Sep. 12, 2008 - "A Visit to the Salon de Magie"
Members enjoyed an exclusive "members only" evening surrounded by the world famous Klosterman Collectio. Member and Salon Curator, Sean Owens presented his lecture form the recent Collectors Convention in Chicago, and demonstrated a number of items from the collection. Attendees were also treated to a guided tour of the collection by Sean. Check back for more details.
Annual SAM/IBM Picnic - June 22, 2008
This year's location is Lake Isabella, in Loveland Ohio. In addition to food, friends and sunshine, there was a flea market, close-up magic, and raffle...as well as a gala show featuring SAM President Maria Ibanez.
Works in Progress - May 9, 2008
This meeting focused on sharing members' "works in progress" for general practice and/or specific feedback.
Mentalism - April 11, 2008
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 PM by President Paul Goodin with 17 members and guest present. We welcomed guests Carrie Cox, Paul Ketterer and SYM member Richard Lowenburg. It was reported that Carl Stemler had recently celebrated his 80th birthday with a party attended by several Assembly members. Happy Birthday, Carl!
The SAM-IBM summer picnic will take place June 22 at Lake Isabella in Loveland. SAM President Maria Ibanez will be the featured entertainment. Abracadabra will again cater the meal this year. Don Hinton will be taking reservations. Ring 71 will arrange close-up magicians. Watch for the soon to be published notice.
We would like to welcome Joe Papania as the newest member of the Assembly.
Next month’s meeting will feature “Works in Progress”.
The business portion of the meeting adjourned at 8:03 PM and we opened up this month’s topic: Mentalism.
Joe Papania opened with an effect from Doc Hilford’s Lolita System.
Joe had two cards selected and returned. Joe drew cards on a pad of paper, the numbers were added together. That number of cards was dealt off the deck and the arrived at cards matched the selection!
Ken Klosterman demonstrated his mind reading ability by having Jim Lowenburg place a feather in one of two cases (much like an audio cassette box). Each case was then put in its own black pouch. By weighing each pouch in his hand, Ken was able to correctly ascertain which held the feather. Ken then offered a psychic experience. First he passed a light bulb out for examination then placed it inside a crystal case. We were all to concentrate on the bulb lighting up but in a few minutes it exploded! Too much mindpower in one place.
Sean Owens demonstrated three divination clocks from the Klosterman collection. One was found at a flea market, the owner having no idea what he really possessed. Richard Lowenburg set the hands on the clock to a number of his choosing while Sean looked away. Sean absorbed Richard’s thoughts and correctly announced the time on the clock. It was a real treat seeing these relics in use. Thanks, Sean!
Bill Pryor demonstrated “Kismet”. (an original Pryor production) A prediction was made then cards were dealt into two piles. The spectator fairly decided which pile to use. Cards were then dealt one face up and the next face down until we were left with one face down card. This correctly matched the prediction.
Don Hinton presented an impromptu piece. Members of the audience were asked to call out names of states which he wrote on a white board. Once five states were on the board he made a prediction. Carrie selected one of the five states which was found to match the prediction.
Larry Payne showed us eight different baseball cards. Richard Lowenburg had a free section of any one of the eight cards. Once satisfied with his selection, Larry opened a box that had been sitting on the table to show us a baseball with the signature of the selected ballplayer.
Paul Goodin introduced a deck of Zenner cards and showed all of the possible symbols that could be selected. Larry Payne dealt the cards down onto the table one by one and stopped at one card of his choosing. He passed on the opportunity to change his mind. This was found to match the prediction!
Mark Weichman passed a dictionary for inspection. Paul Goodin selected one word “Gypsy Moth” and shared his selection with the group. After much concentration, and without again touching the dictionary, Mark correctly divined the word!
Patrick Thernes had Paul Ketterer go into the magic shop to purchase a deck of cards. This deck was used for his demonstration. Carrie Cox broke the seal and shuffled the cards. Patrick spread the cards on the table to show they were well shuffled. Carrie cut the deck and remembered that card. Patrick correctly named the selection.
Bill Winzig used only ten cards from a deck and had Richard select one of the ten and return it to the spread. The cards were fairly shuffled but Bill was still able to identify the selected card.
