There is a posting for young talented young magicians to take part in a competition in Italy.
See here:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......tart=0#5

This brings a interesting questions up. Would any of the "experienced" magicians who visit the Café care to share if they have mentored and trained young aspiring magicians in an award winning act for competition.

Of course the youth puts his interests into the act, but has any American experienced magician advised and trained a youth to develop a magic act?

Sharing your knowledge can be gratifying to say the least, but making props and guiding the youth in a direction can be difficult.

It would be nice to hear of your experiences and if they won or placed high in the competitions.

Outside of the Chavez Course and Jeff McBride's Camps, I don't know of any other means for a youth to receive direction in developing his act.

I guess the responses and silence, says it all.

In both the S.A.M. and I.B.M. groups I have belonged, there have been youth and mentoring programs.

I am active these days more with the I.B.M. We have lots of incredible and creative youth. Their learning curve is much steeper than when I started in my mid-20's.

I try to not only work with their sleights but also encourage creative (out of the magic box) thinking. There are a lot of wonderful magicians old and young that don't compete. That is at least at the level mentioned in this thread.
I like what I heard Paul Simon say yesterday. He doesn't wait to be inspired..he sits down and writes.

Harris
laughologist and nearly normal righter
have humor will travel
wire drlaugh4u@gmail.com

I am being mentored TO. And will continue to be.

Bill asked back in 2012 “Who have you mentored?”

I have mentored a few people over the years, one of whom was entered in the Gold Medal competition in Norfolk back in ’84. He didn’t place among the finalists, but he also performed part of his act on the opening night show at the convention and was deemed professional enough that Japan NHK included his multiplying golf ball routine in their broadcast of the convention in Japan. I've mentored other young people over the years but not necessarily for contests, and often more in an informal way than a formal one.

Bill also commented that “Outside of the Chavez Course and Jeff McBride's Camps, I don't know of any other means for a youth to receive direction in developing his act.” I feel that I received excellent direction in developing my act from reading some of the great books that addressed showmanship and presentation—especially the Henry Hay and Lewis Ganson books.

My mentor when I was growing up in Norfolk was Earl Edwards, who also mentored Bob McAllister, Chuck Windley and Dick Oslund—all of whom became professional magicians/entertainers. I don't know if any of them were entered in any contests, although Bob won some awards at the conventions for some of the tricks he invented. Earl didn’t mentor me specifically for magic competitions, but it was he who was largely responsible for pushing me out of the security of performing at magic clubs into the real world of performing for the public.

----- Sonny

Another mentoring situation I have been involved in on occasion is mentoring people who apply for membership in our local IBM ring. Our initiation ceremony requires that applicants perform an act before the assembled members. After the act, the applicant is taken out of the meeting room and the members vote on whether to accept his/her application. After the member is voted in, we have an initiation ceremony that includes things like the magician's code of ethics--promoting the art of magic and preserving the secrets of the art. We took the initiation program and oath from a variety of sources--some going back to the beginning of both the IBM and SAM--and brought them up-to-date.

BTW, if the applicant for membership is a collector rather than a performer, they may present an initiation program where they bring in some items from their collection and give a talk about the items and their background as collector. Our most recent new member presented that kind of initiation program.

I also mentored a young lady who was entered in a beauty contest by teaching her a magic routine to perform for the talent component of the contest.

----- Sonny

I lost count.

I was "surfing the web, this AM, and "found" Sonny's post above.

When I arrived in Norfolk in May of '51, I had been booking and doing shows, as a part time professional for several years.

A local "vest pocket agent", who had contacts with many local clubs, started booking me. I made enough money, working in my off duty hours (Navy) that I could send home to the bank, my Navy pay.

Earl and I, often discussed concepts, and, even techniques, but, it was never a mentoring relationship. During those four years, we became very close friends. We even developed an act, that we did for Ring 103 members. We were a "team"!

Earl autographed an 8 x 10 to me: "To the best friend I ever had!"

I'd love to see that photo that Earl autographed to you sometime, Dick.

It sounds like you were already an adult performing magic when you met Earl. I was maybe 15 or 16 when I met Earl, so he was indeed a mentor to me. He helped me find music to fit my act, and it was Earl who pushed me out of the relative security of performing at magic club meetings into performing for "real people" at places like the Navy YMCA on Brooke Avenue in Norfolk and the U.S.O. in Portsmouth. He also acted as sort of an agent now and then, recommending me for instance if an advertising agent needed a magician for a TV commercial. Thanks to Earl, I was also the official magician for the local PBS station's TV Auction Fund Drive with the station theme:
"I BELEVE IN MAGIC"

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=......&theater

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=......&theater

Hi Sonny!

When I "arrived" in NorVa, I had my 30 minute working act in a cigar box sized brown leather shaving kit. For my first several months, I was busy in a Navy training course. I would attend Ring 103 meetings, as a guest, and, do a few bits at meetings.

When most of the members performed, they did tricks with "boxes, tubes, cans, pans, and red velvet bags on a stick"! Milford Martin, Earl's partner, would book club dates for some of the members. When I had completed the Navy training course, I had more off duty time, and I asked Milford to book a few dates for me.

He replied, "You don't have any props!" I decided that if I wanted him to book me, I would need to send home for a few "boxes". I had stored my square circle in the attic, years before! I still had a crystal casket, a set of tambourine rings, Chinese sticks, etc. I sent home for them.

So Milford booked me and Bill Knight (ventriloquist) for a club date. Bill and I left. He had Eddie Day (the act was billed as "Knight & Day) and I had a fairly big suitcase with the props from my high school days. The meeting place had a little platform, and a small room to "dress in"! I put my suitcase behind the door, and set my cigar box act. We both worked, and, the group and program chairman were pleased and happy.

