Photos from the Newest Trick In The Book

Last night we got together for the final performance of The Newest Trick In The Book. This show was created in 2016 to offer magicians of all skill levels a safe place to explore and experiment performing new material. Normally that task falls to parents, children and significant others. It was held at a number of different venues, a mixture of weekly and monthly events. It spent a brief time online as The Newest Trick in the MacBook for obvious reasons. I was on several times over the years and met some wonderful friends in the process.

Here are some photos from that final night.

Ben Train

Ben Train

Niki Runnalls

Niki Runnalls

Niki Runnalls

Jonah Babins

Jonah Babins

(Don’t worry, the Toronto Magic Company isn’t going anywhere. They already have plenty of other projects lined up for the fall.)

Back to the real world

After more than two years of hiding on Zoom, I’m delighted to be back in front of a live audience. This week, I’ll be appearing on The Newest Trick in the Book.

Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 8:00 PM
Royal Comedy Theatre
1051 Bloor Street West Toronto

This is a jam-packed show featuring ten magic and mystery performers to celebrate a return to face-to-face magic in the real world. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance.

I’ll be appearing alongside Jonah Babins, Ryan Brown, Mark Clearview, Michael Craig Francis, Chris Mayhew, Patrick Nemeth, Lukas Stark, Ben Train, Chris Westfall and The Sentimentalists.

 

The Newest Trick in the MacBook

Last night, I got to participate in a live streamed show put on by the Toronto Magic Company. Since the two hosts of the show happen to be in my 10-person social circle, I was able to sneak over and appear in the show live:

The show is based on their live open-mic magic show, “The Newest Trick in the Book” which was held weekly in Toronto for several years. It offers people a chance to see virtual performances from various magicians ranging from enthusiastic hobbyists to full time professionals. This episode included performances from Denis Kim, Jacque Swan, David Sutherland, Gordon Precious, Wonderphil (Phil Pivnick) and Ryan Brown.

You can watch the full stream above for free!

Rencontre avec un magicien

I was recently invited to appear on "L’heure de pointe”, a CBC Radio Canada program, to talk about magic goings on in the city of Toronto. (Apparently I speak French… who knew?)

In particular Illusions: The Art of Magic currently open at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The Allan Slaight Collection of Magic Posters is currently on display through the middle of May. (Or at least part of the collection… the exhibit is on loan from the McCord Museum in Montreal where the full collection lives.) These are stunning images produced to advertise magic shows in what we call the “Golden Age” (1880-1930 give or take). They were produced by an incredible colour printing technology on an unbelievable scale — many of the posters on display are larger than a person.

On top of the posters themselves magicians with the Toronto Magic Company (of whom I am one) are performing daily in the gallery from 2:00 - 4:00 PM and also evening performances 6:00 - 8:00 PM on Wednesdays and Fridays.

We also talked about some other Toronto goings on including the monthly “Newest Trick in the Book” and a secret little magicians get together known as “Alakajam”

Photos from The Newest Trick In The book

Still getting caught up from a busy summer. Here are a few photos from The Newest Trick In The Book courtesy of David Fulde.

L to R: Dan Stapleton, LEO, James Alan, Ajay Goldin, Rob Testa

Ajay Goldin

Dan Stapleton

Ajay Goldin

Rob “Peace Man” Testa

Rob Testa

Dan Stapleton

LEO

James Alan

Ryan Goldin

This was back on July 30. I was joined by Dan Stapleton, LEO, Ryan Goldin and Rob Testa. The Newest Trick In The Book is a weekly open mic put on by the Toronto Magic Company at See-Scape, a nerd-themed bar in the Junction.

Ordinarily the show is hosted by the lovely and talented Jonah Babins, but he was off on his summer holiday. The show is continuing through the fall on Tuesday nights. It’s free to attend and tickets can be reserved online.

The Newest Trick In The Book

Tuesday night I’ll be appearing on The Newest Trick In The Book. It’s a fun and informal night of magic put on by the Toronto Magic Company. We use the delightfully nerd-themed bar See Scape (Keele & Dundas, Toronto) filled with games both of the video and table-top variety.

This week features guest host Patrick Nemeth, also features Chris Mayhew, Michael Penkul and Jacqueline Swan. This is a free show to attend but you can reserve seats through Eventbrite.