Dear Friends:
October’s Muse comes to us from across the Atlantic from our good friend Jay Fortune. You might know Jay as a fine magician, as an agent booking top touring talent… or in his most recent re-incarnation as a graphic artist, specializing in pencil sketches of some of magic’s great luminaries…. Like the two below. We’ve known him as all that, and the best host our team could have on our recent tours of the U.K.
Dear friends, this month we are hosting an annual magical celebration that we all anticipate more than any other (it’s my 40th birthday) and with the Magic & Meaning Conference also happening, I thought that for my first ever Museletter contribution, I’d look at the magic we do, and the meaning we often get entangled with along the way. Then we can discuss my birthday.
If you’re in a rush, here’s the gist; be careful if your magic is saying one thing and your words another.
(Perspective No. 1. Inside the mind of our lay-person…) “Oh, this should be good! I haven’t seen a magician for years now. I think Barbara’s wedding was the last time. Ah, here he comes. Okay, he looks a bit lost. Why is he staring at the floor? Ah, a pack of cards… hang on, what’s he saying? Something about terrorism? What’s that got to do with… right… now, he’s mixing the cards… no, he’s back to talking about home-grown fanatical terrorism again… oh, the poor guy next to me is picking a card. Okay, he’s showing it round… oh, for God’s sake, why is he waffling on about 9-11 now?! Just do some magic man! That’s what we’ve paid to see! Ah, the card is going back into the pack, this should be good. Yeah… yeah… mixing them up again. Good stuff. Wonder how he’ll find that card now?! Maybe it’ll float out of the pack somehow? That would be cool! Or maybe he’ll make it appear somehow in the guy’s wallet like that magician did on YouTube… whoa… wait… why is he back to 9-11 and border-security? I really don’t get what this is all about. Now he’s standing the card case up… and now he’s… moving the pack toward it while making the noise of a plane… and… this is weird and really uncomfortable man! Just find the freaking card!!! Ah, so maybe the card will appear in the card case! That would be kinda cool… oh, nope… he’s just hitting the case down with the pack. And… now he’s spelling something… oh, forget this. Last time I come to a magic show!’
(Perspective No. 2. Inside the mind of our wonder-working, meaning-filled, slightly-confused, under-rehearsed, over-whelmed, powerful-performance-inspired magician story-teller…) ‘Oh, this’ll be good… if I can remember the script. Man, my hands are shaking! Okay, let’s go. Okay… breathe, stay calm… Good evening ladies and gentlemen, here I have a pack of cards. Global terrorism is on the rise…’
As a Libran (did I mention it’s my 40th birthday this month?), finding balance is something I’m supposedly good at. For the doubters, please check out my Yoga Tree position. As magicians, how do we balance our audience expectations with the story we wish to tell? Sometimes, the story is powerful and magical enough on its own. Sometimes, the magic is powerful enough on its own. How do we blend the two without confusing our audience? I offer this recipe up for your kind consideration.
As you progress with your fusing of theme and magic, you’ll become more acquainted with your performing rhythm, and find the best balance for you to inject your own stories into the natural beat of your magic.
I performed a one-man show in London for years, which was all about magic with meaning. Subjects such as death, horror, suicide, drugs, love, heart, joy, envy, terminal illness, our future, our past, our fears, and our phobias were all explored through magic. So, make your themes interesting, relevant and don’t tangle the web you weave.
Friends, I wish you all a meaningful conference later this month, and a huge shout-out to this year’s guest of honor - the legend that is George Parker. Totally deserved.
Now, on to my birthday…
Dear Friends,
This might be the BEST PHOTO EVER! It photo captures a moment in time that is priceless!
Who is the best magician in the USA?
For many TV viewers and the judges of AGT, it has to be Mat Franco.
Mat Franco Won America’s Got Talent…. He beat out the competition and now has his full evening show on the Las Vegas strip. But did you know that years before, he was a student of mine? Read what he has to say…it made me blush!
Mat Franco Says
“If not for Jeff McBride, there would be no Mat Franco! This guy was my biggest, and one of my earliest inspirations in performance/magic! I was beside myself to meet him in person all those years ago. He is deserving of the wide array of awards and accolades he’s received in the world of performance and magic. He inspires so many magicians across the globe, and the magic community is a better place because of him. Thanks Jeff for all that you do for our art!!â€Â — with Jeff McBride.
