29 October 2016

Shawn Farquhar in Forbes

From Forbes:
“What famous magicians do and what birthday party and local magicians do is, at the heart of it, the same thing,” he says. “The only difference is some have been discovered while the others haven’t.”

Just because these more minor gig mean less elaborate tricks and smaller audiences–whether for children at a school, private parties or corporate events–it can still mean money.

Take Shawn Farquhar, for example, the ex-president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians–a society of about 15,000 magicians, 20% of whom are professionals. He says that a magician’s best-kept secret is usually his unexpectedly high earnings.

“Most can make $100,000, no problem, especially if you’re in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago and doing corporate events” he says of professional magicians. While this six figure salary may be a fraction of the $64 million made by David Copperfield (the world’s highest-paid magician), it is still quite a respectable salary.

In his best years, Farquhar makes about ...

Read more.

28 October 2016

Quantity vs quality

I have to agree with Evelyn Matlin's observation about the sheer volume of magic effects brought to market these days.  The selection is far greater than I when I first dipped my toe in, *mumble mumble* years ago.  I wonder if the quality of the effects, over all, is higher, the same, or lower than back in the day.


From Perfect Magic:
As a magic dealer, I am overwhelmed by the new magic that comes out on a daily basis. Especially because I do the banners on our home page of Perfect Magic and edit the write-ups for our catalog. There seems to be no end to it.

I remember a time when Albert Goshman (think Sponge Balls – Magic by Gosh) came to Montreal to perform at Magie Montreal when we had our Conventions, back in the 80’s. He stayed in our home and we took him to the Brown Derby in the Van Horne Shopping Centre for dinner one evening. Unfortunately, neither Albert nor the Brown Derby are with us any more.

Read more.


27 October 2016

Dean Gunnarson in the Westman Journal

From the Westman Journal:
Imagine being shackled and chained inside a glass box filled with water. It’s a stunt few people can pull off. Escape Artist Dean Gunnarson is going to attempt just that at this year’s Toastmaster’s Conference.

While being on stage and performing in front of people seems to come natural to Gunnarson, the performer has had to overcome fears of his own.

“He has quite an inspirational story. He’s faced a lot of his fears,” said Ryan Sturgeon.

Gunnarson’s attempt to escape the Russian Death Tank will cap off the conference being held Nov. 11-12 at the Victoria Inn.

Read more.

26 October 2016

Tick, tock

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James Alan: Face2Face, Mystic Hallowe'en, and Hillsburgh

From Reality Based Magic:
I sat down recently to have a chat with David Peck, the host of the Face2Face Podcast. As far as I can tell, David is a man who never sleeps. In addition to putting out a prodigious number of podcast interviews (mine is number 222) he also teaches in the International Development Program at Humber College, practices magic and has a family.


Read more and listen to podcast.


Also from Reality Based Magic:

Join the live studio audience at the upcoming “Mystic Halloween” Connected Circle Live Show and Dance Party! as mystic guest mediums, tarot card readers and magicians share insights to help you discover your mystical self. Meet the mystics and dance the night away with other audience members.

Halloween costumes optional but encouraged.

The show’s live filming will take place on Friday, October 28th from 5:30pm onwards at Maezo Restaurant + Bar (formerly The Rum Exchange) in downtown Toronto.

Read more and buy tickets.


From Magic and Martini:
Saturday, November 19 & 26
 
Come enjoy the magic of James Alan at the NEW restaurant of Chopped Canada winner Chef Pam Fanjoy in the Village of Hillsburgh.
 
Read more and buy tickets.