Alexander the Great; Ottawa Magician

By Alexander the Great Magician
November 12, 2010 Ottawa, Ontario

I have been really busy lately with my studies at Carleton U and driving out and about across the city. But enough bragging, where’s the proof? Well it just so happens that my iPhone has a geotagging feature that maps out places I have taken pictures. Sometimes, such as the Harvest House magic video that I just put together, and other times its weird locations or sights along the road that I’ve bothered to stop and take a picture of, either way here are the maps from this past season:

and for proof that I’ve been studying here is a closer view of showing Carleton:

I have also been collecting a few testimonials over the past few months and plan to display a page on my website with those soon, so keep your eyes peeled, and if you have enjoyed some of my magic please post in the comments section of this site.

By Alexander the Great Magician

This weekend has been very busy in terms of shows. Yesterday I performed for the Harvest House 23rd Annual Recover Cup and I was able to get a few videos of my performance that I will post shortly.

Today I was performing for a private party and the father of one of the children came up after the show to tell me that he used to be a magician in the Ottawa area like me. Very cool to have so many magicians locally.

Earlier this weekend on Twitter @LeeAsherMagic was talking about the arrival of the Buck twins in Canada for some workshops and lecturing. His reply to me was the following: “Agreed 100%! @alexandermagic @LeeAsherMagic it’s exciting to have so many young, talented magi in Canada right now!” Indeed so much young (and old) talent in Canada right now.

Magically yours,
Alexander Massaad

P.S. Here is a few pictures of my show where I performed for a crowd of over 50 this weekend, videos coming from the show soon UPDATE: Videos Online here:

By Alexander the Great Magician
The video is finished editing and music stages and it’s online! You can find it embedded on my homepage and at this special page about the Halloween Magic Show. It was a great crowd in Ottawa for my magic show, I would have to say probably one of the best crowds of 2009 . . . but its so hard to choose favourites!
See you soon!

By Alexander the Great Magician
I have finally had enough of a break at school that I can concentrate on these old dusty magic videos! I am editing together a short, 2 minute video from a Halloween magic show that I performed in Ottawa last fall. Stay tuned!

By Alexander the Great Magician

I just saw this video aired last night. It goes into detail into the process that David Blaine does his super human stunts. While it doesn’t explain any magic methods it describes a lot of the attitude behind doing these miracles.

By Alexander the Great Magician

In general the promotional sites for a magician are not popular web destinations. Most of the people visiting my site are looking for entertainment or got lost on google somehow. For more and more visitors of this site though, they are about to find out about an Ottawa magician that is becoming more and more popular every year.

My website for Alexander the Great has been getting more and more hits as the months go on. Generally the first couple months get many hits, from web development and other testing, then as the actual site gets used, the hits drop off. After you have emailed all your friends, the real hits that matter start to come in. My site was the same for the first two months. Then, as I moved over to a wordpress platform to manage my business I needed to visit the website myself less.

My site happens to focus exclusively on keeping up with my work as a magician and this is a quick rundown of what we will be focusing on in the next few months.

1. Photo Gallery. This is one I’ve wanted for a little while and hopefully in 2010 this site will have a web gallery where some nice photographs from my performances can be found.
2. Halloween Promo Video: I recently did a kids Halloween show for a large community group and I’m waiting to edit and post it to YouTube and this site.
3. Extra promotional Video. This is some stuff that I want to film in a nicer atmosphere, with some friends of mine showing off some of the more visual effects that I’m starting to perform. I really try to perform a very expensive, high-end blend of mentalism and magic for adults and I want some video to support all the work I’m doing in this field of magic.

By Alexander the Great Magician

The next few months should have a few brand new, cutting edge tricks that I’m adding to my repetroire.

I’ll probably be adding some YouTube videos of the new material which many magicians would balk at. Your newest stuff, free, for everybody to see?

Well yes, why not? It’s going to be such strong stuff that I have no problems with showing it off to the world

I have finished editing my kids show down to length; just a few key effects. I also put the audience reactions back in the “lights, oh my!” video.

Today I also wanted to post about some inspirational words about card magic that i found today posted in the Dan & Dave Community forums (sweet forums btw!)

1. Relieving Tension – I used to get the shakes all the time when I performed, but once I learned to relax, they went away. Thanks Aaron Fisher.
2. Letting my Spectators Hold the Cards – The more they participate, the more they feel they were a part of the magic. Thanks, Paul Harris.
3. Doing Less – The less arbitrary movements I make in the course of a trick, the more streamlined it becomes. Thanks Paul Le Paul
4. Using the Proper Sleight for the Right Trick – Every sleight was developed for a reason. I should use it for said reason. Thanks Paul Le Paul.
5. I Don’t Have to be Good at Card Tricks – If I’ve done my job, my audience should never know how much I practiced. Thanks Guy Hollingworth.
6. Obscurity is a Good Place to Start Looking for Good Card Work – Just because I’ve never heard of a move doesn’t mean it isn’t worth my time. Thanks, Arthur Buckley and Dai Vernon.
7. Be Natural – No one should ever suspect anything. Thanks, Erdnase and Larry Jennings.
8. Cards Have the Capacity to Convey True Creativity – They do. Thanks, Chris Kenner and Paul Harris.
9. Card Tricks are Useless – But they can still be beautiful. Thanks, John Bannon.
10. Timing is Everything – Card tricks are easy. Magic isn’t. Thanks Lennart Green and Pit Hartling.
11. (Bonus) Perfection is attainable. Thanks, Ricky Jay.

Well I’ve been looking at my videos that I have up and have a few opinions. First, they are too long. My old site was thrown together very quickly and these videos are not brief enough to really be my best promo material.

My first video is up today, and its just the right length to give a few priceless reactions from my little audience! Check it out in the videos section.

Practice makes perfect!

Someone very clever once said: “A magician is an actor, playing the part of a magician” and I could not agree more! Magic is a performance art and as such takes on an actor-spectator format readily. Everything the magician says at the beginning of the trick will set up the magic that is about to unfold.

Many magicians feel that the beginning of the trick is the most vital moment in a trick. Just like the first act of a play or film sets up all the events that become resolved in the third act, the opening lines of patter that a magician chooses for his audience set up all the mystique and prestidigitation as either magic or trickery.

With this in mind I set out upon a simple mission today. To add illusions to my act that are truly astonishing. Enjoy what may follow!