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Chris Wasshuber: Digital Sphinx Is Here!

A while ago — it was last year, we think — we
reviewed the incredible work of Chris Wasshuber on the complete Sphinx
Collection.

It was incredible. It was gigantic but incredible.

Because
we read it from cover to cover, in chronological order, it didn’t
really much matter it was not fully digital and searchable. We were
able to use the data provided to do better than crude searches to find
articles but more importantly, it just gave us a warm feeling to know
it was all in one place.

That warm feeling has returned and we received news the Master of Magic’s Memory has finished his magnum opus.

The warm feeling should go away with penicillin; the Digital Sphinx will be here forever.

We
mentioned last time the collection is not cheap. In fact, it is as we
say in the street-corner drug sale oeuvre, “pricey.” But as Li’l Tom
Hardy used to say, “If you want cheap, buy a bird.”

If you
purchased an earlier version of Mr. Wasshuber’s wonderful work, he has
an offer to upgrade to the fully digital and searchable version for
$100.00. The full-version of the work is $499.00. 

So the question on the table has to be: Is it worth it? Can any magic resource be worth $499.00

The
set gives you immediate access to all 52 volumes (consisting of all 597
issues) for about 17,000 pages.  The collection was convenient to
browse and search thanks to Mr. Wasshuber’s planning: each volume is
its own PDF file, and each PDF file can be searched through the
complete index or by search engine. 

We loaded the files
to our hard drive, ran our Google Desktop Version 2 through it, and we
could now search three or four different ways.  We thought this
was genius on our part — of course, it was only possible because of
Mr. Wasshuber’s consistent and accurate file structure.  By the
way, Google Desktop Version 2 does not come with the package but can be
downloaded for free from Google.com.

We use it to find
anything in our electronic collection from Lybrary.com.  So when
we run a search on a particular effect or sleight, we will receive
results from The Tarbell Course, The Sphinx, Card College Vol. 1, and
several other collections.  

The collection also includes
very well written features to set the theme for the information you now
possess.  Mr. Wasshuber added a bunch of extras to the new set
including: an introduction by Bill Kuethe, an article about The Sphinx
by Gabe Fajuri, a talk about The Sphinx also by Gabe Fajuri, and the persona research and recordings of A.M. Wilson’s granddaughter Mary Syphus.

The Sphinx
is arguably the most important magic magazine and complete files are
extremely rare. We think we heard some early issues only saw a print
run of 75 copies. A complete set in good condition goes today for
around $5000. This is the time for you to own a complete file in
digital form.

So who can you read within these hallowed pages?

Here’s
a partial list: Ted Annemann, Al Baker, David Bamberg, Ross Bertram, J.
B. Bobo, Fred Braue, Jack Chanin, Milbourne Christopher, Joseph
Dunninger, Ade Duval, Bruce Elliott, Dariel Fitzkee, Karrell Fox, Frank
Garcia, Martin Gardner, Robert Harbin, Guy Jarrett, Fu Manchu,…
Continue reading Chris Wasshuber: Digital Sphinx Is Here!

September 30th, 2005 | Category: Magic News | Leave a comment

Magician as Actor or Actor as Magician: It’s Never Easy

Beautiful Actress ActingThe online
journal Backstage.com considers the challenges and lessons to be learned by
cross-training as an actor and magician.

The oft-repeated maxim of Robert-Houdin, “A magician is an actor playing the
role of a magician,” is not mentioned — which is strange.

Nor is the maxim of
lesser-appreciated Li’l Tom Hardy cited, “an actor will roll a magician for any
cash he’s got.”

But the article does get to the lick-log of the issue. Should you use skills
developed in your hours of practicing in front of the mirror on stage when you
are no longer looking at your reflection but a paying audience.

Three scenarios are considered.

The first involves Los Angeles?based actor J. Todd Adams. Although his role
in his most recent play did not require him to learn magic, he thought it would
be helpful to play his character. The play’s script identified his character as
a magician who had performed in the past.

The play’s director hired a “magic consultant,” Ken Sonkin.

The consultant taught Adams–who hadn’t done tricks since he was a
kid–half a dozen illusions, including making milk vanish in a glass, creating
fire that “travels” to a book another character is reading, changing a silk
scarf from one color to another, levitating a champagne glass, and producing two
red roses from nowhere. I was duly dazzled and hadn’t a clue how he did it
all.

But the tough part is translating the work of a magician to acting.

Mr. Adams was also required to play the piano during the show.

“It was hard to know what to focus on during rehearsal,” he
confesses.

“If I tried to do the trick right, the acting would go to hell. So
for a while I had to focus on the magic and forget the acting, which was
frustrating.

I sort of felt like an observer watching myself
sometimes.”

Mr. Adams hit the wall all who practice and perform magic hit: he it as an
actor, however.

He found performing the magic in way that made it appear to be relaxed and
second nature was tougher than anticipated.

“Even though they weren’t
complicated tricks,” he says. The tricks would look fine at home in front of the
mirror, not so fine at rehearsal.”

The other end of the Magician – Actor spectrum is San Francisco actor
Christian Cagigal (rhymes with “magical”).

Mr. Cagigal began as a magician and worked his way into acting.

He recalls when he was 11-years-old. “Whole winter vacations melted away as
he stood in front of the mirror with a pack of cards and a library book.

“I was
the pipsqueak only child with glasses and no friends. It was a form of
expression,” he says. Big guys at school would say, “Hey, magic man, show me a
trick.”

The reporter noted with a sense of sadness, “Magicians never tell, and actors
who learn tricks for a show are sworn to secrecy. Even co-actors who help with
the tricks often don’t know all the details.”

Mr. Cagigal wanted to learn acting to help his magic, “to bring more soul to
his magic performance.” This path took him through San Francisco…
Continue reading Magician as Actor or Actor as Magician: It’s Never Easy

September 30th, 2005 | Category: Magic News | Leave a comment