Dear Friends:
We have a special Museletter today, written by our good friend and official Social Coordinator for Magic & Mystery School Events, Simone Marron. Those of you who know Simone might be surprised to find her writing on developing character, as she is such a delightful, somewhat colorful and unique character already, filled with all the warmth and magnanimity you might hope for in a Social Coordinator… but she has some very interesting insights to impart. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this!
From Simone:
I feel fortunate to be a part of the McBride Magic & Mystery School for many reasons. As well as constantly receiving a wealth of information and wisdom, strong bonds are formed that create so many life-long friendships. The faculty and students have become part of a warm and loving family. I have learned so much from them.
Although I no longer perform, my thirst for knowledge on how to be a better performer prevails. I often drink deeply on the fountain of knowledge that flows from the Mystery School. I am forever grateful for this safe place for everyone with varied interests in magic, which constantly quenches my thirst.
A few years ago, one such quest for knowledge was to learn what I could on character development. Observing many different characters and persona in the world of magic performance over the years, I wanted to know who my character should be. I posed the question to Dr. Larry Hass at one of the master classes, and he came up with a teaching module to better explain it to me.
The summary of his teaching was to focus on who I am, other than being a magician. I needed to decide what was important to me, and what I enjoyed most in my life, and incorporate it into my performance. After much soul searching, I realized that I am also a mother, a party host, a writer, and a traveler. By enveloping these aspects in to my character, a clearer picture of who I am could be shared with an audience.
This was not the end of the story. As Eugene Burger says, “The house of magic has many rooms.â€
When I shared my new insight with Eugene, he told me that I didn’t have to add anything to find my character. He said “You don’t need to develop a character. You already are a character. You just need to be a bigger version of you.â€
Now I had a dilemma. Two of my extremely knowledgeable and highly respected teachers had given me different answers. Who was right? Then it dawned on me. Sometimes a question has more than one correct answer. These wise and wonderful men had given me two workable options, and allowed me to make my own choice. I could try both and see which one was right for me.
I learned a great lesson that day. Sometimes there is more than one solution to a problem, and when faced with a challenge, there is no-one better than our Magic & Mystery School family to point us in the right direction.
Learning never ends at the Magic & Mystery School. Students attend and complete classes, but they never graduate. Jeff is very insistent about this, and with good reason. Each event is a unique experience, and there is always more to be learned. Graduating would assume that the learning is over, and that is just not the case. Only with the realization that there is always more to learn, can we ever reach our full potential. I look forward to my continued learning with each and every one of you.