“I slept and dreamed that life was joy, I awoke and saw that life was duty, I acted and, behold, duty was joy.”
–Rabindranath Tagore
Abbi and I love Tagore’s writings, and they inspire us as we weave our work, play and passions together into our magic. My friend, Scott Hitchcock, often reminds me: “if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life!” This sounds like something the late, great Walt Disney would say. Abbi and I love creating new projects. Over the past few years, we’ve been creating new events because YOU ask for them! At the end of every class or event, we hand out feedback forms, and we ask our friends and students “how can we make this even better?” Here are a few of the new events we have been brewing up….Â
MYSTERIUM – January 30 through February 1st
If you live around Las Vegas, or plan to visit, you may want to join us for one of our most progressive experiences. The Vegas Vortex presents an opportunity to play, to create, to learn, make music, art, share stories and magic… More info, including registration at http://www.vegasvortex.com.Â
Featured Mysterium events include:
NEW MAGIC MEDIA, AND HOW WE CAN TALK IN CYBER SPACE!
I have been learning some new technologies by participating in an online magic community called STREET OF CARDS. Each night, after work, I share ideas and magic with online friends and students at http://streetofcards.tv.Â
Now we can talk to our friends all over the world! This is a great new magic community that I encourage you to explore. Many of the Las Vegas pros are there, talking shop and sharing ideas. This is a very interesting way to study magic. There are a lot of great magic videos, both modern and classic. Make sure you explore the “on demand” part of the site. It’s sort of like MTV for magic! It also has a chat room and a “cam-chat” section too. I have my camera on, and can visit with small groups of friends, to share ideas and stories. See you on the Street of Cards, friends!
WORLD TOUR NEWS
The next few weeks will take me to Peru, and Blackpool, England. I will be doing a special three-day Master Class as part of the Blackpool convention. Blackpool is one of the most amazing magic events in the world, and I would love to see you, my friends. If you would like to attend my special class, contact Derek Lever d.lever1@sky.com.
NEW CLASSES & SPECIAL EVENTS
Our Museletter readers are the first ones to know about new classes. Most of our events we keep to about one dozen students. This creates real intimacy and allows for hands-on attention. Here is a list of new classes that have just gone up on our online schedule today. First dibs are yours! Call Abbi for more information at 702-450-0021.Â
Focus on Quick Change Costumes, with Lee Alex: August 12, 13
Extended Master Class: August 19 – 25
Sisters of Mystery, a Magical Conference for Women: September 7, 8, 9
Magic & Martial Arts: September 22, 23, 24
Master Class: September 25, 26, 27
Focus on Street Magic: October 9, 10, 11
MAGIC AND MEANING: October 21, 22, 23, 24
Magic and Medicine: November 6, 7, 8
Master Class for Mentalists: November 11, 12, 13
PRIVATE SESSIONS
When I’m back from tour, I will be holding a few private sessions here at the House of Mystery. So, when you come to Las Vegas, make sure to set up your session a few weeks early. You can do this easily by emailing Abbi, Spinner@mcbridemagic.com or by phone: 702 450-0021.Â
Your friend,
Jeff
One of my favorite quotes is from Higher Magic, by Oscar Teale, subtitled Magic for the Artist. It was written in 1912. This quote has given me courage when I have been accused of being “too flamboyant,” in speech, action, or costume.
“The feather that adorns the royal bird supports his flight. Strip him of his plumage and you fix him to the earth.”
–Janius
Greetings All,
Recently, we’ve had a royal visitor at the McBride House of Mystery. No, we’re not just talking about Eugene being here for the past week. Lord Peacock arrived the other day, and we now have a peacock in our backyard! He just showed up, and is probably an escapee from one of the neighborhood mansions near the House of Mystery. He’s made a home in our backyard, roosting just above our waterfall.
Abbi opened the front door one day, and he was standing directly in front of her, so she gave him some birdseed. He has become a very friendly neighbor, and the unofficial mascot of the Magic and Mystery School.
Masters of Illusion: Mondays at 9pm, MyNetworkTV
Monday night, January 19th with the third of thirteen episodes, featuring Jeff McBride, Arian Black, Ed Alonzo, Kyle Eschen, Ai & Yuki, Mark Kalin & Jinger
On January 26th, Magic and Mystery School Alumni and Friends Chris Randall, Fielding West, Jonathan Levit, Kevin James, Krystyn Lambert will all be on the show. Be sure to catch it!
MCBRIDE ON TOUR IN ITHACA, NY
McBride Magic at the Edge is coming to Ithaca, NY! On Friday January 23, 2009 Abbi and I will be doing our full-evening show from 7:30 – 10:00 pm. Cost is $25.
On Saturday January 24, 2009 2-6pm, I will be offering a “Secret Session” workshop.
All the information is online at http://lightinwinter.com/.
If you are interested in signing up for the Secret Session, please contact Bruce Purdy (eg@cynmagic.com) and he’ll get you into this very special 4-hour Master Class.
