The first World Deaf Magicians Festival took place in Leipzig, East Germany in 1986. It was founded by a famous international deaf mime, Horst Bormann of Leipzig.
The World Deaf Magicians Committee was formed in Leipzig in 1990 in order to promote bringing more deaf magicians from other countries for friendship, international competitions, and exchanging ideas in the future. (Simon Carmel of Henrietta, NY, brought three American deaf magicians with him to enter the competitions at the 3rd World Festival for the first time in Leipzig in 1990.) This committee was then changed to the official organization called "The Society of World Deaf Magicians" in 1992. The officers were elected.
Today there are approximately 300 deaf amateur and semi-professional magicians around the world. The 7th World Deaf Magicians Festival took place in London, England in April, 1998. The 8th Festival will be in Nagpur, India. The last Festival was held in Rochester, New York USA.
The Society of U.S.A.-Canada Deaf Magicians was established in Chicago, Illinois in 1993 when the first Festival competitions for American and Canadian deaf conjurers took place there. The second festival was held in Montreal-Quebec, Canada in 1995. The third Festival took place in New Jersey on April 16-20, 1997.
For more information regarding the Society of World Deaf Magicians, contact Simon Carmel.
The 5th U.S. Deaf Magicians Festival
The 5th U.S. Deaf Magicians Festival took place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, from May 16th - 19th, 2001. The festival was headquartered at the Best Western Longbranch Hotel and Convention Center. The Festival is held every two years. Two years ago, the Festival took place in Hollywood, California, at the infamous Magic Castle.
Deaf magicians from throughout the U.S. began assembling on Wednesday, May 16th. A special guest, deaf magician, Anatoly Reznik, flew in all the way from Moscow, Russia. A native of the Ukraine, Anatoly is currently the President of the Society of World Deaf Magicians as well as a noted magic dealer in Europe. A general meeting was held and names were drawn to determine the order of appearance for Friday’s contest.
On Thursday, magicians and tourists alike toured parts of Iowa for a tour of the Amana Colonies and the Amana Furniture Company. The Amana Furniture Company even made a wooden magic trick for us that we can use! Dinner was held at the Ox Yoke Inn with all foods coming from Amana’s fresh vegetable gardens, meat from the Amana Colonies Smokehouse and chickens from neighboring farms. Afterwards, the group enjoyed the closeup magic of local Iowan, Tim Stolba, and deaf magicians, Jim Casey, Simon Carmel, and Anatoly Reznik.
Friday morning, the competition took place. Judges included Duane and Mary Laflin, Arden James, and Anatoly Reznik.
Winners of the stage contest were:
1st - Matt Morgan, West Allis, Wisconsin
2nd - Rickie Rowray, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
3rd - Morton & Myrna Feldman, Jenkintown, Philadelphia
Winners of the closeup contest were:
1st - Steve Longacre, Tustin, California
2nd - Sammy Ruiz, Long Beach, California
3rd - James Casey, Sarasota, Florida
On Friday evening, an all-star magic show featured Duane Laflin and his lovely wife, Mary, as well as Arden James, Michael Sibbernsen and Matthew "Magic" Morgan. Additionally, the winners of the stage contest and our visitor from Russia, Anatoly Reznik, performed. Dr. Simon Carmel, a deaf magician from New York, acted as master of ceremonies and provided some magic as well as deaf humor.
On Saturday morning, magic lectures were given by Michael Sibbernsen, Duane Laflin, and Simon Carmel. Magic props and supplies were sold by the Laflins, Anatoly Reznik, and Robert’s Magic Shop.
A meeting was held Saturday afternoon and new officers were elected for the next two years. The new officers are; President, Matt Morgan, Vice-President, James Casey, Secretary, Steve Longacre, and Treasurer, Rickie Rowray. The newly elected board voted to honor Anatoly Reznik as an Honorary Member of the U.S. Deaf Magicians Society. He was recognized and honored at the banquet on Saturday evening. Morton Feldman, out-going treasurer, was also recognized for his contributions and service for the past eight years. After the banquet, the winners of the close-up competition performed.
