Ben Benjamins at Elgin Fringe Festival

He says he's not a psychic or a mind reader — he's a magician with tricks that make you think he's those things. But that's neither here nor there once the magic starts, when he makes numbers appear on price tags, or he sketches hidden objects.

Ben Benjamins presents "Mental. Magic." at
the Elgin Fringe Festival 2017.

In his show entitled "Mental. Magic." Ben Benjamins uses several random audience members to show off his uncanny abilities to pluck words and images from a subject's mind. But unlike other "audience participation" acts, you well may want to be chosen for the stunt, because this magician isn't weird or frightening. He's like the funniest guy you just met at a bar.

Key to Benjamins' success is his quick-witted, comedic, regular-guy delivery that leaves you guessing whether the next line is a joke or an astonishing display of mentalism. Make no mistake, a few of the gags really are just jokes (well-played and funny ones at that), but even the shrewdest observer will be gobsmacked by the message in the bottle. No spoilers!

Try to keep up with him Saturday, Sept. 16th at 3pm or 7:30pm, or Sunday, Sept. 17th at 4:30pm at Imago Studios.