Bearwin’s bag of tricks

He asks you to rest one hand on a box of playing cards. Then, he requests that you think of a card except one with the King, the Queen and the Jack (they are easy to recall, see). He gets the deck of cards from the box, runs through them and shows one lying face down, away from him and from you. Voila! It’s the card you had in mind!

Bearwin Meily surprised movie columnist Ronald Constantino with this magic trick at the presscon of GMA 7’s reality-based show, NAKS! (which premieres tonight after Mel & Joey). Turns out Bearwin’s bag of magic tricks is not just for Tom on the Road, a segment in Lagot Ka, Isusumbong Kita. It’s for real.

It amazes, not just the movie press, but the common tao at the mall where the show goes around with its bag of magic tricks.

Not a day passes when a mall goer asks Bearwin to perform just one magic trick: a card or coin game, or a funny/yucky (depends on which side of the fence you’re in) staging of his spider-on-the-hand act.

But whatever it is, Bearwin has acquired, not just a new skill, but a whole new way of improving himself through magic.

"It was David Blaine’s street magic that inspired me," relates Bearwin, who started learning tricks nine months ago. "I practice with cards and coins everyday. I keep a deck of cards in my pocket all the time. In fact, I have even ventured into hypnosis and mind reading. I also taught Raymart Santiago and Joey Marquez some of my tricks."

More importantly, magic has taught Bearwin how to hone his skills as a person and as a performer.

"Since magic entails speed and rapport with the audience, I’ve learned to think faster and interact better with the crowd," reports Bearwin.

But in all things, there are two sides of the coin. Bearwin knows magic can go overboard and spell trouble. That’s why he promises never to venture into black magic, like sorcery or witchcraft. He will never delve into something that has the telltale signs of the devil, swears Bearwin.

Besides, Bearwin has never been associated with anything uh, devilish. He cracks jokes, but usually of the wholesome, harmless kind.

"I’m still basically a comedian. The magic is incidental, complementing my work as funnyman," observes Bearwin.

The out-and-out magic will come from a team of young illusionists headed by Erik Mana, who will display his skills on NAKS! (Nakabibilib at Kakaibang Show). It is Erik and his team — simply known as Ron, Ethel, Con, JB and Slydon — who will do the "heavy" magic tricks like mind reading.

Bearwin’s co-host Benjie Paras is more of the active spectator, injecting funny comments while the rest of the gang do their thing (look ma, no camera tricks!). While he doesn’t dabble in magic, Benjie has a built-in chemistry with Bearwin (they’re friends in real life) that keeps the ball rolling merrily along.

Benjie has another role in the show: to guide viewers through a collection of science-based ‘magical’ inventions. Do you know, for instance, that someone has invented a pair of chopsticks with portable electric fan to cool hot food before it enters the diner’s mouth?

There’s more: the cast and crew will go around malls, randomly choosing people who will participate in a magic game that will bring in laughter and surprise. The unsuspecting do not know it. But a hidden camera will record every drop of the jaw, surprised scream or baffled look from the "victim."

Abracadabra! Let the show begin.