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As we go to press, it’s February 18, 2025. Recently I’ve found myself using a popular cliché, that we’ve been producing the new Genii as if building a plane while it’s taking off down the runway. But that’s not quite the right analogy. Maybe we’ve just locked ourselves into a roller coaster for one exciting ride after another—click, click, click. We’re at the start of another hill. Don’t worry. We’re making adjustments and finding our formula. We’re grateful for the support of our readers who are not only offering suggestions, but who are also joining the ride. Ignore the screams!
Helen Coghlan has been working with her father, Arthur, to upend American reality television, and seems to have been doing a fine job of it, as Noah Levine explains in “Helen Coghlan, Penn & Teller’s Undefeated Opponent.” This month, we’ve assembled a group of bookers from some of the most prominent magic clubs across the country, and asked them about how they put together their shows and how someone can get booked there. Vanessa Armstrong organized the meeting and the article, “Genii Roundtable: Tips Getting Booked.” And finally, at a time when political motives can exhaustingly be ascribed to everything, it’s important to realize that we retell our history all the time, because that’s the way great history remains great. That’s my article, “Why We Rewrite History.”
Speaking of history, I’m very pleased that John Gaughan is still in these pages, and this month he offers a fascinating look at Robert-Houdin’s history-making Light and Heavy Chest. John’s popular column is quite a production. Special photos are taken of the apparatus by John, and Jeff Chang. Often those photos are “first time” looks at special aspects of the apparatus: a close-up of the mechanism or the tricky part of the prop. As these photos are prepared, Dustin Stinett, Genii’s longtime associate editor, starts with John’s historical information and creates the prose that describes the images. As in the case of the Light and Heavy Chest, that often involves an analysis of the history, and a correction of some long-standing misinformation. (See above, “Why We Rewrite History.”)
I'll point out that Alba’s column begins this month. For years I’ve been an admirer of what she can accomplish in a mere “magic show.” She’s funny, crazy, irreverent, sincere, honest, emotional, amazing, and inspiring in equal parts. Over the years, I’ve watched audiences in her thrall. A few months ago, as we were talking about a new show she’s been developing, I listened to her philosophy about her work, and I asked her if she’d be willing to write about those perspectives for Genii readers.
Alba doesn’t seem to do things half-way. She discussed possible ideas, submitted some writing, and we discussed it all. Of course, what she’s produced is true to her outlook and her philosophy about working with audiences.
In our early planning, we discussed some ideas with Lindsay Benner, the very funny, very skillful juggler. She has some interesting lessons about her own performances and how they relate to magic. As we were discussing a column with her, we received word that Lindsay lost her house in the recent Los Angeles area wildfires. We contacted her and suggested that we postpone her plans for Genii, but she quickly responded that she’d like to go ahead. Her first piece, “The Joy of Dropping,” is especially meaningful in the light of what she’s endured. Lindsay wrote to us, “The magic community and the people I have met through the magic community have been truly lifesaving through this loss. I was also able to receive a Dai Vernon Foundation grant along with so many other donations in my Go Fund Me, and it has made me feel truly supported through this. It makes me emotional thinking about it.”
One of our new editors, Noah Levine, has been entrusted with the magic department, which basically means that he oversees the tricks, and sometimes focuses on the way magic is portrayed or reported (as in Helen Coghlan’s article, or the photo feature at the end of this issue with Patrick Davis). Noah’s been very busy working on magic for this March issue, and I’ve asked him to explain a little about how all this came together from his desk in New York:
“We’re proud to have R. Paul Wilson back in the pages of ‘Magicana,’ with his Coins to Glass routine, described in the immaculate Richard Kaufman fashion. It combines some very interesting technical handling of the glass and a very bold ploy near the end that will make you laugh. It’s a cohesive example of how Paul likes to handle his magic.
“This month David Regal has worked out a very clever principle which should be useful in many ways. He came up with this because he wanted to secretly build a gimmick in front of the audience for this effect. David’s been part of Genii for a long time, and it’s exciting that we have the opportunity to present his magic.
“Sara Rodríguez is a Spanish magician who is new to our pages; I believe this is her first time publishing anything in English. She’s contributed a collector’s card routine which is a true ‘knuckle-buster’; it really is chunky and fun to work on, but it also is very direct. It uses a move we now call Raise Rise. The description will also give you a sense of Sara’s wit and her thoughts about designing magic. “Finally, let me tell you about Blake Vogt’s experiment. Blake’s a great magician and inventor. For Genii he’s going to conduct an in-person or Zoom session with a different person each month. This month it’s his friend, magician Daniel Garcia. In the course of the hour, they will invent a magic trick. Hopefully it will be great, but it will always be interesting. We’ll describe the trick in print and post the link to the video, so you can watch the hour-long conversation as the trick is developed. It’s exciting to hear the process and their creativity at work, and we can’t wait to see where these will experiments take us over the next few months.”
Chloe Olewitz. our editor at large, has been working with Peter Lamont on his new column, which you’ll find in these pages. She explains: “Peter Lamont, professor of history and theory of psychology at University of Edinburgh, has written a number of books for the public that deal with magic either directly or indirectly. You got to read an excerpt from his latest, Radical Thinking, in February. I’m excited to debut his new column this month, with a piece all about how the ways we think hold us back and how we can break free from those constraints. Instead of just describing a phenomenon, Lamont has an uncanny ability to turn reading about it into a visceral experience. I think you’re really going to like learning from him.”
Genii has been $6.50 per issue for well over a decade, despite increased printing and production bills. Holding the price was a goal for our previous editor, the illustrious Richard Kaufman, but over the last few years the costs became untenable, as Richard explained recently in the pages of this magazine. With the support of our publisher, Randy Pitchford, we’ve been given a chance to keep it going and dust off Genii.
However, this magazine must depend on a realistic business plan. That will almost certainly mean an increased cover price and subscription price in a few months. These prices will reflect the real costs of a modern magazine—the sorts of things you buy at a newsstand.
As the calculations are being made, I can offer a happy suggestion. Buy a subscription now. That locks in your price for the next year and guarantees that you’ll be getting a very generous deal for the new Genii.
In short, it’s a great time to sign up. There are exciting things ahead, and we’ll all be part of them.