Tag Archives: magic

MIKE D’URZO WELCOMES 2024 WITH MEGA MAGIC AND SUCCESS ON TV REALITY SHOW!

Happy New Year to you all…I wanted to start off 2024 with a magical blog so I couldn’t think of anyone better to interview than the Canadian king of Mega Magic himself, MIKE D’URZO.

Mike D’Urzo is an international award-winning magician & mentalist. As the founder and creative director of Mega Magic, he performs hundreds of shows annually for some of the largest corporations, theaters, theme parks, festivals and television networks.He’s won the “Canadian Entertainer of the Year” award by the Canadian Event Awards and was the 8-time recipient of the “Performer of the Year” award presented by Festivals & Events Ontario. He is considered one of the “Top 10 Magicians Worldwide” by the Wedding Industry Experts Awards and the “Entertainment Act of the Year” by the LUXlife Global Wedding Awards. He was the 2-time winner of the Reader’s Choice Award for Best Entertainer by Special Events Magazine and was also named in the Top 5 Magicians in Toronto by BlogTO and won the Toronto Choice Award by Event Source. Mike is a member of the prestigious Canadian Association of Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Whew! that’s quite a staggering line-up of awards and industry accolades! I’ve been lucky enough to know Mike for over 15 years, seeing him at various special events and industry showcases as well as corporate soirees and in theatres. He’s also one of the nicest, most humble entertainers I know, so you can imagine how excited I was for him when I learnt that Mike not only participated in the new tv reality show, The Traitors: Canada, but that he won the big grand prize. He out-played and out-psyched all the other contestants…bravo, Mike!2024 marks the 20^th anniversary of his specially curated show, Mega Magic, featuring his talents as magician and mentalist: Mega Magic is a full production show featuring spectacular grand illusions and lots of interactive magic & mentalism. It has elements of video, live eye projection, audio/ visual techs, camera operators and assistants on stage. And it’s because of this special anniversary that I decided to reach out to my friend and ask him to talk about his career and his love of entertaining people.After starting out in the film industry as a publicity & promotions guy, what brought about the switch to magic? I always had an interest in magic since High School. Throughout university I was working at Sony Pictures hosting premieres and launch parties for upcoming films. Although I loved the behind scenes world of movies, performing was my true passion.

Who or what inspired your love of magic as a youngster? I remember growing up watching Illusionist David Copperfield on TV and seeing him live in Toronto – Copperfield (pictured below) was definitely an inspiration. Then there was one day that changed the course of my life forever: I was at Canada’s Wonderland and there was a small booth with a person selling magic. I spent my last dollar, bought a couple of tricks and the rest was history. I never saw being a magician as a career choice but from that day forward, I knew that I would pursue the art of magic.You do a lot of corporate events as well as festivals and residencies at large venues….what is your favourite audience – adults, children, business people looking to switch off from work? In the early days of my career, I performed tons of kids shows. Although I love performing for family audiences, most of my work now is for adults. I love the thrill of truly messing with smart intellectual people and putting them in a state of disbelief and wonder. I feel like the art of magic has evolved so much from the stereotypical “pull a rabbit out of a hat” trick.You recently participated in a new TV game show called The Traitors Canada…and WON congratulations! How were you cast and how tense and stressful was this? This was one of the most thrilling and exciting moments of my career. Such a cool experience being on a show with other reality TV stars and winning the prize pot. They loved the idea of having a magician on the show as it’s based around misdirection and deception. It was a stressful experience having to navigate the way the game would be played by manipulating, deceiving and backstabbing everyone. We all created a great bond so it put me in a very tough position. There is a whole other world of magic beyond the stage and it can be used to misdirect people in everyday life.

