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Arts.

 

Gathering the magic

Douglas student Billy
Hsueh talks his upcoming
benefit magic show

 

By Eric Wilkins, Staff Writer

BY Hsueh is a stand-up
guy, being a comedian,
and as it turns out, he’s also
a magician. The first-year
hospitality and management
student is one of the lead
organizers of an upcoming
magic show entitled “An
Evening of Magic,” with
the intention of sending
two deserving kids to the
renowned Sorcerers Safari
Magic Camp.

“We [Hsueh and fellow
performer Briana Carlson]
were sent to camp last year,
and we wanted to return the
favour and send someone
else,” says Hsueh. “Pay it
forward.”

The former Dougie’s Got
Talent contestant has been in
and around magic for some
time now.

“About six years ago, |
was at a summer camp or
something and they took us
down to Granville Island...
there’s a magic shop down
there and the person over the
counter started doing magic...
I was like, ‘That’s so cool!’ So I
just picked up a deck of cards

and went from there.”
Along the way, Hsueh
has rubbed shoulders with
some talented company, three
of whom will be joining him
on stage for the May 25 show.
Co-organizer Brianna Carlson
is the reigning Junior Comedy
Magician of the Year, Alex
Seaman (a former Criminology
student at Douglas College)
is both the Pacific Coast Stage
Champion and the Canadian
Stage Champion of Magic,
and as for Tony Chris, “He’s
won a lot of awards,” laughs
Hsueh, no slouch himself with
the title of Card Magician of
the Year for 2012. “[Chris] is a
professional magician.”
Hsueh is pleased with the
response to date and the way
the show has come to fruition.
“Last year, [the charity
event] was more like a pub
night. [The show] had raffles
and draws and games... it
was food and just a little bit
of magic. We wanted to make
ours more about the magic.”
Hsueh hopes to raise
approximately $2,000 from the
show in donations so that two
lucky magicians-in-the-making
can attend the next Sorcerers
Safari Magic Camp in Ontario.
“We basically look at
what they’ ve been doing by
themselves magic-wise. Their
dedication to the craft and
how enthusiastic they are
and how much they can get

from camp. We tried to pick
someone who could get just
as much if not more [from
camp],” said Hsueh of the
selection process.

As for the experience
itself, “It’s like taking summer
camp, with all the archery and
horses and whatever events,
taking that all out, and then
just putting magic into it,”
beams Hsueh. “And Mike
Segal (the camp founder)
is an awesome guy. He’s
hardworking and wants to

see advancement in the art of
magic for youth.”

Tickets for the show can be
bought at the door but Hsueh
advises magic enthusiasts to
purchase them online to save
possible disappointment.

For the $15 fee, there will
definitely be some worthwhile
entertainment. “One of the
performers is debuting two
new illusions, so expect a good
night,” adds Hsueh. “Come
out to the show, it’Il be well
worth it.”

 

Again, the event is called

“An Evening of Magic,” and
will take place May 25 at The
Evergreen Cultural Centre in
Coquitlam. Doors will open at
5:30 p.m. and the show will run
from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (a bonus if
you're looking to keep your
evening open afterwards).
Tickets can be purchased
through the event's website at
http:/ /eveningofmagic.ca, and
remember, this will be a charity
event!

 

Canada continues to be the documentary capital

National Film Board
of Canada intends
to launch doc-based
streaming service

 

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

Ra this month, it was
announced during Toronto’s
Hot Docs documentary festival,
now in its 20th year, that the
National Film Board of Canada
has an ambitious project in
mind. This particular project is
being described by The Globe
and Mail as potentially being,
“the Netflix of the documentary
world.”

To elaborate, this new
project by the NFB is to create
a global-streaming service
for documentaries, from
original NFB productions to
international works. A number
of documentaries (along with
other pieces of Canadiana) can
be viewed for free already on the
NFB website—a fantastic service
if you're looking for some brain
food and have time to kill.
However, where a potential
fee comes in is, again, the goal
of sharing international and
popular documentaries, both
of which will have mandatory
licensing.

Asa Netflix subscriber,
I spend a lot of time using
the service specifically for
documentary viewing.
Almost yearly, a number of
documentaries screened at

Canadian film festivals find
their way onto Canada’s Netflix
service, which is something I
consider a highlight. As nice and
necessary as having docs on the
service is though, I do love the
idea of having a documentary-
specific service. Where a
possible issue arises though

is whether or not this original
Canadian service will actually
be able to get our money’s
worth in documentaries.

Not to be cynical, but as a
Netflix subscriber, I occasionally
question why we still have the
service. Many people complain
that Netflix does not have all
the movies (and shows) that
the American version does.
Like it or not, part of that is due
to the fact that without more
subscribers, services like Netflix
can’t afford licensing on certain

products—at best, everything
already on Canada’s Netflix
is temporary. That is a point
that needs to be mentioned
because for Canada to launch
such an ambitious product
like a documentary-based
streaming service, it requires
people to actually pay for the
service in order to literally get
their money’s worth; the less
subscribers, the less product
available, and the more real
the notion of not having any
streaming service—including
Netflix—becomes likely.

But what really makes
this documentary service so
important is that Canada was a
forerunner in the development
of documentaries as they
are seen today. From classic
Canadian works such as the
Paul Anka documentary Lonely

Boy (1962), and further back to
1941’s Churchill’s Island (the first
film to win the Academy Award
for Documentary Short Subject),
Canada is largely responsible for
how documentaries have been
developed over time. If Canada
is anything, it’s ambitious, and
if Canada is anything else, it’s
oftentimes unsuccessful in its
ambitiousness.

I don’t want to see this
potential service fail. Canadian
film is struggling enough
already that any failed project
is no longer just a setback; it’s a
devastating blow. With that said,
I look forward to this upcoming
NFB service, which is set to
launch in North America and
Europe online and across digital
platforms as a downloadable
app (much like Netflix) as early
as next year.

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