Tuesday, September 30, 2008

M-U-M Was the Word

I visited Louisville, KY this past July. I attended a gigantic magicians’ convention in the city of baseball bats, bourbon, and fried chicken, but not all of it was a pleasure trip. I was also interviewed by a committee who was looking for a new editor-in-chief for M-U-M Magazine. M-U-M stands for “Magic, Unity, Might” which is the motto for The Society of American Magicians (SAM), and M-U-M is the organ for the society; reporting not only on what is happening within the magic world, but within the organization itself. The SAM is the world’s oldest magic society, founded in 1902, with Harry Houdini being one of their past national presidents. The current editor of the magazine decided to retire after three years, and the society was looking for someone to take the reigns. Having just left the position of associate editor of MAGIC Magazine, I decided to apply for the M-U-M position.


Hence, the trip to Louisville.


I met with the committee and had a very good interview. I didn’t tell many people about this whole process while it was in the works, and it was in the works for a long time. It began back in late May when the thought initially entered my mind. Was this something I wanted to do? Could I run an entire magazine? How would I balance this responsibility with the rest of my magic career? The more I thought about it the more I realized that, yes, this was something I DID want to pursue and something that I would be good at. I could make it work.


So began the whirlwind of preparation that consumed the next three months of my life. Making travel arrangements, putting together five copies of a portfolio consisting of my past writing and editing work, completing a resume, preparing for the interview, participating in a follow-up interview over the phone in August by a committee member who had not made the Louisville trip, and then, ultimately, waiting for the committee’s decision. And oh, did I wait. I waited and waited. I waited well beyond the time-frame that I had initially been told the committee would be making a decision. When I contacted someone from the committee just to check in and to see how things were progressing, I was told that they were “nearing a decision.” This delayed decision started to become a problem, as I had put a number of projects of my own on hold and didn’t commit to anything new with associates or clients. Other performers who I have worked with in the past would question me about my availability and I would have to give them vague answers and temporary commitments without really explaining why. And, if you've followed this blog, you've no doubt noticed that I haven't been posting as frequently as I have in the past.


Well, the call finally came in about three weeks ago. I was told that I had been one of the top three finalists, and was actually considered “number two” of the three, but the job went to another applicant. That applicant is a very good magician and a wonderful writer named Michael Close. He will be the official editor for M-U-M as of January 1, 2009. Since the announcement has been made, I have also heard that the SAM is cutting back on the budget of their magazine and that Michael will be going in at a disadvantage that the current editor never had to face. It will be very interesting to see how Michael handles the budget and staff cuts. As someone who almost had the position, I have to say that it was probably for the best that I DIDN’T get it after all.

So, my secret’s out. Thanks for bearing with me and putting up with the lack of posts over the past few months. If you are a fellow performer who has been trying to contact me or “pin me down” on something, I apologize. Things are back to normal now, and I intend on continuing at an even greater force than before this all began.


Shawn


Shawn McMaster

Conjured-Up Creations

P.O. Box 973

Newbury Park, CA 91319

(805) 480-0703

www.conjuredupcreations.com

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