tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97651372024-03-07T00:55:59.325-08:00Carnegie Magic and IllusionsBlog for Illusionist Dean Carnegie and The Steampunk Illusionist Show, and the new ASTONIFY ShowCarnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-82423973725182467922022-07-12T18:25:00.000-07:002022-07-12T18:25:42.442-07:00the NEW Astonify Experience<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t64YgZj6A2YTBjeJldb6o1lwbTw9LxeFobhu82QatzNz0f4fbLehT4CptMIviDLVvvwyBz7covkAkzVIiby0n3EuacaSMIaCvOPKQFOiAUYt6j1xnVmepTkm3yEBlLcwdRg2v06xfuYv_0x7wHl_nhAtgoeinYLtQSddrKMKwAZhQjAjNQ/s1920/Astonify2022a-web%20copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1920" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t64YgZj6A2YTBjeJldb6o1lwbTw9LxeFobhu82QatzNz0f4fbLehT4CptMIviDLVvvwyBz7covkAkzVIiby0n3EuacaSMIaCvOPKQFOiAUYt6j1xnVmepTkm3yEBlLcwdRg2v06xfuYv_0x7wHl_nhAtgoeinYLtQSddrKMKwAZhQjAjNQ/w400-h250/Astonify2022a-web%20copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>I am in the process of revamping my show called The Astonify Show. Previously, this was presented as a period piece. It was a Victorian Magic Show with a Seance. The last two years the show has had to go virtual. Obviously, the virtual shows were due to Covid. The shows were all well received, but something came out of the shows that I didn't expect. One of the best things about virtual shows is the ability to make things interactive. Now, magicians have been doing 'interactive magic' for a hundred years, but the type of 'interactivity' has changed. And this has led me to a new concept for the show. </p><p>Will I keep the seance? YES! In fact, it's going to be even more interactive. The old version of the show had a Spirit Photography routine that everyone in the audience could partake in. It involved tearing up a set of SP-images and the magic would progress from there. But I've come up with a completely different take on this routine and no longer need to destroy these beautiful photos at every show. Now people can take home a keepsake from the show, rather than having to throw away the pieces. There is more to the Seance as well. But I'm keeping some of these newer things underwraps.</p><p>The Audience Deck of Cards is a routine I've already added to my LIVE shows. This allows every single person in the audience to choose a playing card and I will find each and every person's card! It's a crazy piece of magic and oh so fun. </p><p>Then there is the Death Defying Gravity Trick. This uses three people from the audience. It is pointed out that this is the only TRICK in the show. And I will not be doing it. YOU will (as in the audience). And then three people from the audience are chosen to participate. There is a danger element to the routine, but rather than put someone from the audience in danger, I put something of my own in danger. </p><p>UPDATE: I first started to write this back in March. It's now July, and here I am again, working on this rendition of the Astonify Show. I love this concept of Immersive Magic and getting the audience IN on things. What I don't want is the typical way of using audience members. I want to give them an experience, a unique memory, something that they can take away and share with friends and family. I want them to feel as if THEY were truly part of the magic, which frankly, they will be.</p>Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-58027704734880722502022-03-22T15:51:00.006-07:002022-03-22T15:51:39.403-07:00Magicians For Ukraine Project<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOVJV4O7HDW5A3GpkPCzqFKwPvOYSjT4EwqSIdHV7YMdwHIEy0u0feP1SL4rvmexyof62T5Sjww8ha_8En2okpmZ-jIJP4uLfmHHUPd4D7troAmffQRkCVJSQ1tL5bpBCHGGLiPUdkFuNyzzAPHwD45ZxMPOBLAFPEr6doz4KRQXHEb9oIA/s984/magic4ukraine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="443" data-original-width="984" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvOVJV4O7HDW5A3GpkPCzqFKwPvOYSjT4EwqSIdHV7YMdwHIEy0u0feP1SL4rvmexyof62T5Sjww8ha_8En2okpmZ-jIJP4uLfmHHUPd4D7troAmffQRkCVJSQ1tL5bpBCHGGLiPUdkFuNyzzAPHwD45ZxMPOBLAFPEr6doz4KRQXHEb9oIA/w640-h288/magic4ukraine.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm taking part in a project called MagicforUkraine.com</div><p></p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87); margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Magic For Ukraine" is a community of magical entertainers who are deeply concerned about the plight of the Ukrainian people, millions of whom have been displaced, maimed, and killed in the Russian invasion of their country.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Magicians in good standing with recognized local, state, national, or international magic organizations share their talents through their recorded performances for free use by Ukrainian families and those agencies who are supporting them.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);">I submitted a number of my videos from my Magic 365 series. I picked just a few that has music only so they were easy to understand. All visual magic! Here are a few below...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="320" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eonGBKhKj7g" width="484" youtube-src-id="eonGBKhKj7g"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="342" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5fOGBPl_Qw0" width="513" youtube-src-id="5fOGBPl_Qw0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="342" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tk1URgneZqI" width="474" youtube-src-id="tk1URgneZqI"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #f6f6f6; caret-color: rgb(87, 87, 87);"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><p><br /> </p><p><br /></p>Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-37658319426387835302022-01-16T09:12:00.004-08:002022-01-16T09:12:59.078-08:00Magician Presenting 365 days of Magic Online<p> I am now presenting 365 days of magic online. Actually, it's more like 365 videos, as I know there will be days that I don't get content up. But, right now I believe I have about 15 videos online. They are mostly short videos under a minute, however I do have several that are 2-3 minutes long. As time progresses, I'm sure you'll see longer magical compositions. </p><p>It's a huge endeavor to produce 365 videos. I'm certainly NOT the first to do it. In fact, a few years ago, I did something I called Weekly Wizardry, where I produce one video per week. Let me tell you, that alone was hard to do! So 365 is going to be a challenge! </p><p>Where can you see these videos? Well, almost everywhere, lol. I have them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube. I'm planning on putting them on Tiktok, and other platforms as well. Each social media platforms has it's conditions on how to submit video, so some of my videos have variants. Meaning, a video on youtube, might not be exactly the same as one on Instagram, and so forth. </p><p>Below are some of the first videos. I encourage you to subscribe to my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFVjOzpvDcZgFP98LCoBCPg" target="_blank">feed on Youtube</a> and watch the Carnegie365 playlist for all the latest videos and eventually all 365!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zJw7Q-Db9os" width="459" youtube-src-id="zJw7Q-Db9os"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E7LXUttIXbM" width="472" youtube-src-id="E7LXUttIXbM"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BLV7GBdoQ6Y" width="480" youtube-src-id="BLV7GBdoQ6Y"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p>
Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-27151879620151310392021-09-07T06:08:00.002-07:002021-09-07T06:08:48.940-07:00Carnegie AT the Big River Steampunk Festival<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQizgLv3fBHeiATNuCiWunJCmU6yWuslz3QNdkqBIk_uGFdxgbxH0IH0xkxGoD34DcIDssFxEWwUz2QxJRDO1pr1B4EfuTgc-pEM9IHEHigxFoPYRc5HmOIPQoOg1ZXLrmE65/s960/241252529_10159284092629898_3226560519843521047_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQizgLv3fBHeiATNuCiWunJCmU6yWuslz3QNdkqBIk_uGFdxgbxH0IH0xkxGoD34DcIDssFxEWwUz2QxJRDO1pr1B4EfuTgc-pEM9IHEHigxFoPYRc5HmOIPQoOg1ZXLrmE65/w640-h480/241252529_10159284092629898_3226560519843521047_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>This past weekend, I was a featured performer at the Big River Steampunk Festival in Hannibal Missouri. And though Hannibal is the home of Mark Twain, I felt more in line with Charles Dickens, as it was the best of times and the worst of times. Let me explain...</p><p>On Saturday, the weather was overcast, with a rain that seemed to continue all day long. It was never a heavy rain, but more a constant thing. And it was ungodly humid. WOW! I'm from Northern Virginia, I've experienced humidity. But this was something on a whole new level. </p><p>My first show was at noon. It was in front of Mark Twain's boyhood home!!! I didn't even make that connection till later, that's how off my game I was. I started making announcements for my show about 15 minutes early and by showtime I had a nice grouping of folks even with the rain. And speaking thereof, I discovered WATER to be the arch enemy of MAGIC, lol. My first trick, a simple routine with a piece of rope was proven impossible as the wet rope was sticking to itself and binding while I was trying to present it. So I had to bail on the first trick. It was at that moment I went into survival mode, I threw out all the planned magic and let experience and knowledge take over. I began doing material that was tried and true and that hopefully wouldn't be too affected by the rain...