I am taking stock after the Shenyang trip.
This trip had been a huge challenge to me. I had never taught a Project SMILE class on this scale before, let alone in Mandarin! Help! As most of you know, Chinese is NOT my forte (and that is putting it mildly?)
Well, I SURVIVED! I not only survived the trip, but to my surprise… I actually enjoyed myself. I managed to teach two out of three c1assroom sessions and anchored an entire community service in Mandarin. But I didn’t do it by myself. I had a kick-ass team of volunteer magicians who helped me every step of the way. (You guys were awesome!)
I remembered how, in 2006, TOUCH Community Services International (TCSI) and Liaoning’s Provincial Communist Youth Party partnered to bring Project SMILE to Shenyang. As Chairman of TOUCH, my dad personally taught magic to 50 of their varsity students.
It was such a successful collaboration that they not only invited us back to teach magic; they also invited my dad to be a guest speaker at Shenyang Technological University and Dongbei University. This is one of the rare occasions whereby China has given an outsider the liberty to speak to their youths about life values.
Wow, I gotta stop a moment to appreciate the immensity of this privilege -- we were allowed the extraordinary opportunity to speak into China’s next generation.
In retrospect, this trip has been very meaningful to me on many levels. Not just Dad’s speech to the varsity students, but through the entire Project SMILE. From the experience of serving the community, our students were able to understand how they as individuals can make a difference.
Their act of kindness of performing magic and spending time with the elderly during the community service segment brought immeasurable joy to the elderly, so much so that it evoked strong emotions in the students themselves.
I always knew that Project SMILE is a great way to get people involved in serving the community, but this particular Project SMILE has taught me that EVERYONE OF US CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Yours Magically,
Priscilla
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Qian Qian Shou
It's great to be back!
I've just finished conducting a two-day intensive Project SMILE for 150 students at the Thousand Linking Hands (Qian Qian Shou) 2nd Shanghai Summer Camp in July. Man, was it challenging to coach in Mandarin! Despite this, I enjoyed every moment teaching the Shanghai students!
The slogan for this mission is very poetic and evocative.
Linking Hearts Linking Minds Linking Hands
心 心 相 印心 智 相 通心 手 相 连
Qian Qian Shou (千牵手) is a project spanning three years that aims to bring a thousand youths from Singapore to Shanghai to serve the various communities across China in 2008. This is our second year conducting the Shanghai Summer Camp. This camp prepares the youth for the culmination of 千牵手 in 2008, by training them in both Service-Learning and Project SMILE.
Qian Qian Shou (千牵手) aims to impart the heart of serving the community to all participating youths. During the camp, they are guided to plan Service-Learning projects, which will then be executed at various locations with the help of the host social service groups.
Magic was introduced as a tool to engage the community, but it made a greater impact than we initially thought. Last year, the campers were trained by my dad whom they called "Kwang Lao Shi". He had shaped an ordinary piece of tissue into a flower and presented it to one of the campers whose birthday was on the day itself. This participant was visibly touched by the gesture; she not only received the tissue flower with tears in her eyes, but she understood the underlying message of the flower, which was that she was special.
Many of those trained in Project SMILE last year came back as trained leaders to spearhead their group's Service-Learning projects. First-timers at this year’s camp were brought through two days of intensive Project SMILE lessons. But they learned fast, with the help of their magic facilitators.
It is evident that last year's camp had instilled in the participants a desire not just to serve the community, but to excel in it. And the excitement is building up to the final camp in 2008.
"The Service-Learning training helps us to prepare fully for the projects. The 6 steps to victory over social ills also equip me to build a community (of like minded volunteers) for service. This is the key to success.”
Leon Lee, Shanghai Participant
"I learnt Project SMILE in 2005 back in Singapore, and I didn't expect to be a magic facilitator... I was very stressed. But on the first day, after I revised and listened to Priscilla's teaching again, I managed to recall my past lessons and helped my group. I feel that, as I teach others, I learned the tricks better myself."
Sze Yung, Group Magic Facilitator
Armed with their newly acquired skills, the students are all set to serve the community through their meticulously planned Service-Learning projects complemented with their magic tricks.
We take our (magic) hats off to these new members of the Magic Circle who have bravely taken up the challenge! I'm sure they will do us all proud!
