Commonly seen as magic and mind tricks, Mentalism is much more than playing with someone’s psyche and is more about utilizing one’s body language and the science of psychology to predict and suggest actions. This month’s SYM meeting, we will be learning some mental magic. Come learn some amazing things and stay for the Mile High Magicians Society (MHMS) meeting after!
Greetings fellow MHMS Members,
Half way through the year and we have had some fantastic meetings with great feedback! Last months meeting was as always a treat to learn some closeup magic. My hats off to Gene Gordon for organizing a fun time for all that attended.
We also had a special lecture by Chad Long brought in by member Shawn Preston. Funny, witty and awesome material. Then a few days later we had Penn & Teller Fool Us winner David Parr come in a give a lecture for the club, then 2 shows at The Theater of Dreams. David was very informative and had some really great material to share.
Want to get on stage? We’re looking for members to volunteer their time for our next meeting which is also a show here at the Knights of Columbus to thank their members for the gracious use of their space. Please email me if you’re interested.
The board has been hard at work to bring in amazing lectures to Denver and working on making each meeting fun and engaging! Keep your eye on this news letter and you will see whats happening next!
If you have any shows or events you would like the members to know about, please email us and we will put this on the Website and in the Newsletter. See you at the next meeting!
We are off and running towards a spectacular year.
Jeff Jenson
President, MHMS | email me | Call me (303) 378-1112
Thursday May 11, 2023 Magic Teach In Night. 21 attendees including the teachers. Rainy Night. Four tables, Four Teachers: Matthew Brant, James Lopez, Gene Gordon and Nate Reeves. Students rotated to the teachers’ tables.
Matthew Brant did the basic two in the hand, one in the pocket sponge ball trick. He likes to say, you would think there are two balls in my hand but these are magic/special balls etc. and then shows the three in the hand. Then he did the matchbook trick, it looks more impressive if you burn the whole book and only one match is left un-burnt. Great stuff!
James Lopez taught coins. He had us shake our hands, then stopping them to look at your hands in a relaxed position. Then he taught a retention pass that you could use in a coins-across routine. Your hands need to look relaxed and as natural as possible while palming a coin.
Nate Reeves did that fun rubber band magic! We learned the Jumping rubber band, the Torn and Restored Rubber band and Crazy Sam’s Handcuffs. We used a #16 band. Two different colors of rubber bands can make the visual much better for the Crazy Sam’s Handcuffs.
Gene Gordon taught card tricks complete with “lecture notes”! He showed “Prediction Caught” where the prediction card gets the mate sandwiched between two cards that end up being the mates to the prediction card also. The effect called ‘Numbers” does the same thing of bringing the 4 matching cards together, but in a totally different way which is just as amazing. Then he started out with what looked like “Triumph” but ended with a straight flush at the end. He calls this “Straight Flush Slop” and it is his own personal handling.
Chad Long performed Al Dente his chewed and restored spaghetti, Priority Mail and Spineless book test. We were in awe! He knitted a silk in seconds and showed us a cool new handling of Bounce No Bounce. Chad’s Now Look Here card trick and Scratch was also a fun trick.
David Parr performed the 21-cent trick, showed us a cool way to use a Svengali deck for ACAAN. He taught us his Fast and Loose string trick and ended up performing his Hand of Fate poker hand trick
Price: $20.00 for Front Range club members – $30.00 for non-members.
“Marcos has a very inventive mind. His new magic gives us all Inspiration! His magic will shock, delight, and amaze you!” – Jeff McBride
From the Land of Tamariz, Ascanio, Woody Aragon, and Dani DaOrtiz come’s another excellent card magician: Marcos Waldemar. If your club has “card guys” who are looking for the “real deal” and want to take their close-up magic to the next level, then you need to confirm this lecturer. He came to me with the highest recommendation from none other than Jeff McBride. I trust his judgment. Don’t you?
Here is a link to a YouTube video that was specially made by Marcos for you to know a bit more about him: https://youtu.be/9aKRxE2EiDA Please take a couple of minutes to watch this important video.
Born in the north of Spain to a family where years ago there was a great magician, called “Count of Waldemar”. This noble title was granted to him by King Alfonso XIII after seeing his magic. After this success, the Count toured 69 countries with his magic and was nicknamed “Magician of kings and king of magicians”. When Marcos was born, he listened to the count’s stories and could not help but carry on the magical tradition of this ancestor.
