The Magic Circle
Encyclopedia
The Magic Circle is a British
organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic
.
, those present decided upon the name of the Society — it was initially felt that the name of the Society should be the Martin Chapender Club, in memory of the noted performer, and founding member, who had recently died at the age of twenty-five. However, it was then agreed that the name "Magic Circle" would be more appropriate and that this name shared the same initials as those of Martin Chapender.
The first official meeting was at the Green Man public house
in Soho
, but meetings were later in a room at St George's Hall
in Langham Place, where David Devant
and John Nevil Maskelyne
were regularly seen performing.
Devant became the first president of The Magic Circle, and in 1906, Maskelyne edited the first issue of The Magic Circular magazine, a regular feature for members ever since. The Magic Circular claims to be the longest running regular magic magazine in conjuring history.
The club was male-only until 1991, when more than 75% of members voted to admit women. There are around eighty female members of The Magic Circle, including Paul Daniels
' wife, Debbie McGee
.
in Camden
has been available for meetings and corporate entertainment. It was voted the UK's Number One Venue in the hospitality industry's Top 20 UK Venues poll 2008.
The Magic Circle's headquarters houses a theatre
, libraries, a dining room, a clubroom and bars.
’s original Zig Zag lady
illusion, Chung Ling Soo
's robes, rifles used for the ‘Bullet Catch
’ by Maurice Fogel in the 1940s, sets of props used by television magicians David Nixon and Tommy Cooper
, items and a sound recording of Harry Houdini
taken from an Edison cylinder, and a set of cups and balls used by HRH The Prince of Wales when he took his Magic Circle exam in 1975. Visits are by arranged tour.
A thesis is read by two examiners and a copy is made available in The Magic Circle library. The final stage is by vote by members of the Council, who will approve the candidate as a member. Once the applicant is successful, they are free to call themselves "Members of the Society" and use the letters M.M.C. after their name.
There are approximately one-thousand five-hundred members (including Charles, Prince of Wales
, David Copperfield, Ken Dodd
, Steve Allen (radio presenter), Wayne Dobson
, Charlotte and Jonathan Pendragon, Siegfried and Roy, Michael Vincent
, Dynamo
, Nigel Mansell
, John Archer and John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market), in more than forty countries.
Members may take a further examination to achieve the degree of Associate of the Inner Magic Circle. The designation A.I.M.C. shows this higher membership. The A.I.M.C. degree can also be attained through thesis, and in rare cases - that is when a candidate gains 18 or higher out of a possible 20 marks in the written exam - examinees taking the M.M.C. exam are awarded the A.I.M.C. degree. Those who attain an A.I.M.C. degree as a result of a performance examination are awarded the A.I.M.C. with silver star.
Within the society, there are a number of members never exceeding three-hundred known as the "Inner Magic Circle". Full membership of the Inner Magic Circle is denoted by the letters M.I.M.C. after the member's name. Membership of the Inner Magic Circle is by call of The Society's President. The M.I.M.C. degree may be awarded with a gold star, in recognition of the holder's excellence as a performer, although not all holders of the M.I.M.C. degree are performers, and hence, not all are M.I.M.C. with gold star.
The Young Magicians Club has a current membership of more than 500 members.
The Young Magicians Club's principal means of communication among its members is its bi-monthly magazine "'Secrets'". The worldwide membership also communicates through a members-only on-line forum on the YMC website.
Unlike The Magic Circle and other magic societies, membership of The Young Magicians Club requires no interview or exam and is open to all young people interested in magic. There are monthly all-day workshops for members who come from all over the country to take part. Adult members of the Magic Circle take on the responsibility of instructing the members of The Young Magicians Club. Local adult magic clubs will usually have a Young Magicians Club attached to it. Members of the The Young Magicians Club are eligible to join The Magic Circle at a discounted rate when they reach 18, but they must still face the rigorous examination procedure.
The Young Magicians Club holds their annual one-day convention every October called 'J-Day'. The convention includes lectures and the finals of two competitions with awards, which include the Peter McCahon Award for Originality and the Kaymar Komedy Cup. In 2010, the lecture was presented by Derren Brown
and in 2011, Dynamo
.
The popularity of the Harry Potter
franchise has been one of the key reasons for the organisation's growth in the past few years, with memberships doubling after the announcement of the first film in 2001.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
.
History
The Magic Circle was founded in 1905 after a meeting of 23 amateur and professional magicians at London's Pinoli's Restaurant. At this founders meeting, chaired by Servais Le RoyServais Le Roy
Servais Le Roy was a Belgian magician, illusion designer and businessman. He is known for the act Le Roy, Talma and Bosco and as the inventor of the classic levitation illusion Asrah the Floating Princess....
