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Events
7th September - Brian Sefton Lecture
The last meeting was attended by 19 members, 4 family members and 7 guests including some Mid Essex Magical Society members – it was good to see them there for what was a wonderful evening hosted by Brian, who talked about and very ably demonstrated his skills as a manipulator.
Starting out by apologising for licking his gloves (it’s actually very difficult to manipulate cards with gloves on and the wetness helps stop them from slipping), Brian started by showing us his act which involves card , billiard ball and thimble manipulations, as well as the use of items such as silks and appearing and vanishing canes. It was an extremely accomplished performance which demonstrated not only great technical skill but also stage presence and audience engagement.
Following the act, we were treated to a blow by blow breakdown of how it worked: where things were hidden about Brian’s clothing; body movements to cover other moves; even clothing adaptations to hide any possible prop flashes. Nothing was left out and all was described in minute detail. It was very impressive to see Brian’s attention to the tiniest detail which had honed the act over 30 years in the business into a great example of how manipulations should be presented.
Of course Brian had many stories to tell, which he did in a friendly and gracious style – he was a real gentleman. He said that he had picked on manipulation as a branch of magic to specialize in as it was cheap. There was no assistant to pay, no boxes to cart around and no script to learn. If you got it right it looked like magic, if you got it wrong it looked like juggling.
As he worked his way back to the start of the act he explained how to ‘break in’ the Waddington No 1 cards he uses by pulling them under a rounded pencil in all directions and applying fanning powder.
After the break Brian continued with a nice little trick involving a box, a cone and three billiard balls. Brian explained how the trick was done and how he had improved on the original which was known as Vernon Balls and Cone.
While on the subject of billiard balls Brian showed us some nice bits of business with some balls and shells. He doesn’t usually use shells but he said that some people liked them. Another tip that he gave was do not use silicon billiard balls for manipulation. Their rough surface makes it very difficult to slide them easily in and out of the holders. For the last part of his lecture Brian performed and talked about his version of the Zombie Ball. He explained the different elements used and the various techniques used to execute the effect. All in all a wonderful lecture which many have commented on since.
On a separate note, Wally and Audrey celebrated their Golden Wedding recently – many congratulations to the two of you – so the club presented a signed card and bouquet of flowers to them on the night. Here’s to them!
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