TIM ELLIS LECTURES IN IBM SINGAPORE RING 115
Tim Ellis was performing in a cruise ship that ended up in Singapore on the morning of 21 January 2018. We took the opportunity to have him lecture to us in the evening. This was Tim’s second lecture in Singapore.
It was a well-planned lecture that had something for everybody: from close-up to stage, and from card tricks to comedy to mentalism. Tim used PowerPoint slides throughout his lecture. This was especially useful because they made his explanations so much more visual and easier to understand.
Tim commenced with his version of Professor Cheer’s comedy rope routine performed to music. He moved on to Strolling Magic and discussed how to approach a group of spectators. With 3 participants on stage, he showed us how to approach them by performing a torn and restored rubber band effect.
His next effect was a bare-hand production of a bottle of rum. To aid in his explanation, he replaced his jacket with a specially-made transparent one so that we could see where the bottle was hidden and how it was produced.
Tim performed and explained his version of Healed and Sealed Soda can which he entitled “Soda Resurrection”. “Toss Off” was a cheeky signed-card to a sealed packet of snacks. His “7 Keys To Paradise” was a simple but effective method for “7 Keys To Baldpate” without the use of a gaffed lock.
“Wife Swapping” was a self-working but very entertaining stage effect. It had lots of interaction with the audience as it involved a lady and her husband as well as 6 other gentlemen on stage. She eventually got to keep her husband!
“Childhood Memories” made everyone raised their eyebrows in disbelief. As a spectator recalled a special event during his childhood days, Tim could divine what it was in some great details. Its method depended on the dual reality principle.
Just before the break, Tim performed his 3-Rings routine to the music of “You Raised Me Up” as a tribute to his magic mentor. It was a beautiful and emotional performance.
The break allowed participants to purchase his “Timeless Magic” book in which the majority of the effects in his lecture was taken from.
After the interval, Tim did a very good version of Razor Blades In Mouth which he called “Ultimate Blades”. “Death Slates” was an unusual card prediction effect using 2 old-fashioned slates. The “Tim Card Poker Deal” was an unbelievably clean version of “The 10 Card Poker Deal” that depended on the Jonah-card principle.
Tim showed us what “jazz magic” was all about with his card effect “Mind Jump”. It also caused a smile when the entire deck of cards placed on the table “jumped” slightly the moment magic happed in the deck.
“Divide And Conquer” was a strong effect where Tim was able to divine any freely chosen card. It involved the use of a confederate. Tim went on to discuss an interesting coding system with a partner which he entitled “Cypher”.
His final effect was a performance only of “QACAAN”, a clean and straight-forward ACAAN effect.
This was not the end of his lecture. Tim deliberately allocated some time for questions and answers. Some of the topics discussed were:
- How to compete in a magic convention
- The use of music in performing magic
- Creating a persona or character when performing magic
- Tim’s legacy
This was a wonderful lecture because it catered to all types of magicians. In all the effects demonstrated, Tim’s creativity was much evident. Tim’s high-octane energy permeated throughout his lecture and all of us were hooked from the start to the conclusion of his presentation.
Important take-away for us were the enhanced effect of incorporating music to our performance, and the psychology behind the creation and performance of any magical effect.
We were all glad that the year 2018 kicked off with a celebrity magician inspiring us to continually improve upon our magical performance and also showing us how to do that.
Reported by
John Teo
