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| Wesley James to Lecture for the Parent Assembly on November 2, 2006 (Pictures below)
Along the way, James’ name has appeared fairly extensively in magical literature. However, until his retirement, in 1982, he was far more involved in performing than in circulating his name among magicians. For many years he refused to lecture for magicians, being unwilling to expose the wealth of original material that were the tools that enabled him to earn his living. Now, having retired, he shares his secrets freely and has lectured extensively throughout the Northeast, where he resides. He has performed and/or lectured at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, the TSD Convention in New Orleans, the ONYX Convention in Colorado, and in Las Vegas. During most of his years, James performed primarily at trade shows and colleges, but he was also the developer of and a principal in New York's Magic Towne House in the early 1970s. (The Magic Towne House created a Magic Castle like establishment on the East Coast.) That venture probably exposed his name to the magic fraternity more then any other single undertaking. Individuals who are newer to magic will know the name, Wesley James, by the contributions he has allowed to appear over the years, i.e., "The Touch Change" and "Twisting on Victor" in Kaufman's CoinMagic and mention of his effect, "Forgery,” in Peter Samelson's Theatrical Close-up and Darwin Ortiz’s At the Card Table. Those who have been in magic longer or who are steeped in card magic will know his work from Karl Fulves' Epilogue in which a number of his creations saw print including "L.S.D. Aces" and "Cannibal Cards” and “Cannibal Coin." His material has also appeared in Harry Lorayne's Apocalypse, Frank Garcia's Super Subtle Card Magic (“Coming Up in the World”) and in M-U-M while it was under the late Leslie Guest's editorship (“The WJ Front Bottom Deal”). In more recent years, his contributions have appeared in many of the best cutting edge forums, with extensive material in Ken Simmons’ ONYX and Aaron Smith’s Mr. Gadfly but also in more mainstream publications, such as Genii’s Magicana, while under Jim Patton’s editorship. Among his numerous marketed effects are "Wishuffle" which has been continuously available from Hank Lee or Magical Tools since the mid-seventies and "The PolyGraph Deck" which has been available, sporadically, since the late seventies. More recently, he has released "Ring Flite Professional" and "The Impressionists" through Magical Tools and “Pristine” through Ken Simmons. James’ first book, Pasteboard Perpensions, sold out its first printing without a single ad and his second book The Magical Record and Thoughts of Wesley James did the same. His lecture notes, Stop Fooling Us!, are considered among the finest ever offered. His first major work, Enchantments, was published by Stephen Minch’s Hermetic Press. With all of his background and extensive publishing, the most relevant question for you should be, "Is he a good lecturer?" James has had vast experience as a public speaker. Most of his college performances were lectures on "Gambling Cheats and How They Operate." The January/February 1990 issue of Tannen's Magic Manuscript contains the first review of his lecture. Hal Zeve, the reviewer, rated the lecture an 8.0, the highest rating ever given. Matthew Field, reviewer for Genii magazine, and current editor of the Magic Circle’s The Magic Circular, has described him as, “One of the great minds and two of the great hands in Magic.” Anyone interested in close-up magic will find his lecture "Stop Fooling Us!" a richly rewarding experience and will come away with much to think about, practice and perform. The lecture is scheduled to take place following the Parent Assembly’s monthly meeting on November 2nd, 8PM at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, 1425 Madison Avenue. The lecture will contain his professional close-up act plus bonus material, some of which, taken from Enchantments, has never before been presented in a lecture. Biographical information and photo courtesy of Wesley James
When: Thursday, November 2, 2006, 8 PM Where: Mt. Sinai Medical Center, 1425 Madison Avenue, at 98th Street, New York, NY Admission policy:
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While
the name, Wesley James, may not be familiar to all magicians, his background is
both extensive and varied. Over his more than 50 years in magic, 25 as a
full-time professional, he has performed nearly every type of magic from
close-up to illusions, from kid shows to corporate parties, and everything in
between.
