Project Week is a magical time for students, particularly for those who spend the week immersed in actual magic. Our Project Week group learned a variety of tricks from Kayla Drescher and Harrison Lampert, instructors from the Chicago Magic College.
“I liked our magic instructors Kayla and Harrison and loved learning the tricks throughout the week,” freshman Jai Balani said.
On Monday we began our week-long journey developing skills such as sleight of hand and misdirection while unraveling secrets only magicians (and now we 15 Latin students) know.
After spending three hours learning from Kayla and Harrison on Tuesday, we trekked down to their studio, Cosmic Underground Theater, and watched a riveting performance filled with card tricks and mind reading.
On Wednesday, we perfected our craft and prepared for our own performance on Friday. We spent the day learning some of the tricks we saw from our magic instructors the evening before.
Following a delicious dinner at Quartinos, the group hit the famed Magic Parlor show at the Goodman Theater on Thursday evening. Dennis Watkins’ award-winning, jaw-dropping magic show is Chicago’s longest-running show. He has mastered mind-boggling sleight of hand and mind-reading tricks, techniques that our group had begun to explore, but really had just scratched the surface. Even after a full week of magic study, some things just can’t be explained.
Concluding our week-long journey into the world of magic, we performed our own magic show, presented to parents, third and seventh grade students, and some other in-town Project Week students. We personalized our newfound magic skills while keeping the audience engaged and mystified throughout the show.
“I loved it because all the kids in [the] show incorporated their own humor into it,” audience member and freshman Vivian Sidrys said.