Discourse in Magic

Ben and Jonah are back with the latest from the Toronto Magic Company. This week they’re returning to MagicLand and they want you to return with them.  UnConventional.fun is returning for its third convention, Return To MagicLand, and is happening May 29th and 30th.  New Experiences If you’ve been to previous UnConventional.fun events you’ll be excited to hear that Ben has been spending the...

This week Jonah connects with Trigg Watson where they break down how he quit his corporate job to perform in magic full time, how he developed his reputation as the “tech magician”, and his advice for you when developing magic for a video camera lens. The Perfect Vessel Trigg was four years old when one of his friends performed magic for him for the first time. He doesn’t remember what...

Ben Train returns to join Jonah in another check in with the Toronto Magic Company where they discuss the changing dynamics of the magic industry during the pandemic, the launch of their YouTube programming, and their fears about the future of virtual magic. The Plateau The global pandemic changed everything when it came to live events for magic and Ben and Jonah break down the different stages th...

This week Jonah and Kayla Drescher team up for a crossover episode with Discourse in Magic and Shezam! In it they talk about producing magic podcasts, hosting virtual conventions, and the challenges facing the magic community today. Podcasting With Magic Jonah and Kayla break down the differences and similarities between their two shows and ask each other what they would like to see done in the wo...

Is virtual magic ending? Are virtual magic shows going to go away? Jonah doesn’t know but he will tell you one thing, he doesn’t think they’re going to disappear because he think that’s going to be hard to get the toothpaste back in the bottle. If virtual employees keep existing, at least in some regard, so will virtual magic shows. So, you must be thinking the question, how much longer do we have...

Jonah is joined by virtual magician extraordinaire, Harrison Kramer, to discuss all things virtual magic and why it’s here to stay forever. Harrison started off 2020 like most other professional magicians, with a ton of bookings and a bright future ahead. And when the pandemic hit and everything got cancelled he originally hated doing virtual shows. But not soon after he came to realize that...

Ben joins Jonah to talk about their biggest business failures of 2020, how they happened, and what they learned from those experiences. When 2020 started, like everyone else, Ben and Jonah had big plans. Then everything got cancelled and they had to figure out what the Toronto Magic Company and their careers as magicians would look like. They took a lot of risks and found a lot of success. But the...

Jonah is joined by legendary magician and comedian Mac King to talk about his life growing up with magic, blending stand up comedy with magic performance, and moving to Vegas to perform at Harrah’s Hotel . Starting Young Mac King was first introduced to magic by his grandfathers who each had a love for magic tricks. The first time he ever saw magic performed was from one of his grandfathers and th...

Jonah was invited onto the Of Sleights and Men podcast to talk about running his various businesses and the balance between his love of magic and his love of entrepreneurship. This episode is just a highlight of his full conversation with podcast hosts Benji and Jacob. Check out the Of Sleights and Men Podcast for the complete interview. The Toronto Magic Company Jonah opens up about the founding...

Jonah is joined by Scot Nery, a juggler, magician, and entertainer who now helps entertainers with their branding, marketing, and more helping to identify their value and the value they bring to their clients.  Escaping The Magic Bug Scot Nery didn’t really stick with magic, not at first. Early on when he first joined a magic club and found a mentor he found that the club he was a part of was not...

On this episode, we are talking about ticketed virtual magic shows. I’m going to give you three reasons why you absolutely should put on your first ever virtual ticketed magic show. We are talking about your virtual magic show, not the one you do for corporate clients, not the one you do for families, but the one that you sell tickets for. I know you’ve thought about it, some of you ma...

Jonah is joined by Ryan Kane, author of “Out of Stock: A Magician’s Guide to Writing Your Own Lines” , where they talk about the importance of writing your own lines when performing your magic and Ryan takes one of Jonah’s own lines and takes it through his process to replace it with something new or something better. Original Content Ryan Kane has exploded in the last twelve months, not onl...

