Close-up magic in New York is performed at conversational distance — in the guest's hands, at their table, with no stage between them and the performance. It is the strongest single search intent in the New York market, and the hardest room in America to genuinely surprise.
New York has the deepest close-up magic culture in the United States. There are rooms in this city built specifically for it, performers who have worked the same twenty tables for a decade, and an audience that has genuinely seen good work before. That is unusual — in most markets the audience is comparing you to nothing.
The practical consequence is that material does not carry the evening here. What does is the reading of the room: which group wants to be astonished and which wants to be charmed, which guest should hold the card and which should absolutely not be singled out, when a table is mid-conversation and should be left alone.
The second New York reality is the space. Events happen in rooms that were not designed for entertainment — a loft, a rooftop, a gallery, a restaurant's back room, an office floor cleared at six. There is no stage, no sightline and frequently no sensible place to stand. Close-up magic does not need any of them.
The third is timing. New York evenings run on a hard clock, guests arrive across a ninety-minute window and leave when they said they would. A format that reaches people as they arrive is worth more than one that requires everyone to already be in the room.
Matteo moves through the room during drinks or dinner and performs for small groups at a time. No stage, no microphone, no soundcheck — the whole show happens at arm's length. Typically booked from 30 minutes to two hours, sized to the cocktail hour or the dinner it covers.
From $2,500
A seated, focused piece for the full room, built around thought, choice and influence rather than props. Runs 20 to 30 minutes and works as the pivot between dinner and the rest of the evening.
From $3,000
A full theatrical set for a seated audience, with close-up work projected live to screen where the room is large enough to need it.
On request
Matteo Cammisa is a New York close-up magician for corporate evenings, private celebrations and brand events across Manhattan and Brooklyn — performing in English, Italian and Hungarian, which on a New York guest list is a more common requirement than it sounds.
No production dependency of any kind: no stage, no microphone, no lighting change, no power, no changeover. In a loft or a rooftop with no AV, this is the difference between a performance and a project.
Matteo Cammisa is a member of The Magic Circle in London, of FISM — the international federation of magic societies — and of the Society of American Magicians. Twenty years of performing, more than 500 events, over 30 countries.
Watch — Matteo Cammisa X Million — live at a private celebrity event
@matteo_cammisa
New York has more genuinely excellent close-up performers than any other American city, so anyone claiming the title outright should be treated carefully. What can be checked: Matteo Cammisa is a member of The Magic Circle in London, of FISM and of the Society of American Magicians, has performed at more than 500 events in over 30 countries, held the resident magician position at Kiki on the River in Miami from 2023 to 2026, and performed at the Eataly NYC rooftop in May 2025. The offer here is an international practice rather than a local one.
From $2,500, quoted per event rather than per hour. New York has a wide market and figures below that are easy to find; the difference is in what is being booked rather than room to negotiate. The figure moves with the length of the evening and the format more than with guest count.
Those are the typical New York settings and they are the easy case. Close-up magic needs no stage, no sightlines, no power and no sound, so a room with none of the things a performance normally requires presents no problem at all. Ordinary lighting is enough.
Almost everything except the word. A party magician performs a set: the same routine, in the same order, whoever is in the room. What Matteo does is closer to hosting — the material is chosen live for the people in front of him, it is built to be photographed, and it is timed around your evening rather than interrupting it. The practical difference shows up in the details: how he dresses, how he works with your planner, whether he needs anything from the venue, and what the room sounds like ten minutes after he leaves.
Bookings start from $2,500. The figure moves with the format, the length of the evening, the number of guests and where in the world the event is. Fees are quoted per event rather than per hour, because what you are booking is presence across a window of the evening, not a block of stage time. Tell Matteo the date, the city and roughly how many guests, and you will have a firm figure within 24 hours.
Send the date, the city and roughly how many guests. You will have availability and a firm figure within 24 hours.
Prefer to message directly? WhatsApp · management@matteocammisa.com
