Friday, July 9 - Jim Rawlins Lecture on Thurston
Our guest lecturer was Jim Rawlins. In 1985, Jane Thurston Shepard (daughter of Howard Thurston) gave a presentation to the Magic Collectors Association describing her life with her father in the world of a touring magic show along with many personal family stories. Jim's presentation, "Through A Daughter's Eyes", included a recording of Jane Thurstan Shepard's presentation with Jane herself speaking along with the original set of slides she used for that presentation. Along the way Jim added his own comments to the various topics to help everyone further understand the complex relationship between one of the greatest magicians of our time and his daughter.
MoM theme was "transpositions". 1st, 2nd and 3rd place went to Sean Owens, Chuck Meyer, and Ken Klosterman, repsectively.
Jun. 13 - Annual Assembly 11 & Ring 71 Picnic
This yearsIBM Ring 71 and SAM Assembly 11 picnic included a flea market, close-up magic, and raffle. The main entertainmentwas the "War of the Wizards" between representatives of the two clubs. The event was held at Lake Isabella, Loveland OH - Riverside Lodge.
Check back for more details once the meeting minutes are received by the webmaster.
Jun. 11, 2010 - Terry Harris Lecture & Favorite Effect
Magician Terry Harris presented his lecture on antique magic and money maker machines. Our Magician of the Month (MoM) theme was be "your favorite effect".
Check back for more details once the meeting minutes are received by the webmaster.
May 14, 2010 - Mentalism & Elections
Nominations and Elections for Assembly 11 Officers were held. Congratulations to our new slate of officers! The list of new incoming officers can be found at the bottom of the Board page, "Mentalism" was the theme for the Magician of the Month contest.
Check back for more details once the meeting minutes are received by the webmaster.
Apr. 9, 2010 - Classics of Magic
The Magician of the Month (MoM) contest theme was "Classics of Magic / Magic Tricks Seldom Seen". Performers for the contest included: Ken Klosterman, Sean Owen, Bill Pryor, Denny Metz, Scott Meyer, Don Hinton, Ron Calhoun, and Bill Fehn assisted by Helen. Sean Owens came out the victor...for this month.
Once the dust settled from the MoM contest, additional performances were provided by the following:
Scott Meyer demonstrated Doctor B’s Monumental trick and all attendees received a copy of the trick.
Chuck Sonenshein demonstrated several rope tricks and members were each given a length of rope with which to follow him. Chuck started with Milborn Christopher‘s watch the lizard thru the jungle effect.
Tom Casper showed members how to make a “music at any time” device using reed switches and a magnet plus the music device.
There were also door prizes from Ron Alessi for several members in attendance. Copies of a 64-page booklet on methods of how to do the Color Changing Knives were also provided to each member attending the meeting. These books were kindly gifted to Assembly 11 by Gary Franks and Fantastic Magic Company.
Note, we will be holding an election of officers at the May 14th meeting.
Mar. 12, 2010 - Platform Magic
The Magician of the Month contest theme was "Stage/Platform Magic" that were from the Tarbell Course in Magic or Greater Magic and were not a card trick.
Well Sonenshein did it again...Chuck barely squeaked by, it was a close race for Magician of the Month. Click here to see the YouTub.com videos of the contestants. Lots of nice prizes were given away and won. That "JoANN the Duck" was a beauty. More will be given away and auctioned off at the next meeting.
It was fun to see the Jay Marshal video but best of all to see all you guys enjoying the fellowship of the Assembly. Although we did not have enough people interested to have the photographer, those that did subscribe received a $30 dollar credit to a photo set from our treasurer.
If you wish to be on the SAM team for “War of the Wizards” contact Martini John (Jmartini_337@fuse.net or 513.385.3714). The War of the Wizards will be held at the annual combined SAM Assembly & IBM Ring 71 picnic. John is taking applications for the SAM wizard warriors. J
Hope to see you Friday, April 9
--Ken Klosterman
Feb. 12, 2010 - John Gaughn
We were very fortunate and proud to have John Guaghan as a guest lecturer for our Feb. 12 meeting. John Gaughan is a manufacturer of magic acts and equipment for magicians based out of Los Angeles, California. His style of work is classic, not based heavily on machinery and technology. Great illusionists have noted his work, such as David Blaine who has several times called him "a magical genius." Gaughan has said that he truly likes Blaine because he never uses "stooges" or plants in the audience and so forth. Gaughan has built for people such as Lance Burton, Criss Angel, David Blain, David Copperfield, Doug Henning and the Doors and is responsible for the construction of dozens of major acts. He has also constructed a replica of the eighteenth century chess-playing machine, "The Turk", which often tours chess conferences. Gaughan created David Copperfield's flying illusion, which is notable for its graceful motion and unencumbered appearance. Gaughan holds a patent on a method for creating the illusion of flight.
