Cover: Zing Zang Zoom
By Rory Johnston
“Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages…” The spectacle and allure of the circus has entertained young and old for generations. This year, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has added a magical theme, with a young magician at the helm of the Greatest Show on Earth.
Fred Robinson: In Brief
By Peter Duffie, Dominic Twose, and Fred Robinson
Fred Robinson’s prowess with a pack of cards has become legendary; the British magician was a master at sleights and gambling moves. Here, he is remembered by a friend, a student, and in letters from Fred himself, in which he puzzles over the complexities of misdirection.
Aaron Crow: Fear Less
By Alan Howard
“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Nietzsche’s words have been taken to heart by Aaron Crow. This silent mentalist from Belgium has turned his personal fears into dramatic stage presentations that make his audiences shiver — and sometimes himself, as well.
Pennies From Heaven
By Bill Wells
David Roth, Mike Gallo, and Michael Rubinstein have presented the New York Coin Seminar to pass along coin magic techniques both modern and historic. An attendee gives us a taste of what the event is like, while the three leaders each provide a coin effect especially for MAGIC.
Perfect Timing: Steve Trash Makes Magic Green
By Gabe Fajuri
For three decades, Steve Trash has been working his magic to help educate people about the environment. Continuing to tour in his shows, and with a new Green Magic Set coming out, he finds that global interest in taking care of the Earth has finally caught up with him.
Update
News on the serious injury to David Copperfield’s assistant during The Fan illusion, the rundown on the second Magic Week on The Late Late Show, an update on big changes at the Magic Castle, the Le Grand David company celebrate 2,500 performances in style, what Neil Patrick Harris has planned for the Castle Award Night, how Mike Michaels magically proposed, remembrances of Bob Dee, John Cooper, and Larry White, plus “Who’s Where” and more.
Marketplace
Twenty products are covered this month by Michael Claxton, Peter Duffie, Jason England, Gabe Fajuri, Brad Henderson, John Lovick, and guest reviewer John Thompson.
The Magic of Ascanio Volume 3: More Studies of Card Magic by Arturo de Ascanio
The Hummer Deck by J. Aaron DeLong
Banding Around by Russell Leeds
Return of the Bag by Craig Petty
Card College Lighter by Roberto Giobbi
Don Lawton’s Autograph Book by Joan Lawton
Scratch & Grin by Andrew Gerard
The New Coin Magic of Dr. Sawa
Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz
Self-Working Card Tricks by Karl Fulves
David Penn: The Lecture
Liquido by JP
Thread by Wayne Houchin
Finding Dariel Fitzkee by David Goodsell
The Magic of Fred Robinson by Peter Duffie
The Magic of Ascanio Volume 4: Knives and Color Blindness
The Magician: John Mulholland’s Secret Life by Ben Robinson
Two-Faced by Richard Osterlind
The Jill Deck by Annabel de Vetten
Rubik Remembered with Mark Elsdon
Talk About Tricks
By Joshua Jay
Every February, magicians search anew for the perfect “icebreaker” effect to use in a romantic setting. Las Vegas magician Chris Randall supplies two excellent magic effects with a flirty theme. Then Talk About Tricks explores a fascinating change using two different-colored pens, a mentalism effect with candy, and two amazing card effects.
The Show Doctor
By Jeff McBride
DEAR SHOW DOCTOR: I want to build up my show. The people who hire me want more than my ten-minute act. I would like to work banquet shows, corporate shows, and on cruise ships. I need to be able to create a show that is forty-five minutes to one hour long. How do I take my tricks and make a full show out of them? — Pierre K.
Real-World Methods
By Jim Sisti
WORKING POST-GRAD PARTIES
The money’s good and the audiences are great. The hours may leave a little to be desired, but if you know that going in, it’s not that hard to adjust to the situation. It may seem daunting at first, but you’ll find a way to make it work — if you’re a full-time performer. I wouldn’t recommend this market if you have to make it to your day job!
Sleightly Twisted
By Todd Neufeld & Don Caldwell
While either of the effects in this month’s column can be stand-alone tricks, they’re best used to introduce a balloon needed for another routine or giveaway item in your show. Instead of merely pulling out a balloon for your helper or your card/dove/watch/billet/flower-from-balloon effect, use these magic-along-the-way methods for getting into the routine. The first is a transformation, the second is more of a fusion.
Braindrops
By Adam Rubin
This is one of my favorite stunts and the one I perform most often. It’s based on a Tom Mullica idea published in Penn & Teller’s book How to Play in Traffic.
Here’s Mullica’s original idea: Paste a small piece of red sponge on the nose of the photo on your ID. Wait until someone asks to see your license. While the person is looking at the photo, quickly adorn yourself with a red clown nose that you carry with you at all times. The mark looks up and you both share a hearty laugh and/or an uncomfortable moment.
I love this bit. It’s truly surprising and ridiculous, and it never fails to elicit a strong reaction. For years, I kept a clown nose in the console of my car. On two separate occasions, a cop with a good sense of humor tore up my speeding ticket because he thought the nose gag was so damn funny.
Cross ID elicits similar reactions but does not require additional props. What it does require is for you to be severely cross-eyed in the picture on your state-issued driver’s license.
