Archive for November, 2004

Copperfield to Baltic for Sellout Appearances: New Effects?

The Baltic Times reports today that David Copperfield will bring his “An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion” to the Baltic Capitals this month.  The reporter advises readers “nothing will have prepared Baltic audiences for the glitz and spectacle of legendary American magician David Copperfield.” 

The article traces Mr. Copperfield’s well-known road to success; it cites the factoids about his youth, his induction as the youngest member of the Society of American Magicians, the starring role in The Magic Man, dating Claudia Schiffer, and his vast magic collection.

The reporter also mentions ? and this sparked our interest ? two new additions or modifications to the act:

In the so-called reunion part, a member of the audience who longs to be reunited with a loved one supposedly gets to realize their dream. While standing on a crane arm with Copperfield, suspended over the heads of the audience, the person then vanishes impossibly, only to reappear moments later in the freely selected location of their dreams.

And later in the article, the reporter notes, “in man vs. steel, Copperfield will float right through solid steel.”  This could be the reporters mistaken confabulation of two effects or a new illusion.  We would love to see either the vanish of a volunteer from the audience while perched on a construction crane above the crowd, or a levitation and penetration of solid steel while floating.

If you have information that could either confirm or shed light on the descriptions, please let us know. 

He never ceases to amaze and perhaps that is why he is the top moneymaker in the magic biz

If you would like to read the article in the Baltic Times, click here.

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Don’t Practice and Be a Star

Practice Before a Mirror

There are two schools of thought when it comes to practicing for a show ? no matter how formal or informal.  Some would say, a magician should practice until she satisfies herself, then perform the effect or routine for trusted friends and family, and then she should use the criticism these audiences provide to perfect the routine for a true public presentation.

Tony Spain published an article last week on our sister website, The Magic Wire espousing the opposite theory.  In his essay, ?No Practice for Dogs or Magicians,? Mr. Spain suggests the following:

?Greta Weitz, the long-distance runner, never warmed-up for a race.  She believed just as dogs do not do stretching exercises before they run, runners did not need to stretch either.  A runner?s stretching is the equivalent of a magician?s practicing.  In my experience, I have come to believe Ms. Weitz was right and that her gold-medal winning approach to running applied to performing magic.

?When you practice beyond simply exploring the trick?s secret or method, you start to form ridges in your brain that make every show the same; and every show uniformly boring.  Learn how the trick works and plunge in to your performance.  Unless you have the adrenaline rush of an actual show, you will never find your edge as a performer.  You?ll leave your best race behind.? 

Let?s assume there is some rational tie between a dog chasing a cat, a top-conditioned athlete, a magician with a new trick and a new audience.  Let?s assume also that Mr. Spain has any credibility with the magic community after his recent production of DVDs.  (Not to belabor the point but it still amazed us that Mr. Spain would think he could get away with his ten DVD set in which he republished Michael Ammar, Daryl and Nate Kranzo?s videos adding only his ?helpful introduction? to each clip. We are glad he outraged the Magic community with this stunt and that he is…
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Magicians Without Borders Keeps Going

Magicians Without Borders Needs Our Help

Tom Verner and Janet Fredericks bring their Magicians Without Borders mission to orphanages and refugee camps around the world.  The local Mumbai (formerly known as “Bombay”) gave a great write-up for the Vermont couple who have taken on the challenge of finding audiences in the midst of war, poverty and starvation. 

Mr. Verner is a professor of psychology at Burlington College and his wife, Janet, works as both a teacher and artist.  But that those are their vocations.  Their avocation is to not only run the Magicians Without Borders program but fully staff it.  The two have performed in such daunting venues as, Haiti, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Croatia.  There is nothing saccharine about their sentiment.  They are not being do-gooders performing for their own edification.  They perform their magic for the children and refugees because the art form is an universal language.  The crowds that come to see them or that they come to entertain can understand and enjoy their performance whether they speak the same verbal language or not. 

The couple began the ambitious and now internationally recognized program in 2002 and their dedication to go into the more difficult situations earned the respect of organizations dedicated to helping the poorest among us. 

Mr. Verner told the Mumbai reporter, ?Our show at the home for the mentally disabled was a special experience. I?ve never felt so sad leaving a place after a performance as I did there. I?ve particularly noticed that in all the homes we?ve visited, the girls have a kind of exuberance in them.”  Their performance came despite the community’s superintendent skepticism.  The formerly cynical overseer told the couple he had never seen “a room so full of laughter.”

Ms. Fredericks is at once philosophical and practical about their efforts: ?We don?t think that we are doing anything great, I believe that it is a mutual process of give and take.  Having performed at refugee camps and in war-torn countries, we have often wondered if we just served as a temporary band-aid, but I believe that at a spiritual level, we are making some difference.?

The couple has quite a schedule ahead.  They will head on to Bangladesh and then make a stop in Rome at the invitation of Pope John Paul II.  He has asked them to attend a…
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