Next Meeting: 2—6 p.m. Sunday, June 10, 2012 — Pavilion #3 at Trinity River Park, University Drive at I-30

June 2012—www.fortworthmagiciansclub.org—Volume 2012 Issue 6

On A Personal Note . . . Prayers and Best Wishes

[Editor’s notice: This column is dedicated news about our members and friends in the greater North Texas magic community, particularly regarding those who are under the weather, recovering, and those of our community whom we unfortunately lose. As we can, we will provide mailing ad-dresses, email addresses, and telephone numbers for our colleagues and their families.

To this end, please send your information to the Flashpaper editor Geoff Grimes at ggrimes1@aol.com or call at 972-740-3125.

Please provide contact information as you can.

Features: May Report, Kidz Rule, Once Upon a Time, Guest Essay, Member Profile, Spotlight on Talent

It’s a Picnic for the June Meeting!

The Fort Worth Magicians Club renews an old club tradition with the return of the sum-mer club picnic. The event will be held this Sunday, June 10, from 2—6 p.m. at Pavilion #3 in Trinity Park, Fort Worth.

Enter Trinity Part from S. University Drive just north of the intersection of University and I-30. Enter on Trinity Park Drive as it turns to the left and travels along the Trinity River. You’ll pass two smaller rectangular pavilions and a playground on the left. At the railroad bridge Trinity Park Drive curves to the left, and you will see a semicircular parking area and Pavilion #3 on the right side of the road. The pavilion is large and octagonal with a cupola roof. Bring your own food and a little extra, but NO ALCOHOL!

Cheri Kay Sanders, Houston magician and long-time friend to T.A.O.M. members passed away on May 26th, just after performing for a high school group the night before. Cherie toured the country with Dal Sanders as his box jumper and went on to become a well-respected magic personality in her own right. She will be missed in the Texas magic community.

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Bill Irwin’s Kidz Rule ~ 6 Went to a school program where each class performed routines to Disney music. When Pre-K boys dressed in white with glittering suspenders and black canes brought the house down, I knew this was going to be different from my public education experience. Costumes were purchased, dances choreographed, and the stage set. This was not a set of bleachers where each class came in and sang two songs before leav-ing (my experience through multiple elementary schools). Expectations were set higher. All the kids knew that they were special, and the results were amazing. The rulez had been set, and the kids were empowered to perform. What expectations do you have, can they be higher? What are you doing to have the kids in your life feel special, or yourself for that matter? Are you dressing the part, are you rehearsing, and do you have the support you need? For the kidz in your life, what can you do to increase your support? How about yourself? We have some great talent in the club. If you have not already, find someone you can exchange ideas with or work with to increase your support. Now for a couple ways to explore your inner kid:

Bill Irwin, Co-Sponsor of the Cook Children's’ Hospital Young Magicians Club

France’s FISM Competitor David Stone brings his lecture to Dallas/Fort Worth

David Stone performed a delightful, engaging lecture this past month at Crystal’s Plizza in Irving and at B Magic Store in Arlington for members of the Dallas and Fort Worth Magicians Clubs. David opened his lecture with a stunning display of coin transpositions, followed by a series of his commercial pieces including the “Misdirection Deck,” his torn and restored card routine, “Rewind 2.0,” “Tool,” and his bottle production, among others.

Over twenty magic friends turned out for the lectures. At Crystal’s Pizza, David selected a “novice to magic lectures” Norman Beck (as he claimed!) who served as his assistant, Prama Kumar from the Dallas Club, and Diamond Jim Tyler who has just returned from his 2012 international lecture tour.

David combines natural wit with clever approaches to otherwise familiar routines such as his torn and restored card effect in which the pieces virtually “snap back” together in a startling reconstruction. “Tools” is one of the most versatile works which has received more than 2,000 variations submitted to his Facebook page from magicians around the world.

Hal Hudgins poses with David Stone at his recent lecture.

