CONTENTS:

Blake Vogt: Coming to Light
By Jamie D. Grant
People scoffed when Blake Vogt said he wanted to design illusions for Las Vegas magicians. Yet, a few years later, he was doing just that, and he has now consulted for many of the biggest names in magic, in addition to keeping up his own performing career.

The Official Wizard of San Francisco
By Mike Ching
A throwback to the days of the traveling medicine-show pitchman, Dr. H.P. Lovecraft was one of the premier street performers in San Francisco forty years ago. His mixture of magic, comedy, and hokum was influential in the world of vaudeville presented to passersby.

Mel Mellers, Mirthful Marvel
By Alan Howard
Onstage, Mel Mellers manages to remain charming while being cattily insulting to his audience. Offstage, this British comic magician is quietly thoughtful, carefully analyzing his material for maximum impact.

Latimer's Perception
By Alan Howard
Jason Latimer's new show, Perception: See Beyond the Illusion, is not an example of magic versus science; it is proof that the wonder of one leads to the discoveries of the other.

Plus Updates on...

• Magic Inc. celebrates its fiftieth anniversary with their street being renamed after Jay Marshall
• Rokas Bernatonis set a record for card-throwing, and got a high-profile gig just be asking - repeatedly
• The fortieth anniversary of Tannen's Magic Camp
• Kevin & Caruso return to Atlantic City
• Adrien Brody stars as Houdini in a new miniseries that airs this month
• Remembrances of Basil Owen Smith and Alan "Ace" Greenberg
  
  Bonus Content for the September Issue...
   
• Performances by Blake Vogt of Dream Card to Wallet and T-$hirt, plus a video explanation of his origami T-shirt bill fold
• Two new excerpts from Murphy's At The Table Lecture Series: Patrick Kun teaching DIT Aces, and John Guastaferro explains a Zen-like bending straw effect*
• An exclusive ten-minute excerpt of Marvyn Roy reading from his autobiography, Mr. Electric Unplugged, published by Mike Caveney's Magic Words, in which Marvyn tells about creating his light bulb act with Alan Wakeling*
• Bonus video of Jason Latimer
• Bonus video of Rokas Bernatonis
• Convention Podcast: White Magic Convention in Perm, Russian Federation
  
  Marketplace
  Fifteen products are reviewed this month by Peter Duffie, Gabe Fajuri, Jared Kopf, and Francis Menotti:
  The Magic Way by Juan Tamariz
  Close Culls by Harapan Ong
  The Floating Ball by Luis de Matos
  Aurora by Scott Thomson
  X-Change by Julio Montoro and SansMinds Magic
  Noted 2.0 by Gary Jones
  Travelling Deck 2.0 by Takel
  Holy COW by Chef Tsao
  Velocity by Rick Smith Jr.
  Infallible by Mark Elsdon
  The Opposite of People by Michael Feldman
  Tear-Apart Vanish
  Senses by Christopher Wiehl
  
  In One: Blake Vogt
  Although he is only in his twenties, Indiana native Blake Vogt has been making a reputation for himself as a creative consultant for many of today's most noted magicians, as well as establishing a performing career of his own. This month, "In One" features Blake's own descriptions of two of the many tricks he has created. His impromptu version of a Card to Wallet effect is performed for one person, yet adds an element of mystery for the rest of the audience, who think they know what is happening. T-$hirt is an almost instantaneous transformation of a dollar bill into an origami shirt.
  
  The Monk's Way: Monkey in the Box
  Steve Reynolds
  The now well-known footage of "The Invisible Gorilla" embodied the idea of intentional blindness. However, it was not the first time I had seen this idea used in magic effects. I thought, This is exactly the kind of thing Bro. Hamman employs in his work. I had seen it time and again as I began paying more and more attention to my audiences. In 2002, my colleague B.J. Bueno shared an unpublished idea that used full distraction to put a folded card into a card box. Why not do a similar thing more openly, more boldly? I thought, Perhaps the gorilla wouldn't be seen. It had to be called: Monkey in the Box.
  
  Loving Mentalism: Sign Language
  Ian Rowland
  Being able to just look at someone and correctly guess his or her star sign is quite an impressive feat. Various methods have been devised over the years, the vast majority relying on having the spectator write something down or ruses such as a progressive anagram. This month's "Loving Mentalism" offers a different approach. It's a wholly impromptu way of giving the impression that you're able to figure out someone's star sign from just a couple of personality questions. There's nothing written down and no props involved. All you need to do is learn the script and you're good to go, anywhere, anytime!
  
  Bent on Deception: To Script or Not to Script: That is the Question
  Mike Bent
  It's back-to-school time! And for me, that means teaching. I'm starting my 25th year teaching at Emerson College in Boston. One of the classes I teach essentially functions as a sketch comedy group. We brainstorm ideas, write sketches, revise them, submit them, vote on them, rehearse them, and perform them in front of a live audience. It is hands-on, practical work. It also mirrors what I do with my act. I think of all my routines as one-person sketches, and they're sketches written in script form. There's been a lot of talk about magicians and scripting. Is scripting good or bad? I believe scripting is a great idea and a horrible idea at the same time. Let me explain.
  
  Classic Correspondence: Lloyd Jones to Dave Fiscus (Part 3)
  Mike Caveney
  We return with Lloyd Jones' letter to Dave Fiscus, written in 1958. This third and final installment again represents a master's thesis on the state of the magic world in America during the middle of the 20th century. Lloyd continues to point out the pros and cons - well, mostly cons - of becoming a full-time professional magician.
  
  For What It's Worth: The Great American Suitcase Act
  Mark Kornhauser
  When a great artist tries to create a great piece of magic, he or she must ask: Am I creating wonder? Am I true to myself? Does this separate me from all the rest? And yet some of the cleverest magicians I know, the ones who seem to work all the time, often ask themselves a different first question: Will it fit in my suitcase?
  
  Walkabout Soup: The Great Australian Rope Drought of 2008
  Simon Coronel
  It's a well-established view that many of the best rope routines involve genuinely cutting the rope - which means they also involve keeping one's rope stocks topped up. Before 2008, that was easy. Rope was cheap. Rope was plentiful. Rope was so easily available that most people didn't bother keeping stockpiles of it. Then the dark days came. In early 2008, the factory closed. The Australian magic industry was plunged into a sudden and severe rope drought. Magicians realized too late that they had become overly reliant on a single supplier.