Dear Friends in Magic:
Our friend Romany, from the UK, will be saying hello to you this issue! Romany is a long time student at the Magic and Mystery School and recently won the prestigious MAGICIAN OF THE YEAR from the Magic Circle in England. This is the world oldest magic club and Romany was the first woman ever to win!
And now from Romany…
Ciao! Romany, Diva of Magic signing in…
I’d like to share with you all, a favourite quote that I have right before my eyes stuck on the practice mirror:
“What we vividly imagine, ardently desire, enthusiastically act upon, must inevitably come to pass.” — Colin P Sisson
Which leaves us to question, exactly WHAT is it that I ardently desire etc… or rather WHAT, WHO, WHEN?????
If we look at our paths in magic in terms of a Sat Nav (that’s GPS for us here in the US…surely the most magical bit of technology to aid our paths to the gig!), if we know where we are and precisely where we want to be, then it is easier to move forward in the right direction and know what we need to focus on to arrive in the place of our best dreams.
For myself, for magic, my desire is to create finely polished pieces of magic that invite the audience to a point of childlike wonder and pleasure. I would like to entrance them with colour, soften their hearts with music, win a smile with eccentric comedy and put myself on stage before them, heart open with the spirit of that lovely line from the Irish poet Yeats, “I have spread my dreams under your feet…”.
In all this, I take great inspiration from Eugene’s teaching on scripting, John Carney’s dedication to exquisite magic, the eccentricity and flamboyance of Jeff Hobson, Topaz’s stagecraft and from Jeff’s life & charisma and especially his teaching on “pack small, play big!”
So I need to turn off the computer, get in the studio more, dare to experiment with new magic, finally choreograph the silent act etc… lots of things, but at least moving forward with patience and optimism that all is possible. And…! I don’t know about you, but I really waste a lot of time in despair about not having learnt that new trick or worked on the new act. That doesn’t take us anywhere! So my New Year’s Resolution is ONLY to ENJOY magic! What’s yours?
I love meeting up with you my fellow magi around the world, here’s looking forward to the next time!
With sequins,
Romany – Diva of Magic
www.romanymagic.com
A FEW WORDS FROM TOBIAS…
We’re very excited about the classes and events coming up in the UK in April. I understand that Kenny has opened up a few more for the Cornwall classes and show, as well. Go to http://www.magicmasterclass.co.uk/ to learn more and reserve your space for the class or the show in Cornwall. Don’t wait to the last minute — these events sold out early last time we did them!
Just after the events in the U.K. Jeff will be traveling to Istanbul, where our friend Lee Alex is sponsoring a 2 day class on April 12 & 13 (also filling up fast!), and performances of “Stars of Magic – 2008” from April 16-20. For more information on the Istanbul events, write to Lee at: info@leealex.com.
We’re also excited about the upcoming airing of the 8 episodes of “Celebracabra!” on VH1, starting April 20. We’ll include a detailed schedule of airings in our Museletter a week or so before the first episode airs. In the meantime, MAGIC magazine just ran a fascinating article on the show in the issue that just came out. Pick up a copy and read it — and don’t miss Jeff’s “Ask the Show Doctor” in this month’s issue, either!
As I write this, we’re wrapping up our first Extended Master Class of 2008. I really love these longer classes, as they give us time to go into more depth with all the students, and give all of us a chance to get to know one another better. And in just another couple of weeks (March 25-27) we have the class for Balloon Twisters. We’re lucky to have both Don Caldwell and Todd Neufeld offering sessions during the class this year, and we’re excited about that. For those of you who think balloon twisting is just for kids — well, this is a rapidly expanding and growing branch of our entertainment arts, and you’ll be amazed at the things these folks are doing. I understand we still have one or two slots open – if you’ve every thought about adding balloon twisting to your repertoire, sign up and have your mind blown by the things you’ll see at this class!
Thanks for bearing with us all the way to the end on this one. We look forward to sharing more exciting news and views in just a couple of weeks!
Best to all,
Tobias Beckwith