1. Go to a Fort Worth CATS game. Where else can you exchange fist pumps with the players, get autographs, and hear the players say "thank you for coming". Don't forget to take a kid with you, and you will be reminded that Baseball is a game and can be fun. Kidz can even run the bases. 2. I have been reading Fred Allen's book Much Ado About Me, his autobiography (this is an old book and may take an effort to find). Allen was born in 1892 and raised in Boston during the age of Vaudeville. This book begins with a wonder-ful journey of a boy growing up and going to work at 14 to help support the family while feeling the pull of the stage. Throughout the book he shares his experiences of vaudeville, and it is a nice read. That's enough for now. Go forth, raise your expectations, and increase your support to bring out the best in whatever you do, and don't forget to Follow the Rulez Bill

May Meeting features new member qualifying acts, a raffle, and a potpourri of magic

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The May meeting featured an open night of magic, and the club members responded in splendid routines, some as “teach-a-trick,” some as perfor-mance pieces, and others as some of the finest qualifying acts we have seen in a while.

David Hira and Michael Dimsdle, former club member (now living in Aus-tin), gave reports of magical “goings-on.” David had been to the Dallas Magic Clubs Annual Banquet featuring centenarian John Calvert and rem-inisced about the delightful act this veritable icon of magic is still performing at the age of 101. Michael reviewed magical performances at this spring’s “Scarborough Faire” in Waxahachie. Randi Rain announced her perfor-mance schedule at “Abracorndabra” later in the month in Iowa. Bill Irwin

reported on progress with and up-coming activities of the Cook Children’s Hospital Young Magicians Club. Then, it was on to the magic.

Evening performances began with the qualifying acts of Michael Reiche and Freddy Martinez. Michael performed the F.I.S.M-winning Francis Tabaray rope routine and blew us all away. Freddy stepped right up and zinged us with an incredible cups and balls performance piece that prompted spontaneous applause. Both received unanimous acclamation as our two newest members.

Larry Heil followed with a “Teach-a-Trick” session, demonstrating a mentalism routine called “Will the Cards Match?” Larry presented two sets of white index cards each containing the names of infamous couples—Samson and Delilah, Anthony and Cleopatra, and others. Following the effect outlined in Christian Painter’s column in the May, 2012 M.U.M magazine, after mixing the cards in both sets, the pairs, in fact, all matched in parallel turnovers.

David Hira then added to the educational session with a color-changing “Eight-Card Brainwave” set that he learned from former club member and late past club president Al Levulis (1954). The magician displays the faces of eight cards, one of which is selected by a spectator. That card is dropped to the table as the magician turns the remaining cards over to reveal that the selected card is the only one with a different colored back.

Bill Irwin enlisted the assistance of Libby Sharpe and Fran Hatzenbuhler for a clever ring-on-and-off-again string routine that left his lovely assistants and the audience pleasantly baffled.

Randi Rain closed the set with her own “Lights from Mouth” routine, an ingen-ious magical piece that would have us all eating out of her hand if we just knew her secret! Randi begins by ingesting a number of light bulbs that she plucks from a light panel, each glowing from their mounts as she unscrews each one and swallow it. She then unwinds a yard or more of black cord from a spool, chews the whole mouthful, and then, finding the end of the cord, she re-trieves the lighted bulbs—each aglow—affixed to the electrical cord.

The evening finished with a raffle led by Hal Hudgins. An array of magical books, DVDs, and magical gadgets were offered up which netted the club $72!

All agreed that it was one of the most delightful magical evenings in the month of May!

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Ash Adams Bob Adams Luther Adkins Richard Amon Dana Archip Stacey Archip Will Baffle Thomas Bowes Larry Brown Rick Burcher Jean Capshaw Bruce Chadwick Louis Daniel Robert DeVargas Bernard Dolenze Arthur Emerson Albert Fox Tommy Garbin Marvin Gearhart Geoffrey Grimes Jeffrey Hallberg

Don Hartman Brendan Hartman John Hatzenbuhler Larry Heil Craig Herron Shel Higgens George Hopkins Hal Hudgins Pamela Hudgins Bill Irwin Bob Karlebach Jess Langston Randy Keck Ray Landry Matthew Martin Van McGee Stephen Medellin Mark Miertschin Richard Pemper Elena Ponsler

Ruth Porter Walt Porter Randi Rain Michael Reiche Michael Rubino Libby Sharpe Russell Shead Pix Smith Daryl Sprout Logan Stadtman Betty Jo Standridge Michael Stein David Thomason Michael Tracie Bob Utter Leland Van Deventer Earl Warren Doug Wilson Ron Wilson David Youngblood

 

June Birthday Greetings!

