Discourse in Magic

In this minisode (mini-episode) Jonah records a short episode with his advice to the responses he received to his regular email asking the Discourse in Magic audience one special question. He asked our 1000 person email newsletter: “What do you want to learn”, and received dozens of answers that landed in two categories. How do I put together my own routine out of a trick? How do I start to book gigs? In this episode Jonah tackles both of these questions, to help you through these areas if that’s where you’re struggling. If this episode helped you, or you had a question, or you wanted to hire Jonah for private skype sessions send an email to jonahbabinsmagic@gmail.com   Thanks!       The post Make Your Own Magic and Start to Get Bookings appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

It’s time for your regular catch-up episode with Jonah and Tyler. The episode starts with a quick recap of the last month, where Jonah talks about the Art of Magic, his trip to Chicago and Minneapolis, and much more, and Tyler tells us about a corporate gala gig he got to do! Tyler ended up performing during the meals meant there were plenty of other performers around, so he had a free Salsa lesson! (Look at all of the benefits of doing magic!) The magic went well too, he even gained a few fans. This all made him feel better with performing at bigger gigs. Jonah finished the second Art of Magic show, with special guests Graham Reed and The Evasons. Plus Jonah talks about his time in Chicago and Minneapolis, and some fun stories about that. They recently sent out an email asking what you wanted to learn MOST Here are the results: What do you want to learn? How do you perform? So expect more discussion about that. Plus the Discourse in Magic boys, explain exactly how to get on the podcast, since someone mentioned it being their dream. Who wouldn’t? The podcast has almost passed big listenership milestone of 10,000 listeners per month – while still staying ad-free. Tyler also watched and reviewed Miracle by Derren Brown, as did Jonah, and It’s strongly recommended, with Jonah asking if mentalism is popular for a good reason and is this the best we can do in 2018? Tyler wants to know if it’s better having your own style or being part of a character, saying people will just follow whatever’s popular and move on. This then goes on to questions like, how far will magic go? Are some types of magic more interesting that others? Jonah, meanwhile, went to the Chicago Magic Lounge and loved it. And with 9 magicians performing in 1 night, he couldn’t be happier. He also went to Minneapolis, where he conveniently packed to be a surprise opener for a show, helping excite a young kid about magic and meeting the many faces of CJ the Banana. All of this makes him want to go out on the road more (so if you want Jonah to lecture in your city, Email Him!). Want to watch amazing never before seen magic from Juan Tamariz? Magicana Just released tapes from an old  show Chan tata Chan  a magic show entirely in Spanish, but with amazing performances from a huge cast of performers. Jonah even found a new favourite magician, Gäetan Bloom, who’s surrealist magic is just astounding. Jonah’s also thinking of recording some of his own advice podcasts, and he’s happy with the surreal magic he is performing. But he’s still trying to write that book of all the lessons he’s learned from the podcast. We are still looking for others to come on the podcast. So, keep sending your submissions. Links: Conjure Community: https://conjuror.community/the-ultimate-magic-website/ Miracle, Derren Brown: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/derren-brown-miracle Chicago Magic Lounge: https://www.chicagomagiclounge.com/welcome CTTC: https://www.magicana.com/chan-tatachán The post Is There a ‘Correct’ Type of Magic? appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

