Sunday, May 18, 2008

Egg Bag - May 2008

Monthly Newsletter of the Larry West Assembly No. 23 Society of American Magicians


The Larry West Assembly meets the 3rd Wednesday every month at the National Press Club, at 14th and F Streets, N.W. in Washington, D.C.


Join us for magic, fun and fellowship. Cocktails start at 6 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting at 8 p.m. Dress code: please remember that the Assembly is a guest of the National Press Club. Gentlemen should dress business casual or better–no Tee-shirts, shorts, jeans or flip-flops to the dinner meetings. Ladies should dress correspondingly appropriately.


OUR NEXT MEETING – MAY 21, 2008

ANNUAL DUES:

Dues are now due! Our dues are only $10 per year, a real bargain. If you have not yet paid dues for the new fiscal year (April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009), you may pay the Treasurer, Noland Montgomery, at the meeting or mail your check payable to “Larry West Assembly 23” to Noland Montgomery, P.O. Box 581, Beltsville, Maryland 20704-0581.


Theme for this meeting:

The theme is “Show us what you want to show us,” which is to say, there is no official theme this month. The meeting will be an opportunity for each member to show us a work in progress, or showcase a favorite routine, as he or she chooses. This is also an opportunity for performers looking for constructive feed back on their routines to ask for and receive it from other members.


OFFICER NOMINATIONS: Officers for the new term (July 2008-June 2009) will be nominated at the meeting. The officers proposed for nomination by the Nominating Committee are as follows: President: Matt Hiller; Vice President: Lars Klores; Treasurer: Noland Montgomery; Secretary: Ray Eyler. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the meeting. Election of the officers will be held at the June meeting.


FUTURE THEMES:

June-“Show us what you want to show us” and election of new officers


PERFORMANCES AT THE ANNUAL ASSEMBLY 23 NATIONAL PRESS CLUB SHOW:


The annual close-up magic show at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. is one of the highlights of the year for the Larry West Assembly, S.A.M. #23 and this year’s show, which assembly members put on in lieu of the regular April meeting, lived up to its billing. Seven magicians performed for an overflow crowd that required the use of three rooms, instead of the two rooms the assembly has performed for in recent years. The annual show is free to Press Club members and their guests as part of an arrangement the assembly has with the club in exchange for free meeting space.


The magicians offered a variety of comedy, close-up, children’s and adult magic. Assembly President Larry Lipman, Assembly Dean Ray Eyler and longtime member Steve Javes did the honors as masters of ceremony in the three rooms. Only six magicians were scheduled to perform, but because the overflow crowd forced the opening of a third room.


Dwight Redman stumped the crowd with his rendition of Dean Dill’s Box and with a torn and restored card routine in which he compared the torn card to an automobile’s body work. (Photo by Joe Tessmer)



Lee Eyler offered classic magic with his renditions of What’s Next, cut and restored rope and the Chinese Linking Rings. (Photo by Joe Tessmer)



Turley the Magician (Hugh Turley) brought his brand of children’s magic with a torn and restored napkin routine that worked for the child but somehow left Turley’s napkin in tatters. He had better luck, thankfully, with his sword through the neck of a trusting volunteer. (Photo by Joe Tessmer)


Bud Smith, who rarely performs for children, kept the family audience in stitches with his version of Fred Kap’s variation of Edward Victor’s 11-card trick done with dollar bills. Bud kept counting the bills, but when the volunteer counted them there was always a discrepancy. (Photo by Joe Tessmer)



Lars Klores, making his public debut, did several card tricks including a clever routine in which a card was nailed and stapled to a board, only to wind up free and a different card was found attached to the board. (Photo by Joe Tessmer)




Sam Brothers also did a series of stunning card tricks including his version of Rainbow Deck. (Photo by Joe Tessmer)


Noland Montgomery filled in with comedy magic featuring his puppet “Chester the Rabbit,” who delighted the children by doing just the opposite of everything Noland told him to do. (Photo by Joe Tessmer)



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