 Whooo — 

Hoooh!! 

Bruce Chadwick

Mark Miertschin

Dan Scrivner

Dan Butler

Chris Weatherly

“Once Upon a Time” with Arthur Emerson

And the time is now 1943 in Brockton, Massachusetts where I will remain until graduation from High School in 1946. Three years of doing the usual kid’s Birthday Parties, Blue and Gold Banquets and, oddly enough, a Spiritual Church, all made the magic better after many mistakes and many audiences. A precursor of Emerson and West days came in 1943 when Harold’s Lending Library and Joke Shop put in a line of S. S. Adams Jokes and Tricks and hired me at 35 cents an hour to demon-strate the magic at a counter at the back of the store. More practice and more audiences arrived daily. Mother’s shooed the kids to the back of the store, allowing her an uninterrupted, quiet time to look for a copy of “Forever Amber” – which she then took out for 2 cents a day. Two wonderful things opened new doors for me in High School: the drama Club ( I did every bad play in the Samuel French catalog) and Ruth Tufts Cosgrove, the best teacher of my formative years. She taught English and Public Speaking. She was so tough, no one wanted to be in her class. I realized how much she had taught me that I applied to take her Senior’s Class the following year – The Principal was shocked! MS. Cosgrove and some Hollywood actor by the name of Sonny Tufts were the sole remaining heirs of Tufts College and in order to write text books she had to be employed as a teacher – thus Brockton High School. About once a week she asked me to take a large brown envelope to the Post Office. It was addressed to a person at N.B.C. Radio in New York City. I learned later that she was ghost writing scripts for a radio program called, “Suspense”. Across the street from Harold’s was the Belmont Hotel. In late 1944 they hired a resident magician for his room and board. He entertained in the hotel supper room every night, and I watched him often. He would wander into Harold’s of an afternoon and watch me demo to the kids, and when they departed, he would take up my props and show me how they were meant to be presented. At the time, I did not realize that Mr. Warren J. Keane was a world-class card man who was featured on the Keith circuit for many years. He was noted for his card and billiard ball work and was asked to join the exclusive 12 member New York “Inner Circle” in 1936. I wish I had known him longer; he died at the hotel on 30 March 1945.

Current Members of the FWMC

Meet the Constable, John “Johnny Top Hatz” Hatzenbuhler John Hatzenbuhler, twice president of the FWMC (1997, 2008), is known all over North Tarrant County as “the Constable,” his elected position that he completes this coming December.

What many members may not know is that John is one of the most recognized and decorated public servants in all of North Texas and throughout the nation.

In 1991, President George H. W. Bush select-ed John as one of the original1,000 “Points of Light,” honoring him for his outstanding public service in addressing drug abuse among young people, using his skills as a magician. John received his award personally from the President in ceremonies at the White House. John is also a recipient of a “National Jefferson Award.” Read an interview with John in the July Flashpaper.

The Flashpaper, June 2012, Volume 2012, Issue 6, page 5

New member profile—Michael Reiche

Michael Reiche wowed the FWMC at the May meeting with some of the most stunning magic with a piece of rope the club has seen in a long time, a “piece” of work which brought cheers and applause from the surprised audience and a unanimous vote for acceptance in the club.

Michael grew up in Savannah, Georgia, where he first caught the magic bug watching a friend of his perform who would not reveal his secrets. He found relief in Mark Wilson’s Encyclopedia of Mag-ic that inspired him and introduced him to sleight of hand. Another early influence was Lance Burton who he discovered on the tele-vision series, The World’s Greatest Magic. But Michael laments there were no support groups for young magicians in town, and he was left to explore his new passion alone.

Moving with his family to Harrisburg, PA, would be a seminal change in his magic life. He joined a Harrisburg magic club which commuted an hour and a half each way to Baltimore, MD, to at-tend magic lectures. It was there that he first met Denny Haney who would take him under his wing as an informal tutor.