Richard Lowenburg closed the meeting by having Bill Pryor select a card. Richard, not being a mentalist, needed to have some help. He called on the jokers to find Bill’s card and find it they did.
The meeting was then taken to Max and Erma’s for more magic and conversation.
--Dave Jones, Secretary - Assembly 11
War of the Wizards - Mar. 14, 2008
On Friday, March 18, Queen City Mystics SAM Assembly 11 hosted the John Braun-Stuart Judah contest – otherwise know as War of the Wizards. Don Hinton acted as MC and began the evening by introducing eleven year old Richard Lowenburg, an SYM (Society of Young Magicians) member from Mt. Healthy. He did not compete, but warmed up the audience with his performance as “The Great Richard”. Richard came onto the stage carrying a coke from a nearby restaurant but had trouble finding his straw. He realized he had left it in the bag, reached in and pulled out a ten foot straw! He then went on to perform many miracles. On attempting to perform the cut and restored rope routine he cut off his thumb! But in a way that made us all laugh. He then performed the routine flawlessly. After Richard took his bow, the contest began.
The War of the Wizards is a contest between SAM Assembly 11 and IBM Ring 71. Three magicians represent each organization but no one in the audience knows who is representing which club. Artie Kidwell opened the contest of by trying to make four silk scarves vanish. Instead of vanishing they somehow blended together as one scarf in a burst of color. Artie finished by telling the story of his daughter bringing home three ropes of various sizes and explaining they were all the same size. He showed her they were not the same size then proceeded to stretch them so they would be the same size.
Next, Ken Klosterman tore a napkin to shreds. He promised to restore it and as he began to open the napkin to show it in one piece, a bundle fell to the floor. He apologized as it had been sometime since he had performed this effect but he was able to work some magic and show the bits he dropped to the floor as whole, too. Ken then introduced twelve needles made of the finest surgical steel. A doctor in the audience confirmed they were real. Ken put the needles into his mouth and showed us all of the needles on his tongue before drawing them in and swallowing them. The doctor examined Ken’s mouth and reported the needles and thread were gone. Ken then regurgitated the thread and when pulled from his mouth, all twelve needles were found to be strung in the thread. Incredible!
Denny Metz closed the first half of the show by placing a woman in stocks. Not the good kind but a stock that encircled her neck. He then thrust a sword into these stocks and clear through her neck. Next he showed us a bag and an egg. He put the egg into the bag and with a wave of his hand the egg was gone! He tossed an invisible egg into the bag and, viola; an egg appeared in the bag. He did this a second time but this time he handed the bag to a lovely woman in the audience who confirmed it was empty. Denny then tossed an invisible egg toward the bag and when the woman looked an egg really was in the bag!!! He had us gasping.
So at break we were all ordering that egg bag and enjoying refreshments.
Larry Payne opened the second set and Merlin the Wizard. Larry specializes in using magic to illustrate a story. Larry tied scarves together that magically untied then retied. He then told the story of a miserly King with a chest of jewels. Using a “light/heavy” chest Larry illustrated the importance of charity.
Next up was a man dressed in a skipper hat, black cape and beagle puss glasses. He looked suspiciously liked Bill Pryor but introduced himself as “Captain Magic”. He opened a box that was inside a box to show us a trick with a red ball. Except the ball in the box was green. He reassembled all and this time when opened the ball was orange, then black and finally on the fourth attempt the ball was red. Bill’s performance as “Captain Magic” kept us all in stitches.
Charlie Sunshine (Chuck Sohenshein) closed the show by telling the story of his daughter and three ropes. Then realizing that had been done, he tossed the ropes aside and introduced an egg and a bag. Wait, that had been done, too. He had us rolling in the aisles. He filled a bag with balls of various colors and blindly pulled out any color the audience called for. He then repeated this effect by having a member of the audience reach into the bag and pull blindly out the color called.
All of the magicians did an outstanding job of amazing and entertaining. After a brief intermission, the judges returned announcing that the winning team was SAM Assembly 11 comprised of Artie Kidwell, Bill Pryor and Denny Metz. Congratulations!
Click for pictures from the event.
