By Henry Luzzatto

Correspondent

Magician Rob Westcott made the children of the Boys and Girls Club of Suffolk gasp and laugh and even left them speechless on Monday afternoon.

Westcott mixed magic and jokes during the performance at John F. Kennedy Middle School, which involved audience participation from multiple children and even a few adults. The magician performed new tricks and industry standbys, including his favorite trick, a new take on the linking rings.

Westcott said he “finally found a way to make it fun” after many hours of practice, which showed when he wowed the entire audience with the illusion.

Westcott’s sleight-of-hand took talent, but his most impressive trick might have been his ability to silence the entire room of more than 100 children for a difficult trick involving a “trance.”

Westcott amazed children and adults during the show, all while emphasizing the importance of reading. The kids shouted the magic words “I love to read,” for the tricks to work, and Westcott gave away a “future-telling magic fish” that said reading was the key to a good future.

Ronald Tyree, a program leader for the Boys and Girls Club, said Westcott’s focus on reading was great for the kids.

“It’s really great to have someone come in and say the same things we’re trying to teach them,” Tyree said.

Phil McPhail, who co-chairs the Suffolk board of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Virginia, said he saw Westcott’s show at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and thought the performance would be great for the children.

“It’s just an extra event we thought would be good for the kids,” McPhail said.

Since most of the kids that are involved with the Boys and Girls Club over the summer are young, McPhail said Westcott’s interaction with the children was important.

“Rob did such a good job connecting with the kids and the young people when I saw him,” McPhail said.

Westcott, who calls himself Virginia’s only traditional top hat and cape magician, has been doing magic since he was 8 years old. He became a professional stage magician 10 years ago. He also works as a health care consultant, but magic was always his dream, he said.

“I told my mother that I wanted to be a professional magician when I grew up. She said I couldn’t do both,” Westcott joked.

The children left the auditorium visibly excited by the magic. As they walked out, they got to pet Westcott’s rabbit, Prince Charming.

“The kids all really enjoyed it,” Tyree said. “Every day for the next week, they’ll be saying, ‘How did he do that?’ It’s great.”