293: Fay Presto - From the Distaff Side of Magic

Fay Presto is one of Great Britain's foremost magician having earned plaudits from her peers and public alike including Sit Paul McCartney...yes, that Sir Paul McCartney and former Beatle. She has won The Magic Circle Close-Up Magician of the Year among so many other awards and is currently touring with the Champions of Magic throughout the U.K. and abroad. This ensemble group of magician predates "The Illusionists" and all other touring magic shows that feature several magicians.

I had a chance to chat with Fay during the recent F.F.F.F. convention while we were in the "doughnut room" which means that there is a lot of ambient background noise. It's not too distracting but adds to the ambiance as she discusses working with the Champions of Magic, performing for Sr Paul McCarrney, Paul Daniels, restaurant magic in England, being a woman in a "man's world" of magic, the importance of tailoring costumes to have adequate pockets (most women's pockets are not made for actually using, but more for fashion), advice for girls/women getting into magic, and much more.

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Time stamps for the product reviews (all are video downloads this week):

00:45:53 - "Mind Journey" by Luca Volpe is a Mental Epic effect using a stack of business cards and utilizing several subtleties that takes this classic in a new direction. Don't be put off by the simplicity of this. Try it as I did and convince yourself how powerful it is. RHighest recommendation of products reviewed this week..

00:49:35 - :INKSIDE: by Rizki Nanda is a cute little walk-around trick using a matchbox. A quick shake of the box and the writing on the matchbox sleeve changes. Fun, clever, but a bit "angley". Second highest recommendation of tricks this week.

00:52:00 - "Riperation" by Andrew Salas is another variation on the classic Torn & Restored Card. This is a nice variation with the card being signed and fully restored. The gimmick you make can be put in an ordinary deck then removed after you have performed it.

00:53:29 - "Sweet 360" by Michael Scanzello is a transposition of sugar into a "ball of sugar: then back to sugar granules. It's not my "cup of tea" nor do I think it is something that I will perform, but you can be the judge. This is a FREE download so you can get excited about Michael's other available effects: Pi Ring and Insidious.

Congratulations to the two winners of our recent contest for a copy of Tom Frame's newest boo, "Framework" valued at $55.00 each. Watch for future contests!

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231: FISM Italy - Prelude

The 26th World Championships of Magic is about to get underway...tomorrow. But first, let's learn a little about FISM and how it's judged and more about the point system and more, plus hear from a few friends I met while waiting to check in at the registration desk.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:59 - Craig Mitchell is joined late in our chat by Shawn Farquhar.

00:09:19 - Peter Rogers and Raymond Crow

00:20:40 - Aaron Crow

00:23:27 - Paul Daniels

00:31:14 - Boris Wild

110: MAGIC Live! Epilogue + Magic & Martinis Thursday

I arrived early at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas to return to Houston knowing that I would run into others from the convention who were returning home, too. No sooner than I had passed the friendly “pat down” from TSA (at no extra charge unlike other places in Las Vegas where they do charge extra for touching), and before I reached the gate, I ran into Fred King from southern California. Fred is a long time listener, first time caller to The Magic Word. Many times he has offered me a glass of scotch as a “thank you” for me providing this free podcast, but there was never an opportune time; however, now we had nothing but time before our flights. So we retired to the bar and settled into a glass of Glenfiddich (it was the only single malt they had) as we discussed and reviewed the convention with particular emphasis on the Wednesday events.

The YouTube video in this blog of The Great Tomsoni and Company's final performance was captured by Joe Turner on his cell phone. Hence the poor recording quality of this historic event. The second video in this blog was taken and posted by collegeofmagic at the end of Johnny and Pam's final performance. It shows Lance Burton plus Penn and Teller honoring Johnny and Pam Thompson for all their years of friendship and creativity to their own acts plus the magic community in general.

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Magic & Martinis Thursday

You have no doubt followed my posts during this week so you know what I have been up to each day. And as mentioned it was a fabulous convention, unlike other magic events. I read a tweet from one attendee who said something to the effect, “I have never learned so much magic at one convention but I haven’t learned one trick.” Well tweeted, my friend.

As I arrived home to Houston, I was pleased to spend the evening with our Scottish friend and magician (who now resides in Wales), John McGrath. He was over this week on business. He arrived just about the time I left for Las Vegas and will return home on Friday. So Thursday was the only night we could get together. He and his wife, Debs, and their children hosted us for many nights in between my lecture dates whilst I was in the U.K. on tour this past May.

I understand that Banachek’s taping for the Japanese network went well earlier this week here in Houston. We are exchanging locations: as I arrive in Houston, he will be heading to Las Vegas. As you may have heard in my little clip with Criss Angel, they will be shooting an episode with basketball great, Shaquille O’Neil for Criss’ upcoming series on Spike TV.

And this Saturday night, David Rangel will be performing a one man close-up show at the Hilton Americas here in Houston. David is also the main house magician at Tokyohanas Grill and Sushi Bar on Thursdays and Saturdays. Next Saturday night, August 24th, Jamie Salinas will perform and host a magic show in Bay Town, TX called "Champions of Magic" featuring the award winning magic and dancing duet “The Rhythm of Magic”, Michael and Jessica Blanco.

As for me, I don’t know how much I will be able to type next week as I will be having hand surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome on my right hand next Thursday the 22nd. That may keep me off the computer for a while. But I plan to quickly do some rehabilitation on my hand with playing cards. I just hope it won’t affect next week’s Magic & Martini Thursday.