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You all know by now that I have given up my other journal for all practical purposes. There is very little I need to say about my actual life.
I went to a brilliant magic show last night in Washington.
It's Magic!
This was the 50th annual show put on under this title by Milt Larsen, who co-founded the fantastic Magic Castle in Los Angeles.
It was brilliant. This was the last show of the tour for this year, but as it is annual I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in proficient and quality magic performance or possessing a nostalgic fondness for the old days of vaudeville, or anything of that sort. Here is the website which lacks general function, but you can see the fine poster for this year. Posters for It's Magic are beautifully designed and quite prized.
The show began with a fantastic dove act. The gentleman was resplendent in classic formal coat and tails - very 19th century, and the theatre and curtains and simplicity of the stage could have welcomed Eddie Foy himself. He was very graceful, elegant and classic, producing doves and flame effects, eventually producing and vanishing a remarkable eight doves. These were perfectly trained to fly up to fine effect returning immediately and quietly back to his hand with no commotion or diversion at all. These pictures possibly do him justice. Afterwards I was speaking to him and he was both gracious and shy. A gentleman. I was very impressed.
The next act was Mike Caveny, who also performed at Kramien's Jamboree last spring. He juggled a full coffee cup in a spinning ring, which is quite a feat, but it was the same act he had the last time I saw him. He also stabbed a pair of scissors through an audience member's suit jacket and produced a phenomenal amount of silverware, including platters and water pitchers from said jacket.
The third act was Tina Lennert, which she led into by sweeping up Mike Caveny's silverware, moving into her washerwoman act wherein she animates a mop as a gentleman lover and performs various magical effects as integral parts of the enacted story. She was also at Kramien's where she was just as beautiful but with a completely different act. Very artistic. She is also a fine harpist.
The third act was John Walton, who did a Pepsi product-placement zig-zag act with his sadly amateur daughter. A zig-zag act is a variation of cutting a woman in half. He did this by sliding giant cylinders into a still more giant Pepsi tin into which his daughter had stepped. I have no link for this. He is a local magician in Northern Washington and afterwards distributed tins of Pepsi to the audience for intermission. I did not get one, nor did any in my company (of thirty.)
After the intermission the curtain opened to a beautifully arrayed pile of vintage luggage and a low microphone. A fine (real) white rabbit hopped up to the microphone and introduced in booming tones. When he was finished he hopped into a hat box. There was no one on the stage and it was very pretty. Speaking with people afterwards, consensus was that this was the highlight of the night. For me it was yet to come, but it was very well done. The rabbbit was trained by one Bruce Block. He juggled ping pong balls with his mouth - four ping pong balls, I believe, which was amazing. He the escaped from a 'straight-jacket.' I cannot find an appropriate link. He has a website, but it is all high-bandwidth flash.
After that was something really amazing, and in my opinion the best of the night. It was a hula hoop artist. No, that is the truth. I believe most in 'real' magic, where people practice 16 hours a day until they can truly do the impossible. This man was of this type, which it is always an honour and miracle to see. He came out on stage in a really amazing costume of a round cartoon character with a red and grey 50s beanie and a turquoise matching pants and jumper with big red letters on his shirt and a quizical expression. His demeanour was that of Pee-Wee Herman, but he was the shape of a virtual globe. It was a wonderful and professional costume. He brought out a case the shape and colour of a tire from which he took a single hoop. He tried to hula with it, but it dropped to the floor. Then he spun and was there in a trim blacl pair of regular slacks and shirt in matte black with sparkles and he was slim and fit. Obviously. Then he... it is impossible to describe or adequately communicate. He could hula with eight hoops moving independently down his body. He could roll over while hulaing a hoop on each foot. He built a bubble around himself with whirling hula hoops. That does not convey the amazing diligence required or the ease and grace, or... I've never seen anything like it. He is surely the best at the in the world. He too was shy and gracious afterwards. He drew me a picture on my program of himself as there was no picture there either. Here are some Youtube videos which is all I can find of this man.
