CHICAGO CLOSE-UP MAGIC COMPETITION 2006


[From left: Jeff Blake's arm, Jay Collen, Ron Fitzgerald, Rob Thompson, Terrence Francisco, James Sanden, J.B. Brash, Steve Kellogg, Neil Tobin, A.J. Sacco, Frankini, John Trzesniak, David Calzada, David Kovac, Clare T. Ashley.]

NAVY PIER HOSTS CHICAGO'S LARGEST ANNUAL PUBLIC MAGIC EVENT

Over two solid hours of professional magic. Thirteen of the midwest's top magical performers. Four celebrity judges. And over 100 attentive members of the public. At 3pm on Sunday, April 23, they all came together for what has become the largest public magic event in Chicago: the Chicago Close-Up Magic Competition at Navy Pier.

This was no ordinary magic contest in which magicians evaluate the technical chops of other magicians. The philosophy of this event has always been markedly different — the performers are evaluated for their abilities to entertain the people who matter most: real members of the public. Whether an Ambitious Card routine is performed through pure sleight of hand or a Svengali deck is of no consequence. Presentation, cohesiveness, originality of approach — these are the judging criteria of the day.

The celebrity judging panel was comprised of Chicagoans with discerning eyes for theatrical presentation. They included:
• Terry Armour, entertainment reporter for the Chicago Tribune for 26 years, guest commentator on CNN and MSNBC, and co-host of “The Stan and Terry Show” on WCKG-FM.
• Marshall Brodien, professional magician, marketing visionary who built an empire out of TV Magic Cards, and beloved performer known to generations of Chicagoans as Wizzo the Wizard through more than a quarter century of appearances on WGN-TV’s legendary children’s series, Bozo’s Circus.
• David Zak, founder and artistic director of Chicago’s Bailiwick Theater which, under his leadership, has been recognized with more than 150 citations, nominations, and recommendations from the Jeff Committee, and is the only theatre in the nation to be honored with the Torch Award from the Human Rights Campaign. At the last minute, Mr. Zak was unable to attend, but sent in his place two qualified theatre company representatives: General Manager Scott Deter and Performer/Fight Choreographer Greg Poljacik.

While the judging panel was responsible for determining the First, Second, and Third Place winners, over forty members of the public resolved to remain in their seats for the entire competition and enter the votes for the People's Choice Award.

After all thirteen of the competitors had performed their 10-minute sets, the ballots were collected from the judges and voting members of the public.Then, the audience was treated to a reprise of the prior year's First Place-winning performance by Frank "The Great Frankini" Glab (www.TheGreatFrankini.com), as the votes were tabulated.

All the performers were called to the stage, and received an appreciative and well-deserved ovation from the audience. The performers were:
Clare T. Ashley, Jeff Blake, J.B. Brash, David Calzada, Jay Collen, Ron Fitzgerald, Terrence Francisco, Steve Kellogg, David Kovac, A.J. Sacco, James Sanden, Rob Thompson, John Trzesniak.

When the applause eventually subsided, the voting results were announced.

The Third Place title and custom-made magic wand of Teak went to David Kovac (www.DavidKovac.com). Kovac had a dapper and likeable presence onstage, and worked with the assurance that comes from years of performing as a professional actor, magician, and juggler on the Navy Pier stage and throughout the country.

The Second Place title and custom-made magic wand of Purpleheart went to Steve Kellogg (www.kelloggmagic.com). This marked Kellogg's second consecutive Second-Place win in this competition. He's a busy professional performer with a knack for comedic, character-driven performances, and has appeared nationally in the Fox television series, 30 Seconds to Fame.

The First Place title, custom-made magic wand of Cocobolo encircled by two sterling silver bands, and $1,000 performance contract with Navy Pier went to J.B. Brash. A fulltime professional magician for 35 years who has performed in just about every kind of venue one can imagine, Brash has been the resident magician at Allgauer's restaurant in Northbrook for the past 32 years, where he can be seen four nights a week (www.jbbrash.com).

The People's Choice Award title and custom-made magic wand of Mahogany went to David Calzada. With youthful energy and confidence beyond his years, Calzada (www.DavidCalzada.com) has entertained at numerous private parties and events throughout the Chicago area, and performed at several area restaurants, including The Village Tavern in Long Grove.

Volunteers who kept the event running smoothly included: Darlene Bull, timekeeper extrordinaire; Paul Bachman, our talented tabulator; Bob Syrup, who has assisted with every annual Chicago Close-Up Magic Competition since its inception; Tom Kozin from Magic Masters; Samuel Bull, Darlene's grandson; and Jordan Cotler, who didn't even know he was going to be a volunteer when he arrived at the event, but was a tremendous help.

The event was co-presented by SAM3 and Navy Pier. Chairing the event on behalf of SAM3 was Neil Tobin, who also M.C.ed the event. Coordinating the multitude of details on behalf of Navy Pier was Denise Yelvington, Entertainment Manager. Special thanks go to Sheri Piecuch, Entertainment Goddess of Navy Pier and a judge in last year's competition, who continues to make magical performance a priority at Navy Pier.

All four presentation wands were designed and handcrafted by Master Wandmaker Brian K. Humphrey of Fortress Wand Works (www.FortressWands.com).

The entire competion was filmed in a two-camera shoot directed by Jonathan Cohon. The footage will be edited and transferred to DVD, copies of which will be available in the coming months. To be notified when the DVD is completed, send an email with your contact information to neil@NecromancerEvents.com

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