Penguin Live Online Lecture – Norman Gilbreath
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A fascinating creator with a completely different approach to magic came to Penguin LIVE!Â
“You certainly have put a lot of deep, and very productive, thought into your famous principle. I wish I could be at your lecture in order to see for myself how it all works when it’s properly done.” – Paul Curry
“Mr. Gilbreath is eminently qualified as a performing magician of skill and experience, and as a creative inventor of unusual magic effects that are widely known and used.” – Martin Gardner
“Not long ago in the Magic Castle, some Japanese visitors clustered around an intense silver-haired man who was seemingly manipulating the magnetic fields of colored rods and discs. The visitors were the Tenyo brain trust, and their admiring exclamations—during effect and explanation—were those of experts watching a master. The master’s name will live as long as cards are riffle shuffled, thanks to the wonderfully counter-intuitive principle that bears his name.” – Gordon Bean
“It was a pleasure to meet you at Magic Castle during our stay in Los Angeles last month. I would like to thank you for showing and explaining to us your unique magnet trick. We were really impressed with your beautiful routine.” – Hiroshi Kondo (Tenyo Co.)
“Whenever I think of an individual who is creative and innovative in the art of magic, Norman Gilbreath comes to my mind. His creation of the Gilbreath Principle has been utilized for the creation of many incredible magical effects.” – Howard Hamburg
“Norman Gilbreath’s mind is a treasure trove! Up until now there have been no maps except to those close to Norman himself. Now Norman has released his book, Beyond Imagination! Treasure, indeed, beyond my wildest expectations. ‘X’ marks the spot within the pages of this book. Your magical repertoire will be broadened and your audiences will have their minds baffled.” – Paul Green
“Anyone who’s ever utilized the now-classic Gilbreath Principle knows how effective the disarming strategy can be. The meticulous thinking that went into this creation is evident in of all of Norman’s work, much of it detailed here for the first time.” – Tom Ogden
“Norman’s creations have baffled many of the brightest minds in the world of magic… prepare to be inspired!” – Jeff McBride
“I’ve always thought that Norman Gilbreath’s magic was brilliant and I’m thrilled that he’s has taken the time and made the effort to share his creations with us.” – Daryl Martinez
“Many contributors to our art have refined, improved or reinterpreted. Norman Gilbreath has done something of another order—he’s changed what is possible.” – David Regal
“Norman Gilbreath combines his deep knowledge of the properties of a deck of cards with an emotional appeal and clever routining. I’d run to get a copy of his book if I were you, and also if I weren’t.” – Rafael Benatar
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This is going to be a rare opportunity to attend a lecture in developing and presenting unique card magic by the man behind the Gilbreath Principle.
Max Maven has said: “Norman Gilbreath doesn’?0?8t think like normal people do. And that has been to our benefit!”
Here are some excerpts based upon my book, Beyond Imagination:
When I was about five years old, and lying in my bed recovering from a hip problem, a very strange visitor stopped by my open window ?0?3 actually stood on the window ledge ?0?3 and said “Hello” to me. It was an escaped minah bird, and at the time I wondered: How is this creature talking to me? At that age I had no idea birds could talk, and that unexpected “Hello” was the sort of magical experience I?0?8ve been looking for ever since.
What happens when you have a magical experience? It takes you beyond your usual thinking, and reminds you of the boundless nature of thought. All theater reaffirms our ability to make sense of the world we live in, but magic reminds us that we can find new ways to see things, that we can go beyond our current imagination. So, a magician enhances the imagination. And this lecture is meant to enhance the magician.
Sometimes it is handy to be able to perform a magic act using only a few decks of cards in your pockets. Here are two such acts. While the first act uses three decks of cards, two of them being special trick decks, the second act can be performed with four ordinary decks of cards. Now, if you ever find yourself somewhere without any magic apparatus, you can buy four ordinary decks and present the act “The Journey”.
Norman Gilbreath was born in Los Angeles when the Red Cars were still running, and you could get a secret decoder ring at the Wiltern Theater if you showed up for the kids matinee. After he came up with a principle and a conjecture, he graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles and went to work for the RAND Corporation. He still lives in Los Angeles, along with his wife and son, and can be found most Friday evenings at The Magic Castle, chatting with old friends and performing close-up magic. Â
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