talkmagic.co.uk

This years Milton Keynes top secret magic Day was always going to be a bit special. Why? Simple. It always is a bit special.

Als, We were lucky enough to be in the company of the fantastic Tommy wonder.

Many had travelled the miles in the heat just to see him lecture.
But what other delights would make this the great day it always is?
first up on the bill, was Mark Shortland, who gave us an insight into the way he approaches his magic. His biscuit catching routine scoring well with the audience. Many of whom had a biscuit at the end.
then after a short break to visit the dealers, (all of who had some very tempting items) it was back into the hall for the main event of the convention, Mr Tommy Wonder.

Sometimes he performed and explained , others he just performed, as in the case of his two cup routine, giving you the viewer the chance to watch him put into practice all he had discussed.
In particular the audience seemed to appreciate most, the ambitious card routine, which went into his card in box ( attributed to Fred Caps), and his thoughts on putting reason into your magic.

One of the most important lessons taught, was on being caught doing something. If you are caught , so what, you wanted them to see that anyway!.

to Illustrate this, he performed a card in egg effect, where the egg appeared on the table, as if by magic.
The time spent with Tommy went so quickly. Too quickly for me, I could of sat there for hours listening, and had so many questions on what was discussed.

Tommy was around all day at the convention, and I noticed that many took the chance to chat with him.

Next, after another break, there was a lecture by Luke Jermay. Alas the need for a break away from the venue, and for the taste of something stronger than tea over powered me and Darren, so we missed the lecture. I have no doubt though that there was something for all to learn, as I have seen mr Jermay lecture before at the Tyneside convention early this year.
the beer by the way was lovely and cool...


next, back to spend a little more money with the dealers, then the martin Cox lecture .

There were some very good pieces of advice given here on the Top change, and how to misdirect the eye of someone standing closer. This however is not suitable for every performer in my view, so if you saw it, remember it may not work unless you look like Martin.

Another Break, this time a bit longer. Then the evening show.
It was compared by the great treasure to British Magic that is...Mr Terry Seabrook.

First act on the Bill...Viva, an original, cleaver, inventive Illusion act I really like this act, and they clearly deserved to win Originality at last years British ring convention. In particular I liked the hair dressers setting, where the drier is first used as a head spinner, then, a heads off illusion, finally a colour change of both the costume and the girls hair.
They also had a novel approach to Steimyers modern art illusion, in which it became a changing room in a swinging sixties boutique.

Then, Mark Shortland entertained with a spoof bullet catch, ( which I may be stealing, cause I liked it a lot!!), and a vanishing bottle of Ketchup, which was on for far too long!

Luke Jermay did some amazing things, and was possibly better than I have seen him before. His stint in London playing to lays in a theatre has improved his mass audience skills, an area that can only be learned in the real world.

Then, CoSmIc. ( Martin Cox.) This act Is ok, It has it's moments of strong humour, but some fell a little flat. Maybe the heat and the length of the day had an adverse effect on my sense of humour.Personaly,I would of just done the stools bit with the dappy assistant, and left the box thing out. I do understand though, that Martins act is normally not for the young, so he had to tame it down. If this is the case, you have to wonder why anybody would book the act if the performer isn't allowed to do the act as seen .

Finally, Tommy wonder.
His act that has taken him around the world, With 3 golden goblets, an egg, a lemon , and a grapefruit. And a tiny bird in a gilded cage.
Perfection in every way, and an act that never fails to make me a bit moist around the eyes.,

No doubt there is masses of bits I have missed out, But the above , togethere with the chance to see friends old and new, were the highlights for this attendee...

Roll on next year, the 1st weekend in June 2005

cheers for that man one day my ship will come in and maybey il'e see you there.

Ahh Dale. You beat me to it but as I have written it all out anyway, I think I will still post it.

Wasn't it simply a great day?

Top Secret Magic Day. 2004.
http://www.topsecretmagicday.co.uk/

This was the first of Gary Young’s Top Secret Magic Days that I have attended, and I have to say that it was a fantastic experience. Well done Gary, and everyone else involved for organising such a brilliant One Day Magic Convention. It was a complete sell out, and many people were actually turned away on the door, so next year remember to book your tickets early to avoid any disappointment.