It was also in Harrisburg where Michael met future his wife, Veronica, a beautiful young visitor from Sweden. Michael says he charmed her with his magic to win her love. More than impressed, however, she was startled and a little bewildered by Michael’s magic, thinking at first that what she was witnessing was real! She was devastated when she discovered the secret to the linking rings. She had lost her magical innocence forever!

Michael served for six years in the Pennsylvania National Guard. After completing his tenure with the Guard, he secured a position with the BNSF Railroad company. He and Veronica relocated to Fort Worth with an opportunity to take a position as the router for trains across the country. He and Veronica are currently building a new home in northwest Tarrant County where he plans to have a room devoted specifically to magic and magical performance.

Michael and Veronica have magic in their future. Together, they hope to create a comedy magical routine and are working out the scripting for it already.

Michael credits Patrick O’Gorman and Ash Adams at Magic, Etc. for helping him to sink down magical roots in the Fort Worth Magicians Club.

Books he recommends: The Tarbell Course in Magic and The Standup-Comedy Guide to Magic

Funniest magical experience: (not sure)

Preference in magic: stage magic and comedy magic

Major influences on his magic: Lance Burton, Denny Haney, Jeff McBride, Mac King

Work in progress: card work, particularly the pieces of Dani Daortiz

Michael performs the Francis Tabaray FISM-winning rope routine for his qualifying act in May.

Veronica and Michael enjoy the fellowship of the FWMC picnic at Trinity Park.

Fort Worth Magicians Club Officers

PRESIDENT

Ashley “Ash” Adams, 817-908-9008, ash.a.adams@gmail.com

EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT AND PROGRAM CHAIRMAN

Randi Rain, 682-841-2375, randi@randirain.com

VICE-PRESIDENT AND EDITOR OF THE FLASHPAPER Geoffrey A. Grimes, 972-740-3125, ggrimes1@aol.com or ggrimes@dcccd.edu VICE-PRESIDENT AND WEBMASTER Bruce Chadwick, 817-832-6062, chadwickillusion-ist@yahoo.com

SECRETARY Jeff Hallberg, 817-479-3186, jeff.hallberg@att.net

TREASURER Larry Heil, 817-444-0743, landkheil@verizon.net

SERGEANT AT ARMS

Mike Rubino, 817-262-3325, r_jack_jackal@yahoo,com

HISTORIAN

Rick Burcher, 817-469-7037, rick.burcher@gmail.com

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

John Hatzenbuhler, 817-430-1867, tophatz@tex.rr.com

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

Logan Stadtman, 817-350-8445, imperialamusement@yahoo.com

MEMBER-AT-LARGE

Al Fox, 817-845-0419, alfoxmagic@hotmail.com

TRUSTEE (Term Expires 2017) Bruce Chadwick, 817-832-6062, chadwickillusionist@yahoo.com

TRUSTEE (Term Expires 2013) Arthur Emerson, 817-868-6827, milart@verizon.net

TRUSTEE (Term Expires 2015) Bill Irwin, 817-805-1655, magicfx@sbcglobal.net

APPOINTED TAOM REPRESENTATIVES

Bill Irwin, Ren Clark IBM Ring 15

Mark Miertschin, Bruce Chadwick SAM Assembly 138

2012-13 Officers Nominations

The FWMC is looking for a few good mem-bers to step and assume positions of leader-ship. Nominations will be collected in August for voting in September for next year.

Club Calendar—June, 2012

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Last night after my shows (I had to do a 45 minute show twice in a 900 seat venue), I had a late night drink with the comedian, and as often happens, we started talking about comedy and approaches to performing. The topic that we discussed at great length was the pros and cons of scripted performances vs. improvising.

By a scripted performance, we didn’t necessarily mean that the words had been written down and we were not allowed to deviate from them. A script for most comedy performers is a lot looser than that. And one thing we both agreed on is that it is good to have many routes, and we would pick the one that feels right on a particular night depending on the audience. I do shows to many different types of people, and even though the core material stays the same (the actual tricks), the way I deliver it changes depending on the audience. For example, I do my chop cup routine for family shows and in comedy clubs, and although I am not a blue performer, I hit the audience a lot harder it if is a late night adult crowd; it is more to do with attitude than actual language.