</p><p>That said, a few of the routines were card tricks and they went GREAT. But it was the aftermath that was an issue. When I finished with a routine, it went into a case with an open top. I soon discovered I needed a covering as everything in the case was getting wet. One problem after another had to be solved on the fly.</p><p>I had a good mixture of kids and adults helping in the show. The audience stayed the entire program even in the rain!!! They were so wonderful and kind to do so. Afterwards I signed some autographs and packed up.</p><p>Now, notice what I said, I packed up. AND went straight to my CAR. I was exhausted from the show from the rain and the humidity. My clothes were all sticking to me, it was awful. I sat in the air-conditioned car for a while until I cooled down. Later when it came time for show two (at a different location), I unpacked and headed for that venue.</p><p>This time I was in the DEPOT, which was the old train station. The show was sold out. No worries of rain </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tE3C3ZGiwbvP0scRqGlkgFIu61_mebqrbDt8JNX41quN5BWlz5TLtdaNkDoHhYoaRfwc0P2RhBG29FnD39ivFIeP-fbE47fRN4BB4AiNxVaA9CAuabfa5qFUopxi2nW-AUix/s960/241370534_10224319641232665_2284607957137445343_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5tE3C3ZGiwbvP0scRqGlkgFIu61_mebqrbDt8JNX41quN5BWlz5TLtdaNkDoHhYoaRfwc0P2RhBG29FnD39ivFIeP-fbE47fRN4BB4AiNxVaA9CAuabfa5qFUopxi2nW-AUix/w300-h400/241370534_10224319641232665_2284607957137445343_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />because it was indoors. My only issue here was exhaustion from earlier. And yet, I did the whole show and had a fantastic time with a most wonderful audience of Steampunk fans and followers.<p></p><p>Sunday. Well, this was the exact opposite weather wise. It was BEAUTIFUL. The weather was perfect. I had a morning show at 11am on the Steampunk Stage which had a huge crowd. Big difference between that show and the day before....1. No rain and 2, they had benches for the people to sit. The other morning venue didn't have a place for folks to sit. I had a few people from the previous nights show come up and say hello and stayed for this show as well.</p><p>Sunday night, back at the Depot and that show went splendidly. It ran like clock-work to coin a Steampunk phrase! The audience reactions to the show were incredible. My energy level was much higher than the day before, though I doubt you could tell. I think I projected well both evenings, despite how I was feeling inside. </p><p>I did leave two things out. I had planned to do my Tug of War Rope Tie. But the tope got wet from Saturdays show and I feared that once wet, it might be impossible to get out of and also impossible to untie, in the event I couldn't get free. Wet rope and escapes are very problematic. The other thing I left out was my Disectolator. I did use it Saturday night, but the humidity was causing the wood to swell, just enough to make the prop difficult to use. The disectolator is a device I put my entire arm into. Then two real metal blades are shoved into my arm. Next I pull out the middle area between the blades, zig-zagging my arm. It's a wonderful image. But the space between the blades and the wood was so tight I could hardly get the inner section to move. Considering I only had one good arm to work with, the other being inside the device, it became near impossible to use. So the routine got dropped. But it made a nice piece of scenery! </p><p>All in all, despite the weather, I had a fantastic time in Hannibal. Special thanks to my new friend Brent and also Tammy Riley for bringing out to The Big River Steampunk Festival!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWIycW6ji3CYR1xKT2ww6Z5ch5UJgeOF_OGGz_H24Bz4G7DMCwYn75z2JyvLPV_l2in8fyuGgET11o5YNZUyEy00OyRe5HVaHgB_l143YHdbshJv2wAwqsQr6AqjAqlj5i8mn/s2048/Carnegie%2540BigRiverSTeampunkFest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWIycW6ji3CYR1xKT2ww6Z5ch5UJgeOF_OGGz_H24Bz4G7DMCwYn75z2JyvLPV_l2in8fyuGgET11o5YNZUyEy00OyRe5HVaHgB_l143YHdbshJv2wAwqsQr6AqjAqlj5i8mn/w400-h300/Carnegie%2540BigRiverSTeampunkFest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(I grabbed those pics from the BigRiverSteampunkFestival Facebook Page)</span></p>Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-20599078573372472182021-07-25T06:40:00.001-07:002021-07-25T06:40:17.868-07:00Capturing Magic - Virtually<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaAp220H7QYHCgtYK9yru2VUe0kap7EQACQARs2CPpZOUp0zf6EgQ39sqdXH-QILAHur6XAfw7ji6EyHePKQSKyFFuTSIqcBO_of_OO9UCx0uQX-5_gr42rE8gqu7dN_icrQQ/s2160/CapturingMagicEB2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="2160" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMaAp220H7QYHCgtYK9yru2VUe0kap7EQACQARs2CPpZOUp0zf6EgQ39sqdXH-QILAHur6XAfw7ji6EyHePKQSKyFFuTSIqcBO_of_OO9UCx0uQX-5_gr42rE8gqu7dN_icrQQ/w640-h320/CapturingMagicEB2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>It seems like forever since I wrote on this blog. Thankfully, I have news to share. I'll be doing my new show, Capturing Magic, virtually for the next few weeks. This was a show that I designed specifically for the virtual world of magic performance. The idea was to have a mixture of interactive magic and highly visual magic. That was my goal for virtual shows all along, however, this time I had a lot of experience doing online magic so it gave me a better idea of what to shoot for.</p><p>There is one thing that sets my show apart from others and that is the inclusion of a story, often told without any magic at all, though sometimes I do use magic. I have several stories that I want to include in this show, but I'm still working them out. If you look at the poster image below you'll notice in the upper right hand corner the image of a fairy. This is because I wanted to share the story of the Cottingly Fairies. Take a good look at that poster and see how many fairies you can see in the poster, there is more than one.</p><p>If you are unfamiliar with the Cottingly Fairy story, it involves two young girls and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There is a movie called 'Fairy Tale: A True Story', that was made about the whole adventure. I'm not going to tell you the story here, you'll have to wait for the show. And as of right now, the story has not made it into the show, but I hope to have it in there very very soon.</p><p>If you are interested in watching Capturing Magic, tickets are easy to come by, just go to <a href="http://ZoomMagicShow.com">ZoomMagicShow.com</a> and follow the prompts to the ticketing page. One ticket per household, quite inexpensive and a fun family activity!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxpOh0-edeYrwz4auri1CH5Xn4_uAgj1n74BvhiaRmoFnMxAx9hiltzPK7yWMGvIemRrzyFNqyupfFjkBIy2IAzEI7ha1uzdvh9zSmlMVbX8dQidFCqIjCEWsAisXkyT3s3mH/s1205/CapturingMagic1small+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1205" data-original-width="792" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQxpOh0-edeYrwz4auri1CH5Xn4_uAgj1n74BvhiaRmoFnMxAx9hiltzPK7yWMGvIemRrzyFNqyupfFjkBIy2IAzEI7ha1uzdvh9zSmlMVbX8dQidFCqIjCEWsAisXkyT3s3mH/w420-h640/CapturingMagic1small+copy.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-22860597137416058502020-11-01T00:03:00.001-07:002020-11-01T00:03:10.200-07:00Astonify Run for October is Complete<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Byt9Vwu7jMKGSX7iWn8RyBEZmrBZvzHfq0TBrHDyj-skvzqQq6KMxi9Nw5rWrbP6bhvtnxyxHVKUUVgOm_-D9YnzyDq5vZ78Dh-q_1iXF5maFdYXuDpRYyI7JRq6S8USsBrf/s2048/Astonify1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Byt9Vwu7jMKGSX7iWn8RyBEZmrBZvzHfq0TBrHDyj-skvzqQq6KMxi9Nw5rWrbP6bhvtnxyxHVKUUVgOm_-D9YnzyDq5vZ78Dh-q_1iXF5maFdYXuDpRYyI7JRq6S8USsBrf/s320/Astonify1.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The run of Astonify Shows for October is complete. We may or may not have one tomorrow Nov 1st. No tickets have sold yet and it's anyone's guess if tickets will sell. If they don't then we've finished the Halloween Season. I've got plenty to complain and rant about, but I'll save that. I'd rather share some stories from the show. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Spirit Clock</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As you may know, a signature piece in my show is the Spirit Clock. This is basically a glass clock face with numbers but no inner clockworks. There is a small protruding rod in the center to place an arrow-like pointer on, but that is it. You spin the pointer and plead with the spirits to stop at a chosen number. To say it works like clockwork, would be a poor play on words, but yes it works every time. Except. Except when Spirits get involved. I always know when spirits are present because the clock dial never lands where it is supposed to. To the audience it looks like I can't do anything right. But I know forces are at work that may make the rest of the show even more fun. THIS is exactly has Saturday night's show played out. The dial would not land on one single number called. The night before, while rehearsing the show, everything was working fine until I said a rather unusual line, which I thought was funny. Apparently, I was the only one, as this thing stopped functioning. Then when the show was over, I told my brother, "watch, I'll go over there and the thing will work." Ummm, watch the attached video...