The next day, Bill and I came to the shop in the early evening. Milford asked Bill "how the show went".
Bill said, "Very good! Dick did his little act, and never opened his big suitcase!" Milford 'gave in', and booked me some dates!

Then I met Blackie Norton, a "vest pocket agent", who set a showing date. It went well, but, he said, "Work more for laughs, and de-emphasize the "flashy" stuff, and, I'll get you lots of work!" So, I did, and, he did!

From then on, I had enough work, that I could send my Navy pay check home to the bank! (I lived on the show money.) I bought a late model used car, a new tuxedo, and rented a place off base. I bought a "skate box" which would hold the coin pail, and a few other small props. Milford never mentioned "props" again!!!

I think I've "derailed" Bill's thread! Sorry!
I'll come back tomorrow, and, express my thoughts on magic contests.

I never "kept count" of the young guys that I've mentored, but, I estimate it would be about 20.

About 10, are now full time working professionals. I never encouraged them to enter magicians' talent contests! I encouraged them to produce an act that could play almost anywhere, for almost anybody. They did.

Bob McAllister was in high school when I came to Norfolk. He, frankly, didn't need much mentoring. Mostly, a bit of encouraging, and some suggestions were all that was needed. TV was still quite new, then. He did some personal appearances on the local station, and, eventually got a job as one of the first BOZOS! He bought a vent figure, and, he and "Chauncey" became local celebrities. A few years later, he landed a spot as MC for "Kids Are People Too", a New York syndicated Kid Show. He phoned me to help celebrate! I was proud to have had a small part in his success.

I met Doug Henning, who was about 17 or 18, at Abbott's Get Together, in 1967. He had tremendous latent talent! Again, he didn't need much mentoring. For the next 3 years, we talked, discussed, and planned! Jerry Conklin's home became a "YMCA" at GTG time. Denny Loomis, Karrell Fox, Cleve Haubold, Ken and Roberta Griffin, Gene Anderson, Doug. and I would spend many hours talking "shop". It was seldom that anyone did a TRICK! We talked BUSINESS! A year or two later, Doug got his chance! I was honored to have had a part in his success!

Andrew Martin Portala, Jeff Bibik, Al Ulman, Jeff Helding, Norm Barnhart, Jim Jayes, Chuck Windley, et al., are just a few of the "kids" whom I had a hand in starting in the business.

Sadly, Denny Loomis, Doug Henning, Bob McAllister, and Jeff Helding, have left us. But, they all were successful! I remember Bob and I played the Castle, simultaneously, back in the late '70s. A few years later, we were on the same bill at Abbott's GTG.

IMO, they all did better than win a contest! They "won" full time work! (and, THAT is a lot better than a "trophy"!

I was careful never to encourage anyone to "go pro'." That's a very personal decision.

Another ten or so, are very avid amateurs, --and, some of them could be pro's. if they wanted to!

Currently, I'm mentoring a young lad of 16. He just did his first paid show! (A "rite of passage"!) He was given a scholarship to the MAGI FEST in Ohio, last February. Since then, he has received a scholarship to Jeff McBride's "school", and, Tannen's summer camp, in Pennsylvania. Tannen's scholarship is worth $1600, I don't remember how much McBride's is. (But, IMHO, those scholarships are a bit better than trophies!)

It looks like I'm about to get involved with a 12 year old, who lives in Marshall, Michigan, the "home" of my old pal, the late Bob Lund's Museum of Magic. Heck, I'm only 85!

Hi!

It sounds like you're making progress! I'm glad that you found Tarbell! I met Doc Tarbell several times, although I never got to know him well. Walter Gibson was a contemporary of Tarbell. Much of the material in CCIM is an update of material in Tarbell. What books did you find in the public library?

The most important "things" that you will get from Tarbell, are PRINCIPLES!

I never was very interested in mathematical based tricks, neither was I deeply interested in card tricks. I "skimmed" through them quickly. (The best card trick, in Tarbell, is IMO, the Card in Orange.

I've known most of the top card men (Elmsley, Vernon, Jay, Racherbaumer, et al.) in the last 60 years, and enjoy(ed) watching them perform, but, I just wasn't interested in doing any of that "stuff"!

I don't know whom Greg Bordner will book to be the "staff" of the magic camp. I hope it will be a funfilled learning experience.

I don't always have time to reply so quickly!

Dick

Dick Oslund has mentored ME for the past 30 years, and the experience has been PHENOMENAL and INVALUABLE, and I very, very much appreciate his kind and generous words of wisdom............

I only wish serious students of Magic could take advantage of a mentor's wisdom and experience, like I have! It is my sincere belief that one cannot improve one's performance skills until and unless they are mentored!

About a year and a half ago, while accompanying Dick on his cross-country book signing tour at Denny & Lee's Magic Studio in Baltimore, I had the priviledge of introducing Dick to those in attendance for his lecture.

When I told those in the audience what the value was, in plain old dollars and cents, of listening to Dick's advice: Their Jaws literally dropped as they gasped. Seriously......it has meant BIG Bucks to me......and I am a, as Dick often says, a "Part Time Professional". I suspect that I may be one of the "ten or so" who Dick refers to in his post above....

I will say this: When I can make Dick Oslund go "WOW!" (and I have)...I KNOW I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED SOMETHING!

EGAD!! The above post was a >>PM<< to a very young lad whom I've been mentoring. I don't know how I typed it HERE!!!

I must be getting old! Heck no, I AM OLD!

Well the first time I couch a young magician he won the 1st place at the 2015 IBM jr stage
and recently I help a fellow friend and magician on a close up routine and he also won the 2017 Close up contest at the combine convention