A sophomore wowed the audience in a magic show Friday night in the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theater.

More than 270 people packed into the the room, where political communication major Max Davidson and his friend Scotty Wiese performed their act, called “Realities and Fictions.” Throughout the evening show, the duo performed card tricks and other acts, like guessing the name and location of a guest’s first kiss, which Davidson said he hoped led attendees to walk away from the show with an appreciation for “wonder” and magic.

“I hope they think, ‘How am I interpreting my world? Is it wrong? Is it right? Can I look at things in a more nuanced way? Can I enjoy wonder a little bit more?’ Those are the questions I hope they’re asking,” he said.

Davidson said he connected with Wiese when he was home in Denver the summer after his freshman year – the two went to the same high school but had never actually met before. Davidson and Wiese began working on a show together and performed the first “Realities and Fictions” in July in their hometown.

Wiese has been performing magic shows around the country for the past three years. Davidson is still balancing school, extracurriculars and magic but carries out shows around D.C. for companies and corporate events to help transition into professional shows after he graduates.

The two magicians put on a tag team performance. Davidson pulled off several card tricks that left the audience gasping. One trick ended with an audience member’s dollar bill being removed from a previously untouched lemon.

Wiese specialized in mind reading tricks. A crowd favorite was when he guessed the location and name of a random boy’s first kiss. Her name was Ellie, and they kissed under a tree.

“Think of how good it was on a scale from one to 10,” Wiese instructed the participant. “You’re thinking ‘two,’ aren’t you?” The boy nodded.

Light-hearted tricks like these made the audience – which ranged from small children and students to parents and grandparents – giggle and whisper with curiosity. But Davidson and Wiese also incorporated deeper lessons into the show about love, hate, secrets and the bliss of ignorance.

During one of his tricks, Wiese emphasized a lyric from a song written after the Las Vegas shooting, “Love’s gonna conquer all.” He also told a story about a boy who reached out a year after seeing him perform this same trick and said the message about love helped the boy cope with his depression.