Lectures Past and Future……….
Last week Susan and I had the great pleasure of attending the Martin Lewis magic lecture here in Austin, Texas. Although I have known Martin for nearly forty years I’ve never had the opportunity of hearing him lecture and it was well worth the wait. There is no area of magic on which Martin is not a brains trust of knowledge and I was both entertained and informed by his 90-minute lecture.
There were many highlights to the lecture with Martin’s experience and creative approach illuminating all the material that was on display. Many of the items were from his Magikraft product line and Martin and his charming wife Susi did a lot of business at their product table. If you couldn’t find an item to fit your style or taste during this lecture then you just weren’t trying!
Martin was battling a sore throat and potential total loss of his voice but you would never have known by his witty and entertaining presence. A top-notch performer and magical thinker Lewis’ lecture was truly a learning experience, even to a gnarled old road warrior like myself. If you have a chance to catch him lecturing in your neck of the woods then do yourself (and your audiences) a favor and make sure you attend— you will not regret it.
The next best thing to attending a Martin Lewis lecture is taking a digital stroll through his website and ordering some of the audience tested routines that you will find there. You can access his online store at www.magikraft.com
I am delighted to say that I am going to be giving a rather unusual two-day teaching experience myself on June 9th and 10th in Cupertino, Northern California. The event is presented in association with the Society of American Magicians Assembly #94 and is rather interesting in the way that it has been constructed. The activities kick of with me giving a full-scale public performance on Monday the 9th at the De Anza 3 Auditorium beginning at 7.00pm. The show will be followed by a magicians only lecture scheduled to begin at 8.00pm in the same location.
I love the fact that attendees of the lecture will actually get to see a performance before I move into lecture mode. It is a wonderful way to allow the
attendees to get an overview of the ideas that I will be presenting during the lecture. I think this is a very innovative and effective way to present the lecturer to his full potential. The price for the lecture is a mere $25 for non-members and $5 for SAM 94 members.
My lecture is a chance not only to teach some great magic but also to distill a great deal of performance information into an entertaining package. I do not lecture on a very frequent basis and am happy to say that it has proven extremely successful when I do. I give some priceless information during the lecture that was imparted to me by my three wonderful mentors Ken Brooke, Billy McComb and Maurice Fogel. I hope all my friends in the Northern California area will attend as I have some really great surprises in store.
On the evening of Tuesday June 10th I am presenting a hands-on Master Class between 5.00pm to 7.00pm and I will be going into considerable detail on some very specific effects for those present. Attendance is going to be limited to 8-12 people and I think this will prove to be a really enjoyable, highly productive, one of a kind, event. From 8.00pm -10.00pm that same evening I will be presenting a Performance Critique Workshop and working with attendees on material from the own repertoires. I am really looking forward to this segment and feel it will prove to be a wonderful learning experience for everyone participating.
Full information on this two day event are obtainable by contacting Phil Ackerly at ackerlymagic@gmail.com or by calling 408 246 8422. I certainly will be looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones during this rather unique two-day event.
REMARKABLE MAGIC 