Personal, private sleight-of-hand, street-magic lessons via Skype.

If you're like me and find it easier to learn in a one-on-one situation rather than from a book or video, then check out my live, private sleight-of-hand magic lessons via Skype. We'll learn magic at your pace, and I always include some astonishing magical effects that are much easier to learn than you think. All with common, everyday objects like coins, playing cards, cigarettes, matches, napkins and more. Click here to read more about the lessons, or just get on the roster. Limited number of people being accepted. It's so much fun to freak people out. :)

My passion for sleight-of-hand magic

Like a lot of kids, I was fascinated with magic when I was young. My parents even bought me a magic set with a little book of gags and practical jokes (okay I still use a couple of those), and a bunch of crappy little plastic gimmicks to do a bunch of crappy little magic tricks.

Although I took time time to learn and present them, they were more like puzzles than magic. And, of course, if you showed your friends the "vanishing ball in vase" trick, they immediately wanted to examine the cheap plastic vase which would expose the secret (if they didn't already notice that the little half of a ball shell didn't really look all that much like the real ball). So, I discovered that I liked magic, but not of the crappy variety.

My first magic book

So, there I was, a kid who liked magic but with no desire to show the stupid tricks in the stupid set that my stupid parents got me for my birthday (note: at that time in my life birthdays were not stupid).

The very first book that I purchased (okay, actually my friend Rick made it disappear from the shelves of the local library), was "The Amateur Magician's Handbook." by Harold Hay.

Now let me say that, if you've never read or purchased this book, click on the above link and get it. Amazon has lots of deals on used ones. I don't care what your level of expertise is, it's an amazing book written in a manner that is conversational, precise, thorough and will really get beginners off to a good start and take experts to a new level. You'll even enjoy reading the stuff you never intend to learn.

Finally, by my mid to late teens, I became pretty proficient at performing magic with common everyday stuff: cigarettes, coins, playing cards, salt, string, rope. To me, that was what magic was all about. Not some gimmicked piece of plastic.

I did purchase some stage magic props so that I could actually put together a show that I could hopefully perform for money one day.

My first magic show

Even back when I was 17, I was a pretty decent promoter, so I made a really hokey flyer, with me looking all mysterious. Hands pointed toward the camera as though I was trying to hypnotize someone. And the headline read: "Magic, Mirth and Mystery." Hah! Right. I had a flyer before I actually had an act. I knew a bunch of tricks, but hadn't put them together in any cohesive manner to resemble an actual show.

But, no big deal. It would probably be weeks, months or longer before anyone actually called the number on the flyer. Especially since most of the flyers were in the back seat of my 1966 Chevy Biscayne.

I did drop some off at a few of the local stores I frequented. The drug store, the bakery, the pizza shop. And I continued practicing my "tricks," figuring I'd worry about the complete "routine" later.

Then, less than a week after making my flyer, my phone rang. They wanted to know how much I would charge to do a magic show at an adult Halloween party. Oh crap. I had no clue. How does ten bucks sound?

So, to make a short story just a bit longer, I immediately started putting together an actual act, did the gig (which was okay), and the rest is comedy and magic history. Hee.

Gigging on a regular basis

After that initial gig, I got the bug and expanded my horizons. I was performing at kiddie birthday parties, doing close-up table-hopping magic at restaurants and even begging bar owners to let me try to entertain the audience during rock and roll band breaks.

Then, as I started adding more and more comedy to my stand up shows, I eventually abandoned magic almost entirely and started working the comedy club and corporate comedy circuits.

You can learn more about my stand up comedy life at Click on Comedy and the Dirty Joke Show web sites.

But really, this site encompasses a passion that I've had for many years. The ability to entertain and possibly astonish people, any time, any place with common everyday items like cigarettes, coins, cards and the like.

So, I'll be sharing my thoughts and reveal the secrets to some of what I believe to be the coolest, goddam magic I've ever seen (or done).

Gary Thison