For Episode 117, the Discourse in Magic boys got a chance to sit down with Jason England. If you didn’t know, Jason England is the leading expert on Erdnase, Casino gambling and cheating. His interest in cards started after learning how to play blackjack with his Grandma, and watching the Carson show with his Dad, which lead him to the beginnings of buying card books. Because of this, he stumbled into a magic shop and bought even more books, sticking with playing cards for their portability and efficiency. By then he became interested in gambling techniques, and in the late 1990s, two magicians from his home town introduced him to tricks that typically used fake decks to using real decks (Blowing. His. Mind). From there, his book addiction grew, finding a commonality in reading up on cheaters. This then started his interest in cheating, and after meeting Gary Plants at his first magic convention, reinforced this – and later finding out that the whole thing was filmed. “As magicians, we have to accept that we don’t know something, which is hard for us” he says. Eventually, Jason found out about Erdnase, Expert at the Card Table as all of his many books keep referencing it. And he talks about the history and reasons why it’s important. Then going into all of the common speculations, theories and conspiracies surrounding Erdnase, and the developments on the identity of  who he was. “Erdnase didn’t invent the magic book, what he did was improve it” he says. Jason then talks about the realities of cheating and how it affects everything from casinos to underground games, even talking common techniques. He then goes full conspiracist and talks about inside jobs, what really happens on gambling boats. But it’s all about broadening horizons and moral issues (…right?) and one story of how he taught a casino dealer how to false shuffle. In 2009, theory11 contacted him to film the Foundations course and they’re now filming Foundations IV, with the Double series getting a lot of praise from the Discourse in Magic team. Check out Jason Englands’ work with Theory11 (Everyone should check it out). See what work he’s done with Art of Magic too What do you want to ask the audience? What do you want to achieve? Magic PSA? Be an interesting person first, and a master magician second Who should we have on the podcast? Bill Kalush The post Gambling, Cheating, and The Expert at the Card Table with Jason England appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

In this episode, Jonah slides over to the other side of the couch so that he can pair with Ben Train and talk about the birth and the growth of the Toronto Magic Company. It start with the story of how TMC began. Like all projects there are ups and downs, but from the episode hopefully you can learn from our mistakes and make less of them. We’re living in the golden age of live magic, so if you haven’t begun yet, find a way to get on stage and start performing! The TMC boys have been working super hard lately as they taken on a new project, and a new type of show. They have recently just finished their first The Art of Magic show, it went very well. But now they’re back with a vengeance for their next Art of Magic show, upping the production value and fixing the AC. Tyler asks about how the show was so successful, and how they made it look so gosh darn good. Jonah and Ben make many mistakes, and they tell you how not to do the same. They also talk about how to create a system and the importance of reducing problems when running many shows a month. Some weeks TMC produces as many as 5 shows in the week. So they’ve had to learn, and learn fast. Especially with the Newest Trick in the Book show, which happens every Tuesday and features different magicians trying brand new material. This episode feature’s Bens personal formula to success: Cameras! And how he made his tricks and shows better by looking back at them.  Listen as friendships blossom and crumble in debated about the Toronto Magic Company. Jonah and Ben also talk about what went well with their projects pre-TMC, and working past the issues from the ones that don’t go so well. From all of this, the boys stay friends while still running a Magic Company and putting on shows together. And Jonah wrote a good joke! Tyler asks Jonah and Ben about their past and current shows, and how they’ve contributed to the magic community. With their current Art of Magic shows being the most popular, they talk previous shows successes and failures. They have The Newest Trick in the Book, Tricks in the Six, International Mystery Series, and of course The Art of Magic. To get more information about upcoming Toronto Magic Company shows, head to TorontoMagicCompany.com Finally, Jonah wants to send a PSA to all magicians for any of his shows: Don’t Do The Invisible Deck Trick. Or at least add something new to it. We are still looking for others to contribute to the podcast website. If you want to write a blog or an essay for us drop us a line! Website: Toronto Magic Company Email: Magic@bentrain.ca Jonah@jonababins.com Social: Facebook – Toronto Magic Company Instagram – Toronto Magic Company Twitter – TMC The post The Toronto Magic Company appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

