“Jonathan's inventions are so varied and eclectic, everyone will find something they'll want to use!” - Jack Carpenter

"Jonathan Friedman’s magic is right up my alley: quirky, engaging and, best of all, real world!" - Cameron Francis

“Jonathan is a breath of fresh air in a magic world filled with boring derivatives. With his off-the-wall ideas and presentations, I can't wait to see what he'll come up with next!” - Caleb Wiles

“Jonathan Friedman’s magic has that rare combination; interesting plots, often unusual props and is pleasantly performable.” - Ian Kendall

"Jonathan Friedman is one of magic's rare throwbacks to the Eighties ... and that's a massive compliment. His magic is visual, clever and fully routined, just as we saw from the likes of Daryl, Paul Harris and Jay Sankey when they hit the scene." - Andi Gladwin - VANISHING INC.

“Jonathan’s effects have been one of the most popular parts of VANISH MAGIC MAGAZINE - his material is fresh, strong and highly original. This is one of the very few lectures I will actually download.” - Paul Romhany - VANISH MAGIC MAGAZINE

What will he teach?

Word Search and Destroy A famous band is mentally selected from a group of ten. Through a process of elimination, the correct band is revealed by writing down a list of all of the non-selected acts. After showing that this list resembles a classic word search game, the thought-of band is also seen to be running diagonally through the other nine. Featuring “The MixMaster Force”.

School of Rock This one has it all! Get ready for a mental predicting, ink-morphing, card-transforming, four-of-a-kind producing extravaganza of epic proportions. And all of this while learning a thing or two about the history of Rock and Roll. A special bonus: A glorious four-of-a-kind production by legendary card god Jack Carpenter is taught as well.

George and Abe A six-phase (yup, that’s right) penny/quarter transposition with an impossible kicker ending that resets every time that you perform it. Featuring “The Arcade Vanish”, and “The Up and Over Vanish”.

Bee Gee Wiz Disco is definitely not dead. Prove it with a very unusual display of quasi-mathematical ability that is built entirely around the giant catalog of hits by The Brothers Gibb.

Wannabe Ninja While donning your best ninja persona, you find a selected card three times with the aid of a playing card throwing star, a little invisibility, and some lethal accuracy. Featuring “The Barehanded Trashcan Production” and “Slap Trap”, two new card productions that frankly make you wanna’ fight Bruce Lee.

Bad Band Tattoo The ultimate in band favorite dedication! A selected band to be featured as your “new” tattoo is selected. A predicted photo of the tattoo is shown to be incorrect. No worries as the selected act is finally revealed by impossibly morphing the wrong tattoo into the right one, piece by piece!

Ice Ice Baby A novel yet methodologically-sensible way to “cook” up an ice cube using the usual ingredients. A business card, ink, and some fire.

Material Girl Magically separate the reds and blacks from a shuffled deck in a flashy fashion with a killer kicker finale. Yes, you can look like the card god you have always wanted to be with almost no work whatsoever. All of this while also learning how to “get lucky” and land the object of your desire.

The KISS Theory A dollar is wagered on the success rate of a shuffling exercise built around the “hardest-working band in show business”, KISS. Through a rock and roll spelling exercise, the audience-chosen members of the band are each correctly dealt to from a mixed-up packet. In celebration, good ol’ George on the dollar bill visually transforms into his favorite member of KISS...classic makeup and all.

Who is he?

Jonathan Friedman is a professional ‘musician-turned-magician’ with over twenty years in the biz’. His original material has been published in both GENII and MAGIC, as well in the digital magic magazine VANISH, where he contributes his own monthly column “Throwing Shade”. As an author, his “The 80’s Called...They Want Their Magic Book Back Vol. One” garnered rave reviews across the board, as well as winning the 2015 Vanishing Inc. “Trickie” Award for Best Magic Book.

Jonathan’s brand of quirky close-up gets tested daily while he works as a demonstrator at one of the busiest magic shops in the land, Market Magic Shop in Seattle, WA. Currently at work authoring a new hardback collection of his most musically-magical (or magically-musical) close-up creations, Jonathan is ecstatic to get the opportunity to step out from the magical underground and share his goods with you through the Penguin Live experience!