party for the organizers of the Duff Shaw Classic Golf Tournament, named in memory of a Los Angeles golf course superintendent who passed away in 1994 from a brain tumour. I was fortunate enough to see John Carney perform his one man show Carney's Wonders and even speak with him after the show to sign his book 2 books: Carneycopedia and the Book of Secrets. John is an extraordinary and talented magician, winning more awards from Hollywood's world famous Magic Castle in their entire history. Sometimes he performs as his alter ego, Mr. Mysto. John studied under the greatest magician in the last century Dai Vernon.
I got to spend a day work shopping on my stand up show with Tony Clark. He trained under master magicians Slydini and Canadian, Doug Henning. Awarded World Class Stage Champion by the Society of American Magicians, Tony continues to perform and produce shows around the world. After working on my act for the day, we visited the prestigious Magic Castle to catch some shows and poke around. The castle was featuring Spanish performers that week and we saw a multitude of great acts, from quick-change artists to hilarious emcees. Hopefully I will get to make a second pilgrimage to the castle this trip.
Later in the week, I got to spend time with a dear friend and mentor, Aaron Fisher. Aaron is one of the world's contemporary contributor's to magic, with his book The Paper Engine: Tension, Focus and Design in Card Magic as well as through his lecture series. He got into magic in his teens and studied theatre at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. During that time Aaron was in the perfect breeding ground for magic and hung around magic legends including: Larry Jennings, Michael Skinner and Johnny Thompson, The Great Tomsoni. Aaron I got to hang out and catch up on each other as well as discuss magic. This is normally what magicians calling 'jamming' where we show each other what we've been working on. Each magician has different influences, reads different books and has their own style; in collaborating with each other new innovative magic can be created. I hope to see Aaron after his recent return from his lecture tour in Spain!
I met Aaron in 2006 at Sorcerer's Safari Magic Camp, Canada's premier magic camp. I have been returning ever since and have been a counselor in training for the last two years in a row. Sorcercer's Safari's mission is to instill an appreciation for and promote the art of magic through professional instruction and diverse performances. Their mission also includes helping our young magicians hone their craft to achieve the next level while having fun. Sorcerers Safari provides participants with the opportunity to meet and work with people throughout the magic community, including notable magicians like Lee Asher, Daniel Garcia, Jason Dean, and Aaron Fisher among others. Going to camp every summer has been a monumental contributor to my magic. I wish to return every year to continue learning and with the hopes to give to another camper what was given to me.
I also got to sit in on a taping of NBC's animated TV series Curious George with its star Frank Welker, an American voice actor. Frank started his career with commercials when he was at college. It was during this time he created his stand up comedy act. Frank is better known as Santa's Little Helper from the Simpsons, Freddy and Scooby-do. I got to hang out with Frank for a day and talk about show business as he practiced noises and impressions all day.
Last year was an amazing trip and I am looking forward to this year being the same!
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