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyuYoxjYQUOoGbfi9GfHvrgY26ILBp3_9n129CwMqtist5m-XxzY4-M8I4RRNIcCH39d91OMkqaUIw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBeYZJs-08W8kDzzONeON-KD-sllAcHQvdShlaK58beksRuYfU9pI-CJ8Z5XzFBRMz4tn2qgd_F_mhJ2P8z4JYeKelTWEHMWylshJSbhJNBhVsN7eE93-yAjygQnIxulihdXK/s2048/Astonify3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1163" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfBeYZJs-08W8kDzzONeON-KD-sllAcHQvdShlaK58beksRuYfU9pI-CJ8Z5XzFBRMz4tn2qgd_F_mhJ2P8z4JYeKelTWEHMWylshJSbhJNBhVsN7eE93-yAjygQnIxulihdXK/s320/Astonify3.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The rest of the show, AFTER, the Spirit Clock, went smoothly, and in fact, went better than smoothly. I was almost concerned at how well the spirit trumpet played. And the final routine, which was a bonus really, was a smashed hit. What a night! I think I still like the LIVE -in person version better, but it was great to turn Astonify into a Virtual show. Next up is converting the Christmas version of Astonify into a Virtual show. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-67480587804342639142020-10-18T23:19:00.001-07:002020-10-18T23:19:15.415-07:00The Virtual Magic Show and Seance<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIYuYmUln56ehL5POs3hiCT8QyG3uhb_RwL-mayDHUZ5scI9cwSoBxKnTUI6n7-WK-5P4yqTDJzs29SyJ020ipKcQIe2TKFiqMHDQnsnPtLggr7r8F7BaYGRJl4p4Xyh7NlWM/s384/Astonify-Virtual+Magic+and+Seance+-+Vintage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="288" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIYuYmUln56ehL5POs3hiCT8QyG3uhb_RwL-mayDHUZ5scI9cwSoBxKnTUI6n7-WK-5P4yqTDJzs29SyJ020ipKcQIe2TKFiqMHDQnsnPtLggr7r8F7BaYGRJl4p4Xyh7NlWM/s320/Astonify-Virtual+Magic+and+Seance+-+Vintage.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p>Astonify is BACK! The Victorian style magic show and seance returns in a virtual form. The Virtual Magic Show and Seance includes interactive magic routines, stories, and ghostly mysteries. Yes, there is a virtual seance included at the end of the show. As with the previous versions of <a href="https://www.astonify.com" target="_blank">Astonify</a>, we gradually build up to the Seance. It is generally the shortest segment in the show, but anything is possible. I am certain however, that no two seances will be the same.</p><p>The Virtual Magic Show and Seance is really a new concept for magic. I have seen a few others doing Virtual Seances online, but each presenter is taking their own unique take on the subject. Our version, takes takes it's inspiration from the Victorian world, where the whole concept of Seances really originated. Due to the ONLINE aspect, we do have to alter what we are doing slightly. When we start speaking to spirits, we hope that spectators at home will experience some creepy moments of their own! Because of the psychology involved, there is no way to predict the final outcome. But rest assured it will be a fun night of Virtual Magic and ghostly mysteries!</p><p>The Virtual Magic Show and Seance is best suited for ages 16 and up. Tickets are sold per household and are available through <a href="http://ZoomMagicShow.com">ZoomMagicShow.com</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4pOn729WM2QGGJybXWvHgOs4SGoXUMSvW9jN1c1cmHOhnPSjKTwOEt7pSjIcG8GZ3jKhXls-WDsBc3RgIL2cyPdoLVbEBvJ7d2Unozy1q0qxdIWwg9khnf9Ib_oYktwgIK-v/s720/Astonifyposter8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="657" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4pOn729WM2QGGJybXWvHgOs4SGoXUMSvW9jN1c1cmHOhnPSjKTwOEt7pSjIcG8GZ3jKhXls-WDsBc3RgIL2cyPdoLVbEBvJ7d2Unozy1q0qxdIWwg9khnf9Ib_oYktwgIK-v/s320/Astonifyposter8.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p> </p>Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-86329250771715680122020-08-09T08:43:00.001-07:002020-08-09T11:33:33.134-07:00A Night of Virtual Magic<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKe_7qSiWALTpiZFQhtHb-SjDlWoYlYybL1EpF4HkQMJuFWK6whTcvMg5PeoV8Qye0OgUrD-cGWY5R1z4Urdm30fZbWopTkO0vN6RQGvvQRVX4nujzGnYNf7uYZBToc5qa2pR/s2536/zoom8%253A8.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="2536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKe_7qSiWALTpiZFQhtHb-SjDlWoYlYybL1EpF4HkQMJuFWK6whTcvMg5PeoV8Qye0OgUrD-cGWY5R1z4Urdm30fZbWopTkO0vN6RQGvvQRVX4nujzGnYNf7uYZBToc5qa2pR/s640/zoom8%253A8.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p>Above is a photo from my current show online called, A Night of Virtual Magic. This is my Virtual Magic Show on the Zoom platform. It is actually my second show on zoom but it's the first evening show. What is special about this show you might ask? Well, I've really worked hard to create a unique product that is highly interactive, but retains a bit of the theatrical feel from my stage shows. I use a lot of green screen backdrops and also real back drops in order to change the look by a change of scenery. I incorporate three recorded segments into the show. These allow me to showcase magic that I can't do because of space limitations. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ftUwoB_n3qnWfM7N1G2LBPnR4_R6IM8VPzXIht5TZ3sgZWQeNCdf-pPC3kuHsQr8sdQGDc1Okja2jiNqBNaKUlQ3CQjZ0LuM080ctlsHBmrRHGi3vRUqbtCNZ8vWj_5M_WoK/s2020/zoomMagicShow2.png" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="2020" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ftUwoB_n3qnWfM7N1G2LBPnR4_R6IM8VPzXIht5TZ3sgZWQeNCdf-pPC3kuHsQr8sdQGDc1Okja2jiNqBNaKUlQ3CQjZ0LuM080ctlsHBmrRHGi3vRUqbtCNZ8vWj_5M_WoK/w328-h190/zoomMagicShow2.png" width="328" /></a></div>In the photo above, you can see the smiles of laughter on everyone's face during one of the routines. In case, you're wondering, the three white squares at the bottom, are people who did not have their video cameras on. I noticed we had some issues with people dropping out and coming back on. By the end of the show, all cameras were on. You can still see the video feed of the show if your camera is off. The only thing is I cannot see YOU. <p></p><p>The way I do the interactive portion is interesting. After you purchase a ticket, you receive an email with the code to see the show, and also a list of things you'll need for the show and some tips. One of those tips is to make sure the room you are watching the show in is well lit. This is so we can see you. In earlier shows, many folks sat in the dark and I couldn't see them. So I added this suggestion that you make sure you have lights on so you can be seen. It improves the overall look of the show. As for that list of things..it's a simple list: deck of cards, some coins, a notepad, and a novel (book). These items are for the AT HOME routines. But there are other interactive routines audience members can do via the screen. For example, I have a routine where two people choose cards from a deck. Well this is still possible without them being here in person. As long as their camera is on and their sound is on, then it works. </p><p>Another thing I do is use my green screen as a power point presentation. This allows me to tell stories and </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJJMEV04kTumN6PIgpCN94vbDfy63geR4eic2KqT7tf3wdKNXG8Rz_Z9BRJHBGp5OEDXJmdD5FtGo15sDoO4QHOp6lKCihJ9PzP2zLwkZFKnmEq97WDWMAZjz5JxwUoREaIkU/s1516/zoomMagicShow6.png" style="clear: right; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 1em 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1516" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJJMEV04kTumN6PIgpCN94vbDfy63geR4eic2KqT7tf3wdKNXG8Rz_Z9BRJHBGp5OEDXJmdD5FtGo15sDoO4QHOp6lKCihJ9PzP2zLwkZFKnmEq97WDWMAZjz5JxwUoREaIkU/w328-h261/zoomMagicShow6.png" width="328" /></a></div>change the images in the background as the story evolves. An example of that can be seen in the photo to the right which shows me with a picture of Houdini & the Great Lafayette in the background. <div><br /></div><div>My desire was always to close the show with an illusion. Because of my current situation, I only have one illusion on hand, my Disectolator mini-illusion. And it proved to be a fun, quick, highly visual and stunning illusion to close the program with. BTW, the rest of my illusions are 600 miles away in a storeroom. I'm in the process of moving but COVID has slowed that down. So I'm using what I have on hand.<p></p><p>One thing about this illusion. Because we use green screen during the course of the show, I purposely made the decision to present this against a normal fabric backdrop. It would be so simple to create this same illusion via a camera trick, but that is not how this works. Instead, we can walk behind and even pass our hands through the open slots to prove what you see is what you get!</p><p>During last night's show I announced my plans for the future. Those plans are to have a new show available every couple months. So right now the Night of Virtual Magic will run till mid September. It will be followed by The Astonify Show & Virtual Seance. This show will run till the end of October. That will be followed by a Virtual Christmas Show, which will run in December. And with any luck, I'll bring out a Virtual version of The Steampunk Illusionist Show in January 2021. </p><p>How LONG the virtual shows will continue is anyone's guess. This is all due to the pandemic and my desire to give people some incredible magic and a really fun experience right from their home. It's a much needed form of escapist entertainment, in a time where this is a lot of uncertainty. And because I have no shows otherwise, it is now the way I bring in income.