Now, before I start, I would ask that everyone forgives me if I seem to be overly gushing in this review, as frankly there is nothing that I could complain about.

Actually in saying that there is one thing I didn’t like. There was a elderly man and a woman sitting behind me that insisted on heckling throughout the Luke Jermay lecture and show. This I found not only to be incredibly rude but also downright ignorant. Perhaps I should apologise to these people as they are possibly big names in magic, but in my book there is no place for this and they should know better.

The day was made up of several lectures, and a huge room that housed the many dealers. Amongst the dealers there were the likes of Wayne Dobson and Andy Nyman, both thoroughly nice chaps and very approachable. Then at 7:30 there was the Gala Show.

The Lectures
Mark Shortland
I have a confession to make here. I did miss the first 10 minutes of Marks lecture, which is criminal. However, I was standing next to Tommy Wonder, watching from the wings, so it wasn’t all bad.

From what I saw of Marks lecture it was mainly “kids magic”, but before everyone switches off when they hear that phrase, please continue reading.

In Short, Mark Shortland is hilarious, and whether he is doing a kids show, an adult show or a lecture, he is extremely funny and very entertaining.

This was the first time had seen Mark perform, although I had already heard a lot of good things about him, but now I know he is a class act first hand.

I started watching at the end of his demonstration of his “Cookie Bag” trick, which in effect was a “Misers Dream” with a bag of cookies. What a fantastic idea, and if only I had been seated at the time, I would have got a cookie!!!

Mark. You owe me a Cookie.

He then went on to his Car’d Perfect (I think that is what it was called) effect, which is one step up from David Blaine’s Card thru Car Window effect, as he pushes a Car through a deck of cards. 10 out of 10 for originality.

His final demonstration was a double wammy mind reading effect with three kids. And for me this is where Mark really proved himself as a top class entertainer.

His interaction with the three spectators was both entertaining, and amusing but definitely not at the expense of the kids. There was magic and fun and games, which I still maintain that both the adults and the kids would enjoy.

Even if you had no interest whatsoever with kids magic, then you still would have been thoroughly entertained by this lecture.

Tommy Wonder
I am in total awe of this Man. I learnt such a lot from this lecture. Yes it was entertaining, and yes we saw some great magic, but more importantly for me at least were the wonderful words of wisdom that were uttered from his lips.

He is a truly professional magician in every sense of the word. In fact both words, Professional and Magician. Although, after saying that, I would say that for Tommy Wonder would prefer to be known as an entertainer.

His attention to detail is secondary to none. He will work on a gimmick or move until it is completely perfect for the way he works.

His insights on patter, theatrics and misdirection would have made the day a success if he had been the only lecturer/performer there.

To give a short example, he showed us a trick whereby he takes a deck of cards, and repeatedly made the box disappear and reappear. It got a great round of applause, as it obviously showed great dexterity with the cards.

He then went on to explain that he hates that sort of Magic. Why did the Magician make the card box disappear? Why didn’t he just leave it on the table? It’s just showing off.

He then went on to do exactly the same trick, but with some great theatrics. It was all done without talking, and he explained it would have been done to music in the show. But the act was transformed, simply by his facial reactions. When the card case disappeared the first time, it was as if HE didn’t know where it was, and when it reappeared in the other hand, his double take just had to be seen to be believed. He seemed more surprised by everyone else.

He was explaining that you need a reason to be doing the magic. Why make a red silk change into a blue silk then make it disappear? Like any good actor you have to ask yourself what your motivation is.

He then went onto discuss misdirection, which included a great example with the production of an egg on a previously seen empty table. He talked about using the “Concentration of attention” over “Relocation of Attention”. He also mentioned that even if you do get spotted, for example putting an egg on the table, well so what? You’re a magician. If some smarty pants (my words not Tommy’s) says “oooh. You have an egg in your hand”, well just reply, “so? I need it for my next trick. I’m a magician!”

