We Built a Theater!
By Vanishing Inc. - Friday, June 30, 2017
We have a special relationship with the College of Magic in Capetown, South Africa. This institution services disadvantaged youths from South Africa by teaching them magic skills (which are, in many ways, life skills) that they can take back to their communities and share with others. We were greatly impacted by a recent visit to the College, but dismayed to find the their in-house theater in grave need of repair.
We believe the magic theater is a sacred place—a place where our tricks come alive and become real. In this case, the theater is where the young students take their magic “exams” and initiations, and where all of them will perform their first shows. It should, we thought, be a space to be proud of.
Thanks to the generous contributions from our team of donors, we were able to fund a complete renovation of the theater room. Working with David Gore, Craig Mitchell, and Chad Findlay, we designed a new space with all the modern bells and whistles: patterned, stencilled wall design, cushioned theater seats, video projection, and a glass-enclosed miniature magic museum. They very kindly named the room “The Vanishing Inc. Magic Theater” and we’re honored to be part of their lasting legacy. See the pictures for a full experience of just how incredible this new theater looks.
One of our favorite facets of the Vanishing Inc Magic Theater is this miniature museum that lines the back wall. We set out to secure not just precious items from magic history, but items that had a meaningful narrative to young magicians. Thanks to Gabe Fajuri and Chip Romero, we secured some tremendous items. Two personal favorites are Doug Henning’s first business card as a child (He offered everything from birthday parties to banquets!), and Harry Blackstone’s grade school report card (it wasn’t particularly great!).
This is, to date, the most ambitious project we have embarked on with our charity, and we’re eager to take on projects of equal and greater scope. We also wish to continue our relationship with the College of Magic, and have plans to pursue a new phase of collaboration this year.
A fun epilogue to this story: when the theater was finally unveiled after three months of work, we received the most heartwarming thank-you video from the students at the College of Magic, which we have posted below.
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