334: A Magical Christmas Carol

Over the past year, I have attended a LOT of magic conventions. During those events, i have tried to update you with what was going on each day with daily updates from the organizers, talent, registrants, and dealers plus sometimes a little "color" background outside of the hotel.

But while I had some of my guests "cornered" for a few minutes, I asked them to do a reading of the classic story, "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. As many of you don't know, Dickens was a bit of a conjurer himself having performed during the summer of 1949 in a coastal resort off of the Isle of Wight purveying prestidigitation to those on holiday in the area. He was known as the “Rhia Rhama Rhoos - the Unparalleled Necromancer" and reportedly performed many unusual tricks including making playing cards magically burst into flames, transporting a woman’s watch from inside a wooden box and into the middle of a loaf of bread, and even cooking a steaming hot plum pudding in a gentleman’s top hat.

But prior to his venturing onto the stage to prestidigitate, he had already written many of his well-known novels including one published in 1843 which would become the iconic classic and perennial treatise on the holiday, "A Christmas Carol".

So here I present you this year's audio greeting card with great gratitude to all of my guests who participated in this project and also to all of you who regularly listen to The Magic Word Podcast. Happy Holidays!

As a little added treat for you this holiday season, here is a video I filmed and edited in 1985. Magician Scott Wells is visited by "three foreign" visitors who want to learn magic. In this video, Scott performs close-up, stand-up and stage magic for his guests. He also gives magic lessons to his guests; however, these instructions have been edited out of this public video.

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. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

Order your calendar from Amazon and help support The Magic Word Podcast

Looking for something magical to buy througn Amazon.com? Then please visit the Amazon website to shop and help support The Magic Word Podcast.

319: Day 3 - TAOM 2016

Schedule for Sunday, September 4

7:00 a.m. - ? - Grab ‘n’ Go Breakfast Bar – Ballroom Foyer
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - Church Service - Ballroom
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Dealers Room Open - Beachcomber
9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - General Meeting – Ballroom
9:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. - 2017 Registration – Ballroom Foyer
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Lecture – David Stone – Ballroom
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lecture – Cody Fisher – Ballroom
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Magic Luncheon – Kokomos
2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Professional Close-up Show – Catamaran, Longboat, Outrigger & Kokomos featuring: David Stone, Danny Orleans, David Rangel, Stuart McDonald, Ben Jackson, and Doug Gorman
7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. - Stars from Around the World – Ballroom Featuring Dal Sanders as MC with Danny Orleans and Jan Rose, Dal Sanders, David Stone and David Thomas
10:30 pm. - 12:00 a.m. - President’s Party – Kokomos
10:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. - Dealers Open - Last Chance

Trigg presents his unique blend of tech-magic for Masters of Illusion TV show and the legendary magicians Penn & Teller "Fool Us"

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:14 - Banachek talks about some of his latest adventures plus reminisces about working in the Corpus Christi comedy club and other T.A.O.M. conventions.

00:16:28 - David Thomas was the director of Six Flags theme park productions for many years and he tells us how he selected magicians for working the parks.

00:22:27 - We continue our chat with David Thomas following David Stone's lecture.

00:32:36 - Trigg Watson talks about performing for Pann & Teller Fool Us television show plus preparing for contests and other TV shows.

00:38:37 - Close-up competitor, John Dahlinger (with whom we chatted on the first day) won the close-up competition and we do a follow-up chat.

00:42:46 - David Stone was busy today with an early morning lecture followed by his "professional close-up show" then the evening's finial stage gala. He unwinds a little with us at the President's Party.

257: Magic Chat at the Chateau du Magique

As an attachment to a recent podcast, I gave a link to my irregular, half hour podcast, "Meals With Magicians" which was recorded at the riverside home of Trixie Bond in the Texas Hill Country. Also sitting outside on the veranda for breakfast and joining the conversation was Jay Scott Berry, Suzanne the Magician, and Don Wiberg.

After the 30 minutes was over, I felt that we were just getting started with an intensely deep and interesting conversation. So, I turned on the microphone and recorded a second half. I know that "Meals With Magicians" is not widely heard but I felt that what we discussed warranted a larger audience. So, I have included that podcast as the first half of this longer one. If you already heard that podcast on Spreaker.com, then you might want to either hear it again to get the context of the latter half of this podcast, or you might wish to skip forward to about the halfway mark to hear the last half hour of our conversation.

Suzanne is the only woman to win the coveted "Close-Up Magician of the Year" award from the Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle). In this 2-DVD set, you will learn Suzanne's valuable secrets on how to properly structure a magical performance to create a standout show, as well as some fabulous magic.

Take a front row seat at Hollywood's famed Magic Castle. Known as "The Carnegie Hall of Magic", its 3 main theatres showcase the world's finest magicians. At 19, I was the youngest magician to ever perform there. Some years later I joined the very few who have presented 1000 shows in these hallowed halls. From The Close-up Gallery to The Palace of Mystery, my favourite room has always been The Parlour of Prestidigitation. With that thought, I invite you back to January 27, 2013...Enjoy.

“Suspicion and wonder cannot exist simultaneously in the mind of the audience.” – Jay Scott Berry

This is just one of the great ideas discussed in this week’s podcast that includes Preparing your lecture, dealing with hecklers on stage or at a restaurant table, the story about a heckler in Shawn Farquhar’s show many years ago who burned down his home, getting the attention of children for your kid’s show, and Suzanne recommends listening to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi who looks at those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow." Trixie also talks about how to mentally prepare for performing whether it is before a birthday party or a stage show and the life-changing results it could bring (the power of the experience).

Jay Scott Berry also shares a key element from his lecture – A.C.E. which stands for Attitude, Charisma and Enthusiasm. He goes into detail about each of these areas that will help you with your show, too.

Don Wiberg talks about the importance of knowing how to give a lecture, what is the first thing you should NOT say when you come on stage, and how to structure an interesting opening line. We also talk about bringing the awe and wonder back to our performances.

MagicPad is a versatile, packs flat, plays big effect (performed at the Magic Castle) AND it's a very useful iPad case for daily use!