The word magic may make you think of Harry Potter, wands and spells, but magic is more than fantasy; it’s an actual art, and now there’s a club at MHS for anyone interested in becoming a magician.

Connor Ouchi, Magic Club founder, has been interested in magic since he was five or six, but it wasn’t until about a year ago that he seriously took it up as a hobby.

“I guess I just picked up a deck of cards and decided I wanted to be kind of serious about it,” Ouchi said.

Ouchi first started learning with YouTube, but now mostly uses books to pick up new tricks. He credits magician David Blaine as one of his major influences.

“Just seeing what he could do was honestly astounding,” Ouchi said. “I think that’s what initially captivated me when I was about six and that’s what eventually pushed me to start doing it myself.”

His favorite thing about magic is the ability to astonish people, Ouchi said, just as Blaine astonished him throughout his childhood.

“There’s the ability there to captivate an audience, to stun them and allow them to see something they’ve never really seen before,” Ouchi said.

Ouchi performs mainly card tricks, but he also knows some coin magic. Other types of magic include mind reading and stage illusion.

Magic Club has mostly focused on card tricks since their first meeting in December but if a member is interested in another type of magic, they will gladly accommodate them, Ouchi said.

Learning magic requires no prior experience, and everyone is welcome to come to a Magic Club meeting, Ouchi said.

“Magic can be performed by all skill levels, and there are some tricks that are easy and some that take months to practice,” Ouchi said. “Anyone who has an interest in learning more about magic should come for a meeting.”

Julie Haley, freshman, joined Magic Club because she’s friends with Ouchi, but also because she has been interested in magic since a young age.

“When I was younger I was really into magic,” Haley said. “I would go to camps and stuff.”

She said she enjoys Magic Club meetings and encourages others to join, although she warns that at first it can be difficult to pick up the tricks.

“It takes time to master,” Haley said. “Not that I’m a master or anything.”

Dawna Barnhart, sponsor, didn’t have any experience with magic, but when Ouchi asked her to sponsor, she agreed.

“Connor’s a sweet guy and he asked if I would be available to do that because to be a school sponsored activity you have to have a faculty member who will represent you,” Barnhart said.

The Magic Club members don’t need much guidance, Barnhart said. They bring their own supplies and come up with tricks to learn by themselves.

All are welcome to join Magic Club, which meets after school on Wednesdays in Room 333.