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Penn and Teller Are Revealing How Their Magic Tricks Are Done — And It’s O.K.

Penn and Teller Are Revealing How Their Magic Tricks Are Done — And It’s O.K.

As one of the few humans on Earth who un-ironically calls himself a “TV magic obsessive,” let me tell you, there’s never been a magic show on television like Penn & Teller: Fool Us. 

I approach the show from several perspectives. As a layperson, it’s entertaining as hell with a clear-cut premise. Fool Us is a magic competition on the CW Television Network in which performers try to fool Penn Jillette and Teller as to how their trick was done. If they succeed, the aspiring magicians win an opening-act slot in the duo’s longtime Las Vegas show. The show has been a surprise ratings hit in its Monday primetime slot, averaging 2 million viewers (it’s been renewed for a third season). 

I also watch the show as a guy interested in magic since age six. I’m comfortable saying Fool Us has advanced the art form within popular culture better than any televised magic show in recent memory. The variety of magic subgenres given the spotlight is encouraging for those of us who don’t perform with live tigers: there’ve been acts of coin and card magic, mind-reading, escapology, quick change (where costumes transform in a flash)—even a man who solves Rubik’s cubes, magically. Read the interview..

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/14fffb4f6532252e

How I Fooled Penn & Teller..

How I Fooled Penn & Teller..

Rick Lax is a magic trick inventor, author , and (non-practicing) lawyer from Las Vegas. I was introduced to him because we have the same book editor, Dave Moldawer. On his Facebook page, Rick posts videos of the tricks he’s created. The thing I love about his videos is that he shoots them in a coffee shop with his mobile phone. The tricks are great and he has an appealing personality so the Starbucks production values are fine. I prefer his videos to the edgy, atmospheric videos that so many other magic trick sellers use.

Rick does not perform in front of live audiences, but on Monday he appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us with a memory trick. He wowed Penn & Teller and the audience by glancing at a packet of 21 cards, mixing them up, then separating the reds and the blacks without looking at the cards. Teller grabbed some of Rick’s cards to see if they’d been marked or stripped or otherwise doctored but he came to the conclusion that they are ordinary cards. Penn & Teller were fooled and Rick won the challenge. (Photo from Boing Boing) Read the interview..

http://boingboing.net/2015/09/17/rick-lax-how-i-fooled-penn-an.html

Why I performed for Penn & Teller..

Why I performed for Penn & Teller..

By Kostya Kimlat

At the beginning of this year I received an e-mail invitation to perform on Penn & Teller’s hit TV show on the CW network, “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.”

A dozen thoughts went through my head. How do I respond? What do I perform? What will Penn possibly say on national television when he and Teller figure me out? How will he expose me in front of millions of viewers? Then I read the last sentence of the email and all those frantic questions flew out of my mind. “You were recommended to us by Johnny Thompson.” Without a second thought, I responded to say I would do the show.

You see, Johnny Thompson is a living legend in the world of magic. He’s been hired to consult for practically every big time TV and stage magician and is known amongst performers as one of the few masters of the craft. Johnny is able to execute sleight of hand technique before your eyes, produce doves from thin air on TV, and mastermind wonderful illusions for the stage. Magic Magazine named him one of the 100 most influential magicians of the 20th century.

So when Johnny’s name was mentioned, I knew I was in. Not only did I trust him completely but I figured no matter what happens on the show, this would be an opportunity to spend time with one of the greatest magicians alive. Read the rest at:  

Think Like a Magician