This week Jonah and Tyler talk with magician Kyle Marlett about his new show Mutant Powers. Kyle explains the ins and outs of working in the world of magic and how he has become a fantastic magic consultant and creator. Having had many years of experience in television Kyle gives a behind the scenes look at what working in the industry is really like. He also discusses what it was like working on his latest endeavour and the trials and tribulations that are involved from the show pitch to the final product. Kyle’s show Mutant Powers is presented by Mashable and Facebook Watch and can be found on the shows Facebook page with new episodes premiering every Thursday. Consulting and Creating Although young, Kyle has become a fantastic magician and magic consultants and has appeared on The Tonight Show, The CW channel and the Sy Fy channel among others. Kyle tells us about how he got into magic and how magicians need to adapt to things like Facebook and Instagram. He also talks about his own experiences with apps like Vine and what newer magicians need to understand about using social media. The guys talk about the idea of giving credit for tricks and the importance of putting your own style on a trick. The idea of not being a one-dimensional comic is discussed and why it’s important for younger magicians to learn more than just Instagram tricks if they are serious about being magicians. Kyle also explains how his ‘colour changing Pringles can’ trick came to be an often imitated trick by magicians on social media. How to be original Kyle talks about the importance of being original and not just doing the exact same thing as everyone else. The guys also discuss the importance of having your own identity and how it is difficult to have your own style if you don’t really know who you are yet. Kyle also talks about how it can be difficult to do your own thing when television producers want you to appear a certain way on screen and tells the guys why he feels his appearance is essential to the magician he is presenting himself as. The guys discuss what it is like to be a magic consultant and Kyle explains how important it is for everyone on set to work as a team. Although people usually think of the world of television as a glamorous thing, Kyle talks about many of the difficulties that go on behind the scenes. This includes the work he has done for others as well as everything that went into making his new show Mutant Powers a reality. Follow Kyle on Facebook and Instagram The post The Internet, Creation, and Mutant Powers with Kyle Marlett appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

It’s time for episode 114 and our monthly catch-up for Jonah and Tyler.  The pair like to get together every four weeks or so to talk about their magic careers and to answer you questions.  Tyler has been slow on the performing side but has been creating at steady clip. He’s had to prioritize his downtime because of his new job.  That has forced him to set aside some quality magic time. Tyler also recently booked one of his first corporate gigs ever, so he’s been pretty excited about that.  Tyler feels like he’s back in high school when his passion about magic was at its height. Jonah has had a very busy month.  He met a guy at a business conference that runs a candy company.  He hired Jonah to produce a series of magic videos promoting one of their products.  Jonah is pretty excited for the opportunity. Jonah also takes a weekly entrepreneur class from a well know online marketer.  He has agreed to come to Toronto and together they are doing a private show for a business crowd. Meanwhile, The Toronto Magic Company has launched it’s Art of Magic show.  It’s the most ambitious project TMS has taken on yet.  They are about to stage their second show with The Evasons.   Jonah has been thinking about the definition of magic once again.  He used to talk a lot about how magic was a much like a math theorem.  The difference being magic ends in a paradox rather than a solution. Lately he’s been thinking more that magic has much more to do with the surreal.  Theatrical premises and comedy has been dominating his effects lately. Achieving a dreamlike state is the goal. Jonah feels strongly that contemplating the underlying meaning of magic is key to mastering the art form.  Tyler argues that is not the case for every performer. A certain kind of comedy magician may not care that much about theory.  Jonah agrees with that sentiment but says that the kinds of magicians he respects are the ones with very big libraries. As the episode gets to the end of the podcast Tyler asks a questions of the audience.  How many of you actually put your decks down when you listen to this podcast? It’s almost impossible to get our guests to do it.  Can you? The post Surrealist Performance Art appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Rob Zabrecky is an actor, a songwriter and, most importantly for our purposes, a magician. Rob was a musician in the band Possum Dixon in the mid 1990’s when he strolled into a magic shop in Baltimore to escape the summer heat. The owner of the store showed him a simple handkerchief disappearing trick and was immediately drawn to it. He performed a version of that trick on stage in front of his bands audience and that was the start of his magic career. Shortly after that simple beginning he discovered the Magic Castle in his hometown of Los Angeles. It showed him that this was a real performance art. At that point in the 1990’s magic wasn’t in a great place. Many magician were presenting great magic in a very outmoded style. Nevertheless, he realized that he really enjoyed learning about magic. With the help of a lot of people he cobbled together an act. It wasn’t great. His tricks weren’t up to snuff but he was starting to develop an interesting stage presence. “It was a little bit like a funeral director doing magic,” he says. Rob didn’t see magic as a career at first. It was a huge passion. He was already a performer and magic allowed him to become lost in character. There was also more skills to explore as a magician. Magicians work on their own and so it allowed him the opportunity to write, produce and perform. Eventually, Rob fluked into a side career as an actor. He had developed a convincing character on-stage by that point. A close friend recommended that he try acting. It was like a light bulb going off so he gave it a shot. He enrolled in a community theatre and a year later he had booked a few TV commercials. “The best thing about being an actor is that everything I learned was directly applicable to my magic career.” He says. Rob has since gone on to rack up dozens of acting credits including guest spots of shows like GLOW and CSI. Creating a good show isn’t easy. But Rob says sitting quietly with a pen and paper and embracing your inner weirdo is the best way to succeed. So much of life is filled with boredom and tedium. A great show should take the audience out of that day to day boredom, Rob says. What do you like about modern magic? What do you hate? Rob really enjoys performing his own act. He can’t really speak about the larger magic community. He does really dislike about how everything is documented instantly which takes away from the special quality of a live performance. What do you want to ask the audience? How do you think your audience sees you on stage? What do you want to tell our audience? Stop being boring on-stage! Who should we have on the podcast? John Lovick What was your favourite part of the episode? Tyler liked hearing Rob say that magicians should stop trying to be cool on-stage. Jonah liked the emphasis on the importance of being original on-stage. Rob says the important thing is to always keep developing and do cool shit. Plugs YouTube Channel Instagram The post Character, Acting, and Honing Your Act with Rob Zabrecky appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

