#magicuba

There are many rising, young stars in our magic community. Some are gifted close-up workers while others are confident stage performers, all with bright futures ahead of them. One such young performer (now 28 years old) who excels in both and whom I have kept my eye on is Alex Boyce. His life has been consumed with magic and was a student at Tannen’s Magic Camp. Since his graduation from the camp, he is now an instructor. He has competed in stage contests at magic conventions and worked his act in and around his home in New York including Scott’s Resort in the Catskills where they filmed “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” He now regularly performs at SpeakEasy Magick in New York City and is a client of Bill Herz, who represents many of the top names in magic today.

This week, Alex talks about his early days of performing in the Catskills, entering magic competitions, learning and teaching at Tannen’s Magic Camp, performing for celebrities and corporate parties, and some of the friends he works with at SpeakEasy Magick in New York City.

This episode wraps up our Cuban Conversations with Conjurors that were recorded during the recent MaciCuba event in Havana. Chad Long is a close-up comedy magician whom most everyone knows. No doubt you have seen him performing at magic conventions around the world (including MAGIC Live!) as well as his creative products he has put on the market. But he is also in demand in the Corporate Market entertaining the titans of industry in Board Rooms and Trade Show Floors. But you may not know the serious side of Chad. So, this week you will hear him talk about how seriously he takes his art, his comedy, and his creativity and the influence that David Williamson had on his style of comedy.

Nothing on the Schedule today, so it was just hanging out with the other registrants, eating, drinking and chatting with them and reflecting on the many events in MagiCuba.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:09:43 - Chris Korn recaps the MagiCuba Festival

00:24:31 - Mitch Praver, winner of the Un Truco (One Trick) Challenge

00:34:01 - John Archer talks about the challenges he faced on the previous evening’s show

00:38:16 - International Vice President of the I.B.M., Don Greenburg, chartered a new I.B.M. Ring to the Havana, Cuban magicians. He talked about the work that led up to this charter.

00:47:49 - John Rose and Jon Stetson talk about how they think their event went and some of the challenges they were able to overcome

Schedule - Saturday November 10, 2018

9:00 a.m. MagiCuba Session #8 - Roger Ruiz, Gardini, WIlfredo Mena & Edgar Cervera with Tina Lennert “Magic After The Revolution” (Parisien)

10:00 a.m. MagiCuba I.B.M. Vice President, Don Greenburg - Salon de la Fama “Induction & I.B.M. Ring Ceremony”

10:30 a.m. MagiCuba Session #9 - Chris Korn “That VooDoo That You Do” (Parisien)

11:30 a.m. MagiCuba Session #10 - Asi Wind “Magic in Progress” (Parisien)

12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. All Day Magic at Cerveceria (Craft beer brewery)

12:30 p.m. Bus to Cuban Circus (for ticket holders)

1:00 p.m. Circo Nacional de Cuba VIP Experience (Extra Event with Lunch)

3:30 p.m. Bus to Hotel Nacional (for ticket holders)

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Magic & Mojitos (Hotel Nacional “Vista al Golfo” Bar)

5:30 p.m. Un Truco (One Trick) Challenge

6:00 p.m. Bus to Dinner & Teatro Nacional

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Dinner

9:00 p.m. The Mac King Comedy Magic Show featuring juggler Michael Goudeau at Teatro Nacional (Covarrubias)

10:30 p.m. Late Night Magic @ Casa de la Musica (Plaza de Revolucion)

11:30 a.m. Bus to Hotel Nacional

12:00 a.m. Nightcap @ Hotel Nacional Terrace

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:03:03 - Jade helps me recap the previous evening’s activities and her take on how the Festival is going.

00:06:30 - Chad Long was one of the close-up performers from the previous evening’s late night show. He talks about his experience being in Cuba.

00:11:52 - Bob Riordan is one of the organizers who talks about some of the “challenges” they faced in putting this event together. We talk while seated in VIP seats just before the circus began.

