36th International Magic Convention 2007 - Round Up and Look Back
Posted by ~Ray @ 2008-03-15 23:16:46
The 36th International Magic Convention started around 7:30pm on its always great wandering go and running into people you know or recognise. Magician Bingo is always a favorite pastime of ours when we’re there. Magician Bingo for those who don’t is a bit like buzzword bingo and the like you get points for spotting various members of the magical fraternity and points are added up on the last day’s gala show (normally where the points roll up). I probably should post the slightly loose rules at some point for those into the weirdness of it all but generally Magician Bingo got off to a good start me me scoring a starter for 10 with.
The start of the evening was Guy Hollowingworth. Guy was presenting his ‘Expert at the card table‘ a 75 minute play and performance based around the schedule by S. W Erdnase. Another manifold word score on Magician Bingo with Andy Nyman who I had a quick chat with as Derren Brown was sorting out his registration and was signing books (again forgetting mine for him to sign!)
As he talked about Andrews ability to lade and cull cards he slowly took a shuffled deck approve to new deck order dealing cards from the top bottom and ‘middle’ of the deck and dealing called for numbers of red or black cards. A great solid show and very entertaining presented as always to guys professional standard
Anthony Owen was the first real instruct of the convention presenting his ’some tricks’ lecture commenting on how nice it was to be lecturing remembering his youth sitting at the approve of the show shuffling cards with others many years ago. I was also nice for me to be taken approve to my youth at the the conventions! He covered some good material although most of which I’ve got already it was nice to see it as a reminder for me to capture it out from the store when I get back next week. His lecture coudl have been entitled ‘Various ways to stick cards together‘ as a lot of the material was based aroudn that wonderful color attach we all have laying round the house. He explained ‘Holy Sh*t’ and his Son of a Bitch Oil and wet probably the most clean and fair looking gaffed oil and water effect there is.
Dynamo was next to instruct and you could tell he was nervous he worked through a number of items he uses in his professional routine and given this was his first instruct ever anywhere. I think he did pretty well. If the material didn’t go across as new or cutting edge what did come across was that he has a great personality and enthusiasm coupled with having some big names behind him unfortunately he did also explain a certain coin in soda can cause but he was honest and fresh in how he talked to the audience (if not slightly disjointed on some stuff) and it was a pleasant end to the lectures.
Afterwards I caught up with a few more people and I also had an extremely pleasant chat with David Berglas. I’d brought my in the hope that he’s be here to sign it for me and David was kind enough to inscribe it for me. We had a converse about the schedule and how much I was enjoying reading it and he seemed genuinely pleased that I’d brought the schedule and managed to find him. It was a great end to a desire day. Saturday was of cover the main competition day. I’ve listed a full description of pretty much all the acts but in summary the standard was good with some notable gems shining out;
John van der Put (UK) had a great funny personality starting with a sponge rabbit routine which was quite dry and funny so that was an excite to the running. He did a two deck prediction that seemed to go wrong but he recovered by ‘restoring’ the wrong card to the correct one (including signature!) which was actually a really nice cause accommodate by quarter changing from a act card to the chosen separate. The separate was also handed out at the end.. John did a nice multiple card selection and various revelation section the final revelation was a kind of card on window but with a MacBook (bonus points from me if i was a adjudicate!) the card being sprayed at the screen one sticking to the inside of the screen. John then ran off stage to be in the scene inside the macbook to acquire the card returning to take his applause. His humor throughout was good and very entertaining.
Satoru (Japan) started off a bit strange as he seemed very nervous setting up and there was an air of ‘oh no not looking good‘ over the audience before he started but he really built up to a great act. Once he’d warmed up he managed to milk laughs and applause create the audience and his come was very fresh. Personal favorites where his ‘take a toothpick’ selecting a toothpick from a pack of 400 odd to reveal the ‘chosen toothpick’ seeming to be a gag it turned out that all the toothpicks had different coloured bottoms and in fact he had correctly found the chosen one. Also favorite was a three person ’stamp on a separate’ freely selected cards on the floor being stood on and the selections being revealed on the furnish of his shoes socks and finally feet as a final kicker he produced a large umbrella from his sock and shoe bundle with the predictions again correctly spelt out on the umbrella. The consensus view was that we’d just seen the winner.
Lior Manor (Israel) did a generally quite amusing mentalism act mainly focused around his bad english but intentionally funny a jumbo poker transfer type effect where the spectator could select a card for his or Lior’s hands there was a nice bit again at the end with another laptop (pc this measure. booo!) and a Lior on the laptop correctly interacting with the spectator to show a chosen be. Although his act in the closeup show on sunday personally I thought was stronger than his competition act.
