The other night, I performed walk-around magic at a lawyers' convention. The crowds were having fun and I can safely say that my magic was lending to the merriment (and complementing the free flowing alcohol).       

As I left the various small groups who said that they enjoyed my magic and with some even shaking my hand, I kept hearing "you'd make a great lawyer," which was followed by a big, in unison, laugh.

Not being a lawyer, I'm not sure whether the comment was referring to my ability to lie (yes, as a magician I do lie for entertainment purposes), or to the fact that I might be able to make quite a case for a judge or jury with an ability to make things seemingly happen that aren't.

In any event, it was a memorable night for me. And vice versa, I hope that my spectators will recall my minor miracles as a fun evening.

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Handling Magic Secrets With the Public
Corporate Close Up II Volume 1

A recent article where I criticized a Rabbi for a biased and naive depiction of magic received lots of reader comments. Well, here's a news story that presents an opposite viewpoint. It's about a Catholic priest who employs magic in his ministry. In fact, Father Daniel Rolland, the subject of the story, has studied magic with Eugene Burger.

"I definitely have my own bag of tricks, which can make ministry a bit more exciting and new," says Father Rolland in the story. "As a priest who is also a magician, I see 'magic' as a metaphor for transformation, for wonder and awe, and for the amazing things that happen in our lives."

Read the entire story.

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Magic vs. Miracles?
Readers Respond to Magic or Miracles

"Pandora System" Opens a Box of Possibilities

Magicians love to perform a "signed card to impossible place." And there's excellent reason why. Whether the final destination for the signed card is a wallet, sealed envelope, fruit, the pages of a book and more, the response from audiences and spectators is always a strong one.

A new innovation in "signed card to impossible place" comes in the form of "The Pandora System." How about bringing out a new deck, pulling off the wrapping, and then letting the spectator break the seal, take out and spread the cards and find his or her signed card within the deck? This one has definite possibilities.

Read about the Pandora System.

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Card To Wallet (World's Greatest Magic)
Mesika's Wallet

In my ongoing series on women in magic, this latest story offers insights from magician Krystyn Lambert. Prominently featured on television's "Masters of Illusion," Lambert is a well known performer at Hollywood's Magic Castle.

"I think this unwillingness to openly accept magicians who are women is because: 1) occasionally the women some have seen have had poor routines in the first place; 2) they play up their femininity to the point where the performance becomes about the body; 3) they make their acts about the novelty of being a female in the largely male dominated world of magic or 3) they are not talented," says Lambert.

"When I initially entered onto the scene I was twelve and a half, my group of people was comprised primarily of pre-pubescent boys with little to no social skills and fifteen-minute ambitious card routines," says Lambert. "I think most magicians with whom I interacted in my early years weren't sure if I was supposed to be a sister or a girlfriend, which added to the awkwardness of our already socially tenuous communications. In addition, there always seemed to be an unspoken challenge where I felt I had to demonstrate an extra impressive sleight in order to gain approval."

Read the entire story.

More Reading:
Suzanne: Women in Magic
Review: Women in Boxes