William Pack at the Elgin Fringe Festival

In a show entitled "A Life Among Secrets," illusionist William Pack combines story-telling and quick-witted humor with classic sleight-of-hand and psychic magic. At first his friendly, laid back delivery may make you think you can outsmart him. And as he deconstructs a few basic tricks, he dares you to question "what's the point?"

That's the moment when two cards switch places, two handkerchiefs become one, and Pack produces secret words known only to the audience.

William Pack peforms at the 2016 Elgin Fringe Festival. Photo by Doug Hanson.

Numerous people share the stage at various times as assistants, and Pack's excellent showmanship will have you guessing whether he's working with a confederate. With a mind as sharp as his switchblade, he makes it all look smooth and automatic — perfectly ... magical.

The Chicagoland references and clever one-liners are a great use of space between tricks, but this is no warmup act. When you see the amazing recreations of famous tricks by Max Malini and Harry Houdini, made all the more mesmerizing by Pack's historical accounts, your disbelief will vanish into thin air. And he does it all without a wand.

See for yourself Saturday, Sept. 17th at Noon at Imago Creative Studios.  Go to www. elginfringefestival.com for more info.