So how do you develop these different scripts? Well, the only way is by experimenting. Always being prepared to try a different line, a different approach , a different gag. Always being open to a spot of improvisa-tion. The next problem is to make sure you remember what you did and which bits worked. I usually record every show in case I improvise a great gag. I used to use a Dictaphone and listen to it in the car as I drove home. Nowadays, I use a cheap video camera so I have the luxu-ry of seeing it as well—but not while I am driving!

There are inherent dangers in being tied to a script. Magic shows are usually interactive. A card is chosen or a volunteer is asked to help in some way. This action breaks the theatrical fourth wall which separates the audience from the performer. (Continued on next page)

Rafael Benatar—Lecture, 2:00 p.m., Sunday, June 27th, at Crystal’s Pizza, 930 West Airport Freeway (H 183) just east MacArthur Blvd. on the south side of the highway.

Camelot Court Night at Cook Children’s Hospital Magic Club, June 29,at Cook Children’s Hospital.

Monday Night Magic—7:00 p.m. until ?, each Monday night at Humper-dink’s Restaurant at Six Flags, 700 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX 76011.

Guest Spot ~ “To Script or Not to Script” Observations by Keith Fields

The following remarks are published with permission of cruise ship magical entertainer Keith Fields, comments contained in an email to Bruce Chadwick from Keith Field’s mail list.

Keith Fields at work

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“To Script or Not to Script” continued

Keith Field at work on the cruise line performing comedy magic

Remove the wall, and it is now OK for anyone to join in—and they often will. If you are stuck to a script, there is a chance that [their] unexpected reaction will send you into unscripted territory. This is particularly true in the close-up environment. Experienced close-up performers know that you have to include the audience to get them involved; this often means going with the flow and reacting to them. Sometimes, they are lead-ing you. It is at this moment that you have to improvise.

When I first started performing, I would improvise continually because I didn’t have an act. As I developed, I found that certain lines worked better for me than others, and these were the lines that I used most often. Over time, the routines became fixed, and I found that I had a few different ways of doing my favorite set pieces. These pieces gradually evolved as I encountered fewer and fewer new situations. They eventually became unintentionally scripted.

This is fairly normal in the development of an act, but it led to a mistake—I got way too comfortable with my scripts. I was improvising less and less, and the scripts were working better and better. What’s the matter with that? When I did hit

Important lesson—all our performance skills need to be regularly exercised.

The best way I can sum this up is by using an illustration from an old theology profes-sor who wasn’t talking about performance; he was talking about belief, but the analogy is a good one. He said that most people want to cling onto a rock when they are sur-rounded by the stormy sea of doubt, but no matter how hard you try to hold on, sooner or later, a wave will knock you off. It is far better to jump in and learn how to swim.

Your script is very important, but you should never be totally glued to it. If something unexpected happens, then you will be thrown off track. You need to get used to going off script and being in that unknown territory and still maintain control of the show. Learn to enjoy the grey area that is outside your comfort zone. I have now built several points into my set when I genuinely don't know what is going to happen next, and they are often the best bits of the show.

The same applies to entertaining kids, performing close-up, or working in front of 900 people on a cruise ship.

The water is lovely; why don’t you join me and jump in?

(OK, I know that sometimes doing something different can be a bit scary, but it is the best way to learn. If you would like a life raft/belt/ring, you may find some help her—How to Handle Hecklers.)

For more information about Keith Fields, you can follow him on his website at www.keithfields.com

All our performance skills need to be regularly exercised.

Spotlight on Talent ~ Libby Sharpe

Fort Worth Magicians Club’s own Libby Sharpe can be seen each Second Saturday at the 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Family Magic Shows at Main Street Magic and Fun Company, 211 North Tennessee Street, one block off the square in Old Town McKinney.

Libby is the consummate professional in her approach to her magical entertainment.

“The key to a successful show,” she suggests, “is the professionalism of each performer, commit-ted to practice, and their willingness to support each other.”

Libby performs two pieces in her set including the floating linking rings. Her performance of “Sands of the Deserts,” presented recently this year for the club, caps the hour-long show.

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