Dear Friends:
Our guest columnist this month is Cyril “C.J.†May, aka Cyril the Sorcerer. You’ll learn just a bit more about him a bit further down the page. But for now…enjoy his story!
Magical Experience Design & Collateral Magic
One of the greatest magical experiences I have had in recent years took place in my car. It happened both by accident, and by design. The magic show was of such scope, it encompassed an entire town.
Many summers ago, my family and I passed through a small New Hampshire town on our way to my wife’s family home in Maine. The sight of strangely dressed villagers caught us off guard. We were nowhere near Halloween on the calendar, and yet witches and wizards walked the streets. As I took in ever more “wizarding folk,†I began to have a Rod Serling moment….where were we?
The moment quickly shifted to a JK Rowling moment: could we have fallen through a veil into a wizarding community like the Hogsmeade Village depicted in Harry Potter? A van passed us driven by a wizard. The witch in the passenger seat was tending to the young witches and wizard in the back. The hair on the back of my neck was now full rise. This was all so very eerie and yet delightful at the same time. We had been transported to some place or time truly magical. The rest of the world was gone.Â
This magic show finished in part, when we learned from the scores of witches and wizards in the restaurant, that they were dressed for the screening of a Harry Potter film at the local library. The film was being shown in celebration of the release of one of the final Harry Potter books. It all made sense now. But the experience had been one of true magic.
And so I was determined to recreate this magic for myself and for as many as I could by the creation of Waterbury Harry Potter Day. In 2019, the Waterbury library and I expanded upon the small scale Harry Potter activities we had offered in previous celebrations of the fictional boy wizard’s birthday on July 31st. To create a true “magical experience†we spilled out onto the streets. Local restaurants and other establishments joined in by adding wizarding food to their daily menus. Starbucks added four Hogwarts-themed potions plus Butter Beer. The used bookstore would crank out Dragon’s Blood Cupcakes and the Barnes & Noble would host shows, trivia and other Harry Potter specials. The bank purchased Harry Potter coins and the local congresswoman’s office would hold wizard school classes. The players were geared up…but would there be an audience?
By 9:00 am, witches & wizards were pouring into the downtown copy shop that had offered to serve as provider of the event maps. They had to run another batch because the maps were gone by noon. Witches & wizards coursed through the streets, visiting venues, showing off costumes, enjoying the transformation of a “Muggle†downtown into a “Wizarding†city. The magic was happening.
Collateral Magic
While happy that those who came to downtown Waterbury for the event were enjoying themselves, I must admit that I was most interested in creating “Collateral Magic.â€Â One obvious stream of Collateral Magic was that flowing into the venues. Starbucks went through more butter beer ingredients than ever before. The costume shop sold out of all its witch hats by noon…and made its monthly income quota because of it. The other flow of Collateral Magic went to the pedestrians who may have felt some of the Rod Serling/JK Rowling moment that I had experienced so many years ago. What is happening? Where am I? Why is Grand Street awash with witches and wizards? Without even attending, they were part of the show.
Some magicians are probably asking “were there any actual ‘magic shows’ during Waterbury Harry Potter Day?†Yes! Slipping back into my role as Refuse/Recycling Coordinator for the City, and “Wizard of Waterbury,†I performed an enviromagic show at the library to a crowd draped in capes, and sporting many a pointy hat. Members of the local SAM Assembly also joined in, providing a fitting finale to the day with their show at the Barnes & Noble. The day was an ensemble show on a municipal scale.
Further Down the Rabbit Hole
We are hoping to take future attendees and sidewalk passersby further down the rabbit hole of magic experience design. A great starting point for research has been the book AMAZE, by friend of the Mystery School Ferdinando Buscema. This book on “magical experience design†offers a great look into how magicians and non-magicians alike can create magical experiences. The book is now available here: www.TheoryandArtofMagic.com. For now, however, we are looking for our next in-person WHPD to include…
Eugene Burger once famously said “we need bigger dreams.â€Â I encourage us all to think beyond our typical magic frames of move, effect, routine or even show. Think bigger. What magical experience can you create? What bigger dream would you like to bring to an audience that flows beyond the limiting walls of stage and theater?Â
Cyril John “CJ†May wears both a recycling hat and a wizard’s hat in his roles as Recycling Coordinator and “Municipal Magician†for the City of Waterbury, CT. For more about his work for professionals and other adults visit www.betterworldmagic.com. For his independent work for all-age audiences as Cyril the Sorcerer visit www.cyrilthesorcerer.com. He also has a smattering of environmental videos at www.facebook.com/waterburyrecycling/videos. Reach Cyril at cyril.may@aya.yale.edu.
The Wisdom of the Virtual Pivot
There is a lot of confusion in today’s world. We need to keep positive, and we need to put good information into our bodies to stay healthy! Stay away from junk food and bad information!
