What Happened at the Meeting on Friday 19th April

Our theme was "Sponge Ball Magic", led by Noel Clair.

We welcomed our Patron Graham Holstein, who was visiting us.

Another arrival was the happy return from Canberra of our member Stuart Gray, who has been posted back to Williamtown after some years.  Greetings Stuart !  Great to see you again !

Joel Howlett showed us his sponge ball routine, in which he makes a sponge ball appear and disappear, all choreographed to music.  Every move was accentuated by the timing of the music.  It was brilliant.

Then David Whitson displayed his skill at manipulation of sponge bananas, including multiplying them (David Ginn's item).  He also did Goshman's "Star of the Show" in which a sponge ball, handed to the spectator, changes into a large star-shaped sponge.

Steve Irwin had worked out a "Sponge Bob" routine in which a round sponge ball turns into a sponge cube shaped like "Sponge Bob".

Barry Whitson caused sponge balls to multiply themselves and to divide into two pieces.

John Ferguson followed with card items - "One More Chance", in which a card chosen by the spectator appeared in John's wallet, which had been lying openly on the table from the start. Also, he had a card chosen, and then found it with the help of a Tulip flower because tulips have had an eerie effect on people over the years.

John's volunteer, Andrew Pickard, chose the opportunity while out the front to show us card items -  a chosen card discovered by spreading the deck - it had reversed itself in the spread. Next, he placed a chosen card into the deck and found it had jumped to the top of the deck.

Noel Clair finished off with both sponge ball magic and card magic.  He caused sponge balls to change colour.  He magically divided one sponge ball in two, and he vanished sponge balls. Then, in a  couple of card items, he showed the invisible pass and the premiere performance of the invisible flat pass.

Magicians you may meet when you Come to the Club

One person who will certainly welcome you to the club is our President, DAVID WHITSON:

 David's interest in magic began at the age of seven. He learnt magic from reading books at his local library. As a teenager he joined the Magic Department of the Young Peoples Theatre in Newcastle. After completing a Degree in Drama David launched into a full-time career as a professional magician. He performs at schools, preschools, festivals, clubs, shopping centres, churches, as well as birthday parties. He was a winner of Bert Newton's National Television Program: 'New Faces'. David is a past winner of Newcastle's 'Magician of the Year.'

David's website for his new Eco-show is well worth visiting, and the address is
http://ecomagicshow.blogspot.com/2010/08/eco-magic-show-with-david-whitson.html

or     http://ecomagicshow.blogspot.com



Another person you may meet at the club is our Vice-President, JOEL HOWLETT, of JD Magic.

Joel's first magic performance for an audience was at the age of seven, when after an audition he was invited to perform on an NBN Television telethon, an experience that intensified and animated his love for magic and the stage. Busking, birthday parties and Saturday Guest Appearances in shows, such as, 'The Rowdy Rabbit Fun Show' at the local shopping centre, helped to establish Joel in his early years as a confident and talented young magician.

Since those early days Joel's showmanship has matured and taken him around Australia and the world, where he has appeared, in his own right:
· As the Australian Representative at Disney World Florida for The Millennium Dreamers Awards
· Featured Guest Artist at the Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas in The Stars of Tomorrow Show:
· Featured Act on 'The Gala Show at the Adelaide Magic Convention, where he also won both the Junior Close-up and Open Stage Competitions:
· Also a guest act at The Australian Centenary Magic Convention:
· Special Guest in 'The World Festival of Magic' Show

Joel's website is http://www.jd4magic.com/  and it's worth while visiting it !