The Brownsville (TX) Herald describes the ?New Wave? of magic as exemplified by Johnny Garcia and Oscar Munoz.Both magicians are from the Texas Rio Grande Valley region.
Mr. Garcia is quoted as saying close-up card magic is the wave of the future, the newest thing:
Garcia said he is part of a movement of magicians throughout the United States who place a strong emphasis on card tricks.
Rather than performing on a stage, the magicians do their card tricks in front of a few individuals at a time, giving them the opportunity to inspect the cards and see the action ?close-up,? he said.
?It?s not your everyday magic,? Garcia said.
?It?s something that people have never seen in their entire lives. You won?t find this stuff in magic shops.?
Okay, so far so good ? one could argue that magic stores do carry magic magazines and books that may have the sleights used by the new wave, but that?s semantics.Mr. Garcia later mentions he pursued magic by purchasing books and gimmicks from magic stores but threw out everything in favor of his version of street magic ? a deck of cards and his hands.
?I don?t use gimmicks,? Garcia said of traditional magic devices like invisible strings or trick coins.
We say it each time, but David Copperfield really knows how to do his own advance work.
He does it with aplomb.
His energy and imagination allow him to give the impression that the upcoming show in Fort Smith, Arkansas or Lansing, Michigan, is the entire focus of his world-wide tour.This upcoming show is the key stop on the tour. His interviews give the impression that he is honored to perform for the town’s audience.
Think of the magicians you know on tour (even little tours), do they expend the same energy and imagination to tie their upcoming show into the venue?
Mr. Copperfield has a reputation and is a household name.Presumably, his crowds would be just as large without the in-depth and entirely personalized advance work.But, maybe he became a household name by making sure each household has a chance and a reason to see his show.
In the latest interview to promote his appearance in Fort Smith, Mr. Copperfield discusses his plans to help send some of the local residents magically to Hawaii.The paper then quotes Mr. Copperfield:
Copperfield?s show also includes a segment where the magician steps through a sheet of solid steel. He joked about using the sheet of steel because he won?t be able to fit the Great Wall of China, which he walked through once, into the Fort Smith theater.
Mr. Copperfield appears to have added a new bullet point in his interview material.He is quoted as recalling his first magic trick:
?I made my teacher disappear,? he said with a laugh. ?Oh yeah, I was a very popular kid for that.?
It could be he offered this tidbit in previous interviews but never published.Regardless, it provides a nice hook to the story and certainly fits with his current illusion selection.
Please know that it is the policy of Inside Magic to never shill or talk up a trick, performer, or commercial entity.Our reviews of items and shows are as accurate and as possible.If a product or show is horrible, we may forego a review.
(For instance, we did not provide a review of Tony Spain?s latest mentalism effect, Key Erect in which a lithe assistant is to guess which of the five pills Viagra XL is.Similarly, we quashed our essay on the new Branson, MO, magic/variety show, Pull My Magic Finger! The Musical.We found both offensive and it is also a long-running policy of Inside Magic to never recommend a trick that requires a physician?s prescription or that causes loud, noxious winds to nearly blind the front row of the paying audience.)
With our policy understood, we recommend you head over to FAB Magic?s site quickly for three items of particular note.They are great prices, outstanding quality, and are the types of effects you will actually use in your act.
(We were just reminded by one of our readers subscribing to the ?Real-Time Inside Magic Web Cam Network? that we did recommend a product that had no redeeming value, was poor quality, and was panned by all other magic reviewers.This reader also noted we admitted in a civil deposition our rave review for Rice From Any Pant-Leg was published so we could cash in on an estimated 42 percent of the profits from the sale of each unit.See, State of Michigan Division of Consumer Services, et. al., vs. Tom Hardy, III Enterprises, Incorporated ? a Belize Limited Liability Company, 324 Mich. Con Reporter 11, 17 (2002).
We are thinking of disbanding the Real-Time Inside Magic Web Cam Network, by the way.While we like allowing readers to watch as we type each word on every page of all new updates to Inside Magic, we?re kind of getting creeped-out just… Continue reading What’s FAB Magic Trying to Pull?
For those of us who have the technical ability of someone who has no technical ability (we could not think of a magician that would not sue us so we kept it ambiguous), there is skill and there is skill.
Some skill can be taught and some cannot. Both Brooke Propst and Robert “Robbie” Moreland have skills that cannot be taught; it is innate.
Mr. Moreland has skills of a physical kind. This young man can do things with a deck of cards or a few coins that would have you signing up for his Cult if he was looking for members. His hands move fluidly where ours would normally tremble. His mind invents new sleights – like the outstanding “Cloud Change” – that our minds cannot even hope to learn.
We have never seen Mr. Moreland perform or lecture before. What a treat to watch this kid (in comparison to us) perform in the Close-Up Show here at SCAM? In the words of our psychologist, “what an amazing sight!”
The man knows his history of cards and coins and has stood upon the shoulders of those greats that have gone beyond to see where we might be – assuming we had the natural born talent.
This is not a knock against Mick Ayres or Mr. Moreland but some of us have no ability to coordinate our hand movement with the tasks our brains have assigned. We are no good, we’re clumsy, plus we have no skill. But, that’s okay, we also have no imagination plus no inhibition.
Mr. Moreland’s lecture today was wonderful to watch and we took incredibly detailed notes. But we also knew the lecture was like graduate-level physics to folks like us. It was pretty to look at, and his explanation helped us understand there was some natural and rational method by which he accomplished his thing of beauty but that was about it.
We want to be like Mr. Moreland but the fact that we cannot is exactly the reason why it is such a joy to watch Mr. Moreland perform and teach.
Robert Moreland
We were surprised to hear he had not yet been to California to show off his skills and innovations. In a special way, we felt as if we were special: we had a chance to see him before the whole world knew about his talents.
Brooke Propst is less than ten years old but has the timing and ability to script a routine that competes with the most talented of our craft. We realize it is almost required to compliment younger magicians and praise their abilities even if those abilities are lacking.
In Miss Propst’s case, however, she has talent and she has skills.
We learned from Miss Propst’s father, Nick, his daughter wrote her own patter all on her own. When he offered to help script the effects, she rebuffed him and questioned whether he really believed she could perform in the SCAM 2005 Stage Competition.
I know the sound of an officer?s voice from twenty yards.I couldn?t believe I fell asleep there, in the gutter.How trite.It would be almost excusable ? for being trite, that is ? if I was setting the story up.I wasn?t.It was real life and it was clich?.
?You know where you are, son??
I nodded and tried to extend my arm towards the drain.I just wanted to grab the solid steel rungs that filtered the water pouring down Gervais Street, under me and into the sewer.
?Where are you??the officer asked.He was being very patient with me.Most times, I would have been run in to the pokey.It kind of worried me he didn?t have me in the back of his car, cuffs behind my back, and a fresh bruise from where I ?fell during the arrest.?
There are things we tell ourselves that we?ll never tell another soul.This was one of those things.This would be our little secret.
The officer helped me to my feet and walked me to the patrol car. I expected the next question. It was required before a suspect was put in the back of a patrol car.
?You have anything on you that I should know about?? he asked.
Recent Comments