00:15:07 - Jorge Blass was the emcee of the evening gala shows (two evening shows for the public and all in Spanish) and he talks about his traveling show in Spain.

00:21:17 - Roger Ruiz is the president of the local Havana, Cuba magicians group and was featured in the evening’s gala shows as an illusionist.

00:35:00 - Steve Kradolfer, from Boston, was one of the late night performers who overcame challenges with stage, lighting and sound conditions in his show.

Schedule - Friday November 9, 2018

9:00 a.m. MagiCuba Session #2 - Mike Caveney “Classic Correspondence - Live in Havana” (Parisien)

10:00 a.m. Historical Tour of Hotel Nacional

10:00 a.m. MagiCuba Session #3 - Dave Cox “The Magic & Improv Master Class” (Parisien)

11:00 a.m. MagiCuba Session #4 - Chad Long “MishMash” (Parisien)

12:00 p.m. MagiCuba Session #5 - Michael Goudeau “What’s So Funny?” (Parisien)

12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. All Day Magic at Cerveceria (Craft beer brewery)

1:00 p.m. Lunch

2:00 p.m. MagiCuba Session #6 - Rob Gould & Jon Stetson “Becoming a Hypnotic Miindreader” (Parisien)

3:00 p.m. MagiCuba Session #7 - Jorge Blass “Next Generation Magic” (Parisien)

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Magic & Mojitos (Hotel Nacional “Vista al Golfo” Bar)

5:30 p.m. Un Truco (One Trick) Challenge

6:00 p.m. Bus to Dinner & Teatro Nacional

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Dinner

9:00 p.m. All-Star International Magic Show at Teatro Nacional (Avellaneda)

10:30 p.m. Bus from Teatro Nacional to El Tablao

11:00 p.m. Late Night Magic @ El Tablao

12:00 a.m. Bus to Hotel Nacional

12:00 a.m. Nightcap @ Hotel Nacional Terrace

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:54 - Dave Cox was one of the performers and lecturers at MagiCuba talked about improvising

00:15:50 - Michael Goudeau was another performer and lecturer who talked about comedy writing. We caught up with him on the bus to dinner and he was interrupted off mic by Mac King who kept cracking him up during our conversation.

00:24:20 - John Archer was a performer and helped recap the day’s activities plus his recent tour with Tim Vine in the U.K.

Schedule - Thursday November 8, 2018

9:00 a.m. MagiCuba Orientation in Parisien Cabaret Theater

9:45 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Shuttle to/from Habana Vieja (Old Havana)

10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Magic & Culture Walking Tour of Habana Vieja

1:00 p.m. Lunch in Habana Vieja

3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration/Information Desk (Hotel Nacional)

3:00 p.m. MagiCuba Session #1 - Eric Mead “Defining Miracles: The Magic and Mentalism of Tim Conover” (Parisien)

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Magic & Mojitos (Hotel Nacional “Vista al Golfo” Bar)

5:30 p.m. Un Truco (One Trick) Challenge

6:00 p.m. Bus to Dinner & Teatro Nacional

6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Dinner

9:00 p.m. Mindreader Asi Wind at Teatro Nacional (Covarrubias)

10:30 p.m. Late Night Magic @ Deliria Habanero

11:30 p.m. Bus to Hotel Nacional

12:00 a.m. Nightcap @ Hotel Nacional Terrace

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:02:45 - Joe “The Mind Shark” Curcillo, winner of the MIlbourne Christopher Award, chats about his Cuban experience.

00:07:39 - Shep Hyken was the first registrant for MagiCuba who tells why he decided to come to Cuba.

00:13:15 - Bill Herz, owner of MagiCorp was one of the organizers of MagiCuba who booked much of the talent. He also talks about some of the magicians he represents like Michael Carbonaro, David Williamson, Chad Long, and many others.

00:27:59 - Chris Korn talked about his experience performing, plus some of his food he enjoyed.

00:32:06 - Alex Boyce from New York performed his dove act along with some Cuban magicians in a midnight show. He tells about how the Cuban magicians have difficulty in building their illusions.