By Michael Kraus

Comedy itself is enough to entertain a crowd, but when cards, tricks, and illusions are added to the act, it makes for an anything but ordinary performance.

On Wednesday, UK students will have a chance to witness this combination of illusion and comedy when Dewayne Hill makes an appearance at the Cats Den for the Comedy Caravan series.

Dewayne Hill, one of only seven professional black magicians performing in the U.S., is looking forward to his visit to UK after not having performed on campus in over two years. Hill is fond of performing at college campuses such as UK because of the relaxed atmosphere.

“Everyone sitting in their seat wants to be there,” Hill said.

Hill, a West Virginia native and Florida resident, has been interested in magic since the age of 16. His interested sparked when he saw a high school substitute perform a card trick. After teaching himself for many years, Hill decided to become a professional magician.

Though Hill’s interest in magic started to increase, his idol was someone who is not known for magic.

“I really looked up to Steven Spielberg,”  Hill said. “The way he goes about creating the story is like setting up a professional card trick.”

Over the years Hill has racked up quite a few accomplishments. Hill has performed alongside Michael Winslow from the blockbuster “Police Academy”  and was supposed to perform with David Copperfield until complications kept Copperfield from performing at the show. Hill also broke a world record in 2007 when he performed 71 card tricks in an hour using a single deck of cards.

Although Hill says his profession is “80 percent business and 20 percent show,”  as he spends 20-30 hours a week booking himself for shows, he still loves entertaining and enchanting his audiences.

“(I love) the way people escape in the world of fantasy,” Hill said.

Dewayne Hill’s performance will be held Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at the Cats Den. Admission is free.