Marcos grew up in his parent’s restaurant performing magic from the age of five on everyone he could. Later, when I was 14 years old, he met one of his greatest teachers and one of the most creative magicians in Spain, Mago Antón. This teacher became one of his best friends and soon he started to create his own magic ideas and to help him in his.
He developed several magic products for Murphy’s Magic, Penguin, SandsMinds, and others. He has worked with other great creative magicians such as Julio Montoro, Adrián Carratalá from “Thinking Paradox”.
Marcos prepared this short video greeting for Jeff McBride in which he also explains some more details
First, the lecture will feature the presentation of a book he will publish this year called “My semi-improvised magic”. In it he will reveal some of his greatest Impromptu magic secrets that he has developed over the years doing magic in that restaurant. The book also contains ideas for his effects from other great magicians and friends like Kiko Pastur, Camilo Vazquez, Willy Monroe, Mago Anton and a lot of others.
A great part (although not all) of this work is card magic. As you know, Spain is possibly the world power in this branch of magic and through this lecture, you will be able to acquire concepts of the Spanish Magic School developed by great masters such as Arturo de Ascanio, Juan Tamariz, and Gabi Pareras.
It is a great opportunity to get closer to fictional magic, from his personal point of view, poetic magic and carefully thought to fool.
Marcos will also show some of his new products that are not yet for sale and can be purchased exclusively on this tour before they are released to the global market. These ideas are really powerful, and I am sure you will love them.
Greetings fellow MHMS Members! We started off April with a lecture by Guy Bavli. His lecture was extremely interesting and informative mentalism. I’m sure all in attendance learned something new! The board is working hard to bring top notch lectures to Denver and we’re excited to see you at David Parr a week after this months meeting.
Last months regular gathering was an absolute treat to witness! Brad Montgomery did a fantastic job putting together a fun filled and fooling night. I can only hope that we will continue have a MHMS Fool Us night every year! As usual, Karen Wake did not disappoint with her clever Fool Us sushi… Nope, fooled us with her clever ways.
If you have any shows or events you would like the members to know about, please email us and we will put this on the Website and in the Newsletter. See you at the next meeting!
We are off and running towards a spectacular year.
Jeff Jenson
President, MHMS | email me | Call me (303) 378-1112
We’re working hard to make events and meeting amazing and we’d appreciate your feedback by answering this 2-minute “survey.”
April was Can You Fool Us Night? Our emcee was Brad Montgomery, the fool us board was Bruce and Kitty Spangler, Nate Reeves and Cosmo from Colorado Springs.
Nate performed a Head and Tails coin trick and FOOLED the panel!
Shane Cohen performed a card trick from the book 52 Amazing Card Tricks. It was an ACAAN trick. The 2S was selected, shuffled, cut, re-shuffled and lost in the deck It actually vanished and was found folded up inside the book! FOOLER!
Vesper performed a Silk to Egg and got an Honorable Mention Award!
Ned Nedbalski was there and he did a nice multiplying balls routine and was honored to all the help, guidance, friendship, mentoring he has giving the club members all the years he has been a magician. Honorable Mention Award.
Mitch Zeal had an invisible magic poker chip witch ended up on the spectators shoulder numerous times It finally vanished for good and ended up inside a bag on the spectators shoulder FOOLER!
Mark Weidhaas had a wood apparatus with four wood blocks. We got to pick the order of the numbered blocks, hidden inside the holder and low and behold, they changed order! FOOLER!
Steve Davis had a card selected and lost in the deck. Packets of cards were peeled off and after a little of divination, Steve could sense which packet the chosen card was in. After looking, only her card was the only one face down! Honorable Mention Award.
Last up was Shawn Preston. Shawn had numerous cards for us to read with the directions for his trick. There was mystery, laughter, and a spectator selected a card. The next thing we knew, the spectators card was stuck to the back of Shawn’s suit coat! It is his own invention and he call’s it Back Treatment! FOOLER!
