Silendum January 2017 - Issue 1 | Page 25

of Directors must approve Associate Member applications . The Board of Directors presents honorary members and VIP members to magicians , celebrities , and individual members of the Academy who have contributed to the advancement of the art of magic .
Although it should be emphasized that in the actual sense of it , technically nobody is a member of the castle , irrespective of how long one has been associated with the Magic house , everyone is a member of the Academy .
The Academy encourages any class of individual and age , in fact , it has a junior academy society of people between the age of 18 and 30 who can join the academy and learn to be a magician .
The structure of the Magic Castle is one of its attractive features , although it is a magician clubhouse , it is as said earlier not really a club . However , it still has a club-like feature like the bars .
It has five bar rooms where magician members make an informal performance to guests and other patrons . The club consists of different performance theaters including the intimate Close-up Gallery , a larger Parlor of Prestidigitation , and the large stage in the Palace of Mystery . Nightly , five different magic performances are showcased in these three different theaters , and on weekends , additional performances are added in the Peller Theatre as well as Hat and Hare Pub and W . C . Fields Bar . The most fascinating of which is the musical room where invisible " Irma plays the piano ," the Castle ' s " resident ghost ," who takes musical requests .
At the Magic Castle , there is also a session where you get to hear from Houdini ’ s ghost
Like every other clubs around the world , the Magic Clubhouse does not feature a magic door . However , as the clubhouse is only allowed to members of the Academy , it is required of every member to know the password and have to say it before a hidden door with a sculpture of an owl to gain access , exposing the entrance to the club .
Although no pictures are allowed inside of The Castle beyond the lobby , which offers a fun group snapshot opportunity before entry ; visitors have plenty of photo opportunities available outside all around the perimeter of the building .
It has not been all rosy for “ The Magic Castle ” as it suffered structural damages from a fire on Halloween , in October 31st , 2011 which left the clubhouse with some new restructuring to do and has brought it to its current perfect beauty .
If you love the art of of magic , a visit to The Magic Castle should be a natural addition to your magical bucket list .
Photo : Brenna Flickr . com . CC BY 2.0 )
25