Home News Officers Members Next Meeting Calendar Archive Hire a magician Join us!		Themes for Meetings by Dr. Wilson Since its very first meeting in March 2006, I.B.M. Ring 362 has had a theme for each meeting. The themes are fun, and it is sometimes a challenge to think of how to perform magic that conforms to the theme. Several members have been stimulated to present new work in order to conform to the theme. Of course, any member is free to perform any magic that they like at a meeting, whether it fits the theme or not. The I.B.M. puts out a booklet with many interesting suggestions for themes. You can download a PDF of the booklet called Ideas and Activities here. Many I.B.M. Rings and S.A.M. Assemblies use meeting themes, so it is possible to look at what others are doing in the magazine reports or on the web sites of these clubs.

How does the Ring come up with themes?

Ring 362's themes have come from member input. If you look at the themes in use, you can divide them into categories, although some themes straddle two categories. Here is the way I have divided up themes as I looked at themes that others have used, or have tried to come up with new ones:

1. Props
2. Source
3. Framework
4. Workshop
5. Mechanism

1. Props. This is the simplest category of themes. Members are asked to perform magic using specific props. These might be props associated with conjuring, like cards, coins, silks, ropes, and so on. They might be also be interesting props that can be used for magic, but which are often neglected, like toys, candy, clocks, sand, or anything else we might think of.

The prop themes that we have used are:

• Silk Magic (May 2006)
• Coins (June 2006)
• Impromptu Magic (March 2007)
• Card Manipulation (April 2007)
• Big Box Magic (magic from WalMart, Staples, Home Depot, etc.) (September 2007)
• Rings & Things (July 2008)

Additional prop themes include:

• ABC (Anything But Cards)
• Antique Magic
• Ball Magic
• Balloons
• Barnyard Magic (eggs, milk, rope, etc.)
• Boxes and Tubes
• Can I Borrow That? (magic with a borrowed object)
• Candy
• Dice
• Flowers
• Locks, Keys, and Chains
• The Magic Wand
• Metal
• Money
• Not Playin' With A Full Deck (packet tricks)
• Office Supply Store
• Paper Magic
• Rope Magic
• Rings, Ropes, and Ribbons
• Slum Magic
• Sponge Balls
• Turn Out Your Pockets (routines from the coat pocket)
• Toys
• etc.

2. Source. In this category, the theme is the source of the magic effect, either a book or set of books, or a specific performer.

The source themes that we have used are:

• Tarbell Night ( July 2006, August 2007)
• Houdini Night (October 2006)
• The Linking Ring (February 2007)
• The Mind of Annemann (May 2007)
• Dai Vernon Night (February 2008)
• The Oldest Trick in the Book (October 2008)
• From Kellar to Thurston (January 2009)

Tarbell Night was wildly popular; more members have specifically mentioned this as a great theme than all the others put together. I remember this as a great theme from my days in Ring 20, and other members have had prior experience with Tarbell Night. We will probably have at least one Tarbell Night each year.

Other source themes include:

• Hoffmann (great old books!)
• The Classics (Cups & Balls, Linking Rings, etc.)
• Thirteen Steps (from Corinda's Thirteen Steps to Mentalism)
• etc.

3. Framework. The framework themes might represent a specific type of effect (Productions, Transformations) or performing situation for magic (Restaurant Magic, Birthday Party Magic, etc.). They might also be a storytelling framework that suggests specific props (Pirates, A Day at the Circus, etc.)

The framework themes that we have used are:

• Gambling Effects (April 2006)
• The Four Elements (January 2007)
• Easy Come, Easy Go (Productions and Vanishes) (July 2007)
• Pirates! (October 2007)
• A Winter's Tale (January 2008)
• Oriental Magic (March 2008)
• Chameleon Magic (September 2008)

Other framework themes include:

• A Day at the Circus
• Birthday Party Magic
• Comedy Magic
• Divination
• The First Trick I Ever Learned (That's Still Worth Doing)
• Halloween Magic
• Just Passing Through (Penetrations and other improbable physical effects)
• Magic for Readers
• Magic Gone Awry (magician in trouble)
• Mind Over Matter (psychokinesis and related phenomena)
• Mind Power
• Old West Night
• Openers, Middlers, and Closers
• Pitch Act
• Productions
• Restaurant Magic
• Restorations
• The Seance Circle
• Shadow and Substance
• Slapstick
• Street Performing
• Swindles
• Transformations
• Transpositions and Exchanges
• What Else Ya Got? (variety arts: puppetry, ventriloquism, juggling, sideshow, etc.)
• etc.

4. Workshop. The workshop themes include apparatus built from scratch, dealer items made over, or stuff that didn't work all that well but which is educational.

The workshop themes that we have used are:

• I Made It Myself! (August 2006)
• Turkeys ( November 2006, November 2008)
• Big Box Magic (magic from WalMart, Staples, etc.) (September 2007)
• From Cardboard to Curtain Call (Prototypes to Final Apparatus) (November 2007)

Other workshop themes include:

• Extreme Makeover
• Magic For Under $10 (this could also be a prop theme)
• Old Wine in New Bottles (reframing an old effect)
• etc.

5. Mechanism. These themes are based on inside knowledge of the workings of an effect, not something that would be immediately apparent to an audience.

The mechanism themes that we have used are:

• Impromptu Magic (March 2007)
• Gaffed Decks (June 2008)

Other themes emphasizing the mechanism of magical effects include:

• Card Mechanics
• Gimmicks
• Instant Reset
• Self-Working Tricks
• etc.

There are a number of mechanism themes that pop into my mind that I won't post on a web site visible to the general public, because we don't want people to think about t**** t**s, m*****s, th****, or ***** when they watch a magician. We are hesitant to use these as themes because of the problem of exposure.

We would be delighted to hear your suggestions for themes, or your thoughts about these categories. Please contact Dr. Wilson.

If you are a member of Ring 362, you can encourage the Board to consider specific themes for upcoming meetings. Contact information is available on the Members page.