Bewitched By the Language of Magic

By Matt Poms Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Enter the basement of the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church and you’ll wander down a semi-dark, cinder block hallway, permeated with haunting organ music seeping down from the sanctuary above. Dark rooms open off the main thoroughfare, and the landscape is seemingly deserted. Non-descript and shadowy, it’s the perfect refuge for a secretive organization devoted to pursuits that strain perceptions of the ordinary.

But step into room 009 on the fourth Wednesday of each month, and that’s not what you’ll find at the chapter meeting for the Williamsburg Assembly of the Society of American Magicians. Ropes sprout mysterious knots, magazines magically change their covers and thoughts are cryptically interpreted. Yet there is an emphasis on showmanship as much as magic, and, above all else, fraternity, at the 20-year-old organization’s monthly functions.

For the roughly 15 core members of the group — no one seemed to have an exact count — the chapter has been social outlet, practice ground, professional networking device and energetic pastime since its inception.

“We are secretive by nature,” member Harold Wood said. “But we do take just about anybody who has a serious interest in magic. I’ve known these guys for years and we learn a lot from each other.”

At the group’s May 26 meeting, Wood was giving the main presentation, demonstrating tricks he had mastered over his 25-year career as a professional magician. Each exhibition was met with enthusiasm by the 12 assembled members, and spurred discussion about the implementation and delivery of the routine. With the majority of members well past age 50 — and a significant portion beyond 70 — it was a gathering with a wealth of experience in the field. Jim Baker — one of three assembly founders still active in the group — has written 13 books on the subject.

It is Baker who smoothly personifies the love of magic that binds the club together.

An avid amateur magician for over 70 years, Baker graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1951 and became a reporter for the Richmond News Leader. He later accepted a job with the United States Information Agency that saw him venturing all over the globe.

But magic has been a constant throughout his life. Baker first latched on to the hobby as an eager nine-year old whose father brought home a magic trick from a trip to Philadelphia.

“It was a penny in a box and it disappeared, and then you pulled it out and it was in a box within a box within a box,” Baker said. “I tried that a couple times and fooled people. I was nine years old and fooling adults. That’s heady stuff; I was hooked.”

Baker spent decades perfecting his hobby, often in far-flung places such as Tunisia and India. When he settled down in Williamsburg, he started to seek others with a similar passion.

“A few of us had met as magicians at my house,” he said. “We were sitting around doing tricks and teaching each other and showing each other, when somebody decided we really ought to have an official club.”

The group of around 20 friends and interested acquaintances discovered the Society of American Magicians, the oldest such organization in the country and founded by Harry Houdini, among others, in 1902. Baker applied for chapter status and, in 1990, the Williamsburg Assembly was born.

For years, the chapter met at members' houses, hotels and other locations, always switching to a new meeting place upon finding a cheaper or more expansive option. About 10 years ago, they discovered the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church on Richmond Road, which allows them the use of a basement room for no cost. In return, the group makes a monthly $10 donation to the church.

Over that span, the Williamsburg Assembly has varied in size from a high of 25 members to a low of around 10. They meet each month to practice and discuss magic, learn new tricks and socialize. Wood hosts a party the week before the Super Bowl each year, and the group raises money through a September auction.

“If you are just interested in learning how it’s done, we quickly weed you out,” Wood said. “But if you show a true desire for magic and learning, we don’t care if you’re not perfect. The only initiation we have is that you have to get up and perform. If we see you as somebody that is sincerely interested in trying, then we will help you grow.”

For Wood, that environment has been particularly beneficial. A lifelong professional magician and motivational speaker, he started performing at children’s birthday parties in high school, before getting a degree in theater at Virginia Tech.

“I’ve never had a W-2 form,” he said. “I don’t have a side job, I’m not a lottery winner or have any other source of income. I’ve made my living from this.”

The SAM meetings have served as Wood’s sounding board, a place to attempt difficult material, as well as get advice for improving his routines.

“It gives me a chance to try new stuff,” he said. “I can bring something new here and if I mess up, we all laugh and then we move on.”

It’s worked. One of two professional magicians in the group, Wood has performed for former President George H.W. Bush at the White House, in addition to corporate gigs for McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and the Department of Defense, among others. His website shows him on stage, escaping from a straitjacket while riding a unicycle.

The chapter’s vice president, Phil Thorpe, has a different relationship with magic. A retired master silversmith who spent 25 years working for Colonial Williamsburg, Thorp first walked into a magic shop in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where he purchased a trick to show to his granddaughter. The response was overwhelming.

“I don’t think I’ve done anything for my granddaughter that was that much fun,” Thorp said. “My wife said, ‘You’ve got to find out more about this stuff.’”

In 2000, Thorp attended a class taught by Baker, titled ‘Magic for Moms, Dads, and Grandparents.’ He learned new tricks for his granddaughter and was hooked.

“I am a pretty poor magician; I am a late bloomer who needs to bloom more,” Thorp joked. “But what I love most about the group is the fellowship. We are a very compatible group and enjoy each other’s company. We have a lot of laughs.”

Experiences such as that have kept the members of the Williamsburg Assembly coming back each month, drawn by the camaraderie that stems from the thrill of a perfectly executed trick. It’s a passion that bridges ages and cultural gaps.

For Baker, magic’s allure can all be summed up in a moment he still cherishes.

While stationed in Tunisia for the USIA, Baker was asked to give a magic show for college students headed to the United States to study. He performed a brief routine, to an enthusiastic response.

Two weeks later, a Peace Corps volunteer asked him to perform the same set for a group of local children, who spoke only Arabic.

“They laughed and clapped at all the same places without understanding a word,” Baker said. “A red handkerchief comes out and turns blue. You don’t have to speak the language to enjoy that, it’s universal. And that’s magic.”