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Our June meeting will be the OMC annual Intra-Club Close-Up Contest. ‘Intra-club’ means that you have to be a member – a PAID UP MEMBER – of the Oakland Magic Circle. If you want to compete in this contest and haven’t paid your 2016 membership dues, send a check to our treasurer, Robert Herrick, ASAP. You can also just give Robert your dues at the June meeting before the contest. Acts in the contest should be between 6 minutes and 12 minutes maximum. The winner will receive $100 and a trophy and the runner-up will get $50.

MARK’S REMARKS by MARK TARSES

One of the first rules of magic is this: close-up tricks and stage tricks are not the same thing. I went to Markers Faire yesterday (May 22) at the San Mateo Fairgrounds. They had back-to-back magic shows on an outdoor stage, including a performance by OMC member Magical Nathaniel. There were several hundred people watching the magic show. I was seated about 40 feet from the stage, about halfway back in the audience. The first magician did Gypsy Thread, a very bad trick to do for for an outdoor audience sitting far away from you. I didn’t see the thread at all, and I was looking for it, as were the people sitting near me.  All I could see were the magician’s hands moving as through there was a thread between them. He then did a ball trick using balls about 1 inch in diameter. I think I saw one or two of the balls, but I’m not sure. When a magician comes to do a magic show, more often than not, he doesn’t know what the setup of the room or theater is going to look like. Be prepared to make changes in your routine so that it is appropriate to the venue.