I don't want to come off as stalker-ish, but I can't think of anything quite as thrilling as meeting the magicians that have inspired me since my time as a toddler. They've influenced my life so far, and they might just influence how I end up. People like Lance Burton, Jeff McBride, the Amazing Johnathan, Penn and Teller, and Criss Angel. (Don't be hatin', Criss is cool.) All six of these magicians currently reside in Vegas, and five of them have their own show, or are about to have their own show. How would I be able to meet these magicians? Conventions? After the show? I'm not sure how to go about this.

Anyone have any experience with this, or does anyone else feel the same as I do?

Thanks,
N!H

There are two possibilities. Go to their show. You might be able to talk with them afterwards. Go to lectures, you'll see professionals do what they do best.

Jeff

Conventions are great - but not sure if they will be there.

I have to agree with Jeff on this one. Conventions and lectures do allow you to get "up close and personal" with performers/lecturers. And many performers will come "down front" after a show to interact more personally with audience members.
Bill

One convention in particular could put you in contact with all of those individuals, it is called World Magic Seminar, it is held in Las Vegas each year. I believe it will be April 27-30 this year. check http://www.worldmagicseminar.com for details. Believe the site is under construction right now and only has registration info. No talent posted yet.
Jeff is generally always there,Lance, Chris and Jonathan also almost always make a showing. Jonathan often participates in the bowling with the stars event held with WMS, as does Jeff. I have talked with and even sat next to in lectures at WMS Penn Gillette, but have not seen Teller there but once in the last several years. Penn generally makes a showing for a few of the lectures. I'm sure it varies with their schedules. Mac King is generally there, as is Johnny Thompson, Eugene Burger, and Max Mavin. Don't be afraid to walk up to them , introduce yourself and talk to them. They don't bite. Also the named talent will be around, Gay Blackstone is generally there working the BJW jewelry table in the dealers room (she doesn't bite either, tell her Cous said hi). Also a slew of Café types, Curtis Kam is often there, Steve Brooks, Pete Biro is almost always there, many others. Dirk Losander is generally there. You never know for sure who will show up. But a great place to meet pros , since so many live in Las Vegas.
IBM/SAM combined convention will also be good this year in Louisville in the summer, but generally not as many pros who aren't on the program show up to those, depending largely on where and when it is held. A lot of the folks you list have contract jobs in Las Vegas and seldom get out of town.

I know that Penn and Teller (as well as Mac King) hang around after each performance to sign autographs, pose for pictures, make small talk, etc... So, go see them.

Both Mac King and Lance Burton meet audience members after the show. Mac is right outside the door, Lance is usually in the "magic shop".

Jim

I was able to meet Mac King after his show and chatted for a bit, Penn and Teller were available for photos/autographs, but Lance wasn't available after his show when I was there.

We can all agree on Mac King being there. His show is one of the best and you should really see it. The Cloak of Invisibility is Awesome...... At the Penn and Teller show it was only Penn after show, maybe Teller was sick or something that day and went home after the show. I didn;t see Lance after the show but I didn't check the magic shop though.

That is where I bought the 8 volumes of Tarbell and is what got me started. It seemed like a lot of money at the time but I figured it was going in the slot machine or into a set of books I could learn something from. Plus it was a couple weeks after 9/11 and I go in the airport with a plain brown poorly wrapped box, because that is all they had at the shop to put them in. That was when armed army guys were walking around with loaded weapons, no problems though, except they yelled out real loud at the x-ray machine asking what was in the box. I told them books and then he yelled out real loud what kind at which point I stumbled in thinking of the answer from being so nervous but finally spit out magic and they said ok and that was it.

Some of those people attend the local IBM meeting in Vegas sometimes. OR, they do lectures and you can meet them there.

Seek out all accomplished magicians. While these folks are certainly "up there", there are many magicians who make the lecture circuit and are worth checking out. There are lots of magical thinkers out there who are worth listening too. Everyone that I've seen lecture has been more than willing to answer even the simplist questions with more than, "it's in my book".

Fantasma Ring 257 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in Las Vegas hosts an annual "Magician of the Year" Gala event, typically the first Monday of December. Recent honorees have been John Calvert, Norm Nielsen, Carl Ballantine and Johnny Thompson. At the gala event, several "names" appear in a magic tribute show to the honoree. Amazing Jonathan has been there, Seigfried, Lance, Penn, Jeff McBride.....LOTS of amazing magical legends in the audience if not on the stage.

Check out our website at http://www.ibm257.com for some photo's of past events and watch for the announcement of who we will be honoring in December 08'. The Gala is open to those who purchase their tickets in time....seating is limited to 150 attendees (although we may expand it to 200 this year). General Admission tickets are in the $75 range, and VIP seating is around $125, although ticket prices have not been set for this year's event yet. It's several hours of entertainment and mingling with a group of magical legends that are rarely together in one place at one time. And they are all approachable too.

If you can schedule a visit to Vegas over the first Monday of December, and if you order your tickets soon after they go on sale (typically in July or August) you can experience an evening with a tremendous group of magical entertainers that most will never get a chance to shake hands with in a lifetime.

I hope to see you there!!

Recently, I went to a Jeff McBride performance. Jeff spent a lot of time circulating through the audience before and a bit after his performance. He was chatting with folks, having his picture taken, etc. He was very approachable.

However, make sure that the performer really wants to meet and greet.

Just to echo what my pal Photius said about WMS. Criss and Copperfield also usually make a quick appearance. A few years ago, Criss got up on stage and did something during a show. David made a quick appearance on stage as well. It was basically a joke during the opening show of the convention. Last year, he came with his whole entourage, Kenner, Homer, and a young lady or two. They were litereally leaving for tour in an hour and just stopped at the convention for a bit. I snapped a quick pic with David. Criss also showed last year with his whole crew. I find that very comical when he shows up. The younger guys run to him for pics and autograph. I go and talk to Johnny and Banachek.

One of the best parts about WMS is the bowling night they have every year. Somehow, every year, my team is sandwiched between Dimmare's team, (he's really good) and Amazing Jonathan's team (he cheats.) It's a really fun time to get away from magic and get to hang out with these guys. If I remember correctly, last year was Losander's first time ever bowling and he did really well.

Join a local IBM / SAM group. There you will get to meet some greats in magic. Lucky for me my IBM group is IBM 257 in Las Vegas. If you ever in Las Vegas come to one of our meetings. We always have a big name dropping by.

Our IBM 257 site for more information http://www.ibm257.com we would love to have you visit and anyone else that comes here.

Cheers,
BRad Roberts