Festival organizers and co-chairs were Matthew Morgan and Rickie Rowray. Additionally, Justin Olson provided support to the festival by assisting all magicians and tourists in attendance. (magicmorgan@aol.com & balloonartist@prodigy.net) Voice interpreters were provided for those who were not familiar with sign language.
The next U.S. Deaf Magicians Festival will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, August 7th to August 10th, 2003. Sammy Ruiz and Steve Longacre will be coordinating the 6th Festival.
Winners from the 5th Festival are being invited to participate in the 9th World Deaf Magicians Festival which will be held in Moscow, Russia, from April 14th to 21st, 2002. We wish the best as U.S. Deaf Magicians strive to bring back the top awards at the world competition.
Information and/or membership applications regarding the U.S. Deaf Magicians Society can be obtained by contacting Steve Longacre at: STLong@aol.com
8th
World Deaf Magicians Festival in Nagpur, India
17-24 January 2000
by Simon J. Carmel (U.S.A.)
Secretary-General
Society of World Deaf Magicians
The first World Deaf Magicians Festival took place in Leipzig, East Germany in 1986. Horst
Bormann of Leipzig conceived the idea of establishing this festival and had brought deaf
magicians from different countries to gather together there for the spirit of camaraderie
and competition. Every two years the festivals were held at the following sites: 2nd
festival in Leipzig, 1988; 3rd in Leipzig, 1990; 4th in Kiev, Ukraine, 1992; 5th in
Leipzig, 1994; 6th in Rochester, New York USA, 1996; and 7th in London, England, 1998. The
8th festival will take place in Nagpur, India on January 17-24, 2000. Moscow, Russia will
host the 9th festival in 2002. The particular categories of magic competition that are
participated by deaf magicians are stage magic, comedy magic, and micro-magic.
The Society’s mission is to bring all deaf young and adult magicians—amateur and
semi-professional—to participate in the international festivals for many valuable
purposes—camaraderie, exchange of ideas and improvements in their performance skills;
solving technical problems; participating in competitions; attending magic lectures with
interpreters provided to learn new tricks or improve their skills; learning where to
purchase magic apparatuses or props; and promoting their magic shows available to other
national deaf clubs and associations in different countries. There are at least 300 deaf
amateur and semi-professional magicians around the world. They have their lifetime goal of
entertaining their magic performances to deaf and hearing children and adults in their
hometown, state, province or country.
The new organization of the “Society of World Deaf Magicians” was formed in
1990. The president, secretary-general and board member are elected every two years to
help consulting the next international festival organizers; keeping in touch with other
magicians; listing the directory of the names and addresses of deaf magicians for future
requests by national deaf associations; developing the appropriate festival competition
rules; keeping relationships with hearing magicians’ national and international
organizations including the International Brotherhood of Magicians; and publicizing the
deaf magicians’ achievements in the deaf and hearing worlds.
The following important goals to accomplish in the Society’s programs are: 1.
Encouraging deaf female magicians and also deaf young magicians to participate in the
festival competitions, 2. Helping hearing magic clubs and organizations become aware of
deaf magicians’ capabilities and needs for better communication and update
information on new magic tricks, especially hiring sign language interpreters to magic
lectures at local-, national-, and international-level magic gatherings or conventions, 3.
Promoting regional deaf magicians festivals (for example, European Deaf Magicians
Festival, U.S.-Canadian Deaf Magicians Festival, Asian Deaf Magicians Festival, so on), 4.
Publishing the international newsletters for deaf magicians, and 5. Installing closed
captions on the videocassettes of hearing magicians’ lectures for deaf and hard of
hearing magicians in the near future.
All deaf magicians from different countries have their unique magic tricks pertaining to
their respective cultural traditions, although some of the tricks are similar, due to the
traditional customs such as cups and balls, rope trick, card tricks. In contrast, many of
them have their different magic table designs or attires. In spite of their different
national sign languages, they do not need much talk while performing except for using a
very small number of international signs and gestures as well.