862: Alex Boyce - Making it There in Old New York

There are many rising, young stars in our magic community. Some are gifted close-up workers while others are confident stage performers, all with bright futures ahead of them. One such young performer (now 28 years old) who excels in both and whom I have kept my eye on is Alex Boyce. His life has been consumed with magic and was a student at Tannen’s Magic Camp. Since his graduation from the camp, he is now an instructor. He has competed in stage contests at magic conventions and worked his act in and around his home in New York including Scott’s Resort in the Catskills where they filmed “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” He now regularly performs at SpeakEasy Magick in New York City and is a client of Bill Herz, who represents many of the top names in magic today.

This week, Alex talks about his early days of performing in the Catskills, entering magic competitions, learning and teaching at Tannen’s Magic Camp, performing for celebrities and corporate parties, and some of the friends he works with at SpeakEasy Magick in New York City.

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849: MAGIC Live! 2024 Convention - Days One and Two Report

Sunday, August 4th

(Pre Convention Activities)
24 hours Mystque Lounge, Jackson Square
10:00 a.m. Registration, Bienville G (10:00 p.m.)

10:00 a.m. Photo Badges Dauphine F (10:00 p.m.)

LIVE Tonight!

7:30 - 11:30 p.m. Welcome Party, Esplanade

7:30 - 11:00 p.m. The Magic Shop, Mardi Gras

11:00 - 11:30 p.m. Grand Prize Giveaway, Esplanade

Monday, August 5th

24 hours Mystique Lounge, Jackson Square

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

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)

12:30 p.m. Close-up Experience, Bienville H (1:40p) (with show ticket or standby ticket)

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

Carbone’s Creativity Class, French Quarter Angelo Carbone
Children Do Not Exist, St. Charles Maga Gaia
The Art of Shaping Perceptions, Bienville G Gabriel Werlen

3:30 p.m. Focus Sessions for red lanyards (4:30p) (see above) NOTE: no Children Do Not Exist session

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

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 – Scott Wells just finished attending Abbott’s Get Together and returned to nearby Chicago where he is catching his “Magic Carpet” to Las Vegas for the Sunday night party.

00:02:59 – Nancy Anderson, Nancy Gibson, and Ron Saylor are the first people I met up with at the costume party. They tell us why they attend this event each year; catching up with old friends and making new friends. We then run into Gene Anderson who tells us about why he didn’t attend Abbott’s but why he came to this convention.

00:09:53 – Chad Long, Karl Hein, and Dick Olson talk about how much they like they like this convention and MagiCuba Convention that Chad and I attended.

00:12:44 – Jason Michaels talks about the I.B.M. convention they just had in Tacoma, Washington.

00:15:13 – Michael Chaut, producer of Monday Night Magic, introduced me to James Harrison and Marina from Dubai who are scheduled to perform at Magic Texas with their two person mind reading act.

00:21:07 – Chris and Ryan Zubrick, illusionists from St. Petersburg, Florida, just left their home that luckily survived the current hurricane.

00:23:00 – Joel “Batman” Zaritsky, was here to fight crime and buy magic.

00:24:26 – Paul Gertner will be an emcee for one of the sessions but will not be lecturing nor performing here. He will be the Guest of Honor at TRICS in November.

00:28:07 – Bruce Averbook and Ron Anderson are both magic collectors and frequent attendees to MAGIC Live! Bruce talks about his expanding collection in his magic museum in Cleveland, Ohio, which rivals the David Copperfield collection.

00:33:15 – John Bannon talks about his regular magic meetings online that started in Chicago and his new book that is debuting here.

00:37:15 – Richard Trembly and Richard LeBlanc, both from Canada, have already visited the dealer room and purchased John Bannon’s book.

00:43:17 – Diamond Jim Tyler has been attending MAGIC Live! at least six times just hang out with friends and see new magic. He will be lecturing at Magic Texas.

00:47:21 – Bill Flanagan, from Houston, has enjoyed the activities and tells us some of what he has enjoyed the most so far, even though the convention has just started.

00:49:47 – Bob Gould talks about a great new printing system to individually print on cards rather than having to place a large order for multiple decks.

