Meeting Report: May 12 2021 - Suzanne Lecture

The energetic Suzanne was the welcome lecturer at the May 12, 2021 meeting of Ring 216. Presenting over Zoom, she was generous sharing her deep experience in restaurant magic. As she demonstrated her main opening set for table work, young club member Satvik ably assisted her as audience volunteer and afterwards was not shy in asking questions about her performance. Among the magic she explained was her working card routine, in which she focused on details of maximizing misdirection and entertainment, and a clever presentation for the transformation of dollars into hundred-dollar bills. And she related her nerve-wracking (and trophy-winning) experience on “Fool Us”.  

 

Many members were interested in the practical side of the business. In response to their non-stop questions, Suzanne described how she got her first restaurant gigs, and how she learned over time that as a house magician she was not just the entertainment but had an important role as a liaison between the restaurant staff and the diners. She gave advice on how to approach a table and what to do if the people aren’t welcoming, including, “Never take it personally.”

 

And what does she do if a spectator blurts out that they’ve caught her in a move? This took a long time for her to learn. She was very upset at this for years. Now she has a number of ways for handling it gracefully. Most of all: “If you’re a nice person, and not a jerk to them, you can make a lot of mistakes, and you’ll be fine.”

 

This is Suzanne, and if you enjoyed her magic, please tell the hostess on the way out!

Coming May 12: Lecture by Suzanne

Another exciting lecture coming up in May as Ring 216 welcomes the legendary Suzanne!

DATE: Wednesday, May 12, 2021
TIME: 7:30 p.m. PDT
HOW: Live online via Zoom
COST: Free for paid 2021 members of Ring 216; $15 for non-members
Zoom link will be sent to members and other paid attendees on the day of the event.

Audiences all over the country have been falling in love with Suzanne since 1985. She resides in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota and can be seen locally there at Birch's on the Lake, Lord Fletcher's Old Lake Lodge and Rockwood's.

Her engaging style makes the audience an essential participant in her performance. Other respected professional magicians have called her "flawless" and "amazing". She is a favorite at Hollywood's famous Magic Castle and was awarded Close Up Magician of the Year for 2010 by The Academy of Magical Arts. Her specialty is close-up magic for corporate and private events.

For Ring 216, Suzanne will lecture about restaurant magic and strolling magic.

Meeting Report: April 2021 - Francis Menotti Lecture

The members of Ring 216 were pleased to host Francis Menotti for a live Zoom lecture at their April 14, 2021 meeting.  A compendium of creative effects infused with Francis' thoughtfully off-center presentations, the lecture followed up each presentation of a routine with the philosophy of performance that led to its creation and use.

Francis’ opener was “Shunuffled,” an example of finding an opener that one is very comfortable with, reveals one's personality, and surprises the audience and forces them to focus. Next, an effect of writing with an invisible pen demonstrated his approach to the question, “How do I take an impossibility and make it more interesting?” Sleight of hand was then given added intrigue in a routine with three coins, two of which were shown to have only one side each, and an effect with a coin that vanishes when covered with a piece of nothing. A calculator effect with a spooky premise illustrated the Paul Harris maxim, “When you find a piece of strange, ask how to make it magical.”
 

Francis recounted in detail his two “Fool Us” performances, the first using Scrabble to divine a thought-of word and the second, “Boxed”, employing metaphysics to switch the properties of a wooden box and a deck of cards. There were many more effects discussed, including his unique razor swallowing routine. At last, in response to the audience question, “Where does inspiration come from?”, he answered that it comes from surrounding yourself with good people. His concluding advice: magic is a small community, go ahead and reach out to anyone whose work you admire.

Meeting Report: March 2021 - Eric Jones Lecture

   

   Eric Jones received a warm welcome for his live Zoom lecture for the March 2021 meeting of IBM Ring 216. It was a large and diverse audience, yet his presentation was designed for all skill levels and he generously answered questions on every effect. 

   He opened by changing a catalog picture of a coin into a real coin, leaving a blank space behind. Then, with the greatest detail, he taught his coin routine in which three fly from hand to hand. Although it involved some sophisticated techniques, he taught every move and everyone was able to learn from it. Notable was his care and thoroughness in giving credit to the magicians whose creations he had built on. 

   Eric then moved to cards and a very magical-looking assembly of the aces. He spoke on the subject of creating conviction for Zoom magic, including using a deck that he had mailed out previously to participants for shuffling. He explained a sleight-free version of a Paul Harris effect in which a signed selected card, trapped between two other cards, disappears and reappears. Eric also presented a bare hand production of a Sharpie marker and, as a knuckle-buster, some work on Fred Robinson’s rising card. 

   Among the many questions Eric answered, beyond those related to the effects taught, were what to do about finger windows (his solutions include jewelry), his appearances on America’s Got Talent and Penn and Teller (in which he had presented his favorite effect), how he performs for people in social situations, and his favorite magic books, among which he rates Ascanio’s highly.

Coming March 10: Lecture by Eric Jones

 

Another exciting lecture coming up in March as Ring 216 welcomes a modern maestro of magic, Eric Jones!

DATE: Wednesday, March 10, 2021
TIME: 7:30 p.m. PST
HOW: Live online via Zoom
COST: Free for paid 2021 members of Ring 216; $15 for non-members
Zoom link will be sent to members and other paid attendees on the day of the event.

Regarded by his peers as one of magic's rising stars, Eric Jones has made quite a name for himself in the world of magic. Armed with cunning sleight of hand and a charming personality, he will astound you with his digital dexterity.

Eric's lecture will challenge you to look at your magic in a whole new light after discussing ways to make close-up effects play to large audiences, redirecting attention rather than misdirecting it, how to properly block/stage performances to both conceal method as well as optimize the audience reaction to the magic. These and other ideas will be discussed while you learn some of Eric's award-winning magic.

Not a Ring 216 member yet?
Click here for information about becoming a Ring 216 member to get access to this lecture and all online lectures this year, plus other benefits..

If you don't want to become a member but still want to attend the lecture, please send your $15 payment via PayPal to payment@ring216.org.