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The Magic Word The Magic Word

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767: Randy Wakeman - I've Been Around for a Long, Long Years

Randy Wakeman has been around for many decades and was often seen lecturing and performing at magic conventions. Nonetheless, I have always seen him as an “underground” magician who appeals to the true sleight-of-hand experts. He is one of those guys who has “been there, done that, has the t-shirt” as he was one of the regular performers about the Chicago Bar Magic Scene before the turn of the last century. He has written several books on magic (card magic mostly) and is still relevant in our community as a performer, teacher and author.

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While at the recent Senior Tour close-up convention in St. Louis, The Magic Word spoke with Randy as part of the convention report content. He was preparing for a workshop, so we didn’t get a chance to go in-depth as I had wanted. But we agreed to get together at the 4F convention in Buffalo a couple months later. True to his word, we sat down to complete our chat which results in this episode. The content of our chat in both places was a little disjunctive, so the editing required us to put the second conversation first then plug in the chat in St. Louis and finish with our talk while in Buffalo. This sounds more confusing that it actually is, but I know you will understand and enjoy our chat.

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 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

Tagged with Randy Wakeman, Jon Racherbaumer, Jay Marshall, Ed Marlo, Bill Malone, Penn & Teller, Chicago magic bar, magic exposure, Luis De Matos, Pat Page, Del Ray, Simon Lovell, Jim Ryan, Eddie Fechter, Gary Plants, Mac King, Heba Haba Al.

June 29, 2023 by Scott Wells.
  • June 29, 2023
  • Scott Wells
  • Randy Wakeman
  • Jon Racherbaumer
  • Jay Marshall
  • Ed Marlo
  • Bill Malone
  • Penn & Teller
  • Chicago magic bar
  • magic exposure
  • Luis De Matos
  • Pat Page
  • Del Ray
  • Simon Lovell
  • Jim Ryan
  • Eddie Fechter
  • Gary Plants
  • Mac King
  • Heba Haba Al
  • 1 Comment
1 Comment

758: Artem Shchukin - A Peek Behind the Iron Curtain

The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. Since then and with the advent of the internet and the digital age, Russia has had more and more access to learning magic from the rest of the world. But this week we take a peek behind the curtain, so to speak, to see how Russians learn magic when there are few brick and mortar magic shops, few opportunities for restaurant workers, learning from (mostly) English magic books, and the market for birthday party and wedding magicians, restaurant workers and trade show performers. FISM Champion, Artem Shchukin candidly shares his journey from the circus to the FISM competition.

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Artem speaks frankly about how he learned magic from his traveling circus family in Russia then later during lock-down in South Korea and how he developed an award winning, creative magic act. He also answers my probing questions about some of the mysteries in Russia and how people find work as a magician there. For the most part, magic, like many other things, is still kept secret in Russia with little sharing nor congregating at clubs and conventions. Magic is still considered a hobby and not a contributing art to the communal (or Communist) way of life.

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 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

Tagged with Pigeon Forge, Artem Shchukin, David Ginn, Lisa Menna, FISM Winner, Russia.

May 4, 2023 by Scott Wells.
  • May 4, 2023
  • Scott Wells
  • Pigeon Forge
  • Artem Shchukin
  • David Ginn
  • Lisa Menna
  • FISM Winner
  • Russia
  • Post a comment
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696: FISM Quebec 2022 - Day One Report

Monday July 25th 2022

19:30 - 20:45: Opening ceremony

21:30 - 22:30: Max Maven presents Dr Will Houstoun “What we learned from Professor Hoffmann”

0:00 - 1:00: Luis De Matos Intimate Conversation with Arturo Brachett

21:00 - 22:00: Yann Frisch

23:00 - 0:00: Lee Asher

21:30 - 22:30: Mario Lopez

23:30 - 0:30: Bernardo Sedlacek

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Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:16 - Scott Wells is at the airport awaiting his “magic carpet” to wing him to Quebec

00:03:06 - Alexandria Duvivier is one of the performers/lecturers at this event and is the first person we met. Lisa Menna is also there with us and chats a bit about her appearance at FISM Quebec.

00:05:44 - At the S.A.M. black tie banquet, we chat with the incoming President Elect John Sturk

00:14:50 - Gay Blackstone talks about her and Harry Blackstone, Jr. performances at previous FISMs

00:18:30 - Editor of the Magic Circular, Will Houstoun talks about his upcoming talk on Professor Hoffman later tonight.

00:21:10 - Before the evening opening gala, Mike Caveney talks about his recent episode #700 then Ice McDonald talks about attending this convention. From South Africa, Craig Mitchell talks about his job for Genii reporting on all of the competition for the magazine.

00:27:47 - From Scotland, Peter McLanachan talks about the reasons that he attends FISM

00:33:37 - Dal Sanders is a delegate representing the S.A.M. and talks about the opening gala show.

