Nick Roy, 25

Photo: Andrew Nawrocki

Tower Court and Pearson Street

You’re a magician? Yeah, I just got my street performer’s license. I’ve been doing magic professionally for about four months, just getting my name out there.

What are your trademark tricks…sorry, your illusions? I should’ve learned from Arrested Development that tricks are something a whore does for money. That’s right! I do a lot of metal bending. I make stuff float. Have you ever seen one of these? [A pen suddenly appears in his hand.]

Isn’t that just a Sharpie? No, it’s a magic marker! I can wave it and make it vanish! [The pen disappears.] I can take four dollar bills, put them in your hand, hit them with my wallet and they all turn into twenties.

And that’s when I flee! That’s why I’m not doing that trick on the street. For private parties only! I also do some David Blaine stuff and some Criss Angel stuff.

You’d need more eyeliner to compete with Criss Angel. Oh, a shitload more! I’m more into David Copperfield anyway. When I was an eight-year-old in Connecticut, I went to a Copperfield show. I saw him do stuff like saw people in half. That had a big impact. I was like, Wow, I could do this for the rest of my life.

Do ladies love a magic man? Oh, for sure. I do a gag in which I say, “There’s no way I can know your phone number, right? Write it down on this piece of paper.” So they write it down, I put the paper in my pocket and move on to something else. [Laughs] They’re like, “Wait, what?!”