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As part of our special interview series with the founders of The Leicester Magicians Network, our fourth and final interview is with Scot Jerram.
Within this interview, Scot shares his passion for classic card magic, how he first gained an interest in magic and his future plans beyond the Leicester Magicians Network.
Within the Leicester Magicians Network, Scot is the go-to magician for anything card related, offering mentorship and advice in all areas of card magic.
He is also an author, with his first book 'Scot Free' which is a journey into classically inspired card magic.
Scot is an experienced performer who is able to perform magic at private parties, birthdays, weddings, restaurants, special events and even close up/parlour magic. Scot will help to make it extra special and chats today about his passion for card magic.
Magic Seats - Thanks Scot for chatting to us today. You got into magic in the last ten years with encouragement from fellow magician David Leeson.
What was it that sparked your interest and passion to learn magic and in particular, classic card magic?
Scot Jerram - Yes, I had known David Leeson for a number of years before I was aware of his interest in magic. Fortunately one evening with David I witnessed a truly wonderful version of a classic card effect called Out of This World and this is one of the key moments that drew me to really learn card magic.
With regards to card magic I was early on very fortunate to attend lectures which made reference to classic card effects and their origins; this really sparked my interest particularly with regards to the lineage of sleights, plots and routines. This is when I started to hear of names like Vernon, Marlo, Jennings etc. and thus ignited my passion to learn and research classic card magic.
Magic Seats - I understand that part of that passion lead to you writing your first book, "Scot Free". It is quite an undertaking to write a book and is a massive accomplishment.
What was your motivation to write and create/document effects?
Scot Jerram - Thank you, really the book came about by accident in some way. It was back in early 2019 that I was requested to provide a lecture for my local Magic Society. What began as an effort to create a small, but professionally produced set of notes to accompany the lecture morphed into the book “Scot Free”.
The original intention for the lecture was just to share my passion for card magic and present some classic effects but after a while I realised that I had a few original ideas / presentations of my own. It was actually Pete Whitmore (one Leicester Magician’s Network Founding Members) who encouraged me to expand the Lecture Notes into the Book “Scot Free” something of which I shall be eternally grateful for.
Magic Seats - You are now famed for running workshops for magic clubs. After running the session for Leicester Magic Circle, you have now run several workshops for the Leicester Magicians Network on subjects related to card handling and associated effects.
What advice would you give others when preparing such a workshop for magic clubs?
Scot Jerram - Thank you for the kind words regarding the workshops. With regards to preparing workshops the key thing for me is that your passion for whatever the subject matter shines through in your presentation. Also, which I learned from my first workshop/lecture, is pacing and not trying to cram too much content in, which could overwhelm the audience.
I also endeavour to familiarise myself with the workshop participants beforehand so the breadth of material appeals to all. The key thing overall is preparation and ensuring that you can clearly articulate your message so that the technique and/or effect is understood.
Magic Seats - I would agree that you always balance your workshops to account for all skill levels. I have of course been lucky to attend a few and anyone joining cannot help but notice your passion for collecting books related to card magic.
Which books are your most treasured? Whether rare or perhaps the most informative for instruction and learning?
Scot Jerram - I’ve been very lucky to acquire a fairly sizeable library of books/material relating to card magic. In terms of my most treasured possessions it would have to be a number of items by Edward Marlo. For those who are aware Marlo released a number of privately issued manuscripts of which I have been fortunate to acquire, such as Advanced Fingertip Control and Marlo’s Magazine Volumes 3 to 6. With regards to the most informative for instruction of learning I would wholeheartedly recommend the Card College Series by Roberto Giobbi which has a wealth of high-quality instructional material and wonderful effects from many famous magicians.
Magic Seats - Your collection of books looks amazing and is of course a great addition to your Magic Room.
What’s next – what are your future plans? Anything that you can share.
Scot Jerram - I can announce that Scot Free Volume 2 is in the works; I am currently a quarter of the way through and I hope to share and publish this later on in the year. Concurrently with the writing of the book I am developing a card based parlour show that I also hope to showcase late summer early / autumn of this year.
Magic Seats - The follow up to "Scot Free" and a Parlour show sounds excellent. Will definitely need to get that second book!
Lastly, as one of the four founders of the Leicester Magician’s Network, you all carry out individual roles with unique areas of responsibility.
Can you tell us a little about your unique contribution to the running of the club?
Scot Jerram - Although we are assigned official roles as required by clubs and societies we pretty much share the responsibilities of running the club. The aspiration when setting up Leicester Magician’s Network was the make the running of the organisation as democratic as possible. Experience in other organisations has taught us that although committees exist the running of the club was pretty much down to one person and this is something we wanted to avoid: it’s was always going to be very much a collaborative effort by all. And we hope that message comes through to the members of the club in how our events are hosted.
Magic Seats - Thanks Scot for taking the time to chat with us today and sharing your experiences related to magic and Leicester Magicians Network. The follow up to "Scot Free" and a Parlour show sounds excellent.
To book Scot or learn more about his services, take a look at his website and social sites below.
Social Contacts
See below for details about the Leicester Magicians Network:
The Leicester Magicians Network
As part of this series of interviews with the founders of the Leicester Magicians Network, I sat down with them and asked some questions about the club.
Magic Seats - What’s the story behind the Leicester Magicians Network. How did the idea come about to form a new club?
Whilst we all love and respect the traditions of ‘older’ magic societies, they can be sometimes intimidating to new members. The four founding members all shared a similar philosophy and it was something that we are all passionate about, particularly in bringing on the next generation of magicians.
This is why we thought long and hard about our mission statement:
“To Create A Magic Community Where Everyone Who Is Passionate About Magic Is Welcome, Built Around Trust, Friendship and Support, And Aiming to Help All Members to Be the Best They Can Be.”
Magic Seats - With many magic clubs to join, what is different about Leicester Magicians Network. Why join your club?
When founding The Leicester Magicians Network, the philosophy was to create a modern forward-thinking Club that was not constrained by out-dated ideas or principles. Unlike traditional magic clubs we have dispensed with the requirement for an audition in order to join. We do not want in any way want to preclude anyone from joining such as the hobbyist magician. Our desire is to promote a relaxed, friendly environment which allows members of all abilities to share ideas, ask questions without fear, or perform if they feel comfortable.
We also have what we believe to be a unique membership model where for when a small set annual fee is paid, it gives you access to many members evenings, workshops etc which occur average twice a month. On top of that, we of course have Professional Lectures which operate on a pay-as-you-go basis members are able to pick and choose which ones they wish to attend.
Magic Seats - How did you come up with the name of the club?
We had a bit of a brainstorming session and obviously creating a new magic club in the midst of a pandemic was a challenge. With the name we wanted to convey a message of ‘connectivity’ even though none of us could initially meet in person.
For information about the club, events or membership details, please visit the website here.
