💥🇺🇸TOUR ANNOUNCE 🇨🇦💥 Exciting news! We’re hitting the road with our
brand new show across the U.S. and Canada this summer! Join us for an
unforgettable experience with 💜THE CLAIRVOYANTS SHOW💜 See you there!
Sean Taylor is a magician who needs no introduction.
He has authored 5 books for magicians, released a dozen DVDs and more than 25 effects. He’s also lectured in 7 countries and performed in 16.
Sean’s effects are practical and commercial and used by working professionals all over the world and these are his first LIVE lectures in over 3 years.
Lockdown has been a busy time in the Taylor house with Sean ZOOM lecturing for the Magic Circle in London, the IBM British Ring in the UK as well as other magic clubs in the USA, UK and Australia. In addition, Sean and his son Patrick have re-designed and re-shot all of his signature effects and released a bunch of new items.
Looking Forward to the Past is a new lecture of close-up, stand-up and mentalism which spans Sean’s many interests in magic. There are some easy craft projects, some quirky uses for things you already know and some new work on old favourites. Subtlety over sleights and effect over method.
There will be something for everyone and every performing situation!
Sean will be bringing his unique range of products for sale after the lecture (including a new release which will be seen at these new lectures for the first time) and there will be comprehensive lecture notes with video clips available on a thumb drive.
It is back! We are excited to be sharing new magic with all of you at our yearly Tricky Tuesday! With the performers we have this year, it is sure to sell out, so grab your tickets early!
Get ready to be spellbound at this year's PCAM convention, coming to the enchanting city of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Don't miss out on the magic – register early to secure your spot!
Head over to the registration page at [https://pcammagic.com/registration/] and reserve your place today. Plus, early registrants will receive special gifts and extras upon arrival, so be sure to provide all your information to ensure you don't miss out on the surprises!
We've also arranged a special discount for accommodations at [https://pcammagic.com/hotel/]. Be sure to book your room soon to guarantee your stay in magical Victoria.
Some exciting news for Hidden Wonders Speakeasy Magic Experience and the magicians of BC. I have invited a guest artists to present their show for an entire weekend in the showroom in May. You won't want to miss this magician!
If we ask really nice he might even do a lecture! Ticket sales are open to the public so this is certain to sell out fast, like all Hidden Wonders shows.
I'm excited to announce we're restarting The MAGIC Festival. It has been years since we had the time and energy to mount a week long festival celebrating Magic Arts Gathering In Canada... see what I did there? lol
We have contributions from the Vancouver Magic Circle, IBM Ring #92, the SAM #95 Assembly, the Vancouver Magic Academy, Rick Bronson's House of Comedy, Stefanos Restaurant and Lounge, and it will all be held in Downtown New Westminster!
Magic for the masses... mark your calendars: March 25th-30th.
* Regular readers of the blog may know that there's typically an elapsed time of weeks to months between us completing an interview and having it published. Case in point. Due in part to our densely packed December content calendar, we've held Richard's interview (which belongs to our 2023 series of Champions cast interviews that started last October) until now, ahead the Western Canada leg of their tour.
In addition to Champions of Magic you may also know Richard Young through:
We're delighted to interview Richard ahead of his Western Canadian
Champions of Magic Worldwide Wonder Tour dates!
Do you remember the specific moment when you knew you could or wanted
to perform magic full time?
September
17th 1995 when I saw David Copperfield’s show in Birmingham in the U.K.
My Dad often tells the story that on the drive home that night I asked
him if it would be at all possible for me to do something like that as a
job when I grew up.
Have you studied anything magic-adjacent (eg. theatre, voice, musical instrument, acting, dance, art, movement, or photography)?
I haven’t and I really wish I had. If I was to give any younger magician some advice it would be to go and learn all this stuff. It seems like a lot of fun and would have helped me so much over the years.
Richard Young listening to Sam Strange
After seeing a recent Champions performance in Toronto, one
of our readers thought they spotted a small but meaningful detail in the
show, that you may have included as an homage to David Copperfield. Is
this an intentional 'Easter egg'?
I was thrilled someone spotted it. Absolutely. It’s supposed to
showcase that I’m living my childhood dream in his shows following my
tribute to him 15 minutes earlier.
The Champions show order changes from time to time, based on the constraints of the venue and the health of the performers. We imagine that sometimes muscle memory reverts to the show order you do most often. How do you and the rest of the cast and crew remind yourselves of set deviations?
In 2021 we were developing a lot of new material and the show was changing almost every night. It was stressful and frankly impossible to stay on top of. We have stage prompts printed on the stage floor and other similar techniques. I remember there was one night where I got the show order wrong, it happened to be on a night when there was no sound relay backstage and as I walked towards the stage I saw a scene playing out on the stage I was supposed to be in, without me in it!
What's your go-to time filler if the crew needs you to stall for more time than "hands"++ provides?
We really do just have ‘hands’ to save some time. Anything needing more than that will be a show stop. We have only had a few of those over the years. Although it’s nice if you can fill a mistake or buy some time without the audiences noticing, a show stop is nothing to be embarrassed about, I’ve seen West End shows in London with show stops and as an audience member you appreciate they are stopping because they want you to see the best possible show rather than some sort of bodge job attempt to wrangle through. If you do hundreds of shows, there’s no way to avoid it. Eventually you’ll need to stop and restart.
When we are touring I really miss British chocolate but honestly it’s probably good I can’t access it, keeping weight off while touring I find basically impossible. I don’t watch things, I tend to just find my head is completely immersed in what we are doing.
One imagines that it’s sometimes hard to leave the comforts of your home
for a lengthy tour. Do you bring a special something from home with
you?
I do indeed have a little mascot who travels with me. He’s a stuffed toy raccoon called Rufus, my girlfriend bought him for me when we visited a national park in Tucson, Arizona together. Unfortunately Rufus accidentally forgot to get inside my suitcase when I left a hotel in Los Angeles and despite many phone calls to the hotel after I left, he was not found. I however managed to find him for sale on a website and quickly had him sent to me by FedEx hoping my girlfriend would not notice he wasn’t exactly the same Rufus. She didn’t but eventually my conscious made me tell her the truth that Rufus is in fact now Rufus 2.0.
Rufus 2.0
Every performer has experienced some level of post-show blues. Post-tour blues, we expect, are on a whole different level. Do you have any tips for touring entertainers with respect to re-entering one’s non-touring life, after an extended time away from home?
It’s so so hard. Coming off the road and re-adjusting to a much slower pace of life for me personally takes quite a long time. When we finished after a 9 month solid tour in May 2023 I truly was burnt out and needed a break, but honestly that’s the first time I have ever felt like that. Usually I am sad when we finish and do worry a little about how I’m going to re-adjust. I have however learnt how to take care of myself. I immediately get my head into other work. I don’t take time off, I tend to actually have a lot of new energy I can place into podcasts or some other kind of creativity. The fact is for many of us this is the biggest part of our lives and so although sleep, no airports and less stress is welcome, life does feel a little empty when away from the road. I truly believe 1 year of touring is the equivalent life experiences to about 20 years of life for a normal person in terms to fun, emotional ups and downs and pure experiences.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers of
Canada’s Magic?
We're really looking forward to sharing our show with your readers in Western Canada.
Thank you Richard, for making the time to answer our questions!
Don’t miss this once in a lifetime event! A Vegas and Broadway star is coming to our back year for a third of the price of a show you would have to fly to go see!
Seats are selling out - so don’t delay! Support your local arts and come laugh yourself silly!
Step into a world where reality blurs and wonder and humor take center
stage! Enchantments Unveiled invites you to witness an extraordinary
magic show that defies the boundaries of imagination. This show is like no
other in the world.
The first half features mind blowing magic
and mind-reading blended with comedy, while the second half is a magical
tribute to Charlie Chaplin. Imagine what it would look like if Chaplin did
magic. Paul has spent a lifetime developing his act and is considered the
best Chaplin impersonator in the world. He has blended comedy, music, and
magic to create one of the most original, hilarious, and charming acts in
the world.
Eng was born in 1948 and raised right here in Victoria. According to the museum, he had an affinity for the magical arts since he was a young boy. He received his first magic kit at the young age of 8-years-old and had started performing shows by age 12.
Onlookers would be able to see his show at The Japanese Village restaurant for two decades.
He worked over the years to piece together a show that was interwoven with his Chinese Canadian heritage that he called ‘Mysteries of the Orient,’ in which he was adorned in an elegant, embroidered mandarin robe.
It’s official! The Magic of Tony Eng exhibition, at the Victoria Chinatown Museum in Fan Tan Alley is now open! It is wonderful to see my dear dad being honoured in this very special way. Throughout the curatorial process, I was very moving to hear just how many people were touched by Dad and his magic. Thanks to the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society and the Chinese Canadian Museum for choosing to spotlight someone who dared to be different and to chase his dreams. I was very excited to be part of the ribbon cutting ceremony today. A profound honour and one I will never forget. Dad, I think you really would have loved this exhibition. I know I do.
The Victoria Chinatown Museum Society and the Chinese Canadian Museum have worked closely with the Eng family to create the exhibition which celebrates the spellbinding magical career of Tony Eng, whose enchanting influence and legacy reached far corners of the world. The exhibition features Tony’s original mandarin robe and many items from his bag of tricks.
“The Victoria Chinatown Museum Society is delighted to work with the Chinese Canadian Museum on the installation of ‘The Magic of Tony Eng’,” says Grace Wong Sneddon, Board Chair of the Victoria Chinatown Museum Society and Co-Curator of The Magic of Tony Eng. “Tony was a mentor to youth in Victoria and around the world. His magic was more than a routine, it provided a space for us to dream beyond the ordinary. Stories of Victoria Chinese Canadians are important to share.”
Born and raised in Victoria, B.C., Tony’s fascination with magic began at the age of eight when he received his first magic kit, and then started performing magic shows at age 12. He became a fan favourite when he performed every Sunday at The Japanese Village restaurant for two decades.
Embracing his Chinese Canadian heritage, he created a distinctive show called “Mysteries of the Orient” which he performed in an embroidered mandarin’s robe. His skill and talent made him renowned in the Canadian magic circle where he was known as the “Ambassador of Magic.” His entrepreneurial skills enabled him to run a successful wholesale business and establish the Premier School of Bartending. He also started up his own Tony's Trick & Joke Shop in Victoria which was a fantasy emporium of wizardry and gadgetry where he inspired and mentored many young up-and-coming magicians for years to come.
Additional rumoured locations include cities in BC and NS! Check the
Champions of Magicwebsite
for updates.
You may also know Fernando Velasco as the winner of the 2018 Junior Achievement Award at The Magic Castle.
We're delighted to interview Fernando ahead of his Canadian
Champions of Magic Worldwide Wonder Tour dates!
We were fortunate to see Champions of Magic in three times in the
past five years. Your part in the show changed significantly from year
to year. In fact the 2022 experience was very different
from the first time we saw you in Toronto in 2018.
When
you have an audience tested, well-received show, what drives you to modify
and advance your act?
I’m not sure what the motivation factor is; I love entertaining, I love making changes to try and find the best possible version of the acts to share with audiences, It’s also a way to keep it fresh, even if its just little changes to the script that’s enough to keep us engaged and in search for the perfect/most genuine presentation.
Have you studied any magic-adjacent disciplines?
Recently I’ve been studying writing and storytelling, I think it’s definitely helped me give my magic some meaning. Hopefully sharing stories that might mean something to people and might make them FEEL something… A feeling is what I’m currently after.
I also spend a lot of time analyzing other artists from a variety of different disciplines just trying to learn anything I can from them; Michael Jackson, Tom Cruise, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robbie Williams, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Pixar.
Cutting it close!
Do you remember the specific moment when you knew you could or wanted
to perform magic full time?
YES, the moment I joined The Magic Castle Junior Society and debuted at 14 years old during Future Stars of Magic Week in 2012 -- that was the moment I knew I had found my entertaining vehicle. There was no looking back.
What is your most memorable performance misadventure?
Hahahah might be too soon... (Darkest day of my career.)
Once upon a time in Houston, Texas, (Richard) Young, (Sam) Strange, and myself had a catastrophic prop malfunction in a part of the show we do together.
I wish I could tell you that we played it off and walked off stage like heroes, but we did not.
First, we were exposed to 1/3 of the audience (being generous with ourselves), then Young fled the scene leaving me and Strange alone on stage to finish the act... to which the act finale also failed.
In other words, NOTHING worked… it was like a scene out of Magic Gone Wrong.
What sets Champions of Magic apart from other touring ensemble magic
shows?
First the insane production level, it blows any other touring magic show in North America out of the water.
Second, our interactions with each other, the way the show intertwines with all of us and our collaborative routines.
We are a cast rather than four ensemble acts, that’s really unique.
After a quick dip in the water tank.
Do you have any guilty pleasures while on tour?
My biggest guilty pleasure is food, I love food, and I'm lucky to share this pleasure with my great friend Richie (Young). Sharing meals together tends to be a highlight of the day haha. As well as riding Birdies (electric scooters) around cities.
One imagines that it’s sometimes hard to leave the comforts of your home
for a lengthy tour. Do you bring a special something from home with
you?
I really love touring, it's our life.
But touring can be hard, it can get lonely. You are in a bubble for months in which nothing enters or leaves, it's like we are isolated from the real world…
I wear bracelets that friends and family give me, I wear them all the time, it's my way of keeping a part of loved ones near all the time.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers of
Canada’s Magic?
Best version of Champions of Magic is on its way. We hope you come to the shows and enjoy them as much as we do.
Thank you Fernando, for making the time to answer our questions!
We're delighted to interview Sam ahead of his Canadian
Champions of Magic Worldwide Wonder Tour dates!
Have you studied any magic-adjacent disciplines?
It really highlights the scam that being a magician can be sometimes. So many
magicians, including myself, hide behind the tricks/illusions when there is
little talent outside of that. When I was in my 20s I did learn to partner
dance (modern jive) and you could argue that gave me some coordination.
However, I think honesty that would be very generous to say that it helped
inform my balletic movements during the final Las Vegas parody sequence.
In retrospect are there skills or knowledge that you wish you had prior
to pursuing magic full time?
Certainly there are a host of skills that would have been so helpful. Being
good at video editing and photoshop would be so useful. It would mean you
could produce online content quickly and easily without the cost of using a
professional.
Red light, green light!
Do you remember the specific moment when you knew you could or wanted
to perform magic full time?
I do remember actually with some clarity.
When I started to
‘gig’ (a few kids parties and events for friends), I was about 18 years
old. Simultaneously I joined the ’Thames Valley Magicians Guild’ and would
go to the weekly meetings there. After a few weeks I was kindly asked to
cover a residency at a restaurant in Oxford, England. I did that on Friday
and Saturday evenings. At that point there was a simple and clear
connection between my magic passion and an income, of sorts. I knew at
that point I wanted to be a professional magician.
What is your most memorable performance misadventure?
There are so many to mention, which is both a sign of experience and flight
time, but also unprofessionalism. (Richard) Young and I did the Edinburgh
(Fringe) festival for 4 consecutive years and at that point new material is
being worked in and lessons are being learned!
Lesson 1. Never
leave the Master Prediction Tube inside the actual box. Especially when
hanging that box (and ultimately the show’s finale) in full view of the
audience. Lesson 2. Always remember the key to a locked box with a
spectator's watch inside. Lesson 3. Never commit wholeheartedly to
the gender of an audience member. Lesson 4. Never perform magic on a
stage at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, on New Year’s Eve in 2019, in
the wind and rain. Ever. Lesson 5. Never perform an under-rehearsed Table of Death.
All
of the above had no outs.
One of the most haunting experiences might not sound at all a problem, but
knocked my confidence for years afterwards. I remember going out on stage
for the show opening and having a complete mind blank. I genuinely didn’t
know what I should say or how to start saying my script. Fortunately being
in a double act means that essentially you have a script advisor standing
next to you. But the fact that can happen means it might happen again and
standing on a stage with nothing to say or nowhere to go, is a lonely and
embarrassing experience.
What sets Champions of Magic apart from other touring ensemble magic
shows?
Although Champions of Magic does contain 5 magicians each performing in
their own style, from their own discipline of magic, the show does feel very
cohesive. It shouldn’t feel like a Magic Convention line up but without the
MC. We perform together onstage throughout the show and because of that it
hopefully feels like you’re watching a team of magicians, rather than
segmented acts. That unifying aspect makes the show memorable, rather than the
individuals within it. Coupled with the humour and no ability to take
ourselves seriously, means it should be distinctive enough from the show's
competitors.
That's a lot of money
Do you have any guilty pleasures while on tour?
At every venue we go to there is a well stocked fridge and Coke
(both Zero and full fat) is always on offer and display. When it’s always
there, I will most likely choose it over the bottled water. It’s not a vice I
suppose, but I know it’s probably not good for you in large quantities and I
do love it.
One imagines that it’s sometimes hard to leave the comforts of your home
for a lengthy tour. Do you bring a special something from home with
you?
Leaving home for longer tours is an emotional challenge for sure. However,
that challenge comes with the territory and it’s not like I’m down a mine shaft
for weeks on end or on the front line in Afghanistan. I’m not sure if there is
a front line in Afghanistan anymore, but you get the sentiment.
I
do carry a couple of photos of my family, which feels very old fashioned and
probably crazy considering I have my iPhone’s camera roll with me at all
times. I’m sure that if I printed out all of the iPhone images of my kids and
put them into a flicker book, you’d essentially get a live stream since birth.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with the readers of
Canada’s Magic?
We STILL have a large quantity of shot glasses available on the merchandise
stand. You would think dropping the price to $15 would have helped shift
them, but it did very little for sales overall. It’s the worst business idea
we have ever had. Please can your readers buy them when attending a show?
After a lot of trial and error (and critically the right room humidity) the
Young & Strange logo CAN be scratched off with a box cutter.
The
shot glasses are versatile and I’ve provided some ideas for their use
below:
- Candle holders. - A Crockery Smash stall at a local
fundraising event. - A Glass Walking routine you are working on. -
A lecture for a business studies group on 'Loss Leaders'.
Young and Strange "One More!" shot glasses 📸 : Kidlet, Kitchener, 2022
Thank you Sam, for making the time to answer our questions!