The next act was a young man, Jason Latimer, who did some things with card productions through linking rings, and so forth. It was pretty enough. Then he gave a little talk about magic, encouraging the children perhaps. Then he did some other pretty things with a drawing board to martini with a girl in green flannel pyjammas. He then did a Very pretty, professional and excellent levitation, where he raised the girl on a bed about 15 feet in the aair and proceeded to rotate the stage around, passing a frame around her and the bed while one could see from all angles. It was perfectly done. He then did a long sequence with green lasers, where he lit the dome of the theatre (beautiful), bending the beam of light and hanging a coat on it,meanwhile moving it and also making light sabres. He had filled the theatre with considerable dry ice in the air by this time so that one could see the beams. Very nice. Here is his web site. His website is very understated, but there are again Youtube videos. Alas, these do not show the true wonder of his levitation act.
Lastly was another stage illusionist - Ray Pierce and co. He was quite showy and energetic and did transpositions, escapes, and so forth, in which he or one of his assistants traded places, appeared and reappeared, came up from the audience, etc. He also did a long linking ring routine. Good presence, but no mystery, if you understand me. He did have a fine black hooded robe which made me jealous.
I forgot to mention it, but at our own Weekend of Magic here there was a gentleman who was brilliant at the linking rings, graceful and humble, smooth, perfect and creative. Seeing this act reminded me I had not yet posted about him. Woody Pittman. Look at this!!!!! Does it look familiar? I was privileged to be his assistant. Everyone said we were like twins, even simultaneously brushing our identical hair from our eyes at the same moment, andthat we had similar stage presence - ex. enthusiasm and humility. They are still talking about it. And he does the same magic I would do - classical and vintage magic. He does magic on a paddlewheeler in 1880s clothing. I remember when I first met the cool dudes inthe club that work with Criss Angel, they told me I Had to meet him for this. And I had the chance to do so. I just wish I had gotten pictures. It means that I am redundant, magically, before I ever properly perform, however.
I went to a brilliant magic show last night in Washington.
It's Magic!
This was the 50th annual show put on under this title by Milt Larsen, who co-founded the fantastic Magic Castle in Los Angeles.
It was brilliant. This was the last show of the tour for this year, but as it is annual I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in proficient and quality magic performance or possessing a nostalgic fondness for the old days of vaudeville, or anything of that sort. Here is the website which lacks general function, but you can see the fine poster for this year. Posters for It's Magic are beautifully designed and quite prized.
The show began with a fantastic dove act. The gentleman was resplendent in classic formal coat and tails - very 19th century, and the theatre and curtains and simplicity of the stage could have welcomed Eddie Foy himself. He was very graceful, elegant and classic, producing doves and flame effects, eventually producing and vanishing a remarkable eight doves. These were perfectly trained to fly up to fine effect returning immediately and quietly back to his hand with no commotion or diversion at all. These pictures possibly do him justice. Afterwards I was speaking to him and he was both gracious and shy. A gentleman. I was very impressed.
The next act was Mike Caveny, who also performed at Kramien's Jamboree last spring. He juggled a full coffee cup in a spinning ring, which is quite a feat, but it was the same act he had the last time I saw him. He also stabbed a pair of scissors through an audience member's suit jacket and produced a phenomenal amount of silverware, including platters and water pitchers from said jacket.
The third act was Tina Lennert, which she led into by sweeping up Mike Caveny's silverware, moving into her washerwoman act wherein she animates a mop as a gentleman lover and performs various magical effects as integral parts of the enacted story. She was also at Kramien's where she was just as beautiful but with a completely different act. Very artistic. She is also a fine harpist.
The third act was John Walton, who did a Pepsi product-placement zig-zag act with his sadly amateur daughter. A zig-zag act is a variation of cutting a woman in half. He did this by sliding giant cylinders into a still more giant Pepsi tin into which his daughter had stepped. I have no link for this. He is a local magician in Northern Washington and afterwards distributed tins of Pepsi to the audience for intermission. I did not get one, nor did any in my company (of thirty.)
