#magic saloon

Last episode we visited with Scott Pepper, the proprietor of the Magic Saloon in San Antonio, Texas. This week we chat with the featured stage entertainer who performed there: Jade. She was the winner of the I.B.M. Gold Medal for Stage in 1990, which is a distinctive honor in so many ways. The Gold Medal and Gold Cups (for close-up) are not awarded every year, but only when a performer is so outstanding and their execution is so perfect, that you cannot deny that it’s the best. Jade has gone on to perform around the world in clubs, aboard cruise ships, on television, in resorts and nightclubs, as well as the Magic Castle in Hollywood.

This week, Jade tells us her journey from a shy magic demonstrator behind the counter in San Francisco to becoming the confident, dynamic stage performer that has defined her career. She also talks about how she developed her act, trick selection, and finding venues in which to perform.

Scott Pepper hails from England but is soon to be a Texan through and through once his citizenship papers are completed. In the meantime, he is successfully running the Magic Saloon as a magic venue in the heart of San Antonio, Texas, just across the street from the Alamo. Soon, people who have been shouting “Remember the Alamo” will be chanting “Remember the Magic Saloon!” This is a great venue that features stage magicians as the main entertainment, but also has close-up magic at it’s best at the gift shop featuring I.B.M. Gold Cups winner and Past National President of the I.B.M., Oscar Munoz.

Scott has come over from the U.K. after a successful career of performing with Oliver Tabor at “holiday camps” across England, and tons of exposure on board cruise ships as their resident magician. He opened the “Magician’s Agency” several years ago and suffered through the COVID years. He considered selling the venue and moving to Colorado, but decided to give it one more shot. Fortune and serendipity set in when one evening some hospitality entrepreneurs stopped by and loved his show and the venue. He partnered with them and hasn’t looked back. He discusses all of this and more in this week’s episode.