MYSTERIUM LAS VEGAS: Jan 30 – Feb 1, 2009
…an in-gathering of old and new friends, in the darkest time of the year, a point in time where we can reflect, as individuals and a community, the light that shines within each and every one of us.
Featured events include:
Please note, this event has been growing each year, and due to spatial limitations, we have to limit the number of registrants for the playshops and overnight ceremonies.
For more info and to register go to http://www.vegasvortex.com/
MCBRIDE WORLD TOUR
Jeff will be holding a special three day series of Secret Session workshops at the upcoming Blackpool Magic Convention in the UK. For more information on this event, contact Derek Lever (d.lever1@sky.com).
Jeff McBride & Eugene Burger
Sunrise at StoneHenge
Mystery School Workshop, 2006
Peru, England, Spain and many new dates appear on our World Tour Schedule. If you would like to see our show, take a look and see if we’re going to be near you.
http://www.mcbridemagic.com/pages/calendar.php
We encourage you, dear friends, to show your royal colors, and take flight!! See you one day soon, and introduce you to our feathered friend!
Jeff McBride
Here we are coming into a month named after the Roman god Janus, an appropriate personification of the start of the new year. This particular Roman god had two faces so that he could look ahead toward the future and back at the past at the same time. As we get rid of an old year and look forward to a new one, we all try to be a little like Janus. We know through experience what we did wrong and what we did right, and hope to do better this year. Some people make ambitious new year’s resolutions; others just take a deep breath and hope for the best.…
—From The Complete Speaker’s Almanac
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Greetings from Las Vegas!Â
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The snow has all disappeared from the Las Vegas valley, but the mountains are shimmering.  The sun is out again, and I’m getting ready to go skiing atop Mount Charleston with my friend Dr. Joshua Levin! Yes, we have skiing in sunny Las Vegas, just 50 minutes from the Strip!  I’ve been an avid skier since I was 6 years old. I grew up skiing. In fact we had a ski area literally in our back yard… you could see the chairlift from the kitchen window! I would ski every day after school and on weekends too. I used to compete in the East Coast Freestyle Skiing Circuit…. I love “stunt-ballet†skiing, and in many of my competition routines, I actually mixed magic and special effects into my â€hot–dog†skiing; appearing ski poles, fire on my skis, and the occasional poof of a flash powder charge, as I swirled and whirled down the slopes doing my trick skiing act. The magic and effects I added to my routine gave me a “winning edge.â€Â  I stood out from all the other competitors because I did something new and different! I guess I’ve always combined my passion for magic with my other interests. I think that’s one of the things that helped me with my performing career. Here is a vintage photo of me doing a flip, in a Freestlye skiing competition at Holiday Mountain in Rock Hill, New York, 1975!
 
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A PASSION FOR SIMPLICITY
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Many of our students here at the school are not full time performers. Many of them are public speakers who combine business messages with magic.  I often help these speakers to come up with ideas to illustrate their points with magic, comedy and special effects. In short, we work together to “punch up†their presentations.
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I encourage them to share real stories from their lives, and to add a bit of magic to these stories as they communicate with their audiences. In Tobias Beckwith’s book BEYOND DECEPTION, there is an exercise called “PASSION PIECES.â€Â  This essay gives the secret formula on how to turn simple magic effects into pure theater.  Here is a short version of that magic formula: Take a real story form your life, something you are really passionate about and tell people about that passion when performing a simple magic effect. Why a “simple effect?â€Â  The best reason is so that you can connect more with the emotion of the story rather than worrying about the technique of the effect. I have learned over the years to focus on the story as much as the trick. Give the audience “more truth than trick†is a formula that has been successful for me!
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JEFF ON TELEVISION – CATCH IT JANUARY 1st & 5th!
I will be appearing on My Network TV for Masters of IllusionMasters of Illusion series.  I had a great time shooting the show in Los Angeles, along with Abbi and Jordan Wright.  Oh…and if you missed The World Magic Awards last month, they are re-playing it on New Year’s Day at 8pm.Â
 
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT—EDUARDO FROM SPAIN
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Eduardo Galeano, from Spain, recently joined us at a Master Class.  He also made his Las Vegas debut on our “Midnight Magic Show†at THE WONDERGROUND.   This week, he shared the good news that he will be representing his birth country, Argentina, in the competition at the World Magic Seminar here in Las Vegas in March!  We were all impressed with his card routine, and thought you’d like to see it, too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_H1f47cczU
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It is a great pleasure to introduce some of our students to our Museletter readers, so we can all share in their success!  I look forward to featuring many of our students in upcoming Museletters.
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If you would like to see more of our award-winning students, you can enter the WINNERS CIRCLE, by going to http://www.magicalwisdom.com/winners.php
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Stay warm, my friends, and if you get too chilly, why not join us for some fun and magic in sunny Las Vegas!
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Yours in mystery,
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Jeff and Abbi McBride
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