Contents
Cover: The Kid At the Table
By Jack Lovick
Derek DelGaudio. Not everyone knows his name; fewer still know the man. This magician cum artist talks of magic, performance, and his philosophies of each in the script of a film you will likely never see..
MAGIC Live! High Five
Words By Mark Nelson
Photos By David Linsell
Celebrating twenty years of MAGIC Magazine with this fifth “unconventional convention” in ten years, MAGIC Live! brought new surprises when 1,300 friends old and new gathered again in Las Vegas.
The Power of Darkness
By Mike Caveney
Juan Varela has created a show with magic you can hear and magic you can feel. But his audiences cannot see it, as they are sightless, whether it be in life or just blindfolded for the performance.
Becoming Blackstone
By David Charvet
Harry Blackstone Jr. became an icon of modern magic — his look, his voice, his manner of performing. Working with original costumes, props, and assistants, David Charvet truly seemed to become Blackstone himself.
Paul Romhany: Citizen Of the World
By Jamie D. Grant
He’s a native New Zealander, presently living in Canada, often impersonating a British comedian who made his fame in American movies. Performing internationally, it helps that Paul Romhany can do two hours of walk-around close-up without speaking.
Buss To Afghanistan
By Eric Buss
Eric said “Yes” before the man on the phone finished talking. Travel to Afghanistan to entertain the troops? Of course he would. Even though the audiences proved to be easy, the trip itself was not. But it was worth it.
74 Get togethers, And A Centenarian, Too
One of the longest-running conventions in the history of magic, The Abbott Magic Get-Together, celebrated its 74th anniversary with their annual four-day event in August. The real celebration was not for the convention itself but for John Calvert, who celebrated his 100th birthday on Friday, August 5th.
A Belgian On American TV in France
Having become a relatively recent convert to the world of conjuring, television host Craig Ferguson has since shared his enthusiasm for the art by bringing magicians onto his Late Late Show. Earlier this summer, Ferguson left California to film a week of shows on the streets of Paris. On the August 2 program, Belgian magician Rafael became a surprise guest.
History Of Magic In Europe
When was the first time that someone performed the Sawing in Half illusion? Who is the most prolific writer? Has the secret about Ionia been solved? These and many more questions were asked at the fourth European Magic History & Collections Congress in London.
Visiting With Erdnase
The first Erdnaseum was held on Friday and Saturday, August 26–27, at the Sanders Bed & Breakfast in Helena, Montana — the boyhood home of mining engineer Wilbur Edgerton Sanders, David Alexander’s candidate for the elusive author.
A Message For The Moon
The Steve Allen Theater on Hollywood Boulevard was packed with an SRO crowd on Tuesday, September 6. Dozens of name magicians were present, all eagerly anticipating the opening moments of the second edition of An Evening with Rob Zabrecky.
Marketplace by Gabe Fajuri
Seventeen products are reviewed this month by Michael Claxton, Farrell Dillon, Peter Duffie, Gabe Fajuri, Brad Henderson, Will Houstoun, and Francis Menotti:
Tortured Tablet by Doug Bennett
The Davenport Story Volume 3: The Life and Times of a Magical Family 1939-2010 by Fergus Roy
Secrets of Wild Card
Mes(s)merize by Stefan Olschewski
Mind Mysteries Guide Book Volume 7 by Richard Osterlind
Bullet Party by John Bannon
Minimax Detector by Edo
Money Matters by Ed Solomon
Howard Thurston’s Card Tricks
Chapeaugaphy
Rameses: The Forgotten Star by Chris Woodward
Memoirs of an Elusive Moth by Adele Friel Rhindress
The Manual of Darkness by Enrique de Hériz
Industrial Revolution by Jamie D. Grant
The Aleph Wallet by Vernet
Beginnings by Johnny Mass
Presentation Magic! by Nick Fitzherbert
Talk About Tricks by Joshua Jay
Back to the Source>br> Frequent contributor Brett Bishop offers an unusual transposition between a marked coin and Kool-Aid, while Chris Congreave’s transposition, Signature Interlude, uses something more conventional: playing cards. Charles Karelis makes his “Talk About Tricks” debut with a business card effect, and Kris Nevling makes a familiar color change even better
Classic Correspondence by Mike Caveney
McDonald Birch to David Price
The name George McDonald Birch is rarely mentioned in the same breath as Kellar, Thurston, Dante, or Blackstone, but a case can be made that if he wasn’t part of this varsity team, he was certainly the first one off the bench.
Coffeehouse Conjuring
Gregory Wilson
My Cup Runneth Over
A cup of Starbucks coffee and a straw are introduced, but not formally. The magician picks up the straw and carefully removes the wrapper. The tiny piece of paper from the end is placed on top of the lid. Next, he waves the straw over the smidgen of paper and it magically adheres. He further demonstrates the wand’s static power by waving it in front of the insulation sleeve/holder, causing it to quickly and mysteriously rise up the cup. Finally, he waves the wand over the cup, and the entire cup eerily slides backward, toward the magician..
Directions by Joanie Spina
For this year’s Directions focus session at MAGIC Live, I worked with young, up-and-coming magician Chris Randall. Chris is a thirty-year-old, second-generation magician from Las Vegas. After rehearsing and implementing new ideas in his material, he performed the revised act at the MAGIC Live Directions session. This article may seem a little harsh, but Chris emerged on the other end with a new direction and “feeling good” about the changes
For What It’s Worth
Mark Kornhauser
You Will Want to Kill Again
The difference between a performer and an aspiring performer is that a performer finds a stage — whether it’s a theater, a comedy club, or Sally’s Pizza — just as surely as a schmecker finds his man. (I think that means a heroin addict finding his dealer.)
The type of venue in which you choose to develop your craft is quite critical. I say “choose” as if you have a choice. In the daily grind, it’s often simply that one job paid fifty dollars more than the other
