How Could You Forget?
The glittering tree in the corner of the room…
the mystery of all the wrapped presents…
the smell of eggnog and nutmeg…
watching A Christmas Carol again and again…
my first Christmas magic show and debut of (drum roll please)…
MCBRIDE THE MAGNIFICENT!
Seven year old MCBRIDE THE MAGNIFICENT performing his magic act 1967! This is me performing the “wand through handkerchief.” (I ruined many of my father’s hanks practicing this trick!)
I have such sweet memories of Christmas. Turkey dinner with Mom and Dad, my brother and sisters, the grandparents and friends, and yes, creating magic shows in my living room for my family. My Grandmother Marie took an old suit of my dads, and tailored it into something that looked like a magician’s tailcoat, with an old fur top hat, and I was in my “happy place” on stage in Las Vegas (in my mind!).
Surprise Surprise!
One Christmas morning I found my first business cards in my stocking. This is one of the few that survived all these 57 years later!
For most of my life I was “on the road” doing magic shows during the holidays. However, this year I’ll be home for the holidays with my Vegas family of Abigail, her dad, and our friends – hooray! I’ll be putting on a magic show (this time in our living room) just like I’ve done every year since 1967!
Living Room Magic is Parlor Magic
Did you know? The word parlour comes from the French verb parler, which means “to speak.” In the 13th century, “parlour” was borrowed into English as “parlor.” This is the place to share stories and magic.
Will You Step into My Parlor?
Parlor Magic is one of the most popular forms of magic, and can be performed in just about anyone’s living room, but often is large enough to perform on a platform, or even on a stage. I’m going to be teaching a very special class on parlor magic – Mastering the Classics for Parlor, Platform and Stage.
I’m inviting six people over to my parlor, and you are invited! If you’d like to be one of them, click here – https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/master-the-classics
Magic with Tarot Cards
I will also be inviting six students who would like to learn how to perform magic routines and tell stories with Tarot cards. If this interests you I welcome you to take a look at this –
https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/tarot-magic-mastery
Strange Coincidence
Did you know that Rudy Coby and Jeff were born in the same one-room hospital in Goshen, NewYork? Also, both Rudy and Jeff were in the same magic club as teenagers.
Just last week I had the opportunity to travel with my dear friend Rudy Coby to perform for our friends Randy and Kristy Pitchford at their home theater. Take a look at how they created an exquisite magical space to share parlor magic with their friends!
See you online or here in our magic parlor in Las Vegas!
Happy holidays to all,
Jeff and Abigail
Our contributor this month is long-time Magic & Mystery School student James Ember. Performing in the upper Midwest as “James the Magician,” in this Museletter he makes an interesting and mouth-watering comparison between his two passions – cooking and magic.
I have devoted large amounts of time to two areas in my life – learning and performing magic, and the art of cooking. I have been performing magic professionally since 1986, specifically in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. I work for a variety of clients, but focus on performing for family audiences. I also began working in commercial kitchens, primarily pizzerias, in 1998. I have learned a lot about leading teams, training staff, and making dough (both kinds).
As we are approaching the cap of another calendar year, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my magic, and recently, on how it relates to cooking – specifically, baking sourdough bread. The similarities between making sourdough bread and creating magic can be quite remarkable. The highest quality of magic, and of bread, takes time.
I have been working on my sourdough recipes for sandwich bread and pizza dough. Slow rising doughs have two primary ways to rise. One is to use an active dry yeast, and the other slower way, is to use the yeast that occurs naturally in the air. If you are using activated yeast you can make a dough in about 3-4 hours from start to finish.
The process of making sourdough takes much longer. When you are making a sourdough, you are using the yeast that occurs naturally in the air, and it takes a minimum of two weeks to create your mother (initial starter). After you make your mother starter, you can continue to feed this forever. Some starters are thousands of years old! Why on earth do I take the time to make sourdough instead of using dry active yeast? For one, the heavily yeasted dough was messing with my guts, and more importantly, it’s delicious!
Magic is seductive. We get into magic because we want to know a secret. This is a highly marketable addiction, and for years people in our industry have been swooned by the advertisements of miracles we can perform. If the desire to learn a secret or put a routine instantly into your show is like that fast acting yeast, then the good stuff, the sourdough of magic, is the time that you have taken honing your routines for years – even decades.
No magic is tastier than the magic that you know so well that the work you put into it lets you know exactly where to take a beat, or perhaps changing just one word of your script makes it that much more effective.
Here is one example from my own show. I perform an Invisible Deck routine that is themed around parallel universes. After honing in on the script and performing it for about a decade, it was time to make a small tweak. I found it is better if the audience member names an odd numbered card, so the script evolved into this. “Please just think of any card in the deck. Don’t make it easy on me. Don’t think of the Ace of Spades or the royalty. Think of some odd card in the deck.” In this instance, the way I say it can feel like I am saying “odd” as in “random,” as opposed to an odd number. But over 70% of the time they name an odd card, making my technical job much easier. This little change has made my Invisible Deck routine a delicious sourdough!
