Greetings my friends,
Our world is now spinning into the Fall…the dark time of the year. Halloween is one of the great holidays for magicians, and for those of us who love masks!
How many masks do you wear?
We all wear many faces each day. You wake up in the morning and show your sleepy face to your partner. You go to work with the mask of a business person, then after work, the mask of a friend, a lover, or even that of a great entertainer.
From my own experience, I feel that we are all illusionists who shape-shift to fit the moment or social situation. Just think about how many interactions you have each day in person or online. Facebook can be a mask. Many show only the best parts of their lives–others show off the mask of the victim reaching out for help. But remember this–you have the power to take off the masks!
A few years back my friend Tim Cridland gave me a fascinating book by sociologist Irving Goffman. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is about the many roles we play in life. We are all actors playing the best part we can. Even playing the part of “being authentic†is a mask that we can put on or take off at our convenience.
How I Became a Masked Monster
This magazine issue came out in 1965. I found it in an old pile of magazines around 1967. This is the magazine that changed my life and why I decided to wear masks… LOTS of masks.
I remember the day my Don Post “over the head†Wolfman mask came! I was in heaven and I did not take the fuzzy mask off for days. Lon Chaney was one of the top “monster actors†in Hollywood, and he was my hero! I experimented with masks and makeup almost every day!
Here is an early image of my mime makeup from ten years later in 1977, after much influence from the master pantomime artist Marcel Marceau, and rock group KISS.
Who do YOU see when you gaze into the Mirror?
It took many years to perfect my style of makeup. Here is a rare old clip from a TV series I did years ago in the UK, called The Best of Magic.
Who are the “NEW FACES†of Magic?
Just click on the link here to see many of our top award-winning students. Now you can see how these new talents are unmasking their power and magic!
Student of the Month
William Bradshaw has been with the McBride Magic and Mystery School for the last 7 years. In his first year performing professionally, Will was awarded the Cracked Cup for the most entertaining street performer at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Two years later, he was named the Most Improved Entertainer by the same festival. He has studied theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and the University of Minnesota.
He recently was a featured performer at the world-famous Magic Castle, on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us and on the first international tour of Las Vegas Magic Stars.
“My greatest goal with magic is to create real moments of emotional connection for my audience. To do this, I break down my script into beats (smaller sections within a script), and then write down what I feel each moment, what I want the thing or person I am interacting with to feel, and in what way I am doing that. This allows me to tell what moment I am attempting to create, and whether I am being successful in creating it.
A single moment would look like this on paper
Beat:Â Plucking water from folded newspaper, and throwing it in air
Feeling personal: Longing
Desired feeling (of the water I am acting toward): Love and care
Display of Feeling: Caress
Having a target allows me to understand the moments within a script better, and write more compelling emotional-rich magic.”
See Will perform here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Viuh2yCbcHI&t=170s
October Events:Â The BEST in Vegas!
WONDERGROUND – Oct 18th, 2018
Three Awesome Shows: Parlor magic, Stage magic, and Close-up magic – the longest running independent variety & magic show in Las Vegas history!
Come be part of the fun. For full details, our show line-up and directions click on the link below:
www.vegaswonderground.com
The Las Vegas Witches & Wizards Ball
The Witches and Wizard’s Ball is happening on Friday, October 26th at The Olive in Las Vegas! Doors open at 7:30pm. Music, dancing, performances and prizes continue all night long until midnight!
…with DJ LeoD, the New World Rhythmatism Dancers, Spiral Dance and Community Ritual, over $500 in prizes for creative costumes, the Mystery School Magicians, Scott Steelfyre’s Legendary Coffin Ride, The Psychic Sideshow, big surprises and much more!
Creative and festive costumes and masks are wholeheartedly encouraged, but not required. The Witches & Wizards Ball is a fundraiser that makes Mysterium and MayFire possible, so thank you in advance for your generous support!!
Pre-register for $20
Pay $25 at the door
We have a limit of 100 attendees so pre-register to insure you get to come!
http://www.vegasvortex.com/vegas-vortex…/registration-forms/
What is the BEST magic effect of the past few years?
Many top magicians say that BEKOS is one of the most versatile and practical magic effects ever!
The new knots are here and better than ever! No jamming- smoooooth as the silk!
B.E.K.O.S. is available here: https://www.magicalwisdom.com/shop/p/stage-magic-manipulation/best-ever-knots-off-silk-bekos
Have a great Halloween…and remember to take off that mask after the holiday!
Jeff