, those present decided upon the name of the Society — it was initially felt that the name of the Society should be the Martin Chapender Club, in memory of the noted performer, and founding member, who had recently died at the age of twenty-five. However, it was then agreed that the name "Magic Circle" would be more appropriate and that this name shared the same initials as those of Martin Chapender.
The first official meeting was at the Green Man public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, but meetings were later in a room at St George's Hall
St. George's Hall (London)
St. George's Hall was a theatre located in Langham Place, Regent Street in London, built in 1867, which closed in 1966. The hall could accommodate between 800 and 900 persons, or up to 1,500 persons including the galleries...
in Langham Place, where David Devant
David Devant
David Devant was an English magician, shadowgraphist and film exhibitor. He was born David Wighton in Holloway, London...
and John Nevil Maskelyne
John Nevil Maskelyne
John Nevil Maskelyne was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with many other Victorian-era devices. His door lock for London toilets required the insertion of a penny coin to operate it, hence the euphemism to "spend a penny".-Biography:Maskelyne was born in Cheltenham,...
were regularly seen performing.
Devant became the first president of The Magic Circle, and in 1906, Maskelyne edited the first issue of The Magic Circular magazine, a regular feature for members ever since. The Magic Circular claims to be the longest running regular magic magazine in conjuring history.
The club was male-only until 1991, when more than 75% of members voted to admit women. There are around eighty female members of The Magic Circle, including Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels
Paul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
' wife, Debbie McGee
Debbie McGee
Debbie McGee is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the wife and assistant of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former ballet dancer and, for three years, she was artistic director of her own ballet company...
.
Motto
The motto of the society is the Latin indocilis privata loqui, roughly translated as "not apt to disclose secrets"; members give their word not to wilfully disclose magic secrets other than to bona fide students of magic. Anyone breaking this or any other rule may be expelled.Headquarters
Since 1998, The Magic Circle building in central London near Euston StationEuston station
Euston station may refer to one of the following stations in London, United Kingdom:*Euston railway station, a major terminus for trains to the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and part of Scotland...
in Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
has been available for meetings and corporate entertainment. It was voted the UK's Number One Venue in the hospitality industry's Top 20 UK Venues poll 2008.
The Magic Circle's headquarters houses a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, libraries, a dining room, a clubroom and bars.
The Magic Circle Museum
The museum features magic tricks, props, posters, programs, toys, photographs and artefacts related to magic and illusionists. Items of interest include, Robert HarbinRobert Harbin
Robert Harbin was a British magician and writer. He is noted as the inventor of a number of classic illusions, including the Zig Zag Girl...
’s original Zig Zag lady
Zig Zag Girl
The Zig-Zag Girl illusion is a magic trick akin to the more famous sawing a woman in half illusion. In the Zig-Zag illusion, a magician divides his or her assistant into thirds, only to have the assistant emerge from the illusion at the end of the performance completely unharmed.Since its invention...
illusion, Chung Ling Soo
Chung Ling Soo
Chung Ling Soo was the stage name of the American magician William Ellsworth Robinson who is mostly remembered today for his tragic death after a bullet catch trick went wrong.- Biography :...
's robes, rifles used for the ‘Bullet Catch
Bullet catch
The bullet catch is a conjuring illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at him—often in his mouth, sometimes in his hand or caught with other items such as a dinner plate...
’ by Maurice Fogel in the 1940s, sets of props used by television magicians David Nixon and Tommy Cooper
Tommy Cooper
Thomas Frederick "Tommy" Cooper was a very popular British prop comedian and magician from Caerphilly, Wales.Cooper was a member of The Magic Circle, and respected by traditional magicians...
, items and a sound recording of Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
taken from an Edison cylinder, and a set of cups and balls used by HRH The Prince of Wales when he took his Magic Circle exam in 1975. Visits are by arranged tour.
Membership
Magicians who wish to join need to have known two current members for a least one year and must be at least 18 years old. These two members are then asked to act as sponsors, or referees, on the candidate's application form and propose him or her as a suitable candidate for membership. Following the receipt and processing of the application, the candidate is invited to an interview with the examinations secretary, usually at the London headquarters. If the candidate proves suitable and sufficiently knowledgeable a performance exam is scheduled or a thesis may be written. The exam takes place in front of a panel of judges, and the candidate must demonstrate their skills to members in a rehearsed act.A thesis is read by two examiners and a copy is made available in The Magic Circle library. The final stage is by vote by members of the Council, who will approve the candidate as a member. Once the applicant is successful, they are free to call themselves "Members of the Society" and use the letters M.M.C. after their name.
