To laugh often and love much…
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in
others, to give one’s self…
this is to have succeeded.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
A hands on teaching at a recent Master Class
with Eugene, Losander and Jeff.
Photo by Lara Pugliese
Greetings friends and magical loved ones…
We are home again in Las Vegas for the next few weeks after our European and Asian touring. We’re sending you love for Valentine’s Day, and beyond. Abbi is enjoying being at home, and is spending time in her rose garden, tending the new additions and preparing for the coming blossoms. I’ve been catching up in my office, and spending a great deal of time with private students. Recently, magician Rob Ray came in from Arizona to spend three days here at McBride’s House of Mystery. He had the opportunity to spend each day engaged with me in developing his new show, and his evenings were immersed in my magic library and practice sessions. I really enjoy working with students, and always learn a lot in the process. During one of the sessions, Rob Ray shared a short poem with me that I thought would be perfect for an “out” or if something went wrong during his show…
“Tis easy enough to be pleasant,
when life
flows along like a song,
But the man worthwhile is the one who will
smile,
when everything goes dead wrong.”
— Ella Wheeler Wilcox
One of the important lessons I learned from a man who I consider my teacher, Channing Pollack, is that you can tell how good a magician is by the way they handle their mistakes on stage. Recently, our Master Class had the opportunity to go to Lance Burton’s and Mac King’s shows. Afterwards, the nine of us had the 
chance to go backstage and talk with both artists. Both Mac and
Lance told us story after story of how they turn potential tragedy into triumph, and how they maneuver out of difficult situations. One of the old show biz maxims is “Never let ’em see you sweat.” Recently, at one of our classes, a woman named Laura performed her act . Only after her performance did we learn that the CD player played another performer’s music. Laura never let to the audience that there was anything amiss with the music. She improvised her way through her act and in the end, she developed an entirely different performance based around this “mistake.” Instead of a comedy act, she now had a dramatic theater piece. I feel that that is “creative alchemy,” when you can take the “lead” of a mistake, and transform it to a golden masterpiece. Brava, Laura!
This week, Eugene Burger and I will help Lance Burton host the World Magic Seminar Teen Program here in Las Vegas. Bill and Becki Wells facilitate and do all the planning for this event. Year after year, we are amazed with the creativity and passion these teens have for their art. The program has been expanding each year, and this year, we are expanding our program again, to include guest presenters Tobias Beckwith and Max Maven. As you know, Tobias is my manager, and will be talking to the teens about the business half of show business. Max will be sharing some of his vast knowledge on the magical arts. The World Magic Seminar is 
one of my favorite magic events, and a time for me to catch up with our friends in the magic community. Right after the WMS, we are hosting a three day Master Class, Feb 24, 25, and 26th, with Eugene and myself. URL Many of our students are booking sessions with us now to prepare for the upcoming Magic convention competitions. If you would like to see who are the “up- and- coming” magicians, visit our WINNERS CIRCLE http://www.magicalwisdom.com/winners.php
March will be filled with private sessions, a few corporate shows and the production of a new magic teaching DVD. I’ll keep you posted. At the end of March, Abbi and I will be going to Poughkeepsie, NY for AkashaCon, where we’ll be performing our magic and teaching Universal Fire Circle Alchemy.
This will be my first time to visit the ancient stone circels in England! Plans are going well for our Springtime European tour. So far, Eugene and I will be performing our show THE SECRET ART OF MAGIC in Cornwall, where we will also do a Master Class. We’re looking forward to seeing Stonehenge, and Bath, then we’re off for more shows and classes in Amsterdam. URL of classes in europe)
Hot News! I just got off the phone with Tobias, he says my new 1hour television show for the ENIGMA is in the editing stages now. REAL MAGIC is the name of my episode. Find out all about it at http://www.worldscreen.com/newscurrent.php?filename=vision1206.htm
Love, magic and mystery,
Jeff and Abbi McBride
And all of our friends and family at
MCBRIDE’S MAGIC AND MYSTERY SCHOOL