You’re celebrating a special anniversary in January 2024 – the 20^th year of your “Mega Magic Show” which is a full production grand illusion show you’ve presented across Canada and the US. How did you put this show together and are you still excited to raise that curtain 20 years on? This is a HUGE milestone for Mega Magic! Show business can be tough with many ups and downs but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Getting to do what I love is that best trick of all. I’m very grateful that performing has allowed me to experience so many wonderful places and kept me creative for 20 years.You must tell us about your trip to China where you entertained an audience of over half a million – how did you get that gig? And was there any language barrier or did the magic and illusions overcome that? China was one of the coolest show experiences of my life! I was brought in as a marketing campaign for English Schools across the country. They wanted to bring a Canadian performer to promote their schools in busy public areas. Performing magic for people who didn’t speak a word of English worked out because magic can also be very visual. It’s a universal language that transcends any barriers. I loved that the audiences were so receptive and shared the same passion for magic as I did. During the 2 ½ years of Covid isolation and non-performance, you created online shows and demonstrations – how cool is that?! Are you maintaining those online sessions and how do magic fans participate from home? That was a challenge at first because so much of magic is interactive. Not having anyone physically present forced me to redevelop a show for an online audience. It turned out to be such a joy performing for people from around the world over Zoom where you could still interact with guests. In many cases, the magic seemed even more impossible doing it over a screen. There were days where I was performing up to 6 virtual shows for companies around the world without having to leave my studio. Luckily, I was able to adapt during that time as there were no live events!You have an upcoming New Year’s Eve show way down east in Labrador City, a far cry from China! You’ve played there before – how are the audiences in Labrador? I love Labrador City and the East Coast of Canada. I’ve met some of the nicest people from the East Coast and happy to be making my return. I find in general, audiences no matter where in the world tend to love magic and have an appreciation for the art. It’s unique and certainly gets you thinking.

Any other exciting shows lined up for 2024…or maybe more TV shows? There are always lots of events! Stay tuned for more exciting news in the New Year!

Follow Mike on his social media (linked via his website) and you can learn about his incredible body of work on his website: https://www.megamagic.ca/

MEET CONNIE BOYD, THE MAGICAL WOMAN WHO CASTS A SPELL OVER HER AUDIENCES!

CONNIE BOYD is a Canadian magician, inventor, producer and director, with a background in dance, theatre and circus. She is known for physically demanding, artistic magic such as the “solo” guitar suspension (the World Magic Awards 1999) and an up-side-down straight jacket escape over a bed of nails (Shanghai Magic Festival 2012). Connie has appeared on television shows such as “Masters of Illusion,” “the Best Magic of Las Vegas” and the “World Magic Awards”. She launched her magic career in Las Vegas in 1987, eventually starring & headlining in production shows such as the Folies Bergère at the Tropicana Hotel, Jubilee at Bally’s and opening for celebrity headliners such as the recently departed comedian and TV star Louie Anderson. Connie was named Best Cabaret Magician in 1999 at the World Magic Awards in Los Angeles and the “Prix du Public” at the Grand Prix du Magique in Monte Carlo in 1996.In 2006, Connie was asked to consult on talent with a cruise company in Europe which led to a new career producing, mentoring and directing multiple shows on cruise lines internationally, casting female magicians as the lead performers. In June 2020, she created Magical Women, a YouTube channel dedicated to documenting some of the best women in magic in the world in all facets of magic. She writes a monthly Magical Women series for Vanish Magic magazine and has recently been featured in Genii magazine and MagicSeen in the UK. She also created a conference on Digital Transformation for Magic in 2020 for “United Magicians for the World”. More recently, she launched a new series on the YouTube channel called Blast from the Past which features vintage videos of female magicians from the past.

Being such a busy lady, I was thrilled to get a chance to chat with Connie and ask her about her amazing career and all the women in magic she has worked with or met. What a great conversation we had!

Connie, you’ve created a wonderful web portal showcasing women in magic from around the world and their incredible talents. What inspired you to generate this platform? Pre-pandemic, I was extremely busy and happy producing, directing and mentoring magic shows and talent. I was in Italy when the lockdown started there in March 2020. I had magicians on cruise ships returning to Italy from winter seasons in the Caribbean and South America. Contracts were cancelled and my talent were repatriated to their home countries on three different continents. My own magic shows were literally “frozen in time”, indefinitely on “ghost” cruise ships at sea in the Mediterranean.

