Our theme for May was “Mad Props.” We also had our first monthly “President’s Challenge,” where three of our members were challenged to perform a selected effect not in their comfort zone.
Hugh Castell began the challenge by performing Scotty York’s version of “Back and Forth.” A freely selected card couldn’t be found in Hugh’s pocket, in his hand, or in the deck. What! It was laying there right in front of us on the table. Ben Eskenazi gave us a wow moment when he removed a full sheet of gum from a clearly divided gum box. Mark Paulson completed the challenge by having a selected card appear reversed in a deck. The performances were outstanding and three more members volunteered for another challenge next month.
For our monthly theme, Ben Eskenazi used flash cards to reveal the magical number 36 which was where the selected card was found in a deck. J.R. Russell showed his skill with three silver dollars by having them appear and vanish through juggling, cheating, misdirection, and finally by pure magic. Mark Paulson had four volunteers each select one of eight envelopes with Mark keeping the remaining four. Each volunteer ended up with a humorous coupon while the four left with Mark all contained cash.
Bruce Meyers had a quarter appear between two business cards and another appear under Mark’s shoe. Jenifer Meyers told us about some great magic on TV. Ron Young displayed his gold coil and then showed us his 15 pocket sport coat.
Hugh Castell demonstrated his Keychain of Life which allowed a key to penetrate a quarter. Tom Payne showed us a collection of shot glasses to use for cups and balls. He then performed Tim Ellis’ Deck-stress. Michael Jacobs drew a closed lock on one side of a blank business card and had a spectator sign the other half. Then, just like Houdini, Michael had the lock unlock with the spectator’s signature intact on the same card. He also had a rope penetrate the plunger from Houdini’s bathroom.
Ralph Huntzinger shared his patter for a Renaissance Fair routine he called Georgio and Henriette where a rose becomes a daisy and then turns into a swarm of butterflies. He also shared his favorite Tenyo prop, Crystal Cleaver. Chuck Kleiner asked the club to help him identify a prop he’d had for many years. The club quickly identified it as a Chinese Flame Clock and even described the effect and the story behind it. John Cameron performed Bert Allerton’s Aspirin Tin where a WWII microscopic camera miraculously took a picture. Jim Earnshaw completed our meeting by fooling us all with a skilled performance of Garrett Thomas’ Stand Up Monte.