magic is about honesty
everything here is true
except for the bits I made up
Dani DaOrtiz, whom we hosted for a series of special events in 2013 (and again in 2016) is a true wizard. And he has a very special way of making your brain hurt. He does this sort of thing*
* Shared for no other reason than to add a bit of magic to your Wednesday.
What a creepy evening on Magic Tonight! Nick Wallace is, as I have maintained for years, the devil. In addition to an extremely creepy doll which seemed to form strange invisible connections with nearby individuals, he was turning people into human puppets and swallowing sharp objects. Odd how when you say it like that it doesn't sound anywhere near as fun as it is in person. Go figure. Take a look at some of what we got up to. Magic Tonight continues through the summer on Sunday nights at the Crimson Lounge in Toronto. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.
For those using the Lie Detector app which is part of Denis Behr's trick in Seventeen Secrets Volume 2, he made a small update which improves the working. You should go to his site and redownload the app to get the slightly better version. The method behind the trick remains exactly the same, but the output of the app has been made slightly clearer, which makes the effect clearer in the eyes of the audience. The change came about because of suggestions from Dani DaOrtiz while he was in Toronto recently.
For those of you that bought the book but haven't tried the trick because of the [secret stuff] involved, you should. It's one of the most ingenious combination of diverse principles that I have ever come across and the result is an iPhone that appears as though it can read minds.
While catching up on sleep, I'm coming down from the high brought on by spending five days with Dani DaOrtiz. He was a guest, visiting from Spain, here to do a series of seminars and shows with Abracadabaret, The Hat & Rabbit Club and The Browser's Den of Magic. I remember first hearing about Dani and his magic four years ago. I remember not believing what I heard. After all, this is an industry built on misleading people (for entertainment) and we have no shortage of hype. Imagine my surprise when, earlier this year at Magi Fest in Columbus, Ohio, I saw Dani live. He wasn't just as good as they were saying, he was somehow better.
There is a feeling that comes with spending time with truly great magicians. It's a sense that anything is possible that seems to ooze out of their pores and seep into you by osmosis. Or maybe it's disorientation brought on by too much time in nice restaurants and not enough sleep. Who knows? But several other magicians that spent time with us mentioned a similar feeling… almost a religious experience. Apparently those can be brought on just as easily by card tricks!
More than a few people asked me how I was able to pull off organizing these events - the sold out show, sold out workshops and the lecture packed to the rafters with local magicians. The secret is, as usual, I cheat.
It takes a lot of people to coordinate large projects and these were no exceptions. Top of the list is the executive of the Hat & Rabbit Club: Chris Harvison, Pete DiLisi, Eric Simmatis and Andrew Goss (along with our secret cohort of learned advisors). Our partners in crime at The Browser's Den: Jeff Pinsky, Lisa & Michael Close. The crew at the Wychwood Theatre: Beth Brown, Dean Johnston, Joe Culpepper and Ivan Bekcic. And for being generally magical: the loveable Ben Train, the resourceful Chris Mayhew, the dependable Bobby Motta, the generous Daniel Zuckerbrot, the incomparable Mahdi Gilbert and the hunky Joshua Jay.
Now I'm going back to sleep, then to the gym. In the meantime, you can look at pictures:
Coming up in just over one week, we will be hosting a special event with renowned Spanish card magician, Dani DaOrtiz. The show takes place on Saturday, November 9 at 8:00 PM at The Wychwood Theatre. This is our third time at the Wychwood - an elegant and intimate space built into the old streetcar barns just off of St. Clair. Asi Wind performed there in 2011 and I had the premier of my show there in 2012. The venue is ideally suited to the performance. There are no bad seats in the house and Dani is a superlative performer. I first saw him live earlier this year in Columbus, OH performing for a room full of knowledgable magicians. Having seen a lot of magicians, I can tell you that few magicians can delight and entertain a room that size for an extended period of time. And even fewer can fool a room full of magicians. You could probably count the number of living magicians in the world who can do both on your fingers and Dani is one of them.
Tickets are now available online for $30 (fees and taxes already included) with discounted tickets for groups of five or more. Scroll down to purchase through Eventbrite using PayPal or your credit card. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the show.
I hope you can join us for what is sure to be an unforgettable event.
for
Dani DaOrtiz - Magic from Spain
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Performances are family friendly but not recommended for children under twelve.
Produced in association with
,
The Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club
and the
.
We're working on a very special event for Saturday, November 9 so save the date.
Or not.
It's your life.*
More information coming soon.
*That's a bit of a hint.
