Original lectures and hands-on workshops on card magic, creativity, stagecraft, and the modern spectator.
By Joel Cruz — Mr. Dwella. Puerto Rico.
Each lecture is a standalone presentation — live, in-person or streaming. Theory, performance, and real-world application.
Why today's audience is not the same as 20 years ago — and what must change in our magic. A diagnosis of the informed spectator with concrete proposals: the delivered secret, the pseudo-explanation, and the act as plot. Built on Tommy Wonder, Ascanio, Tamariz, Carroll, Burger, DaOrtiz & Ben Earl.
A complete 30-minute act with a single unprepared deck — borrowed or found anywhere. 12 effects from 1 card to 52, including two originals: El Último Pase and Lipzig Love It. The audience chooses how many cards for each trick.
A survival guide for the close-up magician jumping to the stage. 7 routines designed for total visibility, active participation, and organic magic. Kids become heroes, adults become accomplices. The last row understands everything.
The cyclic system from scratch: its history (William Coffrin), how it works, how to set it up. Includes Stack Unloaded — 5 chained effects where the deck stays in order throughout. Only at the final moment can the spectator inspect everything.
A lecture on character creation. The origin of Mr. Dwella, the framework behind building a stage persona, and how character becomes the compass for every creative decision you make.
How to think about magic — not just how to do it. A framework for purposeful creativity where every choice serves the spectator's experience. Often paired with Analizando Juegos for a deeper session.
How to structure a show. The 7 parts, strategic tools, 10 show styles, classical and modern structures, types of routines, 13 types of effects, and scaffold templates for building your act from scratch.
The psychology of a trick from the spectator's mind. 6 stages of mystery, 7 stages of creation, and applied examples. Pairs naturally with Creatividad con Propósito.
How I create new magic — four paths (combining, rediscovering, modifying, building from zero), overcoming creative blocks, 9 strategies for invention, plus 7 fully explained tricks with video.
These lectures aren't academic exercises. They come from years of performing for real audiences in Puerto Rico — testing, failing, refining, and finding what actually works when the lights are on.
"I don't chase the perfect trick. I chase the perfect moment."
Every lecture includes live performance, detailed breakdowns, and original material you won't find anywhere else.
Every participant leaves with something they can use that same night. Deck in hand, ideas on paper, a trick built from scratch.
Build the stack from zero, understand the math, leave with 2–3 effects you can perform tonight. Deck in hand the entire time.
Guided exercises to discover your stage identity. Not "invent a character" — find who you already are on stage and use it as a filter for every decision.
Bring a trick you already do. Leave with a version where the spectator "always chooses freely" but the ending is inevitable. Soft forces, equivoque, multiple outs — in pairs.
Bring a close-up trick. Adapt it live for 100+ people — visibility, participation, pacing, volunteer management. Real-time feedback.
Arrive with a loose repertoire. Leave with a structured act — narrative arc, opening, closer, transitions. Not theory. Actually building the show.
Four creative paths as practical exercises. Combine, rediscover, modify, or build from nothing. Leave with at least one original idea in development.
Bring a trick from your repertoire. Redesign it with the pseudo-explanation, the delivered secret, and the act-as-plot framework. Stop fighting the spectator who knows.
Build your own card gimmicks by hand. Types, materials, step-by-step construction. Every participant builds at least one functional gimmick. Stop buying — start building.
Design thinking for magic props. From the desired effect to the object that makes it possible. Materials, construction, professional finishing. Build a trick from scratch.
Puerto Rican magician, creator, and educator performing as Mr. Dwella. His work spans original card magic, stage performance, creative theory, and product design for magicians.
"When the audience takes something home, they take you with them. That's what I'm after."
Creator of MagiaTools — a digital platform for original magic content — and publisher of Stebbins Magazine, a monthly editorial on the Si Stebbins cyclic system.
Interested in booking a lecture or workshop for your convention, club, or event?
magiatools@gmail.com Lectures and workshops available worldwide — in English or Spanish