105: 2013 I.B.M. Convention - Day 4

The final day of the four (plus) day convention draws to a close with even more stuff packed into the day. It started off with the annual Order of Merlin Breakfast. This is for those who have at least 25 consecutive years of membership in the I.B.M. Immediately following the breakfast was the third and final day of the Big Three Events.

In the afternoon, there were six, one hour events going on simultaneous with each other. It was repeated again one half hour later which meant that you could only choose two out of the six. Well, you can't do it all...but I tried. I slipped in and out of a couple events but the one that had everyone fascinated was the "Carney Knowledge" event by Todd Robbins. He taught us how to walk on glass and also how to hammer a nail in you nose ("Human Blockhead"). Wow! I can check that off my bucket list now. After the Six Pack Sessions, Diamond Jim Tyler lectured on close-up.

Before the show began and the general public was let into the theatre, the contest awards were presented and the transition of the Presidential medals was made. Here are the awards that were given out at the Awards presentation.

Recipient of the McBride Magic & Mystery School Scholarship

Tamer Qafiti from San Diego, Ca.

Recipients of the IBM Endowment and Development Scholarships to the Sorcerer's Summer Safari Magic Camp

Salvatori Adler

Jason Knight

IBM Close-Up Competition

Youth Winners

1st place - Drake Stanton- San Antonio. TX

2nd place - Tamer Qafiti- San Diego, CA

Adult Winners

1st place - Alberto Lorenzo- Miami FL

2nd place - Rune Carlsen - Norway

People's Choice Award - Close-Up and winner of the Obie 4F Close-Up Award

Alberto Lorenzo - Miami, FL

IBM Stage Competition

Youth Winners

1st place and winner of the FANTASMA Prize Package - Eli Portala - Toledo, OH

2nd place -"Smart Magic" Thirawat Kongnugul

Adult Winners

1st place- Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China

2nd place - Chris Randall - Las Vegas, NV

People's Choice Award

Ming Ya Liu - People's Republic of China

Karrell Fox Comedy Award

"Caramel Machine" Sadaharu Suzuki and Toshiharu Odjima - Japan

The evening show played to a nearly packed theatre with Todd Robbins doing an incomparable job as the Master of Ceremonies. The show began with Luna Shimada followed by Eugene Burger, Peter Samelson, Francis Tabary, Valerie and closing the show was David DaVinci. After the show ended most people retired to the hotel to say their final farewells at the "no host" bar in the ballroom.

This final mega-podcast has it all. With this being the final day, I knew that I had to get around to everyone in fairly short order in between my attending some of the other event. The time stamps for this Podcast are:

00:00:08 - Todd Robbins talks about the evolution of the one man play, "Play Dead" , that we viewed last night on film. He discussed his association with creative consultants like Teller (of Penn and Teller), and where it might go from here. He also chatted about his association with Monday Night Magic, carnival side shows, and much more. He also talked about the success on television that his young son, Fin, has been receiving on soap operas (that is Fin in the picture above with the realistic looking wooden cigar).

00:45:14 - The Associate Dean of McBride's Mystery School, Larry Haas, talks about what the school does, the importance of scripting, finding good words, developing your character, publishing books and more.

01:05:27 - C.W.O. (Chief Wizard Officer) of Fantasma Magic, Roger Dreyer, talks about the development of his company and association with and dedication to the development of youth in out art. Roger tips his hand with some inside information about the future projects that you can only hear here on The Magic Word.

01:17:00 - Francis Tabary, performer, creator and inventor of a novel rope routine talks about how he created the routine.

01:21:31 - Fielding West talks about how he got started in Las Vegas. He gives us a couple of great stories with celebrities that you will find memorable.

01:41:50 - Jade, one of the previous I.B.M. Gold Medal winners, talks about what she's been up to over the past few years. We also hear a bit from Lance Burton and Fielding West in this segment.

01:49:01 - Sammy Patrick Smith, Editor of The Linking Ring (official journal for the I.B.M.) talks about the new app for the I.B.M. with the digital edition of the journal and the new design of the http://magician.org website. which will be released soon.

01:53:14 - Co-Chairman of the convention, Mike Stratman, is breathing easier now that the convention has ended. Here he talks about the numbers and successes and feedback.