Yours Magically,
Priscilla
I've just finished conducting a two-day intensive Project SMILE for 150 students at the Thousand Linking Hands (Qian Qian Shou) 2nd Shanghai Summer Camp in July. Man, was it challenging to coach in Mandarin! Despite this, I enjoyed every moment teaching the Shanghai students!
The slogan for this mission is very poetic and evocative.
Linking Hearts Linking Minds Linking Hands
心 心 相 印心 智 相 通心 手 相 连
Qian Qian Shou (千牵手) is a project spanning three years that aims to bring a thousand youths from Singapore to Shanghai to serve the various communities across China in 2008. This is our second year conducting the Shanghai Summer Camp. This camp prepares the youth for the culmination of 千牵手 in 2008, by training them in both Service-Learning and Project SMILE.
Qian Qian Shou (千牵手) aims to impart the heart of serving the community to all participating youths. During the camp, they are guided to plan Service-Learning projects, which will then be executed at various locations with the help of the host social service groups.
Magic was introduced as a tool to engage the community, but it made a greater impact than we initially thought. Last year, the campers were trained by my dad whom they called "Kwang Lao Shi". He had shaped an ordinary piece of tissue into a flower and presented it to one of the campers whose birthday was on the day itself. This participant was visibly touched by the gesture; she not only received the tissue flower with tears in her eyes, but she understood the underlying message of the flower, which was that she was special.
Many of those trained in Project SMILE last year came back as trained leaders to spearhead their group's Service-Learning projects. First-timers at this year’s camp were brought through two days of intensive Project SMILE lessons. But they learned fast, with the help of their magic facilitators.
It is evident that last year's camp had instilled in the participants a desire not just to serve the community, but to excel in it. And the excitement is building up to the final camp in 2008.
"The Service-Learning training helps us to prepare fully for the projects. The 6 steps to victory over social ills also equip me to build a community (of like minded volunteers) for service. This is the key to success.”
Leon Lee, Shanghai Participant
"I learnt Project SMILE in 2005 back in Singapore, and I didn't expect to be a magic facilitator... I was very stressed. But on the first day, after I revised and listened to Priscilla's teaching again, I managed to recall my past lessons and helped my group. I feel that, as I teach others, I learned the tricks better myself."
Sze Yung, Group Magic Facilitator
Armed with their newly acquired skills, the students are all set to serve the community through their meticulously planned Service-Learning projects complemented with their magic tricks.
We take our (magic) hats off to these new members of the Magic Circle who have bravely taken up the challenge! I'm sure they will do us all proud!
Yours Magically,
Priscilla
Saturday, July 21, 2007
STREET MAGIC LINKS
"Street magic effects have to pack small and play big... High-impact, raw, real magic.”
Check out the following links to learn more about street magic -
For all your street magic needs, go to http://www.ellusionist.com
Wanna watch clips of magic? Youtube has everything. Best bet is to look for specifc magicians or routines that you wanna see. Or if you have alot of time.. slowly watch all the home videos of people performing magic. There was one kid who perfromed the ACR that was quite good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AveqS9Lbq0o
Another great site to find magic clips are on http://www.metacafe.com/
check out these clips -SIMPLE SYBIL CUT
TOMAHAWK CUT
CRAZY CUTS
Guess I kinda went OTT with the clips. What can I say... I've always liked flourishes.
That's all for now!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
STREET MAGIC (I)
After writing the article in the newsletter, I realize that it might not be enough and further explanation might be needed. So here goes…
There is a big difference between performing STREET MAGIC and a STREET MAGICIAN. All magicians can perform street magic. But that DOES NOT mean that all magicians can be street magicians.
Sounds chiem doesn’t it? ;)
Let's deal with one thing at a time. Nowadays, the first thought that comes to mind when you mention Street Magic is… Self Levitation. Well at least I did! When I first learnt magic, I thought street magic the ‘cool’ version of tricks. Style of performing: fast & furious.
Hence the first few tricks that I learnt involved using ravens and loops. First card magic I first learnt was the Ambitious Card Routine (which by the way… is now known as ACR). Other than that, I only bothered learning all sorts ‘tricks with cards’ like card cuts and flourishes. I thought that the magic had to be visual and instant, be it cards, coins or anything else.
I still remember the first time I did a ‘Street Magic’ shoot. It was in 2002, where my friend Ferris and I did a street magic shoot for HTV. We shot around the Esplanade and along Orchard Road. By then, I learnt that eveb quick flashy effects needed some sort of build up in order to create a visual miracle for your spectators. However, the choice of magic performed was really based on what we thought was ‘cool’. I remember working coin tricks, card tricks, mental magic and even tried David Blaine’s self levitation.
This is how I stereotyped street magic. Nothing wrong with that! Many still perceive street magic as such, especially with so many local magicians now on TV.
Check out this clip. The magician not only performs good visual card effects, but teaches them as well.
Magic Exposed
There is a big difference between performing STREET MAGIC and a STREET MAGICIAN. All magicians can perform street magic. But that DOES NOT mean that all magicians can be street magicians.
Sounds chiem doesn’t it? ;)
Let's deal with one thing at a time. Nowadays, the first thought that comes to mind when you mention Street Magic is… Self Levitation. Well at least I did! When I first learnt magic, I thought street magic the ‘cool’ version of tricks. Style of performing: fast & furious.
Hence the first few tricks that I learnt involved using ravens and loops. First card magic I first learnt was the Ambitious Card Routine (which by the way… is now known as ACR). Other than that, I only bothered learning all sorts ‘tricks with cards’ like card cuts and flourishes. I thought that the magic had to be visual and instant, be it cards, coins or anything else.
I still remember the first time I did a ‘Street Magic’ shoot. It was in 2002, where my friend Ferris and I did a street magic shoot for HTV. We shot around the Esplanade and along Orchard Road. By then, I learnt that eveb quick flashy effects needed some sort of build up in order to create a visual miracle for your spectators. However, the choice of magic performed was really based on what we thought was ‘cool’. I remember working coin tricks, card tricks, mental magic and even tried David Blaine’s self levitation.
This is how I stereotyped street magic. Nothing wrong with that! Many still perceive street magic as such, especially with so many local magicians now on TV.
Check out this clip. The magician not only performs good visual card effects, but teaches them as well.
Magic Exposed
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
DOES CLOTHES MAKE A MAN? in our case.. does clothes make a magician?)
In the corporate world, we always hear the term ' Dress For Success!". And as all youths know, IMAGE COUNTS!
Let's say you're quite a good magician. You have a decent repertoire with some great effects. You’ve practiced it thousands of times, perfected it in front of the mirror and now are ready to take your act to the streets. Ok... maybe not the streets but you are ready to perform a 15 min segment for a small group of people at an informal gathering.
But wait....what are you going to wear???
You say “What?, who cares what I am wearing?”.
Let me tell you something, image and presentation is everything. What is the first thing people see when you start performing?? It’s you of course! First impressions last. You only have one chance to make a great first impression even before you do your magic. You might think, I can wear anything to do my magic trick and it will still amaze them. You're probably right! A great effect is a great effect! But with a littlle style and imaging, you can take your performance to a whole new level.
Imagine with me.
2 cars side by side. Both have the same high powered engine same sport suspension. The first car is dull mustard in color. The interior is basic grey. Very functional in its look. The second car is a shiny orange in color and looks stylish inside. There are some titanium-effect trims on the dashboard with the top patterned so it almost resembled carbon fibre. Feels expensive.
Now, which car would you instinctive go and look at first? Let me rephrase that... Which car will your friends go and look at first? *grinz*
Get the picture right?
Likewise, if you are dressed in just your regular clothes (jeans & t-shirt or pants & short sleeved collared shirt) and performing tricks, yes you will still probably get great reactions. But consider the possibilities if you stepped up your dress code slightly. Now, I am not saying that you have to wear branded clothes nor spend alot of money on your imaging. Just be aware of what your are wearing and what you want to portray. It can determine the type of impression you leave behind.
~ A rule of thumb I always follow: Don't dress for the occasion, instead dress slightly better than what the occasion requires. ~
Let's say you're quite a good magician. You have a decent repertoire with some great effects. You’ve practiced it thousands of times, perfected it in front of the mirror and now are ready to take your act to the streets. Ok... maybe not the streets but you are ready to perform a 15 min segment for a small group of people at an informal gathering.
But wait....what are you going to wear???
You say “What?, who cares what I am wearing?”.
Let me tell you something, image and presentation is everything. What is the first thing people see when you start performing?? It’s you of course! First impressions last. You only have one chance to make a great first impression even before you do your magic. You might think, I can wear anything to do my magic trick and it will still amaze them. You're probably right! A great effect is a great effect! But with a littlle style and imaging, you can take your performance to a whole new level.
Imagine with me.
2 cars side by side. Both have the same high powered engine same sport suspension. The first car is dull mustard in color. The interior is basic grey. Very functional in its look. The second car is a shiny orange in color and looks stylish inside. There are some titanium-effect trims on the dashboard with the top patterned so it almost resembled carbon fibre. Feels expensive.
Now, which car would you instinctive go and look at first? Let me rephrase that... Which car will your friends go and look at first? *grinz*
Get the picture right?
Likewise, if you are dressed in just your regular clothes (jeans & t-shirt or pants & short sleeved collared shirt) and performing tricks, yes you will still probably get great reactions. But consider the possibilities if you stepped up your dress code slightly. Now, I am not saying that you have to wear branded clothes nor spend alot of money on your imaging. Just be aware of what your are wearing and what you want to portray. It can determine the type of impression you leave behind.
~ A rule of thumb I always follow: Don't dress for the occasion, instead dress slightly better than what the occasion requires. ~
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Our Second Magic Circle Meeting 8 JUNE
Our second Magic Circle meeting was rather hectic for many of our GE staff. We had rehearsals the whole week and only finished an hour before the Magic Circle was supposed to start. My dad and I quickly went to prepare for the routines that we were performing that evening. I was nervous yet excited about debuting my Linking Rings routine, and also watching my Magic II students perform their routines.
Tick tock tick tock… It’s 7:30pm. People started to stream in and chill out and talk magic.
Tat's my dad performing a magic trick for Jorim and he in turn performs for Christina
Kengsan shows off his new card sleights:) while I attempt a new card trick.
(right) Peng Yew demos a new trick learnt from the Royal Road to Card MAgic,
while Amelia demonstrates more magic to Chris. (left)
while Amelia demonstrates more magic to Chris. (left)
(right) Addy performing tricks he learnt from a magic shop in Shenyang, while in the
next table, Eugene teaches his trick from last month's magic circle meeting (left)
(right) Dad peacticing a new card routine and Ronald trying a trick he just learnt. (left)
Hey! Cards seem to be the universal language of magicians. From the pics I'm sure you can gather that no matter what the theme of the night is... Magicians will always have card tricks up their sleeves!
Well, this is the fun and relaxing part of our magic circle meetings. Hanging out with friends, winding down after work and watch people perform magic. After much warming up, everyone adjourned to the studio for the real show. There were 10 performers that evening, of which some were from my graduating Magic II class. In order to graduate from Magic II, each group had to put up their own 20min stage show the next day at IMH – our community service venue. This was their chance to run their individual segments in front of a live audience. (And also for me and my dad. *grinz*)
The first to take the stage were Lam Peng Yew and Jorim Sim. They performed a routine with ropes, combining the Cut & Restore with the Rope Trio. The transition between the 2 performers was flawless and their routine was well executed. I could tell they had been practicing.
The next to take to the stage was my son Isaac Khong. I told him that in order to come, he had to perform a trick and he came well prepared with his mini Color Changing Rabbit trick. The prop he used was a miniature version of the kids trick called “Find The Rabbit”. The prop actually comes in a pair, but to simplify it for him, I taught it to him as a color changing rabbit trick. At 4 years old, he really is the youngest performer at the Magic Circle. I was so proud of him!
Armed with Cups & Balls, Collin Tan was up next. He performed Michael Ammar’s Cups & Balls routine which outright astounded the audience with the production of 4 real life fruits – lemon, prune, apple & tomato from the 3 cups. Because of his clear presentation and deliberate actions, no one even saw it coming.
Too bad I don't have a pic of the final production :(
The next performer was Eugene Lim who did Eugene Burger’s Gypsy Thread, whereby he breaks off a long piece of thread from a spool, shows it to everyone before proceeding to break it into many small pieces. He continues to roll all these pieces together and slowly uncoil it to show that it is completely restored. This trick is truly a pack small play big trick with an amazing effect.(Can u see e thread in e pic??
Psst... Eugene, next time wear a darker shirt when u do tis trick!)
Amelia Goh, our up and coming Project SMILE trainer was up next. She defty performed the Magic II trick - Burnt & Restored Tissue Paper. After which, she decided to try out a new silk routine, using a production canister. Although her nerves were shaking... she still pulled it off beautifully.
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All
in
good
fun,
Addy Ang delivered a hilarious Floating Bill routine, although it wasn't his original intention. Oh course, with any routine using money, Addy seized the opportunity to borrow a bill from the audience and requested that he keep the bill if he performed it well. Looks quite good from the pics huh? The dollar bill slowly starts to rise. However, it turned into a farce when his bill started to fly away and Addy desperately tries to catch it! His routine became the talk of the night. :)
Our veteran Project SMILE trainer Daniel Gan performed an amazing torn and restored card trick, of which he does not know what it is called. First he asked someone to choose a card and 3 indifferent others from an SIA deck. Likewise, he took 4 indifferent cards as well. Both Daniel and his audience started to tear up the each card into 4 pieces, place all the pieces into a bag and mixed it up. Form the bag, Daniel randomly pulls out 4, assembles it face down in between 2 clear acrylic boards, and reveals it to be the card that the audience selected. Fantastic!It was my turn and like everyone else, I was about to perform my new routines. I was really nervous at debuting my 3 ring, Linking Ring routine. I’ve always done a 2 ring, Linking Ring routine in the Magic Of Love. So what made performing a 3 ring routine any different? Well for starters, there was an additional ring. Duh! But that was not really the reason. This was one of the rare pieces of magic, that I really put a lot of heart and soul into the routine.
I wanted to use my magic to inspire people to look within themselves and find the childlike wonder that they once had. Combining it with dance and mime, I performed my 3 ring routine to the song “Remember When” by LeAnn Rimes. I managed to captivate my audience. Phew! I was relieved when that was over. (hey, good idea for another article… A Magician’s First…) My next trick was a routine called Mixed Emotions by Rick Maue. Great effect! But not very easy to pull off… if you don’t know how to manage all the audience members involved in the trick. *hint*
My dad, Lawrence Khong was the final performer. First performed Johnny Thompson’s signature Egg Bag routine. I’ve seen this routine performed by Johnny many times. It’s a really great routine. My dad really did justice to the routine. Johnny would be proud! Since the theme of the night was Parlor magic, he decided to perform and teach everyone how to do the 20th Century Silk. Silk magic is very visual. Everyone loved the instantaneous effect of the vanished silk appearing in between 2 silks tied together and was eager to learn. The show wasn’t over yet. My dad took full opportunity to show
2 more great routines which he was working on - A mental trick using the 5 prediction symbols and Whit Hayden’s audience participation version of the Linking Rings. It was a humorous routine that not only drew much laughs from the audience, but also made his volunteer looked good.
As the show came to an end, my dad encouraged everyone to invest in some magic props. But, he also advised that before buying any trick, to drop us an email to check with us whether the trick was well worth its price. We’ve bought magic tricks that sounds promising, but upon receiving it, realize that it is really lame. Don’t think you want to be spending money on crap! ;)
Overall, it was a fun gathering of friends at the Magic Circle. But as always, my dad reminded all of us what Project Smile is all about - serving the community using magic, and how we as a Magic Circle must continue to promote this value. I think that this element is very important. Ooh! It just occurred to me… Technically, all magicians should be very community minded people. Why? Magic in itself, is something to be shared. Perhaps doing a community project together as alumni, would help to continually promote and retain this value.
Hmmm… My dad and I will definitely be putting more thought to this.
Ciao for now!
(Oh...one more thing...Sorry for not posting tis up earlier)
.Thursday, June 7, 2007
so little time ... so much magic...
Dropping a quick note in between rehearsals.
Gotta run! I can hear them calling me.
Time passes way too fast for my liking. Ever since I cam back from Shenyang, its been one thing after the other. Last week, I had a2 day intensive train the trainers session. I was really pleased with everyone. My protegee in training - Amelia, has come a long way. This class not only benefited Amelia, but all my volunteer facilitators felt that they now have a better grasp on the tricks that they weren't so good at.
This week, we are having full on magic rehearsals. Our new director Joanie Spina is here in Singapore to work with us on our illusions. It's a painfully good experience. The pain kicked in after the second day. I was literally black and blue from rehearsing over and over again. We did one brand new illusion 20 times that day. Talk about monotonous! But it was worth it. Our routine looks... 
Fine tuning and polishing our magic is a very tedious process. But that is what seperates from the good from the great. I wanna be great at everything I do. (Sigh... that just means I gotta lot to do)
Gotta run! I can hear them calling me.
"The devil is in the details"
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