The BU Magic Workshop partners with professional magicians, illusion designers, and performance artists to turn ambitious stage concepts into engineered reality. Our student design teams work directly with clients to develop custom mechanical systems, fabricated apparatus, and performance-ready prototypes that must function reliably under real theatrical constraints.
These are not classroom exercises. Each collaboration begins with a live performance problem and becomes an engineering challenge involving design, fabrication, testing, refinement, and practical stage use.
photo by Melissa de Blok
Felice Ling has partnered with the BU Magic Workshop on projects that combine visual elegance with hidden mechanical complexity. Her collaborations challenge student teams to create apparatus that looks simple and beautiful on stage while performing precise, deceptive transformations behind the scenes.
Evan Northrup has collaborated with the BU Magic Workshop on larger-scale performance effects that demand a balance of theatrical impact, mechanical design, and practical engineering. These projects push student teams to think about staging, motion, concealment, reliability, and audience perception all at once.
We are always looking for our next impossible challenge. Next year, our teams are gearing up to tackle even more ambitious builds—including a custom, on-demand hot and cold beverage jug.