SOULO Theatre – where I plot and scheme away, largely behind the scenes as the general manager – has just won Best Small Theatre Company from NOW Magazine’s Best of Toronto Reader’s Choice! Massive credit goes to the team that helped organize the 2014 SOULO Theatre Festival and massive thanks to everyone who voted over the past few months. It’s a tremendous honour.
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In the end, Murray Sawchuck had to be more than a poser.
Not that it wasn’t a great deal of fun following Sawchuck canvas the valley mugging for photos in front of hotel-casino marquees with such self-written captions as, “Wild Wild West is a nice place!” But it had to come to an end, as Sawchuck sought to resume his stage show at a Las Vegas venue after leaving Laugh Factory at Tropicana on Oct. 30.
Sawchuck’s new venue is Sin City Theater at Planet Hollywood, where he sets up Dec. 20 for what is to be a yearlong run of shows at 2 and 4 p.m. daily (dark Fridays).
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@canadasmagic awesome!!! Did you get the info on Beauty and The Beast at @LooseMooser there's magic there too!
— Gwyn Auger (@magicassistant) November 5, 2014
@magicassistant @canadasmagic @LooseMooser Saturdays at 1:00, Sundays at 1:00 and 3:00 until November 23. See you there!
— MichaelRoik (@MichaelRoik) November 5, 2014
The STEVO Foundation is a registered charity in the Province of Ontario whose sole mission is to offer Comfort and Hope to families and individuals that have been affected by cancer.
"Performing for STEVO Foundation fundraiser Nov 15 @ 10pm in Markham, for tickets call 289-923-7614"
— David Merry (@davidmerry) November 14, 2014
Super excited to announce that Mega Magic will be returning to Falls Avenue Resort in Casino Niagara from December 21- January 3 with shows at 8:00 pm nightly! Can't wait!
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UPCOMING TOUR DATES
November 14, 2014 Lawrence O'Brien Arts Centre, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, NL
November 16, 2014 Labrador West Arts and Culture Centre, Labrador City, NL
February 3, 2015 Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, YT
February 4, 2015 Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, YT
February 7, 2015 North Peace Cultural Centre, Fort St. John, BC
February 15, 2015 Lester Centre of the Arts, Prince Rupert, BC
February 21, 2015 The Port Theatre, Nanaimo, BC
February 25, 2015 Roxy Theatre, Neepawa, MB
February 28, 2015 Griffin Park Theatre, Brooks, AB
The Unbelievable Skepticism of the Amazing Randi
A few minutes before 8 o’clock one Sunday evening last July, around 600 people crowded into the main conference hall of the South Point casino in Las Vegas. After taking their seats on red-velvet upholstered chairs, they chattered noisily as they awaited the start of the Million Dollar Challenge. When Fei Wang, a 32-year-old Chinese salesman, stepped onto the stage, they fell silent. Wang had a shaved head and steel-framed glasses. He wore a polo shirt, denim shorts and socks. He claimed to have a peculiar talent: from his right hand, he could transmit a mysterious force a distance of three feet, unhindered by wood, metal, plastic or cardboard. The energy, he said, could be felt by others as heat, pressure, magnetism or simply “an indescribable change.” Tonight, if he could demonstrate the existence of his ability under scientific test conditions, he stood to win $1 million.
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First of all, thank you for the compliment! Of all the books I’ve written, this is probably the one I enjoyed researching the most. That’s lucky, because I had originally pitched a few different ideas to Sarah Harvey, the editor of the Limelights series at Orca. Most of them were for areas of the performing arts where I had at least a little bit of knowledge or experience. And then there was the magic idea. When that one turned out to be her favourite, I knew I was going to be doing a lot of research.
I spent months learning about magic. Many months. I initially met with a friend’s son, who happens to be a magician. He sent me to Browser’s Den magic shop in Toronto, and suggested that I get in touch with “Magic” Mike Segal, who runs a week-long summer camp for young magicians. Both of those turned out to be incredible leads.
I read instructional books about magic and watched a ton of videos and television specials, including those “magic’s secrets revealed” types of shows. I learned how a lot of magic effects are created, but I don’t kid myself that it’s the same thing as being able to actually create the effects—that would take hours upon hours upon hours of practice. I did fumble around with cards a little bit… enough to gain a healthy respect for how hard it is. I also attended a workshop that Justin Flom presented at Browser’s Den and met some of the magicians there.
The best research opportunity was the visit to camp when you and I met, Nicole. It was incredible to have the opportunity to speak to so many young magicians in person and learn what they feel is most important about the art. That was relatively late in my writing timeline, and I remember wishing I could re-imagine the whole book after that. I made some adjustments to the storyline I had, and decided that I’m probably not done writing about magicians—there are so many more stories to tell.
I think one thing that makes magic special is that it rewards a certain kind of suspension of disbelief. When you see a play or a ballet, you know that you are watching a show unfold… you’re conscious of the artifice. With magic, that’s still the case—we all know that chairs can’t float and cards don’t change colour—but I think there’s a tiny voice inside saying, “Maybe.” The magician and the viewer agree together to pretend that the laws of physics can be suspended, just for a little while. At least, that’s how I prefer to watch magic performed.
