By Rory Johnston
Photos by Richard Faverty

Lance Burton’s show at the Monte Carlo Hotel & Resort in Las Vegas is closing this month, after a fourteen-year run. This was a decision made by Lance because his basic style of running a show didn’t mesh with decisions made by changing corporate management. The closing of one of the great magic shows of our time is a loss to the magic world and to the Las Vegas entertainment scene. This magazine has profiled both Lance and the show on several occasions, but how many people really know what it’s like to be Lance Burton? What is his day like? What goes into running a successful show like this? What happens backstage before, during, and after the performance?

When Lance graciously agreed to let MAGIC Magazine shadow him for a day, he expressed one concern: “I’m not sure it will be interesting.”

He needn’t have worried. It was definitely interesting.

By Tobias Beckwith

Kim Silverman is the Principal Research Scientist at Apple, but he looks like Dumbledore’s more mischievous brother. He has flowing white hair and beard, and a perpetual twinkle in his eye. When performing magic, he is always polished, personable, and truly enchanting. And like the famous headmaster of Hogwarts, Kim is a guiding hand to a group of magicians — in this case, a remarkably progressive magic club that actually fosters the development of performance skills.

By Dale Salwak
Photos by Zakary Belamy

Busan, Korea, hosted its fifth international festival of magic, with shows, competitions, and an impressive assemblage of youthful conjurors and name attractions from overseas.

By Jamie D. Grant

Magic gets people’s attention. It is fun, entertaining, and memorable. These aspects combine to make magic a perfect teaching tool. Brian Daniel and his team have created a program to aid educators in bringing memorable magic and lessons into their classrooms.

Topas Celebrates 25 Jahre!
Over many years, the stage of the Staatstheater in Stuttgart, Germany, has featured a wide assortment of shows, from classical drama to grand opera. On July 18, for the first time, this prestigious venue featured magic, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the professional career of Topas.

The Melbourne Magic Festival
The Festival, under the artistic direction of Tim Ellis, had a successful run this past June 28 – July 10, with attendance exceeding all expectations. Launched three years ago by the Australian Institute of Magic, the event has already grown into the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.

Taking It To The Streets
For most of Las Vegas history, street performing has been outlawed — or at least heavily discouraged. In July 2009, a musician and an Elvis impersonator filed suit in US District Court in Las Vegas. As a result of this legal action, street performers are no longer targeted for harassment by police. This has opened up the city to an influx of “atmosphere entertainers” — musicians, mimes, living statues, showgirls, and a wide variety of costume characters. There are also magicians.

Magic in The Office
In early August, Amos Levkovitch served as magic advisor for an episode of the hit sitcom The Office. In what is currently slated to be the premiere episode of the show’s seventh season, the Office workers record an Internet video in which branch manager Michael Scott (Steve Carell) chooses to perform magic.

Plus…
A magic pouch on Animal Planet’s Dogs 101; Doug Henning to be inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame; a new art exhibition in Los Angeles based on secrets; Sterling Dietz opens his own show in Mexico; and a farewell to J.C. Wagner.

Twenty-three products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Gabe Fajuri, Greg Gleason, Brad Henderson, Will Houston, and John Lovick:

Vortex by Tom Stone
Flash by Chad Long
Subtle Concepts by Richard Hucko and Jo Sevau
Russian Roulegg by Quique Marduk
No Freakin’ Way by Carl Andrews & Mojo Software
Mathieu Bich’s Disappeared Thought
U.F. Grant: An American Original
Oil & Water Remixed with David Solomon & Jordan Cotler
Mathemagic by R.V. Heath
Translocation by John Kennedy
Vivify by Mark Parker
Reversible by David Jade
STEP System, Volumes 1 & 2 by Lee Smith
Mac King’s Campfire Magic
Time Warp Wallet by David Solomon
Stone Frixion Fire by Jeff Stone
BLUFF by Queen of Heart Productions
An Introduction to Flash Products by Scott Penrose
Kahncepts by William Kahn
Hook by Andrew Mayne
David Forrest’s 3
Square: Four Deadly Mental Feats with Cards by Patrick G. Redford
Annihilation Deck by Cameron Francis

Ken Niinuma shares a practical and deceptive card routine, and Eric Hu’s effect involves a glimpse that you will find useful as well as inventive. Steve Youell makes his “Talk About Tricks” debut with a subtle, useable routine that gives the illusion of incredible skill. Alex Pandrea makes his in-print debut with an amazing trick involving a lighter and a pack of cards, and Brett Bishop presents us with a gutsy routine using a cell phone.

Motion Sickness
DEAR SHOW DOCTOR: There are two extremely awkward times I’m having some trouble dealing with: the half hour before my show, and the half hour just after my show. Before the show, when I am setting up, people always want to chat with me; then, while I’m trying to pack my show, more people come up to me and want to talk. It’s a bit overwhelming, because I know I must reset and pack my props. How do you handle the time before and after the show?
— Danny L.

Albert Smith to W.D. LeRoy
The enormous contribution made by magicians to the early development of the motion picture industry is undeniable and well documented, beginning with stage magician Georges Méliès, who produced an estimated 500 films during his career and exhibited them at his own Theatre Robert-Houdin in Paris. The great Félicien Trewey was the first to demonstrate Louis Lumiére’s Cinematographe projector in London, and within a few months, David Devant had purchased a competitor’s projector and was showing “Animated Photographs” at Egyptian Hall. Carl Hertz was the first person to exhibit moving pictures in South Africa and was among the first to do so in Australia. Far less known in magic circles is Albert E. Smith.

It’s absolutely true: in watching other performers, we can see ourselves. We sometimes make the same mistakes or the same brilliant choices, but don’t recognize them until we observe them in someone else. Through this series of articles, enhanced by the accompanying videos you can find at www.MAGICmagazine.com, you can learn from watching other performers as I gently point out ways that their material can be improved, as well as the aspects of their acts that are working well. Although they refer directly to the video in question, these points also carry over as general principles of performing. There are many right ways of doing things, and these are a few options.