John Archer at the 2015 Genii Convention with Fred King

I was unable to attend this year's Genii convention. I was under the impression that the first one was the last one. Ahh well. In my stead, Fred King, a loyal listener and "Friend of the Magic Word" was there this year and took some time to sit down with one of the featured entertainers of the convention. In this podcast, Fred talks with funnyman, John Archer, about his show, the convention, the differences between the U.S. and the U.K as it pertains to comedy magic, magic on television (street performing vs. stage performances and comedy) and much more.

Sorry that I couldn't be there for more great chats and to give you daily convention updates, but I sincerely thank Fred for sending me this fresh audio interview especially for you listeners.

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241: I.B.M. 2015 Convention - Day Four

The 87th annual IBM convention drew to a close after another full day that began with the Order of Merlin breakfast that honored long time members of the organization. The Big Three events wrapped up by noon then the "Six Pack" events began. This is similar to the Big Three except here, registrants pick two from the six events they want to see. The afternoon lecture was by Bill Abbott.

Before the 8:00 public show, the organization presented its awards at a special 7:00 time slot in the Florida Theatre. The judges did not see an act worthy of the Gold Cups or the Gold Medal this year. Here are the winners:

Close-up
McBride Magic & Mystery school faculty award - Jolie Dreiling
IBM endowment and development fund scholarship to Stephanie Trott and Avi Littky
Sorcerers Safari Camp - Jolie Dreiling
Obie Award for People's choice went to Shin Lim
Second place adult - Ed Ripley
First place adult- Shin Lim
Second place junior - William Zaballero
First place junior - Jolie Dreiling
No Gold Cups
Peoples choice award - Shin Lim

Stage
Second place youth - Hannah Kikuchi
First place youth - Daniel Hernandez
Fantasia Magic Package went to Daniel Hernandez
Second place adult - Trent James
First place adult - Chris Randall
No Gold Medal
Peoples choice award - Hannah Kikuchi

The evening show was hosted by Tom Mullica who featured his new pickpocketing act. Also on the bill was Ken Scott, Soma, David Kaplan, and the Outerbridges. Registrants returned to the hotel where they said their goodbyes at the Farewell Party.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:04 - Guest of Honor, Fantasio, and maker of appearing/disappearing candles and canes

00:16:26 - David Gabbay, from Los Angeles, California, was a close-up contestant

00:17:03 - Eugene Burger

00:22:16 - Bill Abbott, performer and lecturer

00:33:54 - various magicians in a room comment on what they liked about this convention

00:38:29 - Chad Long, another performer and lecturer at this convention

Click on the banner to visit the I.B.M. website for more convention information.

239: I.B.M. 2015 Convention - Day Two

Day two in Jacksonville had the second day of stage contests plus the beginning of the "Big Three" shows. The "Big Three" shows are when the registrants are broken up into three separate, color-coded groups and see one of the three events each day. On one day a group will see the David & Leeman show. On the second day, that group will see the David Cox show. And on the third day that group will see the close-up show that features Michael Dardant, Dan Garrett, Paul Cummins, Suzanne, Boris Wild and Chad Long. The other groups will see alternate shows each day. I think you get the idea.

The evening show at the Florida Theater had excitement as patrons entered the theater with Kozmo performing in the lobby. The evening stage show, "Shenanigans", featured Eric Buss along with John & Lari Lynn Shyrock, Ivan Pecel and Greg Shibley.

Context Chairman, Oscar Munoz, announced the six stage finalists who will appear in the Friday Night Show:

From New Hampshire: David Chandler

From Japan: Hannah

From Florida: David Hernandez

From Illinois: Trent James

From Michigan: Stuart McDonald

From Nevada: Chris Randall

The late night lecture back at the hotel was the always hilarious, Tom Mullica!

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:32 - Ted and Marian Outerbridge, illusionists from Canada, talk about touring with a big illusion show.

00:13:33 - Incoming International President of the I.B.M., Joe Turner, talks about his vision and goals for the organization in the upcoming year.

00:28:03 - David & Leeman talk about their experience on America's Got Talent TV show, their cooperative union on-stage personalities and how they interact with each other.

0043:35: - Lion Fludd talks about his mentalism contest show, preparing for a contest, his one-man show in Las Vegas and his road from magic to mentalism

John Archer at the 2015 Genii Convention with Fred King

241: I.B.M. 2015 Convention - Day Four

239: I.B.M. 2015 Convention - Day Two

The Magic Word