Greetings and salutations from Dade City, FL. I must admit I left about 20 minutes before the snow started falling. The entire drive down here Mirf and I stayed just at the leading edge of the storms. We arrived to some incredible adversity due to the three hurricanes that took their best swipe at the area. The entire festival grounds had to be rebuilt…that was no small feat. Overcoming adversity is one of the strengths of our club. The February meeting had to be postponed a week out of an abundance of caution due to the snowstorm coming in. In spite of the last minute change, I hear we had a great turn out at the meeting and lots of magic was to be had. I am proud to be a member of this club.
The mission of the board is to continue improving our magic club to give you the best experience we can. We want you to WANT to be there and not miss a single minute of the magic. With that end in mind, we will be sending out a member survey in the near future to find out what you, the member, really want from our club. I request that you please fill it out with your honest thoughts and opinions letting us know what you like and what you don’t like. You will have the opportunity to fill it out anonymously so please be brutally honest. This survey is very important to me so that we can make adjustments to better serve all of our membership. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and honesty.
One of the opportunities we offer is the ability to perform in front of an audience as often as you like. Our club members are a mix of professionals, semi-pro's, amateurs, beginners, aficionados, collectors and history buffs. With such a wide range of membership the opportunity to practice in front of a very supportive, caring audience is one of the highlights of our club. Repetition is what makes you better, but repetition in front of an awesome group of people is priceless. Watching a Pro perform can be daunting to some people as it may seem so effortless, challenges exist for the Pro also in a different form. For example, a pro that has been performing for years in front of thousands of audiences can fill a fifteen-minute slot without a thought, ask that Pro to limit themselves to 5 minutes and they often struggle limiting themselves whereas a beginner may struggle to fill 5. While it's not the same struggle, it's still a struggle and everyone is always working to be better. The point is we all need to remember everyone can and will experience challenges. Repetition has value, repetition in front of a group has even more value to the aspiring performer. I was told early in my magic career (if you'd call it that) "If you want to have the polish of a thousand shows, you have to do a thousand shows". Our club is where that can start and the Pro's can help you get there.
Another way to get that polish is our club competitions. Now, think of our competition as more of a fun, structured jam session where you can be the star. Do you win cash and prizes? No, but you get the feeling of accomplishment in front of you fellow compeers. We have two different types of competition coming up in the future, close up and parlor. Each are a different format and more information will be coming soon.
In closing, the Spring Parlor Show is coming up soon (May 24). May first emails will be going out to those that have volunteered to perform in this spring's parlor show. Rehearsals are over Zoom every Thursday at 7PM until 8:08ish when the Sterlini Magic Auction starts. If you don't know what that is, ask me next time you see me in April. The rehearsal link will be available on the website for anyone that wants to join in and watch.
Have a great month.
Cheers,
Cap'n Sean
