You’re Invited: Magic Castle Close-Up April 25-26

For any readers who happen to live in California, I’ll be performing in the Close-Up Room of the Magic Castle for two nights only this weekend. I’d love to have you come and see the show.

I have some space on my guest list Saturday Night. If you’d like to attend, drop me a comment and I’ll put you on the list. If you choose to come Saturday, I may well be able to waive the cover charge for a number of   readers. If you’re thinking of attending, be sure to follow the dress code – the club won’t let you in if you don’t!

If you live out of the area, I completely understand!

Hope to see you there,

Aaron

Are you a card man? This will improve your show.

England: Home of the Posh Banger.

Where HAVE I been?

Thanks for asking. It’s been a super exciting start to the year. The last month brought England, a convention, a lecture tour, corporate events in Las Vegas, bar magic, and a week on the main stage at The Magic Castle. WHEW!

And it was great! I got to work in so many different ways for so many different types of crowds. It keeps you awake, thinking and growing. It gives you good stuff to blog about.

Real card magic is physical

No matter how many passes you can do, or how many coins you can palm, the most important magic tool you can learn to use is your own body. That’s one reason so many authors have written about the value of theatrical training for magicians.

Here are just a few of the incredibly valuable skills you’ll acquire if you choose to study our parent art form- the theatre.

Vocal Training

If your audience either can’t hear you or has problems understanding your words, even the most beautiful presentation will fail. Especially if you have some regional dialect people regularly comment on, talk to theatre professionals in your area and get their opinion.

Your native dialect isn’t necessarily a bad thing. You may perform as a river boat gambler and your voice may suit the role perfectly. But what if you live in a place where a truly authentic dialect can only be understood by your immediate family? Unfortunately, many strong dialects only confuse the audience. Be honest with yourself, and your magic will benefit.

A great book to help you explore this topic is here. Take a look at it and read the reviews. It changed my life, but it’s only for those who are ready to get serious.

Movement Training

I’ll say it again. The performance of magic is a physical activity performed primarily with your body. Whether you work on stage or as a walk-around entertainer, learning to use your body effectively will profoundly change your approach to magic as well as the results.

In fact, any work you do with your body, either at the gym or outside, can greatly aid your performance process. Look for a separate post on this topic later this week.

Acting Training

For all the talk since Houdin of magicians being ‘actors playing the parts of magicians’, the truth is, most of us spend our time learning how to honestly and accurately play the one role we will ever take. We strive to play ourselves, as accurately and honestly and compellingly as we can.

Basic acting training can really help you here. Don’t worry about the trappings – fancy accents and weird physicality helps advanced actors create vibrant, believable illusions. But you won’t need much of that to accomplish your immediate goal.

Focus on the truth of the moment on stage. Learn how to stand still under hot lights without worrying about ‘entertaining’ the audience. You’ll develop the ability, with help from your professor, to respond honestly and spontaneously to what the other characters give you to work with. Through this process, you’ll develop a taste for authenticity – a need to express yourself truthfully on stage. You’ll begin to truly understand why so many performers fail to grab your heart – and why others win you over immediately.

Once you really begin to learn these lessons, the audience will give you positive feedback – you’ll see the difference yourself, and fast. And it won’t be the private victory you celebrate when you master a long sought for sleight-of-hand technique. The entire audience will know how much you’ve improved.

Your turn: What do YOU think?

I’d love for you to send me some comments on this post. Perhaps you’ve had a class like this, and you want everyone to know how much it helped you. Perhaps you’ve thought about taking a class but didn’t go through with it. Why not?

Or maybe you really just want this blog to talk more about card tricks – I’d love to hear about that too. This blog is about how my experiences can help you become a better performing card man. Let me know if it’s working.

Thanks for reading!

Aaron

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UK Lecture Tour January/February 2008

 

In a couple hours I leave for the UK – If you live in the vicinity, come out to see the lecture. Make sure to say hello in person – we’ll have a pint and discuss why the Stones are better than the Beatles.

