Do You Believe In Magic?

Last Sunday night, several members of the Harvard Magic Club huddled around a long table in the Kirkland House dining hall. Not a single wand or cone-shaped, rabbit-producing hat was present; the members were clad in jeans and shuffling playing cards. Asked what they had most in common with Harry Potter, darling of the magic world, no one responded except J. Benjamin St. Clair ’04, who muttered, “Hideous birthmarks.”

Despite the lack of traditional magicians’ trappings, these magical men (and one woman) take their craft seriously. The club, which meets on Sundays, claims two goals: providing a service to the community with entertainment and spreading enthusiasm for magic to others. Originally founded in 1996, the club fell dormant between the years 1998 and 2000. Last fall David R. Kwong ’02 and Alex L. Young ’02 decided to revive the club and located two other students who had been hatching their own plan to develop a magic organization. The second pair—Adam M. Grant ’03, the current president, and Derek A. Haas ’04, the current vice president—had practiced a little magic in high school and wanted to pursue their hobby on the collegiate level.

Magic also pervades the academic lives of some members. Kwong, a history concentrator, is currently writing his thesis on the cultural history of magic shows at the turn of the century. Although none of the magicians can cite family members with similar wizard-like interests, St. Clair attributes some of his magical inspiration to his father, who allegedly made his nose disappear when he was two.

So far their more or less weekly performances have extended to such arenas as the Straus and Wigglesworth common rooms and several area elementary schools. The future may bring the group to the next level of fame, as plans include shows for audiences larger than a freshman entryway, live animals and Cambridge street perfomances (they recently acquired a permit). But perhaps the true sign that the Magic Club has hit it big is their upcoming gig at a Long Island bar mitzvah for the son of two Harvard alumni—their first paid performance.

—A.J. Cohen