I was recently invited to perform in the #1 Rated Variety TV Show in Taiwan, “Zong Yi Da Ge Da”. Magic is now on fever in Taiwan due to the Special Magic Segment “Da Mo Jing” of Zong Yi Da Ge Da.

 

”Da Mo Jing” is a program much like reality contest shows ala American Idol etc, only difference is that the competing subject is Magic. There is also a panel of professional magician judges which includes Lu Chen, Erick Ching and Luo Bing. This is currently the 3^rd season of this program, while the first 2 seasons were top rated programs in Taiwan.

With Erick  

I arrived in Taiwan, the evening of 16^th June and was welcomed by Erick and representative from the Production House (E-Hope). The ride from Tao Yuan Airport to Taipei city was about an hour, we then visited the production house for a briefing. A lot goes into making one episode of the program and the production people usually meets till 3 – 4 am in the morning before the filming of each episode.  I also managed to catch up with my good friend PJ Wen over a couple of drinks that night.

The following day was the filming of the special episode. This particular episode has no competition, therefore it was a rather exciting show with 7 guest performers! Apart from me who flew in, they also had Kyoko from Japan. I managed to catch Kyoko’s modified hairdresser act during rehearsal and it is truly a masterpiece! The other performers include the ever amusing Lu Chen, Shi Tian Xiao Bai , Poker Chen, Webber and Mike from Taiwan. Even though the 4 other performers were not competing in the show, they will still have to be commented by the panel of judges.

 

Group photo on set

The audiences were all very supportive, staging and lighting were great, it was an extremely comfortable experience working with this team. I believe the program on TV last about 40 – 60 min, however it took us a little over 6 hours to film all the footages. I performed my Eternal Ropes routine as well as my Stage Competition Act. Really looking forward to the final copy of the program!

Below are some photos taken on the set with the Guest Celebrity Artists, Host and Magician Friends:

 

With Zhang Fei, The Star of Zong Yi Da Ge Da! 

 

Hosts of Zong Yi Da Ge Da, Erick, Zhang Fei, Myself, Huang Ping Yuan, Hong Duo La Si

 

 

Webber, Poker, Myself and Mike

 

Celebrity Guests of the Show! 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire team then went to “Shi Ling Ye Shi” for Dinner. I asked Lu Chen if it was a common sight for people to recognize him on the streets, and true enough just as we entered the restaurant, 2 high school girls were mumbling to themselves, Erick’s Student then went over to the 2 girls and said “He is Lu Chen!”, haha that was really interesting.

I stayed another day in Taiwan to catch up with some of my close friends there. One of the performers in the show, Mike, brought me to “Xi Men Ding” for shopping.  Webber and PJ joined us later and brought me to find Huang Wen Nan. Wen Nan aka Na Ge, is a magic dealer based in Taiwan. He often source out for interesting magic products and I always like to patronize him. Nan Ge had also agreed to help me organize a Taiwan Lecture Tour in the coming months.

Visited a Magic Shop owned by Jiang Bo Quan, he was one of the winners for the 1^st season of Da Mo Jing. It was a huge magic shop with a vast selection of magic props for professionals and amateurs. I especially love a Framed up “Rainbow Deck” of cards; I will get one done myself for my office too.

With Lu Chen

I met up with Lu Chen during my final day there just after I checked out of my hotel. He brought me to the infamous “Ding Tai Feng” and we chatted over various magic ideas and updates in the magic scene. I am intending to organize the 2^nd Redefine Magic: The Gathering next year on a much larger scale, and I will have Lu Chen over as a Special Guest Performer and Lecturer for the event.

I would like to thank all the friends who took care of me during my stay in Taiwan, making it a memorable and definitely magical one.

Redefining Your Magical Experience,
Jeremy Pei

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 4:31 pm and is filed under Magic Promo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.