They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but Ed the Wizard taught attendees some trickery at his “Magic for Seniors” event at the Wareham Council on Aging on Friday, May 24. 

Ed Cope, professionally known as Ed the Wizard, included close-up magic, card tricks, and mentalism in his 45-minute act, dropping jaws and generating applause.

Cope taught attendees how to perform their own magic tricks as well, showing the audience  how to make a plastic straw spin atop a salt shaker and how to make sugar from a packet “disappear.”

Cope doesn’t have a “show,”— rather a box of magic effects that he caters to each audience. He said that younger groups tend to be more apt to volunteer, and have a “different kind of enthusiasm” about his shows. 

Cope performs for audiences ranging from “tots to grandparents,” he said.

“If my audience is quiet, I try to do things that will enliven them,” Cope said.

Cope started doing magic about 25 years ago, and said that he now does 100 or more shows each year since starting magic full time in 2006. 

After reading the first “Harry Potter” book, Cope was inspired to start doing magic by the character Dumbledore. 

Performing magic full time is “great,” Cope said. “The best thing I’ve ever done.”

Audience members, like Wareham resident Sharon Boyer, thought the show was “very impressive.”