Our Magician of the Month contest theme was "Sucker Effects".
Check back shortly for the formal meeting minutes.
Jan. 23, 2010 - Annual Banquet
This term's annual SAM Assembly 11 and IBM Ring 71 Winter Banquet was held at The Farm restaurant in Anderson, Ohio. The evening included a sit-down dinner, raffle, and live entertainment by Dinky Gowen. Check back shortly for more detailed meeting minutes.
Jan. 8, 2009 - Launch of Magician of the Month
The January meeting went well. Due to inclement weather only about 15 people attended. However, all performed but two. It looks like they all had a good time.
Our new Magician of the Month (MoM) program was launched at this meeting. This month's MoM theme was "production effects." To qualify for the event, a member was to bring an item of production to perform (for example, Square Circle, Dove Pan, Bontania, or production items of that nature). Participants' presentations were judged and at the end of the evening, with the winner to be presented with a trophy. The member having the most monthly trophies at the end of the year will have their name ENGRAVED on a "Loving Cup", to be displayed as Magician of the Year at Haines House of Cards.
This month it was a tie! Therefore it is going to cost the club two engraved gold cups. No more ties, or the club will go broke buying gold cups.<grin>. Bill Pryor and Larry Payne were the winners.
Bill produced about 10 different color balls from a small set of Gosinta Boxes, while looking for a red ball and being frustrated, as only Proyer can imitate. He finally found a lot more balls...all red, and I still do not know where they came from.
Larry did a silk act that could be could be to compared to Ade Duval. Larry used and discussed methods I have not see before. Ideas of the late Bob Ellis (who at one time was a member of the Cincinnati club) were also used. Great act Larry.
Even Bill Brewe made it, with the help of Sean Owens to the meeting. Although Bill did not do a production item, he brought a unique silk loading apparatus to show and tell.
The trophies of the John Braun and Stewart Judah "War of the Wizards" have been found. These trophies as well as the trophy for the Assembly 11 Magician of the Year will be on display at Haines house of Cards.
Hope you all try to make it for the Annual SAM Assembly 11 & IBM Ring 71 Holiday Party.
--Ken Klosterman President
Dec. 11, 2009 - Yule Logs & Bylaws
Brahm and Becky Corstanje's home provided Assembly 11 with a delightful evening; an evening of friendship, fellowship, food and drink. Thank you all. We missed the fellows doing Christmas shows and Don Hinton who recently had a heart attack. Don is doing fine. It was good to see Mark Wiechman back into the swing of things now that Halloween is past and everything put away. We had just about the right number of people to have an excellent time. We broke up about 11:30pm.
The evening was begun by attacking and finishing our constitution that had somehow been lost. After a constructive discussion, the Restatement was unanimously adopted by all the members present (a copy of which can be found on our History page). Thank goodness through the leadership of compeer and attorney Brahm Corstanje, we were able to place our new Constitution & Bylaws to bed. (Any club needing a constitution, Assembly 11 will be happy to let you have a copy of ours.)
Now at most all our meeting we are doing magic. This is the way to practice without boring your wife. Bill Fehn opened the evening by and unusual prediction trick using different color envelopes showing different amounts of money and items in the envelopes. A bag containing different color items matching the envelopes were offered to a spectator. Without looking, the spectator chose a color and if it matched the envelope, he was to take hope in what the envelope contained. Maybe $100 dollars. Well you guessed it. He did not choose the right envelope, but did choose the envelope that Bill had previously written as a prediction.
Good one Bill. But I liked your wife's trick that followed you. A spectator chose a card from the deck and after going in to a short trance Helen Fehn revealed the card that was chosen. Not once, but three times, with three different cards. The Fehns have been married for 57 year and both do magic.
