By Jillian Risberg 

He wants to make people happy, forget about life for a while and just have a good time.  

Magician and mentalist, Jason Silberman turned his fascination with the art of magic into a career-defining ride and he’s taken us all with him. 

“The fact that I get to show people what I’ve worked on for years and see the instant reactions and know that it really has an impact on them is really special to me — and hopefully inspires people,” Silberman says.

In person events find the magician typically walking into a room full of strangers and getting them to engage with each other. He has also honed his Zoom engagement skills. “That’s my goal; get people talking and smiling.”

This past year put all that to the test. 

“I remember getting phone calls and emails from all my clients and events I had booked,” says the 25-year-old, of the early days of the pandemic in March.  “I had a great spring planned and within an hour went from 100 to zero.” 

During that first week of lockdown he quickly pivoted to virtual gigs, booking shows for people in other states, as well as Canada, London, Istanbul and South Africa. 

“I was one of the first magicians to do it, and it has allowed me to reach a much wider audience,” Silberman says.  

But the mentalist says doing magic shows online definitely took some getting used to.

“A few weeks later, I did a YouTube (magic) live stream with a friend,” he says. “That was kind of the realization where ‘okay, we can make this work.’”  

And the public took notice. 

“I started off doing very small birthday parties, happy hours and slowly became more corporate,” says the magician. “People realized that virtual events were now a thing. The fact that I was able to work remote and still do what I love; I’m extremely lucky.”

In April, family friends at HomeWatch CareGivers of South Orange invited clients and caregivers for some of Silberman’s virtual magical fun.

“That was a really nice thing,” he says, adding that the Society of American Magicians even posted about it.

For the naturally introverted magician, magic has allowed him to go outside his comfort zone.

“It’s a conversation starter,” he says. “I love to hear that after I do a show someone started to learn magic.” 

For young kids that are really into it, “I’m not saying take it on as a career but try it. Try doing magic because it’s such a special skill that allows you to meet (and) talk to people.” 

If they don’t know where to begin, Silberman recommends Vanishing Inc., one of the best (online) magic stores to get informed because everyone who works there is a magician.  

And he says to reach out. 

“I’m more than happy to chat,” the magician says. “I think it’s really important that they find a person that can help point them in the right direction rather than go on YouTube because there are a thousand directions to go in on there.”

There’s also a documentary he thinks is worth a watch — ’Make Believe’ (2010), where six of the world’s best young magicians battle for the title of Teen World Champion.

“It’s a peek behind the curtain but also very inspiring to see how creative they can be, how they came up with their act, how they rehearsed it and how they do all this,” says the mentalist. 

Silberman was only five-years-old when he met Maurice (of Maurice’s Party Animals) at a family holiday party and saw the trick that would change his life. 

There were two little red sponges, one in Maurice’s hand and one in the future magician’s hand — when Maurice opened his hand, his was gone and it was now in Silberman’s hand. 

“That trick blew me away, I had no clue how it worked,” the mentalist says, adding that it piqued his interest and he ran into Maurice over the years.  “I never told him that he was the one that got me into magic but he’s always been in the back of my head.” 

And he values the camaraderie of the magic community, calling many magicians his friends — including Joshua Jay (magician, author, and lecturer) who has become somewhat of a mentor and someone Silberman looks up to. 

“Over the years I tried other things; Little League, sports, art, music — but I just kept coming back to magic,” he says. “It wasn’t until my teens, maybe middle school that I started to perform for people, show people this stuff and it became less of a hobby and more of a passion.”  

At 14, the magician was already booking events (birthday parties, charities, fundraisers). By high school he was doing magic on AM Wired (a morning announcement show for the students of Livingston High) and working at Calabria Pizzeria almost every Friday night for two hours doing magic table-side.  

“That was a huge learning experience. I got my chops, was able to find the personality, what I wanted to give away and I met a lot of lifelong clients there,” Silberman says, adding that even this far into his career, people still remember him from Calabria. 

College was a turning point for the 25-year-old. 

“It just made sense to at least give magic a try and it’s been amazing I was able to make this work,” he says. “I’m very lucky my parents were so supportive of me and still are.”  

Silberman has gained a deep appreciation for (older) magic books that have shown him it’s not just about the tricks.

“It’s how you make others feel,” says the magician. “I feel I’ve come to the point where I’ve learned enough tricks, (now) how can I make them more meaningful for people.”

To connect with Silberman, who is one of greater New Jersey’s top performers and designed magic for NBC, L’Oréal, Sheraton, Broadway and many others — contact him on Instagram, @jasonsilbermanmagic or https://www.jasonsilbermanmagic.com. 

“I’m always around if people have any questions,” he says.