It was pointed out to me that we never actually posted our promo showreel here in the blog. So here it is!
We have been quite surprised on how many hits it received and how it has moved up in the rankings! Clients can received an actual higher quality version on DVD, along with all of our other hardcopy promotional materials. Just contact us on the Illusionist Joe Conrad bookings page.
Just as most of the magic community was, I was shocked to read the news over at the ‘Genii Buzz’ forum regarding the federal charges against Hank Lee (real name Harry Levy) of Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. Then of course after that the story went viral over all the other magic forums and blogs.
You can see the entire article here on the FBI investigation into Hank Lee. Also here is the pdf of the Hank Lee/Richard Garriott stipulated facts and settlement agreement on the case.
This is so sad, at least for me personally. I have looked at Hank Lee with the highest regard for most of my career. I have ordered magic from him for the last 3 decades. As a teenager and beyond I always looked forward to his newest catalog and the ‘Book of Books’ (in the pre-internet days!). He always had all the latest items and supplies I needed and shipped them super fast.
To see him go through this kind of humility (even though self-imposed) breaks my heart. God bless his family too as they go through this ordeal. Hope he can move on after his punishment imposed by the court and put all of this behind him.
I have been getting a lot of inquires of what I have been doing and when our next public performance is. Truth is that after performing two 60+ minutes shows per night for an 8 month run (showtimes 7 days a week!) in Phuket, I am enjoying some down time relaxing this month. Just hanging out with my friends, family and dogs and re-charging my batteries.
We have another high level project launching soon. In the mean time, you can catch up on the latest with our shows, etc. through this blog. Have a good weekend all… 
For some reason, this was always my favorite shot of the interior of the Joe Conrad Magic Theatre in Phuket, Thailand. This pic was shot by Director of Theatre Operations, Andy Pragnell. (On his iPhone!)
I was sad to hear so, so late about the passing of Peter White late last year. I was shocked I was not aware earlier…
Peter was a legend in the dove and silk magic world. I remember seeing his lecture for the first time as a teenager at a Florida State Magic Convention. And he was so kind to spend an additional hour or so privately with me (from a mutual friend’s introduction) and shared even more inside knowledge. WOW!!! How was I to know at that time the effect it would have on my act and how many of his dove & silk gimmicks work become standard in the magic world today. (With no credit to him I might add!)
Nobody took more pride in his teaching and products than he did. As the owner of P&A Silks, he filled a niche that is not easy to find. (Where in the world can I get the white streamers for my act now???) His old lecture notes called “Pete White Dove and Silk Lecture” are available from time to time on Denny & Lee’s Magic Studio website. Believe me, you will not regret the purchase!
For the time being, you can see full details on Peter, his life and his passing on his P&A SILKS webpage.
A couple of weekends ago, we took a break from our normal routine and went over to see the Nris show (a Thai illusionist). It was located at the Hua Hin Thailand Hilton Hotel & Resort. The show was very good with the ‘small but mighty’ audience being entertained immensely. We also found him to be a very nice guy and he was very gracious to both myself and my guests during and after the show.
We always try and support the magic scene in Thailand and were happy to attend the show of Nris and company. The show includes small magic, audience participation, some in-house built magic, hand puppet shadows and even a motorcycle production. The day we saw him it as in the smaller showroom, due to the reduced audience size. When there is a hundred or more people it is moved into the larger convention hall. When there it includes bigger scale illusions with a helicopter production. I hope to make it back to see it sometime. The current contract runs until September. Good job Nris!
After a year and a half in development, we are finally proud to debut our totally originally version of the classic thin model sawing illusion. This involved a complete redesign from the bottom up. We our so proud of our new baby…
(The above is our new promo shot featuring our original illusion concept. It is being released on our website and this blog for the very first time.)
Only a silly American tourist would pose for a pic like this. In the middle of the Bangkok protests, with people getting wounded and killed, this lady (I use the term loosely) poses with the awaiting Thai Army troops.
The older I get the more I amazed by the actions of people. Well, whatever…
Not often we show you the ‘backstage’ part of our illusion company – But my Production Director Andy was a bit bored and arranged one of our truckload of cases for a pic, after last week’s event in Bangkok.
Good job Andy – I Iiked it!
We are now a proud member of the Singapore-Thai Chamber of Commerce. Previously our company was just active in the American Chamber and attended occasional joint functions with the Singapore group. But with more and more of our event work taking place in Singapore and Singapore companies with events in Thailand, this is just a natural progression.
We are proud to be accepted as a member and looking forward to joining the family at the Singapore-Thai Chamber group.