--Dave Jones, Secretary - Assembly 11
"Pizza Night at Corky's" - Feb. 8, 2008
[Check back shortly for the report on our most recent event.]
Annual Holiday Banquet - Jan. 19, 2008
The annual SAM Assembly 11 and IBM Ring 71 Holiday Banquet was held at the Golf Center at Kings Island Course View Pavilion. Mark Wiechman banquet coordinator handled registrations and greeted guests at the door.
There was socializing from 7:00 -7:45 PM followed by dinner. The dinner entrees consisted of Grilled Salmon, Chicken Cordon Bleu or Roasted Pork Loin, and chicken strip meals for the children. Following dinner an array of desserts were available to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth.
After dinner Pat Hartzel and Mark Wiechman handled the club’s annual split the pot with Tina Robinson being the winner. The raffle included: a beautiful wooden die box, lots of books and manuscripts plus many other wonderful magic items. Thanks to Haines House of Cards, Bill Pryor, Ken Klosterman and Count Marco Productions for their generous donations.
The evening’s entertainment began with Sir Pat-Trick (aka Patrick Thernes) performing some feats of mentalism. The effects included what he called “Circle to Chin” which involved the entire audience. His second feat was a sealed deck prediction. His final test was that he predicted where 3 participants would end up on a particular diagram in a folder after following a series of instructions.
The main performer of the evening was Tom Rosoff. Tom performed a wide variety of magic that included ropes, silks, canes, cards, candles, and feather flowers. Some of the highlights included a fish bowl production w/live fish, die box routine where the box could be handed out for examination, a linking ring routine which included audience participants Kalyn and Kase Corstanje. Tom ended the show with an escape from an official German police transport chain that Jason Jacobs secured around Tom’s wrist. Everyone had an enjoyable evening.
On behalf of both clubs and guests, a special thanks to our performers Tom Rozoff and Patrick Thernes. Thanks also to Mark Wiechman and his banquet team comprised of Cinde Wolf (center pieces - beautiful top hats full of magic), Pat Hartzel (raffle items), Denny Metz (sound system), and Ron Lawson (set-up, tear down and clean up).
"Video Night" - Dec. 14, 2007
Our December "Video Night" meeting has become a tradition of sorts. As several members are frequently tied up with holiday related commitments and/or magic gigs, those that are available in Dec. get together for a casual gathering at the Corstanje estate to review a variety of magic-related video clips. This year was no exception.
Sean Owens provided a wonderful DVD presenting a number of recreations of Robert Houdin effects. Later in the evening Sean performed a variety of very clever card effects.
Brahm Corstanje provided a collection of magic related clips collected throughout 2007 via his TiVo (a magical device in it's own right), including a number of talk show appearances by Hans Klok and clips from Phenomenon. Following the video portion of the evening, Brahm communed with the spirits with a set of "Ouija Bells".
Michael Collins presented a couple of clever card effects as well.
Bill Brewe waxed historically throughout the evening on everything magic.
Those in attendance enjoyed a sumptuous meal of Montgomery Inn ribs and a variety of gourmet deserts from Bonbonnier bakery.
An additional surprise was provided to each member in attendance from Santa Klosterman. It seems that Ken and his Salon de Magie curator, Sean Owens, have been doing some winter cleaning. Each member was given a wonderful antique item of magic from the collection, with the proviso that none of the items show up on E-bay. Santa Klosterman presented these as a "seed" for those in attendance to start their own collections. Excellent incentive indeed!
"Local Lecturers" - Nov. 9, 2007
President Paul Goodin called the November 9 meeting to order and welcomed 23 members and guests. Future events were noted: December - video party at Brahm’s; January – Holiday Party; February – Pizza party at Corkey’s; March - War of the Wizards. Paul made a point to thank Victor Phillips of Abracadabra Entertainment & Catering for the wonderful job catering the summer picnic.
Then on to the main event: a lecture by Artie Kidwell and Bill Pryor. These two have spent a lifetime in magic and so graciously agreed to share some gems with us this evening.
Artie Kidwell began by demonstrating the importance of establishing the fact that you are a magician. He recommended something quick and flashy. He himself uses an ungimmicked Blendo effect taught to him by Neil Foster in 1975.
