This is a complete beginner’s course dedicated to the topic of performing card magic to live audiences. We will cover magic tricks, sleight of hand techniques, and many of the theoretical considerations that goes into making magic powerful and deeply baffling. The goal of this course is for every student to be able to walk away with a handful of effects they can confidently perform in any environment. No one will be needing top hats, doves, or any other special apparatus. All students need is an ordinary deck of 52 playing cards in their pocket, and they will be ready to perform in any situation, anytime they want. Although the intention of the class is to help students understand the relationship between context and the way magic is perceived to be able to perform in any situation, most of the material taught in this class will be situated in the context of casual, social environments, where spectators will often be friends and family members. 

The class is structured such that each session builds upon each other. We will start by covering basic ideas and techniques—such as how to hold a deck of cards, how to spread, move, shuffle, and cut them efficiently—before working our way to more challenging, yet nonetheless, fundamental techniques—including how to control, switch, force, and palm cards without the spectator’s knowing. Becoming comfortable with these techniques will allow students to perform a vast variety of magic effects. Including, but not limited to: being able to read someone’s mind, transforming one card into another in the spectator’s hands, teleporting a card to an impossible location, and predicting the outcome of a spectator’s decisions before they make them. 

A typical session would start with the instructor performing an effect. We will then explain how to do all of the techniques that is required in that effect before moving onto the explanation of the performance. Any remaining time will be spent on workshopping students’ performances, techniques and answering questions. Each week contains three sessions, and will usually contain 2-3 effects and a number of techniques used to accomplish those effects. 

This course is intended to introduce students to the art of magic and to inspire them to seek out more resources to continue their learning even after the class finishes.