Our card master and curator of the Salon de Magie, Sean Owens, had a spectator chose a card, sign it, and placed it back into the deck. The deck was shuffled and a different card was taken, shown to the audience and rolled into a tube about the size of a pencil. Sean used this as a wand and waived it over the shuffled deck only to have the rolled up card change into the original card and the card supposedly rolled appeared on top of the deck. A short but sweet and beautiful handled magic by Sean.
This was followed by Don Westermeyer with excellent stand-up coins across with a spectator standing beside him. A real kicker came when after the 4 coins passed from hand to hand Don produced a Giant 5 inch half dollar. Really well handled and a knock out finish.
Not all who attended performed because it was getting late. However, we were delighted to see the guy who never comes up short when asked to do a trick: Denny and Peg Metz. They brought a DVD of their act featuring the seldom seen Orange Tree, made especially for the Metz’s by Horace Marshall, performed at Abbotts Magic Get Together. It was delightful to see and brought back memories to all.
Assembly 11has started a “Magician of the Month”. A year-end trophy will be given to the member with the most monthly trophies at the end of the year, and will be nominated for Cincinnati’s Magician of the Year. His/her name will be engraved on a rotating award cup that will be placed at Haines House of Cards for all to see.
We are all looking forward to John Gaughan coming to lecture for our Assembly 11. This will be a big treat for an Assembly on the move.
--Ken Klosterman, President
Nov. 13, 2009 - Ladies Night
The members celebrated that special significant other in their life and showed him/her how much we appreciated their support / tolerance of our magic hobby, with a special dinner event. For those who missed ladies night lets see what the 34 members in attendance received... An average cost for the entire evening of $6.00 dollars per member included a cocktail party and snacks, a choice of three entrees, two sides, dessert, no limit on the amount of wine served, and favors for all the ladies. High tech video and entertainment was presented by Leland Pennington, Don Hinton and Del Raye. (never seen before of the release of the Ed Sulavin show ), plus video compiled by Sean Owens of Larry Pringle, Paul Swinford, Tom Powell, Chuck Sunshine and many more. The cost to Assembly 11 was about $600. In view of the fact that the last two lectures that were obtained at no cost Assembly 11, the Board agreed the ladies should be admitted free. We had better treat them nice for without ladies we would not be here. Oh I guess men helped a little. I thought Ladies night could be improved. We could have had Coperfield in person but like everything in our assembly it seems we are going in the right direction. I feel the MUM report by our reporter John Martini and the free lectures -- Osterlind and Hughs -- were great. So far it has been a good year. Thanks for all your help.
Hope to see you at the Corstanje home for our Dec. 11 meeting. For those who might not have a Christmas show that night you can come and entertain the rest of us. It is aways a nice time at Brahm's. Lets keep our assembly moving. We are on a roll....
--Ken Klosterman, President
Oct. 9, 2009 - Flowers in the Fall / Richard Hughes
President Ken Klosterman began the Queen City Mystics (SAM Assembly 11) meeting with a brief discussion of current business issues. The topics included: review of the constitution, approval of last month’s minutes, the Assembly’s financial condition, and the upcoming meetings. November’s meeting will be "Ladies Night." Member Scott Meyer performed his mentalist die effect with several clever twists.
Artie Kidwell introduced the evening’s lecturer, Richard Hughes – the world’s leading authority on “feather flower magic”. Richard was the owner of the legendary Marshall Flowers and learned the craft from Horace and Marie Marshall and retains the rights to Horace’s magical effects. Hughes Magic continues to make the finest feather flowers available. He commented that the price of feathers is up 400% and in making the flowers, the yield is very low (in the 20% range) which contributes to the cost. The flip side is that they last for several generations.
Richard discussed the various types of flowers, bouquets, and botanias, demonstrated in great detail multiple effects, and showed how subtlety in movement can enhance the performance. Richard shared his notes on the care of feather flowers: storage, environment, and revitalization if needed.
Richard then presented the Garden of Flowers effect that Horace Marshall developed in 1937 based on an idea from Carlyle Fleming. He has added some modifications which improves the ease in performance and increases the magical aspect of the effect. After a break for pizza and refreshments, the lecture resumed.
A special surprise guest was introduced – Dale Scott who briefly talked about his “Future of Magic Show”. Bill Brewe was scheduled to attend the meeting but was unable. Sean Owens, however, was able to bring Bill’s feather flower effects which included several items from the Blackstone show. Sean demonstrated the effects and Richard discussed their significance and history.