Another thing that makes magic special is that it can be enjoyed on so many levels. There’s the element of wonder and the feeling that the world might have possibilities in it beyond the everyday—that’s the first level. On the second level, it’s a puzzle to be solved, if you enjoy that sort of thing. I don’t think I’d want to try too hard to solve it, but sometimes that can be fun. And even when you know how an effect is performed, the third level of enjoyment kicks in, which is just the pure pleasure of watching someone do something well.
Of course, all the performance arts have some things in common. What strikes me most is the extreme amount of dedication and focus required. Even a short performance requires countless hours of learning and practice, whether you’re playing the piano or making one disappear.
I was most surprised by how welcoming and forthcoming everyone was. There were magicians I reached out to via email, and some I met in person. Nearly without fail, they were all warm, polite, supportive and extremely helpful. Seriously, falling-over-backwards helpful. I wasn’t kidding about wanting to write more about magicians; there just wasn’t room in one small book to use all the story possibilities that people opened up for me, or to do credit to the amount of help they offered. Maybe because of the secrecy associated with the craft, I had expected to meet with more resistance, but that wasn’t the case at all.
One thing I found interesting was the overlap between magic and other crafts. I hadn’t thought of it, but a magician needs to master stagecraft the way an actor does—voice projection, bearing, even character creation. It’s funny, but I never thought about a magician putting on a “persona” for an act. To me as an audience member, they simply were the way they were. It’s silly in retrospect. And then, of course, there’s the storytelling aspect—a performance can be like a short story, in a lot of ways. Some of the best short stories show a character in a moment of change, and create that change for the reader. A magician creates that change moment in the audience. That takes planning, and a rigorous editing process. I got a glimpse at that editing process when I sat in on a performance workshop at the Sorcerers Safari camp.
The third surprise reveals more about my ignorance going into this, I think. I really had no idea that some of the people I met were “big deals” in the magic community until after the fact. They didn’t act like it—they were just these lovely, friendly, down-to-earth people, happy to talk about magic. It was kind of like meeting Margaret Atwood in a bookstore and asking her for reading recommendations without having any idea who she is. I hope I didn’t annoy anybody too much.
Oh, yikes. I don’t remember who told me about that initially, and I don’t see it in my project notebook right now. I do remember that as soon as I heard about magic being used this way, I loved the idea, and wanted to include it in the book somehow—I thought it was absolutely the perfect thing for someone struggling to re-learn motor skills. I’ve known some people involved in terrible accidents, and so I know how long the road back can be. This just struck me as a wonderful, positive aspect of the magic community, and I wanted to make it part of the story.
I didn’t know about Magicana, but I researched other organizations that run similar programs. It’s wonderful that there’s one right in Toronto.
It was a conscious decision. I wanted to admit in the book that magic is male dominated, but still present some female magicians as characters, to show that to readers as a possibility. I didn’t have room for a huge cast, so the balance probably comes out more female because of that. Partly, it was in response to the fact that Zoe’s backstory, the way she comes to magic, is a bit tragic and atypical. Because of that, I didn’t want hers to be the only ‘female’ story in the book. I gave Donna a more conventional magic backstory—her father was a magician. “Magic families” were something else I learned about by talking to magicians, and I love the idea of the craft being something shared between a parent and a child. Jack and Donna end up on rocky ground later in life, but magic remains their connection point.
Mostly just that I enjoyed learning more about the magical community, and I’d like to thank everyone who helped, especially the Sorcerers Safari group. Magicians are a fascinating bunch.
Overall, I think the Limelights books do a great job of providing a behind-the-scenes look at the different arts, so I’d recommend them to anyone who’s curious about what goes on backstage.
Two Niagara-based organizations are taking fundraising to new heights with the upcoming Over the Edge event.
Set to take place Oct. 17, prominent community members — including Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati, former Olympian Mike Strange and CKTB host Kevin Jack — will rappel 23 storeys down the side of the Marriott Gateway on the Falls.
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November 21
A biopic of renowned magician James “The Amazing” Randi, AN HONEST LIAR chronicles the magician’s 50-year career, from performing jaw-dropping feats to exposing the simple tricks that have been co-opted by con artists. Featuring interviews with Penn Jillette, Bill Nye, Allice Cooper, “Mythbuster” Adam Savage and more, AN HONEST LIAR reveals Randi’s classic debunkings and explores his rivalry with Uri Geller, famed spoon-bender and psychic.
James “The Amazing” Randi in attendance!
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Sometimes the real magic happens offstage.
Alex wants to enter the Silver Stage magic competition, but he needs a sponsor. Jack, a veteran card wizard, is willing to take on the role, but only if Alex agrees to team up with Zoe, another young magician—and Alex’s rival. Working with Jack and sharing the spotlight with Zoe, Alex comes to see that there are other ways to be a magician besides competing—and that magic is about entertaining people, not fooling them.
Tuesday, 25 November 2014
Join world famous mentalist duo Jeff & Tessa Evason. The Evasons do what appears to be impossible: mind reading, levitation, prediction, and telekinesis.
Since 1983, this mind reading duo has performed in over 35 countries across the globe and made numerous TV appearances on major networks like NBC, FOX, and Discovery Channel.
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