Should I go to Mystery School Masterclass? My view by Romany

(Romany, aka Romany, the Magical Mistress of Ceremonies, www.romanymagic.com ,is a British female stage magician working a quarter of the year on cruise ships and the rest in cabaret, theater and private performances. ) Magic is tricky. The journey towards a well polished, complete and satisfying routine is paved with...

A Rose by Any Other Name… by Master Payne

(Master Payne has been skillfully entertaining audiences in and around the Pacific Northwest with his award winning magic show for over 35 years. In this provocative article, he calls for a more realistic assessment of the art of magic – and magicians.) A common belief, popularized by many books on the history of magic, contends that the modern magician...

The Tao of Don Alan By Tim Glander

(This article is an update of a presentation Tim made at the 2015 Magic and Meaning Conference. While the Chinese philosophy of “Tao” – pronounced “dao” – has multiple definitions, it is used in this context to mean the philosophy and pathway that reflects Don Alan, a premier close-up magician. Tim’s relationship with Don began 1975 when he audio recorded Don’s “Ethics in Magic” lecture at the...

Have a drink by Butzi

(Butzi is a inventive French magician that Jeff McBride often works with. Butzi is a frequent contributor to the Secret Art Journal.) This routine was created for a show called “Coffee Show” I created it for coffee specialists. Later, I applied the same principles and made it accessible for everyone in a show called “Refreshing”. Effect: The participant is asked to choose one type of drink among...

How to Turn a To-Do List into a Ta-Da List! By Craig Conley

(Craig Conley is author of HarperCollins’ One-Letter Words: A Dictionary, Weiser Books’ Magic Words: A Dictionary, and most recently The Young Wizard’s Hexopedia.  His more arcane publications include A Field Guide to Identifying Unicorns By Sound, A Guide to Séance Parlor Feng Shui, and A Manual on the Care and Feeding Of A Spirit Board. In this article, he systematically extends Bob Neale’s...

Romany, the Magical Mistress of Ceremonies- part 2

Part Two of Two (In pursuit of her dream of becoming a great performer of magic, she decided to enter magic competitions because they deadlines forced her to practice; she held no thought of actually winning, In reality, Romany swept the board of awards. In this article, she tells the back story of the bumpy adventures behind the prizes. This article, part one of two, blends several of Romany’s...

Romany, the Magical Mistress of Ceremonies

Part One of Two (Romany, aka Romany, the Magical Mistress of Ceremonies, www.romanymagic.com ,is a British female stage magician working a quarter of the year on cruise ships and the rest in cabaret, theater and private performances. This article, part one of two, blends several of Romany’s prior publications in Vanish.) For the past twenty years, my dream has been to become a great performer of...

Hello 2016, From Lynn Miner

  Whether you call them “resolutions” or “goals,” many people make often make them without much thought and find them quickly broken. Nevertheless, January is a great time to think about your “big picture” for the year. Where are you headed, long-term, with your magic goals? We can’t make them for you, that’s your responsibility. However, we can ask some questions that you ought to be answering...

Thumb Tip Holder 3000 by Butzi, Magicien

(Editorial note:  Butzi is a French magician that I work with often. He’s a frequent contributor to the Secret Arts Journal. He says “People use to call their discovery ‘something 2000’. I decided to be ahead of my time and call the thumb tip holder:  ‘Thumb Tip Holder 3000’ “ The final product is seen above. – Jeff). THE AIM...

TOUCHING MAGIC by Butzi, Magicien

Have you ever lost control of a group in a table hopping situation? Or maybe you were not satisfied of your audience reactions. What could have happened? Why is it that some magicians can easily win a group over while other struggle? With some reflection, it appeared to me that you have to be accepted in the group before anything. THEN you need to take control in the first 5 minutes. This...