Our meeting started with our first “Teach-aTrick,” this month featuring Bill McElvenney’s “The Nicholas Escape;” a startling penetration inspired by Daryl’s “Rope Through Fist.”
This was our “Sessions Night,” a night of teamwork, creativity, and astounding magic. We saw some truly astounding coin work, amazing penetrations, and some very dynamic mentalism. All of the teams acquitted themselves quite well, not only in their ingenious use of the objects at hand, but also in providing a coherent presentation under such challenging conditions.
Hunter Gaul announced that our lecturer for October will be Marc Salem, an internationally famous magician and author of Mind Games who was has been featured on 60 Minutes.
John Kostyal, our Vice President, opened the next meeting by discussing the very lively local magic scene including our upcoming fundraisers and area conventions. This month, we were treated to three Teach-a-Trick presenters. Bill McElvenney opened with “Houdini’s Impossible Escape,” featuring the classic Chinese laundryman with a patter based on the true story of Houdini’s training of World War I doughboys in the art of escape. Bill Bowersox started with “Animal Magnetism,” a visually stunning levitation of a borrowed finger ring. He topped it off with an impromptu napkin disappearance with a method that had an ingenious convincer making the vanish completely instantaneous.
Hunter Gaul brought great drama and visualization to “ACAAN” (any card any number) finding a selected card. He not only presented the mechanics of the trick, but also demonstrated the very effective misdirection that makes this magic so breathtaking. Jim Capobianco gave a presentation on Magical Ethics. It brought out lively discussion of particular scenarios. The great emphasis was on preserving magical secrecy not only for the benefit of all magicians but also for the entertainment and delight of our audiences. Jim also pointed out the necessity of skill and care in performance in preserving the mystery.
Next month is our Restaurant Night at Bogart’s, an opportunity enjoy good food and even better company. The best feature is that any member will be able to perform a routine, an excellent opportunity to try out new material before a live audience.
Bill McElvenney