235: FISM Italy - Day Four

It may have been a little overcast outside, but the weather and the magic was perfect in the convention center. After viewing the stage competition from 8:30 to 12:30, I got to walk around the dealers a bit more, chat with friends, and attend a couple lectures. And of course, it was Thursday which meant magic and Martinis in the evening with friends at the bar.

After watching Luke Jermay's one man show, was the evening gala featuring: Cyril Takayama and Eun Gyeol Lee as co-MC's with Mike Chao, Topas, David Kaplan, Tony Frebourg, Alberto Giorgi, Rob Zabrecky, Sos & Victoria and Samuel.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:10 - Reuben Moreland

00:06:39 - Michael Perovich

00:11:23 - Rainer Pfeiffer and Martin Eisele

00:18:18 - David Kaplan

00:34:34 - Will Houstoun

00:42:43 - Bill Herz

00:57:14 - Phil Cass and Philippa

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210: Shawn Farquhar, Part Two - Stories From The Sea

Shawn Farquhar is indeed a man with a million stories. It is so much fun to sit and chat with Shawn. I know you enjoyed Part One of our chat. This could have easily gone on for many more hours and Parts Three, Four and more. But I will leave your imagination whetted for more engaging conversation when you next meet Shawn.

Leaving the cinema behind, Shawn Farquhar continues with his non-stop stories of competing in contests, working in comedy clubs, performing on cruise ships, traveling the world, being a magic dealer and manufacturer, the I.B.M. and more.

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. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Click on the picture above for more information about this year's I.B.M. Convention in Scottsdale, Arizona

209: Shawn Farquhar, Part One - Behind the Scenes

Shawn Farquhar, International President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) joins me in Jacksonville, Florida after a long day of meetings and a sleep-deprived night spent in an airport following flight delays. Shawn is indeed a "man with a million stories" and was just tired enough to share a lot of them uninhibited during this two part podcast. Shawn admitted that he shared a lot of personal things that few people have heard, much less know about him.

For those very few of you around the world who may not know much about his life, you will learn in this two part podcast. But to give you a brief overview, he is perhaps best known as a successful cruise ship magician which is why some magicians haven't heard of him. He was busy quietly making a living at magic. But he has competed and won many awards at magic conventions around the world, including FISM, which made him more well known.

Shawn has also made a living and worked in comedy clubs plus he is also a magic dealer selling original products. He also bought Palmer Tilden's magic shop and inventory.

But on this first part of the podcast, Shawn talks about his work as Special Effects consultant for television and movies. This is fascinating stuff with wonderful stories.

www.magiChampion.com - Here is basically the act, with a few variations, that won the World Championship and Grand Prix of Close Up Magic in Beijing, China in 2009. Many people ask if I can teach a trick or two, or ask for suggestions on books on magic etc...

Shawn begins by talking about an heckler from his show that he "put down" who torched his apartment. Shawn entered the burning building nine times to rescue people before the fire department arrived. Believe it or not, his appearance on the television news resulted in him getting a break in show business. He ended up being a consultant for many TV series and on the set of movies as a Special Effects consultant specializing in breaking, burning and blowing up stuff.

Many years later Shawn performed on the immensely popular "Ellen" TV show, but the "one that got away" (David Letterman) is another fascinating story. The bulk of this Part One podcast is committed to talking about his television and movie experience.