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Until a member of the Board named Cary Grant heard about
it.
"One evening I was sitting in the Castle's
upstairs bar with Cary Grant and he said, 'Diana, it's a
shame no young people are involved.' I nearly fell off my
chair. I said, 'That's what I've been saying!' Right then
and there he brought me into the Board meeting and said,
'Diana's got a great idea.'"
Zimmerman laughs. "It's one thing to turn
me down, quite another to say no to Cary Grant. The Board
voted and approved it that same night."
They decided to form a magic club for kids ages
13 through 19 who were interested in magic -
"seriously" interested the guidelines stressed -
and who could attend monthly meetings at the Castle to
develop their skills. The intent was not to teach them
magic, per se, but to provide them the support and
environment they needed to enhance the skills they already
possessed, a philosophy that Zimmerman and the other Junior
Society sponsors continue to tout today.
"The program has really grown in the past
30 years," she says, adding with an almost maternal
pride: "Marvin Roy-he's also in magic-said you never
meet a bad kid with a hobby, and magic is such a special
hobby. When you do magic you're not thinking how you can't
do something, you're thinking how you can. It teaches kids
to say, 'Yes, I can,' not, 'No, I can't.'"
Even girls are getting in on the act these
days; this year's group includes five Herminias. Last year's
winner of the Junior Achievement Award was not a lad but a
young lady.
"I remember the day I auditioned,"
says Nathan Gibson, Junior Program member and World Magic
Seminar - Close-up champion. "I was just 14 and had
only been doing magic for about six months. There were all
these people in line practicing tricks, talking about what
they wanted to do." He shakes his head. "It was
intimidating."
But two weeks later Gibson received the letter,
not by owl but by mail: He was in, one of the lucky few out
of about 50 that day.
"I think what helped was everyone else was
doing coins or cards," Gibson said, "but I did a
rope trick. I was the guy with the rope."
Bob Dorian, the program's current committee
chairman agrees that sometimes being unique is the best
trick of all. "We've been doing this so long, we know
in the first 20 seconds if someone is ready or not. It's a
matter of having something different, not just a magic
talent but a quality that benefits them and will benefit us
as well."
Adult magician members must also audition
before a panel of pros, plus pay an annual membership fee.
Non-magician or "Associate" members pay, too, but
at a higher rate, the price for not having to learn how to
pull a rabbit out of a hat in front of their friends and
family (or current squeeze). Once in, adult members and
their guests can enjoy an unlimited number of visits and
magic shows throughout the year, and best of all, the $20
dollar per person door fee disappears.
"I think it's harder for a junior member
to get in than an adult," Gibson said, "because
the adults are there to use the club but we're there to
learn."
Indeed. In addition to attending the monthly meetings,
Junior Program members are expected to work together and
take turns critiquing each other's latest technique,
offering feedback or high fives as the effect warrants. And
one must not forsake one's studies. The Castle's extensive
"members only" library filled with books and
videos on magic is also available to the group.
Junior Program members are expected to perform
during Saturday or Sunday brunch performances when the
Castle is open to the under-21-years-old crowd. Those that
excel are asked to perform during the Future Stars of Magic
week and Young Adults Night, showing what they've learned to
a regular evening audience.
It can be a rigorous routine but these kids
aren't complaining. Their mentors are among the magic elite:
Lance Burton and Siegfried & Roy, just to name a few.
Former juniors turned professional magicians such as Jason
Latimer - that's World Champion of Magic Jason Latimer - and
Lance Burton's protégé Danny Cole, also come back on
occasion to mentor and set a good example.
"They introduce us to all the top
magicians," Gibson said. "We went to Las Vegas one
time and toured David Copperfield's magic warehouse."
And the tour guide? "It was him, David
Copperfield."
So who does Gibson say is his biggest
influence? "My mom. She's seen a lot of shows, a lot of
magicians. I'd show her a trick and she'd tell me if it
wasn't that good. Most moms, they'd say, 'That's great,' but
not my mom. I'd have to keep practicing the trick to get it
better. I knew if she said it was good, it really was."
Today the Castle still stands ready to receive,
its tall turrets, graceful gables and winking beveled glass
all reminders of days gone by when sorcerers stood by their
queen and magic reigned over science.
"It's so rewarding," Zimmerman says.
"It's the little things that happen, that change
people's lives. That's what makes me the proudest. And proud
of Cary Grant that he had the foresight." She sighs,
remembering. "He never missed one of their shows."
It's a legacy Nathan Gibson is happy to
inherit. "The Junior Program put me in the heart of the
magic community. All the magicians go there. It helps you
take your magic to the next level."
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