Performing for the Adult Mind: Tricks Are(n’t) for Kids

When people think of magic, they often picture wide-eyed children gasping at disappearing coins or rabbits from hats. And while I love performing for kids, much of my work is designed for the adult mind an audience whose curiosity, vocabulary, and life experiences open the door to deeper, more layered kinds of wonder.

Magic as I See It

For me, magic is not simply trickery or deception. It’s the creation of an experience that feels impossible while being witnessed. Magic doesn’t live in my hands or props, it lives in the audience’s experience of the impossible. It exists in the space between perception and reality, where what you think you know collides with what you see. That collision, that paradox, is where wonder begins.

Children experience this freely because they constantly find themselves living inside imagination. Adults, on the other hand, tend to suppress imagination with logic, skepticism, and the patterns built over a lifetime. But that doesn’t make adults harder to reach, it makes them richer participants. When those patterns are broken, the impact is deeper, sharper, and unforgettable.

Some magicians say their goal is to “bring adults back to a childlike state of awe.” I believe that misses the point. You can’t go back. What really happens is the creation of a new state of wonder, one that’s more complex, layered, and evolved. Yes, it may echo distant feelings from childhood, but it isn’t nostalgia. It’s the next evolution of wonder, like a Pokémon transforming into a more powerful version of itself, gaining new forms and abilities.

That’s why I do magic. My role isn’t to show off skill, but to guide people into that evolved state of wonder that’s lying dormant in all of us — to help them experience something they didn’t even realize they could feel. Magic isn’t about fooling the eyes. It’s about creating moments of connection where imagination reawakens and the audience becomes a co-author of the impossible, in a way, they do the magic themselves. The transformation doesn’t come from me, it comes from within them. (And to unpack that idea fully… well, that’s for another blog.)

The Science of Awe & Illusion

Science backs this up. A 2023 paper on illusion found that the brain experiences “a cognitive clash between expectation and perception” when confronted with magic like experiences, this moment of dissonance actually stimulates attention and memory (source).

Another study shows that awe itself has measurable benefits, from reducing self-focus to improving mood and even physical health (source). Magic can be a direct path to awe, not because it provides answers, but because it creates a space where answers don’t seem to fit.

Why Adults Need Magic Too

When I perform pieces rooted in ideas like déjà vu, paradox, or even Shakespearean text, I know I’m asking more of my audience than I would of a child. And that’s the point. Adults crave meaning, metaphor, and moments that pull them out of the ordinary.

That doesn’t mean performing for children isn’t its own challenge, in fact, it’s often trickier. Children are brutally honest, and their sense of wonder is different. But for adults, the beauty lies in cutting through cynicism to reach that rare, involuntary gasp, the sound of someone rediscovering a childlike state they thought they’d lost.

The Takeaway

Magic for the adult mind isn’t about puzzles or answers. It’s about crafting moments of awe that linger long after the trick is forgotten. Because in a world filled with facts and explanations, sometimes the most profound gift is an experience that resists explanation altogether.

Bringing Wonder to the Adult Mind

Magic isn’t just for kids, it’s for anyone who craves awe, surprise, and moments that defy explanation. My performances are designed to engage the mind, sparking conversations and creating memories that last long after the show ends.

👉 Want to bring that kind of magic to your next event? Contact me here.