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Mike:
Tom, I realize that Mr. Black was a major part of what drove
you into magic at a young age. As you grew up, though, and decided
that magic was what you wanted to do, you must have seen plenty
of other magicians, at conventions, on the television and just
in general by being with the magic crowd. I'm wondering, which
magician(s), if any, has or had an influence on how you present
yourself, your style and your choice of magic in general.
Tom Cutts: I didn't realize how Blackie had influenced
me until I looked back and found him resonating in my work twenty
years later. I am influenced by Paul Harris's freedom of thought
in magic, Roger Klause's pure poetry of motion, Gene Poinc's
continual cry for brevity, Eugene Burger's ability to make a
magic trick about human experiences, but I'm more influenced
by things outside of magic. I am deeply inspired and influenced
by music. It is the vehicle that led me, finally, to discover
how emotions can flow through magic like they do in music. I
find inspiration and influence in most art, but especially Dadaism.
I am inspired and influenced by Keith Johnstone and his brilliant
insights into what the purpose of theater is...and how to achieve
it. I believe inspiration and influence should come from all
facets of your life. If you try to shut out a part of your life,
it will find its way into your performance. Don't be afraid
to let unorthodox things influence your material. If the routines
you devise through that are unusable, then just decide not to
use them. But they are still there so that influence is satisfied.
I am influenced by the teaching methods of my fencing masters
Harold Haines and Arthur Lane. They are both insightful men
with a unique sense of the human creature both physiologically
and psychologically. I am influenced by a single flower growing
in a vast emptiness. How does one do that with magic? So, to
make a long answer even longer, your magic should be about you.
For there to be a you, you have to go out and dive head first
into the world around. Swim in its majesty and acknowledge as
much of it as you can. This alone will automatically start to
influence you. Now that's a task.
Mike: Another for you, Tom. Considering the overwhelming
numbers that we are experiencing in magic these days, which
younger, mostly unknown young men and women, do you feel are
the ones to watch? What I mean to say is, are there any young
"up and comers that" you feel are on their way into
the big time or destined for greatness?
Tom Cutts: I just got back from spending the evening
with Reed McClintock at a Misdirections Magic Shop lecture.
He is definitely a guy to keep your eyes on. Only five years
into magic but he is doing great material, his own and has a
great sense for theory, philosophy, and the art of magic. There
is also a "kid" on the East Coast of the US. Kostya
Kimlet has some great chops and strong thinking for a young
guy. I haven't seen Shoot Ogawa but everyone raves about him
wherever he goes. Of that group I have to say that Reed is going
to be busting out some new material that will have a great impact
on magic. That's all I can say about it though. He will probably
be the most published of the group by this time next year. His
lecture is quite inspiring. There is one more to keep your
eye out for, Scott The Magician and Miss Muriel. Scott is the
current FISM Grand Prix winner and one heck of a physical comedian.
His act is funny and can fry an audience with its original illusions.
I fear, however, that these two will find their fame in movies
rather than magic. They are that good. All they need is the
right backer and the right vehicle.
Jon Snoops: I understand that you attended the magic
festival this year in Izmir. Could you please tell us a little
about your experiences there, and what you thought of it overall.
Thanks a lot, and I hope you enjoy your stay here at MB.
Tom Cutts: I think when you read this you will understand
what took so long to compose it. Only an in depth account could
truly communicate how vastly different this was from your run
of the mill convention. My adventure to Izmir, the annual cultural
festival, and the Magic Studio Convention was very unique and
exciting. Obviously there were a number of friends and family
quite awed by the fact that I would be traveling to Turkey,
a country very rich in history and beauty. On my flight over
I made an Origami Bunny (see Mike Close) for one of the airline
counter people which got me bumped up to first class for the
leg of my journey across the US. This always takes the stress
off a long trip. Upon arriving in Istanbul, Ichazod (also from
California) and I met up with Peter Loughran from Canada. We
enjoyed our short layover sipping beers and breaking out some
routines. It was the best layover in an airport I have ever
had. This was just a sample of what was to come. Tora met the
three of us at the Izmir Airport and drove us to the hotel.
We settled in and that evening met up with the Studio Group.
There were about 25 Studio students for this welcome and kick
off event plus about ten masters and guest lectures. There was
a delightful ceremony and presentation as well as a small show
with a few acts. We got a tour of the grounds, the hotel is
on a camp grounds with a GIGANTIC swimming pool...make that
two pools. The Americans were still tired from our flights so
the three of us called it an early night by convention standards.
