Tickets are on sale now at Williams' Magic and Novelties. Admission price is $4.00 per person. What a bargain for this show! TELL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ABOUT THIS SPECIAL EVENT!!! Let's fill up the Gaslight! Please note, only the performers and the people working back stage will get in for free.
Stars of Magic Auditions
Do you want to be a star?
This year's Stars of Magic auditions will be held on July 1st after
our regular assembly meeting. Any club member in good standing (who
is current on both local and National dues) can audition. Prospective
acts can either audition live or submit a VHS video tape. The
audition should not exceed 20 minutes. Acts will be judged on many
factors, including: entertainment value; appropriateness to the
general audience; and a good "fit" in the entire show lineup. Any
acts containing "blue" humor or material which is inappropriate for
children will more than likely not be considered favorably by the
Audition Committee. Acts and routines that have been showcased in
recent Stars of Magic shows may also not be considered favorably by
the Audition Committee. The ultimate goal is to entertain a family
audience. This year's Audition Committee includes: John Shryock
(Director), Frank Lutz (Producer), Tom Potter, Rod Robison, and Emory
Williams. First alternate is Bill McRea.
A copy of the Audition rules is available from Frank.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of Assembly 136 will be on Monday, July 1st, 1996, at
Hotel Park Tucson, 5151 E. Grant Road, at 7:30 PM. There will be a
board meeting from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and all members are welcome to
attend any and all board functions. After the meeting, everyone is
welcome to walk over to the IHOP for late-night discussions.
At Our Last Meeting
Our last meeting was held on June 3rd. Our guests for the evening
were Jared Goss (Steve's inquisitive son) and a past Stars of Magic
performer, Michelle Marini (Norm's magical prodigy). Steve Lee is no
longer considered a guest as he paid his initiation dues! Welcome to
our club Steve. Now, did you join just to enter the Stage Magician
Contest?
Secretary Called to Duty - Our world traveling Secretary, Alvon Brumfield, is going off to protect our nation's inalienable rights again. The USAF is flying Alvon down to the Panama Canal at the end of July for a three month tour. Assuming the duties of Secretary in Alvon's absence, Frank has appointed the charismatic Katherine McCabe. Katherine's eagerness to help out is once again appreciated during this period of need.
Prestidigipaper Online - Our web page was honored by the All Magic Guide (the main magic web page that has links to EVERY magic web page on the Internet). They featured our web page on their site. This resulted in several hundred people visiting the Prestidigipaper Online! Here is what Richard Robinson from The All Magic Guide had to say about our site:
"Just stopped by the Prestidigipaper Online and wanted to let you know it really looks hot. Nice design, 'controlled' :) use of frames and real content! The content part of course is what makes only a few magic web sites worth visiting regularly."Once again, thanks to Mark Newhouse for putting our club into the 21st century!
Magic Week - The last week in October is national "Magic Week", partly in honor of Houdini's passing which occurred on October 31st, 1926. The intent of Magic Week is for magicians to perform, voluntarily, for people who would normally not have an opportunity to see magic. In the past, our club has put on stage shows for the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. We have also gone to the Foothills Mall to perform close up magic for "Trick or Treaters". As a goal, our club should have at least two planned events for Magic Week this year. These could include: performing a magic show for a charitable organization, visiting children in hospitals, or performing magic at a local shopping mall. If you have any suggestions on how SAM #136 could contribute to Magic Week, please see Frank.
SAM Sponsored Magic Lessons - Steve Ehlers performed his second lecture on card sleights on May 22nd. He showed several forces and a few techniques in palming cards. Since the month of June is filled with many magic events, we are not going to have any magic lessons this month. However, we will be back in full swing for July. Come to the July meeting to find out who will lecture and when!
Future Lectures - This year is jam packed with lectures!! The club has decided to split the costs with the local IBM club for two upcoming lecturers. On July 18th we will co-host a lecture by Dan Fleishman, and on August 16th we will co-host a lecture by past national SAM President, Dan Garret. Splitting these lecture fees is pending the IBM club's approval.
Stars of Magic 1996 - As reported earlier, the Stars of Magic auditions will be held on July 1st. Putting on a show like Stars is a major undertaking for our club. It requires the participation of virtually our entire membership to put on a successful show. Even if you are not a stage performer, you can contribute to our club's primary fund raiser. There are lots of duties that need to be done, including: ushers, stage hands, close-up workers, clowns, etc. A sign-up sheet will be posted at the July meeting during the auditions. Please sign up to participate.
A special board meeting was called on June 10th before the Martin Nash lecture. At issue was TCC and ticket prices. The city of Tucson has passed an ordinance that requires the TCC to charge a "usage fee". This usage fee is based upon the ticket price, and is paid in addition to the ticket price. Changing theater locations was discussed. However, the board decided to stay with TCC. We have also decided to keep the ticket prices the same as last year. An adult ticket will be $7.50. With the $0.75 usage fee, we will have to collect $8.25 for an adult. Our $5.00 children's ticket will carry a $0.50 usage fee, so we will have to collect $5.50. On a separate issue, the TCC is requiring that we hire a union worker to pull our curtains. This expense is approximately $150. The board decided that the club will take financial responsibility for the curtain if we use our own curtain operator. We are currently negotiating with the TCC on this issue.