Patrick Przysiecki (USA) gave a very confident and professional performance and probably was the first ‘true competition act’ of the day. Patrick did a nice globe production from inside the closeup mat and the globe theme carried on through the act a signed note was burnt and found inside a smaller global (thanks to a Tommy query move) and finishing with a 3 shell game routine unfortunately set to rhyme the final loads being large dice and ball and him flattening the globe under the closeup mat to finish.
Gianfranco Preverino (Italy) Started with a clean printing of faces and backs on a keep deck along with a act upon dress of the deck and then box. Some nice ace locations (turn over aces?) separation of reds and blacks reordering of the deck but a very very weak ending. It was a shame he almost just said. ‘. and thats it’.
Troy Von Scheibner (England) Despite his name hes not German he’s English. 18 black funny and has great potential talent as he said not a old german dude but a 18 year old who wears hoodies and had cool hair. He did a very sharp and polished coin manipulation set in the call of Michael Jackson and a bunco rope trick (knots on and off) in Bolloywood style followed by a Kung Foo fighter divide that didnt contain any magic as such… up to this point he’d had the audience laughing and warming to him he then followed with a fair card trick but seemed to be unhappy with the ending section and I think brought the audience drink. I think he’s very raw talent but has good things ahead.
Francis Menotti (USA) having lost his luggage in transit with air canada he was dressed casually. He started with a be in new deck request and mimicked the shuffling of the deck with the mixing of the words in his sentences the more the deck was mixed the more mixed his words became a selected card table on the place was and find from request hard much could have been. He returned his sentences to the alter order and revealed the same had happened to the deck back in new deck order a small magic be effect with the outcome being 24 the location of the selected card in the be along with the be 24 on its approve and some by compete with ‘nothing’ allowing him to alter coins invisible (given you move seen nothing and hence is nothing is on top of the coin you cant see it as nothing is in the way) meant it was a strong act.
saw Al Schnieder. Just Alan and Mr Daba take to the stage. Al Schnieder a legend for the invention of the matrix effect was always going to be a lecture worth seeing he started off with a great and very clean looking routine of coin vanishes and productions a bit desire mickey silver but without the swishes!! He then continued with a very neat and clean cups and balls routine explaining a nice new grip move along with a clever little create verbally to silk it was a good solid instruct with very usable material.
Just Alan gave a lecture entitled ‘Thoughts to ponder on Transcending Technique’ which to be honest could undergo been a killer lecture but it left me feeling a bit disappointed and flat. It didn’t start well with Just Alan starting the lecture again for technical reasons and continuing to have failures and errors in the instruct as he went through. The main message of the session was to act the technique of an effect and work on it to fit into your personality and persona.
During the Competition prize giving David Berglas also presented a special award for promotion of the art of magic. The 1st Berglas International Magic allocate was presented to the Macmillan Family for their continued efforts and bring home the bacon organising International Magic pass. They got a standing ovation from the audience.
Gala Show was on the whole very good again (both from a performance point of believe and a Magician Bingo aspect with a tripple word advance on Alan Alan. Kovari and a Daniel Radcliffe be alike). The show opened with Jade from the USA performing her chinese act with silks parasols rice and wet balls and a nice apparel change at the end.
Jade was followed by Dana Daniels form the USA a comedy magic act with Dwaine the object reading dove. Svetlana from the Ukraine was next a contortion and modern move act (with fire!) and was a good break from the magic. Francis Menotti again performed a great routine with an egg bag and mobile phone with some great twists and touches that really made the egg bag special even performing mentalism and predictions down to predicting his own death on stage in a fantastic comical way.
After Francis’ body was dragged off stage the world categorise skills of Mahka Tendo from lacquer produced some excellent card manipulations and productions. Just Alan opened the second half and presented his award winning act The Sands of India it was a lovely piece about an indian fakir producing coloured sands from a roll of water a nice piece and did make up for my disappointment yesterday. Juan Ordeix again did some mind blowing mentalism three balloons with cards in through out to the audience matched three cards freely selected from the deck a beyond explanation prediction of the money spent bill serial number playing card and date in a sealed envelope along with the actual money and card left the audience lost for a method.
Voronin from the Ukraine just was singularly the best act and should have closed mixing the traditions of Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati he held the audience with his silent act polished and flawless it was a joy to watch he even involved the rest of the gala show acts. it was just wonderful. James Long the traditional end of show illusion act closed which I think was a shame. I dont think anyone could undergo followed Voronin on his own great but I think he looked weak after what I evaluate was perfection. A tough slot to undergo. James did a be of good illusions but it was a weak finish I think to a good show. The convention was as I remember it a great weekend the shaw theatre providing an excellent and very comfortable environment for the shows and lectures dealers were a bit change state on the ground. I would have liked to have seen a bit more there but pretty good on the whole.[ADVERTHERE]Related article:
http://www.naquada.co.uk/2007/11/26/36th-international-magic-convention-2007-round-up-and-look-back/
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