For the first time in thirty plus years, I didn’t have any magic obligations or projects to complete. After much reflection, I realized that there wasn’t a source or resource anywhere in the world, dedicated to documenting and supporting women in magic. I decided to create the Magical Women project and the “Magical Women with Connie Boyd” YouTube Channel, dedicated to represent female magicians past and present. I started by reaching out to female magicians I knew and everyone was enthusiastic about the project and willing to participate. Being a credible woman with success in magic helped; I understood the challenges many of the world-class magicians encountered as women in unconventional careers and in under-represented groups. Thanks to the pandemic I had a rare opportunity to record talent that would not normally be readily available.

Tina Lenert, a fabulous magician and one of the first magicians I interviewed, provided an apt quote that summed up how I felt at the start: “life begins at the end of your comfort zone” (Neale Donald Walsch).

Most of us know all the famous men in magic from David Copperfield to Penn & Teller, Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy, way back to Houdini, Blackstone and of course, The Amazing Randi – why don’t we hear more about the women? There must have been some great female artists over the past century? One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is participating and collaborating on the VANISH International Magic Magazine’s special edition “Female Magicians through the Centuries” that was published in February 2021 as a FREE publication. The essay and photos were provided by Sébastien Bazou, the publisher of “ArteFake” an entertainment e-publication in France. VANISH’s publisher and editor is a great advocate of diversity and generously created the graphics, layout and free Special Edition. You can view it here: https://bit.ly/3BrqWQx As you will note from the VANISH Special Edition women in magic have existed through time. It’s true that female magicians are still less than 6% of the magic community, but it’s important to note that the women who have committed to careers in magic are making a huge impact and statements that cannot be denied.

One of the wonderful elements I’ve discovered through the Magical Women project is the increasing number of female contemporary magicians. French magician Léa Kyle was the first female magician to place in the finals on “America’s Got Talent” last season and she’s currently headlining in Las Vegas. Venezuelan magician Dania Diaz was a finalist on “Spain’s got Talent” and was the first Latina female to reach the finals on “America’s Got Talent: the Champions” in 2019. Amanda Nepo is the youngest female magician at sixteen years old to fool Penn & Teller with magic that she invented. Australia’s Helen Coghlan is a six-time “Penn & Teller Fool Us, FOOLER”. The list goes on and on and it’s a truly exciting time for women in magic.

You have over 30years experience performing illusions and entertaining audiences with your prestidigitational skills – when did you first realize this was the career for you? I discovered magic in Las Vegas. In fact, I debuted my first magic act there in the late ‘80’s. My magic story is unorthodox. My professional background pre-magic was theatre and classical ballet, with aerial and juggling circus skills in the mix. I was performing in Las Vegas at the Riviera hotel in “SPLASH” with a juggling act when I discovered magic. I fell in love with the levitation magic of the headlining magician and puppeteer, Barclay Shaw. I studied and watched his mesmerizing performances nightly. Barclay was the catalyst for my magic career and it was he who suggested that I become a magician.Starting magic from zero wasn’t easy, but I discovered magic uses every skill I have and I’ve learned more. Good magic is a complete, theatrical artform, it taps into my creativity, physicality and artistic vision. I have been fortunate, able to invent magic and create magic effects that are specific to me and my skill sets. It’s challenging, it’s frustrating, but it’s also been a perfect fit. I was determined to succeed and it helped that I had exposure and access to some of the very best magicians and entertainers in the world.

