The 2009 Niagara Comedy & Magic Seminar
Serious Comedy & Serious Magic

Home Page
HAM Seminar Schedule
Presenters/Performers
Registration
Hotel & Travel Info
Contact Us

 

 

Mike Caveney
www.mcmagicwords.com

A performance by Mike Caveney is unique. Each of his original routines is perfectly suited to his dry comedic wit. He doesn't tell jokes but you won't stop laughing and when something amazing happens, it isn't just a trick, it's a miracle. Mike is a member of the most prestigious group of magicians in the world, The Inner Magic Circle of London, England. On ten different occasions Mike has been nominated as STAGE MAGICIAN OF THE YEAR by the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. His talents have taken him from Japan to Russia, from Monte Carlo to Borneo, Australia, China, throughout Europe and most of the 50 States. On television, Mike was named one of the NEW VAUDEVILLIANS and the Hollywood Reporter described him as, "...one of the funniest magicians in America." Mike has performed on the legendary Orient Express, at the World Congress of Magic in Japan, the Sydney Arts Festival in Australia, the world famous London Palladium and was featured on A&E's Story of Magic and NBC's The World's Greatest Magic special.

     
 

Michael Finney
www.michaelfinney.com

Comic Magician, Michael Finney, received the Academy of Arts Award for Comedy Magician of the Year in Hollywood.  This award is similar to the Academy Awards for movie stars.  The entertainers are nominated and voted upon by Members and peers of the craft. Michael also received the Academy Magical Arts Parlor Magician of the Year Award.

Michael has lived in Phoenix since 1978.  He began as a magic bartender at the Golden Eagle Restaurant at the time he was hailed as one of Phoenix's best bartenders by the New Times.  For three years he was the "house magician" at Legend City Amusement Park.  He then went on to Los Angles and begann working comedy clubs while still living in Phoenix.  In 1986 he brought his comedy back to Phoenix with the opening of FINNEY BONES Comedy Club, which ran until 1993 when he closed his club to pursue his career.  In 1986 he was finalist on Star Search with Ed McMahon.  in 1987 he received the Silver Lions Head from Siegfreid & Roy for comedy and magic.  Michael continued to do comedy clubs across the United States up to 40 weeks a year.  He made six appearances on Fox's Comic Strip Live, HBO Comic on the Road, Sunday Comics with Lenny Clark, Bud Friedman's Evening at the Improv and two NBC specials hosted by John Ritter "World's Greatest Magic" and "World's Wildest Magic".  He also appeared on the Magic Hour with Hall of Fame basketball star, Magic Johnson.  Michael, has made two appearances on the George Lopez Show. He continues appearances at corporate events, casino resorts and performs abroad having just returned from England where he performed in Manchester and New Castle.  Michael was also invited to perform at the Inauguration of President Bush in January 2001.  He received the Jimmy Durante Award for Comedy through the Fraternal Order of eagles in Reno, Nevada, July 2004, which has a local chapter in Phoenix.

     
 

Lawrence Hass
www.lawrencehaas.com

Lawrence Hass is a philosophy professor and a magician. This distinctive combination has given rise to a series of activities and programs that celebrates the magical arts and brings them to a wider audience.
In his position as Professor of Philosophy and Theatre at Muhlenberg College, Larry is an award-winning teacher of phenomenology, aesthetics, magic performance, and magic theory. He is also the Founding Director of the Theory and Art of Magic program-an ongoing educational symposium that brings the world's greatest magicians to campus to perform, lecture, and teach about their amazing art.

Larry is also an extremely accomplished performer. He has performed his astonishing and artistic magic from coast to coast and many times in Las Vegas. Recently, he was a featured performer at Magic Chicago and at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood.
Drawing upon this unique combination of activities and talents, Larry is celebrated as a leading teacher of magic for magicians. His column for MAGIC magazine was a smash success, and he offers inspiring lectures and workshops at magic conventions, magic stores, and other gatherings of magicians.

Growing out of all this work, Larry is the author of the bestselling book for magicians, Transformations: Creating Magic Out of Tricks. Receiving the highest accolades from reviewers all over the world, Transformations shares many of Larry's practical theories for creating excellent magic and teaches eleven performance pieces from his professional repertoire.

     
  Greg Frewin
www.gregfrewintheatre.com
     
 

Dick Joiner
www.dickjoiner.com

With his infectious hysterical laugh, fun-loving zany manner and high paced interactive comedy magic, Dick Joiner delights and astounds audiences on land, sea, and air (television), throughout Canada, the U. S. A., and Europe.

Take a tour through the links below and see how Dicks versatility, and unique blend of Magic and Mayhem make him a consistent audience favorite for all types of occasions.

     
 

Brian Roberts
www.brianroberts.ca

Brian Roberts was a featured performer and lecturer at the 2008 Japan Cup and 2008 Japan Magic Convention.
Brian is also a member of the prestigious FFFF Convention in Batavia, New York. Inspired early on by his father's love of the dramatic arts, Brian's interest in performing, creating, and discussing all aspects magic is his lif'e's passion.

