Academy of Magical Arts
| Academy of Magical Arts | |
|---|---|
| Seat | Hollywood , California |
| founding | 1962
|
| place |
Hollywood , United States
|
| President | Erika Larsen |
| Members | 5000 |
| Organization type | non-profit |
| Website | www.magiccastle.com |
The Academy of Magical Arts is an American association for magicians . Their headquarters and clubhouse is The Magic Castle in Hollywood . The organization, abbreviated to AMA, currently has around 5,000 members. The association is a member of the international umbrella organization Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques , which organizes the world championship of magic that takes place every three years .
history
The magician William W. Larsen Sr. (1904-1953) from the Larsen family , founder of the magician magazine Genii , started his idea for such a colleague club in April 1952. The first members were automatically the subscribers of Genii . The idea died again when Larsen died shortly afterwards in 1953. Larsen's wife and partner Geri (1906-1998) and the eldest son Bill Larsen Jr. (1928-1993) continued to publish the magazine, but they did not care about the further development of the club.
The younger son Milt Larsen began setting up a venue for magic demonstrations in 1961. Parallel to these activities, which led to the acquisition of The Magic Castle and the establishment of the club and event house in 1963 , he persuaded his older brother Bill Junior to take up his father's idea and to build up the clubhouse's membership organization with the Academy of Magical Arts . Once again, Genii subscribers enjoyed membership. Brother Bill became the first chairman , while the first board of directors consisted of George Boston, Norman Carroll (who died before taking office), Alvin Jansen, Harry Mendoza and Frederick Shields.
Clubhouse
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The Magic Castle is considered a landmark in Hollywood , Los Angeles . It is the private clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts . Only members and their guests are allowed to attend the performances in the clubhouse.
The structure is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument . The building was built in 1908 in Victorian style. In 1963 the building on Franklin Avenue was taken over by the Larsens.
The Castle is a popular destination for magicians from all over the world. The building itself is designed as a clever illusion, because it appears to be much larger inside than it appears from the outside. The Castle is a private club that is only open to members and their guests. In addition, there is a dress code ( suit and tie for men, evening or cocktail dress for women).
Probably the most important member was Dai Vernon . Many famous amateur magician artists such as Neil Patrick Harris , Cary Grant , Steve Martin , Johnny Carson or Jason Alexander from Seinfeld have already performed in this building.
The Magic Castle offers a weekly changing program of performers, both in the close-up and in the stage magic .
Honors / prizes
In addition to the usual memberships, the Academy of Magical Arts awards so-called Honorary Life Memberships and VIP Memberships . The highest honor to be awarded is the Masters Fellowship .
Every year, the Academy of Magical Arts Award Show and Banquet awards prizes to the best performers in the Castle over the past year in the following categories:
- Comedy Magician of the Year
- Bar Magician of the Year
- Stage Magician of the Year
- Close-Up Magician of the Year
- Parlor Magician of the Year
- Lecturer of the Year
- Junior Achievement Award
There are also honors for literature ( Literary Fellowship ), the Lifetime Achievement Fellowship , the Performing Fellowship , the Creative Fellowship and the Special Fellowship . The Magician of the Year award , however, can also be awarded to artists who have not performed at the Magic Castle during the year.
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Homepage of The Magic Castle (English)
- Academy of Magical Arts In: Magicpedia (English).
- Magic Castle. In: Magicpedia (English).