{"id":2022,"date":"2018-01-29T10:01:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-29T09:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertogiobbi.com\/site\/?p=2022"},"modified":"2018-12-17T11:07:03","modified_gmt":"2018-12-17T10:07:03","slug":"the-session-2018-jan-12-to-14-gleanings-from-a-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robertogiobbi.com\/site\/the-session-2018-jan-12-to-14-gleanings-from-a-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"The Session 2018 (Jan 12 to 14) \u2013 Gleanings from a convention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Personal Impressions by Roberto Giobbi<\/em><\/p>\n

Disclaimer<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not a report of the convention, nor a critical review of individual acts, but simply a bunch of pleasant personal memories of a magic gathering I found most interesting.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a native English speaker, the text has not been proof-read except by myself and Word\u2019s spelling-checker, and everything is simply my personal opinion and not the fault of the people mentioned.<\/p>\n

General<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Session started as a small gathering focusing on close-up magic and founded by Andi Gladwin years ago. Meanwhile it is produced by Andi Gladwin and Joshua Jay, with their Vanishing Inc. team. It takes place at The Thistle Hotel, just off Heathrow\u2019s Terminal 5. A bus takes you from all terminals to the hotel for a mere \u00a35, and for the same price you can use a sort of monorail that takes you directly to the Thistle\u2019s parking lot (do not take with heavy rain, as you\u2019ll be soaked by the time you cross the parking lot). A taxi is \u00a315 and takes about 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

Everyone would love this event to be in the heart of London, but nobody would want to pay the price this would cost. So this seems to be a good and cost-efficient solution. Also, hotel rates are cheap compared to those in London, and it is possible to survive on low-budget food, for those who need to, but there are a few other options, too.<\/p>\n

Friday \u2013 The Mentalist\u2019s Day<\/strong><\/p>\n

I like studying specific topics. I\u2019ve done quite a bit of work on this myself, the Light-Trilogy<\/a> or Art of Switching Decks<\/a> are just that. The more you penetrate the world of magic, the more you realize that there are specialties, which in themselves are professions within the profession. I do no hesitate to compare this with music or medicine. To play the violin is another thing than playing the piano, and being a ophthalmologist is something else than being a cardiologist. So to be a mentalist is a different profession than to be a magician, but each can beget the other.<\/p>\n

This first day of The Session, co-produced with Luke Jermay, was entirely dedicated to mentalism. I missed half of it, as we were taping for a major project (we\u2019ll let you know about this on a separate occasion). Even as an outsider to the topic you will soon realize that even a full day can only scratch the surface of the subject. But this is the idea.<\/p>\n

Michael Weber\u2019s talk entitled \u201cOn Bob Cassidy Lecture\u201d was such an instance. He performed several versions of the same trick, with different handlings and presentations, of which I found the last to be the most magical, but did not explain the method, rather encouraged people to read the book. Personally, I would have liked to know a bit more about Cassidy, the person.<\/p>\n

Max Maven delivered a talk about the history of the Center Tear, and I found this to be one of my favorites of the convention. Not only do you learn things about a specific subject, which you did not know before, you are also taught how to approach a subject, any subject, from a historical-biographical point of view. This leads to a better understanding of techniques, effects and presentations, but also gives you roots so essential to build competence and self-confidence, integral part of what Aristotle called \u201cEthos\u201d in his rhetoric. Not many can pull this off in the erudite and elegant way Maven did, but this is one of the reasons we can safely consider him one of the few geniuses in our art.<\/p>\n

In the evening the Evasons<\/a> did almost one hour as a solo event. They reminded me of what Paul Arden once said, \u201cGood is better than original\u201d. It was basically a Second Sight act, with several noteworthy additional effects, but all done with consummate professionalism. Although almost all in magic know about the basic principle, the Evasons managed to fool the knowledgeable audience in several instances. It was a great lesson in how to take a classic, and by devoting your life to it bring it to heights that are rarely attained. But, frankly, one couldn\u2019t care less about all this, because they succeeded in giving their audience the present of a uniquely magical experience, and that\u2019s what it is all about. Two standing ovations were the least the audience could then give back.<\/p>\n

The day ended with a late-night event called \u201cthe mentalists at the card table\u201d. How could that not draw at least a hundred people to a cozy room at around midnight. The idea was to have a performer\u2019s table and the rest sitting and standing around it. After about fifteen minutes I left, as I couldn\u2019t really see what was happening. What a pity, because I missed Max Maven, who I\u2019m told did a fantastic piece. And I\u2019m sure he knew how to work under such sub-optimal conditions. This is definitely a good idea and should be retained by the organizers for future Sessions, but the room needs very basic and simple light and sound. Also, the performers should be informed ahead of time that they would have to choose material, which plays above the table, rather than on the table\u2026<\/p>\n