</p><p>If you'd like to get tickets to The Night of Virtual Magic. Simply go to <a href="http://ZoomMagicShow.com">ZoomMagicShow.com</a> and choose your date. BTW, I am also doing a show for kids on select afternoons. These are totally different from the evening programs, and are really geared to younger aged kids. So if you know of anyone interested, they can also go to <a href="http://ZoomMagicShow.com">ZoomMagicShow.com</a> and be sure to choose an afternoon date. Do NOT pick an evening show for kids as they will not enjoy it. Older kids, teens, will. But not younger kids.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-40532668941228290842020-07-23T00:06:00.001-07:002020-07-23T00:06:44.440-07:00The Virtual Seance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGwIoI5sQaT7Jtcpa0DSwW-C1-ImB9mWtSyPiilA5TkTGJqE4RtFdMwtk0bEYGhXII-Zf934OCC7NYnb9ZA_R-roU9rYNCKiE-PIKyaFsvi4KG_SIfbwIXnzq-fmNsIAkn_Lt/s1600/ASTONIFYBANNER2020.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="720" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGwIoI5sQaT7Jtcpa0DSwW-C1-ImB9mWtSyPiilA5TkTGJqE4RtFdMwtk0bEYGhXII-Zf934OCC7NYnb9ZA_R-roU9rYNCKiE-PIKyaFsvi4KG_SIfbwIXnzq-fmNsIAkn_Lt/s400/ASTONIFYBANNER2020.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Well, it appears that the Astonify Show WILL be back in 2020 after all. The one difference is this version will be VIRTUAL. It will still be presented LIVE and it will be INTERACTIVE. I'm currently working out the various details. The shows will be for fairly small groups, but I haven't decided how small yet. When you purchase a ticket you will receive in the mail, a package with some props needed for the show. These are the same items you'd receive if you were part of the show in person. AND not everyone gets the same package! Some items are duplicated, but some items are unique, this allows a slightly different experience among the attendees.<br />
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I am expanding the SEANCE portion of the show this year and it will be more interactive. That means there is the potential for very spooky/creepy things to happen in your own home! We have been beta-testing much of the material and so far the responses have been beyond my expectations. I honestly never envisioned doing the show this way, but circumstances being what they are, this way is safe and frankly MORE people will be able to see the show than could in a typical season.<br />
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Dates and Ticketing information will go online in Early September. Dates for the show will run from Mid September till the end of October! If you go to <a href="http://astonify.com/">Astonify.com</a> right now and sign-up for the newsletter updates, you'll find out about the dates before everyone!!!Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-16965995059127964702019-12-18T09:07:00.000-08:002020-03-16T16:54:25.064-07:00Astonify Coming Back in 2020!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn_2AvP2boH7NFDfs4nCTHIEDG64diIktGQJbPq5J1igglWmA6x2jP124sTVC76lzNwjQlePW69nfEsUn3qsSOVkGpOc4BXCRCwpAedvNZH-kc9mdv7UACockjAxswUS6y3fb/s1600/astonifyfacebook+copy+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="601" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitn_2AvP2boH7NFDfs4nCTHIEDG64diIktGQJbPq5J1igglWmA6x2jP124sTVC76lzNwjQlePW69nfEsUn3qsSOVkGpOc4BXCRCwpAedvNZH-kc9mdv7UACockjAxswUS6y3fb/s400/astonifyfacebook+copy+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I've been kind of silent this year, but the good news is I'm bringing back ASTONIFY in a bigger and better way in 2020. I love the concept of this show, a Victorian Magic Show with a Seance at the end. I may pull back on the Seance promotion, even though it will still be part of the show. For whatever reason, when people here or read 'Seance', they think Halloween. And my show is not just for Halloween, in fact, it's for ALL YEAR LONG.<br />
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I may bring in more of the Steampunk elements to the show that had been in there before.....maybe. I'm just looking to revamp the show a bit. The changes probably won't be so noticeable to audiences, but to me and my crew they are big.<br />
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<b>UPDATE:</b> All Astonify Shows, in fact, ALL Shows period have been suspended thanks to the Chinese Coronavirus, until further notice. I wish I had better news, but I'm sure you're more than aware of the situation.Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-26884509239735937942019-04-27T21:36:00.000-07:002019-06-07T17:23:21.531-07:00ASTONIFY Back At the Old Jail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpGh9qmFMN-6FHneaT-bhl6-5rWOftw_a96BuL5SzgtMFEEbMkqZ6N8UHUbJ54ZAOW6S-9gmo05MbWSpiYrA0WpN9Fs3iIr5qUS_dgRtfr3RrXBsj98lJw03QD4a8w9xu78bK/s1600/TinType-578116370.723025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJpGh9qmFMN-6FHneaT-bhl6-5rWOftw_a96BuL5SzgtMFEEbMkqZ6N8UHUbJ54ZAOW6S-9gmo05MbWSpiYrA0WpN9Fs3iIr5qUS_dgRtfr3RrXBsj98lJw03QD4a8w9xu78bK/s320/TinType-578116370.723025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was quite proud to bring version of my Astonify Show back to The Old Jail in Warrenton, VA. The shows are presented within the cells and it is all out good fun. We only have room for a few people, tonight it was 19 people and I'm not sure they could have squeezed in one more person.<br />
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I added some new material in this show. One of my favorite new routines involves a story about John Wilkes Booth the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln. I would say, as much as I like it, I feel it is more a 'work in progress'.<br />
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The clear favorite of the night was Spiritus, a routine I created and scripted and based on a wonderful Woody Aragon routine. Also new this night was The Coins in Glass routine. Now, I must admit, I think my blocking on this was such that it might not have been visible to everyone. So that will need some adjustment. But overall the audience was very into the show. They were a lively crowd which was fun.<br />
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OH, and I was finally able to do the Rope Tie in conjunction with the Harry Cooke Story, without fear of health issues later. For those who don't know, I've been on blood thinning medication for a while, but was finally taken off of it recently. So I decided to bring my escapes BACK into the show. And the two gentlemen who tied me tonight, OMG, did they ever do a GREAT JOB. I think it was the tightest wrap and tie that anyone has ever done. Of course, I escaped in about 10 seconds without untying the knots. And that is the point of it. It felt sooooo good to do that routine and my wrists are still red from the timing, but I love it!<br />
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All in all, it was a fun crowd tonight and I believe they thoroughly enjoyed the show. Thanks again to The Fauquier History Museum for bringing me back for a second time!<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-79858904675887864842018-11-05T20:13:00.001-08:002018-11-05T20:13:48.541-08:00ASTONIFY at The Secret Parlor Theatre Completed<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPqQVc1F2kZUPll67nOUgWNAc66g8Kxp-ho4W0FuSlcvmblaOkOXrMXqOBgTh1pasOM1HK3DIXvzPQWth_7PWWVs0XsGY3ohiHM-eC3Cs3ttFAicTuAKGWepjzshaBvrMXhtX/s1600/astonifyshow7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="567" data-original-width="720" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGPqQVc1F2kZUPll67nOUgWNAc66g8Kxp-ho4W0FuSlcvmblaOkOXrMXqOBgTh1pasOM1HK3DIXvzPQWth_7PWWVs0XsGY3ohiHM-eC3Cs3ttFAicTuAKGWepjzshaBvrMXhtX/s320/astonifyshow7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I have finished my run of shows at The Secret Parlor Theatre in Chantilly. The Secret Parlor Theatre is now gone, vanished into the night. That was the plan all along. It was an experiment and was not planned to run more than the month. Will the SPT ever appear again? I'd say the chances are quite good, but in a different location(s).<br />
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My final performance at the theatre was great fun. I got to share more of the light seance routine, but as with other nights, I did not do the full seance. We had a small audience and I held some things back. Also, on this night, we had ZERO actual spirit interference. What does that mean? The building we were in is haunted. Every night we were there, something unusual would happen. People heard footsteps, people felt a presence, things would not work, it was crazy. But on the final night, not a peep out of our ghost. Now, that isn't to say there weren't manifestations during the seance, because there were. But as I mentioned in the show, this was an example of Spiritualism without the aid of Spirits! By the way, that line comes from a handbill belonging to Professor Harry Cooke, which I now have in my collection, and which is part of The Astonify Show. (see below the article)<br />
