These notes are written for the benefit of anyone who wishes to join the Northamptonshire Magicians’ Club and include information about:

• The Club
• Application To Join
• Audition
• the Application Form.

The NMC, established in 1926, has both a Senior and a Junior section. It has always maintained a very high reputation in the world of magic and magicians. Achievements of some of the past and present members are as follows:

• Two of our Past Presidents, one some years ago and one more recently, have been President of the British Ring (No. 25) of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
• One of our past members was an inventor of magic, a prolific author of magic books and became internationally famous for his work.
• Our current President is a Council Member of The Magic Circle, and a longstanding Committee Member of the IBM.
• In recent times, three members have won The Magic Circle "Close-Up Magician Of The Year" award and two of these are also past winners of the IBM Close-Up Competition.
• In 1999, one of our members won The Craig Trophy at the IBM British Ring Convention.
• Several of our professional members are recognised in the world of magic as being among the top performers in their particular field – Children’s, Close-Up, Comedy, etc. One of them is regularly involved in television production and is well known as a writer on magic.
• Other members of the Club are amateur, semi-professional or professional; some are members of The Magic Circle, some of the IBM, some of both.

Our aim is to maintain the high standards of the past and present, and only admit those who can demonstrate a genuine interest in the Art of Magic. Normally, all applicants will perform an Audition but, in exceptional circumstances, the Committee may agree to waive this rule. However, they will then decide the methods by which the application may be judged. These may include onr or more of the following:

• a video of a short performance which may not be edited
• an interview with one or more members of the Committee
• a written submission (on a topic to be agreed by the Committee in advance).

Would-be applicants may come to TWO Closed Meetings as a guest, after which they must decide whether to apply. If they wish to do so, they should submit a completed Application Form to the Secretary; their application must be proposed and seconded by members of the Club.

The applicant will then be invited to come to a THIRD meeting, to perform an Audition at the beginning of the meeting (before any "parish notices") and then stay for the remainder of the evening.

The Audition will be performed to an audience of all members present and judged by three members of the Committee. The results of the Audition will be communicated to the applicant, by letter, within one week of the Audition.

If successful, the new Member will pay a (once-only) Joining Fee and a Subscription, pro rata until the following April, when all Subscriptions become due. The current Joining Fee is £5 and the Subscription is £45 per annum. There are some 23 meetings per year.

Those whose application is unsuccessful will be given an indication where they fell down. If they wish to apply at a later date (but not until at least three months have elapsed) they will be treated as a new applicant but without the introductory "guest" meetings before their audition. The Secretary would be happy to supply information concerning reference material that may help an applicant. It is regretted that such material (books, magazines, video tapes, etc.) may not be borrowed from the NMC Library which is solely for the use of members.

Timing. The Audition should be between eight and twelve minutes long. You will not be penalised for going over this time, but the judges may stop your performance after twelve minutes if they have seen enough to make a judgement. It is unlikely that anyone who performs for less than eight minutes would pass the Audition.

Set-Up Time. You will be allowed to set up, and only when you indicate that you are ready will the President introduce you and judging begin.

Marking. You will be marked in SEVEN categories:

1. Presentation & Personality (30 points)
2. Magical Ability & Technique (30 points)
3. Entertainment Value (15 points)
4. Patter (or Music & Movement for a Silent Act) (10 points)
5. Structure Of Performance (5 points)
6. Originality (5 points)
7. Appearance (5 points).

Assistance. Club members will be happy to assist during your performance and they will be far more helpful than some members of the public might be. However, treat them as strangers and do not assume they "know how it is done".

Note For Children’s Entertainers. If you are a Children’s Entertainer, the President will introduce you as such. You should then do a proper performance, treating the audience as children. They are used to helping similar applicants and lecturers, and many of them are also Children’s Entertainers. Above all, do not keep stopping and explaining to the audience what you would do if they were children. You will then give a disjointed (and probably poor) performance.

Skill Levels. We have some members who are extremely good at Close-Up and/or Sleight Of Hand. You are NOT expected to be as good or better than they are, so do not attempt a trick or sleight that is too difficult for you. It is far better to perform a simple trick with skill, and maybe your own variation (where you can concentrate on presentation and performance), than attempt a complicated coin vanish, forget there is an audience whilst you are concentrating on twisting your fingers, but then drop the coin!

Dress. Whilst the Club does not exercise a strict dress code, members dress "smart casual" for meetings, with most of us being even smarter if we are entertaining guests and/or a visiting lecturer (who will invariably be well dressed). Part of your audition marks are for dress and appearance; please do not be false, but present yourself as you would if you were being paid to give a performance to the general public.

There are some 40+ members of the Club and new members often comment on the friendly atmosphere. Members are usually happy to share knowledge of effects and techniques but it is assumed that applicants will obey the normal code of practice of all magic societies – that no magical secrets or matters concerning the Club shall be divulged to non-members (either explicitly or via a poor performance).

• Application Form.