The Wisdom Council and Senior Faculty at Mystery School are here to help filter out the bad information and share only the best information that we have collected, based on our 30+ years of experience serving our magic community.
What is “The pivot†and are you ready to do it?
You hear many people talking about “pivoting into virtual magic shows.â€
What is pivot?
The best definition I’ve heard is from Eric Ries.
He said, “A pivot is a change in strategy without a change in vision.â€
Now watch Eric Ries talk about redeeming your failures by “pivoting.” I know this video will encourage and inspire you!
Let Us Help You Pivot to Your New Virtual Magic Show.
Our leadership team at Mystery School has created nearly 500 hours of online & Zoom shows. For 9 years we have produced Mystery School Monday, each and every Monday. We are committed to helping our magic community by sharing our experience and wisdom with you.
I read a recent post from Sage Hub that made a lot of sense to me.
Their statistics show, (and I believe it) that virtual events are now outperforming live events!
If you had asked me eight weeks ago if a virtual event could generate the type of purpose driven pay days that we see with live events, my answer would have been a resounding NOOOOO!
But here I sit, eight weeks later, corrected.
Virtual events are in fact outperforming their live event counterparts in almost every way.
✅ Had better attendance (there are NO live events for months to come.)
✅ Had a better experience.
✅ Had more impact, and
✅ Generated more profit than they ever could have thought possible.
And here’s the good news – that profit didn’t require a massive pivot.
Thank you Sage Hub. We are grateful for your research.
What Does This Mean for Magicians?
Go to this link and look and learn:
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/events#641
WONDERGROUND, Las Vegas News
Now you can be part of the ONLY show still running in Las Vegas!
Free Show!
Visit the Vegas Wonderground page on Facebook for the link to the show.
It will be posted a few days before, or go to our website www.vegaswonderground.com
Our next show is this Thursday, May 21, 2020, at 7pm Pacific time.
This month’s Wonderground Stars
Jeff McBride – Your Magical Master of Ceremonies, with something new up his sleeve!
Tetro – “Magic in Flow-Motion,†as seen on TV’s hit show Masters of Illusion
Tim Wise – The Host of ABRA.TV, Tim will present delightful deceptions of digital dexterity
Kent Axel – Virtual Mind reader and Reality Disrupter
The Birdman of Las Vegas – Joe Krathwohl shows off the biggest wild birds you have ever seen!
Will Bradshaw – “From Street Magic to the Stage Illusion!â€
Dr. Ricardo Rosenkranz – Presents “Rare Gems of Illusion†Live from his Virtual theater in Chicago
For more information go to www.vegaswonderground.com.
See you online in our classroom, or we’ll see you online at WONDERGROUND!
Stay healthy and be inspired,
Jeff
Dear friends,
Back in early March, when we first realized it was not going to be feasible for Jeff and Larry to travel to the U.K. for their Masterclass, theater show, lecture at The Magic Circle and Shaman & Showman Seminar, our first response was one of disappointment—as it was for many of our prospective students! However, the crisis had to be met, and we found ourselves extremely fortunate that so many of you have been enthusiastic about the efforts we’ve made to compensate for not being able to “be there in person†over the past couple of months.
Our first steps were to ask the students at the Masterclass and Shaman & Showman conference if they would consider working with us to make those events happen—but online. We were pleasantly surprised to find that most of them were! The result was a mad rush on our part to figure out the best way to make those events as rich and rewarding as the ones we had originally planned. We made bonus “Master Key†items that we had originally intended to sell, to be a free part of the package.
Because no one was traveling, we were able to add myself and Ricardo Rosenkranz to the events. Larry, who does most of the itinerary planning for most of our classes, shifted things around to make sure we could still offer everything we had planned, but in a slightly different format, better suited to the online (in our case, the Zoom platform) format. Everyone on our end worked hard to upgrade the quality of our own “studios,†where we would present from. It was a lot of work…but it has proved to be worth it many times over. The events in the U.K. were an overwhelming success, with many happy participants.
As teachers, we were, first, ecstatic that we managed to pull it all off—and then excited that we would be able to present a full curriculum online in addition to our “live in-person†classes in Las Vegas once our current situation lets up.
There are some huge advantages to being able to offer our classes online. Perhaps the largest is expense. Because no one has to travel for the classes, even if we kept pricing at our usual levels, classes would still cost students about 1/3rd of what they would otherwise. That’s not the only saving, though. Because students don’t have to travel, we no longer have to do the classes all in one piece…2, 3 or 7 days in a clump.
Instead, we’re able to offer classes that take only a couple of hours each week over the course of several weeks…and these we can offer at a much lower price-point—which means they can be available and affordable to many more students. The ability to reach a larger audience allows us to “get the word out†to a much wider market and have a positive effect on the careers of many, many more magicians!
