Duane Laflin Lecture for December

Duane Laflin is a noted magician, teacher, and innovator. He is a sought-after lecturer among magic clubs throughout the U.S. Duane was a featured lecturer at ClownFest 2004 convention and a featured lecturer at the 2007 convention of The International Brotherhood of Magicians held in Reno Nevada. He produced and starred in a popular four-volume series of instructional videos on silk magic. Duane has lectured for magicians at the famous "Magic Circle" in London England and at the "Magic Castle" in Hollywood California. His lecture is a magical experience that inspires, instructs, and entertains! He performs routines just like he would for a regular show. Then he explains the methods and secrets in a clear and easily understood manner. Along with trick explanations, there will be tips on showmanship and stage presence. His ideas apply to close up work, kid show tricks, routines that are ideal for banquet shows, and tricks that work great on stage... and more. Duane initially marketed and sold his props, effects and accessories within his company, "Laflin Magic" but eventually closed his mail-order business to focus strictly on performing and lecturing. Ownership and rights to his props were transferred to his daughter's company, “Lock Family Magic”, a popular magic mail-order company that devotes an entire page to Laflin's unique creations, including his educational videos for magicians. The lecture is free to IBM Ring 50 members. Other non member magicians are invited to attend the lecture for a $10 fee.

~ ~ Bob Patterson

Chris Capehart Lecture at November Meeting

Before the Chris Capehart lecture began, in appreciation for his life in magic a Broken Wand Ceremony was held for Russell Glover (Dr. Chang) at the beginning of the meeting. Past International President Bill Wells performed the ceremony along with TVP Jim Flanigan, Dick Christian, and George Woo. Russell Glover was a member of The International Brotherhood of Magicians and a Ring 50 Honorary Life Member. He was best-known for his performances as the inimitable and hilarious "Dr. Chang". He passed away on October 20, 2008 in Valparaiso, Indiana and was nearly 91. Members of Ring 50 gathered together in the name of God and to commemorate with thanksgiving the life of Russell Glover, as a member of our great fraternity, linked in fellowship with magicians all over the world and Russ’ interest, activity, and skill of performing magic was enjoyed by those who were privileged to share his friendship. We of the Brotherhood express our sympathy, prayers and hope in the power of life eternal to his loved ones.

Chris Capehart began his lecture with a performance before 106 audience members. Twenty-three children sat down front for the performance and antics of the hilarious Chris Capehart. After nearly an hour entertaining the children and accompanying adults left the meeting and Chris continued the lecture with the members of Ring 50. His lecture covered the importance of crowd control and keeping everybody’s attention. Chris has been dubbed "The Ring Master" and for good reasons. The three-ring routine is one of the cornerstones of magical illusions. Chris's three-ring routine, which he perfected in 1981, has been acclaimed by some of the world's most renowned magicians as "the best of the best." He gave us some of his techniques in handling the rings. He demonstrated how to use the Miser’s Dream to get the best interaction from the audience. A comedy routine without words using a lota vase and doll was very funny. It was an interesting performance and lecture by Chris Capehart.

Ring 50 Gets Three New Members
Kevin McGuire from Stafford VA was voted into Ring 50 membership. Kevin started magic when he was 7 years old when he saw a TV special with David Copperfield. Later in High School he had a neighbor that was a professional Magician that showed him some tricks and he was hooked from then on. Ed Pallas of Laytonsville MD is a part-time kid performer, regular Magic Cafe contributor, and criminal investigator for Montgomery County PD. George Woo was nominated by Jim Flanigan for membership into Ring 50.

Dues Reminder:
Ring 50 dues for calendar year 2009 are due by February. Treasurer, Bob Patterson, will be happy to take your dues starting at the December 3rd meeting. Dues are $15 for the year. The Ring 50 Treasurer requests that you pay by check, as this eases the record keeping. Make checks payable to “IBM Ring 50”. Cash will be accepted providing you have the correct change ($15). You can also send a check to his home address at 3450 Wainscott Place, Lake Ridge, VA 22192-5263. Enjoy your Ring activities throughout 2009 by paying your dues.

~ ~Bob Patterson

Russ Glover, aka "Dr. Chang", Exits Stage Left

Ring 50 Life Member Russ Glover, best-known for his performances as the inimitable and hilarious "Dr. Chang," passed away on October 20 in Valparaiso, Indiana. He was nearly 91. For a full report, please see the November Magi-Gram.

Past International President Bill Wells will perform a Broken Wand Ceremony at the regular Ring 50 meeting on November 5, before the lecture.

Chris Capehart to Lecture at November 5th Meeting

Chris Capehart is an accomplished master magician respected throughout the world by his peers, applauded for his skills by the most famous of magicians and sought after for repeat performances by clients. Chris has done it all. In thirty-five years he has performed on the big stage, lectured to magicians, become a famous, accomplished street performer, created routines and mastered the linking rings. He has been published and imitated throughout the world. His skill at close-up is no less than astonishing. His quick comeback verbal skills sharpened on the streets of New York City have made him an outstanding comedian. At the Abbott's Convention 2002 he was awarded the Senator Crandall Award for Comedy. At the CAM Convention he worked with Jeff McBride. After his performance Jeff McBride said "He is the only magician I've ever seen who can bring down the house with a stock trick." Come to Chris’ lecture and you will find a pleasant blend of detailed instruction and performance-theory, which is guaranteed to inspire you for years to come! The lecture is free to IBM Ring 50 members. Other non member magicians are invited to attend the lecture for a $10 fee.

