918: FISM 2025 in Turin, Italy- Day Six Report

Saturday 19 July, 2025

Time Stamps: These will be posted after I have gotten some sleep.

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880: Mortenn Christiansen - A Great Dane

For such a limited number of years (he’s only 27 years old), Mortenn Christiansen has accomplished what some take a lifetime to achieve. For as long as he can remember, he has worked in a magic shop in Denmark. He has “cut his teeth” on stage at comedy clubs as he refined a unique style in his country. In 2022 he won the coveted Comedy Award at FISM in Quebec, Canada. Since then, he has been “hot as a skyrocket” having performed on Penn & Teller Fool Us, and he has lectured and performed at the 2023 Magicfest and later that year at MAGIC Live!

If you are more of a visual person, then you might enjoy watching a video of this week’s episode on YouTube.

One of the things that Mortenn talks about in his lecture is his stage fright. In this week’s episode, he goes into much detail about that issue and how he deals with it by incorporating it into his act. He also gives us some “behind the scenes” looks at what it was like to come to Las Vegas and appear on Penn & Teller Fool Us.

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 Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly 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.

736: Magifest 2023 - Day Three Report

Saturday 28th January 2023

10:00am - 5.30pm

Dealers Open

10:30am - 11:30am

Mark James Lecture

You’ve been amazed by his show; now is your chance to learn his magic. This lecture will focus on professional, doable magic. With a focus on non-card tricks, this is a can’t-miss lecture. 1:30pm - 3pm

Paul Gertner Show and Lecture

This was our most anticipated event at the last Magifest…but needed to be postponed due to Covid. We’re pleased that Paul has consented to return this year to deliver what will surely be an unforgettable presentation. A multiple-winner on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, a FISM winner, and one of the industry’s leading professionals, Paul will present a show for us and then lecture on some of his best material. 3:30pm - 4:30pm

David Gerard Marketing Lecture

Here David will share hard-earned, seldom-shared insider information on a topic he has dedicated his life to: marketing and branding. Having played an integral role in several Silicon Valley startups (as well as a lengthy tenure at Google), by day David Gerard helps companies put their message across. By night David entertains top brass at these companies, and he will share his marketing and branding insights with us in this rare, candid lecture on an area of performing most of us overlook. 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Shoot Ogawa Lecture

On the heels of his first-place FISM win, Shoot Ogawa will share the magic that has taken around the world and made him a household name in magic. This lecture will feature new, non-card material, as well as a few “Ogawa” classics. 8:30pm - 10:00pm

Gala Show

Hosted by Lucy Darling
Mortenn Christiansen
Erik Tait
Ruben Vilagrand
Shoot Ogawa
Paul Gertner
JunWoo Park 10:30pm - 11.30pm

Bar Magic with Mark Calabrese

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 - Charles Greene III talks about his restaurant and trade chow career plus Charlie Randall helps us recap some of the shows from Day Two

00:12:47 - Matthew Neely talks a bit about what impressed him the most at this convention

00:18:13 - Joe Cole from Omaha, Nebraska, stopped to show us a photo of one of his winning trophies

00:21:40 - Jep Hostetler, Past President of the I.B.M. was also the chairman of the Magifest before it was turned over to Josh and Andi

00:26:12 - One of th highlights of the Mgifest, Mortenn Christiansen, FISM Winner this past year talks about his experience and his journey to Quebec.

00:35:00 - Cosmo Solano, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, has his own magic theater and talks about his show

00:44:56 - Erik Tait, host of the Penguin Podcast, talks about his FISM experience, this Magifest and what’s new and hot at Penguin right now.

00:54:28 - Cody Clark works with the Society of Young Magicians for the S.A.M. and he talks about the Magifest and how much they have been doing for the youth at this convention.

01:01:23 - Don Burcell with Don’s Magic Books talks about how the sales went this year in the dealer’s area

01:05:29 - Charles Greene III and Scott recap the evening;s show plus the overall convention