You’ve interviewed and reviewed so many ladies of magic for your YouTube channel, magazines and blogs. Who are the outstanding magicians we should watch for now that theatres, casinos and clubs are opening up after Covid? There are SO many, I am pleased to report. Here’s the list that pops into my head: Léa Kyle, Daniz Diaz, Billy Kidd, Carisa Hendrix, Laura London, Alana, Helen Coghlan, Josephine Lee, Alexandra Duvivier, Amanda Nepo, LeRoya Sanford, Kayla Drescher, Krystyn Lambert, Tessa Evason, Katherine Mills, Anchal, Jen Kramer, Ekaterina and many, many more.Veteran magicians are also making a difference magically on and off stage with performances, philanthropic charities, mentoring and writing. This includes magicians such as Juliana Chen, Tina Lenert, Fay Presto, Julie Eng, Diana Zimmerman and Lisa Menna,

Magic overcomes all language barriers and appeals to all ages – what is your favourite audience composed of…families, grown ups, corporate shows? Since 2000, my magic shows have been on tour internationally on cruise ships, on television and in theatres. My favourite audience is a theatre full of a mix of families and adults; theatre and magic savvy and first timers. It’s a mix of people who wish to suspend disbelief and believe in magic for that moment in time and even those who wish to discredit it. The biggest reward is hearing the audible gasp when they react to your magic and performance. They can’t help themselves and respond with surprise, and that’s my favourite moment, always.Who has been your role model or favourite magician (male or female) over the years? First would be Barclay Shaw for helping me to discover magic, for never considering a woman couldn’t be a magician and for encouraging me to pursue magic. David Copperfield for his inspiring work and performances which encouraged me to work harder. Don Wayne, inspired me to create and to understand how to use magic techniques and the psychology behind the magic. Joanie Spina was brilliant on and off stage, she was instrumental to discovering who I was on stage and for staging many of my best acts. Recently, it’s Diana Zimmerman for her tireless support, encouragement and wisdom.

Without giving away any secrets, Connie, what has been your most astounding, amazing stunt…and, conversely, have you ever had anything go wrong? The number I most known for, that’s a signature piece, is a number I created called “Floating & Flying”. The magic is powerful as I am costumed in a simple leotard. In the midst of a classic floating ball magic act, I fly into the air to retrieve a floating ball over my head. This is a moment in my show that I receive the “magic gasp” I mention earlier.Has anything gone wrong? There have been many things, I have fallen into a band pit, been trapped in a trunk due to a missing key, forgotten my lines, forgotten which show I am performing, vaulted from a suspension on a rocking ship, spun like a top when a technician plugged a 110 volt prop into 220 volts, I’ve had the audience in hysterics with a urinating bunny and I’ve almost been snapped in half by a drunk volunteer.

What upcoming shows, videos, live tours do you have coming up for yourself? As the theatres and tours re-start there is great interest in a touring, all female magician magic show, I am very excited about that. At the moment there is a shortage of North American female illusionist performers. With my shows en route from Europe, I’m on the lookout for new up and coming talent to develop, cast and mentor. I’m currently working on a Magical Women coffee table book about contemporary Magical Women performing today. This is in conjunction to the research and monthly Magical Women articles I’ve created for VANISH International Magazine since August 2020. Lastly, I’ve created and am developing several magic routines to compliment my motivational speech about “finding the positives within negatives to reinvent yourself.”

And finally, is there a magic school you would recommend for ladies who would love to pursue magic as a career? In Canada there’s the Canadian Association of Magicians (CAM) is a good start to find magic clubs near you: https://www.cammagic.org

We have a Magical Women Facebook group for women in magic: https://www.facebook.com/groups/268813231889920

From Las Vegas: Luna Shimada a magician and the daughter of legendary Japanese magician Shimada. Luna created “the Shimada Legacy School of Magic” with virtual and local magic classes school: https://www.facebook.com/The-Shimada-Legacy-School-of-Magic-2145275525505784/

Jeff McBride has the “McBride Magic and Mystery School”. Jeff’s wife Abigail is very hands on with the program and Jeff has mentored several female magicians. https://www.magicalwisdom.com

Any other news or information you’d like to share, Connie? Next month is Women’s History Month. If you have sources to post the link for the free VANISH Special Edition, “Female Magicians through the Centuries” that would be great to share. Also, the “Blast from the Past” playlist from our YouTube channel pays tribute to many vintage female performances.

