talkmagic.co.uk

Does anyone know where I could find a list of all the magicians in the Magic Circle's Inner Circle of Magic? I'm just currious to know what magicians are in it. By the way, how many people here are members of the magic circle?

There isn't really such a thing as the Inner Magic Circle. The Magic Circle has three degrees of membership: Member of The Magic Circle (MMC), Associate of The Inner Magic Circle (AIMC) and Member of The Inner Magic Circle (MIMC). The first two are by examination; MIMC is an honour awarded by the President.

At the last count, about half the membership were MMC, with the other two degrees about 50/50. Membership lists are available to members only!

I'm AIMC.

Barry

There are many tall tales about "inner-circles" here and there as well as exclusive groups within the fraternities of magic; they are both, real as well as a matter of fantasy in that most such groups are little other than cliques composed of a dozen or so individuals that specialize in a given area who've seen fit to create a sort of Brain Trust... I happen to be part of several such groups but the real irony is that most of these groups seem to have a lot of the same people in them

There is an old saying, "Water seeks its own level"... the moral to which is simple; the more you are able to show your fellows your legitimate knowledge, sense of action as well as quality in performance, the more "locks" you'll pass through and the further along this particular canal you will travel. But many will find that they cannot raise the level of the water when they reach a particular station... they're comfortable with where they are at e.g. they do not move forward to the next platue -- that next chamber where they will be raised and moved on to deeper and greater depths of things not to mention a less constrictive horizon.

I do enjoy the deep waters and swim them frequently but the truth of the matter is, there is far more in way of companionship on the shallower end. Thus, it is up to us to decide where in this stream we will best rest and settle.

So your saying that when you frequent these forums you are at the shallow end ?
That’s nice of you….

FRK wrote:So your saying that when you frequent these forums you are at the shallow end ?
That’s nice of you….

No... not at all.

Craig Browning wrote:

FRK wrote:So your saying that when you frequent these forums you are at the shallow end ?
That’s nice of you….

No... not at all.

Please explain in a way this shallow man can understand then….

Let's face it - the REALITY is that forums like TM is the shallow end of the pool where magic is concerned.

It's not being disrespectful to any magicians or members as very very few of the TM members are skilled or accomplished enough to swim in the deep end.

The majority are here to learn to wade into deeper waters and there is nothing wrong with that! It's about how far you need to wade before you can take your feet off the bottom and swim

dat8962 wrote:Let's face it - the REALITY is that forums like TM is the shallow end of the pool where magic is concerned.

It's not being disrespectful to any magicians or members as very very few of the TM members are skilled or accomplished enough to swim in the deep end.

The majority are here to learn to wade into deeper waters and there is nothing wrong with that! It's about how far you need to wade before you can take your feet off the bottom and swim

Ok... that's one way of looking at it and better words than I could pull together in response to the question... being in "the shallows" is not intended to be a put down on any level, it simply pertains to the variances of study, experience and degree of focus. Those on the deeper end of the pool, as it were, though they may have a rounded sense of magic they tend to be experts in but one or two fields vs. bouncing all over the place and trying to be a jack-of-all-trades and expert at none!

Some years ago my buddy Rick Maue got a call from an agent that was looking for a Mentalist and was referred to Rick. The money for the gig was more than fare but Rick turned down the date.

Why?

Because the agent didn't care who took the gig he just needed a pseudo-mind reader to fill the bill and wasn't looking to book Rick Maue for what he does as a Mind Reader & Bizarrist.

Maybe you missed that let's look at it another way... the agent calls up Eddie VanHalen looking for a guitar player but could care less if it's Eddie or Jim Bob, Jr. from Hicksville that just completed his 3rd lesson.

They both play and own their own guitars e.g they are both guitar players... same thing, right?

There is a thread here about Hypnosis Effects... a guy wants to learn some because he has people calling and asking for a Hypnotist... which he is not! But he's rushing to pull together a handful of bogus TRICKS in order to fit the bill vs. learning how to be a genuine stage hypnotist and get board certified so he can cover his butt at ethical & legal levels... he's chasing the golden carrot vs. telling people "No, I'm not your guy. This is who I am and what I do."

Those that hold to this sort of attitude are the guys the pros complain about most in that they strive to steal the market out from other their fellows in a region rather than refer callers to someone that is QUALIFIED for doing what the agent or buyer is needing. I've never been hurt when I refer callers to someone that does what they are looking for over myself, trying to fulfill their needs and halfassing it all the way. Kiddie Parties are a great example, people think if you're a magician that's all you do unless your Copperfield or someone from TV... I don't do them but we have a guy in town that's done them for over 30 years who is awesome at that particular job... I'd be in the very shallow waters with someone like him and talking shop over someone like Ed Solomon or Docc Hilford and talking shop with them on areas we hold common as Mystery Entertainers.

Long story short (*I know, it's too late for that) we are all in the shallow end on certain areas and subjects but conversely, the deep end when it comes to those areas we are experienced in (as in dozens if not hundreds of shows worth of experience as well as research).

I hope that clarifies things.

Craig wrote:

being in "the shallows" is not intended to be a put down on any level

I know - and I never took it as such but thought that it was taken in this way by others..

As for the rest of the post I agree with you 100% and you've used some fine examples.

Well said Craig. I've deliberately kept out of that other thread for exactly those reasons.