Tri-Cities Magicians' Society

The meeting began at approximately 6:45 pm on July 20th, 2004. Location 541 Café (541 Franklin Street, Clarksville, TN).

Members Present: Wallace Redd, Paul Herrell, Jim Dennis, & Stephen Schroering.

Wallace announced that he had been contacted by Danny Archer for a possible lecturer. The club voted to schedule the lecture and Wallace will contact Danny to confirm the lecture date, probably October 23rd.

Paul announced his continued work on school fund raiser program, presenting a brochure he had been working on for the club's portfolio.

Paul showed a t-shirt pattern he had been designing using Charles' club logo and all the members expressed the desire to have knit shirts with collars made up for the club members. Paul will look into having the logo digitized and the cost of shirts.

Paul brought up the idea of naming the mascot on the logo Charles Rhodes designed for the club. Each member could think about a name, submit to the club next meeting(August) and a vote could be taken at the September meeting to name the mascot.

Paul mentioned he was going to invite Mac King, Mac grew up in Hopkinsville, to the meetings via mail and possibly at Magic Live!, which Paul plans on attending.

Discussion was then entertained regarding the magic contest which was originally planned on for October 13th. The date was changed due to the proximity to the for mentioned lecture. The new date is the 2nd Saturday in November (13th). It was decided to call the contest: 'Battle of the Wizards'. An alternate name was considered, 'Wizards' Competition', members voted to call it the 'Battle of the Wizards'. The vote was unanimous. The details of the contest were discussed: The activities will start at 5:00PM for a meet and greet, those present can then order something the eat, 5:30PM to 6:30 PM. Wallace would make announcements and discuss rules 6:30PM to 7:00 PM. Contest will begin at 7:00PM and each performer will have 8 minutes to perform their routine. The performers can do any type of magic they choose to do, close-up, stage, platform, etc. The judges will consist of 3 lay-persons picked from the audience. The judges will be picked by TCMS Dean and any ties will be decided by the TCMS Dean. The judges will be given a form to complete on each performer with only a 1 - 5 scale and asked select one for each act. 1 = lowest; 5 = best(highest) with the totals of each determined who wins. Highest total wins, tie broken by TCMS Dean. Only the TCMS Dean will not be allowed to participate in the contest, all other TCMS members can participate. Entry fee was set at $10.00. Winner to receive a trophy, runner-up a plaque, and each participate a certificate. Entries will be accepted up to November 11th at 5PM. Those interested to contact Paul or Wallace. More details will be discussed as the contest get closer.

After much discussion it was time for magic. The theme was: Perform a 5 minute routine.

Paul began with some card magic, Cutting 10, Chicago Opener, and Jokers' Demise. He performed one following the other with transitions from one trick to the next.

Wallace then performed a combination of coin magic, using coins and keys, leading into a card sequence to top it all off. Each effect flowed into the next and the waitress was blown away by the finale.

Stephen then performed a card effect in which multiple card are chosen, show, and then visibly the backs of the cards change colors, ending up with the whole deck changing color. Astounding magic.

Jim performed multiple tricks for the waitress and she astonished by the way Jim's card would visibly morph into a different card for her. Jim also performed a linking ring routine he had been working on with 5" rings.

Each performer then went through their routine, how it was constructed, and why they performed it the way they did. Everyone gave constructive feedback and the strong points and weak points of each rountine were considered. Several sleights were reviewed; palming(cards and coins), deck change, multiple lift, Elmsley count, coin vanishes, etc.

Several tricks on various videos were discussed, especially those on the 'Easy to Master Card Miracle' series.

The meeting concluded at about 10PM, members had more discussion about various topics on way to cars.

Fun was had by all and great friendship enjoyed by everyone.

Submitted by Paul K. Herrell on July 21, 2004.