	- Kid Show Favourites
Ottawa, ON	Ring 151 (Ottawa Society of Magicians)	- Stand-up Magic - Charity Show:  Rehabilitation Hospital Show
Ottawa, ON	Ottawa / Gatineau magicians	- N/A
Toronto, ON	Ring 17 (Sid Lorraine Hat and Rabbit Club)	- Morrissey's Magic Shop
Woodstock, ON	CAM 1 (Friendly City Mystics)	- N/A

 
Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Rounding the Eastern rings in March

Confirm details about dates and locations by visiting each club's website.

Halifax, NS

Ring 316 (Conjourer's Court)

- TBA

 

Please leave a comment or e-mail me about corrections or omissions.

Richard Forget at Blackpool

From The Stage Reviews:

Magic from the USA and Canada comprised the second gala show and emceed by Jimmy Tamley. Appearing were Danny Cole with a modern comedy dress change act, Dirk Losander who blew soap bubbles, made a handkerchief dance and floated a table, Andost produced coloured light bulbs at his fingertips, and Chris Hart had a scarf penetrate his neck, and did the floating hand.

Charlie Frye & Co breathtakingly combined juggling, comedy and magic that had the audience gasping. Then there were The Evasons in a very fast mind-reading double act, Richard Forget had flames that floated and danced, produced drumsticks and a set of drums, and finally a girl from a telephone box that had formed part of the stage setting.

Read more.

More from Matt about Ron Leonard

Another comment from Matt DiSero, on the post Remembering Ron Leonard:

I just found a old VHS tape of a hat and rabbit club show I was on with Ron from 1996... he was the emcee. Black Tux, Red cummerbund. White Hair. It was later in his life...but he was still great. He did the production of the oranges and lots of great emcee bits. Man he's fun to watch. I miss him. Jeff Pinsky is right...he was an amazing business man... I STILL to this day, every day, use bits of professional advice he gave me.

He had an older style of performing, but people loved him. 

What stuck me most after watching this video was, that most of the acts on the show were younger " up and coming" acts... the new guys... all slick with their tricks and style of performing....but when you really watch the tape, you could see the audience still liked Ron best. Man he was funny. A zillion one liners... Just goes to show ya... no substitute for a solid, worked in act.

For me, Ron embodied something you don't see much of anymore. A guy who liked to PERFORM. Not just come up with tricks and moves to sell...but he liked his act. He impressed upon me the importance of always working on it, and always loving to perform. Its good advice. You don't hear it much anymore.... I wonder what Ron, or Herb Morrisey, or Len Cooper would think of the state of acts of late?

Grand Forks: Murray Hatfield and Theresa in an “Incredible Evening of Magic”

From the Grand Forks Gazette:

Magic! That’s family entertainment – spellbinding, heart-throbbing-in-the-throat suspense, uproarious laughter and brilliant surprises as the Boundary District Arts Council presents its grand finale of the 2011-2012 Performance Series with Murray Hatfield and Theresa in an “Incredible Evening of Magic”.

On Thursday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m., the Grand Forks Secondary School Auditorium will transform into a world of jaw-dropping illusion.

Read more.

Toronto: Magic camp open house at Browser's Den

From The Browser's Den:

OPEN HOUSE AT Browser’s Den of Magic FOR ‘SORCERERS SAFARI MAGIC CAMP’
 
Saturday, April 14/2012 at Noon
Free to Attend! 

Dear Magic Friend,

Come to meet the campers and staff of Sorcerers Safari and enjoy the MANY MAGICAL EVENTS planned throughout the day!

THE OPEN HOUSE THIS YEAR WILL FEATURE…

A MAGIC PERFORMANCE (With a Very Special Surprise Guest!) * Unveiling New Summer Video * Exciting Upcoming Plans * Special Guests Booked for Camp * Door Prizes & More * Coffee, Cookies, Snacks. 

Read more and view the schedule events.

James Randi: An Honest Liar - A Documentary in Production

From An Honest Liar:

An Honest Liar profiles the life of famed magician turned professional skeptic James “The Amazing” Randi as he embarks on a series of public crusades to expose America’s beloved psychics, mentalists, preachers, and faith healers with religious fervor. Along the way, the film will show how easily our perceptions can be fooled – by magicians, con artists, and even documentaries.

Watch the work-in-progress trailer:



An Honest Liar - Work-in-Progress trailer from Justin Weinstein on Vimeo.

[h/t: iTricks]

Shawn Farquhar: Sleight-ly perplexing

From the Chilliwack Times:

No sooner has the fourth-generation magician, who performs at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre next week, shaken your hand than he will launch into a seamless stream of funny quips, quotations and anecdotes-all while getting you to pick a card or stick your finger into a tiny guillotine.

Read more.

 The piece also states that young Hannah will be "premiering a new piece on her own."  How exciting!

Buffalo: Matt DiSero at Rob's Comedy Playhouse

From Rob's Comedy Playhouse:

Special Events:  Magician Matt DiSero
Straight from the Trump Plaza Casino
February 25th

Read more.