Children’s Magic Presented at the October Meeting

After a few announcements were made the show began. Jim Flanigan, the evening's opening act, came out sporting a red sponge nose and a tall, colorful hat. He pulled a small white rabbit from the hat followed by a long glittering snake. He finished by producing a six-foot-long yellow No. 2 pencil. He ended by sketching a chosen card picked by a young audience member.

The next act was Ring 50 president, Louis Meyer. He opened his child friendly act with assistance from a very cute girl, Madison. Louis inflated a balloon and asked for her favorite animal. A befuddled Louis tried to make her a penguin however; Louis only knew how to make giraffe. The little girl left with a giraffe. Then Louis inflated a larger balloon and had a magical funhouse machine that he said would transform any balloon into an animal. He turned the crank on the machine and a live dove was produced to the delight to all.

Stunning Laurie Curry was wearing a very colorful red glittery boa and red feather hat. She chose two little girls to assist her with making a black and white handkerchiefs change places in a bag. After some magical assistance from the girls, the handkerchiefs became imprinted with spots and the bag transformed into a darling puppy. Then Laurie did rendition of the Professors Nightmare with a Goldilocks and the three bear’s storyline. She concluded her act with an empty picture frame that little Madison took a magical picture of Laurie that turned out to be a MONEKY!

Next up was a very classy Glenn Gary dressed for dinner. He produced a green cloth and asked one of the older boys in attendance for what sport he would play on a green field. The boy replied "soccer". Glenn produced a small basketball that transformed into a soccer ball. Gary did some fantastic ball manipulations with the soccer ball and made it appear and re-appear several times. Glenn then brought out a small paper bag and claimed this was his pet "ball house". The invisible ball was thrown to the audience and back to Glenn then he caught it in the bag several times to the astonishment of the audience. The ball became visible for a short time until Glenn tossed it back in the bag, folded the bag and put it back in his pocket. Finally, two volunteers John and Michael were called up to the stage to assist with a card trick. The volunteers were called to provide "Pixie Dust" and "Wiffle Dust" to aid the magician in lightening the cards. The cards were "discarded" and Glenn proceeded to baffle all present with an amazing floating card box routine.

Mike Taggart opened with a great Ceramic Lota-Pot with a Tibetan Monk theme. To the amazement of all, water was produced from the previously emptied pot several times with prayer and incantations from the audience. All were stunned when the final load of water was poured in a red cylinder where it defied gravity and changed to red in color! Mike closed with a paper tear with the assistance of a young male volunteer that resulted in a restored napkin as well as a beautiful 20 foot coil of colored paper.

Reggie "SuperMagicMan" Rice began with a very loud, fast, and funny talking recorded introduction. He asked for a young volunteer and Madison responded while Reggie tried to make her vanish behind a small curtain. He then called three boys to the stage and performed a rope through jacket penetration. Finally, he performed a card trick, where he was not the magician but his pet snake Jake was going to find the card selected by his female volunteer. Jake pops out of a basket with sign that says “your card in not in here!” The card was finally produced out of a sealed prediction envelope labeled Jake’s Magic Card.

Jason Goldberg filled in while Reggie took his set down and wowed the audience with a father-son card prediction! He helped the father and son explore the power of their connection by having the son magically locate in a deck the matches of two cards his father held."

Lorenzo the Great (Larry Lipman) told us that magic was in books. He then proceeded to perform a variety of effects he got out of those books. He asked a young man by the name of Solomon to the stage to assist in a cut and restored rope trick. Solomon cut the rope in half and Larry returned the rope to its original condition to the delight of everyone. Next, Brianna was called to the stage to pick a card. Hilarity ensued as the young Brianna was so young that she did not know what a suit was. Larry recovered like a true pro and asked her older brother, John, to assist in making a successful card prediction. The deck was placed behind Larry's back and the card was placed back in the deck. Finally, the card was found reversed in the deck. Larry’s final routine was Barry Mitchell’s "Reach for a Star" production routine complete with musical background and a memorized poem.

Eric Henning performed the Magic Rainbow Silk Production followed by Bruce Kalver's "Shrinking/Growing Head" to the delight of all! He then proceeded to demonstrate how to make a purple silk handkerchief change into a yellow one while making the silks disappear (Patrick Page's "Comedy Color-Changing Silk"). The audience was then wowed by his rendition of Martin Lewis' "Cheap Cup," ending with a full size tennis ball production! Eric closed the show with his own creation, "The World’s Best Birthday Trick," wherein touching patter combined with the beautiful transformation of a soap bubble into a solid sphere.

~ ~ Sam Brothers & Bob Patterson
Photos by Jim Flanigan