magicians – Page 23 – Magic Roadshow

Award All Smoke and Mirror ?

April 13, 2014 Rick Carruth

Intriguing article by Claire Yip for The New Paper / AsiaOne

Want to know how you can make magicians disappear?

Just win an international award for magic and watch peer approval vanish.

That’s what happened to Mr S Chandran, self-professed magician extraordinaire.

In a business where everyone wants to be the one, Mr Chandran bagged the Merlin Award from the International Magicians Society (IMS).

It is an international recognition for excellence in their field and the 33-year-old is the latest local magician to win.

IMS founder and president Tony Hassini flew into Singapore to present Mr Chandran the award last Sunday.

Mr Chandran was named Best Variety Entertainer, a title created just for him.

He said he carved out a niche for himself in the industry by having an assortment of characters in his performances.

“Customers have a lot of choice with so many of my characters,” he said, adding, “I don’t think I have any competitors in this aspect.”

And judging by the reaction to him winning the award, not many friends in the industry either.

Created in 1968, the award is not without controversy…

Hospital magicians enchant sick kids, turn frowns to smiles..

March 2, 2014 Rick Carruth

Good article by Donna Vickroy for the Southtown Star…

It is dinnertime on a Thursday at Advocate Children’s Hospital, and as the sun sets outside, the halls of the colorful Oak Lawn health care facility seem to get a little brighter.

The magicians have arrived.

Dressed in black coats, carrying their bag of supplies, Christine Gravel-Lippoldt and Ed Barry are all set to work their magic.

They don’t pull rabbits out of hats, they don’t saw doctors or nurses in half and they don’t swallow any swords. They do something even better: They make sick kids forget they’re sick, even if just for a little while…

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Give conjurers random props, set the clock, and … Presto!

February 25, 2014 Rick Carruth

By MIKE WEATHERFORD for the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

It’s clearly not about production values, as a hand-held camera follows four magicians around the interior of your standard-issue Las Vegas apartment.

And the concept is familiar, too, at least if you ever watch the Food Network’s “Chopped.” The magicians are split into teams and given random items from a dollar store — chopsticks, a plastic orange — that they use to create illusions and perform them in front of hypercritical judges.

But “Wizard Wars” has the potential to bring good news on two fronts….

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