A blog looking behind the scenes into Joe & the Joe Conrad Magic Company
Saw this great post on James Devereaux’s The Great Acting Blog.
A lot of what he says can be applied to the magic art, not only acting.
Good job and kudos to James in pointing out what should be more obvious to many, but over-looked in their day-to-day hectic lives.
Remember to keep your focus on the long-term folks!
Something that is a little bit off the topic of magic, but that is a reality for those of us who have to put on our “salesman” hat to get new & constant work.
I am talking about pronouncing your new & potential clients names correctly! I have never been good with people’s names in various countries and even less clever in learning new languages!
But these two websites help a lot:
I rely on these sites constantly before picking up the phone or going to a new meeting – it saves me from making an ass of myself by not getting there name correct! The internet is an amazing support tool in selling and here is further proof.
Not every name is in their database, but there is a lot more than you would think in there. The Pronounce How site is especially good, as it has an audio clip too on how the name should sound, along with the text look-up.
It is with much sadness that I heard second-hand of the recent death of my friend, Master Illusionist Rick Walker. He died way too early at the age of 64. The date of his death was Saturday, July 20, 2013.
I had not seen Rick for several years, but last I heard is that he was still very active in magic, along with his other businesses. Apparently (as it has been related to me) Rick had an accidentally fall, which caused a bump to his head and caused brain hemorrhaging leading to his death.
Rick Walker & Company was one of the first illusionists I ever saw perform live (at the Florida State Magic Convention in the 1970’s) and had a big influence on me. This was the first time a had seen a magician of a higher caliber perform with the the large illusions – and from that moment on was something I wanted to aspire to. Rick was about 13 years older than me, so when I saw him perform he was in his prime.
Rick was originally from Monticello, Mississippi, but moved to Dallas, Texas in 1977 where he spent the majority of his adult life. He was also an assistant for the Harry Blackstone, Jr. show early in his career. He had numerous national television appearances, was a magic consultant to the movie industry, as well as performing world-wide with his show.
Rick, you will be missed. But your influence and magic will live on.
You can see a video of Illusionist Rick Walker’s performance below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI4Js5U7jtM]Hi gang… I have not been able to post as much as I like lately due to my iMac’s hard drive recently crashing, etc.
Back online finally with a new temporary Windows PC. Both the hard drive & the motherboard are being replaced in my apple system currently and I should have it back by next week. But the Windows world is not as bad as I thought it would be.
Just glad to be back around online on this blog & otherwise on a regular basis again!
Besides the magic and illusions in our show, I am also very heavily involved in the staging side of things. For that reason I am a crazy about old, classic entertainment contracts along this their related associated riders (quite rare to come across).
For that reason I was quite excited when I came across this “Scene & Prop List” (essentially also a Backstage Contract Rider in it’s day & time) from the Harry Houdini show.
Thanks to the Society Of American Magicians (SAM) for the original find. Enjoy…
After performing magic for over 35 years, I often choose not to watch it in my leisure time on television, etc. To be truthful, so many modern magicians performances just bore me. Or maybe I have just seen too much over my years…
But when a performer (both a respected actor & magician) of the top caliber of Ricky Jay was on the Late Show With David Letterman recently, I sit up, take notice and absorb every moment. More magicians should do the same and pay attention to what he has to say about the current state of our art & craft!
This particular segment aired on the show on Friday, April 26, 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EYiPkOgEOM
As you all know from my previous post, I am a big fan of TAF – Truss Aluminum Factory. I own many of their excellent Trussing products (through my main Orlando, Florida dealer Stage Equipment & Lighting, aka SEAL).
Known as the Tower 5, it is a solid option as a multi-option trussing tower. Maximum lifting height is 6.5 meters (21.33 feet) with lift loads of 500 kilograms (1,100 lbs).
It is not replacing my trusty Applied Electronics L16’s just yet, but it is pretty damn close and is a viable future option.
Great job to the folks over at TAF!
Now that the Cera Sanitaryware 2013 Gala Dinner & Show was concluded, it was time for all to let their hair down a bit. International Indian DJ Dominic Dom (and his partner) took things over and everyone partied & danced into the wee hours of the night.
That gave us a chance to relax too and snap a few pictures for our memories of the event.
Joe Conrad together with his beautiful lead show dancer and assistant just after his show.
All the key executives of the Cera Sanitaryware Company & employee prize winners, led by Mr. Abbey Rodrigues – Vice-President of Domestic Sales (pictured 2nd from the left). 3 cars were given away that night. WOW!
After the spectacular gala dinner event, everyone was in the mood to party and dance the night away. As you can see from the pic, looks like they could have done with a few more women on the stage to join them! 😉
Even all the Thai ‘pretty girls’ got in the party mood and started dancing!
Joe and Angus hanging out backstage.
Joe Conrad and his ace Bangkok-based photographer Khun Nok. (Who did all the photography too for this series of blog posts on the Cera Sanitaryware event).
Then after that the official event was concluded. Another hard part for my some of my technical team and staff actually begins now – as the illusions and props are packed away, light, sound, AV & set equipment are torn down, put into the the truck and so on…
A conclusion to another Joe Conrad Magic Company produced event. We normally do not go into this much detail documenting what goes on at one of our events. But since we were in total control of producing it, it allowed a unique opportunity to document it too for our many fans and readers.
A big “THANK YOU” to all of my team and everyone else involved. It was a lot of work but a lot of fun at the same time. Until next time…
We finally get to what all this hard work was for – The Cera Gala Dinner & Show!
