I have a friend to whom I refer as my "magic coach"; he teaches me effects, works out routines with me, and so on. He's one of the most knowledgeable and technically adept card magicians I've ever seen.

I just learned that his circumstances have taken a downturn, but if I were to say any more he'd have a fit.

He recently talked to me about the possibility of teaching magic and asked for my help. This is an extension of that, done without his knowledge.

If anyone in the Los Angeles / Orange County area might be interested in learning card magic from a true expert, please let me know and I will work out the arrangements.

Thanks.

:)

I wish I lived in LA instead of stupid Amsterdam.

NIels

Hope your friend's situation is getting better. I'm in Malaysia, so I'll offer my prayers and hope for him.....

You have to be kidding? What about all the great magicians Holland has presented to the World? Visit L.A., enjoy Southern California, but be thankful you're in Holland. Imagine being in Idaho! (Actually, I enjoy many aspects of living in "Potato Land."

Back to the original topic, I hope that the students are ready for the teacher. God Bless. VB

Oh yeah?

Imagine living in the holy land!

(on a second thought, this country was the home of some of the best known magicians some 2000-4000 years ago...)

Here's an update:

My coach and I have talked for some time about working together: he has a lot of useful business contacts and I have quite a bit of performing experience; i.e., references.

The short story is that we have our first gig this Saturday.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Good Luck to both of you!

Saturday's gig was interesting, to say the least: it was a Casino Night fundraiser for the local Little League.

Conditions were not quite what we'd anticipated. We were expecting round tables of 10 - 12 people; we found tables of 4 - 6 people in an extremely crowded room. We were expecting an audience aware that there would be strolling magicians; we found that the guests had no idea we would be there, and many of whom had no interest in magic. We expected to meet nice parents of Little Leaguers eager to help out the players financially whilst having an enjoyable evening; what we found were some very nice parents, some intoxicated parents, and some incredibly rude, vulgar, and obnoxious parents.

Nevertheless, we did our best, had a pretty good time, got some good reactions from some of the audiences, and got some experience under our belts.

The next gig, whenever it comes, will be better.

It would be so nice to have a teacher so eager to get going on teaching. The Ring meetings are great, but everyone is always fighting for the performer's/teacher's attention. Whoever gets this personal instruction sure is lucky.