634: 2021 Austin T.A.O.M. - Day One Report

Friday September 3, 2021

9.30am-11.30am - Collectors Meeting: Bill Winters presents “Walter Gibson, the Man Who Knew the Titans of Magic” and A virtual presentation of the Houdini collection by the Curator Eric Colleary.
Free for all!

12pm-5pm - Registration Desk Open

12pm-5pm - Dealers Room Open

1pm-2pm - Lecture: JD Stewart

2pm - Dealer Show 1

2.30pm-3.30pm - Lecture: Kent Cummins

3.30pm - Dealer Show 2

4pm-5pm - Lecture: Cody Fisher

4pm-5pm - TAOM Board Meeting

5pm-6pm - Dinner Break

6pm-8pm - Dealers Room Open

6pm-8pm - Cocktail Party

6.30pm - Dealer Show 3

7pm - Dealer Show 4

7.30pm - Dealer Show 5

8pm-9pm - Cocktail Gala Show: Brian Brushwood and Justin Robert Young

9.30pm-11pm - Lecture: Michael Ammar

11.30pm-12.30am - S. Ravencraft’s “TAOM after Dark” – Cabaret: Bizzaro & Carisa Hendrix

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:17 - a chat with the Secretary/Treasurer of the T.A.O.M. Mary Cay Gold. She is also the Guest of Honor at this year’s convention

00:12:28 - T.A.O.M. 2021 President, Bertil Fredstrom, chats with us before the convention begins. A rare moment of early contemplation.

00:23:09 - Kent Cummins talks about his monthly magic column and his lecture he delivered this afternoon

00:29:38 - Saul Ravencraft talks about the Bizzarre Midnight Magic Shows coming up for the next three nights

00:37:24 - Ken Dickensheets talks about why sound and light are all so important at magic conventions

00:41:32 - Justin Robert Young tells us about this evening’s show along with Brian Brushwood that replaced Nick Diffatte in the evening’s gala show

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621: Chris "Saul Ravencraft" Walden - A Bizzarist Comes Out

Chris Walden, from “Keep Austin Weird” Austin, Texas, is a professional entertainer who has won a comedy award from the Texas Association of Magicians; however, he soon realized that was not who he was. As he continued his journey of introspection, he came to the realization that his path was going to be as a “bizarre” entertainer. For those not familiar with this term, the internet defines a bizzarist as: “One who is a magician but uses storytelling and word play to a much greater degree, and less emphasis is placed on the manual dexterity of the performer or the complexity of his equipment.” As a result of his life’s journey, he is now known as “Saul Ravencraft.”

In this week’s episode, Saul Ravencraft talks about his journey to “find himself” that might prove inspirational to some listeners who are questioning their identity and character. Along the way, Saul talks about his short-lived live, online paranormal radio show, The Shadow Hour, and some of the interesting guests he had on the show. He also discusses the Museum of the Weird in Austin, Texas, plus a little about his mentor and friend, the late Ed Solomon aka “Denomolos”.

531: Mark Connelly Wilson - Developing a Character

Mark C. Wilson is an actor, musician, filmmaker, producer, teacher and magician but perhaps best known in Texas as “Merlin the Wise” at the Sherwood Forest Faire near Austin. In this week’s episode, Mark talks about something that only has been discussed by a handful of previous guests: developing his character. Merlin is an iconic character so how does one pull it off? Mark has an acting background and has spent much time on developing this persona. You may not plan to every perform at a Renaissance Festival, but you will do well to take to heart the lessons he learned and teaches here. For more information, please visit his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/MerlinTheWise/

Magician, actor, and musician Mark Connelly Wilson performs as "Merlin The Wise" with "Nimue" played by Lydia Kettle, and "Newt" played by his daughter Elissa Wilson, during the 2010 opening season of Sherwood Forest Faire on the Greenwood stage.

This was the movie discussed at the end of our podcast. The music and singing in this trailer was provided by Mark C. Wilson.

For a more in-depth article about developing a character, then read the article by Kent Cummins in the June 2019 issue of The Linking Ring entitled, “Storytelling is the Secret Sauce.” Click Here to see a PDF of that article.

634: 2021 Austin T.A.O.M. - Day One Report

621: Chris "Saul Ravencraft" Walden - A Bizzarist Comes Out

531: Mark Connelly Wilson - Developing a Character

The Magic Word