Montréal: Bob Fitch workshop

From Montreal Magic Jam:

Bob Fitch
PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP
When: Feb 25, 2012, 1pm – 5pm
Where: MainLine Theatre
3997 Boul St-Laurent
Read more.

[h/t: MagicInfo.ca]

[Guest post]: Remembering Sam Cramer

I am grateful to Phil Matlin and all of his input to the creation of the Broken Wands page. In the absence of a proper tribute page, Phil offers some memories of Sam Cramer, from Montréal:

One of the names I gave you was Sam Cramer. Although I am not sure I believe he had the first magic shop in Montreal. My first visit to his store was in 1947. I was 10. For about 2 or 3 months he sold me what I wanted (i.e. what he demonstrated) and then one day he wouldn't sell me another trick until I bought books. He set me up with a plan that if I gave him $3.00 every 2 weeks he would give a volume of the Tarbell course. I eventually got all 5 (that's how many there were then). The price of each volume was $6.00. When he retired, his brother-in-law Alex Chervin took over the store and kept it. Had to move a few times and finally closed it up when the city expropriated the land they were on. Alex's main interest was stamp collecting but he also was a wonderful magician. Alex is still around. I spoke to him a few months ago. He is still living by himself, (his wife died close to ten years ago), and confided in me that he was 94 years old. Between Sam and Alex, every magician in Montreal then and now owe them, because without them, magic in Montreal as we know it today would never have happened. I know that Sam Cramer from Montreal was a cover feature in an issue of MUM. So far I have been unable to find it.

Baldini: Seeing is believing

"Seeing is Believing!" - A Ryerson Graduate Film School short documentary project about Magic, featuring Baldini:

Jeff Pinsky and Matt DiSero remember Ron Leonard

In response to the earlier post Remembering Ron Leonard, the following comments from Matt DiSero and Jeff Pinsky have been added to the original post.

From Matt DiSero:

Ron was so nice to me as a kid at the magic club...when I got to be on a show with him for the first time it was one of the biggest thrills of my career at that time. He was so nice, and generous.... I miss him.

[Copied with permission from Facebook.]

From Jeff Pinsky:

I have fond memories of Ron Leonard. I was born in 1966. Thus I really only have my childhood memories during the decade of the 1970s.
 
Of course for those of us who were bitten by the wonderful magic 'bug' in Ontario Ron Leonard was an important figure.
 
How exciting it was to learn at the beginning of the Uncle Bobby Show that magic guest Ron Leonard was on. If memory serves me right he was not on all of the shows. That I learned many years later was due to his strong business acumen; busy with many professional performances and a gifted commercial painter.
 
In an era when there were about 12 television stations - one being in French - anything to do with magic appearing on television was exciting. Can you imagine the first Henning special? Or seeing for the first time Slydini on the Dick Cavett Show?
 
What was for me particularly wonderful about seeing Mr. Leonard perform on the Uncle Bobby Show was that he was using at times props which I might be able to afford if I saved my money. I could not dream of buying something I saw Doug Henning perform. And of course until I studied 'Magic of Slydini' I had no idea how Slydini's effects were done.
 
It was sort of a video catalogue for a magic shop well before there was any video! Watch Ron Leonard... then decide if I like the trick... then look it up in the (printed) magic catalogue and find out the price.
  
Years later after I took over Browser's Den of Magic I would have the pleasure of meeting Mr. Leonard. He was quite different than his TV personality. And why wouldn't he? On the show he was performing for little children at home.
 
But he was always pleasant when he would visit even with his poor hearing and health beginning to fail. One could tell it was affecting his enjoyment of life but at least he still had some 'magic' in him.
 
Jeff Pinsky
Browser's Den of Magic
Toronto, Canada
February 16, 2012


[With thanks to The Magic Demon for passing this along.]

Rama and Thunder Bay: Masters of Illusion - Live!

The Masters of Illusion - Live! 2011/2012 tour will be passing through Rama and Thunder Bay this weekend.  View the tour schedule for more information.

Dai Vernon mentioned in Magic Castle article

From the LA Weekly article "Magic Castle Battles Back From a Halloween Fire. Was it a Message From Houdini?":

The late Dai Vernon, sleight-of-hand master, who once performed a card trick so confounding even Houdini couldn't figure it out, spent the last 28 years of his life holding court at the Castle. Upon his death in 1992, his ashes were interred in a small wooden box, high up on a ledge outside the Parlor of Prestidigitation.

Read more.

Coquitlam: Penn and Teller

From Boulevard Casino:

Friday, March 30, 2012
Red Robinson Show Theatre
 
Penn & Teller have performed together for over thirty years combining the art of magic with comedy. And along the way, they have made the hardest trick of all – a remarkable career that ranges from stage to television to three best-selling books – look easy. Since first teaming up in 1975 when they combined Teller’s silent, occasionally creepy magic with Penn Jillette’s clown college education and juggling expertise, the duo have created an entertainment success story that went from the streets to small clubs to national theatre tours.

Read more and purchase tickets.