Archive for January 2010
My Close-Up Magicians Conference
0 Comments | Posted by Andi Gladwin in Performances
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Five years ago, along with another professional magician, I launched a conference for serious close-up magicians. The Session is an annual event that attracts close-up magicians from all over the world. It’s the only event dedicated specifically to close-up magicians in the UK and has quickly become one of the most popular magician’s conferences in the magic calendar.
This year people are coming from as far afield as Canada, America, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Greece, Germany and Austria to see me and a group of other close-up magicians talk about our magic. It’s held in Gloucester and is a great way for magicians to learn magic from professional close-up magicians.
As well as hosting the conference, I’ll also be putting on an event that teaches magicians how to create their own magic, will be performing some of my own magic in a show and will also be compering a show that we’re calling Andi’s Stag Do (I’m getting married later this year). It’s the first time I’ve ever MCed a magic show and I’m looking forward to trying out some stand-up comedy without performing a single trick, for the first time ever. Hopefully it won’t be the last!
No Business Like Snow Business
0 Comments | Posted by Andi Gladwin in Performances
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Here in Gloucester we’ve been hit pretty badly by the recent snowfall. There’s still about eight inches of snow surrounding my house (think of it as a frozen moat), making it a complete nightmare to get out! The heavy snow in this area made last night’s trek to the Cotswolds to perform as a close-up magician a tough job; but I made it!
I performed magic at the launch party of a pharmaceutical company at the Four Pillars Hotel in the Cotswold Water Park, just outside of Gloucester. It was the first time I’ve performed as a close-up magician at this venue, but definitely hope to perform there again. It’s modern, nicely designed and a perfect environment for a magician to perform. The people at the party really enjoyed my magic and I had a lot of fun performing for them. It was a small event of about 60 people, which is always fun to work at.
Next week is a crazy week as I travel all around the country (Manchester, Newcastle, Sussex, London and more) — it’s unlikely that I’ll actually return home at all for about a week, starting this coming Thursday … that’s the fun life of a close-up magician!
I’ll be sure to post updates on the road. Firstly though, I have to organise a conference for magicians starting this weekend (more on that in my next post).
Magic Circle Magician
0 Comments | Posted by Andi Gladwin in About magic
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One of the questions that I get asked the most (other than “Can you make my wife disappear”) is whether I’m a member of the famous Magic Circle. The answer is: yes!
The Magic Circle is a famous magic club with only a few thousand members throughout the world. It was founded by a group of magicians in 1905 and has been going strong ever since. It is now the most famous association for magicians in the world.
Nowadays, we’re based in London (our headquarters are in Euston) where we meet to discuss and improve the art of magic. We’ve got a library that holds millions of mysteries in thousands of books that were written especially for magicians. We’ve got a museum, a theatre and my favourite place … a bar!
To join, I had to give an audition (performing in front of a group of the country’s best magicians; who unanimously voted me into the club) and give my word not to willfully disclose magic secrets other than to bona fide students of magic. To date, I’ve kept that promise.
Being a member of the Magic Circle is a way of confirming that I am a good, entertaining magician. I was even recently featured by the club and given the honour of being put on the cover of their magazine.
Hear Magic on the Radio
0 Comments | Posted by Andi Gladwin in Interviews
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All this week BBC Radio Gloucestershire are doing a series on me. Tune at at approximately 9.45am to John Rockley to hear me talk about my life as a magician and hear me performing magic live on air for the presenter. You can listen live here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/playlive/bbc_radio_gloucestershire/
For those who aren’t in the UK, I’ll try to get an MP3 put together at the end of the week-long series.
If you are visiting my website after listening to me on the radio, you might like to check out more about my magic at my close-up magician page.
Now's the Time to Hire a Magician
0 Comments | Posted by Andi Gladwin in Hiring a magician
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If you’re looking to a hire a close-up magician in 2010 for a wedding, party or event, now is the best time to do it! Close-up magicians tend to get booked up for key dates early in the year, so it’s always useful to book early to guarantee my availability. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been hired for so far in 2010:
- Wedding magician in Gloucester
- Party magician in Cheltenham
- Christmas party magician in Wales (already!)
- Wedding magician in Bristol
- Worcester wedding magician
- Close-up magician for product launch in Gloucester
- Magician for wedding in Cheltenham
- Birmingham close-up magician for a party
- … and many more of that nature!
Even if you’re just thinking about hiring a close-up magician for your event, get in contact today to ensure that I’ll be able to keep your date free!
I’m based in Gloucester but will travel anywhere in the country (or world for that matter!).