There are approximately one-thousand five-hundred members (including Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, David Copperfield, Ken Dodd
Ken Dodd
Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE is a British comedian and singer songwriter, famous for his frizzy hair or “fluff dom” and buck teeth or “denchers”, his favourite cleaner, the feather duster and his greeting "How tickled I am!", as well as his send-off “Lots and Lots of Happiness!”...
, Steve Allen (radio presenter), Wayne Dobson
Wayne Dobson
Wayne Dobson is an award-winning British magician who became well-known through various television appearances in the late 1980s and 1990s. At the height of his fame he had his own television series Wayne Dobson - A Kind of Magic...
, Charlotte and Jonathan Pendragon, Siegfried and Roy, Michael Vincent
Michael Vincent
Michael Vincent and similar may refer to:*Michael Vincent , British magician*Michael Vincent , Composer*Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor*Mike Vincent, Australian journalist...
, Dynamo
Dynamo (magician)
Steven Frayne is an English magician who performs under the stage-name of Dynamo.-Biography:Frayne grew up on Bradford's deprived Delph Hill Estate in the north of England. He first learned magic from his grandfather and developed it during trips to New Orleans...
, Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
, John Archer and John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market), in more than forty countries.
Members may take a further examination to achieve the degree of Associate of the Inner Magic Circle. The designation A.I.M.C. shows this higher membership. The A.I.M.C. degree can also be attained through thesis, and in rare cases - that is when a candidate gains 18 or higher out of a possible 20 marks in the written exam - examinees taking the M.M.C. exam are awarded the A.I.M.C. degree. Those who attain an A.I.M.C. degree as a result of a performance examination are awarded the A.I.M.C. with silver star.
Within the society, there are a number of members never exceeding three-hundred known as the "Inner Magic Circle". Full membership of the Inner Magic Circle is denoted by the letters M.I.M.C. after the member's name. Membership of the Inner Magic Circle is by call of The Society's President. The M.I.M.C. degree may be awarded with a gold star, in recognition of the holder's excellence as a performer, although not all holders of the M.I.M.C. degree are performers, and hence, not all are M.I.M.C. with gold star.
The Young Magicians Club
The Young Magicians Club (YMC) is a club for magicians under the age of 18 who are sponsored by 'The Magic Circle' which was founded in 1996. The group meets at The Magic Circle Headquarters, the 'Centre for the Magic Arts' in London.The Young Magicians Club has a current membership of more than 500 members.
The Young Magicians Club's principal means of communication among its members is its bi-monthly magazine "'Secrets'". The worldwide membership also communicates through a members-only on-line forum on the YMC website.
Unlike The Magic Circle and other magic societies, membership of The Young Magicians Club requires no interview or exam and is open to all young people interested in magic. There are monthly all-day workshops for members who come from all over the country to take part. Adult members of the Magic Circle take on the responsibility of instructing the members of The Young Magicians Club. Local adult magic clubs will usually have a Young Magicians Club attached to it. Members of the The Young Magicians Club are eligible to join The Magic Circle at a discounted rate when they reach 18, but they must still face the rigorous examination procedure.
The Young Magicians Club holds their annual one-day convention every October called 'J-Day'. The convention includes lectures and the finals of two competitions with awards, which include the Peter McCahon Award for Originality and the Kaymar Komedy Cup. In 2010, the lecture was presented by Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Derren Victor Brown is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat...
and in 2011, Dynamo
Dynamo (magician)
Steven Frayne is an English magician who performs under the stage-name of Dynamo.-Biography:Frayne grew up on Bradford's deprived Delph Hill Estate in the north of England. He first learned magic from his grandfather and developed it during trips to New Orleans...
.
The popularity of the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
franchise has been one of the key reasons for the organisation's growth in the past few years, with memberships doubling after the announcement of the first film in 2001.
Further reading
- Tim Hulse, 'Magicians fight to make each other vanish', The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
. September 6, 1998. Retrieved via subscription 1 March 2008. - Sam Wallace and Macer Hall, 'Harry Potter conjures wave of Magic Circle applications'. The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
, June 19, 2001. Retrieved 1 March 2008. - 'Now, is that magic?', BBC NewsBBC News OnlineBBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. The website is the most popular news website in the United Kingdom and forms a major part of BBC Online ....
, October 14, 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2008. - Simon O'Hagan, Secret London: Tricks and treats, The Centre for the Magic Arts', The Independent on Sunday, June 15, 2003. Retrieved via subscription 1 March 2008.