Over a 100 years ago, Baltimore-area magicians formed an Assembly of The Society of American Magicians. Today, the world’s oldest fraternal organization has over 300 Assemblies worldwide and current Assembly 6 President, Dave Thomen, wants you to know about this organization for anyone with any interest in magic.

For over a century, this local coalition of amateur and professional magicians thrived, and in 1916, the 6^th Assembly was formed by the S.A.M.  This group has provided a home for fellowship and mentorship for all interested in the performance art or history of magic. However, the Covid-19 Pandemic along with aging membership, has hindered interest in monthly gatherings. Plus, a younger generation of magicians have sources with online tutorials and performances and are more acquainted with YouTube and TikTok.

Dave Thomen, a professional magician who also teaches magic through summer camps and college visits, knows there is no substitute for in-person gathering where mentors can offer real-time feedback to those who share a trick. Thomen kept performing and teaching during the pandemic using Zoom but is a serious advocate for being face-to-face with someone to successfully tutor an aspiring performer.

Assembly 6 President Thomen invites those interested as a guest to their current meetings. The group meets on the third Thursday of every month at Trinity church in Reisterstown or at Greenmount Station restaurant in Hampstead. Anyone in attendance can share a trick or just watch to learn from others. It is the perfect place to mess up and not be embarrassed with a friendly atmosphere among new and established professionals.

We want to introduce magic as something cool and fun, especially with a younger audience. That was happening up to the pandemic, but then meetings were cancelled for over a year and membership dwindled even using online get-togethers.  Dave Thomen has already seen membership increase during this past year volunteering as President of Assembly 6, and just was nominated for another year in the role. The Baltimore Sun news recognized Thomen in 2020 as a regional staple in entertainment.