Rondoc the Magician amazes a younger audience with one of his effects, during a free show at the library performed on December 20. A Sitka physician by day, Dr. Myron Fribush has been practicing magic as a hobby for the past 40 years.
Winter wasn't the only source of wonder in Wrangell last week, as residents crowded into the public library to watch a magic show.
Illuminating minds under the stage name of Rondoc, Dr. Myron Fribush commanded the southwestern corner of Irene Ingle Public Library the evening of December 20. Children crowded around in front, with as many adults watching from as far back as the main doors. There were 58 audience members in all.
Wearing a conical hat and Chinese gown, the visiting physician introduced himself before starting his assorted effects.
"I love to watch it and occasionally perform it," he explained. "I think magic creates awe and wonder in life. We need a little bit to add to our life, to add a whole other dimension to our living."
Fribush has had an interest in performing stage magic since 1976, when a friend introduced him to it at a trade meeting. In the years since he has made a habit of attending conventions, to meet other magicians and compare techniques.
"I go to two to three conventions a year. People will demonstrate magic of this sort, near range, or stage magic, or close-up magic, or comedy magic," he said.
Fribush belongs to two trade organizations, the International Brotherhood of Magicians and Society of American Magicians, and members will walk each other through the techniques and technologies involved in their art.
"It's incredible. I know a number of people who do shows every day, and they become truly outstanding because they're improving their routine over continual repetitions and they become extremely gifted at creating awe and wonder," he said. "David Copperfield is my personal favorite, because I like the way he'll weave a story around the trick. It adds another dimension to it."
When not performing magic, Fribush practices medicine in Sitka, where he has lived the past 14 years. When performing as Rondoc, he said most of his shows are done there in town, at the local library or community house.
His adopted stage name isn't as arcane as it sounds, he added, but rather a portmanteau.
"Ron is my nickname, and 'Doc' is how most people know me."
Rondoc occasionally takes his show on the road as well. In town as a locum tenens doctor at the clinic for the holidays, he took the opportunity to play to a new crowd. Much of magic is about perception, and he tried to impart the concept of illusion to his audience with his opening effects, using two colored shapes of misleadingly similar size to demonstrate.
He went on to entertain and befuddle with a series of acts involving rings, bottomless cups and a balloon he could put a needle through the length of without popping. The adults were often as mesmerized as the kids, with a particularly clever card trick getting some gasps.
"It's really fun," he commented. "It makes people realize what they think they see, or what they believe, they have more sides to the story than just their unitary belief."
His favorite trick involved controlling an ordinary soap bubble, seemingly directing it with only will. It's one he has enjoyed trying the past five years.
"It's not the most magical of all the effects that I do, but I think it's one of the most beautiful," Fribush admitted. "I feel awe and wonder doing it. So I do that one as much for me as for the audience."
The audience was likewise enamored with the effect, though perhaps the biggest rise from the front row came when one of his bubbles came to a rest on the carpet without bursting. The magician seemed about as surprised as the audience.
"That's not supposed to happen."
Reader Comments(0)