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By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
While a society of magicians conjures images of old men with beards, secret brick alleys and hidden passageways behind library bookshelves, the Wellesley Community Center is host to a society of young magicians that is more fun than anything else which met this week.
The Wellesley Society of Young Magicians is the 39th (and oldest) post of the Society of Young Magicians - itself an offshoot of the Society of American Magicians, which was started by Harry Houdini in 1902.
While many people think the internet has become the de-facto place to learn magic tricks, members Constantine King and club president Reagan O’Neill disagreed, noting how hard it is to learn by yourself.
“It would be difficult to learn magic without a community of other people like you, who also want to learn it,” said O’Neill. “It’s by nature a secretive art, so having other people you can practice with and fail in front of is really important, because you can’t do that in the normal world.”
Every meeting has a theme, ranging from a meeting with the North Shore chapter of the club to a show during which the society members’ parents are forced to do some magic of their own. This week, the theme was “mentalism,” so a few members showed off their best mentalism illusions and critiqued them.
For example, James Kadra performed a trick where he had audience members choose random numbers, only to predict exactly what the words would be on the corresponding page numbers. While it was a great trick, the society members pointed out that an audience would assume the same things were written on every page. When Kadra assured them that’s not how the trick worked, he was told that the trick would be far better if he showed the audience the book, to prove that was not what he was doing. This idea is known as “the pitfalls on the magic way” theory - that is, the theory that a magician essentially wants to prove he didn’t do the trick the way you think he might have.
Other illusions involved playing cards, state postcards and a blackboard that predicted the result of a math equation using numbers seemingly chosen at random.
While the national society features virtually every magician you’ve ever heard of among its alumni, the Wellesley chapter of the society boasts some impressive magicians itself. A few members perform in local restaurants and clubs, and most spent summers at the famed Tannen’s Magic Camp in New York.
Still, there is no prerequisite ability or knowledge level if you’d like to join the society - though you may learn you’re not as good as you think you are.
“Even if you’re just starting out, it’s very low pressure. We’ll teach you tricks, so … you’ll walk away with a couple new things you’ve learned and can show your friends at school,” noted Constantine King.
“I thought I was pretty good and then I came here and realized I wasn’t good, added James Kara. “But now I am good, so that’s how it goes.”
The next meeting will be in February, so reach out if you’re between seven and eighteen and have always wanted to learn some advanced magic skills. You may find you’re not as good as you think - but you will pick up some new skills, eat some free pizza and have some fun.
