Midland Park March 21, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 13 Sean Burke magic show to benefit The Love Fund Sean Burke prior to his first rehearsal at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on March 5. Sean Burke of Midland Park drinks, eats and sleeps magic. He got hooked on magic tricks when he was just 2 years old, inspired by the famous magician Marcus, and has been honing his skills and entertaining friends, and now full audiences, since then. “He wore his top hat for three years straight after that,” said his mother, Cathy. He got his first magic kit for his third Christmas, entered his first talent show when he was five, and she and her husband, Cyril, have been chauffeuring Sean to performances ever since. Now 14 years old, Sean will be performing his one-man show to benefit the Midland Park Love Fund on Sunday, April 29 at 2 p.m. in the Midland Park High School auditorium. The event is being sponsored by the Midland Park Recreation Committee, which hopes this will be the first of many more by the town’s native son to be held locally. Board appoints three new teachers (continued from page 9) replacement grade three teacher at Sicomac School at $48,656 with a BA at Step 1. She will serve through June 30. Laraine Silverman has been appointed a leave replacement Spanish teacher at the Eisenhower Middle School at a salary of $58,762 with an MA at Step 8. She will serve through June 30. Sally Teschon, a New Jersey certified speech therapist has been appointed to the district at a stipend of $80 an hour with a maximum stipend not to exceed $5,280. J. KOSTER The audience will be broader on April 5, however, when Sean will perform his famous stage magic at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. During his first rehearsal there earlier this month, he performed for a panel of Broadway actors and Rockettes whose job was to critique the performance and offer suggestions for the final act. “They told him he did a great job, and to keep doing it the same way,” said Cathy Burke proudly. Through the years Sean has performed at the Ridgewood YMCA, Super Dome Sports in Waldwick, the Cape Cod Festival of Magic, Valley Hospital events, and more recently at Bottagra Restaurant in Hawthorne. He does occasional school and nursing home visits and birthday parties, mostly on weekends due to his busy personal life. An A student, he is the president of his eighth grade class at MPHS, plays clarinet in the school’s concert band, belongs to the French and art clubs, and plays recreational basketball, baseball and soccer. He is also active in the school’s newspaper club and writes two weekly columns for the club’s publication. “The best thing about magic,” Sean said, “is the communication between the audience and me. It brings people back to their childhood. Making people happy, getting them to forget their problems, that’s what makes it enjoyable for me.” He keeps current by watching the shows of other masters, attending Society of American Magicians gatherings, and reading books. There he gets ideas which he adapts to his routine if it fits into his character as a magician. Last summer he received a full scholarship to the prestigious Tannens Magic Camp, where his candle-disappearing act placed fourth in stage magic, competing against 100 young people from throughout the world. Sean’s goal now is to enter and win the Olympiads of Magic, which he said the biggest people in the world of magic have conquered. Rocco Silano of Wayne, his mentor at the Bottagra performances, has captured the grand prix twice. For more information about Sean’s world of magic, visit www.magiciansin.webs.com. Tickets for the Midland Park performance on April 29 are $5 each and may be purchased from Recreation Director Kathy Lamonte at the DePhillips Center, Monday thru Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. or from Recreation Committee Chairman Dave Lancaster at the Baseball Card Store on Prospect Street. Seating is limited.