Greetings, magical friends,
Holiday greetings to all!
First, a big thanks to all of you who helped us make Jeff McBride – The Story Master such a success! We’ve been receiving lots of wonderful responses, and are already planning the next show for one weekend in February.
Abigail and I have been spending nearly every night curled up in our reading chairs, sitting next to a crackling fire, drinking tea and reading magical stories to each other. We’ve been reflecting on our dearly missed Master and Mentor, Eugene Burger.
He was the “real Santa,” who gave us the gift of his friendship and guidance, and also helped me learn a deeper way to experience and learn the art of magic. One of Eugene’s favorite wisdom sayings was: “The real secrets of magic are not found in books or DVDs; they are passed down from master to student… in whispers.”
How do you learn magic?
Many of our students want to dive deeper this year, so we’ve created some brand-new classes!
MASTERS & MENTORS IN MAGIC– with Jeff McBride & Dr. Larry Hass
January 13th–27th, 2022
MASTERS & MENTORS IN MAGIC is an exciting new series where you get a front row seat to learn the “Secrets of the Masters!”
Jeff McBride and Larry Hass are privileged to have studied with many great masters of magic, live and in person. Now, Jeff and Larry pass down the essential lessons they’ve learned to you! They will share great secrets they have gathered from their teachers and their own deep studies into the presentation and philosophy of magic.
Become part of magic history!
Jeff and Larry spent years in the company of these true masters, and they’re excited to share their most treasured memories, insights, and magic routines from these encounters with you!
Eugene Burger, Juan Tamariz, Tommy Wonder, Bob Fitch, Lance Burton, Channing Pollock, Jeff Sheridan, Frank Garcia, Dai Vernon, Slydini — and many, many more!
Takeaways:
—You will learn new & effective routines that illustrate the lessons of the masters.
—You will enjoy a guided tour through the recent history of magic with modern masters who made this art great.
—You will see how Jeff and Larry incorporate these teachings into their own work, and thereby create strong magic that remains their own.
—You will have access to these files for one year to deepen your studies.
—You’ll be part of a community of like-minded Magicians.
MASTERS & MENTORS IN MAGIC
REGISTER NOW! https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/events
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SHOW & BUSINESS – THE PRO CLASS
Jan 14th–Mar 8th, 2022
Taught by Tobias Beckwith & Jeff McBride
Level up this year – join this class!
This will be a student-directed course in how to build an integrated business and career around your magical passion.
Congratulations! You’ve become a good magician and performer – but now you want more. You’re thinking of making this into a career, or maybe a fun side-hustle. That’s a big step! Or maybe you’ve already taken that step, and it’s time to change direction or shift that business into a higher gear.
The class is limited to 18 students so that we will have time to focus on each of you and your needs. In some ways, it will function as much as a mastermind group, as it will as a seminar, which means sometimes some of you will contribute more than Jeff or Tobias does, because you have more experience in a particular area. Sometimes we will invite others we know to come in and address a particular subject if neither of us is the most expert of anyone we know in a particular area. It is our hope that the students will continue to assist one another to become the new leaders and innovators in our art.
Learn the professional secrets to answer these questions and more!
Register now at https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/show-business-the-pro-class
The best way to learn magic?
Online personal mentoring is now available.
Private online magic lessons with Jeff McBride are being arranged for the new year.
What goes on at these one-on-one classes? Find out here!
https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/p/stage-magic-manipulation/skype-mentoring-package
Invite Jeff McBride to your next event or party!
We are now booking live and online events for 2022.
Jeff McBride’s Online Virtual Magic Shows.
Take a look!
Now for the 1st time you can have a custom-made virtual magic show for your friends and family, club, church or business, performed by one of the true masters of art.
Jeff’s magic works GREAT on zoom. How can you get it?
All you need to do is call Abigail to arrange a time and date! (702) 450-0021.
Have a most magical new year and we will see you LIVE in Las Vegas or online in our virtual classroom!
Jeff and Abigail
Greetings, Friends!
Here we are once again in December, coming up on the longest night of the year. Many cultures celebrate this magical time with traditions that go back thousands of years – Yule, Hanukkah, Christmas, and others. One thing they all seem to have in common is the notion of light returning. Even on the darkest night, a single candle brings comfort and light – and a warm fire provides a place to gather and share the stories that help us define who we are communally and individually. Since the earliest cultures, the role of “lore-keeper” has fallen to certain members of a tribe – and often those same members were the shamans, healers, and magicians.
I remember, when I was a child, gathering at my grandparents’ home, along with aunts, uncles, and cousins. This was at a time when many families still had both a family room and a parlor. During most visits to Grandma and Grandpa’s, we would spend most of our indoor time in the family room, watching movies and TV and playing games. But on special occasions, like Thanksgiving and Christmas, they would build a fire in the giant fireplace, and we would gather in the parlor. This was a time without the normal distractions of television, board games, or other casual play. We would open gifts and catch up with one another’s lives – in other words, tell our stories.
