Magic is not an innate talent, possessed from birth. Rather, it must be learned, practiced and perfected through mentoring and patient instruction. An article in today’s The Juneau Empire describes the perfect opportunity for a young student to learn from a professional magician.
Mike McRea, a/k/a The Magic Man, is retiring but wants to pass his baton a/k/a magic wand to a young apprentice.
“I’m getting older,” Mr. McRea said. “My kids and grandkids, they love watching dad and grandpa perform but they know how much work it is, and so they don’t want to do it.”
He wants to find someone willing to take up the mantel, put in the work and continue the performing tradition.
“That’s why I’m looking for someone here,” he said. “I’ve already got someone down in Seattle that would just love this, and he already works at a magic shop, a perfect candidate. But Juneau would be out of a magician.”
Mr. McRea has been performing in Juneau since 1989, covering much of the small town in those years.
“I’ve done just about every household here,” he chuckled.
How small is the magic community in Alaska? According to the paper, there are only 13 members of The Society of American Magicians – and they are spread across the state.
If you’re interested, Mr. McRae will stake you to all of his equipment (worth thousands of dollars), help you learn and guide you in the magical ways. He will also ask you to sign an agreement to not sell or give away the tricks.
“Whoever gets it, it has to stay with them, and when they retire they do exactly what I’m doing: they give it away to some deserving child,” he said. “This is the legacy.”
Do you or someone you know have what it takes to carry on the proud tradition? Are you willing to put in the hours of practice necessary to be Juneau’s sole professional magician? You can reach Mr. McRae at snowpuppy@gci.net.
We wish him luck and hope we will hear when he finds the right person.
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