A British children's entertainer says that he may be forced to change his name to avoid being having his children's show tainted by the blockbuster success of the recnt blockbuster movie about male strippers. According to an article in the Telegraph:
Michael DeFreitas has delighted youngsters for years with his magic show and ventriloquist's act with Oscar the Parrot, Chuck the cheeky teenager, and Brazilian tourist Carlos.
But now when he turns up in his purple van - emblazoned with 2ft wand and Magic Mike in 1ft tall golden letters - audiences expect he is about to bare all.
He has begun to receive inquiries about 'adult entertainment' and is often asked: 'Are you the stripper?'
In this episode of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast, we talk to two of the featured performers, and the director of the new documentary film "The Magic Life." "The Magic Life" chronicles the journey of three magician hopefuls: a 17-year-old from Beijing who travels to the U.S. to attend magic school, a 25-year-old trying to make rent by performing on Hollywood Blvd for tips, and a 32-year-old New York University MBA graduate who moves to Los Angeles to perform at the world famous Magic Castle. The film depicts the challenges of following an unconventional career path. Forget about parents, family, or friends who may not understand or support your choices – there’s almost an invisible societal pressure in terms of what types of jobs are acceptable. “The Magic Life” is about those who are willing to risk everything to take the road not normally taken.
A new display was recently unveiled at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, celebrating Copperfield's recent award from the Society of American Magicians naming him as "Magician of the Century." The award is accompanied by a new bust of David. According to Vegas Chatter:
But it's the bronze statue that'll first catch your eye. It cleverly pays tribute to Copperfield's most iconic magical stagings, including vanishing the Statue of Liberty, walking through the Great Wall of China and his much missed, "Flying" illusion. We have to say, it's a really well created piece. But, you will have to ignore the joksters working the table games in front of the statue. We heard them comparing the bust to Bill Clinton, Steve Lawrence, Mitt Romney and a cascade of others. No respect for a King. Tut, tut.
I love Magic Documentaries. I know. I'm a magic Nerd. That's ok, because some of my magic friends are involved in a project that I want to bring to your attention.
The Magic Life is a film by Nelson Chang featuring Juliana Chen, Jonathan Levit and Richard Turner. The film chronicles the journey of three magician hopefuls: a 17-year-old from Beijing (Yang Yang) who travels to the U.S. to attend magic school, a 25-year-old trying to make rent by performing on Hollywood Blvd for tips (Mathew Noah Falk) , and a 32-year-old New York University MBA graduate who moves to Los Angeles to perform at the world famous Magic Castle (Michael Friedland). The film depicts the challenges of following an unconventional career path. Forget about parents, family, or friends who may not understand or support your choices – there’s almost an invisible societal pressure in terms of what types of jobs are acceptable. “The Magic Life” is about those who are willing to risk everything to take the road not normally taken. Sometimes the risk pays off, sometimes it doesn’t.
For more than 35 years, Penn & Teller have redefined the magic genre, specializing in gory vaudeville-like tricks, exposing frauds and performing inconceivable stunts live in front of sold-out crowds. And now, they're partnering with the designers at Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights to infuse their brand of entertainment in a complete haunted house environment – something they have never done before.
Best known for their satirical humor, outrageous antics and mind-blowing magic, including their famous "The Magic Bullets" trick (where the duo catch bullets in their teeth), the pair has entertained guests at Las Vegas' Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino for more than 10 years, making their act one of the longest running and most-beloved shows in Las Vegas history.
This fall, Penn & Teller invite Halloween Horror Nights guests to step into a dark, dilapidated and radioactive version of "Sin City," as if one of their magic tricks has gone terribly awry and the city has been covered in nuclear ooze. Concepted by the duo themselves, the maze will feature the best of Vegas – showgirls, slot machines, little white wedding chapel, all-you-can-eat buffet, and more – all glowing with a toxic green hue.
"Universal Horror Nights can scare the living Elvis out of you, and me & Teller, well, we've been known to take things a bit too far. Now we're working together on showing you what it would be like to live in a post-nuclear explosion Sin City. C'mon by, but remember, you're not playing with children here," said Penn Jillette, the larger, louder half of the duo.
"We've done more than just tap into the wildly creative minds of Penn & Teller, the most influential illusionists in the world. We've been working really closely with them. You are literally going to hear Penn directing you through this toxic wasteland before coming face-to-face with both Penn & Teller in this jarring 3D experience," said Jim Timon, Senior Vice President of Entertainment at Universal Orlando Resort.