Ryan Plunkett is well known as the author of A New Angle and from his work at The Chicago Magic Lounge.  We’ve been eager to get him on the podcast for some time now.  Ryan worked for a while at a magic store. It ended up teaching him about the things that he hated about magic.  So much of the industry is based on pushing cheap tricks with little actual value. Ryan first started with magic as a kid.  His parents got him a magic kit when he just 5 years old.  It has been with him every since. He started performing at a local bar when he was still a teenager.  He studied theatre in college and had mostly stopped performing magic. After moving to Chicago in 2014 he met some people starting a weekly show.  That show turned into the Chicago Magic Lounge which has become his sole source of income. After going to his first show at the Magic Lounge he offered to help out.  He designed their website and helped out with booking acts. As he became more involved he really tried to focus on serving a lay audience as much as possible.  They try and present many different styles of magic. They developed a consistent schedule as well. Every Thursday they produced a show. That Thursday became so successful that the theatre offered them an additional day on Saturdays.  That consistency was the secret to their success. When Ryan graduated from high school a friend began manufacturing affordable card cutters.  Ryan thought it was super cool and started using it all the time. The problem was there was not a lot of new material available about how to use it.  Throughout college he continued to tinker with a tapered deck. After attending a magic convention he met Michael Feldman.  He was super impressed with Ryan’s work with the deck.  They started working together on a book that featured new tricks for this very old style of magic.  The book came out in July of 2017. What do you like about the current state of magic? “Magic is making a big comeback.  Even Netflix is investing heavily in magic right now and that’s a really good thing” What do you want to ask the audience? “Anyone can have an effect on magic.  What are you doing to make magic a better place?” What do you want to tell the audience? “More people should spend time diving into the magic of the past.” Who should we have on the podcast? Nick Diffatte What was your favourite part of the episode? Jonah liked hearing about how they turned the Chicago Magic Lounge into a success. Tyler liked hearing about how Ryan became involved with people to produce incredible things. Ryan says the art of collaboration is often overlooked in magic. Plugs https://www.instagram.com/plunk_n_grind/ https://www.ryancplunkett.com/   The post A New Angle on The Chicago Magic Lounge with Ryan Plunkett appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