Special Note: if you can make it to The Session Convention, it’s going to be one hell of a party. If you can’t, there are several more opportunities to see me listed below!

If you’d like to attend a lecture, call Kerry Scorah for details. Some appearances have limited seating, so call now. Kerry’s cell number is 07876 332933.

The Dates

30th January Wellingborough Club Nr Northampton
31st January Hull Magicians Club
1st February Scarborough
4th February Ipswich
5th February Coventry
6th February Leamington Spa
7th February International Magic London number (please call the store directly – 020 7405 7324)

 

Can’t wait to meet you all! It’s going to be a blast

Lee Asher Comes to Hollywood – All bets are off.

Lee Asher came to Los Angeles last night to visit for a few days. We first became friends when we went to college together, in a town noted for academic rigor – Las Vegas.

In those days, everything centered on close-up magic. Sure, we had classes too. But this wasn’t an ordinary college. In the gaming library, UNLV had a complete collection of Marlo Manuscripts. Allan Ackerman was a professor we could seek out on campus – he had office hours. After class I’d go over to Lee’s apartment, just next to the Hard Rock Hotel. We’d either be practicing, performing or hanging with the best magicians from all over the world.

Ah..college days.

These days the old gang gets together mostly for work related activities – gigs, conventions, magic camp. During work visits, someone’s always leaving the party for two hours to go lecture, or do a show. That sort of thing can really disturb the flow of a session.

Three Days to Blastoff…

Starting next week I’m working constantly for the next month. First, I’ll do half-pass workshops at the Session Convention, followed by a brief lectures series in the UK. Then I’ll return for a few corporate events in Las Vegas, and then return to Los Angeles and the main stage of the Magic Castle. I’m planning to release my new trick, Panic’s little brother, after I return from the UK.

So for the next three days, I’m hanging out with my college buddy, working on magic ideas and trying to build the perfect magic show.

I you want to see me in either the UK or Los Angeles – Here’s are the dates: Drop me any email – then com and say hello!

The Session Convention – January 26,27

The Magic Castle: Palace of Mystery – February 18-24

Technorati Tags: lee asher,card magic,session convention,magic castle,marlo,alan ackerman

Card Magic in the Middle East

I spent last thanksgiving in the south of Israel on the banks of the red sea – we had turkey shawarma, no gravy.

Silly Billy, Josh Jay, Thom Peterson and I performed and lectured at Roei Zaltzman’s convention, Magic on the Red Sea (MARS). Our hosts were kind and gracious. The audiences laughed and came to be entertained. The board of tourism even gave us our own tour guide for two days after convention. It was a fantastic experience.

Though I gave my first magic lecture ten years ago, trips like this make me remember that magic can take you to incredible places. Take a look!

Not bad for a working weekend, eh?

Here I am with Josh Jay. He showed me some of the best close-up ideas I’ve seen all year. In the ten years I’ve known Josh, he’s become an incredible magician.

This is Ariel, my scuba instructor. I’d never been under water with a tank before, and it was even crazier than I’d imagined. Eilat is known for it’s diving and now I know why – it was like real magic.

This was taken after a performance for some local teens. Many people don’t know that Israel has compulsory military service – at age 18, everyone joins the army. These kids weren’t allowed to put their rifles down, even to select cards! While I’ve never performed for such a heavily armed audience, I have to say they were a lot of fun…and they love ambitious card.

Josh Jay took this and the next photo. He’s one of those guys that actually aims the camera first. Behind me is the Dome of the Rock. Am I flashing?

As you can tell from the cropping on this photo, I was definitely flashing in this shot.

I’ve known Josh and David Kaye (aka Silly Billy) for a long time now. But the two other guys in this photo were revelations. In the middle stands Thom Peterson. He performed and lectured at the convention. He hasn’t performed at many conventions – he’s too busy working cruise ships and corporate events out there in the big bad world. His magic and charm were both top notch. He’s got two videos out on the market right now, and they’re filled with audience tested, practical material.