This whole discussion about misdirection, took up most of the lecture, and included several example tricks. In one he showed a simple method and possibly the quickest way to fold up a card without being seen. What do you do when you notice someone grilling your hands? Well stop and wait until they look away.

Other points he made very well included the synchronicity of movements needed to hide, for example a deck switch. The importance if starting AND ending two actions at the same time.

I could go on and on about Tommy Wonder. There was just so much there, and yet the lecture seemed to rush past in no time at all. He did a wonderful cup and balls routine that again demonstrated his misdirection skills. He started by taking the two cups and two red balls out of what appeared to be a blue bobble hat. Some of the final loads included the ball from the top of the hat, and indeed the entire bobble hat itself. How the heck did I miss a bright blue hat being taken off the table and stuffed into one of the two cups? Awe inspiring, that’s what it was.

And lastly, his final effect was a hilarious diminishing card routine that left a queue of people waiting to buy his DVD’s and gimmicked diminishing cards.

I tell you, quite simply, I now have a new hero of magic.

Luke Jermay
I have already seen Luke lecture this year at Kaymar, and so much of the lecture wasn’t new to me. However I am always fascinated what Luke has to say and I was very much looking forward to it.

Much of what he discussed was about the versatility of suggestion. He mentions that suggestion is to the mentalist as important as the DL is to the card magician.

I thoroughly enjoyed Luke’s lecture, even with the unkind hecklers behind me. I wish that I had had the courage to tell them to shut the f. up.

More importantly though for me was not seeing Luke’s lecture, but seeing his performance later in the show. I wanted to see for myself how well Luke’s ideas worked in a the real world, so I will talk more about Luke later on…

Martin Cox
Martin “The hard man of magic” Cox’s lecture was pretty much the same one I had seen him perform at the Ipswich Magical Society lecture last November, but it is a credit to the man that I wasn’t in the least bit bored by it.

No one could ever say that Martin Cox isn’t entertaining. Well, certainly not to his face anyway, as you would be afraid of a visit by Mr. Wobbly!

But Martin’s size and slightly intimidating appearance is also a credit to his skills as an entertainer, because although he uses his appearance to personalise his act, everyone spends too much time wetting their pants with laughter (or was that JUST me?) to be put off by him.

For me the highlights of Martin’s lecture were his insights to the “Top Change”, a wonderfully under utilised move, that is right up there with the DL for its nomination for the “Sleight of the Year Award”.

And secondly, was his misdirection, for what can only be described as the simplest deck change in the world. How does he do it. One word. SPOON!

(ok, it made me laugh – I guess you had to me there).

The Evening Show
The Compere
The show was hosted by the incredible Terry Seabrook. And I don’t use the term incredible lightly. Terry filled in whilst the stage was being set up for the next act wonderfully, and as many of his jokes were in the vein of Tommy Cooper, for me Terry was more than just a compere, he was an act that we were lucky enough to see several times. His forlorn look, and slightly insulting dry sense of humour just had me in stitches the whole time.

Congratulations Terry, you really did a wonderful Job.

Viva
Viva’s act was a great opener. We saw many old illusions brought to life in their own original style. Their act was a great example of how to personalise an act to make it your own, and both performers played off each other brilliantly to produce a Magician and Assistant act.

After seeing Viva, you just knew that it was going to be a great evening.

Mark Shortland
Next up was the zany humour of Mark Shortland. Mark has one of those amazing personalities that just make you like him, even if he just stands there doing nothing.

His facial expressions I find on par with Lee Evens. His second effect was a bullet catch that he milked wonderfully for everything that it was worth.

As I mentioned before with his lecture, I certainly would love to see Mark Shortland perform again.

Luke Jermay
This was the one I had been waiting for. The Luke Jermay Performance. Well, he didn’t disappoint.

The way he speaks, and the words he chooses to use, leave you with no doubt that there is some funny mind control business going on somewhere.