Artie talked about packing for the show. At one time he carried a footlocker and a suitcase even though he didn’t use all of the material he had packed. It wasn’t until he saw fellow member Don Hinton carry two hours in a brief case that he learned the lesson of packing light and now packs his show in one case.
Artie then showed us two routines for the Die Box. One for kids and a slightly different version for adults then back to performance philosophy.
Dress for the occasion. The magician should be the best dressed in the room for two reasons. One, to get attention and two, because you are getting paid for this. Keep your nails and hands clean - they are the focus of attention. Appear clean, neat and impressive. If strolling, find out how many people will be there before booking the show. There is nothing like being booked for two hours of strolling for an audience of ten. The general public does not understand the logistics of magic and may use inappropriate terminology. Artie suggest always having your show ready in case strolling isn’t really what was needed.
Artie went on to demonstrate The Keys of Judah, Six Bill Repeat and Professor’s Nightmare.
We took a brief break to enjoy a feast provided by Betty Winzig of Haines House of Cards then returned for the second half of the lecture.
Bill Pryor, a very clever man and creator of The Impossible Dream, opened with something he calls Absolute Encounter. Six cards are face down and a prediction envelope is laid aside. The spectator freely chooses a number and that card is used. No spelling - it is truly the selected number. The card at that number is turned over and found to match the prediction in the envelope.
Bill showed us his unique and subtle handing of the Pom Pom stick then went back to a Pryor creation. Predestination involved a grid of letters and two markers. The spectator chose where to put the markers and another spectator read instructions for moving the markers around the grid. One marker was eventually discarded and the remaining marker landed on the letter previously predicted.
An effect sure to baffle Max Maven himself. Bill then demonstrated three different versions of an effect based on Alex Elmsley’s Lie Detector. A number is selected from a grid resembling a bingo card. The numbers are the line are read off but misquoting the selected number. The magician correctly identifies the selection. Bill discussed how to customize this to fit a corporate sponsor or a birthday child.
Bill then showed us his side-splitting routine using the inner/outer box and four different color sponge balls. Charlie Sonenshein added color during Bill’s presentation but suddenly became speechless during Bill’s final mental effect. Bill handed Charlie a card with ninety-nine six digit numbers. Charlie chose one of the ninety-nine and Bill correctly named all six digits. This was repeated twice more with other audience members. Bill graciously taught us all of the effects he presented and gave all Assembly members the materials needed to perform the effects.
A big thanks to Artie and Bill for an incredible lecture!
--David Jones
"Cards & Coins" - Oct. 12, 2007
Ten members and one visitor were present at the October meeting of the Queen City Mystics. Items discussed during the brief business meeting were the preparations for the War of the Wizards in the spring, the November lecture, the SAM-IBM combined convention, the 2009 convention and the Assembly 11 website.
We encourage you to visit www.Assembly11.com [Webmaster note: which you have apparently done so by reading this now -- I thank you!]. We then adjourned the business portion of the meeting and enjoyed barbecue and cole slaw provided lovingly by the lovely Betty Winzig of Haines House of Card with soft drinks provided by Larry Payne; after which we got into the magic.
The theme for the evening was ‘Cards and Coins’.
The first performer for the evening was the illustrious Artie Kidwell. Joe Papania selected and returned a card. Joe then, as instructed by Artie, dealt the cards into two piles. Joe then discarded one of the pile. Artie again asked Joe to select a card and it was found to be Joe’s originally selected and signed card!
Paul Goodin followed with a clever card trick of his own. Artie selected a card the King of Hearts from the face up deck offered by Paul and written on the back of each and every card in the deck was“I knew you would pick the King of Hearts.”
Don Hinton tempted Denny Metz into a bet that could not be won. Don laid five cards face up on the table. Denny place a coin on top of one of the cards (a free selection). On the back of the other four cards was found the word “Win” but on the back of Denny’s selection was found the work “Lose”. Don repeated this two more times with the same results.