I invite you all to visit my websites: www.theMagicalWomen.com & www.connieboydmagic.com
VANISH International Magic Magazine: http://www.vanishmagic.com
VANISH Special Edition: “Female Magicians through the Centuries”:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kmj5t47yszslfc6/VanishSpecialEditionJan2021.pdf?dl=0
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/c/MagicalWomenWithConnieBoyd
FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM
Facebook Magical Women Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/268813231889920
Facebook Magical Women Page: https://www.facebook.com/magicalwomen1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themagicalwomen/
LINKEDIN https://www.linkedin.com/company/magical-women

Wow…I had no idea there was such a community out there for female illusionists. It was such a pleasure speaking with Connie and now I can’t wait to see one of her shows and experience the mystical world of magical women.
Connie is busy packing her bags and gathering her fellow magical ladies together and taking to the road for more shows, post-Covid.

OSCAR-WINNING DIRECTOR GUILLERMO DEL TORO CALLS ON THE EVASONS FOR ADVICE FOR HIS LATEST FILM “NIGHTMARE ALLEY”.

Over the past few weeks, my TV has been dominated by ads for an exciting new feature film, Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro’s noir-themed “Nightmare Alley” which opens this Friday, December 17th. The film stars Bradley Cooper and Rooney Mara along with an outstanding cast of A-listers including my fave Aussie ladies, Cate Blanchett and Toni Collette. I was thrilled, then, to receive a message from the world’s leading mentalist duo, Tessa and Jeff Evason, telling me about their participation in the film, too.When del Toro was going over the script, he wanted to ensure authenticity for the various scenes showing how mentalists work with their audiences. So after a few international phones calls and emails, he was introduced to the Evasons who are considered the best working mentalists in the world!I met Tessa and Jeff several years ago and they told me that one day we would work together – yes, they nailed that one for sure…now here we are. I spoke with them 2 days ago and asked them to share the experience of getting the phone call that has brought them into a whole new circle of friends and business opportunities.

Tessa & Jeff, tell me how you became specialist consultants on Guillermo del Toro’s latest Hollywood blockbuster, Nightmare Alley – how did he find you? It was the summer of 2019, we were at our cottage in Canada. We got a phone call from the office of producer Miles Dale. He said Guillermo del Toro was on the other line and he would like to chat with us about his upcoming film, Nightmare Alley. We looked at each other, wondered if it was a prank call, but it really was Guillermo on the line. OMG! He was just so friendly and warm, and incredibly nice. He told us we had some mutual friends, Teller (from Penn & Teller) and Derren Brown (mentalist from England), and that when he asked them if there was two-person mentalism team that he should speak with, they both said we were the ones.Without giving anything away, what did the Oscar-winning director ask of you? Guillermo said that he was a huge fan of magic, and a member of the Magic Castle (private club in Hollywood, which we are also members of). He felt it was important that he remain true to the original story, and to also be respectful of magic history. Our task was to read the script (and every revision that followed) to provide notes about any scenes that pertained to methods, psychology and the performance of mentalism. On the first phone call, Guillermo told us about his love and respect for magic. He was sensitive about exposure of secret methods, and he didn’t want to reveal any more than necessary in his movie, while keeping the storyline as authentic as possible. He wanted our perspective, as experts in the field of two-person mentalism, to advise and give insight line by line, scene by scene. Anyone who hasn’t studied what we have studied, to the depth and degree that we have studied and performed, has no idea what is possible with two-person telepathy. Some things in his original script sounded great and made for an interesting story, but just weren’t practical for a mentalism team to actually perform on stage during the era when the story takes place. Nightmare Alley was originally a novel by William Lindsay Gresham published in 1946. It has always had a degree of controversy among magicians and mentalists, yet it’s a film that we all love because we can relate to it in so many ways.

