28 October 2019

Ontario Week of Wonder recap

With thanks to Joan Caesar for sending us updates and photos from the first Ontario Week of Wonder!

Congratulations to everyone involved.  It looked like a fabulous event.

Special congratulations to Joan, who received a special Lifetime Achievement Award at the Saturday night gala show.



















(Click on each photo to see at full size)































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27 October 2019

Regina: Oliver, the ventriloquist dummy made in the 1910s

From the October 17th article "Black Museum exhibit in Regina shows off creepy side of Canada's true crime history" by Samanda Brace in CBC News:
One of those creepy items is Oliver, the ventriloquist dummy made in the 1910s by an RCMP member who was a magician and ventriloquist that put on shows for children.

Unfortunately, Oliver hasn't aged well, according to Eskritt. He has been designated the host of the exhibit.

"Now I can't verify that it's true or not, but some of our visitors in the past have said that it feels like his eyes follow you as you move around the exhibit, so that adds to the whole sort of atmosphere," Eskritt said.

Read more.
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26 October 2019

A(nother) peek behind the curtain with Alex McAleer

Upcoming Champions of Magic Canadian tour dates:
  • 12/8/19     Brandon, MB
  • 12/12/19   Ottawa, ON      
  • 12/14/19   Oshawa, ON
  • 12/15/19   Laval, QC
  • 1/16/20     Saskatoon, SK    SaskTel Centre
  • 1/17/20     Regina, SK    Conexus Arts Centre
  • 1/26/20     Prince George, BC
  • 2/29/20    Rama, ON        
Read more and buy tickets.


A peek behind the curtain with Alex McAleer 

You may remember the wonderful interview, "A peek behind the curtain with Alex McAleer," from December of last year.  I was delighted to receive an invitation to take a second pass at an email interview with McAleer as part of a Champions of Magic promotion.

If you haven't already, check out his YouTube channel where he hosts his series Mind Games in addition to his Champions of Magic tour vlog.






What do you do to keep your performance fresh for both your audience and you?

 Although my act has a solid structure, each show is different as the audience play a big part in deciding what happens, whether they know it or not. So it becomes a bit like improv for me. That helps to keep it fresh, but I always try to keep my energy and enthusiasm up for each and every audience because it might be 1000th time I’ve done the show but for them it’s their first time seeing it.

You've toured a number of countries.  Have you experienced anything specific about Canadian audiences in particular?  
Canadian audience have the North American enthusiasm like crowds in the U.S. but feel a bit more like the audiences back home in the UK in terms of their sense of humour.

Do you have any advice for touring magicians?
Advice for touring magicians...
  • Travel light.
     
  • Don’t use a roller bag. They can never fit them all in the overhead bins on a flight. 
     
  • Save locations like coffee shops, stores, restaurants, whatever, on Google maps so when you go back again for more shows or whatever, you’ve got a list of your favourite locations.
     
  • Take time to see things the town or city is known for. Ask a local, especially Uber drivers.
     
  • If you find good WiFi somewhere, use it wisely - download films, books, podcasts, whatever you need. You’ll regret it later if you don’t.
     
  • Steal all the free toiletries from hotels. They might come in handy on the road, or make disappointing gifts for people you don’t like very much.
     
  • Have something to do in the downtime. Usually I’m editing a tour vlog, or writing up some new ideas. Kayla and Young both have podcasts.  [Editor's note:  podcasts are Shezam Pod and The Magicians' Podcast respectively.]


What interests do you have outside of magic?
Film. Art. Cooking. Gym. Laughing. Anthropomorphising inanimate objects. Not always in that order.
Do you have any tour or pre-show rituals?

Not really as I’m not at all superstitious. However, I always brush my teeth before a show but that’s more of a courtesy to participants that join me on stage and makes me smile more on stage.

If you were to ask the others what McAleer likes to do pre-show they’d say get ready ridiculously early; costume and mic on, ready to go, long before I need to.


If you could be endowed with the talent to take on any Broadway role past or present, who would you pick?
Something from ‘Into The Woods’ ... maybe doubling up as the Wolf and one of the Princes as they get the songs that would be most fun to perform.

Those are fun parts! You can't go wrong with Sondheim.






Thank you Alex McAleer for making the time to answer our questions.


Catch the Champions of Magic on tour in Canada!



Upcoming Champions of Magic Canadian tour dates:
  • 12/8/19     Brandon, MB
  • 12/12/19   Ottawa, ON      
  • 12/14/19   Oshawa, ON
  • 12/15/19   Laval, QC
  • 1/16/20     Saskatoon, SK    SaskTel Centre
  • 1/17/20     Regina, SK    Conexus Arts Centre
  • 1/26/20     Prince George, BC
  • 2/29/20    Rama, ON        
Read more and buy tickets.




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25 October 2019

Welcoming a new Friend: Richard Hough

Please join me in welcoming our newest Friend, Richard Hough!

Based out of Vancouver, Richard appreciates that magic performances bring wonder and mystery into our lives.

You can follow him on Twitter @DourHighArch.

Thank you Richard, for becoming an official Friend of Canada's Magic!


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24 October 2019

Comedy Nest celebration and David Acer in the Montreal Gazette

From the Comedy Nest:
The Comedy Nest 40-ish Anniversary – October 24, 25, 26

Celebrate 40 years of funny at Montreal’s original comedy club with some of the city’s finest comedians from past and present, including JEFF ROTHPAN (The Tonight Show), MARTHA CHAVES (CBC’s Just For Laughs), RICK BRONSON (CBC’s Just For Laughs), BOWSER & BLUE (The Comedy Network), HEIDI FOSS (Comics Unleashed), JOEY ELIAS (The Comedy Network’s MatchGame), DAVID ACER (CBC’s Just For Laughs), PHIL SHUCHAT (The Rick Mercer Report) and many more!

Read more and buy tickets.




From the October 23 article "Brownstein: Did you hear the one about the Comedy Nest turning 40?" by Bill Brownstein in the Montreal Gazette:
Acer and Shuchat shone among the first wave of anglo comics in the early years of the Nest.

“I go way back to the 1920s with Bob Hope,” Acer quips. “Actually, I did my first set at the Nest in 1989 … when we didn’t have microphones and comedians talked through rolled-up paper cones. Okay, I may be misremembering that a little.”

Read more.



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