For Jasen Chadwick,

seeing magician David Copperfield as a boy was a magical experience.

Chadwick was

so amazed at what he saw that he began a lifelong love of magic and illusion

and is now a famous magician who has had the chance to work with one of

his heroes in the industry. Chadwick brings his bag of tricks to Sams

Auditorium this Saturday as a benefit for the Fayette County High School

drama department.

Chadwick is

originally from Griffin, Ga. but has lived in Las Vegas for six years.

He started learning magic soon after seeing Copperfield as a boy and got

to meet the magician at the age of 12. He has trained ever since the first

show and has worked with Copperfield on a number of occasions, including

the performance where the Statue of Liberty disappeared. Several of the

tricks in his show have been borrowed with permission from Copperfield's

show.

"People

ask me if it is hard to learn magic," Chadwick said in a recent interview.

"Is it hard to learn how to play piano? Yes, at first, but you learn

it step by step; it's a growing process."

Chadwick must

have grown quite a bit as an illusionist. He has many top notch tricks

to perform at next Saturday's performance, including walking through a

solid brass mirror, levitating an assistant 30 feet and vanishing him

or her, some mind reading and one really big trick that could net the

school $10,000. There will be a packing crate and several pair of handcuffs,

a leg iron and 25 feet of chains that the audience will be able to examine

in the lobby before the show. Chadwick will escape from the crate and

the restraints in a set amount of time or will pay $10,000 to the school.

Since moving

to Las Vegas, Chadwick has moved up from lounges to the main show rooms

of such venues as Caesars Magical Empire and MGM Grand. He would now like

to expand on his high school tours.

"It's

great to be giving something