Del Toro is a big fan of magic and mind-reading – did you find him open to suggestions for certain scenes? Oh yes! He was quite receptive to the many notes and ideas we contributed. We read quite a few revisions of the script. We had a blast doing it! You know for us it was really about keeping the scenes that involved mind reading and mentalism as realistic as possible, while at the same time remembering Nightmare Alley is a movie, not a documentary, and therefore it had license to bend the truth. Production had an unfortunate major delay due to the pandemic, and we imagine they had to make quite a few changes along the way because of that. We’re very keen to see the finished product.

You have created a great reputation in the corporate events world for presenting astounding feats of mentalism – have you been able to sustain work throughout the pandemic? Did you adapt by conducting events online? We’re so fortunate to be working with some of the best entertainment agents and bureaus in the business. The agent who represents us, also represents many of the best magicians and mentalists on the planet. His name is Bill, and more than a business associate, he is a friend. He has given us so much encouragement and guidance before and during the pandemic. At first we were like everyone else, thinking life would soon get back to normal. As time went on, we resisted doing virtual shows. But then we tried doing a few guest spots on virtual charity events and we found that what we did worked really well virtually – sometimes even more unbelievable than live performances. Since then, we’ve been doing virtual shows regularly and we love it! Today, for example, we woke up early to do an 8:00am show for an audience in the UK, then later in the day we did a show for a North American group, and at 3:00am we performed for a group in Japan! We literally travel around the world to do 3 shows in less than 24 hours – how amazing is that?!

Do you think virtual shows may be the way of the future for corporate events and public shows? We have no doubt that virtual meetings and events are here to stay. And fortunately for us, magic and mentalism is one of the best forms of entertainment for online platforms. Attendees become active participants, and the more interactive the show is, the more engaged the audience becomes. It’s not just about watching the performer, a big part of the appeal for attendees is watching each other, so Zoom shows work really well. Many of the groups we have performed for tell us they plan to continue doing virtual events even after they return to doing live events. During these strange times, we’ve thought a lot about the performers who successfully transitioned from Vaudeville theaters to film, and later to radio and TV. Who knows where we’re headed with virtual shows, but we do know this is a time where we need to embrace change. In many ways it’s an exciting era and we’re thrilled to be part of it!

“They turned a roomful of arms-folded skeptics into intrigued believers.” – Toronto Star

“They left audiences aghast with their abilities” – Carte Blanche, South Africa

“Their mind-reading act was one of the most incredible displays this reviewer has ever witnessed.” – Evening Chronicle, Newcastle Upon Tyne What is the most exciting thing about being involved with Nightmare Alley? Would you like to be the go-to experts for other films or tv shows? Nightmare Alley is one of our favorite movies of all time, and Guillermo del Toro is such a legend. What an honor to be involved on any level! The most exciting thing about it is probably just to have had the opportunity and to be able to include it on our resume. Life is all about variety and having as many amazing experiences as possible. This certainly has been a significant highlight for us, and yes, we definitely would love to be the “go-to experts” for this genre for other films or tv shows or media appearances.

As 2022 is fast approaching, are you and your US booking agent planning any live events, corporate or public, next year or are you simply working on a day-by-day basis? Yes, we are planning live events and have quite a few dates booked on our calendar. In fact, we’ve already done a lot of live events. Our first show back after a year and a half hiatus was in August at Lilly Dale in upstate New York. It’s a beautiful little town, actually a hamlet, where psychics and mediums live and work. It’s known as the world’s largest spiritualist community. Working there was another highlight for us. Since then, we’ve also done colleges and corporate events in the US and in Canada. Next month (January, 2022) we are excited to be appearing nightly for ticketed public shows at Liberty Magic, a lovely intimate theatre in Pittsburgh, PA.To book a live or virtual show, corporate event, or learn more about Tessa and Jeff Evason and their amazing skills, visit: www.evason.com and be sure to check out Nightmare Alley when it opens in a cinema near you.