Anthony Owen is a name familiar to magicians in the UK, but somehow he is less familiar to magicians elsewhere. That should soon change. Owen has been connected to Derren Brown, Paul Wilson, and others in a television consultant capacity. But here we’re treated to a rare glimpse of him performing and lecturing.
We love live lecture DVDs. Sure, SOME quality and close-ups are lost, but think about what is gained. You see an UNCUT hour of a performer working a crowd, performing, explaining, and taking questions about his work. This format eliminates any possibility for filler or pipedreams because the performer is forced to whittle his repertoire down to his strongest bits.
Owen gives an exceptional lecture on PARLOR AND STAGE FRIENDLY magic, as well as close-up items. We’re including this volume on the site because it’s so offbeat and clever, and makes for an extremely entertaining viewing, again and again.
Anthony Owen is well-known as a BAFTA and Rose D'or award winning television magic producer and executive on over one hundred hours of television magic shows including Derren Brown, The Real Hustle, Dirty Tricks, Magick, Monkey Magic, The Quick Trick Show and The Secret World of Magic. However, his first love is as a creator of original, innovative magic and mentalism and in this DVD of his acclaimed lecture at the 2007 MacMillan International Magic Convention he shares some of his favourite material from his best selling books Some Tricks and Some More Tricks.
Contents
Natural Lottery: This gasp getting opener to Anthony’s Monday Night Magic act is ideal for any stage or platform performance. The magician asks six random audience members to each select a different number between 1 and 49. Amazingly these numbers prove to be the same six which are on the printed lottery ticket the magician bought earlier that day! You might not be able to win the lottery, but you can influence your audience members to pick the numbers you want them to! No pre show or limited selections.
Number at Card: A unique solution to a legendary card effect. A deck is handed to a spectator for safe keeping. A playing card and a number between 1 and 52 are both freely named (no forces, pre show work or limited selections). The deck is opened and it is revealed that every card has a different number between 1 and 52 printed on its back —and incredibly the freely selected card bears the freely selected number!
Holey Sh*t!: An amazing visual vanish of a selected card created by Anthony in collaboration with Pete Firman. In Anthony's handling the selection visibly vanishes from between two examined cards each with a hole in its centre. The card appears face up in the centre of the deck which the spectator is holding. At the end all of the cards can be examined. This is ideal for commercial walkaround situations as no table is required.
Big Survivor: Members of the audience are invited onto the stage to participate in a magical version of a reality television show. The audience decides who is evicted and yet the performer reveals that he had correctly predicted the winner - twice. Entertaining, topical, stage filling mentalism.
Ultimate Oil and Water: A performance only of Anthony's acclaimed SOBW Oil and Water routine in which the cards separate even when mixed face up!
This is a recording from a lecture at the MacMillan Convention. Well produced, particularly for a live recording rather than a controlled studio outing. Five routines are peformed and four are taught, but performers seeking quality mentalism and magic will find this a worthwhile disc.
'Natural Lottery' is a take-charge opener in which six audience members' randomly named numbers are found printed on a lottery ticket in the performer's wallet. Owen's version of the Berglas [Any Card at Any Number] effect is a fooler perfectly constructed for presentation to large audiences. And 'Big Survivor' is a customizable reality show in which you predict the eventual winner selected by the audience.
The other explained trick is 'Holey Sh*t', a visual vanish of a card from between two examined cards with holes in their centers. It requires some special preparation and props, but they can be purchased separately (as can the props for the performance-only 'Ultimate Oil and Water').
This is powerful, entertaining and versatile professional material priced too low. The pros will likely be disappointed that I am praising it so highly rather than letting it sit quietly out sight, but honesty compels me.
REVIEW BY JOE M. TURNER FROM GENII MAGAZINE JUNE 2009
Running time: Approximately 53 minutes