Want to change your life the way Mat changed his? Click here to look at the magic class that just might do that!
http://www.magicalwisdom.com/events
This also happened…
Las Vegas magic star Jeff McBride awarded highest honor by London’s Magic Circle
September 3, 2018 Las Vegas, NV – Last night, at their headquarters in London, The Magic Circle presented Jeff McBride with The David Devant Award. Among the highest awards bestowed in the world of magic and illusion, the Devant award is given to those who have made a significant contribution in advancing the art of magic, or who have given outstanding service to magic internationally. The trophy is a miniature bust of David Devant, the first President of The Magic Circle. The original life size bronze is on permanent display in the Magic Circle Headquarters.
A 10-year headliner at his popular McBride’s Wonderground, in Las Vegas, Jeff McBride has long been known as a foremost innovator in the world of magic, being among the first to incorporate masks and pantomime with world-class sleight-of-hand skills. His early career saw him as opening act for such superstars as Diana Ross & Tom Jones. Later, his full-evening shows won rave reviews off-Broadway, in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. He is founder of the McBride Magic & Mystery School in Las Vegas, McBride’s Wonderground (magic nightclub), and can be seen regularly on such popular television shows as Masters of Illusion and Penn & Teller’s Fool Us.
He is author of the book The Show Doctor and host of the Monday Night Mystery School webcast, currently with over 350 episodes archived.
Earlier this summer, McBride was presented with one of the magic world’s other highest honors, the International Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques’ (FISM) Theory & Philosophy Award.
The Magic Circle, located in London, is the premier magical society in the fascinating world of magic and illusion. They have an international membership of around 1500, all dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic, an entertainment as popular today as when the famous club was formed in 1905.
Recipients of the David Devant Award include:
2018 – Jeff McBride
2017 – Silvan
2016 – Lance Burton
2015 – Johnny Thompson
2014 – David Copperfield
2013 – Luis De Matos
2012 – Jim Steinmeyer
2011 – David Berglas
2009 – Ali Bongo
2008 – Siegfried & Roy
2007 – Paul Daniels
2006 – John Fisher
2005 – John Calvert
2004 – Marvin Roy
2003 – Mark Wilson and Nani
2002 – Dr. Eddie Dawes
2001 – John Gaughan
2000 – Channing Pollock
1999 – Jay Marshall
Student of the Month: Michael Tetro
Los Angeles based magician Michael Tetro has devoted over 10 years to the art of magic and illusion. He honed his skills while studying under Magic Teacher of the Century: Jeff McBride, and has attended the prestigious Magic and Mystery School in Las Vegas. Specializing in highly visual sleight-of-hand magic, Tetro creates engaging and memorable performances.
He tours locally and internationally as a solo artist and with performance groups. He’s performed for America’s Got Talent, Facebook Corporate, Universal Studios, and more. Tetro is a magician member of The Magic Castle in Hollywood, a member of the Society of American Magicians, and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
WONDERGROUND NEWS
September 20th
8:00 Comedy Variety show
Tim Wise – Your Host and MC
Sir Patrick – Magic that “takes off!â€
Joan DuKore – Lady of Enchantment
Chris Britt – Magic and Mentors?
Jason Bird – Alchemagical Miracles
9:OO MAGIC Close -up, Strolling and Parlor
Will Bradshaw – Your Host and MC
Kevin Hall – The Madman of Magic
Joan Dukore – The Woman of Many Mysteries
Chris Britt – Storytelling Magic
Jason Bird – Alchemical Enchantments
WONDER-BAR MAGIC
Brian Apollo – The Modern Mystic
Scott Steelfyre – Very Nice-Dice!
Kent Axell – Mindbending Mystery
10:00 THE STAGE EXTRAVAGANZA
Tim Wise – Your host and MC
Sonny Fonatana – The Invisible Man
Sir Patrick – The Romance Act
Joan DuKore – Feminine Mystique
Nathan Phan – The New Las Vegas Legend!
Jason Bird – Illuminating Illusions
All of the Above PLUS:
Photography by Sheryl Garrett. Bar Magic with Kent Axell, Brian Apollo, Scott Steelfyre & Maggie, Corey Rubino, Taylor Lloyd, New World Rythmatism Belly Dancers, Psychic Sideshow with Morganne– and many more surprises and special celebrity guests
See you on the road or here in Vegas!
Be inspired,
Jeff
Dear Friends:
Our guest author this month is John Tudor—one of our earliest participants in Mystery School events, way back when “Mystery School†was just an annual gathering at an Ashram in upstate New York! John has a background in acting and theater, as well as in magic. Enjoy! And now, I give you John Tudor!
