We are often asked why the Professional Magicians Agency only offer magicians who are members of The Magic Circle. Here are a few reasons why we choose to be so selective about the magicians that we offer to clients.
The Real Magic Circle
Firstly, we should point out that any magic club can use the name 'Magic Circle'. There are many clubs across the UK that add those words to the end of their town name. So for example, you may find magicians who are members of the 'Hogworts Magic Circle, or the 'Whosville Magic Circle'. There is nothing wrong with these magic clubs or the magicians that are members, but it's important to point out that each club has it's own joining process and criteria, and some may have lower standards than others. When we use the term The Magic Circle, we are referring to the official world famous Magic Circle, based in London.
Anyone can call themselves a magician.
The world of magic has changed dramatically since the Internet became widely used. In the past magic secrets were very hard to find, and a student of magic had to work very hard to gain access to the methods and techniques used by magicians. Now the Internet lets people learn magic with just a few searches on Google. This is not necessarily a bad thing for magic, but it does mean that anyone with an Internet connection and a little time on their hands can start learning. It also means that they can print some business cards, create a website, and start charging people for magic shows.
It's very hard to identify if a magician is going to be good, just by looking at their website. Even a show reel video can be edited cleverly to present the magic in a favourable light.
Because of this, it's important to have a benchmark or standard that the public can use to tell that a magician has reached a level of skill and showmanship, judged by their peers.
The Magic Circles strict interview and examination process is a perfect way for magicians to become 'qualified'. Magicians who are members of the Magic Circle have demonstrated a knowledge of magic, but more importantly, they have shown that they have the performance skills and experience to perform to the public professionally.
It's our experience over the years that membership of The Magic Circle is a guarantee of excellence in the magical arts.
The entrance examinations.
In order to become a member of the Magic Circle, magicians must be proposed by two existing members that have know the magician for some time. After that they must visit the Magic Circle headquarters for an interview.
Having passed an interview they will need to pass an examination. This is evolves performing before an audience of magicians, to show they have the skills needed for membership and that they are entertaining.
Finally their membership needs to be agreed by ballot by the ruling body, before membership can be offered.
On completion of this rigorous process, they will be awarded a degree by the Magic Circle and can display the clubs logo and advertise that they are a member of the club.
In order for a new magician to be considered for representation by The professional magicians Agency, they must prove membership of the Magic Circle and maintain their membership.
Is this process good for the magic entertainment agency?
Being so selective does have some drawbacks. There are many magicians who are excellent entertainers, but have, for one reason or another, not joined the Magic Circle. They are great magicians and we would like to offer them to clients, but it's important to have a standard of quality, so we made the rule only to offer qualified members to the clients that use us to supply professional magicians.
Being a member of the Magic Circle is by no means the only qualification a magician needs to be represented by us. They are interviewed, then one of the team will shadow them on a few bookings to watch them perform. if they meet the standards we are for, they will be offered to clients for events. We follow up with each client after every event, to get feedback and testimonials. This constant assessment means that we can be 100% confident in the quality and standards of every magician we supply. It's much more hard work that most agencies are prepared to do, but we think it makes us stand out and is one of the reasons we have such a high retention rate from clients.
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