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Two Lectures on Theatrical Illusion contains the notes from my lecture, "Discovering Invisibility" which accompanied my May lecture for The Magic Circle's Heritage Weekend. The subject is the evolution and principles of the mirror illusion on stage—you know, "it's all done with mirrors." For magicians who are familiar with these principles, I promise that history holds some real surprises. The other half of Two Lectures is the text from my 1999 lecture, "The Science Behind the Ghost," a history of the evolution and principles of Pepper's Ghost. The new edition was published in September. The Mind and Magic of David Berglas has been completely written and is now in active preparation. The publication will probably be early in 2002. I'm honored to be publishing the book. It was written by David Britland, working in close cooperation with David Berglas. "Close cooperation" may be something of an understatement. They met, weekly, for over two years, which allowed David Britland to properly analyze and describe the material. He studied scrapbooks, videotapes and reviews, and consulted with David Berglas on every detail of the accounts. David Berglas has told me that he credited David Britland's tenacity for the final result. Having read the book, I know that you'll not only be stunned by the material of this famous Man of Mystery, but you'll be delighted at the insights and secrets that David Britland managed to extract! The book is over 500 pages, filled with beautiful illustrations and a wealth of photos from one of the most amazing careers in magic. It will be published in a limited edition of 1000 copies and, with no publication date and no price yet, I've already received orders! Watch this space for further details. I can't quite say enough about this book.
The latest addition to Lance Burton's show (currently in the early performance every evening) is his version of Doug Henning's Mousetrap Illusion. Lance had a really clever approach to this routine—a version of the ancient Rabbit in Hat trick. I worked on the design of the prop with Lance and it was built by Willie Kennedy. Willie, of course, was Doug's head illusion man for many years. Lance currently has a number of new effects in the works. You'll have a chance to see them over the next few months. There's always new material in the works. Watch for a couple of new illusions that I'm pleased to introduce. One is called "Cube-ism," a painting which becomes a cube, and a lady who seems to disappear into two dimensions. It looks like a very deceptive, especially interesting illusion. "Headache" is something I've worked out with Alan Wakeling, a disappearance of the performer's head within an enclosure of mirrors. I'm very proud of the results. My intention is to use this website to make special material available, be it information or memoribilia. Right now I'd call your attention to the Doug Henning posters and programs. I will also be listing some specific memoribilia, books and costumes of Doug's, which were very special to him and special to his career. Thanks for your interest. |
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The Complete Jarrett was published June 1, 2001. Of course, I've been a fan of Guy Jarrett's approach to magic for many years, and wrote and edited the first new edition of his book for Jay Marshall and Magic Inc. in 1981. Since that time a lot of new material has presented itself—details of Jarrett's effects, his family history and publications. For about five years the Magic Inc. edition has been out of print, and I've been planning The Complete Jarrett. The new edition probably has twice the information as the 1981 edition, and also reproduces every page of the original book, so readers can get a sense of his incredible publication. You'll find The Complete Jarrett listed with books published by Hahne.
Rick Thomas has begun presenting a new illusion of mine, titled Incubus, which he's suggested as the natural conclusion to the Osmosis illusion. Rick premiered Osmosis a number of years ago. Incubus is a rather surprising and unexpected production of a person which has been ingeniously built by Bill Smith. I won't say much more. If you have the opportunity, see his show in Las Vegas, which is an hour filled with great magic, expertly presented. He's also just started performing Alan Wakeling's Sawing Illusion, which has been a feature of Mark Kalin and Jinger's show "Carnival of Wonders." In the hands of Mark and Jinger, and now Rick and Gracie, the illusion is just sensational. It's interesting that each performer takes a slightly different approach, but all have held true to Alan's inspiring and challenging presentation.
Alan Wakeling, of course, has been a great friend, an associate and inspiration to me through the years. It's been interesting to note that his book, The Magic of Alan Wakeling, which I wrote in 1995, has been adopted as a textbook for a number of professional acts. It's not surprising, as all of Alan's material was commercial and ingenious. Besides the Sawing, I'd point out the Liquid Sands, Handcuff Routine, Aces Front, Magical Fishing, the Billiard Ball Routine, and the Color Changing Gloves. You've seen these used on television specials and on stage. I'll also take the opportunity to direct you to a few unexpected routines in the book—effects that, as far as I'm concerned, are gold waiting to be mined by a modern performer: Psychic Blackjack, Numerology (absolutely incredible), and The Electric Maiden. The Magic of Alan Wakeling is available in the book section.