Msgr. Vincent Foy

I learned recently that Monsignor Vincent Foy passed away at the age of one hundred and one. He was an important figure in magic in Toronto who also happened to be a distinguished Catholic priest. 

As is, I'm sure, true of most disciplines; many of the notable figures in the field go completely unheard of in the world at large. I'm not sure what to say when people ask me who my "favourite" magician is (why would I be boring enough to settle for just one?) because most of the possible answers will involve people they have never heard of. And many magicians make meaningful contributions to the craft, sometimes over the course of decades, as pure hobbyists while maintaining normal human jobs. 

In this case, he was the ghostwriter for two very important books highlighting the magic of Canadian master magician Ross Bertram. He also published some smaller pamphlets under the pen name of Dr. George E. Casaubon (in case someone objected to a priest knowing his way around a deck of cards.) Later in life his collection of one-handed cuts with a deck of cards was compiled and released in A Cut Above. 

I had the opportunity to meet him twice when I was invited to perform at his residence as part of Magicana's Senior Sorcery program. They were always sure to reserve him a front row seat for the many magic shows hosted there. 

This photo was taken in 2015 a few months before he hit triple digits. 

Msgr. Vincent Foy

Martinis for Charity

Later this month, a community organization in Oakville is hosting a special night of Magic & Martini. You can join us at

The Church of the Incarnation
1240 Old Abbey Lane in Oakville

on

Saturday, March 25
starting at 7:00 PM

All proceeds from the show are part of fundraising efforts, specifically focused on helping them move forward a green agenda. The church has an ambitious geothermal project underway for their HVAC system which is currently at end of life. They are setting a great example for the community and I hope you make it out to support. 

Tickets to the event are $30. If you're in the neighbourhood, please join us.

 

I'd like to drink Stephen Fry's magic milk

He wrote... expecting the world to spit coffee onto its collective screens...

But magical the milk is nonetheless:

My morning is made!

An additional performance of Magic & Martini

I'm thrilled at the response we've received for Magic & Martini. Nearly all of our shows since October have been completely sold out. We're doing our best to accommodate the additional demand. 

Our show in Oakville for Friday, May 12 sold out recently (that's over two months in advance!) so we've added an additional performance on Friday, May 19. Tickets for the show are available online. Readers can use the code secrets for a discount on tickets. 

 

Magic & Martini in Oakville

Thanks to everyone who attended our sold-out show at O'Finn's Irish Temper in Oakville on Friday night. It's the largest crowd we've had for one of those shows. 

Our next event out that way is Friday, April 21, 2017. Readers can use the code secrets for a discount on the price of tickets when purchasing online. 

Here are some photos from the show:

Photos by Tyler Williams

How to practice

In addition to my performing career, I've had lots of opportunities to work with students in different fields. For years I taught martial arts (which was mostly how I paid for university where I studied math... not the fast track to popularity you would think it was) and for nearly as many years tutored math (primarily for high school students). Now I teach magic several times a year through a children's community outreach program called My Magic Hands. 

One of the things which often needs to be included in that training is an instruction on how to practice. This short animated clip summarizes things quite nicely. It's important, because once you learn strategies for effective practice, they transfer almost immediately to any discipline. 

While they gloss over it briefly towards the end, particularly effective is the idea of starting slowly and building up speed over many, many repetitions. I remember both for students of martial arts and magic, when something is not working, the tendency was to attempt to do it faster or more vigorously. In fact, speed early on just diminishes the amount of control that you have and tends to make things worse.

When it came to math, the equivalent was for the student to try to do as much work in their head as possible. I believe the unstated premise was that the method which had the least amount of writing in the page was the most effective because it got to the solution "faster". In fact, trying to juggle lots of pieces of information behind the eyes slowed them down, increased their chances of making a mistake and making it impossible to find later. What proved the most valuable the most often was the method which left the most steps visible on the page (in accordance with the cliche dictum of showing your work). 

Another early magic mentor highlighted another important phrase: practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent. So effective practice becomes extremely important.