We’ve been trying to get The Evasons on the show for a long time now.  Then out of the blue they phoned us up and said that they were in town.  We invited them over to the house to record this week’s episode and the results were pretty spectacular! Jeff and Tessa first met at a fashion show in Toronto in 1983.  They had both been hired to perform some magic tricks. They’ve been performing together ever since.  Jeff was first introduced to magic by his grandpa who gave him a magic book. He worked as a radio DJ for many years but always performed magic on the side.  Tessa grew up in St. Lucia but came to Toronto to work as a fashion model. As a kid she saw Mark Wilson performing illusions and was totally entranced. The Evasons act has evolved a lot over the last 35 years.  For a long time they performed a big illusion show. They worked theatres big and small across the country and aboard cruise ships.  A friend gave him a tape of a mind reader and they decided to make change. No one was doing a two person mentalism act. They worked on the act while aboard a cruise ship.  It absolutely floored the audience that night and they knew they had something special. Performing couples is a rarity in the industry.  When they first started working together they weren’t yet romantic partners.  That relationship only developed after five years. The fact that they were friends and business partners first is what ensured that their relationship has lasted for so long. When Jeff and Tessa first started in the business it was much easier.  There was so much work, especially in the corporate sector. All of the details were handled by agents so they were left to concentrate on the act.  Nowadays, they are much more involved in their own promotion especially on social media. What do you like about modern magic?  What don’t you like? Jeff doesn’t like the amount of people willing to give away secrets almost for free.  Tessa doesn’t like the number of people just stealing tricks rather than simply asking. What do you want to ask our audience? Jeff wants to know why do you want to do magic?  Tessa wants to know why there are not more woman in magic. What do you want to tell our audience? Jeff says stop pushing magic on people that don’t want to see it!  Tessa says she can’t stand the dissing of the older generation. Who should we have next on the podcast? Ryan Joyce What did you like about the podcast? Tyler liked hearing about how Tessa and Jeff have managed to combine their professional and personal lives. Jonah liked hearing about the process of creating an act that’s unique. Tessa really enjoyed learning about how Jonah and Tyler think about magic. Connect  https://www.instagram.com/mentalistduo/ The post Succeeding as a Touring Duo Act with The Evasons appeared first on Discourse in Magic.

We’re really excited to have the co-founder of Vanishing Inc Magic Joshua Jay on the podcast. Josh and Andi Gladwin founded the company on the belief that there was a real dearth of high-quality magic on the market. Josh was criticized when he first began selling difficult, high-quality tricks. The critics suggested Vanishing was giving away too much. But Josh says that giving a newbie a really impressive trick right away will ensure that they are hooked for life. But the company is not based on profit at any cost. Josh says they have pulled innumerable products either because there was a missing credit or because the products were not up to snuff. Josh says a magical act is made up of dozens of different choices. How you present a trick is as important as the trick itself. The same goes for magical lectures. Josh has seen many, many bad lectures. But the golden rule is to nail the performance and to talk as little as possible. Josh will perform as many as twelve pieces per lecture. Speed is best. Sitting through a four hour lecture with only three tricks is a terrible waste of time. Eight years ago Josh produced a show called “Unreal”. It was an autobiographical show that was deeply personal. Since that time he has dreamed about what else he would do in a one man show. Since then his views on magic have evolved considerably. Six Impossible Things is the result of that process. What do you like about modern magic? What do you hate? Josh likes how magic has returned to the stage. There are more stage performances than ever before. He doesn’t like how social media is incorporating bad practices into magic. Using camera tricks is not magic. What do you want to ask our audience? If a group moved up to you right now what trick would you perform for them? What do you want to tell our audience? You have to have a serious passion for magic. Who should we have on the podcast? Andi Gladwin What was your favourite part of the episode? Tyler liked hearing about the importance of really loving magic. Jonah liked hearing about how Josh has his fingers in a number of different aspects of magic. Josh appreciated hearing the compliments about his new show. https://www.instagram.com/joshuajaymagician/ The post Teaching, Lecturing, and Making a Show with Joshua Jay appeared first on Discourse in Magic.