I recently had the chance to travel to Singapore, a country I have never visited before, to look after Chris Fisher’s illusions for a theater show, The BFG. While there I was reminded how wonderful the magic community can be, as multiple groups of magicians went out of their way to introduce me to a city and its magic scene.
Despite only having a few days with downtime (the schedule for technical rehearsals on a theater show is full of 12-hour days and six-day weeks) three local magicians showed me round different neighborhoods, I got to visit a magic bar that features longform shows six nights a week, and the city’s IBM ring allowed me to join them for a lecture by Jeremy Tan (there is also a local SAM—the Singapore Association of Magicians). I also spent an utterly joyful afternoon and evening with a local magic collective, The Twisted Aces.
Loosely organized by Harapan Ong, this is not a traditional magic club. Sometimes all or part of the core group gets together to session, perhaps when a visiting magician is in town (as in my case). Periodically they host “jams,” announcing via social media that they will be getting together at a particular place and time and inviting anyone interested to join them. Occasionally they host a lecture or a workshop when someone with something to share is visiting.
I spent an afternoon and evening eating and talking magic with Harapan, Yu Hui Hang, Gerald Tan, Allen Tan, Isaac Wong, and Ryan Goh. The thing that particularly struck me was that everyone was seriously interested in exploring and sharing innovative technical magic, while steering clear of the ego and one-upmanship that so often stop a group session from being fun. That atmosphere has really stuck with me, as something that is worth creating and nurturing elsewhere, and has rekindled an excitement to tinker with more magic ideas—not least thanks to two particular coin routines I saw (from Gerald and Hui Hang). In very different ways, these both explored the impact of sound on the moment an effect happens, and they are among the most magical-feeling moments I have experienced in the last few years.
Speaking of great coin magic, this issue’s Magicana features an unbelievable piece of visual coin magic from Tomoya Horiki. I read a draft of the piece before I saw it in action, but wish I had had the chance to see it performed before discovering what was going on behind the scenes. Of course your copy of Genii stands alone, with everything you need to know in these pages, but perhaps spend a moment seeing if you can work out what is going on before you read the description.