531: Mark Connelly Wilson - Developing a Character

Mark C. Wilson is an actor, musician, filmmaker, producer, teacher and magician but perhaps best known in Texas as “Merlin the Wise” at the Sherwood Forest Faire near Austin. In this week’s episode, Mark talks about something that only has been discussed by a handful of previous guests: developing his character. Merlin is an iconic character so how does one pull it off? Mark has an acting background and has spent much time on developing this persona. You may not plan to every perform at a Renaissance Festival, but you will do well to take to heart the lessons he learned and teaches here. For more information, please visit his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/MerlinTheWise/

Magician, actor, and musician Mark Connelly Wilson performs as "Merlin The Wise" with "Nimue" played by Lydia Kettle, and "Newt" played by his daughter Elissa Wilson, during the 2010 opening season of Sherwood Forest Faire on the Greenwood stage.

This was the movie discussed at the end of our podcast. The music and singing in this trailer was provided by Mark C. Wilson.

For a more in-depth article about developing a character, then read the article by Kent Cummins in the June 2019 issue of The Linking Ring entitled, “Storytelling is the Secret Sauce.” Click Here to see a PDF of that article.

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

468: Joe Curcillo - The Mind Shark

Half lawyer, half mind reader, Joseph Curcillo is the “Mind Shark”. In this chat while we were in Havana for MagiCuba, we talked about many things including how he moved from a successful law practice to the world of corporate entertainment, the many books he has authored, tips on how to plan your career/life, appearing before the supreme Court, and many other interesting stories and pieces of advice.

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. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

Magicians' Valhalla

Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2018. Some may not be as well-known to you, but they were my personal friends (hey, it is my blog!). If you are unfamiliar with any of these names, then it would behoove you to do a little online search of what these people have contributed to our craft. If you have someone you think was overlooked, then please post the name in the comments below on this blog.

Those whose names are highlighted were featured or interviewed here on The Magic Word Podcast. You can click on their name to revisit and listen to their voices again.

Edwin “Ed” E. Eckl

Johnny R. Fox

Walter B. Graham

Frederick W. Kuethe, Jr.

James “Jim” E. Hoy

James “Jim” L. Nagel

Harry Anderson

Kathy Wells

Frank Price

Auke van Dokkum

Arthur Emerson

Kenneth Dodd

Loch David Crane

Leeman J. Parker

Brian Gillis

June O. Horowitz

Daniel S. Butler “Dan Strange”

Jim Sommers

David E. Linsell

Paul Potassy

Moi-Yo Miller

Rachel Colombini

Ricky Jay

Richard Robinson

Johnny Hart

Pete Biro

398: Bill Palmer - Renaissance Man

Author, Creator, Musician, Magician, Collector, and Multi-Lingual "bon vivant" Bill Palmer is an all-around nice guy who is more than just a little knowledgeable on nearly every topic. Hence the reason that I refer to him as a Renaissance Man and not just from his 25 years of appearing as Merlin the Magician at the RenFest and Scarborough Faire. Bill was also the translator of German to English of magic books by Punx, Borodin and Ted Lesley. Many of you know Bill Palmer's name from being the owner and curator of the Cups and Balls Museum. And although he has relocated, he is still collecting and looking to display his collection in his new home.

On October 24, 2006, Bill Palmer gave us a tour of his Cups and Balls Museum. This video opens with a discussion of how Bill started his collection and how it grew.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:05:35 - Bill Palmer gives us a mini-lecture about loving your audience, the development of his Merlin the Wizard character, his association with Ted Lesley and Punx, translatingmagic books from German to English, and more.

01:06:34 - As an addendum to our chat where Bill talks about his cups and balls collection and the status of where iti is now, plus insights on collecting in general.At the end of our discussion, Bill suggested an interesting book about collecting which was written in 1852. You can download a PDF copy of "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions by Charles MacKay" by Clicking Here.