Uncle John would tell us about his adventures growing the bank where he was president. Aunt Carol had a funny story about something that happened in the church group where she was active. Mom had something to tell about her activities getting the local League of Women Voters chapter off the ground. Cousins traded stories of what happened at our various schools, or the sports teams we played on. It was a time when the whole family came together as one, sharing our stories around that huge stone fireplace. Sometimes, my Aunt June would sit down at the piano, and we would all sing carols together–all while the field outside the big picture windows filled with snow. I have only happy memories of those days, and I think it had a lot to do with defining the person I was to become.
That’s a big part of the reason I’m excited about the show we’re developing for later this month. Jeff McBride – The Story Master will be a collection of stories from our larger family – the whole human family stretching around the globe. Stories and magic, both the warm and fuzzy kind and the more terrifying, perhaps funny ones. Both the mundane and the magical. Of course, there will be lots of magic – and most of it will be magic you haven’t seen before. As with our other shows online, the formal show will be followed by an after-party where audience members get to ask questions, make observations… and perhaps even tell some of their own stories.
(You can click the graphic to go to the ticketing site.) Tickets start at $30 per screen – which doesn’t mean $30 per person. Gather the whole family and put the Zoom room on your big screen. Just make sure you can turn on your own camera and microphone so you can interact, and we can see all of you. The Zoom platform isn’t quite like a live show, but the show can and will be far more interactive than a typical show on TV or movie. As Jeff likes to tell his audiences, the more energy you give from your end, the more you’ll inspire him and the better the experience will be for everyone.
We hope you’ll be able to join us for our holiday celebration. We have two performances on Saturday, Dec. 18. One at noon and one at 6 pm, Las Vegas time. That’s so our friends on the East Coast and in Europe can join us at times convenient for them, and even those of you in Asia won’t have to get up in the middle of the night. We’re planning a wonderful celebration for all, no matter what your personal holiday traditions and beliefs might be.
Oh…and we’ll be having guest performers, some of whom might be new to you. Chris Herren as Faust is a wonderful performer who, like Jeff, combines mask, mime and magic. His style is unusual and immensely creative. Judge Gary Brown (yes, he’s a real judge) will be telling a harrowing but magical story I’m sure you’ll all be able to relate to. And our own Abigail McBride will be sharing some magic and a story in the Celtic tradition. Have I convinced you to join us yet? I hope so. The more the merrier!
Just click here to get your tickets: https://mcbride.wellattended.com/events/jeff-mcbride-is-the-storymaster
While I’m thinking of it…most of the holidays we celebrate around this time involve the giving and receiving of gifts. We might have something you’d like to give or to get right here at the Magic & Mystery School. A number of new classes have just been posted.
The class I’m personally most excited about is the one Jeff and I will be teaching for 8 weeks, twice weekly, starting January 14. It’s our class for professionals, and we’re calling it Show & Business. It’s probably different from any other class you may have taken, as it will be largely student-directed. In the first week or two, we’ll give you the basics of building a business around your magic and re-thinking your magic to make sure you’re serving your market as well as possible. After that, you’ll tell us what you want us to teach. The format will be that we’ll deliver you a lesson on streaming video each weekend, and then on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 9:30 am till 10:15 am (Vegas time.) We’ll meet online in an open seminar format, to discuss what has been taught in the video lecture, and what each one of you is experiencing in building your own business and career. Want tricks appropriate for your situation? We’ll teach that. Want marketing and sales techniques? We’ll teach that. Each week you’ll tell us what you want (by consensus), and we’ll do our best to deliver what you need in our next video lesson and discussions. We have to limit the class to just 18 in order to be able to deliver the kind of personalized instruction you each will need.
Learn more here: https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/show-business-the-pro-class
To tell the truth, though, I’m excited about all of our new offerings. Jeff and Larry will be teaching you all about Masters and Mentors of Magic in 3 online sessions starting January 13. Interested in knowing more about Tommy Wonder, Dai Vernon, Juan Tamariz, Eugene Burger, and other master teachers of the past? Do you want to know what made each one special, and formed the heart of their teachings? This is the class for you! Paul Draper will be leading his new class for performers who like doing private events, but who find that, although they get lots of bookings for certain months, they also experience “dry” periods. Book Yourself Solid with Life Cycle Shows is designed to help you learn how to book more events like weddings, bar mitzvahs, and more. People gather to celebrate for baby showers, baby naming ceremonies, baptisms, and confirmations — and they can use our skills. There are seasonal holidays in every religion from Easter to Passover to Chinese New Year -– and they can all use a little entertainment. Paul and his guests will teach you how to find and market for all these and more – and how best to serve those markets, which may be new to you.
Then, starting February 10, Dr. Larry Hass will be teaching a class I know many of you have been waiting for: Deep Study of a Modern Master: Eugene Burger. Larry has helped write and publish the definitive books on Eugene and his work, and I know you’ll want to be there for this very special class.
Any of these classes would make a fine holiday gift – for yourself, or for the magician in your life.
So…that’s what I’ve got for this one. Thanks for reading, and I’ll look forward to seeing you at the show on the 18th, at one of our Mystery School Monday get-togethers, or in class.
Best wishes for a wonderful heartwarming holiday, filled with joy and magic!
Sincerely,
Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com