900: Dan Sperry - The Anti-Conjuror

With this episode we celebrate the 900th episode of The Magic Word Podcast. Every 50 episodes we like to present a special guest who is well known throughout our worldwide magic community. And who better for this episode than Dan Sperry. He was a regular member of The Illusionists who toured the major stages of the world from Sydney, Australia, to Broadway in New York City. He has headlined in nightclubs, Las Vegas casinos, and performing arts theaters. For many years he has appeared on Masters of Illusion television show as well as many other TV shows. Now residing in Florida, he continues to travel the globe, but when at home, he enjoys (believe it or not) performing for children’s birthday parties.

In this week’s episode, Dan shares his story of how he developed his act and his character. He tells us about his early journey as he worked with doves and learned from some of the true masters like Joseph Gabriel that developed into a residency at a casino in Las Vegas. He toured Canada with Murray Hatfield as he honed his dove act and began to settle into his Shock Illusionist persona. He also talks about developing his talking act that led to work with the Illusionists and television appearances.

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 Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly 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.

852: MAGIC Live! 2024 Convention - Day Four Report

Wednesday, August 7th

(Pre Convention Activities)
24 hours Mystque Lounge, Jackson Square

9:00 a.m. Information Booth, KIosk (11:00 p.m.)
10:00 a.m. Registration, Bienville G (10:00 p.m.)

10:00 a.m. General Session for red lanyards, Showroom (Noon)

11:00 a.m. The MAGIC Shop, Mardi Gras (6:00p)

11:30 a.m. Out to Lunch, Esplanade (1:30p)

2:15 p.m. Focus Sessions for red lanyards (3:15)

Structure and Perception, St. Charles Miguel Angel Gea
World’s Greatest Con, Bienville G Brian Brushwood
Close-up Clinic, French Quarter

3:30 p.m. Focus Sessions for red lanyards until 4:30 pm (see above)

Live Tonight!

Hidden Cabaret, Showroom 5:30, 7:25, 9:30 p.m.
Farewell Party, Mardi Gras 10:00p – 1:00 a.m.
Souvenir Program Handout, Mardi Gras 10:00p – 1:00a

Time stamps for this episode: updates will be posted after I get some sleep

00:00:18 –

851: MAGIC Live! 2024 Convention - Day Three Report

Tuesday, August 6th

24 hours Mystique Lounge, Jackson Square

9:00 a.m. Information Booth, Kiosk 11:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. General Session for red lanyards, Showroom (Noon)

11:00 a.m. The MAGIC Shop, Mardi Gras (6:00p)

11:30 a.m. Out to Lunch, Esplanade (1:30p)

2:15 p.m. Focus Sessions for red lanyards (3:15p)

Acting for Magicians, French Quarter with Chris Philpott & Steve Valentine
Share the Awe, St. Charles with Javi Benitez
Magyver of Magic, Bienville G with Christian Engbloom

3:30 p.m. Focus Sessions for red lanyards until 4:30 p.m. (see above)

Live Tonight!

Documentary Live: The Juniors, Dauphine 5:15, 7:50, 10:15 p.m.
The Little Big Show, Esplanade 5:35, 8:10, 10:35 p.m.
Close-up Experience, Bienville H 6:00, 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 p.m.
In Concert: Tanto, Dauphine 6:30, 9:05, 11:30p
Penguin Magic Podcast, St. Charles 7:00, 8:30, 10:00p

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:20 – Matt Alexander shaved his beard just for the Sunday night costume party. That was quite a commitment. We then summarized some of events that led up to today.

00:20:59 – Armando Lucero is enjoying this convention by visiting with friends and introducing some of them for their presentations. He shared some of the memories of past events.

00:23:31 – John Kippen is a Knight of the Magic Castle and is one of the regular performers there. He has been buying some a lot of magic here and telling us what memories are being created at this convention. He particularly liked Jon Armstrong. He also gives us a tip on how to handle an audience members who might be playing on their phone during your show. He also talks about his Friday Zoom meetings that was started during COVID and continues to this day.

00:31:27 – John Cox was one of the outstanding presenters at this convention as he talks about the book he is working on about Houdini’s life that was taken from his travel diary from 1897-1899.

00:41:22 – Morris Herzberg talks about our long-time friendship which is what this podcast is all about: renewing old friendships.

00:46:30 – Joey Martinez, Entertainment Director at Nashville’s House of Cards, talks about that venue and how has been doing. We also summarize one of the shows at this convention and how much we enjoyed it.