Magic
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number 3
The March 6, 1942 issue features magic by Clayton Rawson, Harry Baker, and Frank Taylor. The Rawson card effect, Scrambled Thought-waves, is a delight. Using a few gaffed cards two selections are revealed in a humorous manner. With some arts and craftsmanship, the effect could be updated to today’s sensibilities. The nice thing about Rawson’s… Continue reading
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number Two
The second issue of the Phoenix arrived on February 14, 1942. According to the Backroom, the editors were still trying to determine the frequency of publication. They eventually settled on bi-weekly – meaning every two weeks. (The confusion with bi-weekly versus bi-monthly has always been a pet peeve.) The lead effect was Bruce Elliott’s Hard… Continue reading
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Exploring Performance
Magic, whether you consider it an art or a craft or, perhaps, both, only exists for a moment or two. The performer and the audience co-create an experience that triggers a reaction and an emotion. Magic doesn’t exist outside of the performance space between the performers and the participants. It’s relational. It doesn’t exist in… Continue reading
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The Phoenix: Volume 1 Number 1
From January, 1942 through February, 1954, the Phoenix ran for 300 issues under the editorship of Walter Gibson and Bruce Elliott. It was the direct descendant of the Jinx which ended in December 1941 with the untimely death of Theodore Annemann. With two good friends, I spent a few years digging through the Jinx that… Continue reading
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Book Notes: Bert Allerton: Gentleman Magician
Chicago area magician and author, Chuck Romero, quietly released his latest work without much fanfare. If I hadn’t been scanning through the latest posts on the Genii forum, I may have missed it. Romano previously released books on the life and work of Paul Rosini and the artwork and design of magic illustrations. Both works… Continue reading
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Minimum Requirements
In the opening essay of Shattering Illusions, Jamy Ian Swiss states: When you fool the audience you indeed fulfill the essential mandate of your job. But you have in no way come even remotely close to completing the job-much less having done the job well.There must — simply must — be some larger end in… Continue reading
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Astonishment Is Our Natural State Of Mind
In the December 1996 edition of Genii magazine, the cover featured Paul Harris. Paul has been instrumental in changing the state of close-up magic since the mid 1970’s. I wasn’t aware of him until the early 80’s after the release of Close-up Entertainer and Las Vegas Close-up. Since 1984 and the publication of Close-up Seductions,… Continue reading