819: Blackpool Magic Convention 2024 - Day Three Report

Sunday 18th February 2024

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Dealers’ Hall Open

9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. John Bannon Lecture (Arena) and Luca Volpe Lecture (Foyer Hall)

10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Ikeda Yosuke Lecture (Spanish Hall) and Maga Gaia Lecture (Derham Lounge)

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Danny Goldsmith Lecture (Arena) and International Close-Up Show (Foyer Hall)

12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Montreal Trio Lecture 2 (Spanish Hall) and Lawrence Turner Lecture (Derham Lounge)

1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Mac King Mega Talk (Opera House)

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Harrison Greenbaum Lecture (Arena) and Mat O’Neill Parlour Show (Derham Lounge)

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Steve Spill Lecture (Spanish Hall) and Fergus Roy Lecture (Foyer Hall) and Mat O’Neill Parlour Show (Derham Lounge)

3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. The Clairvoyants Interview (Arena)

4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Mat O’Neill Interview (Spanish Hall) and Bernardo Sedlacek Lecture (Foyer Hall) and Jimmy C Lecture (Derham Lounge)

6:15 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Gala Show (Opera House)

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Suhani Shah Show (Circle Hall)

8:45 p.m. - 10:15 p.m. Gala Show (Opera House)

8:45 p.m. - 9:45 p.m. Suhani Shah Show (Circle Hall)

11:30 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. Harrison Greenbaum Show (Arena and limited to audiences of 18+) and “Not The Gala Show” (Old Victoria Bar and limited to audiences of 18+)

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 - Paul Romhany talks about his experience as a lecturer here and this being his first Blackpool Magic Convention (BMC).

00:11:50 - Bill Herz, President of MagiCorp Productions, tells us about his representation of some of the top magic acts in the world for corporate shows.

00:20:34 - Jeff Burns, one of the Fifth Dimension magicians (maybe not the music group you’re thinking of) is from Aberdeen, Scotland, and chats about his tradition of attending BMC.

00:26:10 - Foxy, from Liverpool, is a regular listener of The Magic Word Podcast and his favorite place to listen is when he walks beside the Mersey River in Liverpool.

00:34:43 - Winner of multiple awards from The Magic Circle (TMC), Edward Hilsum, talks about working with the youth program at TMC.

00:40:33 - Jimmy C. was a lecturer from America who tells us about his experience plus a short recap of what was in his lecture (in case you missed it)

00:45:44 - Raymond Crowe, from Australia, was a lecturer and performer at this year’s BMC. Here he gives some important advice to all magicians.

00:59:23 - Uwe Sperlich, from Munich, Germany, is a regular at the BMC and here he tells us why plus recaps some of his highlights from this convention.

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716: Reza - On The Edge

Reza is changing the landscape of entertainment in Branson, Missouri. Long a tourist destination for tour bus groups, families and the geriatric set, Branson’s demographic is changing. And Reza’s cutting edge show is meeting and exceeding those demands with regularly sold-out shows. Reza is a name that is making impact far outside of Branson. His recent tour and television appearances have astounded over 30 million viewers from around the world on networks such as MTV, A&E, The CW, PBS, Reelz, CX, Fuji, and Telemundo as well as live venues including the Alamodome (San Antonio), Villanova Pavilion (Philadelphia), and Mundo Imperial Forum (Acapulco), to name a few.

Reza shares stories from his career from his beginnings in South Dakota where there were no magic shops and very few other magicians to talk to and learn from in the area. He discusses why he landed in Branson instead of Las Vegas and also about working with Criss Angel.

Please visit our sponsor, The New England Magic Collectors Association to learn about their upcoming convention, The Yankee Gathering from November 3-5, 2022

629: Escaping Reality with Garry Carson

It seems that illusionists are getting fewer in today’s entertainment world and the best way to see them in while they are in residence at a casino or showroom. Garry and Janine Carson have a show, “Escape Reality” in Branson, Missouri where they take their audience on a 75 minute whirlwind journey of illusion and fun. Their theater is not one of the larger ones in Branson, but they fill out the stage Having put their show in Branson in 2020 seemed to be bad timing, but tourism continued despite the pandemic and they captured the coveted awards of “Best New Show” and “Best Dinner Show” in the 2020 Best of Branson Awards presentation.

Branson, Missouri, hosts a lot of variety shows including magic. One of the many shows in town is “Escape Reality” with Garry & Janine Carson. After I watched his late afternoon dinner show, we retired to his dressing room to talk about his career on cruise ships to Las Vegas to Branson.