Excerpts from UMA Newsletter By Craig Stone
Our monthly meeting began with the Mike George (a.k.a.: Mika Magic) sale. Items were displayed across two tables, one pool table, and one cart. Lots to choose from, with members and guests looking for new magic, new books, and new bits of business to add to their shows and performance repertoire. ... So much great material to choose from and a wide variety of magic styles represented. Perfect as a reference source or for finding that one trick that might fill out your show. ... I was glad to see someone purchase this fabulous treasure of magic and magic stories. On to the auditions (for next month's Close Up Competition). ... The five contenders auditioned on Tuesday night. One at a time, each performer was called into a side room where they performed one effect from their upcoming competition set. We are pleased to say, all who auditioned will be competing. ... The main rules for the competition are the 10-minute time limit and voting will be by noncompeting, paid members. The room(s) will be divided into six performing areas with the audience being split up into six small audiences. The performers will rotate between the performance stations. There are many advantages to this type of arrangement. 1) Performers don’t have to watch the other performers, which can be hard on the nerves. 2) It keeps the audience at close-up show size. Rather than performing for one large audience of 30-40, each group should consist of about 5-8. 3) If a performer happens to have a bad set, perhaps due to nerves, he will be able to redeem himself during his following performances. Please bring family and guests to the competition to give the performers a real audience.
Another nice evening at the Church at Charlotte. All officers were in attendance: Greg Zelnik, Micheal Sasnett, Jim Grindstaff, Craig Stone and myself. It was nice to see our returning guests (Scott Ball and Micheal Markofski) and a past member (James Cogdell) came to join up, who also brought a guest with him (Justin Morrison & girl friend). As soon as everyone arrived we went around the room to see who brought a trick to show on our theme. I began with a trick using beans. However - my lack of any Holy frijoles, I used a handful of glass pebbles. The trick was "Thieves and Sheep". Craig Stone performed a trick he's used when table-hopping at restaurants. A clever transformation using sweetener packages. Scott Ball took his turn with vanishing water effect with a comical routine using a volunteer. I had also brought a set of sponge carrots for a nice visual carrot production. Most of the rest of the evening was spent brainstorming ideas for Greg's new show. James and company had to leave early with the most travel distance to cover. Greg still needs effects to illustrate "Music" and possibly "Dance" as a part of a story presentation. We encourage members to bring material they're working on for the group to suggest improvements. We found the time passed quickly. We plan on having a Lecture and an regular meeting in May. Hope to see everyone then. - Scott Link
The decision to forgo the auction was a good idea. Only with a handful of sellers gave the modest turnout just enough to rummage through and find a few things to go home with. The club is grateful to all those that came out and offered to wheel and deal. Amongst the crowd were a few new visitors and a few familiar faces and the club gained a few more members for 2009.
We met at the Pizza Peel, on Colwick Road in Charlotte, for Magic over Dinner. Down right cold night. The evening began with Jim and myself discussing just a few items of business. Then Bob Fogle joined us. While he was settling in, a few guests wondered in. We weren’t watching the door very closely, but everyone found us. Tony Torres from Rock Hill caught up with us. And a young enthusiastic card handler from Rock Hill, “Haydini”, made his first visit. As he’s under 18, he brought his charming Mother along with him. We tried to explain he’s welcome to join a national club and have a guardian join locally. Welcome to our group. Half our party had difficulties with their orders coming out from the kitchen – I hope this didn’t spoil the evening for anyone. Tony started up the magic with excellent handing of several rubber band tricks. And Haydini was itching to show his mad skills. I’d guess he went through a dozen card effects drawing attention of our group and the restaurant staff. As a student of street magic, his execution was a little dramatic. Haydini obviously has several effects he’s accustom to showing. We offer our experience and knowledge to guide you with your interests in Magic. And thanks to all those who came out and braved the cold weather.3:37 PM GMT | Read comments(0)October 25October 21st (Tuesday) - Meeting Night