Méliès (pronounced MEL-YAY) is the stage name of John Sanbonmatsu, a magician, mentalist, writer, and philosopher in Massachusetts.  A member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, John was mentored by the New York-based magician Matias Letelier.  When not practicing or performing magic, John can be found teaching.  He is a former blogger for the Huffington Post.

 

"Magic to me is about the re-enchantment of daily life--a way to recapture  that sense of wonder and infinite possibility that we experience as children but later barter away in our quest for adulthood.  Magic restores  the memory and experience of this forgotten wholeness (which in fact we never lost.) 

 

"Magic is one of the most enlivening of arts,  and paradoxically one of the most truthful:  we know we are being deceived, yet take great pleasure in the deception.

 

"The best magic is a form of connection and even love between the performer and his or her audience--a shared moment of intimacy, awe, and transcendence."