00:39:27 - From Spain, Luis DeMatos will be presenting his “in Conversation With…” during this FISM and talks about how he prepares for the conversations.

00:47:40 - David “Silly Billy” Kaye talks about life after COVID work and how his work has picked up and has returned to pre-COVID level of activity.

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 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

Posted in Convention Report and tagged with FISM Quebec, John Sturk, Tom Gentile, Dal Sanders, Luis DeMatos, Gay Blackstone, craig Mitchell, Will Houstoun, David Kaye, Alexandra Duvivier, Lisa Menna.

July 25, 2022 by Scott Wells.
  • July 25, 2022
  • Scott Wells
  • FISM Quebec
  • John Sturk
  • Tom Gentile
  • Dal Sanders
  • Luis DeMatos
  • Gay Blackstone
  • craig Mitchell
  • Will Houstoun
  • David Kaye
  • Alexandra Duvivier
  • Lisa Menna
  • Convention Report
  • Post a comment
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The Magic Word The Magic Word

A Podcast for Magicians, About Magicians, Hosted by a Full Time Professional Magician, Scott Wells

This podcast is totally free for everyone to enjoy. This is provided to you out of love and respect for our art of magic. If you enjoy the podcasts and other material on The Magic Word, then your financial support will be greatly appreciated and help offset the monthly hosting service fee as well as the hardware and software to produce this podcast. Just click on the "Donate " button at the top of this page to make a one time donation through PayPal.

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Thanks to all of you listeners, The Magic Word Podcast and our newsletter (or “podletter” as I call it) has been recognized by FISM and received nominations in two categories. Please click on one of the graphics above and cast your vote to help push us on to victory in Turin, Italy, this summer! Thank you!

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Livin' it up in Las Vegas at the Magic Collector Expo. #magiccollectorexpo2025 #davidcopperfield #jeffmcbride #charlesgreeneiii
Join us for our very special 900th podcast episode this week featuring @dansperry who is universally known in the magic community having performed with The Illusionists and often appearing on television plus casinos, theaters, and stages around the w
Daily reports from the 4F convention in Buffalo,  New York.  The original close-up magic convention, invitation only, with some of the best close-up workers in the world. #ffff #fechtersfingerflickingfrolic #ffff2025 #cheektowaga #magicwordpodcast #m
Keith Fields and Lady Sarah - And the Winner is... I.B.M. co-chair of the Contest Committee, Keith Fields and his wife, the Lady Sarah, provide advice, suggestions, and reasons for entering contests. They also talk about their “Magic Soiree&rdq
David DaVinci - Vitruvian Magician - Thrillusionist, David DaVinci, has reinvented the classic style stage magician into a thrilling superstar of the stage. #illusionist #birds #birdmagic #magician #thrillusionist #parrots #ringling @thrillusionist
R. Paul Wilson - Another Uncanny Scot - From Glasgow, Scotland, R. Paul Wilson is a noted filmmaker and expert at the card table. He has appeared in many TV shows and consulted on major films both in the U.K. and in the U.S.A. #film #filmmaker #docum
Livin' it up in Las Vegas at the Magic Collector Expo. #magiccollectorexpo2025 #davidcopperfield #jeffmcbride #charlesgreeneiii Join us for our very special 900th podcast episode this week featuring @dansperry who is universally known in the magic community having performed with The Illusionists and often appearing on television plus casinos, theaters, and stages around the w Daily reports from the 4F convention in Buffalo,  New York.  The original close-up magic convention, invitation only, with some of the best close-up workers in the world. #ffff #fechtersfingerflickingfrolic #ffff2025 #cheektowaga #magicwordpodcast #m Keith Fields and Lady Sarah - And the Winner is... I.B.M. co-chair of the Contest Committee, Keith Fields and his wife, the Lady Sarah, provide advice, suggestions, and reasons for entering contests. They also talk about their “Magic Soiree&rdq
Moontower Comedy Festival: Genius + Poison Magic Week at the Hideout Coffee Shop in Austin, Texas #magic #zabrecky #derekhughes #nickdiffatte #comedy #austincomedy
David DaVinci - Vitruvian Magician - Thrillusionist, David DaVinci, has reinvented the classic style stage magician into a thrilling superstar of the stage. #illusionist #birds #birdmagic #magician #thrillusionist #parrots #ringling @thrillusionist
R. Paul Wilson - Another Uncanny Scot - From Glasgow, Scotland, R. Paul Wilson is a noted filmmaker and expert at the card table. He has appeared in many TV shows and consulted on major films both in the U.K. and in the U.S.A. #film #filmmaker #docum

The Magic Word Has been recognized by FeedSpot as the # 1 magician podcast in the world. Thank you all for your support and for listening throughout the years.

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