magic is about honesty
everything here is true
except for the bits I made up
My appearance on Rogers Daytime Toronto discussing the upcoming Illusions of Grandeur with Tyler Wilson at The Winchester.
About Illusions of Grandeur - Read A Tall Order
Photos from Illusions of Grandeur - Read Tall Tales and Taller Tales
James Alan's YouTube Chanel
In just over two weeks, a new season of the Sid Lorraine Hat & Rabbit Club will be starting. [Edit: after a weird scheduling snag which forced us to push our opening lecture back a week... sorry for that] Sid Lorraine, was a prominent figure among Toronto magicians. The Club was half-renamed after him (It was always the Hat & Rabbit Club) after he passed away. I was four years old when he passed away, and had never met him, but I had the odd chance to get to know him as I had to transcribe his handwritten memoirs (assembled from taped interviews with another past-president, Peter Isaacs) for a memorial blog. The blog, or "ChatterBox" as it's properly called, is a fun read and paints a fascinating picture from the early part of the Twentieth Century of magicians in particular and Canada and England in general.
The size of the club fluctuates slightly year-to-year, but I believe we are the largest local magic organization in the country. Membership is open to magicians and magic enthusiasts. We assemble a diverse group of members; including amateurs, professionals, beginners, collectors and hobbyists. We have members ranging from 14 years old to... well, one of the events is a certain member's 90th birthday party, just to give you an idea.
And I have the distinct honour of being president of this motley crew - for the third year running. It's actually a very fun and rewarding job. The best part, by far, is spending the year with the executive daydreaming about what next year will look like. So this season's lineup of events (which includes guest speakers from Canada, the US, France and Spain!) was assembled bit by bit gradually over several months.
It's traditional to start the year with a Canadian lecture (except last year, when Canadian Magician of the Year, Bill Abbott, lost a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to Eugene Burger and had to wait a month). This year's kick-off lecture is a freshly minted Canadian, with a shiny brand-new permanent resident card, Michael Close (with special thanks to real-Canadian Lisa Close for luring him across the border.) Michael is an internationally known creator, performer, lecturer, and consultant.
Surprisingly, it's not that difficult to put a line-up like this together. While magicians outwardly project a veil of secrecy and mystery, when the public's not looking they can't wait to share their secrets. The community has developed an incredible sense of community through organizations like the IBM, the SAM, the Magic Castle, the Magic Circle and more. For all of the invitations we've sent, I can count the number of people who declined the chance to visit on the fingers of one hand. On reflection it's not that surprising. In any field everyone interested in raising the quality of the work within that field. More talent results in more positive word of mouth - a rising tide lifts all boats.
On a historical note, with the help of one of the club's past presidents, Trevor Hamilton, I've unearthed a brief history of the club and we'll be attempting this year to convert this charming comb-bound package into something which is informative and web-friendly. Flipping through the list of past presidents, I see a rather daunting list of names to live up to including David Ben, Ross Bertram, John Giordmaine, Sid Lorraine and Herb Morrissey. (Names that certainly don't mean much to most people, but leave some rather large shoes to fill.)
So I hope to see lots of new faces, and old, as we come back for another season - either the seventy first or seventy second, depending on how you count. More information about joining the club is available on its website.
One last piece of magic for Wendy's #ExpectToBeAmazed campaign.
I'm actually facing a second camera which is supposed to have an extreme close up of my hands so you can actually see the coins. Not sure what happened to that footage. Oh well.
And remember, actually visit the Wendy's Canada Facebook Page to enter to win a trip for two to Las Vegas.
Back in June, along with several other magicians, I was asked to film a series of short pieces to help promote a new product being introduced by Wendy's Canada - the Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger. Tied in with the magic is the chance to win a trip to Las Vegas. This was originally intended to be a project using faked magic (actors performing with camera tricks) but instead Wendy's opted for real magicians performing with no trick photography. Everything was shot continuously in one take (although there are multiple camera angles for better visibility). The result was the online ad campaign Expect to be Amazed.
The hardest part of the project is the name: try saying "Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburger" over over again - it's hard to say on camera, and I don't think any of us got it right in less than three takes.
Now that the product has been launched, the videos that were shot here in Toronto are being released one by one every few days through Wendy's Canada's Facebook page and YouTube Channel. You can watch my performances along with Mike Segal (Canada's Magician of the Year) and David "Baldini" Grossfield. More are coming, so follow and like to see them all.
And of course, get yourself to a Wendy's so you can try the Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburgerbefore they all disappear.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XZhR3G5WQA&w=560&h=315]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhYpg9vIkDs&w=560&h=315]
Magic is based on surprise and the unexpected. Some of the most fun I have performing is taking magic and putting it in places where people don't suspect it. My favourite instance of this was a few years ago when a company invited me to perform at their annual general meeting. However, the meeting was scheduled for April 1 so instead of listing a magic performance on the agenda, I was stuck in the middle and listed as a speaker on Corporate Governance from the University of Toronto. It was a very much welcomed change of pace for the meeting and everyone went into the second half with a great deal more attention and energy than they would have otherwise.
What particularly surprised me was that following the meeting, several people asked me about my corporate governance training. Of course I have none; I was a math major. But it's interesting how a lie will linger even after the source of the lie has been discredited.
I only bring this up now, because this effect is a double-edged sword. I was recently invited to perform a sixty-fifth birthday party. One particularly imaginative woman took the initiative to go around before I performed and told people that I was the stripper.
Go figure.
For the past three years, one of the major highlights of my hear has been the magic series at Luminato. Now they are making it four years. In the past, they've brought in performers from the US, Spain, France, Chile & Canada. They have done shows in multiple languages, shows for families, shows for children & families and even magic shows for the blind! This year's festival runs June 14-23 with a new magic series spread throughout the festival. The new series, co-organized with Magicana, features three new shows which are Canadian Premieres:
Steve Cohen Chamber Magic
Miguel Puga Concerto for Piano & Pasteboards
Rafael Benatar Compositions
I met Rafael a few years ago and know him to be incredibly charming and talented. Compositions and Concerto are magic-music fusions held at the Telus Centre (next to Varsity Stadium). I'm excited to see the new combination and to see magic introduced into a venue where you wouldn't normally see it.
I only met Steve Cohen briefly (at an airport in San Diego of all places) and I'm excited to see his show. He's normally performing Chamber Magic in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York and seems like they've arranged a suitable space here in Toronto.
If you are in Toronto in June and have the opportunity, I would strongly recommend you make an effort to attend.