Denny Metz returned the favor by having Don select a card and returned it to the deck and shuffle. Denny showed a half dozen cards but Don's card was not among them. He placed these in Don’s hand. Denny showed a few more and Don’s card was there. Denny turned the cards face down and upon counting them the stack was found to be one short and the missing card Don’t previously selected card was found in Don’s hand!
Michael Collins added variety with a hank effect. He stuffed a white hank into his closed hand and it came out green followed by a red hank then a blue and a pink. He gathered these together and they blossomed into a fountain of silks, one after another in a beautiful array of colors until Michael was left holding an actual pumpkin!!!
Joe Papania riffled a deck of cards and Don Hinton remembered one as it passed by. Joe, after a bit of concentration, correctly named this card. He then repeated this by having three members each choose a card. He correctly named all three freely chosen cards!!!
And that’s the way I saw it happen right before my very eyes. Join us for the next meeting, Friday November 9 and see for yourself.--David Jones
"Holiday Magic" - Sep. 14, 2007
Paul Goodin called the September 14, 2007 meeting of the Queen City Mystics to order at 7:41PM. In attendance were Bill Fehn, Helen Fehn, Don Hinton, David Jones, Sean Owens, Bill Pryor, Pat Thernes, Betty Winzig and Bill Winzig. Larry Payne would arrive later.
Sick and Convalescent:
It was noted that Karl Stemler and Harold Puff are ill. We are looking for contact information for Karl. Your help would be appreciated.
Picnic Wrap Up and Treasurer’s Report:
There was much talk about Brewe’s performance and uncanny resemblance to Blackstone Sr. Sean Owens reported that, financially, we are ahead on the picnic but expects that to change once the receipt for the tent is submitted.
The treasury currently holds $1500 cash and a certificate of deposit for $5000.
War of the Wizards:
The membership present discussed hosting a War of the Wizards. It was thought March would be the best month for this event preferably on a Friday or Saturday evening. The show is to feature six acts, three representing SAM Assembly 11 and three representing IBM Ring 71. Patrick Thernes had done quite a bit of research into venues with the possibility of using The College of Mount Saint Joseph, St. Teresa of Aliva Grade School, Elder High School or Monmouth Theater. We will also need volunteers to act as master of ceremonies, stage manager and stage crew. It was suggested to find a sponsor for the show. The show would be used as a fund raiser with the sponsor handing the publicity for the show.
Communications:
Several members commented that no meeting notice had been mailed. All were reminded that assembly news is now on the Assembly website but most felt this was insufficient. Dave Jones will create an e-mail list using information supplied by Sean Owens and Paul Goodin. A brief e-mail reminder will be sent the Monday before the meeting.
Paul Goodin received a communication from Charles Finn announcing that the Occult Investigation Committee is being regrouped and restarted. We hope to hear more on this in the near future.
Entertaiment:
The business meeting adjourned at 8:20PM and we moved in to the entertainment portion of the evening.
The theme was "Holiday Magic."
Sean Owens opened with a Sweetest Day effect using a spring animal trap. He demonstrated the power of the trap by triggering it with a pencil and the pencil was shattered! The trap was reset and after a bit of byplay Sean sprung the trap with his bare hand and came out unscathed!
Bill Pryor presented a sidesplitting performance of Hiram. He opened the effect by presenting a pill box which rattled when he shook it. He took the “ghost” out of the box and it no longer rattled. Bill then placed the ghost in a handkerchief and comedy ensued.
Don Hinton was up next and spread five alphabet cards out that spelled “HOUSE”. He gathered them, shuffled, and then laid them out to show they now spelled “GHOST”. He gathered them once more, put the ghost cards in a containment system (envelope) and when they were removed they were all BLANK!
Larry Payne brought in a small white box with air holes punched in the top. We all wondered what type of creature he had captured and learned it was a worm! Larry used Willie the worm to teach a lesson about obeying your parents. A good Earth day story, to be sure.
Bill Fehn shared two effects with us. First, his lovely assistant, Helen Fehn, inserted her arm in a very narrow box. Bill then impaled the box and Helen’s arm with spikes. After freeing her arm (which was fine, by the way) Bill placed a white handkerchief and two red handkerchiefs in a crystal cylinder. He covered the cylinder, made a magic pass and a waterfall of red and white beads spewed forth. Once the beads were exhausted, Bill removed the cover the show the cylinder was now completely empty.