Stars of Magic 1995 - The VIDEO - YES, it's ready! Both Tony Larson and Bruce Spell have spent many long hours editing this gem of a video of last year's show. You may remember last year's setup in the Leo Rich theater. We had three cameras operated by the generous (and talented) Larson family (Diane, Annikka and Tony). Quite literally, this was a once-in-a-lifetime recording. It is doubtful that our Stars of Magic show will ever have a more professionally produced tape than our 1995 showing. If you would like to get a copy of this instant collector's item, please give Frank a blank tape. Meanwhile, the next time you see Bruce, Diane, Annikka or Tony, give 'em a big hug and say "thanks". They worked very hard for the pure enjoyment of others.
Parlour Magician of the Year - At the August assembly meeting we will conduct our Parlour Magician of the Year contest. Start polishing up your act! Word has it that this will be a performance-rich evening, so get ready for some serious competition.
Each One, Teach One
Our June meeting featured the theme "each one, teach one". Thanks to
Second Vice President Norm Marini for putting this event together; it
was a great success. We had five very impressive instructors who
taught one effect (or routine) every fifteen minutes. Participants
went from lecturer to lecturer.
Chris Meyer taught Jazz Aces, an easy-to-master assembly card routine originally created by Darwin Ortiz and Peter Kane. Straight from his book "Sleightly Tricky", John Shryock taught his Royal Aces routine. Aces are lost in a deck and each is found in a unique and (hopefully) entertaining way -- several good subtleties and slights were taught. Katherine McCabe gave an excellent synopsis of rope magic, covering the different types of rope used in magic, rope preparations, and several classical effects. She cited Darryl's rope video and Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic as the source for the material that was taught. The Boston Man, Bruce Martyn, showcased a very good Torn Newspaper Prediction, originally created by Ray Grismer. Finally, Steve Ehlers taught the Zarro Shuffle, with Dai Vernon's Triumph card routine as an example application of the sleight. All in all, there was a lot of good practical material covered during our Each One, Teach One session. Thanks to all our presenters!
Martin A. Nash Lecture
A Charming Cheat. It was a pleasure to see Martin A. Nash lecture and
perform during this lecture which was co-sponsored by SAM #136 and the
local IBM club. Martin lectured on his "Colors on the March" routine,
performed many (many) key signature effects, and presented his
philosophies on magic. Some of his philosophies included: "The most
difficult sleights are the easiest" (he said the easiest ones are not
always practiced as zealously as the more difficult sleights); "What
is magic? A puzzle. Take the reason out of logic and put it into
imagination" (I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds
great); and his closing thoughts included "Have fun, that's what it is
all about". Excellent advice from one of the world's best card
handlers. As an added benefit, we got to see our L.A. transplant past
member Gary Laramore. He hitched a ride with Martin to visit us.
Good of the Order
Potpourri -- Tim Ayers is performing table magic at Box Seats on
Fridays and Saturdays. Also on weekends you can find Adrian Van
Vactor at the Olive Garden (Oracle road location). Just back from
cruising in Europe, John Shryock is off to lecture at the Day of Magic
in L.A., followed be a week's performance at the Magic Castle. John's
July schedule is pretty busy, and he'll be out of town performing.
Eric Buss will be working the Magic Castle at the end of August. Rod
Robision also got an out-of-town gig -- he was flown to Indiana to
perform to over 400 entertainment-starved spectators for a Radio
Station fund raiser. Steve Lee will be performing magic throughout
the Summer on Wednesdays at 11:00 AM at Bookman's (both the Ina and
Grant locations) to help get kids to read (definitely worthy!!!).
Local Magic Shows - Alvon Brumfield just finished producing "Heritage Phantasm - The Art of Illusion" on June 15th. Bill McRea emceed the event, which featured performances by K.J. (a Phoenix-based Magician), Tom Potter, Norm Marini and the magic of Jan and Bruce Spell.
Bruce Martyn will be producing another event at the Valley of the Moon, currently slated for August 3rd. Bruce wants to create an "Outdoor Magic Castle" at this event, where visitors can go from a close-up room to a parlour room to a stage room. If you are interested in performing for this event, please contact Bruce.
Bad of the Order - Advice from Mark Newhouse, regarding a heckling nightmare he recently experienced: 'avoid performing magic where teenagers and karioke are involved'. Also, 'make sure you get paid'. (I did - Mark) Sound advice, Mark!
SAM Convention - Don't forget to wish Gene Collins "Good Luck" next time you see him. As reported last month, Gene is one of fifteen contestants in this year's SAM national stage contest at the Las Vegas convention in July.
Calendar of Events:
Last updated June 20, 1996 by Mark Newhouse