The final Essential Magic Conference continues to do magic even after it has wrapped. How so? Well, it has left Jon Racherbaumer speechless... almost:
I watched the entire EMC as it zigged, zagged, dipped, and soared. As I was surprised, informed, confused, edified, delighted, probed, and moved, I stopped making physical and mental notes and surrendered to being in the “moments” it provided. I was transfixed and captive.
Let the aftermath roil on. As the reportage, gossip, and babble zip through cyberspace, resultant memes will bounce and carom in the jittery feedback loop of our social networks. The blogs will momentarily clog. Meanwhile, except for these few words, I’m more or less at a loss to express my thoughts and feelings.
Let me then be contented to shout out this overwrought sentence like a boisterous fan:
THE ESSENTIAL MAGIC CONFERENCE HAS NOW CROSSED THE “HOME PLATE” OF A “PARADIGM SHIFT” IT WAS THE FIRST TO RECOGNIZE, PREDICT, PROMOTE, AND IS NOW LARGELY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING HAPPEN.
The 2000 + subscribers are now recovering from a three-day binge. They have seen what the future of conferences will look like. They have seen what a “hive” of creative minds can produce.
The old models of magic conventions now look quaint, doddering, and inefficient. The satisfaction-dissatisfaction ratio grows wider by the hour.
Granted, the EMC was occasionally messy, incoherent, and glitchy, but the trade-offs were worth it. There was lots of real-time authenticity. There were tons of unexpected delights, mind-tweaking revelations, and intentional and unintentional humor. There were forgivable unguarded moments, several superb and artful performances, and an abundant number of tightly cohesive presentations. The air was filled with affable cultural diversity, and unfettered generosity. One consistent saw and felt a festival of kindred spirits that were truly kindred.
Over all, one EXPERIENCED real people, in real time, doing “real work” in a full-tilt Reality Show that was global-and-local at the same time. The multi-media were truly multiple. The chatter was ubiquitous. The energy was simmering, surging, or in a comfortable steady state.
The emotional and intellectual resonance of the EMC is yet to be determined in terms of scope, influence, and longevity. But rest assured that at this juncture, the event itself was nothing short of being nuclear.
Onward…
In case you missed it the first time around, have a listen to my interview with Jon. LISTEN TO MY CONVERSATION WITH JON RACHERBAUMER: OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN:ITUNES ::
MP3 DOWNLOAD
HTML 5 PLAYER ::
LISTEN TO PART TWO OF MY CONVERSATION WITH JON RACHERBAUMER: OTHER WAYS TO LISTEN:ITUNES ::
MP3 DOWNLOAD
So now we come to the end. The final day of the Essential Magic Conference has ended and the videos are online for member streaming. If you think you missed it, you're wrong. There is still time to sign-up and watch every session streaming and to get the complete DVD set when they ship. Do it now and you won't be disappointed!
SESSION 7
Eric Mead hosts and Armando Lucero opens with a discussion on the defintion of "magic." He talks a bit about his start as a performer and discusses how you can create "magic."
Richard Wiseman talked about perception with video clips and pictures illustrating his thoughts his points and ended by performing an efect.
Luis Piedrahita performed a matrix with coins and bubble wrap.
Steve Cohen discussed Hofzinzer and how h has recreated the salon environment for his performances.
Yann Frisch was next with a fantastic presentation on creativity.
Dr Gene Matasure stepped up with a fascinating talk about Winston Freer. I have to admit that I knew nothing of Freer before this and now I want to learn more.
Bill Kalush presented all EMC attendees with a free month of access to Ask Alexaner and revealed a new translation feature which will allow you to translate the more that 2.5 million pages of content that they have archived into any language!
Next was an interview of Paul Harris by Richard Wiseman. This alone may be worth the price of admission!
And the session wraps with an audience Q&A
SESSION 8
Hosted by Guy Hollingworth
Stan Allen covers a lot of ground. Everything from supporting the local magic shop & community to how to price your act, don't do "kids" magic for kids, timing, creativity and more.
Michel Clavello with a great performance
David Blaine & Friends bonus event - Kalush, Blaine & Harris just chatting. Fun stuff!