Patrick Thernes closed the evening with an effect he used when he once performed as “Jangle the Elf”. It had to do with Santa filling a cup with salt (Patrick demonstrated). He then poured water from the North Pole into the salt. In a matter of seconds the salt became snow! And it was cold, too!
Annual Picnic - June 17, 2007
Our July event was the annual joint SAM Assembly 11 & IBM Ring 71 picnic, kindly hosted once again at Ken & Judy Klosterman's Langsem Farm. The weather was great. The agenda included a flea market, dinner, raffle, split-the-pot, elections and an evening of stage magic.
The food this year was provided by Victor Phillips’s Abracadabra Entertainment and Catering. The meal consisted of freshly grilled barbecued chicken, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, mustard potato salad, macaroni salad, and fruit salad along with sandwich fixings. The clubs provided an endless supply of beverages, snacks and dessert.
Dinner was served between 4:30 and 6:30 PM followed by elections. split the pot and raffle. There was a large variety of items for the raffle. Thanks to everyone who donated in order to help offset expenses.
The new Assembly 11 officers are: Paul Goodin - President, Don Hinton - Vice President, David Jones - Secretary, Sean Owens -Treasurer, Patrick Thernes - Sergeant-at-Arms, Larry Payne -Immediate Past President and Mark Wiechman - Lifetime Honorary Board Member.
Paul Goodin and Dave Jones each presented the out going officers with certificates of appreciation. Mark Wiechman presented out going IBM president David Jones with an appreciation plaque for serving as president for the past two years. Great Job Dave!
Sean Owens serving as MC introduced the opening act, Larry Payne as Merlin the Magician. Merlin opened with "Renaldo the flea" from his flea circus. Renaldo performed a few stunts which included type-rope walking and holding up the end of the rope when Merlin let go. Merlin also performed his "Frog and the Fly" routine with the assistance of Dave Jones. His final routine was a Super Hero effect that included Super Chicken and his sidekick Chicken Nugget.
The second performer was Ken Klosterman, Ken performed a mentalism effect from the Magic Circular Magazine using spectators Megan Payne and Zack as assistants. His second effect was "Toast of the Town" using Helen Fehn’s ring. Ken concluded with a beautiful Die penetration called "Dr. Borgeaux’s Die through Hat."
The final performer of the evening was William H. Brewe. Bill, in character of The Great Harry Blackstone Sr. with a white mustache, white curly hair, a white coat and black bow tie, performed effects from the Blackstone show as performed by Harry Sr. in the 1920’s through the 1950’s.
Bill opened with the vanishing bird cage only to repeat it using audience assistants to help. Bill also explained, "Why fire engines are red." Then Bill did "It was Yellow / the Six Card Repeat" using the patter of a lady buying everything yellow. Other effects included "Two Containers and some Sugar," "Clippo" and the "Chinese Linking Rings." Bill concluded his performance with
"The Neighbor’s Radio and What You’d Like to Do With It" (Vanishing Radio). This indeed brought back memories to those who actually saw Harry Blackstone Sr. perform. Thanks Bill!
Following the show, Bill Brewe was presented a recognition award from Assembly 11’s President Paul Goodin for all of his extraordinary support and influence in the magic community in and around Cincinnati. Mark Wiechman also presented Bill with a binder containing Congratulation letters from many former Counts of Conjuring, one of the oldest teenage magic clubs in the United States.
A well deserved thanks to our performers, Larry Payne, Ken Klosterman, Bill Brewe and Sean Owens.
Also a Special thanks to Ken and Judy Klosterman for their generous hospitality and furnishing the tables, chairs, linens and flowers. The clubs would like to thank Paul Goodin, Larry Payne, Dave Jones, Sean Owens, Pat Hartzel, Don Hinton, Michael Collins, Chuck Arkins, Mark Wiechman and everyone one else who helped in setting up and tearing down for this event. Thanks to all in attendance and anyone I may have overlooked for making this a fun and successful event.
-- Helen Fehn and Mark Wiechman
Last updated October 11, 2008 3:24 PM
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