A Signature Stage Experience
Sleight.
An Evening with Jason Michaels
i. Sleight of Hand — World-class close-up magic on stage
ii. Sleight of Mouth — Influence, perception & the power of language
iii. Sleight of Mind —Mentalism & psychological illusion
How the evening begins
“The helicopter flew under cover of darkness over Baghdad. No lights. No announcement. A destination that wasn’t on any public itinerary.”
Before the first card is shown. Before the first mind is read. Before the audience understands what kind of evening this actually is — they hear about where this performer has been, and why. Then everything that follows lands differently.
As Seen On
Penn & Teller: Fool Us
The New York Times
TEDx
I
Sleight of Hand
The Impossible,
up close.
A full stage show of pure close-up magic — no apparatus, no assistants, no illusions. Just one of the finest sleight-of-hand artists performing in the world today, a stage, and the impossible happening in plain sight. Penn & Teller describe this kind of work in the language of craft. The New York Times called it “superb card manipulation.” Your audience will simply call it inexplicable.
In the Room
A signed card vanishes from the deck and appears somewhere it could not possibly be. The audience is close enough to watch every move. That is precisely the point.
II
Sleight of Mouth
The words
that move you.
Language shapes reality. Advertisers know it. Negotiators know it. Politicians know it. Most audiences don’t realize it’s happening to them in real time — until Jason shows them exactly how. The Sleight of Mouth sequences use humor, storytelling, and live demonstration to reveal the invisible architecture of influence and persuasion that governs everyday decisions.
In the Room
The audience repeats an apparently innocent sentence. Jason then asks them to make a series of free choices. He reveals that every choice was predicted — shaped, without their awareness, by the language they just used. The laughter that follows is complicated.
III
Sleight of Mind
What you think
is private.
Mentalism at this level is not cold reading or educated guessing. It is a precise understanding of behavioral psychology, attention, and the tells that every human being broadcasts without knowing it. Jason reads the room with an accuracy that unsettles — not because it feels like a trick, but because it doesn’t. The audience leaves genuinely uncertain about what just happened, and that uncertainty is the experience.
In the Room
A volunteer thinks of a card. Jason reads their poker tells in real time, narrating exactly what their body is broadcasting — and names the card. The volunteer has not spoken. They have barely moved. It doesn’t matter.
The Person Behind the Evening
Most shows have
a performer.
This one has a person.
“Someone who has done the impossible — literally and figuratively — in 55 countries, on military bases in active war zones, and on stages that changed what audiences believed was possible.”
Jason Michaels grew up with Tourette Syndrome. He built a career requiring absolute precision — a career where an involuntary movement at the wrong moment ends the illusion. He practiced anyway. He competed and won. He flew in Black Hawk helicopters over Baghdad to perform for soldiers who hadn’t seen entertainment in almost a year.
The cheer that erupted when he walked through that door is the whole argument for this evening. Not the tricks. The person.
The Thread That Runs Through Everything
Every impossible thing Jason does on stage is a live demonstration of a life principle — performed by someone for whom the word “impossible” was not a dramatic choice of language, but a description of what other people told him was true. The audience doesn’t need to be told this. They feel it. And when they do, what they have been watching changes.
“A demonstration of superb card manipulation.”
“Incredibly funny.”
55+
Countries
25
Years Performing
100+
Military Bases
4F
Member — By Invitation
How the Evening Moves
A shape refined
over 25 years.
“The three disciplines do not appear in sequence. They are woven together so that each one deepens the others.”
The humor keeps the room warm while the magic keeps them leaning forward. The stories give the mentalism weight. The Tourette’s thread surfaces not as a speech but as a revelation — something the audience arrives at themselves, which means they own it.
Duration: 60–75 minutes for a corporate audience. Every evening is calibrated for the room.
The Opening
Jason tells the Baghdad story. Before a card is touched or a mind is read, the audience understands who they are watching and what his life has been. Everything that follows is seen through that lens.
The Craft Established
Sleight of Hand sequences establish that something genuinely impossible is happening. The room learns to pay attention in a different way — which is exactly what prepares them for what comes next.
The Influence Revealed
Sleight of Mouth. The advertising manipulation routine. The audience makes choices they believe are free — and discovers they weren’t. The laughter is real. The discomfort is also real.
The Mind Read
Sleight of Mind. A volunteer thinks of something private. Jason reads the tells. Names it accurately. The room goes quiet in the way it only does when something genuinely unsettling has just happened.
The Close
A final sequence that brings all three disciplines together. The room is unified. People leave not just entertained but with something to carry — a feeling that the world operates on hidden mechanisms, and that they have just been shown a few of them.
See the Work
Watch Jason
perform.
PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE | The Maduro Deck — a bespoke Sleight of Hand commission for the editor of Cigar Aficionado magazine.
This is Sleight of Hand at close range. On stage, in front of up to 150 people, the precision does not change. Only the scale does.
Ideal For
The evenings where
Sleight belongs.
◆ Corporate Galas & Awards Dinners
The headline stage experience for an evening that needs to be genuinely unforgettable. Works as the post-dinner centerpiece for seated audiences up to 150.
◆ Conference Keynote Alternative
For organizers who want something that moves an audience the way a great keynote does — but that no attendee has experienced before and no competitor will replicate.
◆ Luxury Private Gatherings
An intimate theatre experience for guests who have been to every event and received every gift. The kind of evening a host curates rather than books.
◆ Incentive Trips & Executive Retreats
The signature event of a multi-day gathering for high-performing teams who have earned a premium experience.
◆ VIP Client Entertainment
For clients who have received everything. An evening genuinely impossible to replicate is the one that registers.
Practical Details
Simple to book.
Impossible to forget.
DURATION - 60–75 minutes, calibrated for the occasion
AUDIENCE - Up to 150; larger groups on request
SETUP - A stage and seated audience — nothing more
TECH - No specialist production required
PRE-EVENT - One conversation to calibrate the evening
FORMAT - Stage show — fully scripted, no two evenings identical
TRAVEL - Available nationwide and internationally
DATES - Limited availability each season
What They Said After
The room,
after the evening ends.
“A demonstration of superb card manipulation.”
“Incredibly funny.”
“A treat of tricks… entertaining and frequently surprising.”
As Seen On Penn & Teller: Fool Us · The New York Times · TEDx · Huckabee · ABC · FOX · NBC · CBS
Book the Evening
Bring Sleight
to your room.
A limited number of Sleight engagements are accepted each season. Tell Jason about your occasion and he will respond personally within 24 hours.
$12,500+
Most engagements: $12,500 – $17,500 depending on travel and event scope
Prefer email?
Sleight Inquiry
This is the beginning of a conversation. Tell Jason about your occasion — who will be in the room, what you want them to feel, and what the evening means.