Ring NO. 46, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – Seymour Davis Ring
Meets 7:00 pm, 1st Monday of the month at the New Beginning Fellowship Church, 15601 S. Pennsylvania in OKC
LEE WOODSIDE, Secretary. Email: WoodsideLee@hotmail.com.
www.okcmagic.club
Vice President Justin Teeman hosted our July meeting on Zoom. We had 26 magicians sign on, including several visitors from Colorado and a former member of Ring 46 who now resides in California.
President Cassidy Smith discussed the magic he sometimes performs on the water taxi he captains in OKC’s Bricktown canal. He then performed a brainwave type effect using US currency rather than playing cards. Sure enough, the chosen bill had “Counterfeit” written across the back of it.
Jerry Bowzer showed off his copy of THE ESSENTIAL DAI VERNON book, still in the shrink wrap. Several of our card guys told him he needs to open it up and read it. Amy from Colorado discussed her shows and said that she likes to aim her performances at adults but keeps them suitable for all ages.
David Teeman showed us a twenty-dollar bill that was folded to show a guy in a face mask. He also showed us his Houdini stamp bear that was on sale at Post Offices some years back. Darryl Brooks discussed his live performances in Bricktown. He said that he places a circle of rope with a six-foot radius around his performing table to remind audience members to practice social distancing. He also showed the mask with a cute animal face that he sometimes wears when performing.
James Lopez discussed how he has been learning routines that work well on video. He said that the unchanging angle of the audience’s view favors certain sleights and makes some things possible that would not work when those watching the show do so from different angles.
Michael King again showed off his “sponge Covid” and his “Covid Clean” spray can. He said that he bought one of the “grabbers” used to retrieve objects from high shelves. He found one that is six feet long that allows an audience member to interact without getting too close to him during his performance.
Cassidy Smith announced that it was time for our annual close-up contest, our first ever using Zoom. Darryl Brooks showed three small silk scarves. He pushed them into his closed fist and, after the appropriate magical incantations, produced an American Flag. He next performed Max Maven’s “B’Wave” using jumbo playing cards. He finished with his version of the “Jumping Knot of Pakistan.”
Derrick Beeson removed an Okito box from a small purse and dumped three coins from the box: an English penny, and American half-dollar, and a Chinese coin. He caused the silver coin to change places with the other two several times and ended by causing the coins to disappear and then reappear in three different places: one under the purse, one within the purse, and the last one back in the Okito box.
Mike Stelzer placed a deck of cards into a houlette. One at a time, the four Aces moved to the face of the deck. Next he had a playing card selected and he placed it back into the deck. Magically, the selected card turned over in the deck. He ended by showing a half-dollar with a hole drilled through it. He was able to cause the hole to move to different locations on the coin.
The last part of our meeting was devoted to member performances by those not entered into the competition. David Teeman showed a trick called “That Old Yarn” that he had obtained in a box of magic he purchased. He taped a selected card to the end of the yarn and buried the card in the deck. He pulled on the yarn and the card magically appeared back on top of the deck. He then showed five lengths of cord. He removed five cords one at a time, but each time he still had five cords. His patter theme for the effect was “Give your love away to make it multiply.”
Michael King shuffled a deck of playing cards and asked someone to name a card. The seven of hearts was named. Michael removed the battery cover from his TV remote and showed that a card was folded up inside. He removed the card and unfolded it to reveal the seven of hearts. Michael next randomized a Rubik’s Cube per the audience’s instructions. He pulled out a “prediction” cube that perfectly matched. He solved the randomized cube in just a couple of seconds! Finally, he showed three large washers threaded onto a ribbon. One by one, he pulled the washers through the ribbon.
James Lopez had a card selected. Sure enough, the selected card turned over in the deck. Not only that, the card matched his prediction. He then had each viewer grab a deck of cards and remove four reds and four blacks. After asking that cards be turned over several times and even shuffled, he accurately predicted the number of face up and face down cards each participant would have and the colors of the cards.
Once the online meeting was officially ended, the Ring 46 officers communicated via email to determine the winners of the 2020 close-up contest. Darryl Brooks took first place and will receive a $30 magic gift card to the magic dealer of his choice. Derrick Beeson took second place and will receive a $20 gift card. Mike Stelzer took third place and will receive a $10 gift card. Each winner will also receive a trophy at an upcoming live meeting.
Lee Woodside