The Magic Castle, June 2008

I recently returned from a most magical vacation! My parents decided to pick me up on my last day of school at 10:00 a.m. and take me on vacation to Disneyland. As many of you know, this is where my love of magic first started. As you can imagine, Disneyland is a family favorite.

What made this trip even more special is the fact that my mom made reservations to visit The Magic Castle in Hollywood for Sunday brunch. While standing in line on Sunday we started talking with Kate. She is really nice. When she learned that I was a magician she encouraged me to audition for the Magic Castle’s Magical Arts Junior program. It would be difficult, since I live 7 hours a way, but how cool would it be to be a part of the Magic Castle’s youth program? It is really hard to get into, but if I was accepted as a member, I would feel really honored. I also realize that it can take several auditions and a lot of hard work before even being accepted into the program. It is something I am really considering auditioning for.

A couple of nights a year The Magic Castle also opens its doors up to its Junior Members. Since it is a private over 21 club, youths like me normally can only come on weekends to the brunch. However, it just so happened that they were having a youth event the last evening of our vacation. What was even nicer was the fact that Kate extended an invitation for us to attend! How lucky can one girl get? Not much!

We cancelled our last day in Disneyland and headed up to Hollywood.

Seeing the Castle at night is a lot different than seeing it during the day. If possible, it is even more magical. We started our evening off with a fantastic dinner of Filet Mignon. Oh, it was yummy! Afterwards we saw David Sandy, a past president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, perform in the Parlour of Prestiditation. After that we headed off to see the Palace of Mystery where we saw some great performances by Tom Burgoon, Marty Pollio, and Andost.


For me though the highlight of the evening was the Close-Up Gallery performer, Angela Funovits. Being a female magician it is hard getting to meet other females magicians in a much male-dominated field. I have been blessed by having wonderful male role models and mentors always there to help me, but it meant a lot to me to get the opportunity to meet a female magician that has “made it” in the business.

If she looks familiar to you it is because she was a finalist on NBC’s Phenomenon. What a great role model for up and coming young female magicians like myself! It helps to give us something to strive for.

Angela was so sweet and nice to me. She was really encouraging. As we were walking out of the close-up gallery she asked if I was a magician. That was a great opening for getting a quick after-show chat going. I was so happy! I wish I could have talked with her longer, but I know she had more shows to do— and to be honest, I was a little overwhelmed. It had been a long vacation, I was tired, and I didn’t quite know what to say at the time. I was in one of my shy moods.

When we asked she was even nice enough to take a picture with me in the lobby of The Magic Castle. Know what made me feel even more special? She actually brought her own camera too because she wanted a picture with me! Now that just rocked! Yep, it made me feel pretty special because I’m just little old me.

I really hope to be able to stay in contact with Angela. I think she is a great role model, not only in the magical sense. After reading her bio, it sounds like we have a lot in common. She sounds really serious about her volunteer work, just like I am. I think it is really important to give back.