"If more magicians knew what Mark Zacharia knows about restaurant magic, more magicians would be in business.  Mark's lecture clearly reflects the years of experience he's had performing close-up magic at restaurants. You'll learn some great magic and get great advice from a pro." –Kostya Kimlat

"Mark Zacharia's lecture offers some of the best advice to approaching presenting magic as a close-up magician as you are going to find." -Garrett Thomas

"Mark Zacharia is an excellent performer who has analyzed, re-worked and optimized his magic effects over hundreds of performances." -David Corsaro

"Your work on the 'Anniversary Lambada' is too good … this is great work." -Doc Eason

"The best version of 'Anniversary Waltz' is by Mark Zacharia in his lecture notes." -Paul Hallas

"I used to perform a very different appraoch to 'Anniversary' … your routine is absolutely great and I will be using your improvement from now on. You truly are one of those people who really love magic." -Alexander de Cova

"Mark Zacharia's lecture is filled with proven ideas from an experienced worker and as such deserves your serious consideration." -Jim Sisti

What will he teach?

This is the real work on material that doesn’t require knuckle-busting skill but has high impact. Most of this material plays up high, off the table, and resets almost immediately. 

Sobriety Test- A 'you-can't-do-as-I-do' effect, but at any time you can make any spectator the star in the performance. It requires no sleight of hand and utilizes a gaff you probably already have but have never used.

Out to Lunch- a quick, fun picture of the spectator on the back of your business card. Despite their signing the card, the ink magically transforms on the picture leaving them with an indelible memento … and your contact information.

Bucktooth Tear- A center-tear-style peek that allows you, in real time, to see what a spectator has written and folded on a piece of paper. There are no switches, and it is nearly angle-proof.

Drawing His Sword- A pick-a-card effect that has not one, not two, but three climaxes. You've never seen another effect quit like this. It leaves a fun memento with your spectator and, yes, it resets almost immediately. First, you intuit a spectator's selection by drawing it on the back of your business card. The freehand style of your drawing may even get a little laugh until you turn over their card selection to reveal the professionally printed playing card has morphed into a freehand drawing of their original, matching your drawing! But that's not all, you explain your drawing had to match their choice of card because if they had selected any other card, you would have drawn a blank. At this point, you reveal that every other card is blank.

5-Card Monte- This effect won "Best New Effect" at the 2014 TRICS Convention. A Wild Card routine where the cards magically change despite the fairness of the handling. Mark teaches a beginner and intermediate-level handling. Unlike other Wild Card effects, this one requires no gaffed cards! Everything can be examined and it resets immediately. Mark teaches both beginner and intermediate skill level methods.

Airmail Card- Mark's handling of Jim Swain's effect. A memorable card-to-wallet effect. You open by showing a "postcard" you received -a red-backed card that your mentor has addressed to you on the face of which has written the directions. This card is secured in your wallet and you take out a blue-backed deck to have a card selected, signed, and returned to the pack. Despite the cards being shuffled face-up into face-down, because you’re following the directions, you magically get all the cards to turn over except their signed card. When you double-check the directions on the red-backed card in your wallet … it turns out IT IS THE SPECTATOR’S SIGNED CARD. You leave this with them as a souvenir. This is one of the most requested pieces Mark performs.

Who Wants to Be A Millionaire- You offer the spectator the chance to participate in a promotion that you are doing here at the venue, and if he selects the right card, he could win ONE MILLION DOLLARS. You give him a free selection of any card from a deck–no force. Before he turns the card over to read the random dollar amount written on the back, you run through the rest of the deck to show every card has a different dollar amount on it. You get all Mark's patter and jokes. Unfortunately, everyone notices, he did not pick the card that reads “One Million Dollars.” You guarantee him he is going to win whatever amount is written on the back of his card … and it reads “One Wooden Nickel.”  You give him a wooden nickel with your contact information as a souvenir and everyone is a winner. This requires NO SLEIGHT OF HAND, WORKS EVERY TIME, PROVIDES A SOUVENIR FOR YOUR SPECTATOR, AND RESETS IMMEDIATELY. 

Bookless Book Test- This uses a common magician's tool in an uncommon way to allow you to get a peek at hidden information the spectator writes down. The reveal alone on this is amazing and unique because you text a voicemail message to your spectator before the start of the effect: she listens to it on her phone, and your voice … NOT A COMPUTER-GENERATED VOICE … tells her the word she merely thought of. No apps to download. No codes to remember. You can do this with your phone immediately. 

Anniversary Lambada- An off-the-table handling of an effect popularized by famed bar magician Doc Eason, in which two signed cards from two separate parts of the pack fuse together into one card, which they get to keep. When Doc saw this, he said this handling was “too good” to release. 

Let Me Spell This Out for You- A card is lost in the pack that is shuffled face-up into face-down. You explain that you train the cards and reveal that all the cards have turned over except the selected one. Then you offer to teach them the trick. You perform the same effect in slow motion. They see the cards face-up into face-down until the last moment. This time, upon spreading the cards, instead of one card being reversed, all the cards necessary to SPELL OUT  the name of the card are reversed! E-I-G-H-T O-F S-P-A-D-E-S! They have never seen a finale like this. You can even customize the finale to spell out a birthday message or a corporate phrase. 

Any Card at Any Number- This plays close-up and for the stage. Mark teaches beginner and intermediate-level methods. And the best news is it requires no memorization work!

Crash & Burn- Combines all the whimsy of a story deck with the spectator-involvement of finding a selected card. The spectator's card becomes an integral part of the story, so everyone is engaged in hearing how many times and where his card is going to turn up. And, yes, it resets immediately! 

Who is he?

Mark Zacharia is a mentalist, magician and hypnotist with more than 25 years' experience entertaining for corporations and colleges, theaters and private events all across the country. New Jersey Monthly Magazine calls Mark a "total bogglement."

Mark has performed for legendary baseball great Bobby Thomson as well as in a command performance for the New York State Legislature. He has performed at Mohegan Sun Casino, Monday Night Magic (New York's longest-running off-Broadway show), the Smoke & Mirrors Magic Theater (PA), Dickens Parlour (DE), Wizardz Theater (FL), South Street Magic (PA), Grasso's Magic Theater (PA), and the Parlor of Mystery (NY). His recent full-evening show, "reMARKable", sold out the EastLine Theatre in New York in under 72 hours and interest demanded a second show.