Today Jonah tells you about Unconventional.fun 2: Magicland . He’ll explain to you what this is, how it came to be, and then give you six reasons why this may be something that you want to be a part of.  What is Unconventional.fun?  Six months ago, Ben Trane and Jonah launched the first ever eight-bit video-game virtual-magic convention. What that meant was that not only did you have all the cool...

Jonah is joined by Ben Seidman to talk about working as a consultant on Mindfreak , appearing on Fool Us , and learning how to throw out everything you’ve heard when designing your own show.  He Started Terrible And Then He Got Better Ben doesn’t think his origin story is all that interesting. He was interested in magic and got his dad to buy him a magic kit and he was really bad at it and then he...

Jonah is joined by Ben Train, his Toronto Magic Company business partner, to offer up a glimpse of what life is like at the Toronto Magic Company, how it’s adapted to the world of virtual magic, upcoming events they’re hosting, and the lessons that he and Ben have learned after almost a full year of pivoting to the virtual.   A New Mission Ben and Jonah launched the Toronto Magic Company four year...

Jonah is joined by Mat Franco where they get to discuss his dominating performance on America’s Got Talent , opening up a For-Real-Life show in Vegas, and knowing from an early age that Mat was destined to live his dream as a magician. Ever since he was five, Mat has dedicated his life to learning and performing magic, from show-and-tell in kindergarten, to the college touring circuit, to wi...

Today, we are talking about the three systems that every virtual magician needs in their business. A lot of people ask me, how is it that I can have a podcast, and a virtual magic business, and interview people, and coach magicians, and also post on social media everyday, how I do all of those things. And the answer is not that I wake up really early and drink a ginger root tea or have apple cider...

Jonah is joined by Moritz Mueller where they discuss how to reach out to some of the biggest names in the magic world, different theories of magic and how it can practically apply your work, and how Moritz prepares and learns his own tricks. Moritz is an incredibly talented magician and, at twenty years old, he’s very young for someone with his expertise and skill. So what is he doing that other m...

This is not an episode. This is a thank you.  2020 was a really, really strange year for everybody. It was a strange year for me, and I assume it was a strange year for you too. A Year Of Firsts It was a year full of firsts. It was the first time we had our calendars wiped clean. It was the first time that we all did virtual magic shows. And it’s the first time that many of us rose to that o...

In this episode, we are talking about if and why you should run your own ticketed virtual magic show and Jonah is going to give you five reasons why you may want to do your very first ticketed virtual magic show. #1: It Makes Money Let’s be honest, it makes money. Why do you think that people keep doing them? Because they’re profitable. They make money. There are dozens and dozens of p...

Jonah is joined by none other than Teller himself to discuss his history in magic, the challenges of producing Fool Us during a global pandemic, and how he views a world where every magic secret can easily be researched online. Not Always The Silent Type Teller wasn’t always silent and he opens up about his early days struggling as a magician performing for fraternities that wouldn’t pay attention...

This episode with Jonah is going to be ridiculously short because it’s not really an episode. But First, Congratulations Jonah wants to say two things. The first thing is to say congratulations. This year has been really strange. And for many of us, it kind of all accumulated to December, which was for many of us, our busiest virtual magic month ever, where 12 months ago, not one of us was d...

Jonah is joined by Eric Dittelman where they talk about performing on TV, the usefulness of having an agent, the challenges of the past year going virtual, and the importance of creating a space where you can be bad. Eric has competed on America’s Got Talent , appeared on Ellen , and performed on Penn & Teller Fool Us . He’s toured the United States performing at colleges and has produced show...

This week Jonah is joined by the dynamic duo of Kyle and Mistie Knight. Kyle & Mistie have been on tours with Disney Cruise, they’ve appeared on Penn and Teller Fool Us , and they even have the distinction of winning Wizard Wars ! Today you’re going to learn all about how they got to where they are with Kyle’s background in working, building, and creating magic and Mistie’s incredible work on...

Today’s advice from Jonah is directed towards stage magicians who are transitioning from big stage or parlor shows to performing for the camera in virtual shows and he’s looking to the world of acting for the answers. Ready For Your Close Up You used to be a stage performer, or you used to be a parlor performer, and now you are a virtual magician. And one thing that you’ll notice...