SHEFFIELD LAKE — October may be National Magic Month, but for Jack Palur, magical things happen year-round.

Palur, a practicing magician for the past 35 years, has been passionate about his performance art since early childhood.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Jack Palur is a professional magician.

“I’ve always been into magic,” he said. “It’s a huge adrenaline rush. I started as a young boy and then performed as a teenager and through college. I love it so much that when friends and family come over I have to show them some new stuff whether they want me to or not.”

This past year, Palur went full-time with his entertainment company, JP Productions, in Sheffield Lake. The company not only promotes his own magical endeavors but also supports other entertainers such as Jovialities Murder Mysteries, “Miss Tarr” the Raggedy Ann performer and Amherst artist, Mike Leuszler.

The most popular and unforgettable segment of JP Productions contains Palur’s alter-ego, Fineous Mildewheimer. The lovable and humorous magical professor of archaeology and world explorer shares the “magical treasures” he has acquired from around the world with the children in his audience, while encouraging their participation. The show has even inspired Palur’s wife, Joyce, to become involved as Miss Penny Wiggle, the studious assistant of Fineous Mildewheimer.

Amid the good professor’s collection of props and puppets is one that definitely won’t fit up his sleeve. Packy Derm, the 200-pound baby elephant puppet, actually performs some magic of his own toward the end of the performance.

“The whole thing lasts for 45 minutes, and we get all the kids involved in some manner, especially the birthday child or guest of honor,” Palur said.  “We make them the star of the show.”

Aside from performing as Professor Fineous and doing magic as himself at small gatherings, Palur also offers magical instruction sessions which have been wildly popular in Northern Ohio schools and libraries for more than 20 years.

Teaching wide-eyed onlookers some “tricks” of the trade, these one-on-one and small group sessions, include lessons on the basics of close-up magic and the fundamentals of magical performance.

“Haunt,” one of the company’s newest programs, and most requested around Halloween, involves an evening of frightful and fictional fun produced by Palur’s troupe of actors and magicians in homes, libraries and banquet halls.

Of the characters among them, a medium and a professional ghost hunter are the two main players who create a haunting complete with magical illusions and a grand finale séance. Though much of the acting is improvised and catered to each specific audience, there is more to this magic than meets the eye.

“The part the guests don’t see is behind the scenes,” Palur said. “Along with the actors, we also employ a technical director who controls lighting, sound and other special effects that complete the atmosphere.”

Throughout the evening, guests roam from location to location in the building while participating in “experiments” that aim to prove a supernatural presence.

“It’s great fun and it’s all entertainment,” Palur said. “We certainly don’t profess to find real ghosts, although it’s generally pretty frightening.”

JP Productions has found success in the past year and Palur hopes to continue that success by creating new programs and branching even further into the entertainment industry.

One that’s currently in the works is a full evening stage show for larger audiences, including comedy and magic. The Kaputska Brothers Extraordinary Magical Extravaganza will feature Palur’s own astonishing tricks coupled with the talents of professional stand-up comedian Mark Collela in an hour-long set.

Things are currently in the rehearsal process, but the show is scheduled to debut in the near future.

To Palur and his family, magic isn’t an illusion, it’s a reality.  His passion for the art has driven the success of JP Productions and made believers out of everyone.

“The feeling of entertaining somebody with humor and then seeing the astonishment in their faces makes me very happy,” he said. “It’s more than just a job. If I didn’t have to make a living at it, I’d do it for free.”

Contact Jill Mahon at 329-1155 or metro@chroniclet.com

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