Barry Mitchell Lectures at Ring 50

Barry Mitchell, a motivational speaker, family entertainer and humorist, captivated the attention of Ring 50 members at their September meeting. “I try to do everything to not think like a magician,” he told the crowd. “A lot of the stuff I do has a moral or an idea.” Opening his presentation by singing, Barry quickly stressed that involving the audience is very important to succeed. “You want to be part of them,” he explained. “Let me tell you a story,” he began. Those words, he pointed out, immediately set up a mood of anticipation. His first story was a legend called “The Mother of All Diamonds” where lumps of coal poured into a goblet turned into diamonds—all except one. He pulled out a key chain with a single lump of coal dangling from it. He explained he had doubted coal could change to diamonds and kept the memento to remind him they really could. In another routine, Barry had the audience chanting “Mash the Moo” as he poured milk to diminishing sizes of glasses without losing a drop. He joked that he had created condensed milk. He ended by changing the “mashed moo” to M&Ms. “Everything I do is very scripted,” he emphasized, adding the biggest difference between an amateur and a professional is a script. Barry’s home-spun humor and easy delivery supporting this philosophy came across in another segment. Four audience members played different roles for a fairy tale he called “The Selfish Sultan and the Magic Box”. Barry ended the night with a moving patriotic presentation that included a 13-star Betsy Ross flag. ~ ~ Jim Flanigan

Magician Joins Ring 50

Ring 50 gained another new member, Thomas Kee, of The Plains VA. Tom started magic when he was 8 years old and performed for about 12 years. He stopped when he went to college and recently renewed his interest in magic again.