Alan Ackerman

Allan Ackerman is one of the world's leading exponents of sleight-of-hand with playing cards.

Tobias Beckwith

Trained in the performing arts first as an actor/ dancer at Temple University, then winning his Masters Degree in Directing and Design from the University of Pittsburgh, Tobias he went on to teach various performance disciplines there for a short time. Moving to New York, Beckwith enjoyed a career on the production and management teams of some of the world's longest running shows: The Fantastiks (Sullivan Street Playhouse), Sweeney Todd (on Broadway and 1st National Tour), and Oh! Calcutta! (on Broadway and International Touring). For the past 18 years he has worked exclusively in the world of magic, as manager and producer for Jeff McBride, Marco Tempest and other leading magical performers. Having been extensively trained in every aspect of live show production, Beckwith continues to be actively involved in the creation of magic with many prominent magical artists. He recently authored the book, "Beyond Deception: The Theory & Practice of Creating Original Magic." For more information, visit http://www.yourmagic.com.

Eugene Burger

When the leading international trade journal MAGIC magazine compiled its list of the most influential magicians of the twentieth century, Eugene Burger was included for his ability to "arouse feelings of astonishment, as well as a host of other indescribable sensations." He has written sixteen best-selling books for magicians, starred in five critically acclaimed instructional video tapes, and lectured to magicians’ groups in over a dozen countries. For more information, visit http://www.magicbeard.com.

Lee Grotte, M.D.

Lee Grotte, M.D. studied Tibetan medicine under the tutelage of Ngak-pa Rinpoche, the official weather controller for Tibet, as well as with two of the senior personal physicians to the present Dalai Lama. Dr. Grotte is the first Western physician to be given permission to study the inner mysteries of the African Yoruba medical tradition and has also worked closely with one of the foremost authorities on Sufi medicine, Shakyh Hakim Moinuddin al-Chishti. A pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, he was the first physician in Ohio to be board certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbology and has been in practice for 24 years. For more information, visit http://www.drgrotte.com.

Larry Hass, Ph.D.

Dr. Lawrence Hass is Professor of Philosophy at Muhlenberg College (Allentown, Pennsylvania) where he is an award-winning teacher of phenomenology, aesthetics, and performance magic. Larry is also the founding Director of The Theory and Art of Magic program. This annual academic symposium brings world-leading performers and philosophers of magic to Muhlenberg to perform their astonishing art and teach about the nature and importance of the magical arts. The Theory and Art of Magic and Larry’s work as a philosopher and teacher of magic has been featured in many national and international media outlets including The New York Times, USAToday, The Chronicle of Higher Education, the Associated Press, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Discovery Channel. Larry is also the author of the forthcoming book for magicians, Transformations: Creating Magic Out of Tricks. For more information, visit http://www.lawrencehass.com.

Bryce Kuhlman

Bryce Kuhlman is an odd experiment in the fusion of art and science. His early performances won him many local and national awards and paid for two college degrees – not in theater but in software engineering and robotics. Those nights he wasn’t performing, one would find him tucked away in a dark room hacking the code together for some new project. He currently runs a corporation that specializes in custom software and web design for entertainers and theatrical venues.

Dirk Losander

Once upon a time in a small village called "Winkels" there lived a boy who had a dream that magic was real. His grandfather told him of wonderous things that existed in the world outside this little village and in other worlds beyond. "Magic is like a bubble" he said "and if you can suspend a bubble in time just for a moment, you can see all the potential of what can exist and experience the essence of real magic, than it will stay with you forever, even after it has vanished." And so with a dream and a vision in his heart, this young boy grew up to become the man who creates magical dreams from "thin air"...! For more information, visit http://www.losander.com.

Max Maven

The late Orson Welles wrote that Max Maven has "the most original mind in magic." He's published over 1700 creations in the conjuring literature, and been an advisor to over a hundred television shows. As a consultant he has worked with David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, Doug Henning, Penn & Teller, Lance Burton, and many others. He has also directed revue shows for several major American gambling casinos. Recently, Magic magazine, the leading intraprofessional conjuring journal, published a list of the 100 most influential people in the field of theatrical magic during the 20th century. Included on the list is Max Maven, cited for "entertaining and astonishing audiences with his bizarre brand of mental magic.... [M]ost of Maven's mind-boggling feats are accomplished through psychological subterfuge that he himself has cunningly created... If mystery does indeed give magic its meaning, then the enigmatic persona of Max Maven makes us ever mindful of the art that is hidden in the mystery of magic." For more information, visit http://www.maxmaven.com.

Jeff McBride

Widely acclaimed as the most innovative and exciting star of magic in our time. In addition to his work as a performer, McBride is in demand as a teacher and lecturer for magicians and lay audiences. With Eugene Burger he conducts regular intensive Master Class session in Las Vegas, and has lectured for groups as diverse as the Smithsonian and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. For more information, visit http://www.mcbridemagic.com.

Tom Meseroll

Tom has over 35 years experience as a practitioner of Martial Arts and is an expert in Okinawan weaponry. Tom has a Black Belt in Tang Soo Do from Grandmaster Seoung Eui Shin as well as a Brown Belt in Traditional Shotokan Karate from Sensei Penny Ringwood (The highest ranking female instructor in Traditional Shotokan). He has also trained extensively in Iado, Aikido and Tai Chi. He is a member of the Zen Center of Los Angeles. He taught the use of nunchakus for riot control for the Los Angeles Police force in the 1980's. His entire family trains in martial arts and his 14 year daughter is a magician and black belt as well, and has won tournaments all over the country. As a magician Tom performs under the stage name, Magus: Master of Martial Magic, and performs effects he has created including the "Sightless Samurai" as well as the "Dancing Katanas". Tom is a member of the Magic Castle, and won the Southern California Society of American Magicians Award for Close-Up Magician of the Year. He has advanced degrees in Astrophysics, Space Physics and Geophysics and works as a contractor for the US Air Force on Space Intelligence. He has also written a novel called "Magus, Master of Martial Magic, Book 1, The Magician's Primer", which tells the story of a martial arts magician finding a path towards 'real' magic. It is a blend of Magic, Eastern Philosophy and Quantum Physics. For more information, visit http://www.martialmagician.com.

Bob Neale

Robert E. Neale is a free-lance writer, magician and author of numerous books and essays on psychology and religion, as well as a prolific inventor and author of magic tricks and origami folds. Among his publications in magic are Bunny Bill; Transaction; Trapdoor Card; Tricks of the Imagination; Folding Money Fooling; Life, Death & Other Card Tricks; and with Eugene Burger, Magic and Meaning. He has also just completed an instructional video, Celebration of Sides: the Nonsense World of Robert Neale. Dr. Neale lives and invents in Vermont.

Todd Neufeld

Twistin' Todd Neufeld is a unique performer who specializes in balloon art and entertainment. He turns every party into a sea of color and motion by manipulating balloons into fabulous creations. Watch him breathe life into events while twisting caricatures of VIPs, elegant corsages, and the most fabulous hats imaginable. Let Todd inflate your celebration with wit, wonder, and magic. Your guests will have so much fun they will burst with excitement. Todd Neufeld brings his unique blend of comedy, balloon magic, and performance art to private and corporate events worldwide. Known for his creativity and innovation, Todd was the youngest artist to win an international "Top Twister" award. Today, he entertains with fabulous sculptures, turns people into balloons, and balloons into people. Pop Comedy at its best! Todd has made appearances at the White House, on the Late Show with David Letterman, on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Nightline, Maury Povich, the Discovery Channel and recently on the Today Show. He is published in books, videos, newspapers, magazines, and even a second-grade math book. Whether mingling or on stage, Todd is sure to leave your guests breathless. For more information, visit http://www.twistedballoon.com/.

George Parker

George Parker is an internationally much asked for stand-up magician and corporate lecturer. As a modern Magician and corporate Alchemist he travels all over the world performing his theatrical one-man show ‘The 5th Element, a story about Life, Love and Magic told in illusions’, short stand-up shows and corporate Lecture-shows© about the creative process. He gives new meaning to the role of the magician and alchemist in present-day-life: as a trickster he turns the world and your thinking inside out and upside down using skilful and deceptive trickery and stand-up comedy; as a sorcerer he shows us how we create our own reality new and comments from that perspective on events in the world; as an oracle he helps you to look beneath the surface of everyday life; and as a wise man in development he knows that it’s easy to be smart but it’s a struggle to be wise. His shows are a mix of those different aspects and speak to the imagination of many people. Often they will focus on business issues like vision, communication, strategy, creativity, marketing or teamwork. At other times they’re centered around mystical and mysterious subjects like Alchemy and the history of the Mage. Not only does he incorporate his vast knowledge about transforming our inner and outer reality in his shows he’s also the author of highly acclaimed books on creativity like the beststeller Het Kleine boek van de Creativiteit and Het Grote Boek van de Creativiteit. For more information, visit http://www.georgeparker.nl/index.php?id=1582.

Jonathan Pendragon

When it comes to starring on television, no magician has a resume like the Pendragons. Jonathan and Charlotte have been seen on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS, syndicated channels, Cable's Disney, Showtime, Family Channel, VH1, E, and on CNN's "Showbiz." They have made more international television appearances than any magician in history. The Pendragons have performed for President Clinton, the First Lady and a host of Washington dignitaries, and two years in a row at the President's Gala held at historic Ford's Theater. Their second presidential appearance was at the direct request of the President himself. For more information, visit http://www.thependragons.com.

Jamy Ian Swiss

An acclaimed master of the challenging art of close-up magic, Jamy Ian Swiss has performed throughout the United States for presenters ranging from Fortune 500 companies to the Smithsonian Institution (where he lectured as a part of their Masters of Magic program). He has lectured to magicians in 13 countries, and made numerous television appearances in the United States, Europe, and Japan, including on The Today Show, CBS 48 Hours, Comedy Central, CNN Sonya Live, PBS Nova and the PBS documentary, The Art of Magic. Swiss is the author of Shattering Illusions, a collection of essays on the art and craft of magic, published in 2002 by Hermetic Press; he is also co-author of The Art of Magic, the companion book to the PBS special; and he contributes a monthly book review column to Genii, the Conjurors' Magazine. He was a writer and chief magic designer for Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular on Fox's FX Network; creator and producer of the Discovery Channel special Cracking the Con Games; and head writer and associate producer for Marco Tempest's The Virtual Magician. Swiss is the creator and producer of Card Clinic, a unique intensive seminar on card magic. For more information, visit http://www.jamyianswiss.com.

Jay Ungar, MD

“Bringing Magic to Life” is not only the title of his book but his personal philosophy as well. Jay, AKA Ragnu (the OK), has been both a physician and “full time” magician for the past 30 years. He is a dedicated internist and geriatrician in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, an Assistant Professor for Tufts Medical School and an avid and accomplished “24/7” magician too. Jay combines his dual passions for Magic and Medicine in almost everything he does. He considers magic the “whipped cream and cherry on top” of his patient encounters and offers it up whenever the timing and circumstances are right. Jay believes that “it truly humanizes the visit” and “the real Magic is not in the tricks, but in the Connection they create.” His handsomely produced, newly published book -- “Bringing Magic to Life” -- is widely acclaimed and garnishing glowing reviews. It’s a passion-filled account of his magical/medical intersection and it brims with hilarious stories, insightful essays and unique presentations designed to “infuse Magic into one’s Life and Life into one’s Magic.” For more information, visit http://www.bringingmagictolife.com.

Professor Randall Wolf

Professor Wolf, beginning in 1999, pioneered a minimally invasive VATS approach for the surgical treatment of lone AF. He has performed over 600 Wolf miniMAZE procedures and has taught the procedure to over 500 heart surgeons from 20 countries. He has been visiting professor in 18 countries, including Oxford University, University of Tokyo and Peking University. Dr. Wolf was the first North American heart surgeon to perform DaVinci cardiac surgery. He is a Past President of the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS), current President of the 21st Surgery Cardiothoracic Club, and President of Asian Affairs, Dataquest Healthcare Partners. He served as Professor of Surgery, Ohio State University (1998-2003) and Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, University of Cincinnati (2003-2007), and the inaugural Ethicon-Endosurgery Chair for Innovation in Surgery (2004-2007). He has over 100 peer reviewed papers and textbook chapters, and served as Co-editor of Innovations (2005-2007). When not in the operating theatre or lecturing, he performs stage and close-up magic.

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Additional questions?
Contact Bryce or Tobias, (702) 697-7002.