Are You A Murderer? Magic and Theater in the Media Age by John Tudor
“Have our magicians had any training or direction in the art of magic? Have they stage presence, or can they act? No, they have not. They just got hold of a bunch of tricks, and walked out on the stage. Magic, which is one of the arts, and one of the best entertainments for the great intelligent public, has suffered terribly. In fact, it has been murdered.”
No, these words aren’t a review of amateur magicians on YouTube. They come from Magic and Stagecraft, by Guy Jarrett, published eighty-two years ago! (1936) Jarrett was a prop man on Broadway, and creator of illusions for Thurston, and all of the greats of his day. He came to that dim conclusion after seeing every act that came through theaters and vaudeville for several decades. What would Jarrett think of the stage magic shows of today?
No doubt he would be impressed by some, and appalled by others. The excellent TV show, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, has given us a unique cross-section view of international magic talent. The magicians have been some of the most polished professionals around, as well as what a friend calls “inter-changeable guys with cards. Fool Us has had a democratizing effect, where clever hobbyists appear along with top pros. The acts that stand out, to me, and probably to Guy Jarrett, are those that could do their act for that large studio audience without the benefit of cameras and close-ups, or even a microphone.
Some performers are “naturals,†of course, but for the most part the better acts you see on Fool Us are the result of the training and direction that Jarrett found missing. They have developed a stage presence, and learned to act, at least a bit. Yes, I am “preaching to the choir†here, but you can really see the difference if you watch episodes on YouTube. Some acts know what to do in terms of theater, while some seem to relate mostly to the camera.
What’s wrong with that, you may ask? Nothing, I suppose, but in a larger sense, the artist is severely limiting him or herself. They are more likely to become “interchangeable†with everyone else, and to limit their own imaginations. For those of us fortunate to be older, our heroes were Mark Wilson, Doug Henning, Thurston and Blackstone. Magic was something big and expansive, especially when it came to David Copperfield’s tricks with world landmarks. I remember an article in the science magazine OMNI asking what magicians of the future would be doing…? The author imagined we would we be sawing Manhattan Island in half, or levitating the Eiffel Tower. Instead we had the deconstruction of magic with the coming of David Blaine. The focus shifted to small magic, which has been solidified in the current YouTube era. I feel this may create a somewhat stunted vision of the art. Many think of magic primarily as something small, to be done for a camera, watched on a computer screen, or a projected video. They are much less likely to learn the skills that theater work requires: stage presence, direction and training that Jarrett saw as lacking.
Of course the issue is not the size of the venue or the props. Close-up and parlor magic are just as viable as forms of the art. And, it’s not even the technical aspects of stage work; like voice, posture, facial expression, and so on. That’s all the outer part of what actors call their “instrument.” Stage training is also very much about the inner part of the instrument: the imagination, visualization, memory, life experience, and so on. Acting is in many ways a spiritual exercise, an expression of who you really are, understood by playing someone else.
Let’s set aside the metaphysical, and speak in more practical terms. A theater manager once told me, “We (theaters and performing arts centers) are all doing these mind-reading and card trick shows, on projection screens. We do good business with these too, but they all seem the same.†The magicians seemed interchangeable to her, and she wondered whether they would grow an audience. My opinion may seem obvious, but I truly believe it. The better trained you are (aside from with the use of media) the less interchangeable you will always be (even projected on a big screen). I think the stage presence/acting aspect becomes even more crucial in a TV or media heavy production, than in a “normal†magic show.
The buyer also asked me why there weren’t more artistic magic shows, like the artistic puppet and juggling shows she’d presented. I told her about Jeff McBride & the Mystery School scholars, and the one-man fringe festival shows, like Ricky Jay’s. She said, “I would love to offer a magic show that’s different, something more robust.â€
Robust, she said. Robust… I confess I’ve spent a lot of time pondering what she meant by that choice of words! Perhaps it is different for everyone, I don’t know. I am sure, however, that you, the reader, would prefer to seem “robust†than to seem “interchangeable,†wouldn’t you? Then don’t just watch YouTube, or Fool Us. Think hard about Guy Jarrett’s words. Get some training, some direction, work on your stage presence, take an acting class…or a Master Class. You’ll find yourself much happier, to be a champion, rather than a murderer of the art.
For thousands of years, the secret arts of magic have been passed down from master to student. It is a joy and an honor to be able to be part of this legacy.