Richard then continued his presentation by showing clips of Harry Blackstone Sr.’s Enchanted Garden act which Harry Blackstone Jr. recreated with Richard’s help. The garden act included the illusion of an assistant being changed into a spectacular seven foot flower botania. He told of the time when a new bouquet was inserted into the act and how Harry Jr. did a double take upon seeing it for the first time. Harry Jr. did not believe in rehearsing. Richard also had footage of Mark Gilday’s more recent recreation of the Enchanted Garden which he also helped to create.
This was an enlightening meeting with good information, fun anecdotes, and warm camaraderie.
--John Martini
Sep. 11, 2009 - Richard Osterlind
The 87th year for the Queen City Mystics, SAM Assembly 11, began Friday September 11, 2009. President elect, Ken Klosterman, held a rather long brief business meeting outlining his goals and agenda for the new year.
Two members performed. Don Hinton presented his card effect “and then there was one” and Ron Calhoun his network updating card effect.
The lecturer for the evening was Richard Osterlind, a superb choice for the first meeting of the year. His lecture was based upon several of his books – The Principles of Magic, The Osterlind Trilogy, and his new book, Mystique. Richard views magic as the only “art” that creates mystery. He does not perform tricks. He performs effects which create mystery. Richard then took a penny from Ken and proceeded to bend it not once but several times, creating a mysterious aura among the attendees. A magician does not perform miracles but rather makes the impossible possible. This is the lone territory of the magician. The magician does things that can not be explained. Magic in a way symbolizes that in life nothing is impossible.
Richard thinks that magicians should never feel guilty by blowing the spectator away with effects - be they simple or complex. Magic’s purpose is to create wonderment and awe. He then discussed that when performing an effect, the magic has to be “real” for you so that it is real for your audience. He emphasized that graceful movements in tuned with what you are doing will enhance your performance. He believes that the mental state of your mind – passion about this piece of magic, is the key to a great performance.
Richard then proceeded to demonstrate this idea by performing the haunted key effect and then his astonishing spoon bending routine which had everyone’s attention when after bending it, he then proceeded to have the bowl of the spoon slowly turn 180 degrees. He discussed how he conditions the audience so that unnatural movements become natural movements – i.e. how he holds a piece of paper. He showed this by performing his “in the fold” effect. Richard has strong opinions on repeating an effect. An effect and performance should be strong enough that it can be repeated. He proceeded to perform the center tear effect several times with audience in awe (if not of the subtlety, then of the complete naturalness of his performance). One of his last comments was that a magician should select effects for performance that are angle proof. Then you can perform the effects anywhere and anytime.
What a way to start the year – a passionate lecture by a true master!
--John Martini
May 8, 2009 - "Elections"
Officer elections and a vote on new members were held.
Apr. 10, 2009 - "War of the Wizards"
[Details to be posted, just as soon as a report is received from the club Secretary.]
Mar. 13, 2009 - "Ladies Night"
[Details to be posted, just as soon as a report is received from the club Secretary.]
Feb. 13, 2009 - "Favorite Trick"
Members and guests spent the evening demonstrating, and in some cases teaching, their favorite tricks. The tricks were as varied as our membership with card tricks, Chinese sticks, rope tricks, Mentalism, and sponge ball tricks.
--Patrick Thernes
Jan. 17, 2009 - Annual Holiday Banquet
This year's annual Holiday Banquent with IBM Ring 71 was held at The Monk's Kitchen. Our entertainment for the evening was paranormal theatre from The Haunted One (a.ka., Assembly 11 and Ring 71 member Brahm Corstanje).
Conjuring up some spirited entertainment at the
Annual Holiday Banquet.
Nov. 14, 2008 - "Assembly Close-Up Competition"
Members dueled with each other for one of three spots to represent the Assembly in the April '09 War of the Wizard’s against IBM Ring 71. The contestants were Artie Kidwell, Don Hinton, Patrick Thernes, Bill Pryor, and new member Shawn Dion. They each presented their best 10-12 minutes of close up. The membership that didn’t perform voted on the top 3 that would represent our Assembly in the War of the Wizards. The 3 that were voted to represent the Assembly were Don Hinton, Bill Pryor, and Shawn Dion. But it was a touch race to the end fought by all.
-- Patrick Thernes
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
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 July 10, 2010 8:17 PM
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