The fellow on the left is Menny Lindenfeld. You may already have some of his many original effects on the market. If you don’t, you likely will soon. His clipboard is a wonder to behold.

Here’s a picture of my grandpa Melvin at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Uh..sorry. That’s Thom.

What did you get for Hanukkah this year kids? I got the SCUBA SUIT SILLY BILLY PLAYSET. It’s AWESOME!

That’s Roei Zaltsman on the right. He’s a card man, mentalist, TV personality and the organizer of the convention – He put on one hell of a conference.

Technorati Tags: aaron fisher Magic,aaron fisher,card magic,magic convention,magic lecture,israel magic,josh jay,silly billy,thom peterson,menny lindenfeld

Card Magic in Hong Kong – Mementos from the Asian Magic Association Convention

Several months ago Lee Asher introduced me to Albert Tam. Albert has made a great life in magic. He’s a performer, producer, magic store owner and booking agent. Among his many projects this year, he managed to find time to put on the Asian Magic Association’s yearly convention.

Thankfully, this year Albert and his friends decided to book me to lecture and perform close-up magic at the convention.  I met at least a hundred magicians, saw hours of new magic and had the kind of adventures you only experience when you perform magic on the other side of the globe.

Today I finally had a chance to look at the photos……I hope you enjoy them!

 

The view from the top…

 

 

The AMA Gala – a reserved evening of magic

(Fantasma Magic CEO Roger Dryer, the multi-talented Harry Wong, myself and tormented card star Simon Lovell).

These guys made the convention. Roger Dryer gave me enough Chinese slang to vamp my way through the show. The very solid Harry Wong asked me to shoot a short spot for his TV show and any visit with Simon is like a visit home. When I was 19, I camped out on Simon’s couch for a week while he improved my card magic. Simon is  one of the last real card men – his show earlier that day was a site to behold!

 

Danny Cole: now that’s a magician.

 

It’s always a pleasure to see Danny Cole – his original, inventive material and charming approach make him one of the only manipulation acts I really enjoy watching. As per our standard magic convention custom, we were both working all weekend – this was the only time we actually saw each other.

 

The Magic Convention debut of PANIC!

I got an email recently asking if I still get nervous us before I perform. YES! I woke the morning of the show and realized I had never performed Panic, my new  trick out from Theory 11, in a formal lecture situation.  In this photo, I’m attempting to entertain the audience while trying to teach Panic coherently in under five minutes.  A healthy language barrier always adds a new dimension to the learning process!

If you look front row center, you’ll see International FISM President Eric Eswin….is he smiling?

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Be my guest next week at the Magic Castle! Oct.8-14

I’ll be performing next week in the close-up theater at the world famous Magic Castle night club in Los Angeles. I’d love for you to come see the show and say hello! If you’ve never heard of The Magic Castle, it’s the home of the Academy of Magic arts, and simply one of the coolest places in the world to indulge in an evening of magic and frivolity.

IMPORTANT: This incredible place is first and foremost a PRIVATE CLUB. If you are not a member, and not on my guest list, you will NOT be admitted. So to avoid any tears, you must email me at aaronbfisher@gmail.com and let me know what night you’d like to attend. Also, the regular admission fee is $20. I’ll be able to waive that fee for a limited number of guests only. So the first folks to RSVP will get free admission. For everyone else, I’m sure you’ll find the ride to be well worth the price.

If you plan to join us, make sure to follow the club’s strict dress code. It’s mandatory – no exceptions.

See you next week!

Gratefully,

Aaron Fisher

Here’s the skinny:

Dates: October 8 -14th

Time: 7:00 – 10:00

Location: The Magic Castle is located at 7001 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, California: one block north of Hollywood Boulevard, between LaBrea and Highland.

More information: Visit the Magic Castle web site for more information about the best magic venue in the country.

Technorati Tags: Aaron Fisher , Fisher , Magic Castle , Close-up , close-up magic , close up magic , sleight of hand , sleight-of-hand , card magic