874: James Harrington - Half a Mind

James Harrington and his wife, Marina, have one of the most incredible two-person mind reading acts I have seen. I experienced their show recently at MAGIC Texas in Dallas where they gave multiple shows for intimate groups of 30 people. The speed at which they move and the information shared as they both talked with each other and the audience was something that rivaled or eclipsed most other similar acts I have seen. This was their first ever magic convention performance and I feel lucky to have witnessed that because they normally only perform in their home region of Dubai.

This week we chat with James Harrington, one half of Mind2Mind, because regrettably, his wife Marina was ironically suffering with a migraine headache. In this episode James tells us about how he traveled from his home in England and where and how he met and married Marina then developed their incredible act. We do talk about other acts, but each has its own personalities and agendas and methods.

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767: Randy Wakeman - I've Been Around for a Long, Long Years

Randy Wakeman has been around for many decades and was often seen lecturing and performing at magic conventions. Nonetheless, I have always seen him as an “underground” magician who appeals to the true sleight-of-hand experts. He is one of those guys who has “been there, done that, has the t-shirt” as he was one of the regular performers about the Chicago Bar Magic Scene before the turn of the last century. He has written several books on magic (card magic mostly) and is still relevant in our community as a performer, teacher and author.

While at the recent Senior Tour close-up convention in St. Louis, The Magic Word spoke with Randy as part of the convention report content. He was preparing for a workshop, so we didn’t get a chance to go in-depth as I had wanted. But we agreed to get together at the 4F convention in Buffalo a couple months later. True to his word, we sat down to complete our chat which results in this episode. The content of our chat in both places was a little disjunctive, so the editing required us to put the second conversation first then plug in the chat in St. Louis and finish with our talk while in Buffalo. This sounds more confusing that it actually is, but I know you will understand and enjoy our chat.

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733: Jeanette Andrews - For Art's Sake

How does one explain art? Art means something to each beholder. Art is an experience unique to each of us. What some like, others may not like, or just be lukewarm to the concept. Such is the experience of our audiences. Some like what we do while others may not. In some cases they may not even understand what we are trying to communicate. But for the most part, most magicians don’t have a message or concept they are trying to get across to their audiences. Moreover, most of us just try to “entertain” with our magic without thinking of what deeper messages we could be exploring or displaying.

Our guest this week, Jeanette Andrews, is what I would call a true “artist” in the sense that she thinks deeply about the aesthetics of her props and the message she wants them to convey. More than just the visual of the staging, she also gives attention and importance to the accompanying music selections. She has also tapped into a heretofore rather unexplored target market of art patrons of museums and galleries.

In her early years in Chicago, Jeanette was heavily influenced by her mentor, Eugene Burger. She tells about some of the great advice he taught her and how it influenced her act and career and even her lifestyle. She also discusses her act and how she incorporates art into her act. Her act is more like looking at art in galleries as she creates striking poses and slowly displays each piece she touches and incorporates into her show.

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here..If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

This book is the one recommended by both Eugene Burger and Jeanette Andrews for all travelers.

If you are interested in the history of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago, Illinois, then you might enjoy this fascinating look at history of the Exposition and the first serial killer in the U.S. (H.H. Holmes) who clouded the event.