All creative art is magic, is evocation of the unseen in forms persuasive, enlightening, familiar and surprising. — Joseph Conrad
Dear Magical Friends,
Tobias, here, writing again in Jeff and Abbi’s absence.
Lots of news this time!
Jeff and Abbi have just arrived in New York City after an SRO series of events at Denny & Lee’s Magic in Baltimore. Show, lecture and workshop were all overflowing, and already receiving
rave reviews from the attendees.
The good news for those of you in the New York City area are that Jeff is repeating it all at the Fantasma store this weekend – with lots of new material since last year’s appearance there — and there are still some tickets left. He is doing both show and lecture on both tonight and Saturday evenings, and a full workshop on Sunday afternoon for a select few really serious students. This is a great way to experience the workshop / master class experience without having to travel all the way to Las Vegas. You can read more and purchase tickets online by clicking here!
Which reminds me – this will be a great summer for McBride fans on the East Coast, because we’ve just signed for Jeff and Abbi to perform their latest show, “Magic at the Edge†at the Trump Marina Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City from August 2 – September 2nd. See all of Jeff’s greatest hits with masks, cards, coins, etc. – joined by lots of newer material you’ve never seen before – all in an intimate 500 seat showroom. We’ll have the links to the box office site up on Jeff’s calendar within the next week or two…be sure and check it out.
More great news for magicians on the East Coast: Because of the show at the Trump Marina, we’ve moved the August extended Master Class back one week, so it will now take place August 8-14, and, instead of being in Las Vegas, we’ll be in the showroom at the Trump Marina in Atlantic City. For those of you in driving distance from Atlantic City, this will be a great chance to participate in the first ever East Coast Extended Master Class, and to witness the workings of a big casino magic show from all angles.
As a final bit of news, before getting on this week’s special “Muse†piece, you should be aware we still have some spots available for this year’s Magic & Meaning conference, with special guests Robert E. Neale and Dr. Lawrence Hass. We’ve just confirmed our space at the Courtyard Marriott on Green Valley Parkway in Henderson, NV,and we have a special deal with the hotel for those who attend the workshop. Just call 1 (800) 583-0079 and tell them you have registered for “Magic and Meaning†and want to reserve your room at the “McBride Magic group rate.†I believe the rate is $125 a night, which is about a 10% reduction from their regular rates. We’ll be sending this specific information to everyone who has registered as a direct e-mail, as well, so don’t worry if you lose this Museletter.
Okay – today’s Muse piece is a quick optical illusion / magic trick I like to perform when I’m having lunch with a new potential client. Because I’m in the business of providing people with magical experiences, I’ve always felt that my approach to selling should also be magical, and this is just one example:
All you need is two coins. I like to borrow one and use one of my
own, for reason’s you’ll soon see. The two coins should be similar in size. Two quarters work just fine – if you can find someone with a Susan B. Anthony dollar and you have one, that’s even better. You hold the two coins between your thumb and finger, as shown in the image at the right. You can even have your new friend do this for themselves – it’s always more effective when the magic happens in their own hands. Just have them rub the two coins together, while observing them from the edges (their eye should be in the position the camera was to take the photo at the right). As they rub the two coins together, their minds will create the image of a third coin in between these two. It’s only an illusion – until you reach over and produce the third coin (using your favorite sleight-of-hand method – I just push the coin out from a finger-palmed position) right from the tops of the two moving coins.
“See what can happen when we pool our resources?†I say. A minute ago, we barely had two coins to rub together between us – now we’ve already made a profit!†And I give them the coin I produced, along with the one I borrowed from them. “Magic is a lot of fun, and it can really bring about some amazing transformation. I hope we’ll have a chance to make a lot of magic happen together.â€
I hope you all enjoyed this newsletter. We’ll have another one with photos from Jeff and Abbi’s current trip East out in another couple of weeks.
Wishing you a magical summer!
Sincerely,
Tobias Beckwith