827: Raymond Crowe - What a Wonderful Life

From Adelaide, Australia, Raymond Crowe bills himself as the “Unusualist.” An apt title, indeed, as his act is hard to describe and one of a kind. More than a magician and mime, he is a shadow artist as well. His on-stage character can be seen and “felt” by audiences regardless of the size of the theater. He can emote feelings and emotions with a mere gesture, tilt of his head, or movement of his eyes, plus his magic is original and amazing. He has performed around the world including a command performance for the Queen of England! He toured with The Illusionists as they traveled around the world from the Sydney Opera House to Broadway in New York City. He has had appearances on David Letterman’s Late Show, Australia’s Got Talent and even on America’s Got Talent. He has competed at FISM and lectured/performed at MAGIC Live! and Blackpool.

If you are more of a visual person, then you might like watching our interaction via Zoom as we recorded this week’s episode.

This week, Raymond Crowe talks about his beginnings as he learned mime/theater from Madame Zora. He also talks about his humble beginnings as a manipulator and how he learned the art of shadowography.

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826 - Mike Miller - Talent Booker

More than a magician, Mike Miller, Past National President of the S.A.M., also books talent for many magic conventions including the S.A.M. convention, Abbott’s Get Together, Super Sunday, and many others. He scours the world looking for unique acts to book. He has a good eye for spotting up-and-coming performers before they “hit it big” on the international scene. The best way to be seen by Mike is by competing and performing in other magic conventions. For several years, Mike also booked acts for a multi-city tour of China. Today he regularly performs at the Smoke & Mirrors Theater in Philadelphia while still searching for convention acts. As a result of his untiring efforts in helping magicians around the world, the Academy of Magical Arts will present a Special Fellowship to him at the awards banquet on May 17, 2024.

If you are more of a visual person, then perhaps you might enjoy watching our interaction during our Zoom conversation.

In this episode, Mike Miller talks about his career as a talent booker and how Hank Moorehouse shaped his life. He talks about how he goes about finding unique acts and how he learned to be a stage manager, too.

825 - Mark Weidhaas - Christmas in April

Past National President of the Society of American Magicians, Mark Weidhaas, is a jolly old man. Well, he may not really be “that” old, but he is jolly! A Structural Engineer by day, Mark “moonlights” as “Inspector Magic” for children at birthday parties, family gatherings, libraries and schools. But during the Christmas holidays, he dons his red cap and cape to become Colorado’s Santa Claus. He is also very involved with planning magic conventions for the S.A.M. and in particular, he is one of the co-organizers for MAGIC Texas in Arlington, Texas, later this year.

This week Mark Weidhaas tells us about his first magic convention and the importance of attending these gatherings. One of the topics discussed this week is “magic exposure” and how the national organizations handle it. He also tells us about how he developed his “Inspector Magic” character, but perhaps most importantly, we discuss how to enter into the lucrative field of making appearances as Santa Claus.

Timestamps of some of our topics;

(00:00) The Wonder Bash is coming up in Grand Rapids, Michigan next month

(00:49) Mark Weidhaas talks about becoming a Santa Claus and how to do it

(02:35) Scotty: We're in Colorado Springs following a rather torrential blizzard

(05:57) David Ginn got into magic late in life through volunteer fire department

(11:50) The camaraderie of a magic club can take you places

(16:05) You have different tricks for different ages. Do you have different acts?

(18:12) Are you performing only in the springs or do you go up to Denver or country

(19:18) You've been a Santa Claus for many years now

(22:12) Dal says portraying Santa Claus is rewarding and quite lucrative

(27:50) There are so many things you can do with Santa and different places

(29:40) Scott: We are getting very close to the Wonder bash convention in Michigan