So you’re thinking of working with a coach.

Or an instructor. Or a teacher. Or a mentor.

Good idea!

I have been teaching magic for 35 years. I’ve been a consultant, writer, producer or director to the likes of Penn & Teller, Marco Tempest, and many more. My current roster includes longtime amateurs who are finally learning skills they’ve wanted to master over decades as hobbyists, as well as full-time professionals looking to improve their entire acts, or polish a new routine. 

What’s more, I serve as a writing consultant, director, and a guide to subjects like character, style, point of view, and repertoire, carefully personalized to each and every artist. I plug into an artist’s personal vision, helping them to become the best version of themselves in performance. I do not create copies, nor do I press my own style on others. Each artist must find their own path, and it is this personal quest for which I serve as a guide and mentor. 

A real teacher knows enough about the subject at hand to be able to anticipate mistakes, and then be able to explicitly instruct how to avoid or correct them. I’ve taught the Strike Lift and the Vernon Top Palm to hundreds of students, and in that time I’ve had the chance to learn from them how to best and most usefully and constructively teach these sleights — and many more in card, coin, general close-up, standup, stage and mentalism (I am currently working with two professional mentalists) — that is, truly teach, with solid and long lasting outcomes. 

My clients and students includes men and women, from their 20s to past their 60s, learning to develop and refine a small sociable repertoire; make the leap to professional; expand from closeup to platform performance; or improve their professional work to the next level of personal artistry and professional goals. Some study with me continuously for two or three years; some connect for just a few focused sessions, or to review and give notes on video of a complete act; some have returned time and time again over many years to get a new routine into shape. And I’ve even helped multiple professional colleagues develop their spots for Penn & Teller’s “Fool Us!” in multiple seasons. 

If you’d like to read a couple of testimonials that date back decades ago, here are two: One of these students went on to become a serious part-time pro; the second remains in touch with me today as an enthusiastic lifetime amateur. If you want further testimonials, read the comments from attendees to my intensive three-day Card Clinic seminars, which I produced around the country in the early 2000s. (Click on the WHAT menu, choose any of the Clinic locations, and then scroll down — there are amazing comments from each individual Clinic page.)

If you’d like to read something about my approach to longer-term teaching, read this article called “Lessons & Learning ” from my first Genii cover issue in 1987. This material also includes a conversation between myself and my friend Eugene Burger, who was one of the few magicians I’ve ever known who took the act of teaching and coaching as seriously, and over as long a period, as I have. 

If you want to truly enjoy a process that is creative, supportive, and grounded in real-world experience, I encourage you to get in touch. Let’s chat about what you’re looking for, and how I can genuinely help you not just pass the time, but experience tangible results and greater personal satisfaction in our Art of Magic.