247: Day Three - MAGIC Live! 2015

Another whirlwind day of activities and more surprises. The general session was hosted by David Deeble and included a surprise performance by James Dimare as he performed to new music that was especially composed and arranged for him by one of our speakers, Edward B. Kessel. Jorge Blass talked about his Facebook trick he sold to Copperfield; Wayne Houchin taught a couple tricks from his lecture; and Michael Carbonaro talked about his hit TV show, "The Carbonaro Effect". Another surprise happened when Michael brought a couple on stage and the man proposed to his girlfriend.

The "Focus" Sessions included a wonderful talk by Mike Caveney on "Classic Correspondence" which brought history to life; Martin Lewis teaching something new and something old; and the close-up clinic that featured a grab bag of great close-up pros teaching hands-on card tricks and featured Alan Ackerman, Jason England, Tom Frank, Jared Kopf, Chris Korn, Steve Reynolds and R. Paul Wilson.

The evening show I saw was David and Leeman which was very funny, but before that, we had several groups attend a half hour "experimental" event that had everyone interacting with a projection screen hosted by Richard Wiseman. It was quite entertaining.

A new levitation of a borrowed wine glass, full or empty

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:24 - David Hinkin along with Dick and Diane Olson recap yesterday's event over breakfast.

00:09:14 - Dave Magee talks about why he got off all social media.

00:19:56 - Dirk Losander and Michael Ammar talk about their newest projects and a new levitation trick that will soon be available.

00:29:00 - Peter Nardi, Alakazam Magic, talks about performing at weddings and restaurants in England.

00:45:45 - Paul Draper talks about being the Technical Director of the daily sessions and the challenges of putting it all together.

00:52:28 - Chuck and Jan Jones talk about his creation of various illusions like the MIsMade Girl and lots of stories about his travels and television experience including an interesting story about working with Orson Welles.

01:13:57 - Stan Allen talks about how things are going so far and what all they are doing to keep the surprises secret.

01:28:53 - Bill and Marlene Seagraves talks about this being convention from the perspective of first time attendees.

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180: Epilogue - Abbott's Get Together 2014

As a performer, we were provided lodging in the home of one of the local residents. Many of us were given a room (and breakfast) at the home of Mary Jo and Randy Sharp who lived on the lake. My wife, Kathy, and I shared the home with John and Mary Lynn Shyrock, Ted and Marion Outerbridge, Losander and Brenda, Tim Cripe, and George and Nina Shindler. What wonderful stories we shared over breakfast.

One of the "must do" things while one is in the area is to travel about 40 miles northeast of Colon to Marshall, Michigan. There you will find the American Museum of Magic. I have made several pilgrimages to this hallowed place, but as they say, "there is nothing like your first time." I recently found a recording I made in August 1984 that takes you inside the Museum and given a private tour by its curator, Bob Lund.

Also appearing in the early part of this video, you can hear Obie O'Brien's laughter and catch a glimpse of Michael Weber and Dana Daniels. At the time, I was more interested in the building and its artifacts than I was in capturing people's images and chatting with them.

In this podcast, I turned on the microphone during our final day's breakfast on Sunday morning. John and Mary Lynn Shyrock had already departed earlier in the morning (we were all up until around 4:00 a.m. regaling each other with tricks and stories). But George Shindler had an amazing amount of stories about, well, just about everything.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

178: Day 3 - Abbott's Get Together 2014

Day three of the Get Together with a Magic Minster session at the local Methodist church followed by the stage competition. I was busy at the library putting together and uploaded Day Two's podcast so I missed the competition. But at 1:00 I hosted the cruise talk show version of "now You See It with Scott Wells" in the afternoon followed by the professional close-up show that was more than capably hosted by Ali Shelly. Performers included Kayla Dresher, John Shyrock, Joshua Jay and Shoot Ogawa. It was as strong of a close-up show as I have seen.

After the close-up show, it was time for tech rehearsal for the evening show which I compered. It was a night of firsts. All of the acts were performing at the Get Together for the first time. Also, the first act, Losander, received the first standing ovation of the convention. Of course the day concluded downtown at the Legion Hall and Clancy's.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:02:13- Enjoy breakfast with George and Nina Shindler, Losander, Marion and Ted Outerbridge, John Shyrock and my wife, Kathy as we share stories about problems encountered on the road.

00:15:14 - Enjoy a special edition of "Now You See It with Scott Wells" that featured a talk focused on the cruise ship industry with some of the busiest working pros at sea today. Guests include Fred & Bobbi Becker, John Shyrock, Chris Mitchell, Chris Blackmore, and Howard Mincone.

01:12:52 Joshua Jay brings us up to date on the upcoming conventions he is involved with producing including the Session, Magic-Fest and the Genii Bash.

01:16:56 - Underground magician and illustrator Tom Gagnon talks about how his creative process plus some of the books he has written and illustrated.

247: Day Three - MAGIC Live! 2015

180: Epilogue - Abbott's Get Together 2014

178: Day 3 - Abbott's Get Together 2014

The Magic Word