Magician and Sleight of Hand Artist
Magic Shows for Adults
Wedding Entertainment – Close up Magic
Jan 9th
This gig was at the botanical gardens in Cranbourne. I thought I would get there 30 minutes early as usual so I could get a feel of the layout, audience and find the best place to set up.
The host had sent detailed directions to everyone so they’d know exactly how to get there, however I looked up the address myself which this time proved to be a mistake. I went to 1000 Ballarto rd Cranbourne, which is the listed address of the botanical gardens, however the entrance for the function centre is on the other side of the park, perhaps a 20 minute drive!
That extra half hour I tought I had shrunk very quickly to only 5 minutes. When I strolled into the function centre I greeted the groom, and he asked me the usual question if it was easy to find the place. Not wanting to trouble him with extraneous details I cheerily thanked him for the excellent directions. He said he’d just copied and pasted it from the function centre’s website. I stayed an extra 40 minutes, I think out of guilt that I wasn’t as early as I had meant to be.
It’s a wrap
Dec 28th
Wrapping up the year with a magic show at Mitcham Magic.
Line up included Tom Stevens, Kamal Bushan, Glenn “The Magicman” Hamilton, Alex DelaRambelje, Nick Morton.
Tom Stevens performing at Micham Magic
Stand Up show
Apr 6th
Nick Morton has been running Mitcham Magic for about 3 years or more. I previously performed there in 2009, and was invited to perform there once again.
This turned out to be the final “Mitcham Magic”, but they’ve had a good run of monthly shows and it was a great place to perform. It was a lot of fun as the setting is very well suited for my show.
Here are the highlights of my 2011 performance.
BAM ! it’s Magic!
Dec 15th
A fashion group called me up for some close up magic at their end of year party where they invite all the designers. The group is called Brick And Mortar hence the BAM title of this post.
I generally like to use my table for these type of gigs even though it’s not a “show” for the whole crowd. I started out with a bit of mix and mingle magic, then brought the table out for the material that makes good use of such a set up.
Featured as Magician of the Month on AIM site
Oct 21st
It looks like I am the featured magician this month on the Australian Institute of Magic site.
Front page says: Magician of the Month: Chicago Tommy
A Magical Proposal
Oct 18th
I was asked to stage a street show and time it in such a way so that a specific young couple could walk up and the man would somehow get roped into a trick at which point I would make a ring appear, and he would propose to his girlfriend.
This was one of those things that I knew I would only get one chance to get right. Fortunately I decided to do a few trial runs earlier in the evening, as a street show is quite different to performing for an audience that is expecting you and has hired you. It was a good experience and I would recommend it to any performer to test out their show on a walking street as you can quickly see which parts of the show need to be a bit more interesting, as pedestrians are under no obligation to stay and watch.
The funny thing is that the couple came about 20 minutes earlier than I had expected and I was still in the middle of one of my “trial runs”. I had never met either of them before but I soon realised who they were. Fortunately I got it right! Also the person who was going to film the event suddenly realised the same thing and grabbed the camera from my box in order to film the moment. They got an evil look from a spectator, until the spectator noticed me giving the nod of approval to go ahead and take the camera.
Melbourne Magic Festival 2010
May 24th
This is the third year running of the Melbourne Magic Festival.
Tickets are already available on the Magic festival site. www.melbournemagicfestival.com
There are some great acts lined up, and I recommend that people go and see several shows.
I am doing one show, The Suspension of Disbelief.
The Suspension of Disbelief - one show only - 4th July 2010
Meeting Geofrey Rush
Mar 23rd
I was able to tell my kids that I performed some magic tricks for the actor who is Captain Barbossa, in Pirates of the Carribbean. “Cool” they said.
Geoffrey Rush and his family came to see the Close-Up Gala Show at the Melbourne Magic Festival. I was part of the lineup performing in the Close-up Gala show last night. During break I was out in the foyer doing a few magic tricks and introduced myself to Geoffrey Rush although I had to admit to him I assumed he must be Geoffrey Rush. I showed him and his family a few magic tricks which they really liked. He asked if all magicians use Bicycle playing cards. I said that it has become a favourite among many magicians, since more complex magic tricks will be formulated to make use of every single property of an object and that being familiar with one brand works to a professional’s advantage.
Summer gigs
Dec 20th
Dec 2008.
Summer gigs can be excruciatingly hot. Fortunately I’ve got a nice run of shows booked at Spring Street, the Old treasury building which houses the City Museum. The Melbourne Leader newspaper sent out a photographer to promote the Hocus Pocus exhibition and I was to meet him at 10. I figured I’d be there at 9:30 to set up as last time I met a photographer he did want a little input as to where I thought a nice spot would be for the photo.
I showed up at Melbourne Museum at 9:30 but no one knew anything about a photographer. Of greater concern to me is that no one even knew anything about the Hocus Pocus Exhibition. After a few phone calls I begin to discover that there is another museum nearby. Nice. So I scrambled to get my stuff together, balancing boxes, and made it to the City Museum at 10:01.
The photographer, Tony, was great. He set up his lighting and took a few different shots.
We tried a few poses with me fanning the cards, and with my bunny rabbit. Tony thought it would be a good idea if I can spring the cards into the air and have them shooting toward the camera while holding one card in focus. This sounded like a great idea, but proved to be a bit chancy as the cards have to be controlled at a particular rate. I’m not sure if it was ten or 11 shots we took. But it was obviously worth it as of them got chosen for the front page.
Tom Stevens in the Melbourne Leader promoting the Hocus Pocus Exhibition
