From Tobias
We wanted you all to be aware that this week Jeff is the featured special guest on The Magic Cafe. This means you can log in and ask him any magic related question you want, and get an answer within a couple of hours. Things are already heating up, so get your questions in early!Â
If you’re not already aware of The Magic Cafe, and you’re a magician, now may be your time to get involved. It’s probably the largest online community of magicians interacting and helping one another out 24 hours a day. There are special forums for almost any imaginable area of interest, whether its close-up, collecting, kids shows, business…whatever you can think of. It’s all free, but you must register to post questions or comments. Log in now at www.themagiccafe.com, and take a moment to say hello to Jeff!Â
Before I turn this over to Larry Hass, who information for you regarding this year’s Magic & Meaning Festival, I suppose I should remind you we still have a slot available for the June 24 – 30 extended Master Class. This will be the last class before the big summer conventions, so if you have an act you’re polishing up for competition, you may want to take this opportunity to get the masters’ direction! Sign up now at http://www.magicalwisdom.com/events.Â
Best wishes,
Tobias Beckwith
From Larry Hass
Â
2009 Magic and Meaning Conference
Greetings Friends!Â
You may know of me from my magic book Transformations: Creating Magic Out of Tricks. Or you may have read my column in MAGIC magazine. Or you may know of my scholarly program, the Theory and Art of Magic. Indeed, my primary goal in all these activities has been to create excellent materials and magic events for thinking magicians.Â
What you may not know is that in recent years I have partnered with Jeff to help create the programming for his annual Magic and Meaning Conference. And you also may not know that the Magic and Meaning Conference is really aconference. That is, it is a warm, professional gathering of people who are interested in learning from each other about the rich complexities, significance, and history of magic.
Indeed, along with Keynote Addresses from some leading voices in magic, the conference also features a large number of 20 minute presentations from people who are attending the conference and who have something to teach the community.
So let me invite you to consider attending this year’s Magic and Meaning Conference. It is being held in Las Vegas, October 21-24, 2009. I assure you, this is not a “private club,” and there is no “party line” to follow. All that is required is that you love magic and are open to learning about it from many different kinds of magicians. Not only will you think about magic in exciting, new ways, but you will see great magic and have a blast with new friends and world-leading magicians.Â
I also want to invite you to consider making a presentation to the Conference. Yes, anyone is welcome to submit a proposal for a 20 minute presentation. To submit a proposal, all you have to do is send me a 100-200 word description of your talk, including a title, the theme, and the main claims you would want to make. The address to send your proposal is:Â lhass@austincollege.edu. The deadline for submitting a proposal is August 1, 2009; shortly thereafter, Jeff and I will announce the presentations that have been accepted.Â
I hope you can be with us at the conference! To get a flavor for the presentations, you can view some of the presentations from 2008 which are available as “The PEP Talks of Magic” on Jeff’s website at:Â
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/infopages/view/mm_talks
With all good wishes,
Lawrence Hass