The evening started with expert Master of Ceremonies Robert Thomas entering the stage and welcoming everyone. Robert was flown in special from Sydney just for this event!
First on the bill was the internationally acclaimed belly-dancer Jeta Barooshka. She was a big hit with the all-Indian audience. She was to present her spectacular fire act too, but in the end the security of the hotel did not allow any fire whatsoever in the ballroom (which is becoming more & more common these days).
Next up was a grand master Shaolin martial artist. He presentation brought gasps from the crowd and thunderous applause.
Besides Joe Conrad’s magic, one of the other great highlights of the night was the presentation of the Lion Dance. This kind of act is very unique to Asia and the region, which is the reason why it is usually requested to be included in an event of this nature. With over 13 cast members that are involved in the act, it is something that must be seen live to be fully appreciated.
A short break from the entertainment took place now. This was so Cera Sanitaryware could give out some awards to some especially hard-working employees across multiple departments. Congratulations to all of you that worked so hard for this top-notch Indian company.
Illusionist Joe Conrad smiles playfully at the audience while performing one of his tricks.
Paula, one of Illusionist Joe Conrad’s beautiful dancers, just as she disappears in an illusion.
Joe Conrad plunges a one of many swords into his basket illusion, while the dancer is still inside.
From the reaction of the audience, all of our hard work was worth it! Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the show immensely. Which was a big relief to all of us involved in producing it!
COMING UP – PART III: ‘After-Show Pics’
Indians are some of our favorite audiences to perform for. (And for any of the minority of our ignorant American friends out there – I am referring the citizens in the country of India, not the ‘Native American Indians’…)
So when our client Cera Sanitaryware from India contacted us to handle the entire last evening of the gala show, we were happy to oblige. Most people know us just for handling the illusion & technical parts of our own show – however we are also a full-fledged event company and have the full inventory & services to handle this side of things (and can do it much better than bigger dedicated event companies).
For Cera, not only did we do all the elements associated with the Illusionist Joe Conrad show, but my team handled all the the staging, set pieces, backdrops, audio-visual, entertainment (with many different acts), lighting, sound, theme design, staging personnel, photography, video, hostesses, production, coordination, direction, as well many other aspects.
It was a very tiring week leading up to the event, but the stellar results were worth it. We are so proud of it for our client we have decided to document the whole event with photos and break it into two different posts.
The gala event was held on Thursday, April 11, 2013 in the beautiful Crystal Ballroom at the 5 star Holiday Inn Silom Bangkok Hotel in our home-base of Thailand.
Note: For die-hard magic fans of Illusionist Joe Conrad, apologies ahead of time. This first post deals mostly with the production side of the event and what it took to get the show up. The second ‘PART II: THE SHOW’ post will have a bit more of my magic & pics. Promise!
Normally we are able to get into the hotel the evening before the event and work throughout the night to setup until the early a.m. (and use that day to fine-tune and rehearse). But since the hotel had a full event schedule, they did not allow us to unload until 8:00 a.m. the same day of the event – so that is what we did. All vendors were ready & standing by, and we got to work…
With this tight timeline, there is no margin for error. All elements must come together perfectly (and some people cannot even start their jobs until certain technical elements from other teams are completed). I am happy to say it all came off without a hitch and we where able to start our dressed rehearsal on-time that afternoon at 4:00 p.m. sharp.
I’ll let the pics below (with their relevant captions) tell the rest of the story.
The beautiful entrance to the Crystal Ballroom at the Holiday Inn Silom Bangkok. Even though not the largest function ballroom in Bangkok, it is very classy and has an intimate feel.
After laying down the stage decking, the specially produced backdrop & side panels were next to get constructed & up. They will take 3 to 4 hours to finish their work. Lighting, sound & the AV (audio-visual) teams can begin their preliminary work too while the backdrop set company does their job.
Stage lighting design being fine-tuned to prepare for the dressed rehearsal shortly thereafter.
One of our top AV technicians preparing the projector for the evening’s award presentation.
The AV set-up continues. This is the monitor so the CEO & award presenters don’t miss a beat. You didn’t think they memorized all that stuff did you, hee hee! Doing it this way we prevents the need for a cumbersome podium too, that would block other elements of the production.
A final check of the AV equipment & presentation with all the key personnel involved.
Sound speakers and monitors placed in the correct positions on the left & right front of the stage. These will be more than enough for this mid-size ballroom.
All plugs in their proper place for the amplifiers and other equipment.
Joe Conrad reviewing all the show cues with top Indian DJ & Sound Man Dominic Dom.
Joe pacing & reviewing to make sure everything is set properly for the final run-through.
All lighting designs, including with the moving heads, are perfected during our final rehearsal and walk-through. The chandeliers on the the ceiling, above the stage, cannot be moved and would normally be in the way – but instead we use them to our advantage and bounce light off of them. This creates a beautiful light pattern.
The simple but elegant table centerpiece.
All the banquet tables are completely set-up with everything in it’s proper place by the staff.
5:30 p.m. and all four of the “pretty girls” (know everywhere else in the world as hostesses or models) have arrived and are properly rehearsed. They will be the first to greet the guests as they arrive, as well as assist them safely on & off the stage for all presentations.
6:00 p.m sharp, doors open and guests arrive. All exactly on-time! 🙂
COMING UP – PART II: ‘The Show!’