Anatomy Lesson at August Meeting

DC Magician of the Year Dick Christian and Ring 50 President Louis Meyer gave a joint lecture, "Anatomy of a Show," at the August 5 meeting. Distilling the best advice from classic magic authors and his own 60+ years of experience, much of it as a full-time magician working primarily for adults, Dick talked about what goes into transforming magic tricks into a coherent show that will please a paying audience in the real world.



Dick talked about the dangers of "winging it;" the importance of creating scripts; how to structure comedy routines; the uses and abuses of repetition; timing; the difference between practice and rehearsal; how to choose openers, middles and closers and much more. He also very thoughtfully provided an outline of his talk, which including a suggested reading list, as well as handouts of supplemental material, such as the "24 Rules of Magic" from Maskelyne and Devant's "Our Magic."

After Dick's talk, Louis Meyer noted that there was little to add, but did share his perspective as a full-time children's entertainer. His tips on how to tweak your show to make it effective for children were very helpful. The members left the meeting greatly encouraged and with their brains completely full!

Louis noted that Washington DC’s Convention For Children's Entertainers, "Kapital Konvention," will be held on January 27-29, 2010 in Springfield, VA.

Michael Taggert reminded everyone of the great lineup of Duane Laflin, Samuel Patrick Smith, and Jim Sisti at Magi-Whirl on April 9-10, 2010