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The straight magic from the show included: Hofzinser's Everywhere & Nowhere, A Surprising Rope Mystery, and a Classic Ring in Nest of Boxes. There were other pieces, but those were the main ones. The seance part of my program begins with my Spirit Photo routine, which is so much fun to do. The Spirit Dial, which is shown at the top of the page is presented during the seance portion, and it concludes with the Spirit Horn. Missing from the seance was the new slate routine, and one other routine that I'm forgetting at the moment. Because this was the smaller seance, it does not include the Spirit Cabinet.<br />
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The Astonify Show is a work in progress. I wanted it to be a smaller venue show, but it seems that it will be growing in size very quickly. I plan to add a couple true Victorian routines to the show, and then some adaptations of modern routines. Kind of like when I steampunked some props in my other show. I'll Victorianize props, lol. to make them work in this show. Then of course, there is another option and that is recreating actual forgotten Victorian era magic. And I have two routines in mind, the bad part, no one knows how they're done today (thus the forgotten part). One routine, The Devils Cage, is a routine I've had my heart set on for a long time. I sense it's in my very near future.<br />
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I continue to write routines for the show, so expect amazing things to debut in next years version of the show!<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-1582401393573296342018-10-07T05:36:00.000-07:002018-10-09T18:50:42.912-07:00The Astonify Show at The Secret Parlor Theatre <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Astonify Show is now playing every Saturday during the month of October at the new Secret Parlor Theatre in Chantilly, VA. Last night was a showcase of sorts, where I showcased part of The Astonify Show and my friend Rick, who owns the Secret Parlor Theatre, showcased part of his show. The results were, well, astonifying!<br />
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We started the show at 8pm and had a nice audience. The venue only seats 24 and we didn't quite have a full house. Some friends of mine that purchased tickets were no shows. I hope everything is ok with them, because I know they were excited about attending.<br />
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Astonify, is my interpretation of a 19th Century Parlor Magic Show. I do take some liberties along the way, but they are more for the appeal of 21st Century audiences. Basically, I speed up the presentations slightly. The magic is the type you'd see if you were alive in the 1800s. No modern technology is used in the show, no iPhones, smart phones or that sort of thing.<br />
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My set ran about 33 minutes. I did half of my magic portion and half of my seance portion. My take on the traditional Victorian Seance is different. But I have an edge over most people.....this theatre actually has a ghost! He has made himself known twice now, once during this show, and once during dress rehearsals the night previous. We heard footsteps coming from the back of the audience, right down the side isle to the front and then stopping.<br />
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The photo to the left you can kind of make out my Spirit Dial that is a feature of my show. I chose this specific trick because many 19th Century era magicians used it. And wow, does it ever deliver. It's basically a glass clock face with no inner workings. A dial is spun and always lands on the number that people call out. Strangely, it even lands on a number secretly chosen by a spectator, even though, NO ONE knows the number until the dial stops spinning!<br />
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There is one thing though that I must point out because it is something that I must be firm on in all future shows, this show is NOT FOR CHILDREN, so don't bring them and especially don't bring a baby. Yes, this is exactly what happened Saturday night. A clueless woman brought her 4 year old and infant baby and the baby cried and the kid wandered around. After the show numerous members of the audience complained. They said they really enjoyed the show but the experience was ruined due to the crying baby. I have to agree. No offense to people with kids, there are plenty of activities for kids, and hey, there are magic shows FOR kids, this one is just not one of them. This was designed for adults.<br />
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The next performance is October 20th at 8pm. You can find out about tickets via <a href="http://astonify.com/">Astonify.com</a><br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-34138486913775410442018-08-11T22:13:00.001-07:002018-08-12T08:45:26.450-07:00Astonify At The Old Jail Museum in Warrenton VA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Astonify Show was presented August 11th at the Old Jail Museum in Warrenton VA as part of their <b><i>Sleepover at the Jail Event</i></b>. I presented an hour long version of the show which was kind of customized to the venue. Due to the small performing area, I created a show that utilized many audience members, in fact, all but two routines were audience participation.<br />
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I began by sharing a couple 'ghost-like' stories from my travels. And then told them about the incident that already took place at the jail. My brand new iPhone X stopped working. I was in the midst of taking photos and it just locked up. I tried to reboot it, but no matter what I did, the phone would not turn off. (when I left the building after the show, the phone worked fine)<br />
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Two audience members told me they heard a voice say, "get out" during my show. All the jail cells are haunted apparently. In fact, there was a mannequin inside of a glass cabinet at the back of the room whose head had moved directions DURING my show!!!!<br />
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This version of ASTONIFY had several card routines, a wonderful rope routine that looks impossible, a very surprising effect with a borrowed ring, a routine using Spirit Photographs, the 19th Century classic The Spirit Dial, and finally I bring out an actual Spirit Trumpet which can be examined and then we use it to contact a spirit.<br />
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As with every show I've done at a haunted location, there were issues with things. These, thankfully, were minor, but it did cause me to drop two routines from the show. As it turned out, I didn't need them, as I still went slightly over an hour according to my clock.<br />
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I will admit to being a little nervous during the Spirit Trumpet routine as I feared a voice other than Anna Eva Fay's would be speaking through the trumpet. That did not happen, but damn if the spirit didn't decipher and reveal something that no one in the room was aware of. Crazy!<br />
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The folks who attended my show, were going to partake in a paranormal tour following the show, so I can't imagine what happened during that activity! Then they all were sleeping over at the jail. I don't think I could have done it!!!!<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-19143913583423569862018-07-17T18:07:00.000-07:002018-07-17T18:07:05.782-07:00Magician Doing Magic In Jail!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://astonify.com/">The Astonify Show</a> will be one of the features of an upcoming Sleepover At The Old Jail, in Warrenton VA, on August 11th. This event is a fundraiser for the Jail, and my portion, The Astonify Show is only part of the overall festivities. There is also a paranormal tour, and of course the actual sleepover at the jail!<br />
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My show, ASTONIFY, is a perfect fit to get things started off. If you're at all familiar with the show, we end with a light seance. Given the fact that this jail is already known to have paranormal activity, this should be really interesting!<br />
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I am told that they expect this event to sell out, and I'm not even sure how many tickets are left. But I wanted to mention it here on my blog! Here is the information on tickets <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-night-at-the-old-jail-a-sleepover-for-adults-tickets-46850348654">https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-night-at-the-old-jail-a-sleepover-for-adults-tickets-46850348654</a><br />
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I hope to see you there!!!<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-83744874014501569722018-05-16T17:58:00.000-07:002019-06-07T17:24:44.449-07:00The Astonify Show is Moving Full Steam Ahead!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here is another update on my new show called ASTONIFY. Today, the rack cards arrived. These are the first pieces of printed marketing to help promote the show. I was very happy with the way these turned out.<br />
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If you go over to the website <a href="http://astonify.com/">Astonify.com</a>, you'll notice a number of changes. I have resisted adding more pages to the site, but I do have a menu that takes you to the various sections on the first page. There is no video, yet. But keep watching.<br />