Luis Piedrahita hosting a weekly magic show
Dynamo performs
Derren Brown interview via skype. Sadly, Skype failed but Guy will be interviewing him in person and it will be added to the DVD's
Woody Aragon Performed several card effects
Panel discussion on Astonishment with Paul Daniels, Dynamo, Paul Harris, Eric Mead. Hosted by Guy Hollingworth.
Mike Caveney presents a video of a performance from the Magic History Conference with explanations to follow in the next session
Q&A
SESSION 9
Luis de Matos Hosts
Mike Caveney explaining the illusions previously presented
Yann Frisch performed and discussed the importance of attitude. There is much more to this that you must see
Marvin Berglas interviews Dynamo
Topas presents the The Hawaiian Mystery
Dani Da Ortiz presents a talk on remembering the expectations of the spectator
Tina Lennart performed in her classic style
Skype interview with Teller. Once again, the connection was bad but Luis will interview him later and include it on the DVDs
Gaetan Bloom Performace rocks the house with a funny and entertaining final performance
EMC has wrapped, but you want more? I know that it is a poor substitute, but maybe one of these interviews will fill some small piece of the gap that has been left with the end of the final session. I certainly hope so. Here are some of my interviews with EMC presenters. Enjoy:
Yes, Day two of the final Essential Magic Conference has been put to bed and there is only one more day ahead of us. Once again, the EMC team has done an amazing job and all of the videos from todays session are now online and read for streaming for members. If you are not yet a member of EMC, it isn't too late! Register now! You will get access to all of this years videos via streaming and a complete boxed set of DVD's which includes every session as well as many, many extras! Do it now!
SESSION 4 :
Host Mike Caveny kicked it off by introducing Paul Daniels who discussed the concepts of "Belief" and misdirection as well as some thoughts on how to be funny
Hiro Sakai performed several effects with cards and Euros then presented detailed explainations. Clever stuff!
Luis De Matos was the next performer and presented the main effect of his current show Chaos which will be explained in a later session. AMAZING Routine!
Eiberhard Riese and Topas discussed the fountadion for a great act. Music, costume, props, persona etc. Topas joined him with varied presentations of the classic professors nightmare showing how different presentations make the same effect totally different. Everyone should watch this! Topas might be as funny as Bill Malone! Dare I say that anyone going on a "Nationally Televised Talent Competition" should watch this before doing anything else?
David Britland talks about the magic of Chan Canasta including stacked decks, forcing psychology, etc... It was followed by an some great archival footage of Canasta performing.
Steve Cohen performed his favorite Malini trick, the Coin Under Hat which he also explained
Tina Lennart was next up and shared the story of meeting Mr. Mop and how it was inspired by Steve Jobs. Great stuff!
SESSION 5 :
Hosted by Marco Tempest, David Williamson starts with a card effect then goes on to talk about the people that influenced him in his career. Another must see!
Graham Jolley discusses the "Countdown" by Koran which he performed yesterday without explanation.
Gaetan Bloom discussed the origin intercessor and the creative process. I always love insights like this one.
Norberto Jansenson performs his favourite effect with a jumbo deck. Excellent and unique.
Guy Hollingworth performs and explains some of his classic card magic with some unique approaches to palming.
Max Maven on making a trick into something magical. "Panache"
Panel Discussion on Improvisation.
Daniel Madison Performs an effect to be explained at the top of session 6
David Blaine names the 4 of spades. Steve Cohen comes up with his deck and takes them out and shuffles them. Is told to spread them face down. One blue back card in the red deck. It is - of course - the four of spades. He will explain it at the start of session 6.
Wraps with the traditional audience Q&A
SESSION 6 :
Daniel Madison starts things of with the promised explaination. Great!
Next was a live via SKYPE chat with Cyril Takayama hosted by Max Maven talking about Cyril's new TV series
Another hystericla presentation by Bill Malone which had everone laughing.. as usual
Norberto Jansenson presented a story telling effect which emphasized the importance of creating a magical moment
Luis de Matos explained his Chaos effect from the earlier session. Wow.. Just Wow. This man is amazing!
Eric Mead performed a fabtastic version of Ramsey's Cylinder and Coins. Outstanding!
Bill Kalush on the unknown and ancient history of card magic. The lesson learned is that everything new is also old. .
And, of course, the final Q&A from the audience! Another amazing day!
A British children's entertainer says that he may be forced to change his name to avoid being having his children's show tainted by the blockbuster success of the recnt blockbuster movie about male strippers. According to an article in the Telegraph:
Print Article 
