Future Stars of Magic Shine.
After attending the Celebration of Milt Larsen in Los Angeles, I took the opportunity to visit the Magic Castle on July 25th. This was an excellent occasion to visit our clubhouse as it was the first night of the annual Future Stars of Magic week. It was an inspirational evening watching Magic Castle Junior Members, and a few former members, present magic, comedy, juggling, and even some vocalizing in the various showrooms of the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood.
The Junior Program at the Academy of Magical Arts (AMA) was founded in 1975 when Diana Zimmerman turned her vision of a Junior Society into a reality. This wasn’t an easy accomplishment as the AMA board of directors wasn’t too excited about the prospect of adding a juvenile mentoring program under its magical umbrella. However, as those of us who know her will attest, Diana is a force of nature who achieves and realizes goals that others might think of as impossible or at least unlikely. Zimmerman has been running, overseeing, and promoting the program ever since it was launched. The Junior Membership Program is currently in the very safe hands of Steve Barnes and David Doyle. Diana Zimmerman had already achieved recognition for her magical skills and established herself as the premier lady magician of the ’70s.Her work set the stage, and led the way, for women to become featured performers and ditch their customary “box jumper” roles.
Diana was preparing to pitch her ideas for a Junior Magic Castle Program to the AMA Board of Directors when she sat down at the Owl Bar and discussed her pet project with Cary Grant. He instantly turned into an eager supporter of the program and enthusiastically backed Zimmerman in that fateful board meeting that night. That is how the Junior Membership got its start. I was on the first committee dedicated to establishing the Junior Program, this initially involved the initial auditions to select the first young performers for inclusion in the program. The auditions were held at the historic Masquers Club just a few blocks from the Castle, and I was overwhelmed by the quality of the talent we saw that day. The Junior Program has helped develop and mentor some of the finest young magical entertainers in the last 48 years. This list includes esteemed performers such as Dirk Arthur, Bill Goodwin, Neil Patrick Harris, Christopher Hart, Kevin James, Mark Kalin, and Michael Weber.
One of the many perks for Junior Members is the “Future Stars of Magic” week that take place every year. On these occasions, the lucky magicians get to showcase their talents several times a night to the famously enthusiastic Magic Castle audiences. It is always a special time to visit the Castle showrooms and feel the excitement that permeates our clubhouse. I truly wish there had been this kind of opportunity in my teenage years to hone my craft, this is why I was such an avid early supporter of Diana Zimmerman’s “radical” notion. The timing was right. Diana was passionate about the Junior Society and along with Robert Dorian, she created the entire blueprint for the society that is still going from strength to strength.
The Magic Castle Junior Society is a very special organization which sums up its vision, “The mission of the AMA Junior Society is to provide mentoring for gifted and dedicated young magicians between the ages of 13 & 20 year-olds, through exposure to leading industry professionals. We help develop magical interests and prowess, provide performance workshops designed to improve knowledge & technique, and a network for meeting and interacting with those of similar interests.” If you are interested in further information about membership in the Junior Society, please contact the AMA Junior Society committee at: juniors@magiccastle.com. Last year a new international membership for the program was launched allowing young magicians worldwide to share the outstanding lectures and events featured by the society. This could be the ideal way for someone miles away from Hollywood to learn from or with the very best.
Now let’s return to my Magic Castle visit last month and the Future Stars of Magic Week. I immediately want to apologize for the fact that I didn’t get to catch all the shows. On a busy night I was delighted to catch one Palace and two Parlour shows in the company of my friend Ray Anderson. Ray is a master magician and an AMA Performing Fellowship Award winner. I was interested to discover what an inspiration Anderson has been to the younger generation of magicians in so many ways. Ray summed up the Future Stars Week in this way, “It was heartwarming to see the next generation of magicians putting in the work it takes to hone their craft. The talent, creativity, and diversity of these fine, young performers was inspiring.” I can only echo Ray’s words.
However, before I move on to discuss the acts that I saw, I would like to list the names of the other performers featured in various showrooms throughout the week. All the talk I heard from guests was how much they enjoyed every performer that night and for the entire week. Performing during the Future Stars week in the Close-Up Gallery were, Kenshin Amagi, Jacob Martinez, Bill Goodwin, and Mathew O’Neill. In the Parlour were, Gabriella Lester and Zac Swan. In the Palace were, Matt Marcy, Josiah Bunde, and Sean Radar. The Peller Theater hosted Blaise Serra, and Michael Campion. Which left Griffin Barry to perform his awesome bar magic and close-up in the Library Bar. All of these performers contributed to a fresh and triumphant week. I only have one question. With this much talent at hand, why aren’t there two Future Stars weeks at the Castle every year?
The first act we saw was Gabriella Lester in the early Parlour of Prestidigitation. There has been quite a buzz in the magic world about Gabriella recently. I can understand it. Lester has a lot of charm, a nice easy style, and she performs strong magic. I enjoyed Gabriella’s act immensely; I am sure we will see a great deal more of Ms. Lester in years to come. All she needs is the stage time to fully develop her onstage persona and the sky is the limit. It was fun to see what the fuss was about, and I can see why there is so much interest in Lester’s work.
Performing the late show in the Parlour was Zac Swan. I wasn’t familiar with Zac, or his show, so I sat back ready to be surprised. The first surprise was when Zac began his set by serenading us from the backstage area. Zac performed his comedy magic and burst out into a live song. Fortunately, Swan has a fine voice! His cheerful enthusiasm covered any “cracks” in his blending of music and magic. His finale skillfully incorporated some great Broadway tunes and multiple predictions.
The Palace of Mysteries show featured two Juniors and a popular graduate of the Junior Society in times past. Matt Marcy was a perfect host for the show, as a former Castle Junior, Marcy made a perfect advertisement for the program as he performed some classic magic with enough hi-tech trimmings to make them new to the audiences. He was smooth, funny, and a very skilled emcee. MCing a show is NOT the simple job that it sometimes appears to be when you are watching a pro like Matt.
The first act Marcy introduced was Sean Rader. For a few minutes, I wasn’t sure where Sean was going as he blended juggling and magic. Suddenly I got onto the correct wavelength and was delighted to see earlier moments in the show turn into callbacks. The performance was original, highly visual, and above all funny. I suspect Sean will develop a very strong presence in the magic community. I can’t wait to see where he goes with his work.
The second performer in the Palace was Josiah Bunde who had put together a themed act based on his home state of Hawaii. Bunde has a very engaging personality, and his charm covered a few misfires in his theme. Josiah took a large stone from his shoe and performed a very nice salt pour using sand. After Josiah’s performance, Matt Marcy returned to the stage and performed an exceptional Floating Table routine to close out the show.
That is my rundown about the 2023 Future Stars week. I was also pleased to let our younger readers know about this amazing opportunity. I recently filmed my “Magic Castle Re-Visited” seminar about the earlier times at the Castle. I swapped Castle stories with Steve Spill, Howard Hamburg, Mike Perovich, and Diana Zimmerman. Each guest helped to explore different facets of our clubhouse. Diana and I had a delightful chat about the origins and early days of the Magic Castle Junior Society. I am making this video available throughout September at no cost. The video is available to view on my Vimeo Site. https://vimeo.com/lewinenterprises/magiccastlerevisited?share=copy
REMARKABLE MAGIC 
BRAVO!