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Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-61854918073752124582018-03-09T11:10:00.001-08:002018-03-09T11:10:39.051-08:00Astonify Progressing Nicely<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The new show, Astonify, is really moving ahead well. I have been testing out various routines on test audiences and have been thrilled with the responses. This is a very different sort of thing for me. I have created 'themed' programs in the past, but for this show I really delved much deeper into the process. The results are astonishing, or should I say astonifying.<br />
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The show is made up of three parts, but right now, the only part you see in the promotions is the ghostly part. The first routine that opens the Spirit portion of the show is my take on a Woody Aragon routine. I don't want to say any more than that, except, I believe my version is the best rendition of his fabulous effect. The Spirit portion is supposed to close with the Cabinet of Spirits, which is what we are calling the Spirit Cabinet. Our version has similarities to past routines, but we think the things we've added to our version will make it stand out greatly.<br />
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Right now, I think I'm most excited about the Conjuring portion of the show. This is the longest part of the show and opens with an interactive routine and then an audience volunteer sequence. It isn't until the third effect in the show that a prop is even seen. Speaking of props, I expect there to be a lot of props in this show. It is afterall, a Victorian based show, and the magic from that time period was very prop heavy. A routine I really would like to include in the show is the Kellar Coffee Trick. I've loved this since the first time I read about it many years ago. Now, I own the props for the Coffee Trick....well actually I own most. I still have one piece yet to track down, or build. But I would like to include it in the show because it's another way to involve the audience. And here is a treat, below is a video of the Coffee Trick. This is NOT Victorianized, however. It's just me having some fun on National Coffee Day. The show routine will be slightly different, but you get the general idea.<br />
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The one portion of the show I'm not discussing is the Clairvoyant section. OK, I will discuss it a little. With the popularity of Mentalism at an all time high right now, I wanted a way to present the material in a manner that no one was currently using. Now, I say no one, but there may be someone out there following this same path. If so, I have not heard. Our take is not completely original. I read about it years ago and the performers who used this unique approach, lived years before the book was written. So to today's audiences will it look brand new. It is a perfect fit for Astonify, and I'm anxious to get it rolling.<br />
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For my friends who are wondering the status of The Steampunk Illusionist show, well that program is also moving along nicely. In a way, Astonify is the precursor to Steampunk Illusionist. Both are Victorian programs. And some of the Astonify material has been in, and will continue to be in, the Steampunk Illusionist. Both shows are presented as if it was still the 19th Century, but there are occasional references to modern times as well. I've got new material going into The Steampunk Illusionist this year, including something I'm calling The Re-animator. Keep watching for more news and updates. Oh, and if you want to get on the list for <a href="https://astonify.com/">Astonify</a> tickets, click the link and sign up! Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-82211713370098362362018-02-27T09:55:00.001-08:002018-02-28T17:19:43.174-08:00New Show, Astonify!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have been working diligently on a new show. The show that I speak of is called The Astonify Show, or simply, ASTONIFY. It is a theatrical recreation of a Victorian Parlor Magic Show and Victorian Seance. You might think, "this is perfect for Halloween." And that would be true, but this was was designed to play ALL YEAR LONG.<br />
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Originally, this show was meant to be a small venue show, like a parlor show. But I discovered along the way, that this show could play small and it could also play LARGE! In other words, I had a theatre show on my hands, and it didn't matter the size of the audience due to the nature of the material. But for starters we are planning on a more intimate size, so around 50 or so.<br />
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The show is divided into three parts. Part 1 Conjuring. Part 2 Clairvoyance. Part 3 Spirit Phenomenon. The show will include a short intermission as well.<br />
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This is a two person show, so I'll be doing the bulk of the Conjuring, while my performing partner will be featured during much of the Clairvoyant section and she will be the 'medium' in the Spirit section when we present The Cabinet of Spirits.<br />
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When will the show debut? Right now, my target is Spring 2018, but I don't have an exact date. I'll probably set up some trial runs of the show with test audiences. Once it's ready, watch out!!!! It's going to be a hot show, that much I am sure of!<br />
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You can find out more about the show by going to <a href="http://astonify.com/">Astonify.com</a> and please, sign-up to get on the list for ticket notification and upcoming performance info! <br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-42211244895980552672017-10-01T17:51:00.000-07:002017-10-01T17:51:53.764-07:00What the Future Holds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been a full time performer for 20 years. I will say that in that time, things have not gone exactly as I expected nor necessarily as I planned, but I'm not complaining. In the past few years many of my brother and sister magicians have had to leave the business because the work had dried up, mine did too but I still stayed afloat. In fact, most people who have had a 20 year career are either looking to slow down, or are getting out of the performing side of the business altogether. Again, I am not.<br />
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I am doing more now to further my career than I ever have in the past. Not just twice or three times what I used to do, but more than that. I have become relentless when it comes to marketing. Tenacious when it comes to selling my show. This is due in large part to some dear friends who helped to 'right my ship'. so to speak. This drive was always there, but in the past 7 years, it was tamped down and close to snuffed out. There were multiple reasons and I could use a long list of excuses, but in the end the results or lack thereof remain with me. So, it was I who had to pick myself up, and get things rolling again.<br />
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If you're wondering how I did this, I'll tell you. I attended a marketing conference for entertainers. But I was so self conscious of my few years of declining revenue, that I actually began to pull myself up even before attending. I didn't want to show up all dejected and depressed. So I started to force myself to make changes even before attending. Did it work? You bet your ass (pardon my language). But would it have continued if I had not attended the conference? Hard to say, but I lean towards probably not. The thing the conference did was really help me see areas where I needed help. Clearly there were gaps in my marketing knowledge and in my business brain that needed to be filled with fresh concepts and ideas. Not pie in the sky ideas, but proven strategies that could propel my career forward.<br />
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The conference is called, <a href="http://itfactorlive.com/">IT FACTOR LIVE</a>, and it's like business and marketing boot camp for entertainers. It's fun, it's educational, it can be frustrating at times, and it can be exhilarating at times. <br />
One of my favorite exercises at the conference is when we have to write a letter to our future selves, which gets mailed 6 months later. This exercise happens after several days of intense training. Fast forward 6 months...it's amazing to see how on track you are....and maybe how off track you are after six months. In my case, I'm pretty much right on the money, with the exception of one thing that was beyond my control. But other than that, I've stuck with it. I'm just as on fire today as I was when the last conference finished. I do tend to get frustrated when things don't come together as fast as I would like, but this just drives me to push harder.<br />