     
 

David Merry
www.davidmerry.com

Studying "close up" sleight of hand magic with three of the world's best, Derek Dingle, Ariel Frailich  and Howard Shwartzman, David became a true "card mechanic" and gave demonstrations of gambling techniques utilizing false shuffles, bottom and second dealing and various card cheat ruses. Through his research he became bitten with the whole world of gambling and it's most entertaining characters. He soon was introduced to a gentleman in Toronto who revised the most revered modern day blackjack system ever invented. He studied and practiced the techniques until mastered. With his new found knowledge off to Las Vegas he went. In 1981 he made it to the third round of the World Blackjack championships. He played on his humble savings for several months until by chance met up with a professional blackjack team member living in his apartment complex. He made the team and played with them for several months until he was awoken in the night to a gunshot in the apartment next door. He moved back to Toronto two days later. Several years later he started toying with a "rumor" he heard in Las Vegas about an anomaly of the roulette table and formulated a strategy. After 25,000 spins and two years of research, his book "Reinventing the Wheel" containing advanced roulette procedures was printed and has since gone into second print.

David was also the host of Global TV's "Get a Grip on Golf", a golf show that was seen coast to coast in Canada, on Sunday afternoons in the prime spot after NFL football. David has made appearances on "SCTV", "BIZARRE" and "An Evening at the Improv". He has also been seen on "Open Mike with Mike Bullard" (3 appearances), CBC's "Halifax Comedy Festival", 4 episodes of "Comedy at Club 54" including their 7th Anniversary Special, "Yuk Yuk’s the TV Show", "Fins and Skins",  "Cooking with Comics", "Comedy College", and "Komedy Kitchen". David has been a guest on such discussion shows as, TSN'S "Off the Record", "The John Oakley Show"  and Prime  TV's "Grumps", and was one of the only novelty acts given his own his own half-hour comedy special of the hugely successful CBC TV series "Comics!".

He is a past recipient of Canada's "Club Comic of the Year" Award, and his show "DON'TPANIC REMAIN.COM" was nominated at the Canadian Comedy Awards in the Category BEST ONE MAN SHOW

     
  James Biss
www.magical.com

Around the world, James Biss has been offering a rather unique entertainment package for corporate events and private parties involving a very special kind of "magic". He presents a delightful "Kreskin" style psychic magic performance with optional Tarot Card Readings as an added feature. The combination has been very well received at a wide variety of venues ranging from Toronto's finest lounge bars (like The Charlotte Room) to Hospitality Suites and Meeting Spaces in top hotels and meeting rooms across North America.
 
His style of magic is in the realm of "psychic entertainment" and the show becomes much more about empowering the guests in the group to "share thoughts" with one another, than merely to demonstrate HIS apparent abilities. He strives to make performances very interactive so that the largest number of people become involved and enjoy themselves.
It's a lot of fun and kind of mind-blowing at the same time...
     
  Anthony Lindan – Co-Organizer
www.anthonylindan.com

An Entertainer and Corporate Communicator - Anthony Lindan is a full time, Toronto-based corporate magician, entertainer and presenter.

Anthony performs both stand up magic and sleight of hand close up magic at corporate events across Canada and the United States.

For the past 10 years Anthony has run Anthony Lindan Productions focusing on entertainment marketing and corporate training.

Inform, Motivate and Entertain Your Audience! Anthony Lindan Productions uses magic as a corporate communications and training tool. We create, script and perform unique magic presentations designed to communicate key marketing, sales or training messages.

Our one-of-a-kind, customized magic presentations link your message with audience-tested entertainment. This powerful combination makes your message more memorable and creates an exciting atmosphere for your audience to receive your message.

An Anthony Lindan presentation is an effective and entertaining way to reach your audience at conferences, conventions, trade shows, hospitality suites, training sessions, client appreciation events and staff events.

Companies such as Allstream, IBM, Xerox, Canon, Microsoft, Scotiabank, Baxter Corporation, Sears and Fujitsu have used our customized magic presentations to achieve their event objectives.

For more information visit

     
  David Peck – Co-Organizer
www.dpeck.com

No mere "birthday party magician", David is an award winning prestidigitator and a true master of sophisticated sleight-of-hand. His compelling and appealing approach is summed up by the Master's office of Atkinson University: "A natural talent, he combines amazing sleight-of-hand magic, a strong stage presence, a captivating sense of humor, and a youthful, energetic charisma..."

David Peck is an experienced corporate Toronto magician. Working in the greater Toronto area for over twenty-five years he has performed for and entertained audiences of all shapes and sizes. His show has something for everyone - elegant classical magic, comedy and audience participation. Each of these elements comes together on stage as David caters to the young at heart of all ages.

Having spent five years working closely with upper management at RBC Financial Group and Bell Canada, David has often been referred to as a relational bridge builder. As a summa cum laude graduate with an honours degree in Philosophy he has a keen sense for asking the right questions. His unique personal history has given him the ability to challenge, and at the same time understand, his corporate clientele and the corporate status quo.