You know what is cool? Magic. And Montclair State University has it's very own master of magic, Jordon Gleniewicz. Jordon, who also goes by Jay Glen, decided to do an interview with me about his life in relation to magic.

Evan: So Jay, what began your interest in magic?

Jay: When I was five years old, I was vacationing with my family on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. My family and I (my mom, dad, and younger brother, but my younger brother was not born yet) were eating at a restaurant, and a close-up magician approached our table and showed me my very first card trick. When he showed me that, I was stunned. Not only did I want to know how he did it, I wanted to know how I could do it too. Ever since that moment, my parents were always supportive of my newfound interest. My mom has always been working at the local library and took out all the books on magic for me. When I read all the ones from the kid section, I started reading books from the greats. They also bought me magic sets and decks of cards, too.

by Jordan Gleniewicz

Evan: Oh wow, that's really cool! I'm sure you've learned a ton of tricks since being five years old. How many tricks do you estimate you know at the moment?

Jay: That's honestly a really hard question to answer, because for me right now I basically have a couple different routines and scenarios memorized for different situations, for example, if someone meets me and asks me to do a trick for them, if I'm at MSU at a party and show some tricks for people, or walking around doing a close-up gig at an event. Basically, I have an hour's worth of material off the top of my head that I can do immediately with a single deck of cards. Which is probably 10-15 tricks. Of course, if I ever want to change things up a bit or refresh a routine, I can refer to one of my sources (books, notes, DVDs etc) where I have hundreds of different effects. Sorry I didn't give you an exact answer. That's probably the best way to explain it.

Evan: No, that makes sense. Do you have a favorite trick by chance? Or if not a specific favorite per se, do you like performing anything generally? Such as cards, making things disappear, et cetera.

Jay: Yes! Cards are my forte. I love color changing effects. For example, one of my favorite effects to do is to take a blue colored deck of cards and change the color of every card in the deck from blue to a different individual color.

Evan: Oh wow, I can't even imagine how that is performed. I won't ask you HOW you do tricks (I'm aware of the magician's code), but that is honestly a lot of magic tricks when you think about how complicated they can be. An hour's worth of material is also a lot, considering some card tricks take only a minute or two. I know a lot of magic is based on something specific; such as sleight of hand. So when you get one skill down, you are able to do more tricks from it. Have you made any of your own tricks since your involvement with magic?

Jay: I do have my own tricks that I've created over time. When you're buying magic, you're basically buying intellectual property in the form of a book, DVD, or product. My form of magic comes in card effects that I've studied and have performed over the years, but I use sleight of hand that is essentially in the public domain (like all magicians know about them, from famous books like Jean Hugards Royal Road to Card Magic or S.W. Erdnase's The Expert at the Card Table). Using those slights and techniques, I incorporate those into a routine or effect. For example, I'm a big fan of the ambitious card routine, which is a very popular magic plot which consists of a spectator's signed card repeatedly jumping to the top of the deck and reappearing in various places (like a wallet). Many magicians, including myself, have their own ambitious card routine that they perfected. For instance, I'll do sleight of hand and visually change someone's signed card into another different card, and make their card reappear in my mouth.

Evan: I've never really understood some of those tricks. The signed cards always amaze me whenever I see a magician do them. The first magicians to come up with these tricks must have been really creative to get these kinds of tricks started. Speaking of other magicians, before you mentioned before that you read up on a lot of great magicians. Do you have any idols?

Jay: Yes I do. There's a lot of great magicians right now. David Blaine, Chris Ramsey, Erik Casey, Ollie Mealing, Juan Tamiraz, Henry Evans, Dan Harlan, Mark Mason. A lot basically. Here's something for you. I find that today, Instagram is an excellent platform for magicians to meet and collaborate. I've met other magicians through it before and some of them post videos similar to mine that I use as inspiration.

Evan: There is one big Instagram magician I've seen recently; Julius Dein. That guy who did that lollipop trick on Drake the rapper? I think that Instagram must be a great outlet to expand the reaches of magic as a form of entertainment, right?

Jay: Yes! I personally don't like Julius, but yes. He's an example of magic reaching out to the non-magic public.

Evan: Do you not like Julius for how he is personally or something that he does in the way he treats magic? Or do you think he is overrated or something like that?

Jay: He's a bit overrated. I personally believe that there are better magicians than him, but he has a charismatic charm. And he's able to reach out to laypeople (a term magicians use for non-magic people), which I do praise him for.

Evan: Well, that's at least a plus for him! That helps other aspiring magicians have an easier time getting their own crowd since Dein helps to hype magic up as a whole. Going off of that, you have your own magic business correct? Can you tell me about that?

Jay: OK, well a few years ago I realized (like senior year of high school) that I can perform what I love and make a profit from it. It really started when I performed a magic show for the entire student body to make money for the senior prom. 200 people showed up and we made over $2,000. I loved the energy and performance high, it was incredible. After the one hour show of mentalism (mind reading) tricks for kids, and close up magic that was filmed with a camera and put on screen so everyone could watch it, I realized how much I loved performing for people. I printed out a set of business cards and now avail myself to perform at party events and bar/bat mitzvahs. I've done a corporate event at a banquet hall, too. My freshmen year of college another magician I met hired me to teach after-school magic classes for elementary school kids in Montclair.

Evan: Oh wow, all of that sounds so awesome! Is this something you would professionally want to pursue as a career?

Jay: The funny part is magic has nothing to do with what I study at school. I see myself having it as a side career that maybe will eventually overcome my actual job. I double major in art history and the Classics, with a double minor in archaeology and ancient Mediterranean civilizations. I love studying the history of art. Ever since I was little, just like with magic, my parents have always supported me. They took me to art museums, especially the MET, where I wish to work one day as a curator or the head of the European Painting department. This summer I did a study abroad program with MSU and did an archaeology field school outside of Rome. I also love archaeology and working with Classical art (Greek and Roman stuff). So while I want to work in the museum world after college, I'm planning on going to graduate school and getting my doctorate in art history too. I would love to be a professor one day. However, I know that magic will still be a part of my life. I'll probably entertain bored students when they're tired of looking at some altarpiece. I always think that once I retire, I'll open up a magic shop and teach magic to kids as well.

Evan: Wow, that's so interesting! I would say magic is an art form in itself, so I think those actually go together quite well. Also, I'd love it if a professor of mine pulled some random magic trick in class! That would be awesome.

Jay: Agreed! I'd like to thank my parents and family for everything for helping my involvement with magic. For supporting me and taking me to museums, buying me decks of cards and putting up with the hundred-plus decks I have piled in my room. And of course my girlfriend for supporting me and everything she has done for me, too.

Evan: Well I'd like to thank you for agreeing to share your story and involvement with magic!

You can find Jay's Instagram at @jaythemagician