Egg Bag - July 2009

The Egg Bag - July 2009
Society of American Magicians Assembly 23 - The Larry West Assembly

A Note from the President:

Greetings Compeers,

I am excited to be the Larry West Assembly's new president for the 2009-2010 year. As my first order of business, I want to thank outgoing president Matt Hiller for his service to the organization, and also those "senior advisors" who have helped me get up and running as President: Ray Eyler; Lee Eyler; Larry Lipman; Noland Montgomery; Joe Tessmer; and Dwight Redman.

As you all know, we are starting off the Assembly year in real style by getting the great Al Cohen as our September lecturer. There is not a more important or influential figure in the D.C. magic scene, so we're all really thrilled to have him and looking forward to his lecture on September 14th. Please note, this is a MONDAY, not our regular Wednesday meeting time. To reserve your place, please email alcohenlecture@gmail.com.

In January, we will be presenting "Inside a Close-Up Lecture," a new lecture by the father-son team Ray and Lee Eyler, and then in May a third lecture still to be confirmed.

The $100 Larry West Prize

In July 2010, Assembly 23 will have a drawing for a $100 magic-shop gift certificate. To be entered into this drawing, simply show up to the meetings. Each member in good standing at each meeting will be entered into the drawing. Every month, you have another chance to be entered, so at the end of the year those with perfect attendance should have 12 entries.

A bonus entry each month will be awarded to the member whose magic performance best exemplifies that month's theme.

What are the themes this year? I'm glad you asked.

Meeting Themes 2009 - 2010

August: Luck Be a Lady
September: (Al Cohen Lecture)
October: Jeepers Creepers
November: Dancing in the Dark
December: I've Got You Under My Skin
January: (Ray and Lee Eyler Lecture)
February: Come Fly With Me
March: You're Getting to Be a Habit
April: (NPC Show)
May: (Lecture TBA)
June: I Got Plenty of Nothing
July: What Kind of Fool Am I?

Doing a trick which meets that month's theme is appreciated, but not required. Though, as always, each member must perform at the meeting.

The July Meeting

Our regular meeting at the National Press Club opened with new officers being sworn in. Dwight Redman replaced long-serving Noland Montgomery as Treasurer, while Lars Klores took the reins of president from Matt Hiller. Lars got off to a great start as president by announcing that the legendary Al Cohen had been booked by the club for a rare lecture on September 14th. Al has been in retirement, so this is his first lecture in years, and the club is extremely excited. Later in the year, SAM Assembly 23 will play host to a new lecture, "Inside a Close-Up Session" from the venerable father-and-son team Ray and Lee Eyler, longtime club members and owners of Kee-West Productions. A third lecture may be announced shortly.

In other announcements, Laurie Curry told the club about the Kapital Kidvention, a three-day convention for Children's Magic Show entertainers to be held in the D.C. area in January. More information is at http://www.kapitalkidvention.com/. Ray Eyler then announced that he and son Lee would be premiering their new lecture "Inside a Close-Up Session" at the Jokers Gone WIld convention in Fairborn, Ohio, August 21 and 22. For more info see http://www.magical1.org.

The performance portion of the evening began with Sam Brothers doing an impromptu "Out of This World" of his own devising (after cheekily pretending to stack his deck to throw us off the scent). Laurie Curry then performed "Zebra". She first displayed a silk with a white donkey on it. The silk was put in a bag, then removed and shown to depict a black donkey. All those in the know were sure Laurie was using two silks, until she showed the bag to be empty and the silk changed to depict a zebra! Jim Flanigan followed Laurie with his own Harry Potter-themed automatic coloring book, followed by a Potter-themed card prediction which seemed to go wrong until the magician was saved by an insurance policy which predicted the correct card. Outgoing president Matt Hiller presented his version of Jim Steinmeyer's "Nine Card Problem" using an interesting method in which the spectator decides the placement of the selection. Theo Rushin then performed a routine of his own devising which combined "Ambitious Card", Masuda's "Wow", and a finale from Jay Sankey's "Reconstruction" in which the magician produced a card which was one-off from the selection, but was then changed into the selection by peeling off a pip. Noland Montgomery performed Paul Green's Copper/Silver routine which amazed all. Ray Eyler then performed Andy Dallas's "Vanishing Coin Box," a version of the "Sucker Die Box" which packs flat, followed by Larry West's "Roy's Ploy," a "Color Monte" variation using two selections and the Kings. Larry Lipman, ever on the search for the perfect "Cards Across", performed a real stunner out of an obscure source he indentified as "Tarbell." Wonder when that is coming out on DVD... This version used sealed envelopes to preclude any tampering. New club president Lars Klores chose Guy Hollingworth's "Reformation" for his first trick as president, and presented it with a faith-healer theme. Dwight Redman performed his handling of Mark Jenest's "No. 2 Pencil," then followed it with a real baffler called "Blankety-Blank" from Aldo Columbini in which three kings and a blank card changed to four kings, then to four blanks. Lee Eyler finished off the performance section with part of an Al Leech card effect in which a card was chosen, then found via an indicator card reversed in the deck. In between the indicator card and the selected card? The four Aces! Lee then finished with his own incredible sandwich effect, "Club Sandwich."

Members then retired to the Reliable Source bar for sessioning and libations.

Contributions

The Egg Bag is a great place to make announcements, or to contribute effects or handlings you've been working on. Please send contributions to SAMAssembly23@gmail.com

The Usual Info

SAM Assembly 23 - The Larry West Assembly - meets on the third Wednesday of every month in the Reliable Source bar on the 13th floor of the National Press Club on 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C., between E and F streets. Dinner and drinks commence at 6:30, the meeting commences at 8:00.

Dress is business casual or better.

Next Meeting

Our next meeting is August 19th. The theme is "Luck Be a Lady". See you there.