At the Fringe Part 1: Redefining Wonder

Last night I went to the Toronto Fringe and Chris Funk's Redefining Wonder. I felt some sympathy because I've had my own Thursday 10PM opening night at a theatre festival, but the show came recommended to me so I went to go see. Magic shows tend to be slightly out of place in theatre festivals. Maybe it's just a phase, but independent theatre seems to lean such that if you're not coping with abuse, death, coming out of the closet or thoughts of suicide, they don't really want to hear from you. That's not to say that some people don't take those serious issues and address them in upbeat and genuinely uplifting ways, but a huge swath of the theatre community is unable to distinguish between sombre and serious. I remember reading the Summerworks program when I was accepted and my own show (which had to do with lying to people non-stop) was the single most cheerful thing in there.

Magic shows also have a tendency to be more like rock concerts - a collection of individual songs. If you add one in, take one out or mess with the order no one would really notice the difference. As such, they tend to be theatrical without necessarily being theatre.

All that being said, Redefining Wonder, is a wonderful and fun magic show. The protagonist, is a charming and disarming caricature of a stage magician; chuckling at his own bad puns, striking a few too many Copperfield-like poses, and dripping with a bit too much ego for someone with the complexion of a sixteen year old.  He calls himself the "wonderist" — a word he had to invent himself — so he appears at first blush to be a bit too pompous to be taken seriously. Then the magic will start to hit you. This is cutting edge stuff with a nice balance of sneaky gizmos, modern technology and good old fashioned cleverness.

What I appreciate most is that it's magic for magic's sake. I'm going to make your $50 appear inside this sealed back of Pepperidge Farm Goldfish because why not, not because of [insert awkward overextended metaphor here].

Although the show does nothing to "redefine" wonder (although one person sitting near me remarked audibly that she left feeling a mixture of astonishment and terror seeing what he could do) it's certainly worth the climb up the stairs to the third floor Robert Gill Theatre (inside the UofT Bookstore building).

There are six shows left between now and July 11. Buy tickets to Redefining Wonder at the Toronto Fringe.

Magic Tonight Gets Snap'd

Our show was refigured recently in SNAPd Magazine (or just SNAP, depending on exactly which edition you're reading). They're a free print and online publication which covers the GTA by region. Magic Tonight was featured this month in both the Mississauga North and the College editions.

Live magic and fine dining were combined for an unforgettable night out, hosted by sleight-of-hand performer James Alan.

The magicians , James Alan, and special guests Michael Close and Matt DiSero performed an astonishing show from magnificent mind readers, to hilarious comedy magicians to breathtaking illusionists (sic). Guests enjoyed this magical night with delicious gourmet dining.

You can see pictures from the shows on the SNAPd websites (links above) and if you live in the areas, find the print edition which should be appearing in their stands shortly.

See a shrinking Michael Close, a rubber chicken wrangling Matt DiSero, an overexposed Ron Guttman lots of smiling people.

So Anyway... (The Book)

I've just finished reading the new memoir from the great John Cleese, So Anyway...

I have long had a special place in my heart for British comedy. When I'm setting up for my shows and need to do a sound check, rather than blandly recite "testing one two three", I'm usually reciting passages from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

When I was much younger, my employer at the time asked me what I thought of "Monty Python" and I told him I didn't really know what that was. It was autumn at the time and some time later I was handed a package for Christmas (I was too young to put two and two together at that point and they were exceptionally generous to me at that point and it could have been anything.) But Christmas morning I opened it to discover the complete Monty Python's Flying Circus (in VHS - which does give you some sense of my age). I promptly watched the lot and fell in love.

John Cleese was a particular favourite from the troupe. His material was physically distinctive - you could spot Cleese from across the room, whereas if you were to put them in drag (which for those unfamiliar with Python, happens frequently) I couldn't tell Terry Jones from Michael Palin. The Ministry of Silly Walks and the Self Defence Against an Attacker Armed With Fresh Fruit were particular favourites and I also enjoyed the iconic Parrot Sketch.

This clearly played a role in the decision to have Magic Tonight at The Bear in Pickering:

What I also discovered some many years later was that Cleese was fascinated by creativity and actually gives talks on the subject. (One such talk available here with lovely subtitles). It simultaneously strikes me as odd and makes complete sense how extremely funny people take the process of being funny so seriously. When they're on stage (or camera or wherever) you are watching them be funny and you don't get a sense of the thought process behind it. There really is an art and a science behind comedy, which you seldom realize because expert comic performers so rarely give the impression of being artful or scientific. Like magic, it's one of those areas where the purpose of the skill is to disguise the fact that you have the skill in the first place.

The book is also a really valuable source of advice for performers - especially new performers. Every few pages, he offers up one of those "If only I had known that back when..." tidbits. Tips on writing, performing, rehearsing, getting over nerves, timing the delivery of a joke. While the memoir portion the memoir is interesting, it's second to me as its usefulness a stage manual for life.

Most importantly the book is most definitely funny. If you want people to look at you funny (funnily?) put it on your iPad and read it on the treadmill at the gym and see what happens as you burst out laughing periodically.

And NOW for something completely different

SOULO Theatre - where I plot and scheme away, largely behind the scenes as the general manager - has just won Best Small Theatre Company from NOW Magazine's Best of Toronto Reader's Choice! Massive credit goes to the team that helped organize the 2014 SOULO Theatre Festival and massive thanks to everyone who voted over the past few months. It's a tremendous honour.

I also spent the afternoon earlier this week locked in a room with some wifi, unhealthy amounts of coffee and the Artistic Director, Tracey Erin Smith, planning updates to the soulo.ca website and there will be more interesting news coming out of that work shortly.

Canada's Magic on The Uncertainty Project

The Uncertainty Project was reviewed, (somewhat randomly) on Canada's Magic.

♣ There will never, ever be a show exactly like the show I saw.  (At least, it's highly improbable.)

♦ Any show with links to Heisenberg, Einstein, Fermat, Schrödinger, and Douglas Adams, is cool in my books.

♥ There were some very powerful moments.

♠ I was absolutely entertained.

The full article is available here.

Mooney on the Uncertainty Project

The Uncertainty Project was reviewed by Mooney on Theatre.

I highly recommend this show to anyone with even the slightest interest in magic. It provides a fun alternative to traditional theatre or a night out at the movies. James Alan: The Uncertainty Project is funny, interesting, and will leave you thinking afterwards. Seriously though, HOW DID HE DO THAT???

The full text of the review can be found here.