The Great Zucchini to Lecture Sept. 7

If you ever have preschoolers or Kindergarteners attending your show, you MUST come to the September 7 Ring 50 meeting! The Great Zucchini (Eric Knaus), Washington's funniest and most magical PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN entertainer will give a lecture at I.B.M. Ring 50 on September 7, 2011 at 8:00 PM following a brief Ring meeting.

"In the world of local kid's entertainment, there is no bigger name than The Great Zucchini! You're like a phenomenon ... all the parents know you!"
- Tony Perkins, Fox 5 News

"The Great Zucchini is instantly likeable, and effortlessly charming."
- Gene Weingarten, The Washington Post

The Great Zucchini has been entertaining young children as a magician and preschool teacher. He performs his hands-on, interactive magic shows for more that 400 groups a year. His experience, coupled with his gentle nature and wacky facial expressions, makes kids immediately feel comfortable and ready to laugh. He will have you laughing at the gags he does to entertain toddlers. We each have different styles, but it does come down to keeping the kids attention and keeping control. If you EVER entertain children, this is a lecture you will want to attend. There is a lot to be learned from studying Eric's approach to entertaining young children. The lecture is free to paid-up Ring 50 members, all other magicians $15 at the door.

Wayne Alan Lecture Debut Impressive

I.B.M. Ring 50’s April 6th meeting was opened by President Arnie Fuoco. After a few business details he introduced our lecturer, Wayne Alan, Corporate Illusionist.

Alan opened his lecture with balloon to bouquet and then two more bouquets appeared. After explaining the production and giving a few tips, he had two spectators join him on stage. He did a Two Card Monte with a regular size Ace and a Queen and then he did it with jumbo cards. Finally, removing the table cloth he showed two very large cards (40”x30”) which were set up on the stage. From these two cards a live Queen (Cassandra) was produced! He explained the workings of the effect and how to build it for less than $300. Next was a coin routine with his version of coins across and the coins appearing under a glass.

Alan's lecture was based on his decades of experience and proven show business concepts, covering 1/3 talent, 1/3 marketing, and 1/3 publicity. Wayne Alan says, " Be a showman and act like a star, be mysterious without being hokey, dress like a star, have beautiful assistants, and ride the coattails of the famous."

Other effects that he demonstrated and taught included the famous rabbit from a hat, card shark gags, a card routine ending with his business card, chop cup, a white board card revelation, a comedy mind reading routine using a spectator blindfolded with a Mardi Gras mask.

Alan also did a torn and restored card with the card reappearing in a frame held by a spectator. The card had a corner missing and it matched the one held by another spectator. He ended the evening with a crystal silk cylinder routine. Throughout the lecture he gave credits to contributors of the effects and routines. A great lecture by Wayne Alan! The May meeting is the Dan Lacey contest for Washington DC Magician of the Year.

- Bob Patterson

Alain Nu - The Man Who Knows

August's meeting kicked off with the members approving President Arnie Fuoco's proposal to purchase a portable stage light set and a portable wireless PA.We also voted in two new members. Magi-Whirl Chairman Theo Rushin announced that MAGI-WHIRL 2011 will take place on April 29 & 30 at Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia. He also announced our headliners: Dirk Losander and Luna Shimada, along with legendary UK street magician Keith Fields. We have more surprises, and you can keep up with the news at www.Magi-Whirl.org.

Our lecturer was a longtime friend of Ring 50, international star and local resident Alain Nu, who had done a special intensive mentalism workshop earlier in the evening.

Alain's lecture was quite unusual, not only for his focus on mentalism, but also for his teaching style. He teaches principles which form the basis for numerous tricks and routines, limited only by the performer's imagination. He performed "Nu Wave," his take on "B'Wave;" did an excellent book test; did his version of Any Card at Any Number; divined an audience member's zodiac sign and bent ordinary spoons in the extraordinary fashion for which he is so justly famous.

Nu then spent the next 90 minutes going into great detail on the principals and variations involved in the first three items. This was really a master class in routine construction, teaching how to craft the script and the action to cancel out the method. He spent a brief time on the zodiac divination, which is found in one of his manuscripts, which are available at his lectures. As he had warned us, he did not teach his spoon-bending secrets, although he does a special workshop on just this topic the day before Mindvention each year. You can get more info by contacting Alain at alainnutv@yahoo.com. Alain Nu is a deep thinker who has much of value to teach any magician or mentalist.

Anatomy Lesson at August Meeting

DC Magician of the Year Dick Christian and Ring 50 President Louis Meyer gave a joint lecture, "Anatomy of a Show," at the August 5 meeting. Distilling the best advice from classic magic authors and his own 60+ years of experience, much of it as a full-time magician working primarily for adults, Dick talked about what goes into transforming magic tricks into a coherent show that will please a paying audience in the real world.



Dick talked about the dangers of "winging it;" the importance of creating scripts; how to structure comedy routines; the uses and abuses of repetition; timing; the difference between practice and rehearsal; how to choose openers, middles and closers and much more. He also very thoughtfully provided an outline of his talk, which including a suggested reading list, as well as handouts of supplemental material, such as the "24 Rules of Magic" from Maskelyne and Devant's "Our Magic."

After Dick's talk, Louis Meyer noted that there was little to add, but did share his perspective as a full-time children's entertainer. His tips on how to tweak your show to make it effective for children were very helpful. The members left the meeting greatly encouraged and with their brains completely full!

Louis noted that Washington DC’s Convention For Children's Entertainers, "Kapital Konvention," will be held on January 27-29, 2010 in Springfield, VA.

Michael Taggert reminded everyone of the great lineup of Duane Laflin, Samuel Patrick Smith, and Jim Sisti at Magi-Whirl on April 9-10, 2010