After the intermission the curtain opened to a beautifully arrayed pile of vintage luggage and a low microphone. A fine (real) white rabbit hopped up to the microphone and introduced in booming tones. When he was finished he hopped into a hat box. There was no one on the stage and it was very pretty. Speaking with people afterwards, consensus was that this was the highlight of the night. For me it was yet to come, but it was very well done. The rabbbit was trained by one Bruce Block. He juggled ping pong balls with his mouth - four ping pong balls, I believe, which was amazing. He the escaped from a 'straight-jacket.' I cannot find an appropriate link. He has a website, but it is all high-bandwidth flash.
After that was something really amazing, and in my opinion the best of the night. It was a hula hoop artist. No, that is the truth. I believe most in 'real' magic, where people practice 16 hours a day until they can truly do the impossible. This man was of this type, which it is always an honour and miracle to see. He came out on stage in a really amazing costume of a round cartoon character with a red and grey 50s beanie and a turquoise matching pants and jumper with big red letters on his shirt and a quizical expression. His demeanour was that of Pee-Wee Herman, but he was the shape of a virtual globe. It was a wonderful and professional costume. He brought out a case the shape and colour of a tire from which he took a single hoop. He tried to hula with it, but it dropped to the floor. Then he spun and was there in a trim blacl pair of regular slacks and shirt in matte black with sparkles and he was slim and fit. Obviously. Then he... it is impossible to describe or adequately communicate. He could hula with eight hoops moving independently down his body. He could roll over while hulaing a hoop on each foot. He built a bubble around himself with whirling hula hoops. That does not convey the amazing diligence required or the ease and grace, or... I've never seen anything like it. He is surely the best at the in the world. He too was shy and gracious afterwards. He drew me a picture on my program of himself as there was no picture there either. Here are some Youtube videos which is all I can find of this man.
The next act was a young man, Jason Latimer, who did some things with card productions through linking rings, and so forth. It was pretty enough. Then he gave a little talk about magic, encouraging the children perhaps. Then he did some other pretty things with a drawing board to martini with a girl in green flannel pyjammas. He then did a Very pretty, professional and excellent levitation, where he raised the girl on a bed about 15 feet in the aair and proceeded to rotate the stage around, passing a frame around her and the bed while one could see from all angles. It was perfectly done. He then did a long sequence with green lasers, where he lit the dome of the theatre (beautiful), bending the beam of light and hanging a coat on it,meanwhile moving it and also making light sabres. He had filled the theatre with considerable dry ice in the air by this time so that one could see the beams. Very nice. Here is his web site. His website is very understated, but there are again Youtube videos. Alas, these do not show the true wonder of his levitation act.
Lastly was another stage illusionist - Ray Pierce and co. He was quite showy and energetic and did transpositions, escapes, and so forth, in which he or one of his assistants traded places, appeared and reappeared, came up from the audience, etc. He also did a long linking ring routine. Good presence, but no mystery, if you understand me. He did have a fine black hooded robe which made me jealous.
I forgot to mention it, but at our own Weekend of Magic here there was a gentleman who was brilliant at the linking rings, graceful and humble, smooth, perfect and creative. Seeing this act reminded me I had not yet posted about him. Woody Pittman. Look at this!!!!! Does it look familiar? I was privileged to be his assistant. Everyone said we were like twins, even simultaneously brushing our identical hair from our eyes at the same moment, andthat we had similar stage presence - ex. enthusiasm and humility. They are still talking about it. And he does the same magic I would do - classical and vintage magic. He does magic on a paddlewheeler in 1880s clothing. I remember when I first met the cool dudes inthe club that work with Criss Angel, they told me I Had to meet him for this. And I had the chance to do so. I just wish I had gotten pictures. It means that I am redundant, magically, before I ever properly perform, however.
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