The Magic Circle was founded in London in 1905 and has around 1,700 members worldwide. To get in you must pass two performance examinations, be referred by members, and swear an oath never to reveal a method. Once you’re in, you become a Member of the Magic Circle, which is the badge you see on most magicians’ websites. (You must be over 18 to become a member.)
Above this sits Associate of the Inner Magic Circle, which is a harder examination, or a written thesis. Those who pass it by performance are awarded the A.I.M.C with Silver Star.
Above that is the Inner Magic Circle itself (M.I.M.C). Membership is capped at 300 people worldwide at any one time, and you cannot apply for it, and there is no examination to take. It is awarded by invitation of the President.
And within that group, the Gold Star is given for one thing only: performance. Membership of the Inner Magic Circle can also be given to magic historians, inventors, etc.) Those holders do not receive the Gold Star. The Gold Star is awarded for what happens in the room, in front of people.
I hold the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star, which fewer than 290 people worldwide do. I am very privileged to be a part of such a small, selective group. And I mention it not as a boast but as a shorthand.
When you book entertainment for a wedding, a dinner, or a company event, you are making a decision about something you cannot always see live in advance. The Gold Star is one of the few reliable signals available to you, meaning the people best placed to judge have already done so, for you.
The rest of it I have earned the (somewhat) usual way: eight years of a weekly residency at The Ned, over 100 performances a year, and forty years as a performance psychologist working with Olympic and World medallists on the same question a room presents – how attention works, and how to hold it.
If you’d like to chat about The Magic Circle, or have an event in mind where you’d appreciate the highest quality of performance, then drop me an email; I would love to chat.
Roberto