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I write this, partly to keep a record. But also to let others know. And perhaps to be an inspiration to my fellow performers who have been in the business for a long while and are thinking of maybe getting out or slowing down. Lighting a new fire is much easier than you think. The key is to surround yourself with like minded individuals who are doing what you want to do. And avoid those people who are not. I have no intention of slowing down. Maybe in 15 or 20 years, I might think about it. But if I still have my health, I'll be pushing harder than people half my age.<br />
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I'm reminded of a story. Acres of Gold I think it was called and it was about a guy who went searching for Gold. He purchased some property that had the potential to be filled with gold and began to prospect the land. He drilled and searched but came up with nothing. Eventually, he gave up and sold the property for pennies. The new owner, brought in a geologist who did some tests and told the new owner if he drilled only a few yards from where they were currently searching, he would find gold. And he did. The first man, was so close, he was only a few yards away from striking it rich. But he gave up, he gave up just a short distance from his goal.<br />
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That story always resonated with me. I have no intention of giving up. I have no intention of decreasing my goals. I have no intention of slowing down. I'm in this race to win and in the end, if I don't win, I'm still going to finish the race ahead of most of the pack. I'm not giving up, not now, not ever. Perhaps that gives you a glimpse of what I have in store for the future.<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-6840744408900968632017-09-18T22:28:00.000-07:002017-09-19T07:26:40.514-07:00Loosing My Mentors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the weekend, I lost a dear friend and my mentor in all things escape related. My friend was Steve Baker, known professionally as Mr. Escape. He was a unique individual. He was one of only a couple of people who really kept the art of escape alive and in the eye of the public during his lifetime.<br />
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The first time encountered Mr. Escape was watching him on a TV show many years ago. I saw him do a recreation of Houdini's Water Torture Cell. I was not impressed. My thoughts at the time were, "Who does this guy think he is doing Houdini's tricks?" And then I would see him again, and again on TV over the years. I guess my attitude softened over time. Eventually, I got to meet Steve and get to know him. We hit it off right from the start and unlike many others, our friendship lasted for 17 years. Let me just add, that when I watched the footage of his Water Torture Cell years later, I was more than impressed. It was breathtaking. And a little known fact, Steve never presented the Water Torture Cell on TV the same way twice. He always added a unique moment to the escape.<br />
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In his life, he had only three students that I am aware of. The first was Tony Clark, the second was me, and the third was Andrew Basso. Steve was very guarded about his secrets and didn't share them with many folks. Even when he would have things built, he would often change the method so even the builder was unaware of how a device worked.<br />
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Our meeting came about over a very small escape he did called The Tug of War Rope Tie. I saw a video of Steve doing this thing and wondered how it worked. The truth was there was no trick to it. No fake knots, no fake tying, all 100% legit. And I could do it. Steve was impressed, actually now that I recall, he was more than impressed. We spoke of the effect for many hours and he sent me numerous videos of his performances of the escape. I loved performing it and did so for many years. In fact, I've recently put it back in my show. See the video below for a very impromptu presentation.<br />
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Steve and I had plans to do a TV Special together. There were negotiations going on with Steve and Dick Clark productions. Everything was looking like it would happen and then Dick Clark had a stroke. All projects got shelved and so did our special. We worked out many cool original escapes to feature on the special, but with the cancellation, they were never performed. Who knows, perhaps I will dig out those notes and do one before I get to the point where even I can no longer do escapes, lol!<br />
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Steve died Saturday September 16th, 2017 at 11:11pm. His final escape was leaving this world. May You Rest In Peace Old Friend.<br />
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My other mentor, was very different from Steve. His name was Cesareo Pelaez and he was the creator and performer of a show called Le Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Company. Cesareo and I had an odd connection. We got along quite well, and were very similar in many ways. But unlike a mentor who might spent countless hours teaching you, Cesareo and I only had a few meetings together, a couple phone calls and numerous email exchanges. But because I understood his way of things, he would still influence me without being here. I would often ask myself, "What would Cesareo do in a case like this?" and the answer would soon come.<br />
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Cesareo was a college professor of Psychology by profession, but his heart and soul were both stuck in the world of theatre and magic. He was influenced by magical artists like FuManchu, Chang, Richiardi Sr and Jr and many others. His style of performance was very different from what is seen today. I think it could be best described as Broadway meets Vaudeville. It was grand and full of spectacle. And as a performer he was exceedingly charasmatic and charming. I learned so much from Cesareo and still do. Because I am friends with many of the cast members from Le Grand David, they often share stories of Cesareo and these stories always resonate with me.<br />
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I have written quite a lot about Cesareo over on my other blog, which can be found here: <a href="http://www.themagicdetective.com/search/label/Cesareo%20Pelaez">http://www.themagicdetective.com/search/label/Cesareo%20Pelaez</a><br />
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Cesareo passed away March 24th, 2012 (Houdini's birthday, btw). He was also 79.<br />
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RIP Cesareo You Are Missed!Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-31875170859228996642017-09-15T06:30:00.000-07:002017-09-15T06:30:16.773-07:00Carnegie's Magic Fish Illusion<div style="text-align: center;">
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I love doing tricks with fish, goldfish to be exact. I have presented a LOT of different effects with goldfish. One of my favorites was filling a 10 gallon aquarium FULL of fish, magically! But today's routine is a little less spectacular as it only uses 2 fish. <span style="color: #0000ee;"><u>However,</u></span> it's no less amazing! I hope you enjoy it!<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-26610587991029360922017-09-14T06:30:00.000-07:002017-09-14T06:30:20.926-07:00Dean Carnegie Gives a TED Talk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was such an honor to be asked to speak at the TEDx Foggybottom Conference this year. They wanted me to talk on magic history and they wanted me to present some magic. The only issue was the 8 minute time frame in which to do it all!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zWes6Y7RGPcZitmK_A0uPX50OZZzOOnNnaIHVeomcJaRxpXdz0xPDvIU0T4DdDueot_qOfMdb_wJZ1LU_ji-wG5whRUKVr7kByV3D69kYHQM7dhGV7ux8DRUwyTATSQO8lw7/s1600/TedXFobo2017-56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="576" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zWes6Y7RGPcZitmK_A0uPX50OZZzOOnNnaIHVeomcJaRxpXdz0xPDvIU0T4DdDueot_qOfMdb_wJZ1LU_ji-wG5whRUKVr7kByV3D69kYHQM7dhGV7ux8DRUwyTATSQO8lw7/s200/TedXFobo2017-56.jpg" width="200" /></a>If you've never listened to or watched a TED Talk, you really should go over to Youtube and check <br />
out a few of them. They are excellent and on many different topics. In the past, other magicians have talked or performed at various TED events across the globe, so I'm in good company.<br />
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My talk was about 5 minutes with the rest of the time taken up with the magic routine I selected. Because I was speaking on history, I chose to present it in my Victorian garb and that also meant the magic routine had a bit of that style with it as well.<br />
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The organizers at the TEDx Foggybottom event were fantastic during every step of the process. They helped me take my speech from an ok talk to a TED Talk. I was very happy with the final result.....HOWEVER, I really wish I had gone ahead and delivered the final paragraph of the talk that I had just edited out to make the whole thing fit the timeframe. I noticed that many of the speakers went over their allotted time. In fact, some went VERY far past the time constraints. I would have probably gone over by 2 minutes at the most. Would it have made things any better? In my mind, I think it would have made the talk a tad stronger. But alas, I was happy with what I delivered.<br />
