TLR Reviewers Perform at November Meeting

The November 3rd meeting had more than 50 in attendance, including new members Cassandra Rogers and Julian Ortiza, who were officially voted in. Magi-Whirl 2011 Chairman Theo Rushin, Jr., announced the full lineup for the April 29-30 event: Losander, Luna Shimada, Keith Fields and Mark Mason. Magi-Whirl will have a truly international flavor this year and you can get details at www.Magi-Whirl.org.

The November showcase featured Ring 50 members performing tricks they had reviewed for The Linking Ring. Since Associate Editor Jason Goldberg is in charge of Hocus in Focus and is also a Ring 50 members, most of the reviewers are from Ring 50. (Because of the sheer number of performers that follow, there is no room for full descriptions, which you can find in the November 2010 Magi-Gram newsletter.)

President Arnie Fuoco introduced the acts, which began with Jason Goldberg doing a charming rendition of Christian Schenk’s “Metamorphosis,” in which caterpillars on cards change to butterflies and one comes off as a souvenir. Treasurer Bob Patterson did Cameron Francis’ “Annihilation Deck,” in which two prediction cards are removed from the deck, and then a helper chooses a card. The prediction cards do not match the selection, but have the value and suit of the selection written on their backs! Bob Continued with “Prohibition” from Blacks Magic, a very clean, nearly impromptu cap-in-bottle effect. Bob concluded with “Double Coincidence,” one of the effects from Jean-Pierre Vallarino’s “Fasten” DVD.

Dick Christian did several mental magic and mentalism items, including “School Daze” by Black’s Magic, Asi Wind’s “Switcher,” and Devin Knight’s “Word Sight.” Kevin McGuire switched gears into children’s magic with a modified version of “Fronkey” from Oliver Meech’s “5 for £5 Kids Magic,” a sort of McCombical Deck routine for children, which was very cute.

With many funny bits of business, Arnie Levin did a four ace trick from the Criss Angel DVD, and then recommended we simply buy McDonald’s Aces. He finished with “Keyruption” by Bob Solari, in which a borrowed, signed, bill vanishes and winds up in a zippered leather key case – a definite recommendation.

Rucj Uffelman performed Devin Knight’s “Inside Thoughts” and “Schezuan Sampler” from Mentalism Unlimited. Bob Carnathan performed Devin Knight’s “Unshop,” and Danny Selnick did Gaeton Bloom’s “The Die.” Geoff Weber astonished all with the signature routine from Steve Spill’s “Confessions of a Needle Swallower” DVD.

Eric Henning had a last-minute change of program, announcing that he had been privileged to perform for President and the First Family at the White House Halloween party. He proceeded to do the routine he had developed for this engagement, which combined Bill Abbott’s “The Thing” with the DaVinci Floating Table. Afterward, Michael Taggert came up and reiterated his reviews of “The Thing” and also Jim Kleefeld’s “Sound Control” utility device, which Henning had used in his act.