00:54:41 – Greg Wilson and Starr talk about this convention. Starr is a designer of many of the graphics that are used at MAGIC Live! as well as many illusions. They both come to hang out with friends. They discuss some of the things they have seen here this year.

848: Abbott's Get Together 2024 - Day Four Report

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3RD 2024
9:30AM REGISTRATION OPENS at the Abbott Plant
10:00AM ABBOTT'S DEALERS ROOM OPENS (Requires Registration)
11:00AM LECTURE DANNY ARCHER - from Philadelphia - (Requires Registration)
11:00AM - 5:00PM COLON ARTS AND CRAFTS FAIR
12:00PM FREE STREET PERFORMANCE - Jania Taylor @ Granny's Place
1:00PM LECTURE JOHN REID from New York - (Requires Registration)
1:00PM MAGIC SHOW at Abbott's Magic Showroom Theatre $5
2:00PM JAY BLACKWELL JUGGLING/FIRE EATING & MORE at Sterlini Magic & Theater $10
3:00PM FREE STREET PERFORMANCE - Cap'n Sean @ Mirf @ Colon Library
3:00PM LECTURE LANCE BURTON from Las Vegas - (Requires Registration)
3:00PM FACE PAINTING till 6PM outside 5 Star Pizza by Award Winning Artist Carol Hendrix (Standard Fees)
3:00PM-5PM COLON HISTORICAL MUSEUM is open
4:00PM BOOK SIGNING - ILLUSIONQUESTS With David Seebach (Dealers Room)
4:30PM MAGIC SHOW at Abbott's Magic Showroom Theatre $5
5:00PM LIVE AT 5 WITH THE STERLINI'S at Sterlini Magic & Theater $10
5:30PM FREE STREET PERFORMANCE - Just Joe Chasney @ Magic Capital Grill
6:00PM-7:45PM DINNER (on your own)
7:45PM PRESHOW LIVE ORGAN MUSIC - by John Sturk
8:00PM GET-TOGETHER STAGE SHOW - Saturday Night Gala (The Magic of Germany)
Requires Registration or Tickets (Floor / Bleachers)
Featuring Clemens Ilgner (MC), Axel Hecklau, Yann Yuro, Martin Sierp
10:00PM ABBOTT'S DEALERS ROOM RE-OPENS (Requires Registration)
10:30PM ABBOTT'S PERFORMER AWARDS (Requires Registration)

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 – Trixie Bond and Ted Danger give a recap of last night’s show.

00:12:30 – Mark Holstein has been the Stage Manager for Abbott’s Get Togethers over several decades. He give credit to his back stage crew who make this show work. Mark was also one of the performers on the last Bozo show and he talks about that experience.

00:26:24 – One of the food trucks is unique to Abbott’s that sells “Rabbit Ears” (essentially funnel cakes) and run by Kay Decker. She tells us how it all got started.

00:35:42 – Gerry Costello relocated from Florida to Colon after he retired and hosts an annual party at his home on the lake. Mike Powers also joins us on this chat who talks about his many publications and his new projects.

00:43:56 – John Hebert, from Chicago, and a member of the Chicago Magic Roundtable. He talks a bit about the Chicago Magic Lounge.

00:48:47 – Michael Trixx is a Friend of the Magic Word and talks about the episode we recorded many years ago. He tells us about his memories of attending and performing at Abbott’s.

00:57:33 – Peter Thompson is directing a documentary about this convention. He talks about what he’s doing, how the idea came to be, and perhaps when it will be broadcast.

00:03:05 – in the Dealers’ Room BJ Mallen presented the Jack Gwynn Excellence in Presentation Award that went to the Evasons; the Senator Crandall Comedy Award that went to Martin Diert from Germany; the Jerry Conklin Family Award went to David Seebach; and, the Niel Foster/Bill Baird Manipulation award went to Alex Boyce. We then get to chat with some of the award winners.

01:07:17 – at the Conklin Family “after glow” party we chat with Devin who is a regular performer at the Chicago Magic Lounge and talks about some of its history.