Magician/illusionist Jason Bishop, seen on programs such as NBC’s “Today” show and CW’s “Masters of Illusion,” will begin a string of summertime shows Friday in the Poconos.

Bishop, a professional magician/illusionist for about 24 years, will perform 23 shows through August at Pocono Cinema and Cultural Center on Courtland Street in East Stroudsburg.

Longtime partner/assistant Kim Hess, who Bishop met during senior year at Fleetwood Area High School, will join the magician, as will the couple’s 11-year-old terrier Gizmo.

“Kim and I still enjoy traveling for shows around the world, but after doing that for so many years, it would be nice to do shows closer to home, too,” said Bishop, a resident of Fleetwood. “We’d like to have a permanent residency in the Pocono Mountains.”

Bishop hopes such a residency would not only cater to residents and vacationers, but also involve guest performances by magician, juggler and variety-artist friends.

The run of Pocono Cinema shows, Bishop said, “is the first step in understanding the viability of creating a long-term residency in our own venue. The show will be about 75 minutes and feature many of the effects audiences love most in our show.”

Furthermore, “we’ll have a few larger illusions. I think audiences will respond to the level of magic we can perform there. The material will change a little over the course of the summer, but the show is always different because of the way the audience and I interact.”

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Bishop spent time in a Philadelphia orphanage as a child and long-term foster care in areas such as Easton and Emmaus from age 8 or so to 18. His interest in “mechanical things and hidden mechanics” drew him to magic.

“I was mentally centered as a kid and had lots of interests. I enjoyed magic more than other activities. I first saw my biological father do a simple trick that mystified me and also saw an unnamed magician on TV levitate a woman. Those things piqued my interest.”

However, Bishop, who also attended Salisbury High School, added that “it was years before I did much more than watch magic when it was on TV or at an event.”

At around age 15, the entertainer - a Kutztown University Hall of Fame inductee for performing arts - realized he could learn and do magic. Influences include David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Greg Frewin and The Pendragons.

Bishop’s biggest challenge in becoming a professional magician was “getting any attention, getting bookers to believe in you.” Around 1999, he sent video demos to Pocono-area resorts, some which have since shuttered.

“We cut our teeth early on in the Poconos and the Catskills. Those venues helped form everything we would later do.” Byrd Pressley, then-booker for Caesars Brookdale in Scotrun, gave the duo its first contract.

“He booked us every summer for a few years,” Bishop said. “That led to a contract at The Summit. After that, we did hundreds, maybe more than a thousand dates in venues like Woodloch Pines, Fernwood, Pocmont, Split Rock, Central House, Tamiment and others.”

Though Bishop only performed serious magic early on, comedy later entered the mix. “Little honest quips would slip in,” he said, “and the audience seemed to like it.”

Big break

After Caesars Brookdale, Bishop’s next big breaks included “a good contract at a resort in Virginia, then doing well in the college market. Major breaks were the ‘Today’ show in 2016 and our own show in New York City on 42nd Street at the New Victory Theater.”

Bishop’s Broadway debut, 2016’s “Straight Up Magic,” came to fruition after the artistic director of a New Victory theater program flew to Georgia to see the duo perform.

“We became the first magicians to work that theater,” said Bishop, whose second Broadway show, “Believe in Magic,” followed in 2017. “It was a lot of work, but worth every effort.”

Bishop, to stay fresh and relevant, includes modern technology in his act and adds “new illusions that no one else is doing. We work with the best illusion creator, Jim Steinmeyer, and the best illusion fabricators to create new magic that has never existed before.”

Audiences, Bishop noted, “are smart and have seen a lot of entertainment and magic, so giving them something new is part of our job.” With any magic, though, mishaps - ranging from minor and unnoticeable to embarrassing and visible - often occur on stage.

For instance, years ago, “a cue was given wrong and an assistant who had ‘vanished’ came out of hiding in full view of the audience. Thankfully, that level of mistake is rare.”

Career highlights

Aside from Broadway and traveling the world, Bishop’s career highlights include working in Paris, seeing 49 U.S. states and touring with “Masters of Illusion.” In addition, he has met the likes of, among others, actor Christian Bale and Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak.

Looking to the future, Bishop would like to return to Broadway, continue performing on TV and perhaps play London’s West End. For now, though, he’s in a Pocono state of mind.

“All of my efforts are on providing guests to our Pocono shows with a great experience and looking for opportunities to create a permanent show in the Pocono Mountains.”