Magic School Class Information

Widely acclaimed as the most innovative and exciting star of magic in our time. In addition to his work as a performer, McBride is in demand as a teacher and lecturer for magicians and lay audiences. With Eugene Burger he conducts regular intensive Master Class session in Las Vegas, and has lectured for groups as diverse as the Smithsonian and the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

When the leading international trade journal MAGIC magazine compiled its list of the most influential magicians of the twentieth century, Eugene Burger was included for his ability to "arouse feelings of astonishment, as well as a host of other indescribable sensations." He has written sixteen best-selling books for magicians, starred in five critically acclaimed instructional video tapes, and lectured to magicians’ groups in over a dozen countries.

Trained in the performing arts first as an actor/ dancer at Temple University, then winning his Masters Degree in Directing and Design from the University of Pittsburgh, Tobias went on to teach various performance disciplines there for a several years. Moving to New York, Beckwith enjoyed a career on the production and management teams of some of the world's longest running shows: The Fantastiks (Sullivan Street Playhouse), Sweeney Todd (on Broadway and 1st National Tour), and Oh! Calcutta! (on Broadway and International Touring).

For the past 18 years he has worked exclusively in the world of magic, as manager and producer for Jeff McBride, Marco Tempest and other leading magical performers. Having been extensively trained in every aspect of live show production, Beckwith continues to be actively involved in the creation of magic with many prominent magical artists.  He recently authored the book, "Beyond Deception: The Theory & Practice of Creating Original Magic."

Bryce Kuhlman is an odd experiment in the fusion of art and science.  His early performances won him many local and national awards and paid for two college degrees – not in theater but in software engineering and robotics.  Those nights he wasn’t performing, one would find him tucked away in a dark room hacking the code together for some new project.  He currently runs a corporation that specializes in custom software and web design for entertainers and theatrical venues.

Dr. Lawrence Hass is the Associate Dean of the McBride Magic & Mystery School and Professor of Humanities at Austin College (in north Texas). He has performed his thoughtful style of magic at leading nightclubs, theaters, and universities from coast-to-coast, with many engagements in Las Vegas and at the world-famous Magic Castle.

Larry is also recognized as a world-leading teacher of magicians and an award-winning writer about magic. He is the author of the best-selling magic book, Transformations: Creating Magic Out of Tricks (2007), and has published magic essays in leading magic magazines and journals throughout the world. He currently writes the monthly "Theory and Art of Magic" column for M-U-M magazine and he is the publisher of Theory and Art of Magic Press.

Larry’s work as a performer, teacher, and philosopher of magic has been featured in leading international media, including the New York Times, USAToday, the Los Angeles Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education, by the Associated Press, and on the Discovery Channel.

Robert E. Neale is a free-lance writer, magician and author of numerous books and essays on psychology and religion, as well as a prolific inventor and author of magic tricks and origami folds. Among his publications in magic are Bunny Bill; Transaction; Trapdoor Card; Tricks of the Imagination; Folding Money Fooling; Life, Death & Other Card Tricks; and with Eugene Burger, Magic and Meaning. He has also just completed an instructional video, Celebration of Sides: the Nonsense World of Robert Neale. Dr. Neale lives and invents in Vermont.

George Parker is an internationally much asked for stand-up magician and corporate lecturer. As a modern Magician and corporate Alchemist he travels all over the world performing his theatrical one-man show ‘The 5th Element, a story about Life, Love and Magic told in illusions’, short stand-up shows and corporate Lecture-shows© about the creative process. He gives new meaning to the role of the magician and alchemist in present-day-life: as a trickster he turns the world and your thinking inside out and upside down using skilful and deceptive trickery and stand-up comedy; as a sorcerer he shows us how we create our own reality new and comments from that perspective on events in the world; as an oracle he helps you to look beneath the surface of everyday life; and as a wise man in development he knows that it’s easy to be smart but it’s a struggle to be wise.

His shows are a mix of those different aspects and speak to the imagination of many people. Often they will focus on business issues like vision, communication, strategy, creativity, marketing or teamwork. At other times they’re centered around mystical and mysterious subjects like Alchemy and the history of the Mage. Not only does he incorporate his vast knowledge about transforming our inner and outer reality in his shows he’s also the author of highly acclaimed books on creativity like the beststeller Het Kleine boek van de Creativiteit and Het Grote Boek van de Creativiteit.