Dinner will be served at 2pm and a magic show featuring members of Ring 101 will follow at 3:30pm.

The menu will tickle your taste buds! We will have a crisp tossed salad, Roast Beef au jus, Slow-Roasted Turkey with homemade stuffing, Hats with Broccoli, a hot vegetable, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Of course, there will be rolls with butter and coffee, tea, decaf, and soda.

We look forward to you joining us!

View the full flyer with registration form.

We expect to have several new and lightly used items from Flower the Clown for this event.

Click here for the PDF version of the advertisement flyer.

Lance Pierce

Lance Pierce is a performer, author, editor, teacher, creator, consultant, and magician specializing in the practice of sleight of hand in close-up and platform venues. He was a featured entertainer at the world-famous Malone’s Magic Bar at the Boca Resort and Hotel in Boca Raton, Florida, and is a prolific writer of books, booklets, magazine articles, and essays.

A lecture with Lance Pierce is like a table-side conversation, a session, an exploration of effects both close-up and platform. It’s a discussion about sophisticated magic at its root level with every detail exposed in a relaxed and easy-going manner. During any given talk, you may see tricks using cards, coins, silks, knives, rings, or anything else. What you’ll see are effects that have been honed over decades of experimentation and analysis. You’ll get the reasons behind everything and everything behind the reasons. The content may run the gamut from platform stand-up routines to bar magic to formal close-up table effects. There’s surely something for everyone.

More info can be found in this PDF flyer.

Sandy beach at Delta Lake State Park in Rome, NY

The Ring 101 Summer Picnic will take place on August 28th at Delta Lake State Park!

Members of the IBM, their family and friends are invited to join us for a great cookout & swimming!
We have reserved the “Sunset Bluff Picnic Shelter (#3)” from 11am until sunset. The picnic will take place rain or shine, and we’ll begin cooking around 1pm.

Bring your swimsuit – lifeguards are on duty and there is a large sandy beach. Adjacent parking.

Burgers and hot dogs will be provided — Bring a dish to pass. Salads and desserts are great ideas!

Note: Besides bringing a dish to pass, the picnic is free – but there is a $7 fee for each vehicle that enters the Park.

Address for the Park (fire up those GPS units!):
Delta Lake State Park
8797 State Route 46
Rome, NY 13440

Directions to the Sunset Bluff Picnic Shelter (#3):
- Turn left after the ranger office.
- Turn right toward the boat launch.
- Follow signs and continue up the hill to Sunset Pavilion.
- Left into the leftmost parking lot.
- Large Wooden Pavilion off mid-way in parking lot.

Hope to see you there!

There are times when silence is not only ok, it is a very valuable tool. For example, after you’ve said a funny line, let the audience enjoy it. Don’t interrupt with more words that are going to kill the moment. Johnny Carson was a master at this. If he told a joke, and it bombed, he stopped talking. He would allow his facial expression telegraph to the audience that the joke was bad, and he knew it was bad-and that was funny! His silence turned a dud into a funny moment. Max Maven is another example of a performer using silence to his advantage. After he says something poignant or thought provoking, he will just gaze at the audience and maybe raise an eyebrow. He knows exactly what he’s doing. He is allowing the curiosity and excitement to build, and he’s not destroying it with meaningless verbiage. Billy McComb never said, “here I am holding a cage with a bird in it,” while he does the vanishing birdcage. He talks about the bird. He gives the bird a personality. He says a couple of funny lines about the bird, but when the miracle happens, he shuts up. He revels in this wonderful moment just as much as the audience.

During your next show, bring along a tape recorder. Record the audio, then go home and listen to it. You will cringe. The pitfalls include describing what the audience can see for themselves, unfunny puns or jokes, and steamrolling over the end of a trick with a hollow, throw-away line that has absolutely no meaning or value. You diminish a funny line, a poignant thought, or the climax of a trick by talking. By describing what the audience can see for themselves, you are telling them you have nothing interesting to say. Weak puns and jokes tell the audience you are not funny. Rambling during or at the conclusion of a trick tells the audience that you are nervous, unsure of yourself, and ill prepared.

If you are feeling daring, during the next show, see how long you can hold a pause. It will be scary if you are not used to it. Just consciously hold the pause. You may keep it too long, or maybe too short. Chances are it is too short. That is ok. It is an experiment, and there is a lot to be learned from it.

In short, say what you mean, mean what you say, and give the audience plenty of time to follow along and enjoy it!

Charlie Zuis and Alan Drew present SAM 2009-2010 President Mike Miller with a certificate of appreciation.

Charlie Zuis’ last wish was that the scheduled June 4th Magic Convention at his Museum of Famous Unknown Magicians and Clowns take place. And it will! All magicians are welcome!

The guest lecturer for the convention is the Society of American Magician’s George Schindler, the S.A.M. Dean of American Magicians. He will also perform a Broken Wand Ceremony for Charlie.

Please see the link above for additional details about the convention.

Charlie "Chazoo" Zuis

Charlie’s obituary is contained in this PDF file (293K).

His funeral will be at the St. Anthony & Joseph’s Church in Herkimer at 9:30am on Thursday, May 26th.

Charlie’s friend (and annual performer at the Museum) Carroll Chapman has informed me that Charlie’s last wish was that the June 4th Convention at his Museum go on. And it will – see the next blog post for more info.

Charlie’s friend Alan Drew has informed me that Phil Messina will do the Broken Wand Ceremony at the church service, and George Schindler, S.A.M. Dean of American Magicians will be doing the Broken Wand Ceremony at the Museum.

I’ve also heard from Charlie’s daughters Pam and Marge, who shared that “We are so happy that his magical life will be remembered each time someone says “pick a card, any card” or makes a bouquet of flowers pop out of a hat!”