7 By Rick Bronson
David Acer
A multi-talented writer, comedian, and television host, Rick Bronson is the go-to guy, the consultant for, and the confidant of some of Canada's finest magicians. The Tourist, a television series he created, hosted and co-wrote, is now a hit in 22 countries, and his recent national comedy special, Comedy Now Presents Rick Bronson, was among the highest rated in Canadian history! This book, Rick's first, contains a choice selection of magic from his stand-up act., and a handful of close-up miracles from his apres-show repertoire!
Effects Included:
- Big Time: The magician's hand becomes an impromptu magnifying glass, enlarging the print on a chosen card, and ultimately upsizing the entire deck!
Lighter Than Air: A borrowed lighter is used for a quick and funny gag, then suddenly vanishes in a flash of fire!
- Missing Ink: A stack of blank business cards prints between your palms!
- Needle Through What?: A family-friendly presentation of the Needle through balloon goes horribly awry, resulting in the mutilation and (eventually) restoration of the magician!
- Ricky Bottles: Rick's closer for over ten years, and one of the best Tricky Bottle routines EVER!
And so much more! Seven by Rick Bronson is the third installment in the critically acclaimed Seven By Series, and exciting, eclectic collection of stage and close-up magic from the mind and repertoire of a world-class entertainer! Written by David Acer, illustrated by Joey Incollingo.
Reviews
(Top ▲)
The dealer's description fairly described 5 of the 7 items. Here are the two that are omitted:
Spinner: A card flourish along the lines of Paul Harris' Instant Replay. Acer devotes four illustrations and two pages to describing the mechanics of the showy move.
No Sweat!: A single page of comments and advice about a visual gag that a high-energy comedic perfomer, prone to visible perspiration, could use as a funny filler.
All of the effects are smartly-described by Acer, and he does a great job of communicating the personality in Bronson's work. The longest piece in the bunch, Ricky Bottles, is an 11-page treatise on a unique presentation for Grant's Tricky Bottles routine. It's a wonderful example of how to squeeze a lot of entertainment out of a classic trick. But because it is Bronson's finely-tuned comedy closer, inspiration is probably the only thing you can (and should) take from it. Very few performers would have the ability and personality to pull it off as described.
Some of these effects have been previously published. Springer and Big Time are on Acer's DVD On Screen and Other Mysteries. Missing Ink (which I like a lot) is a revised description from the out-of-print Natural Selections, and Needle Through What? was previously published in Genii (July 1991).
All-in-all, I think this well-produced (and nicely illustrated) 38 page booklet is a fine value for the reasonable price. Even if ultimately none of the effects grab you, you'll enjoy reading about them, and learning how Bronson respectfully combines comedy with magic is a lesson well worth studying.