Fresh from winning the highest accolade in magic, Asia’s first Elite Diamond Merlin Award recipients Lawrence and Priscilla Khong return to the Esplanade Theatre to collaborate with international heavyweights to push new boundaries in a one-of-a-kind magic show

SINGAPORE, 26 APRIL 2011—Following the critically-acclaimed box office hit MAGICBOX in 2008, starring world-renowned father-daughter illusionists and Asia’s first Elite Diamond Merlin Award recipients (conferred by the International Magicians Society in New York and is equivalent to the Academy Awards for films), Lawrence and Priscilla Khong will make a dazzling return to the Esplanade Theatre with VISION—Where Seeing…is Just the Beginning from 15 to 24 July, 2011.

Touted to be the first of its kind in the world, VISION is also theatre with a script that transports audiences into a parallel universe, allowing for the highest level of magic to be performed. Besides featuring baffling world-class illusions and elaborate dramatic twists of classic magic acts, VISION will debut brand new illusions that have never been seen before, such as the deadly Nam Escape – a new dangerous and difficult stunt involving giant sharpened iron spikes mounted on two mammoth 10 feet (3m) “wheels”.

“Both Priscilla and I are always pushing the boundaries and taking our craft to the next level”, says Lawrence Khong. “We are the only ones in Asia to use such enormous, elaborate and often deadly props that defy all logic and reason. It is a profound statement of our unique brand of magic which delivers innovative and cutting edge world-class performances to the audiences and magic fraternity.”

Featuring some of Singapore’s heavyweights in the theatre and music arena including Samantha Scott- Blackhall, Beatrice Chia-Richmond and Stefanie Sun’s music maestro Kenn C, this unique production has attracted the likes of Emmy Awards nominees and winners, such as Don Wayne from the United States, who has worked on The Magic of David Copperfield, The Olympic Games and The Academy Awards.

Magic consultant to VISION and former consultant to Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and television specials such as The Magic of David Copperfield, Don Wayne ranks VISION as one of the biggest magic
shows in the world for the team’s dogged efforts at pushing the boundaries of magic, but its boundless creativity in adding new twists to classic magic acts.

Wayne explains, “Not only is there a high degree of skill involved in VISION, the sheer scale of the show and its high production value undoubtedly make it a world-class performance!“

“VISION is a big part of our dream to combine magic and theatre,” says Priscilla Khong. “Magic is still perceived by many as an acrobatic act, and I hope this unique integration will help transform magic into a
more recognised and dynamic art form.”

Co-Creative Director and Director of VISION Samantha Scott-Blackhall, an award-winning theatre veteran teaming up with Lawrence and Priscilla for the second time, will leverage on her theatre-storytelling skills, while keeping the genre of magic at the forefront of the show.
“I continue to be awed by the skill and precision of what Lawrence and Priscilla can do,” says Scott-Blackhall.

“It is in VISION where I will integrate magic, music, dance, lights, sound and a theatrical storyline that will differentiate this show from all others. Quite simply, I want the audience to walk out of the Esplanade Theatre saying, “Wow! What an amazing magic show!”
Jason Marine Group Limited is the Presenting Sponsor for VISION.

Congratulations JC and Ning!

Singapore – On 15 Jan 2011, “Singapore’s Number One Magic Duo” (Razor TV), J C Sum & ‘Magic Babe’ Ning were presented with a “Special Recognition Award for Contributions to the Arts & Media Community” from the School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic at the M:idea Youth Awards 2011.

The award was to acknowledge their track record of contributing to the vibrant Singapore arts & media scene with their live illusion performances and television appearances.

J C comments on their latest award: “In a big way, this is a very significant award for us because it is from a mainstream organization that recognized our contributions to the Singapore arts & media community. It is a great step towards bringing magic to mainstream audiences once again.”

Ning adds: “We are just proud to continue to make Singapore proud and showcase local talent.”

Since 2006, J C & Ning have performed professionally as a magic duo and have been acknowledged by Channel News Asia as “Singapore’s Celebrity Magic Duo”. The Straits Times, AXN Asia and Magicseen Magazine also recognize them as one of the very top illusion teams in the world.

The team is well known for their innovative illusions such as teleporting people & cars over great distances as well as setting a world magic record and successfully predicting the national 4D lottery.

Most recently in Dec 2010, J C & Ning made five people vanish 24ft up in the air while surrounded by over 1000 spectators in a mega illusion entitled, “The Aerial Exit”.  This was the grand finale for the Explore Singapore 2010 campaign organized by the National Heritage Board.

They are also the first Singapore illusionists in history to be awarded Merlin Awards for “Most Original Illusionists of the Year 2009” by the International Magicians Society.

The charming J C with Magic Babe!

International Magicians Society 2009 Merlin Award winners, J C Sum & ‘Magic Babe’ Ning will attempt their most mind boggling feat yet – the advance prediction of winning 4D lottery numbers.

On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 at 8.30pm, Singapore’s celebrity magic duo will seal their 4-digit number prediction in a giant red packet (红包). In plain view, this will then be locked into a see-through tamper-proof Plexiglas container. The clear acrylic chest will remain sealed and left suspended 3m above ground, in front of St James Power Station’s main entrance for the next 6 days.

The public is free to come by to view the suspended prediction chest anytime (24/7) over the course of the week. Additional security cameras and security personnel will be deployed to ensure that the clear acrylic chest holding the lottery prediction is kept safe and untampered by anyone, including J C & Ning’s team.

On Wed, 27 Jan 2010 at about 6.45pm, J C & Ning will finally open the chest and reveal their prediction, once the official 4D results are drawn by Singapore Pools. Members of the public are invited to come down to The Boiler Room @ St James at 6.30pm on this date to witness this ‘live’ revelation of the 4D prediction by the veteran illusionists in real time. Admission is also free.

This one-of-a-kind event makes momentous news in history, being the first ever lottery prediction to be attempted here, and in this part of the world. This new psychological illusion stunt is a noted departure from the illusion duo’s previous high profile projects, which include visual acts of physical teleportations, as well as, other large-scale mega illusions and feats.

Andrew Ing, COO of St James Holdings Ltd shares, “The 4D prediction is definitely one of a kind and it has never been done before in Singapore. It will be the talk of the town and have everyone anticipating for the moment of truth!”

The Singapore Tourism Board’s representative, Ms Ranita Sundra, Deputy Director, Arts and Entertainment, will be present to audit the proceedings of the prediction to ensure that everything is legitimate and fair.

“The Impossible 4D prediction is purely a mental and psychological challenge. We will be employing 5 different techniques and strategies to generate the 4-digit number.” explains J C.

“We will be buying a ticket for a single 4D number for the 27 Jan 2010 draw. If we hit the right winning number, we’ll definitely take a break for the rest of the year!” adds Ning, Singapore’s only professional female magician and FHM cover girl.

For more info on The Impossible 4D Prediction, please visit: www.MagicJustGotHotter.com

J C & Ning’s latest psychological illusion stunt will coincide with their latest show Sexy Magic/ Urban Illusions, which runs at The Boiler Room @ St James Power Station from 26 – 30 Jan 2010 (Tue – Sat) at 8.00pm every night.

As the name implies, Sexy Magic/ Urban Illusions will tantalize audiences with unique magic acts that includes a fiery opening illusion, a surreal dissecting & floating head illusion, an impossible roller coaster sawing-in-half finale and much more!

St James Power Station is thrilled to have J C & Ning headline at the club as Mr Andrew Ing shares: ““We are very excited about the upcoming show in Boiler Room!”

Tickets for the 60-minute contemporary illusion show are priced at S$40 per person, inclusive of a complimentary drink and free club entry after. Promotions include 15% off ticket price for all St James members, as well as, 20% off ticket price for group bookings of 10 tickets or more.

Tickets for Sexy Magic/ Urban Illusions are available online at www.MagicJustGotHotter.com, as well as, from the St James Membership Counter located at 3 Sentosa Gateway, Singapore 098544.

For enquiries, please visit the official website or call +65 62707676. Please note that due to club policies, children under 14 years of age will not be admitted entry.

“Most Original Illusionists” 2009 Merlin Award winners and current world record holders for “Most Number of Illusions Performed in 5 Minutes”, J C Sum & ‘Magic Babe’ Ning, will be attempting their biggest teleportation mega illusion ever in a few weeks by teleporting a full-sized car from one location to another.

This latest mega illusion is set to take place on 22 Aug 2009, Sat at 6pm as the grand finale to The Straits Times 164th anniversary event organized by Singapore Press Holdings.

The exact location of this event will only be revealed in The Straits Times (newspaper ad) on 22 Aug 2009.

Entitled “Destination X”, J C Sum & ‘Magic Babe’ will try to teleport a 1.4 ton Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI in 8.5 seconds, in front of an expected turnout of 5000 people.

The car will be teleported from one location to another that is marked with a large ‘X” on the ground. A ring of close-up witnesses will surround this “Destination X”.

The exact location of the teleportation destination will only be made known to spectators upon their arrival at the event ground.

J C & Ning have spent two years designing the illusion ever since Volkswagen first suggested the idea to them in 2007.

“This is going to be our most challenging teleportation mega illusion ever! Previously, we have teleported ourselves as well as laymen. But, this is the first time we are teleporting an inanimate object of this size. It is going to be wicked!” says ‘Magic Babe’ Ning.

J C Sum states: “For the past 2 years, we have been developing all kinds of teleportation illusions ever since I teleported 50 storeys in 5 seconds, many by request of corporate clients. “Destination X” will employ 7 different illusion techniques to create one elaborate method to achieve the teleportation of the car in front of a live audience.”

For more info on “Destination X”, visit: www.jcsum.com/x

In recent years, J C Sum & ’Magic Babe’ Ning have cemented themselves as Asia’s elite magic duo through their mega illusion events and illusion shows.

Channel News Asia highlighted that they represent “The New Faces of an Age-Old Art Form”. AXN Asia noted that they “have fast smashed some new ground in Asian magical realms”. Magicseen magazine recently acknowledged them as “truly one of the top illusion acts in the world”.

In Jul 2009, the International Magicians Society (U.S.A.) awarded the duo coveted Merlin Awards for “Most Original Male & Female Illusionist of the Year 2009” (respectively).

They are the first Singapore illusionists to be awarded Merlin Awards. Past winners of the Merlin award include David Copperfield, Criss Angel, Siegfried & Roy and Penn & Teller.

The purpose was to introduce magicians and magic enthusiasts to the rich history of magic in Singapore. It honours the notable achievements, prominence and significance of local magicians from the past and present. It is currently the most comprehensive article on Singapore magic history to date.

We, the team at Red Dot Magic, is very privileged to be the ones that are currently hosting and maintaining the article, and would be doing regular updates to ensure that the history of Singapore’s Magic remains well archived and documented.

Here is an excerpt from the first part of the article:

The beginning of Modern Magic in Singapore

It is the general consensus that modern magic in Singapore (post World War 2) began with the late-Ng Bo Oen AKA The Great Wong. Information on local magic pre-war is very scarce. The only information found has been on The Great Wong performing at the New World Amusement Park (then located at Kitchener Road) in the 1930s.

The Great Wong was born in 1908 in Shanton, a city of the Guangdong Province, China and immigrated to Singapore in 1933. He was the only professional magician of his time in Singapore and performed across South East Asia. He was known for his sharp stage magic, Linking Rings routine and Sword Basket illusion. He was also an expert craftsman who built all of his props by hand. He had the gift of figuring out the mechanics and methodology of magic props and fabricating them from scratch.

Read the full article here.

Here’s a RDM super update UPDATE:

Eugene, Oregon, December 31, 2008 :

Lee Asher yesterday officially announced that in the coming year (2009) he will be selling a limited number of vintage Jerry’s Nugget decks. In conjunction with the owner of the world’s largest Jerry’s Nugget playing card reserve, a deal has been struck which will guarantee LeeAsher.com is the only place in the world you can purchase authentic Jerry’s Nugget decks. Once the limited amount of rare decks sell out, there will be no more for sale. While no final date has been released, Asher states he is finalizing a few ‘amenities’ that will accompany the cards before announcing an actual date, price, or total number of decks for sale.

Originally printed in Cincinnati, Ohio, by the US Playing Card Company, these playing cards were custom-made in 1970 for the North Las Vegas casino – Jerry’s Nugget. The now highly-prized playing card eventually sold out in the early summer of 1999. Jerry’s Nugget Casino does not have any plans to reprint the cards, nor could they recreate the process to make them again.

In mid-2008, sophisticated counterfeiters super-saturated Ebay and the world market with fake Jerry’s Nugget playing cards. Random videos starting appearing on youtube from upset buyers. Purchasing genuine decks proved to be a difficult task. While the illegal versions look remarkably genuine, most playing card experts can easily tell the difference because the fake decks are made from cheap cardboard.

Within recent times, the XCM and flourishing community have taken a liking to these pasteboards as well.

For more information about these cards and when they will be available to the public, please visit http://www.leeasher.com

P.S. Lee has personally sent me an email to let those who aren’t in his mailing list to know this piece of super duper awesome news. From Vogue and I, here’s wishing everyone a happy new year! Be sure to check by his site for this fantastic deal!

Cheers,

RDM Crew.