On April 9, 2025, Ring 216 had the pleasure of welcoming celebrated
Bay Area magician and the Ring's good friend Phil Ackerly for his new lecture, “Phil-osophy
of Success.” Most of the members knew well Phil’s cheerfulness and skill in
performing for all ages. In this lecture, drawing on his decades of experience,
Phil presented lessons he has learned on how to have a successful magical
career, as well as sharing some favorite routines.
The personalization of effects to the
situation is a feature of his approach, both giving the audience a unique
experience for that time and place and encouraging word-of-mouth buzz and achieving
repeat engagements. For example, for a birthday party Phil would have a card
selected that would be revealed to have on it a picture of the birthday child. At
the lecture, he gave detailed instructions on how to create personalized cards
of this type.
An aspect of Phil’s performing method
that the members appreciated was his preparation for questions and remarks that
he knew would come at certain moments in the show or even in after the show
when chatting casually with audience members – in that situation he might ask, “What’s
your favorite trick that you saw?” And then proceed from there with another
effect; if the child responds, as they often will, “I don’t know”, Phil has a
routine all lined up in response!
The Ring members appreciated experiencing the warm humor and the expert
insights of this true professional.
