Ninety seconds from an actual show
Real audiences, not a produced reel. Strolling magic, mentalism, and the comedy that runs through all of it.
You bring the event. I bring the show that fits it.
A cocktail hour where people are standing around with drinks calls for something completely different than three hundred people facing a stage. Knowing what your event needs is my job, not a worry for you. Fifty years in, whatever you're planning, I've done one like it.
What I actually do
Magic
Sleight of hand up close, and illusions when there's a stage for them.
Cards, coins, rings, whatever's already in your hand. What comes out depends on the night and who's in the room.
Mentalism
The part corporate audiences remember longest. No trapdoors or special effects, nothing to explain it away.
Reading a room and calling things people never said out loud. It can run inside a strolling set or stand as its own piece.
Comedy
It's in everything, not a separate act.
I've never been able to do a show straight and I don't try. The straitjacket is technically an escape, really it's a comedy bit. Nobody's getting chained up and dropped in a river.
There's more, but it stops being useful as a list. Tell me what the event is and I'll tell you what works in it.
Show formats
Strolling magic
Nothing to set up, and it happens in their hands.
Receptions, cocktail hours, trade show booths, holiday parties. I move between small groups, close enough that it happens in their hands. There's no stage to build, no sound to run, and no schedule to hold up, so it fits around whatever else the night is doing. At a party of around fifty this holds on its own for hours. I did four and a half of them at an engagement party on a yacht in San Francisco. I never once looked at the clock, and it was a guest who finally told me to go up to the bow and see the view.
Stage show
A full show for a seated crowd. I run my own tech.
Banquets, awards nights, theaters. A full show, built and paced for the room, with sleight of hand you can still read from the back row, mentalism that pulls half a dozen volunteers out of their seats, and illusions when the occasion calls for it. I wrote, produced and directed themed stage productions for Paramount's Great America, so nobody on your side is troubleshooting sound and lights ten minutes before doors.
Parlor show
Around twenty five guests, sat down for an hour. The one people don't know to ask for.
The middle format. Nobody asks for it because they don't know it exists. Around twenty five guests is actually too few for strolling ... the group runs out of new people to show things to. A parlor show sits everyone down for forty five minutes to an hour instead, and it plays much better in a living room or a private dining room than close-up does.
Not sure which one fits your event?
Half the time people aren't sure, and sorting that out is where I start. Tell me the headcount, the room, and what else is happening that night, and I'll tell you which format actually works there. Sometimes that's not the one you came in asking about. It's the one that plays in that room.
What clients have said
“Despite competing with an open bar, a DJ, and panoramic views of the Bay, he had guests completely captivated for more than four hours. People kept following him around and circling back to see what he would do next. His mentalism genuinely stunned us, and our friends and family were still debating how he pulled everything off the next day.”
“A professional. He gets the job done. Very organized, he was up and running in nothing flat. And we so appreciate that.”
“Fantastic to work with.”
“A big hit. Gathered a great crowd. Always dependable.”
“The Bay Area's finest.”
“Ace has been to my house to entertain my kids and I've seen his show a few times over the decades. He always performs. I don't know how he can stay so consistent, but he's a great performer.”
Read what she said
“Oh my god, this is the best show I've ever seen. This is my first time here, so of course it might be the best, but it will be the best ever. It's amazing. Thank you.”
Past clients
50 years
A few of the names along the way:
About Ace Miles
I started doing magic professionally in 1976. My first corporate show was that December, in San Jose, when I was fourteen. My range covers close-up, parlor, stage, and mentalism. I've performed for Apple, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Paramount Parks, and ABC. In 2025 I played a week at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, twenty seven shows in the Parlour of Prestidigitation. I took first place in the stage category at the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians in 1983, and first place again in the Oakland Magic Circle's contest in 2021. Best of the Bay has voted me tops in family entertainment seven years running, performing as my pirate character, Jack Spareribs. I spent a good part of my working life in 3D animation and theme park design, which is why I build my own sets and run my own tech. I'm based in Sacramento.
The longer version, for press kits and venue submissions
Ace Miles has been performing magic professionally since 1976. His first corporate show was in December of that year, at Data Products in San Jose, when he was fourteen years old. By sixteen he was the resident magician at Great America in Santa Clara and had appeared on Evening Magazine, the San Francisco Bay Area television show.
His range covers close-up sleight of hand, parlor, full stage, and mentalism. He has performed for Apple, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Marriott, ABC, Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Xerox, Memorex, General Electric, and Paramount Parks, along with wineries, hotels, casinos, theaters, and several hundred private events. He has appeared on the Disney Channel, on Mornings on 2, and on A&E's Good Time Cafe. In 2025 he played a week-long run at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, twenty seven shows in the Parlour of Prestidigitation.
He took first place in the stage category at the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians in 1983, and won first place in the Oakland Magic Circle's magic contest in 2021. The Oakland Magic Circle is the oldest magic organization in California. Best of the Bay has voted him tops in family entertainment seven years running, performing as his pirate character, Jack Spareribs.
He builds what he performs. In the late 1990s he wrote, produced, directed and starred in his own themed stage productions for Paramount's Great America. Before that he was a self-taught 3D animator, working at Atari alongside Ed Logg, teaching at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, and creating the Sega Dreamcast and Fox Interactive logo animations. He later sculpted props and set pieces for Disney Imagineering.
He is based in Sacramento and works throughout Northern California.
Let's see if the date's open
Tell me about the event and I'll tell you whether I'm right for it.
What helps me answer fast: