Blackpool Magic Convention

I just got back last night from Blackpool, a place I had never been, to go to a magic convention - no, I'm not a magician.  I actually had to explain about not being a magician much less than I thought I would.  I am also happy to report that, though no one offered me a job, every magician I spoke to about targeting stage management for magic thought it was good idea. 

Never take a bus ride longer than four hours.  I am not sure the science behind it but I have taken plenty 3-4 hour bus rides and never had a problem but my legs ached all weekend from six and half hours.  Now I know why so few people who got on in London stayed on to Blackpool, smart people paid the extra for a train.  It was an over night bus and I didn't even get as much sleep as I figured, the driver wasn't the smoothest shifter in the world.

I will now go ahead and recommend Cavendish Hotel, Blackpool.  Admittedly, I chose it because it was inexpensive and the name reminded me of Cavendish Sanitarium from the Marx Bros. film Horse Feathers.  But they were so nice, they greeted me at the door by name and let me check in early since I had to go straight to the convention and the breakfast that comes with the price is made to your order.  By that I mean they asked me when I arrived what I wanted for breakfast and so I has sausage, egg, toast and tea each morning (I could have changed each day but I liked it).  So Cavendish Hotel in Blackpool - don't go if your expecting luxury, but do if you want some place sweet with friendly people.

Golly, it must be ten years since I'd been to a magic convention.  I really had no idea how long it had been but David Ginn (magician) said that the last ACE conference was about ten years ago (ACE=Association of Christian Entertainers).  If you don't know how magic works and you don't want to be a magician I do not recommend you try to find out how it's done.  You're bound to be disappointed and it could very well ruin the experience for you. Now I already knew about magic, Mom's a magician and I used to be a clown and I've been to seven or eight magic conferences in my day, so I just got to see different ways of doing things.  I went to see what magicians are doing these days so I know what props and tricks are in vogue at the minute so as better to support it in a stage management role and also to meet magicians.  Magicians that could either hire me or give me some insight into support I hadn't thought of or introduce me to magicians who might hire me or just pass the time of day with them.  It was a great weekend.  I saw some magicians I recognized (not just David Ginn) although I didn't see John van der Put who I guess was there Sunday.

The first night the gala show had magicians from Korea and they were spectacular.  One of them produced cards to even impress other magicians.  You know when magicians produce a fan of cards from nowhere?  Well he did it in such a way as to show he wasn't using the normal technique, it's hard to explain, but one by one he made moves to take away the different ways those cards are generally produced.  There was also some very different acts, things I hadn't seen before.  One guy did this act where he changed t-shirts, not just what he was wearing but he'd take a blank shirt and suddenly add an object, or take one away or change it's colour completely.  And while I saw several performances where they interacted with a screen I didn't see one as amazing as the first act that night where he used a couple screens and his clothes as projection surfaces and unlike the other acts he actually did quite a bit of magic as well.

All in all, the lectures were cool and informative (mostly) and the performances incredible.  I would definitely go again.  One word of warning to those going to Blackpool - all but one of the cappuccinos I had were atrocious, so be wary.

And Today's Fixation Will Be...

Okay, I admit it - I get these fleeting fixations on subjects that will preoccupy my mind for weeks sometimes and then slip from the top of my consciousness. I will always love these subjects but they only possess my mind in it's entirety for a bit.  Take the Muppets - I LOVE the Muppets, I will watch their movies or shows all day, if allowed, and am currently working on an amazing Muppet movie script with some of the most awesome people ever (I hope the new movie does well so the audience is there).  However, it will never take over my whole world as it did when I was getting the show on netflix.  I watched endless hours of interviews and special footage, I read large chunks of the muppetwiki site, I even looked into how hard it would be to get a job at the Creature Shop in London (very, very, exceedingly hard by the way).  But after that three week period, I only think about them in spurts.  Same thing has happened to me with Ardal O'Hanlon (why oh why did I watch every episode of Father Ted?), Hyperbole and a Half (a blog), Precious Metal Clay, Knitting (although I sustain this one better), and many other subjects that I have vast knowledge of for no real reason).

Today I will admit it's Magic.  I don't think I'd seen a magic show in around 5 years.  That's a long time for someone who's mother does magic and who was a clown and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.  The reason, or catalyst, for this recent fixation is Piff the Magic Dragon.  It was like the 1st or 2nd flyer I got up here on the first day of the festival and I knew I had to see it. I mentioned in last blog about the serious awesomeness of his act.  Looked into him as a person, inside dragon costume, and found he's also a proper legit magician (not that he didn't do real magic in his show - loved how he worked in cigarette magic which seems to be a dying art) by the name of John Van Der Put (not sure if it all is capitalized or not) and winner of magic awards and inventor of magic effects (check out VDP).  This has sparked the magic bug again.  I will be seeing a further 4 magic shows this week and I've been trying to catch up with what's happening in magic these days since I haven't paid too much attention since I stopped spot light op-ing magic shows around eight years ago.  It also is a great reminder that straight theatre is not the only job opportunity for a stage manager.

I will say this for my seemingly random fixations - I learn a lot of truly interesting information and it leads to interest in surrounding topics that I would not normally have looked into.  And I never really move away from the subjects, I love them all, and I look forward to greeting them like old friends.  I'd totally see Piff or Ardal again, and I can't wait to have time to make jewellery again and the Muppets are always with me - long live the fixations!