Every day started with complimentary breakfast. Not toast, juice,
and coffee like one might expect but eggs, some fresh vegetables,
bread with jam, and the delightful Turkish tea. By day we conventioned
with lectures from different countries and a bazaar with unique
and clever items from around the world. By night we were Festival
attendees and/or performers. There were eight small stages around
the festival where the Studio students performed their acts
and spread publicity about the upcoming professional show. OK,
let me set one thing straight in your heads. This "festival"
was the largest collection of vendors I have ever seen. It was
bigger than huge and the names of the companies that were represented
there read like a who's who of the international business world.
As the magnitude of the festival sank in, the concept of the
coming show became more and more amazing to me that Tora had
pulled this off. Truly there was going to be a gala magic show
in one of the largest, most diverse trade shows I have ever
heard of. I say trade show but there were really probably a
hundred different trades represented. About 12am we all would
board the bus back to the hotel and return to magic convention
mode performing tricks, drinking Turkish tea, seeing more lectures,
breaking into those great little eclectic groups and doing intimate
little routines to impress each other. For me the key to a great
convention is having some place to hang out and do magic after
the set festivities are over. Here the Izmir Studio Convention
did not fail. Twice, myself and Peter Loughran stayed up until
the sun rose. And then there was the show... A state of the
art theater jammed with 500 people and the media was there as
well. This truly was an event! There were over twenty five acts
on the near four hour show that the audience lapped up every
minute of. It was a parade of magic from around the world. A
rare treat that probably only is matched by events like FISM.
After the show each of the performers was presented with a really
nifty trophy to commemorate their part in the event. This was
so gracious of Tora and a brilliant move on his part. Sitting
in my home the memento is so visible, unique, and magical that
it attracts people to it and a story, not too unlike this one,
unfolds. Of all the junk I have gotten to commemorate all the
conventions I have taken part in there are only two items that
really do their job, which is to remind me of the great times
had and to inspire others to ask about the same. One was the
coffee mug I got one year from a Dessert Magic Seminar here
in The States. I don't drink coffee but I do use mugs and this
is a simple and very elegant one. There is a new number one
in this category though and it is Tora's trophy. Thanks Tora!
Know that this item not only triggers the tales of my adventure
but also immediately communicates to those who study it just
how unique an experience it was. As for the show we Americans
pulled together to help out Ichazod with his straight jacket
escape. We scripted a little byplay to liven up the restraining
portion of the act. A point which the reporter for the Turkish
Daily News made note of. I debuted a piece that I had been conceiving
for the last six months. It was slow to start but really took
off as I read some thirteen people's minds. No small feat when
you realize they spoke little English and I very little Turkish.
It worked because Tora as MC and translator was supporting the
audience's understanding of what was going on. Once the show
was done and gone the focus of the magic convention switched
to showing off the rich cultural and historic magic that Turkey
offers. We toured the most famous and well preserved ruins in
perhaps the world, though few people realize these are in Turkey
not Greece or Italy. Wanna see a picture of me levitating in
front of a temple ruin? It isn't a very good angle, but you
will get the idea. For me the greatest history was seeing a
stairway that, carved thousands of years ago into the rock,
still leads into the hills where these very early inhabitants
lived. It was monumental for two reasons. One, this was a site
that most people don't know about and we only got to see it
through the great fortune of having Tora as our guide. This
is a site lost in the hills just off a road which I'm sure hundreds
of thousands of people drive by every year and never even know
about. The stone carving at the foot of the stairs is monumental
in placing the time line of one of the Goddesses of the people
who inhabited that area. This carving predates any previous
statue or document of her existence. Such unique things as this
are what stay in my memories for eternity. A place that even
many historians have no idea exists. Our adventures took us
to a delightful sea side town and I got to wade into the Aegean
Sea which was very warm and beautifully clear. We sampled many
different views of the Turkish culture including a guided tour
through the shopping bazaar in the center of Izmir. And don't
forget that while we on the bus going from place to place we
were chatting and/or doing magic for each other, one of the
really great thing about conventions. I have all sorts of side
stories like the time Peter and I blew out the power to the
whole floor of the hotel while testing his flash pots. Doing
Healed And Sealed for the beach vendor who sold beer. And of
course you can read our interview from The Turkish Daily News
here http://www.turkishdailynews.com/old_editions/09_09_02/feature.htm
For me the true test of any convention is what happens in your
mind after the convention is over. I must say that the events
of the Izmir Magic Studio grow in clarity every time I revisit
them. I learned a lot about the routine I did and I met some
really great people I now call my friends. It was truly a unique
opportunity and experience. I would recommend it to everyone
and hope that I am invited back some day...I promise not to
blow out the hotel's power the next time.
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