A Conjurer of Sin City Magicians
The master dresses in a flowing black robe. There’s a subtle showmanship to the way he points a finger or flicks a wrist, his delivery marked by expectant pauses, the way he fixes you with those penetrating brown eyes. Remember, though, don’t linger on his face — that’s just what Jeff McBride wants. Keep an eye on those hands. Always watch the hands.
The veteran magician has set numerous Guinness World Records for his dexterity, like rolling a silver dollar through his fingers 31 times in a minute. One gonzo ruse involves an entire deck tumbling from his mouth. A scholar of magic who owns one of the nation’s most complete libraries of his art form, McBride performs worldwide and has lectured before the International Brotherhood of Magicians — the Smithsonian, too — detailing the arcane history of magic and theater, as well as their applications in everyday life.
On a recent night, the 59-year-old is doing the thing he perhaps loves most: mentoring young magicians, lending a practiced eye to their timing and delivery. He introduces the evening’s cast of 10: There’s Rick Maisel, the escape artist; card shark Jeff Lockett; Will Bradshaw and his dancing cane; Cuba-born Jarol Martin, who conjures up entire floor lamps.
“You may have seen Jarol on the show Masters of Illusion. He did the lamps,” McBride says to Tetro, a fire magician who will soon appear on the same show.
They’ve all gathered inside McBride’s sorcerer’s lair of a home. Red curtains drop from ceiling to floor, framing a scene rife with incense and an ambient mystical backbeat. The lighting is low, windows covered to keep secrets unrevealed. Masks leer from corners. Even some of the chairs are gothic. The magicians, of course, feel right at home. Now it’s time to go to work.
For 18 years, McBride has used the room for his Magic and Mystery School, considered the foremost teaching institution on the art of stage magic. He tutors magicians worldwide, by Skype and through video consultations on The Locked Room, a private internet site. But how do you help promote the next generation of sleight-of-hand virtuosos in a city that’s considered the very capital of magic — a place overcrowded with talent, including the craft’s high-wattage performers?
More than a decade ago, McBride founded Wonderground, a once-a-month public showcase in which practitioners experiment with new material before an audience of colleagues and dedicated fans. (Sometimes, headliners such as Mat Franco, Lance Burton, and Criss Angel perform unannounced sets, too.)
The three-hour show at The Olive Mediterranean Grill is a virtual magic salon that combines stage performances and dancers with close-up card tricks, tarot readings, jugglers, and fire-eaters. Each month features a fresh lineup. For magicians, the scene evokes an intimate jazz club, where they reveal acts they’ve been woodshedding for months, even years. McBride likens it to a gym for magicians. For the performers, the stakes — and the pressure — are immense.
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