"Travelling With Magic” by Brian Role
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Available direct from Brian Role
In a Blink: 9 Out of 10

Sometimes it is hard to review lecture notes without seeing the lecture that they are based on. Even though I would like to see Brian’s lecture live and in person so that I could give a more complete review, I have to say I was very pleased to see that notes have enough to them that they stand on their own. Brian’s writing style is a little stark and to the point. There isn’t a lot of filler and fluff in them. This is not a criticism as I feel that it is strength. It means he has information to give and he will not be side tracked into talking about anything else. I have been in this business for over 25 years and I learned some things I didn’t know from the notes.

Brian talks about something that is seldom-broached in magic circles and is yet one of the most important factors in putting on a great show. His notes give hundreds of tips on traveling with magic, making check off lists, traveling overseas, traveling on boats, transporting props through customs and gives some excellent advice on what to do if your props get held up or sent to the wrong place.

Brian tells of a real world example where he couldn’t get his bags out of collections because of a public holiday that was unique to that country. He arrived on Tuesday, called them for pick up on Wednesday only to be informed that he had to wait until the next Monday to pick them up. The problem is that his show was on that Saturday. Brian commences to tell us how he ran to magic shops and hardware store to put together an act from scratch. The experience is a nail biter and all of us can relate to stories like this.

In fact, I saw something similar happen to a wonderful magician when I was much younger. Harry Blackstone JR was performing at Procter’s Theater in Schenectady, NY. I do not recall the year but I remember the show very well. Apparently he was performing in the Orient before he came to Schenectady. His props and animals were stuck in customs or sent to the wrong place. I don’t remember which but the point is that Blackstone had no props. I think they only thing he had with him were the floating light bulb. He came to stage center and apologized and if anyone thought his show was not up to snuff then he would gladly give him or her their money back. Blackstone went on to perform with cards, coins, ropes and closed with his light bulb. It was the most memorable show I have ever seen. There was so much laughing and amazed expressions in that audience that I just couldn’t imagine anyone asking for their money back.

Brian says about his impromptu show, “...(it) was not what I had in mind but to those present was a big success and we ended up on the Mumbai Times the next day.” That is a sign of a true professional.

There are some wonderful advice for processionals (or anyone else) traveling abroad with magic. I have never, and plan on never, doing that myself but if I were I would use Brian’s notes to show me the way.

The strength of these notes is that Brian travels extensively and so he is speaking and teaching us from experience. He is not making things up just to sound impressive. His professionalism and experience rigs forth on every page.

I would suggest that Brian should expand his notes into a book form because I had a feeling that he had so much more to teach us.

"Traveling With Magic" by Brian Role
In A Blink:9 Out of 10

Material: 9
This is really valuable little manuscript whose information is slightly hampered because of the limited space available in typical lecture note length. The information is invaluable to those just beginning and it has some reminders and some information that will be profitable for old timers as well. (Oh my gosh! I just referred to myself as an old timer!).

Quality: 9
Brian’s writing style is easy to read and it is very concise and to the point. He took the fact that he had limited space to express his ideas and gave us much material and concepts that were direct and to the pint. He is a very good writer and I look forward to reading his other material.

Illustrations: N/A
There are no illustrations in the book but there doesn’t need to be.

Presentation: 10
Presentation of the material is logical and flows nicely from one chapter to another. He starts off with types of traveling and then builds from there to the next chapter in an intelligent and logical manner. Each chapter builds on itself nicely.

Rich Tenace