01:59:42 - Walter "Zaney" Blaney tells us a funny story from the early 1960's shortly after he developed his Ladder Levitation. This involves David Hoy and a prank he played on Walter.

02:11:15 - I give a quick wrap up as I walk back up to my hotel room and begin to edit this podcast.

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104: 2013 I.B.M. Convention - Day 3

Day Three of the I.B.M. Convention began as yesterday with the Big Three event. Today I was slated to see the professional close-up show,. You can see the photos of the performers below. The close-up competition had about 18 performers in the afternoon and had a variety of skill levels and ages coming from around the world. Peter Samelson delivered what (for me) was perhaps the best lecture of the convention (at least so far). But to each his own.

The evening show featured the six finalists from the stage contest all competing for the Gold Medal. Rich Bloch is the usual emcee for this event, but he was unable to be with us this year. Filling in admirably, Shawn Farquhar and Oscar Munoz compered the gala Gold Cups show. The professional acts that were on the bill were: Jean Paul Ohlaberry who was last year's first place stage winner then concluding the show was Jade.

Curtis Kam presented his late night lecture after the evening show. I thought it was an interesting challenge that Curtis presented himself during the close-up shows. The Big Three event had each magician performing three shows on three days. Curtis decided to perform a completely different show for all nine performances from his vast repertoire. Wow! People were following him from room to room to see what he was going to present in the next room.

One more full day to go and I promise to get a LOT more interviews and chats recorded on Saturday. This podcast is a little short compared with most, but the day has slipped away and I had some obligations that kept me from switching on my recorder. Look for the next episode which will include Todd Robbins, Larry Haas, Fielding West, Roger Dreyer and many more (at least those people promised to make some time for me). We'll see what actually happens and who can be pulled aside for a bit to talk with me.

Time stamps for this Podcast:

00:00:08 - In case you missed hearing Eugene Burger's lecture, you will learn so much from hearing him here as he talks about the Mystery School, Ross Johnson, working corporate shows, advice on performing and so much more.

00:25:38 - All the way from New Zealand (though originally from Scotland), Bill and Marie Seagraves talks about working "Down Under" in "Kiwi Land", some of his magical inspirations, and advice on character development. Thanks goes out to Ron Gordon, a listener from Aberdeen, Scotland who suggested (via Facebook) that I seek out Bill (their Honorary President) for a chat. See...it pays to listen to The Magic Word regularly!

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103: 2013 I.B.M. Convention - Day 2

Today began the first day of the Big Three events. This breaks up the registrants into three groups divided by colors. For the next three days, each color group will attend one of the following events: a One Man Show by Fielding West; Kid Show Workshop featuring Mike Bent, or; the Close-up show featuring Eugene Burger, Tony Chris, Mike Dardant, Curtis Kam, Peter Samelson and Diamond Jim Tyler. The afternoon continued with Day Two of the stage contest (which as a judge I must say this is one of the strongest competitions I have ever seen with contestants from all over the world: China, Japan, Russia and more).

The evening stage show was quite unique in that all the performers were named Mike. Michael Finney was the emcee who introduced Michael Douglas, Mike Bent, Mike Chao (standing ovation), Mikael Szanyiel (standing ovation), Michael Giles, and (what could be more perfect) Mike Michaels. After the evening show we retreated to the banquet hall for the third and final night of the movie showings complete with popcorn. Tonight it was "Play Dead" with Todd Robbins. Todd opened the floor to a Q&A after the movie.

Time stamps for this Podcast:

00:00:10 - Joe Gold and Tammy Caplan, Co-Directors of the feature film, "Desperate Acts of Magic", join me to talk about making the film and some of the trials and tribulations behind the camera. They also suggest ways for local magic clubs to host a "movie night" to view the film by going through http://tugg.com

00:19:20 - Multiple winner of close-up contest awards, Michael Dardant, talks about working the streets of New Orleans and how he worked towards and achieving his goals.

00:36:24 - Mike Bent talks about comedy, creativity and kid show magic.

00:49:08 - For nearly 35 years, Nicholas Saint-Erne was involved with the Magic Seminar that later became the World Magic Summit. Here he talks a bit about those years of experience and working with Joe Stevens. But as a full time veterinarian and with the recent double lung transplant of David Oliver, Nick gives us some sound advice on care, feeding and handling of your animals and particularly your doves and rabbits.

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