So…what does this mean for you, our loyal readers? If you’re a magician, it means there are more ways for us to interact with, and influence one another. If you’ve attended our classes, you’re probably already aware that we learn as much from you as you do from us. The more of you we get to share our work with, the better we get at what we do! If you’re an enthusiast, but not a performer, you can now attend our Monday event Mystery School Monday gathering at no cost to you. It’s a great place to meet and share community with many of the top magicians and thinkers in our business, available each week at 7pm PDT on Zoom. (Just click this link between 6:45 and 9:00 pm (Pacific) any Monday evening, and you will find us there, discussing topics important to all of us in the world of magic.
Monday @ 7pm PST
If you want to study with us, we now offer classes in many different areas. Here’ just a sampling of what’s coming up soon:
Focus on ZOOM Magic Online
Best Practices, Best Tricks & Marketing for Online Performance featuring the full faculty and special guests.
Three Wednesdays, May 20, 27 and June 3, 5:00 – 7:00 pm Pacific time.
The Tarot Card Magic Experience
Inside information on doing readings AND doing magic with the Tarot with Jeff McBride and special guests.
Two Saturdays, May 23 & 30th, Noon – 3 pm Pacific time.
Jeff McBride’s Summer School
The Essential Secrets for Powerful Performance with Jeff McBride.
Three Tuesdays, June 2, 9, and 16, 5:00-7:00 pm Pacific time.
Secrets to Success Through Systems Building for Creative Performers
More business building with Tobias Beckwith.
Three Wednesdays, June 17, 24 & July 1, 5:00-7:00 pm Pacific time.
Master Class – Online!
with the full faculty.
Friday-Sunday, June 26-28 – all day.
Cruise Ship Boot Camp!
A crash course to prepare you for working cruises, with Jeff McBride & Greg Gleason.
Saturday & Sunday, July 25 & 26, Noon-3 :00 pm Pacific time.
These are just thumbnail descriptions…learn more and register for these new courses now at:
Before I go, I want to take a moment to thank all of you. If you’re reading this, you are a part of our community, and we appreciate your support more than you can imagine. We all support one another, especially in these difficult times. It is my sincere hope that you, like us, are finding creative ways to use this crisis to make your future better.
Please do take care of yourselves. Stay safe, stay healthy…and keep making magic!
Sincerely,
Tobias Beckwith
tobias@yourmagic.com
Management & Faculty for
McBride’s Magic & Mystery School
Dear friends,
Abigail here, checking in from the House of Mystery in Las Vegas.
One of the easiest ways to change your state of mind is by changing how you breathe. Our respiration is directly connected to our nervous system, and when we are agitated or frightened, our breathing becomes shallow and rapid. Slowing the breath, and letting the exhale be a little longer than the inhale, shifts us from the sympathetic nervous system response of “fight or flight,†into the parasympathetic system of “tend and befriend.â€
My intuition tells me that even by your reading these words, your breathing has already started to shift, and perhaps, even now, you’re feeling a bit calmer than you were just a moment ago.
About a month ago, we started adding the Mindful Moments to our Mystery School Monday live shows, and the response has been just lovely. I appreciate the kind words, and am thankful to know that this kind of real magic is helpful, as we navigate these challenging times.
“It always seemed to me they’re sort of alike…magic and music. Spells and tunes. For one thing, you have to get them just exactly right.â€
—URSULA K. LE GUIN
I know there are some who are trying to figure out what to do with themselves and their time as the days go by, but here at the Magic & Mystery School, we are running on full steam ahead. We are creating new offerings for the online programs, and a number of new classes have just been listed. It is important to stay connected to each other, and to feel like we are using our time productively. Improving our skills by learning in class is a great way to stay productive. So, I’ve been writing copy, helping Jeff with ideas, playing music, and tending the fires of our communities. We’re keeping the lights on and shining more brightly than ever.
I have a number of friends who are working in the health care industry, “on the front lines.” Periodically, I reach out to them, and thought I would share with you what I recently sent to them. Please enjoy, and feel free to share with anyone you know who is working on the front lines, or who you think would benefit from reading it….
Good evening dear heart. This is a wave of love, coming into the shore of your consciousness right now. This love is washing over you, from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet, and as it does, it is washing away all that no longer serves the highest good in the physical, mental, and emotional realms.
What it leaves behind is deep peace – a soft. slow, deep breath, and a calm that is beyond understanding.
Breathing in, you know you are connected to a whole group of hearts who appreciate you, support you, and care about you. Breathing out, you relax completely.
You are doing great work, every single day, and you are appreciated for it by people you don’t know, and may never meet. But, we are thinking about you, envisioning you safe and well, surrounded by light, able to do what must be done, and able to get through these challenging times.
These waves keep coming, just like the breath.
“I gracefully and easily release all that no longer serves the highest good….
I gratefully and easily receive the blessings the Universe has for me.â€
… thinking of you.