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If you'd like to see the speech for yourself, you can view it below!<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-52208824570069168522017-09-13T07:00:00.000-07:002017-09-13T07:00:08.881-07:00Atlas Obscura, Houdini, and Carnegie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For the second year in a row, the folks at Atlas Obscura in DC asked me to be part of their HOUDINI In DC event. This year was a little different from last year. In my performance last year (2016) I performed outside in McPhearson Park, and then gave the walking tour to the Old Keith's Vaudeville Theater on 15th and G St.<br />
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This year, we were indoors. Like last year, they also brought in my friend Ken Trombly to share some of his incredible collection of Houdini posters and photos. He then gave a 35 minute talk on the life of Houdini which was great! Then there was a short break and it was my turn.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDhDf3EpgQaxkoy1lqSXQKijt1sU61a3ZwMnIdzIWZxKpTmwYDVCo9NHqwBcZZ-vi5KxW6Ti0sa5SIIrZM1ZqnZWLZfXcuRa0p-F3mfwfkdGjqR5Jgjtc951KYG9sPlMqVDrh/s1600/IMG_3892b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="576" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcDhDf3EpgQaxkoy1lqSXQKijt1sU61a3ZwMnIdzIWZxKpTmwYDVCo9NHqwBcZZ-vi5KxW6Ti0sa5SIIrZM1ZqnZWLZfXcuRa0p-F3mfwfkdGjqR5Jgjtc951KYG9sPlMqVDrh/s200/IMG_3892b.JPG" width="193" /></a>I was going to do a recreation of more Houdini magic. But what happened was I did sort of a mix of lecture/talk and performance.What happened was this, when Ken gave his talk, there were all these spots where I just wanted to jump in and fill in some areas he missed. But truth was, Ken didn't miss anything, he was just having to fit a lot of information in a short period of time. I tried to fill in all gaps that Ken left in his talk. Make no mistake, Ken's talk was GREAT. My talk acted as an enhancement of the information he gave. For example, Ken had brought his King of Cards poster and my talk actually began with a Card Trick that I discovered from Houdini's own notes. At the time I hadn't fully researched Houdini's Card Act and I wish I had. Because, later in the year I did and I wrote about it on my Magic History blog. The article can be found here: <a href="http://www.themagicdetective.com/2017/05/an-expose-on-king-of-card-act-of-harry.html">http://www.themagicdetective.com/2017/05/an-expose-on-king-of-card-act-of-harry.html</a><br />
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After my first card trick I went right into some of his classic escapes and brought out several pair of cuffs to display. Then I chose one and had an audience member examine it and then put it on me. I then proceeded to escape right in front of the crowd. They really got a kick out of the escape. I forget, that people don't see that sort of thing everyday. Me, I'm used to it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Houdini and Harry Cooke</td></tr>
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I wanted to give people a feeling for Houdini beyond just the regular
stories, so I threw in the story of Harry Cooke, and how they were
associated. I always thought their connection was because they were both
escape artists. But I now believe that their connection was, #1
because of Cooke's Anti-spiritualist crusade years before Houdini was
born, and #2, Cooke's connection to Abe Lincoln, who was Houdini's
boyhood idol.<br />
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I shared the story about Cooke being summoned to Washington to
demonstrate his ability to free himself from ropes. And here, I took the
opportunity to present a rope escape. I chose to use a technique found
in Houdini's book, <b>Magical Rope Ties & Escapes</b>. The
technique allows for an almost instantaneous escape from the bonds. In
truth, Cooke had been tied up with 100 ft of rope and still escapes in
seconds. I had 100 ft of rope on hand, but was saving it for later but
ran out of time.<br />
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The closing routine was a Spirit Slate routine with a story. A true
story? Sort of. Aspects of the story are true, but I do take liberties,
it is a show after-all. The story is an emotional one, and I use it to
help people understand the deep connection that people have when they
see mediums....and also WHY Houdini was so angered by the whole thing
because he knew the mediums were fake and playing off the emotions of
the grieving.<br />
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After this, I answered a host of questions from the very attentive audience. I really love speaking on magic history, so it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience for me. Plus, I love to do routines that Houdini had done. It's all history and it's great fun. <br />
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Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-18444033848005712102017-09-12T07:00:00.000-07:002017-09-12T07:00:00.172-07:00The Result of Our Americas Got Talent Audition...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nsPBH9mZqP30-DNj4d3gtmvJ3jRzMkHceVn-zZle2R4t0cazKLxzY5Wq7DZ0OrrV4TzgPal8QWYFQF1ojJ4XbEJCpoW6KV1h52n03cRoAQsP9RNDZ-rRBQH1nliDGg8HiGai/s1600/AgtAudition1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="432" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1nsPBH9mZqP30-DNj4d3gtmvJ3jRzMkHceVn-zZle2R4t0cazKLxzY5Wq7DZ0OrrV4TzgPal8QWYFQF1ojJ4XbEJCpoW6KV1h52n03cRoAQsP9RNDZ-rRBQH1nliDGg8HiGai/s320/AgtAudition1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Well, seeing as the show is about to go into it's final few shows, I think you can see that we <u>did not</u> get chosen to appear on the show. I'll just come out and say it, I believe the judges or producers or casting folk, made a mistake in not choosing us. BUT, I'm not upset about it........(anymore, lol) At least they called us 'The Best Dressed Act' while we were there. We auditioned in Charleston SC. <br />
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We gave it our best shot, and for whatever reason we were not chosen. Will we audition next year? Hard to say. We are considering trying out in another country. Given the fact that many of the acts this year on AGT were not from America, we may go elsewhere and try out. I have friends who have appeared on Got Talent shows from other countries, so it's certainly a viable option.<br />
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I do want to add this, I don't envy the producers job at all. The process they must go through just to locate just a few acts after viewing tens of thousands of performers, ugggh, that is one job I wouldn't wish on anyone. They do an incredible job with the show. The acts, for the most part are great. My favorite this year was Puddles the Clown, who I think got eliminated early. He should have won the whole thing.<br />
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I generally like the magicians, some more than others. I loved the
Clairvoyants from last year and wished they had won. This year among the
magicians I think Eric Jones was great and I'm sorry he was
eliminated. But the young girl ventriloquist will win. I knew that after watching the first episode. You watch, I'm posting this before the big finale show, so check it out and see if I got it right. I have no doubt I have nailed it!<br />
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<br />Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9765137.post-59463093548322234542017-09-10T23:58:00.000-07:002017-09-11T11:06:41.768-07:00Carnegie Magic Videos, Videos and MORE!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2017 has proven to by quite the year and I've done a most terrible job of keeping you up to date. Actually, that's only partially true. I've not done a good job on this blog, but if you look at Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, I'm ALL OVER THERE! And I'll soon be on other platforms as well.<br />
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I started a project earlier this year called Weekly Wizardry. It was on Facebook and the plan was to do a weekly magic video every week in 2017. It was going along splendidly when, out of the blue, I came down with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in March. At that point I fell behind and didn't resume the videos until June. In order to get caught up I was doing daily videos for a while, and I'm happy to report that I am all caught up and current.<br />
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The video above is episode 37, the latest, and in the video I demonstrate a routine that I've performed for many many years in my live shows. It's a great routine, though I must admit, if you see my LIVE show, you'll see a different presentation....same effect, but the presentation is very different.<br />
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I'll be posting quite a bit over the next few days so I hope you enjoy the content and the news and please, feel free to make a comment. AND anyone looking for LIVE magic for an event, contact me through my website at <a href="http://carnegiemagic.com/">CarnegieMagic.com</a><br />
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Carnegiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10142955905272650610noreply@blogger.com0