                         — Jeff McBride Las Vegas Headliner
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
WORLD’S LEADING ORGANIZATION FOR MAGICIANS NAMES VEGAS HEADLINER JEFF MCBRIDE FOR PRESTIGIOUS SPECIAL AWARD
Las Vegas, July 16, 2018 – Las Vegas magician Jeff McBride was just awarded one of the magic world’s most prestigious awards, the International Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques (FISM) Theory & Philosophy Award.
The award was announced over the weekend of July 15 at the organization’s tri-annual convention, held this year in Busan, South Korea.
Reached for comment, McBride’s response was, “For thousands of years, the secret arts of magic have been passed down from master to student. It is a joy and an honor to be able to be part of this legacy.”
FISM is an international body coordinating dozens of national and international clubs and federations around the world. Together these clubs represent approximately 50,000 magicians from 50 countries as of 2015.
The FISM Special Awards began in 2006. There are three categories. Each is intended to address more than a single accomplishment; to consider a person’s work covering a wide span of time. Over a hundred people from around the world are asked to propose names. A slate of five nominees in each category is determined, and the same group of over a hundred votes.
Jeff McBride was in the category of Theory & Philosophy. This award gives tribute to a person who has approached magic from a viewpoint that is analytical, academic, perhaps even spiritual.
Prior recipients: 2006, Tommy Wonder (Netherlands); 2009, Juan Tamariz (Spain); 2012, Eugene Burger (USA); 2015, Roberto Giobbi (Switzerland)
This year’s nominees were (alphabetically):
Dan DaOrtiz (Spain), Pit Hartling (Germany), Jeff McBride (USA), Darwin Ortiz (USA), and Gabi Pareras (Spain)
And, as announced before an audience of 2500 in Busan, the winner this year was Jeff McBride.
A 10-year headliner at his popular McBride’s Wonderground nightclub, in Las Vegas, McBride has long been known as a foremost innovator in the world of magic, being among the first to incorporate masks and pantomime with world-class sleight-of-hand skills. His early career saw him as the opening act for such superstars as Diana Ross & Grace Jones. Later, his full-evening shows won rave reviews off-Broadway, in Atlantic City and Las Vegas. He is the founder of the McBride Magic & Mystery School in Las Vegas, McBride’s Wonderground (magic nightclub) and can be seen regularly on such popular television shows as Masters of Illusion and Penn & Teller’s Fool Us. He is the author of the book The Show Doctor and host of the Monday Night Mystery School webcast, currently with over 350 episodes archived.
# # #
Further information is available at:
http://www.magicalwisdom.com
http://wow.mcbridemagic.com
For more information, or availablility by phone or SKYPE.
Contact Tobias Beckwith
Tobias@yourmagic.com
(415) 889-9491
The human dream, is a dream of magic and transformation
— Eugene Burger
Wonderground News – August 16th 2018
All info available at www.vegaswonderground.com
Strolling magic at 7:30 anyone can join in the fun!
8 PM: Showtime!
Tim Wise is your Master of Ceremonies
Kim Zoller – Lady of Legerdemain
Jeff McBride – A Zen Story
Dan Bennett – Antics & Semantics
Bizzaro – Dangerous Deceptions
Tetro – Circles of Life
Jo De Rick and Curry – A Dynamic Duo
9 PM: Parlor Magic
Will Bradshaw is Your Master of Ceremonies
Jeff McBride -Â The Man with the Lightning Mind
Tetro – Close-up Conjuring
Jo De Rick and Curry
THE WONDER-BAR- The one and 0nly Magic bar in Las Vegas
Brian Apollo
Kent Axell
Tim Wise
10 PM:Â New World Rhythmatism & Jeff McBride present:
“A MYSTERIOUS BOX OF SECRETSâ€
10:15 PM: Showtime!
Jeff McBride is your Master of Ceremonies
Kim Zoller – The Sorceress!
Dan Bennett   - A Drop of Dan
Tetro – Flow Magic
Jo de Rijck and Curry – Fooled Penn & Teller!
Xavier Mortimer VS. El Diablo!
All of the Above PLUS:
Photography by Sheryl Garrett. Bar Magic with Kent Axell, Brian Apollo, Scott Steelfyre & Maggie, Corey Rubino, Taylor Lloyd, New World Rythmatism Belly Dancers, Psychic Sideshow with Morganne– and many more surprises and special celebrity guests
See you on the road or here in Vegas!
Be inspired,
Jeff