Plus Guy Bavli…need I say anything more? What a lecture. He demonstrated his Wami Writer and Board which allows you to do amazing mentalism. PK Touches, Erasure with his cool Tell’s Bell, Spoon Bending, Perfect Key Bending, Card Bending, and Incredibly Clean card trick, Perfect Location and amazed us with his Capture Routine. His Finale trick’s prediction was found wrapped inside a scroll AND inside a balloon!
It was a very fun month in the Mile High City!
Date: May 18, 2003
Pay at the Door
Members: $20
Non-Members: $30
David Parr is a winner of the coveted Fool Us trophy on the hit TV show Penn & Teller: Fool Us. There, his skills were put to the ultimate test in front of the television cameras, a live audience of hundreds, millions of TV viewers, and two very savvy Las Vegas magicians. (Spoiler alert…) David fooled them all, taking home the trophy and winning a guest spot in the duo’s stage show in Las Vegas!
David created and costarred in Chicago’s longest-running weekly magic show, which was chosen by the Travel Channel as one of the top nine magic shows in the nation! (Because top-ten lists are so passé.) He was the first artist in residence at the new Chicago Magic Lounge, where his show David Parr’s Cabinet of Curiosities completed a successful yearlong run. His show Dark Magic premiered to a sold-out house soon after that. During the pandemic lockdown, David created and performed The Sorcerer’s Lair, a livestream show that a reviewer for The Linking Ring called “as close to the perfect virtual magic show as I have ever seen.” His latest show is The Magic Hour, named after the time of day when shadows lengthen and the air is charged with magical possibilities.
In a career spanning more than fifty years, David has written some highly regarded books for magicians, been a technical consultant to theatrical productions, entertained visitors to the Magic Castle, given presentations at academic conferences, and provided guidance and instruction to magicians at numerous lecture appearances. He was a featured columnist and editor for MAGIC Magazine, and his thought- provoking writings about the art of magic have also appeared in publications in Germany, France, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, the UK, and Sweden. Jon Racherbaumer included David on his shortlist of “notable theorists” in magic, alongside Tommy Wonder, Juan Tamariz, and René Lavand. And today, David’s magical creations are performed by magicians around the world.
In his new lecture, David will teach some old favorites from his published work, along with some new favorites from his current shows. And perhaps more importantly, he will provide insight into the creative thinking that has shaped his magic for decades. Don’t miss it!
“These are perfect lessons for all magicians, in how careful thinking really can improve our magic.” — Eugene Burger
“Great advice, the kind that 95 percent of people don’t think about, but it contains the real secrets of magic as a successful art.” — Andrew Basso
“What I appreciate most is David’s thinking about our art. I am quite taken with his style.” — Robert Neale
“One of the most entertaining, theatrical, intelligent presentations that I’ve ever come across.” — Anthony Owen
“What he has to say will make you think.” — Michael Close
Please volunteer to perform for the Thank You show for the Knights of Columbus to show our appreciation for everything they have provided for MHMS.
SYMers – We have an exciting month ahead! The topic for this month will be about cool magic with paper. We will be crafting our own gimmicks to do an awesome disappearing water trick and an amazing torn and restore paper effect.
You are also welcome to stay for the MHMS meeting which will be based on Penn and Teller’s “Fool Us” show, where local magicians will try their best at fooling local judges. Here is the performance line-up for the event.
See you all the next meeting!
In love and light
All the best
Michael (Vesper) Samarzia
William Radar & Mark Strivings on Coin Reading – FREE Online Lecture Saturday MORNING
Date: Saturday April 15, 2023
Time: 10:00am MDT
Location: Online
This introductory lecture is free for everyone! Join William Rader and Mark Strivings in this two part lecture as they talk about how to give readings and perform routines with coins. This is highly practical material which they use all the time!
In the first half, William will explain how to perform his psychological coin force. He will show you how it looks for an audience and give advice on how to increase your hit rate. He will then discuss how to create and give readings based on the coins people name.
In the second half, Mark Strivings will lecture on his new book Interpretive Coinage. This is an extension of his book Every Day Mentalism which explains a ton of mentalism using coins as an every day carry. His new book explains how to use the same set of coins for readings ranging from quick question answering to full readings.
At the end of the lecture, we will have an open discussion where you can ask your questions!
Our goal is to foster a community of like minded mentalists. At the start of the lecture, we will ask you to turn on your video so we can put a name to a face. You don’t need to say hi, but we do want to see you!