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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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