Just as in the first two weeks of making your sourdough starter, you don’t see a lot of action happening – you just see a lump of flour and water. But then, as if by magic, it comes to life! This directly relates to a new manipulation move or sleight of hand that seems to be incredibly difficult, to the point where you may give it up. But then, over time, it just starts to happen, and after enough time and practice, it becomes second nature.
Just as a starter needs to be fed regularly, we need to feed our magic with education, inspiration, and practice. Some of our routines may be shelved for long periods of time, but we can take them off of the shelf and feed them with our time and energy, after which we may surprise ourselves with how they have grown. When you are working on your magic, remember the slow process of creating a sourdough culture, and allow the slow process of letting your magic grow, and create something truly magical!
Our Museletter contributor this month is Abigail Spinner McBride. In this Museletter, Abigail asks us to think about how we are using our powers, both as magicians, and just as ordinary people, and what steps we can take to use those powers intentionally.
Greetings friends,
Abigail here, musing on the use of our magical powers. We all come into this world with certain gifts, talents, skills, and abilities. With intention and practice, we can grow these natural gifts into formidable powers.
I remember just coming into my gift of charisma as a young teen. I practiced walking down a busy street in Boston and looking people in the eye while thinking, “We share a secret,” and giving them a smile just with my eyes to see how they would respond. Could I “make them” look at me, and smile back with their eyes? Could I “make” that boy at school squirm by flirting with him? Could I “make” the teacher like me by nodding when they spoke, and turning my homework in on time?
I was finding my edges, stretching into what I could or couldn’t, should or shouldn’t do. I learned that not all attention is good attention, that toying with people’s hearts isn’t kind, and that there is more to connecting than just “making.”
I remember, at the age of fourteen or so, making a conscious choice to “use my powers for good.” I’ve heard it said that those who practice magic for the sake of evil, are using their powers to only benefit themselves, and those who practice magic for the sake of good, are using their powers to benefit all beings. That’s something I keep in mind to this day. I like to ask the question, “To what end?” before embarking on anything new, whether it’s a purchase, a practice, or a plan. Why am I doing this? What do I hope to accomplish? Who is this going to help?
As you move forward in time, I invite you to join me in using your own powers for good, and to ask the important questions that might help you to clarify your intentions. I hope one of them will be to join us at the Magic & Mystery School, either live or online for one of our upcoming classes.
All good wishes,
Abigail
“Life is a mystery, and magic is in the unraveling of its secrets.”
– Johnny Depp
I was one of those kids that was terrified by darkness. I had to sleep with a nightlight on, and often checked for monsters in the closet and under my bed. But not anymore! I think magic was one of the things that helped me face my fears and even gave me the courage to look deeper into the shadows. Magic helped me find my own inner light, to help me see in times of total darkness!
One of the masters of bringing light to the often shadowy realm of the mystic arts was Eugene Burger. Many of you know that Eugene was a master of séance and spirit theater, a magic teacher and my friend for over 30 years. Abigail and I have now dedicated an extraordinary experience to celebrate Eugene’s life and his legacy of Spirit Theater.
The Eugene Burger Séance: A Night at the Mansion of Mystery
Join us for a 3-hour immersive magic theater and seance experience – live in Las Vegas. If you knew Eugene Burger, you’ll have a mysterious opportunity to visit with his magic again. If you;ve never met him, then this is a rare treat – but there are only 13 seats at the table!
Get tickets here
https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/a-night-at-the-mansion-of-mystery-oct-27
Magic is a Journey from Darkness to Light
Eugene and I both felt that the way a person watched a magic show was very much how they approached the challenges of life. Life is either a wonderful mystery to be experienced or a frustrating puzzle to be solved! Here is a quote from one of Eugene’s favorite philosophers that unfolds this idea. Just change the word “magic” for “life” and it nails it!
“Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.”
– Søren Kierkegaard
Fine magic is often enlightening. When good magic happens, a light switch is turned on that illuminates us with surprise and delight; that is why people often say “A-HA!” when they experience powerful magic! I love creating those “A-HA!” moments for you, my friends!
Have You Seen the Ghost?
“In the shadows, we often discover the brightest sparks of creativity and insight.”
– Evangeline Harcourt
Get The Ghost here https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/p/stage-magic-manipulation/best-ever-knots-off-silk-bekos-4-0-ghost-version
The TED Talks of Magic
That’s what they have been calling our Magic & Meaning Conference for many years. This amazing online event gathers some of the top speakers and presenters in the world of magic for three days – and you can join us online! This year our guest of honor is one of the world’s most respected magicians and authors, Peter Samelson! Join magicians from around the world as they present their powerful magical performances and lively, inspirational talks.
No matter where you live in the world, you can join us for this extraordinary once-a-year event that will inspire you to make better magic. Register here – https://shop.magicalwisdom.com/event/magic-meaning-conference-2023-live-online
Abigail and I wish you a great Halloween season!
See you online or in Las Vegas,
Jeff