Having read his books, and been now to two of his lectures I find it difficult sometimes to gauge exactly how he comes across to a lay audience, but my wife was in no doubt whatsoever. Although she accompanied me to the Top Secret Magic day, she didn’t go to any of the lectures, instead during the day she went shopping, however she did go to the evening show which I may add, she thoroughly enjoyed.

On the way home in the car afterwards Luke was all she could talk about. Who was he? How did he do that? How did he know to put a rose in that box?

She then went on to say, that he will be bigger than Derren Brown, and that statement isn’t made lightly as we saw Derren Brown perform at Ipswich just a few weeks back.

So Luke. Forget your critics. Forget the two rude people sitting behind me. Your were incredible. My wife says so. So please don’t argue.

Cosmik
Whatever I say about Cosmic wouldn’t be complimentary enough. Cosmik are made up of Martin Cox and his stunningly beautiful assistant Kerry Scorah, although at times you wonder who the magician is and who the assistant is.

Again the act was the same one that they did at Ipswich last year, but again, none the less entertaining for seeing it a second time.

There was a great moment when Mark Shortland came on stage dressed in black as a stage hand. When he turned round written on the back of his t-shirt was “My wife is in this act”. It got a great laugh, and I don’t know whos idea it was, but it’s little moments like this that make a good act into a great act.

Tommy Wonder
Tommy Wonder was unsurprisingly the last act of the night, and just as his professionalism showed during his lecture, it showed tenfold during his short act with the “zombie” birdcage.

Tommy is definitely from the old school of magicians, and is every bit as magical as the likes of Lance Burton.

The act was set to music. No talking just lots of beautifully poetic magic moments.

Did I mention that Tommy Wonder is a Hero of mine?

To summarise
Well really all that is left to say at this point is a big thank you to Gary Young (and everyone else involved) for organising yet another great day of Magic.

Please put me down for two tickets for next year.

bananafish wrote:Ahh Dale. You beat me to it but as I have written it all out anyway, I think I will still post it.

Wasn't it simply a great day?

Absolutly, if a little hot!
I think name badges may be a good idea though.I know that there were quite a few people there from the forums, and it would of been nice to of been able to of put names to faces.

Dale, You are right. Name badges would have made a lot of sense. Excellent idea. Maybe someone should suggest that to Gary Young for next year?

Air conditioning would have been nice, although apart from being too hot, and the seats being a little uncomfortable, I thought the theatre was pretty well structured. Mind you I was in the third row so I guess I was always going to get a good view. Just out of interest it was my lovely assistant Frankie who was selected by Martin Cox to make the balloon monkey. She is thinking of putting it up on e-bay - (ok maybe not).

What did you think of the person making snide comments during Lukes performance and lecture? Well performance (as you played truant during the lecture didn't you. tut tut), I must admit I found them very offensive, but maybe I was just too close to them and they werent heard by anyone else. Certainly Luke didnt react to them at all.

dont the 2 of you have any work to do???...8000 word posts are NOT conducive to a healthy WORKING relationship!!!...

dont the 2 of you have any work to do???...8000 word posts are NOT conducive to a healthy WORKING relationship!

lol - nor is counting words

i dont start work till tonight though

Why o why didn't i organise myself properly and go to this!? It's not as if Milton Keynes is a complete trek for me.

It sounds as if it was well worth it. Ah, well, maybe next year.

ah, you sat by the door, Lucky thing. I was over in row d on the other side, cooking .
so, did you both go to dressingroom 2 then?

Cor, was it really a year ago that I was at the last one? I guess it must have been since it was during my exams. Unfortunately this year I had to revise a little harder so I wasn't able to go, maybe next year though.

This was a trip that will remain firmly in my memory for some years to come. My thanks go to Roman59 (especially for the lift there) and Bananafish for there friendliness over this weekend.

Regarding the hecklers during Luke's lecture and performance, all I can say is he has a lot more patience than me as I would have either said something completely derrogative to them or simply found out who they were after the show and decked 'em !!!

All in all simply brilliant weekend.

Leaving for the airport in about 3 hours time so this is Captain Fantastic signing off for about the next 12 hours or so... I thank you!!