Those interested in watching magicians in action can now do so at the Bob Elliott Theater, which recently opened its doors to State College residents.

The theater, which is connected to East Coast Magic, 244 E. Calder Way, is the first of its kind in State College.

Bob Elliott and his partners Happy Elliott, Ben Salinas and John Blake own both East Coast Magic and the new magic theater.

Magic, Music and More was the original name of the magic store Blake opened in 2002 and was located along Westerley Parkway. The store has been at the Calder Way location using the name East Coast Magic since 2003.

The new theater opened to the general public on Jan. 22 and manager Happy Elliott said many people attended both shows, which featured well-known magicians.

"We had a full house. It was a New York show in State College," she said. "[The show included] very professional people from all over the world."

The theater currently has 57 seats, which were donated by the State Theatre, 128 W. College Ave. But the owners are in the process of increasing the size of the theater to 100 seats and plan to have the expansion completed by March.

Packages will be available for children's birthday parties after the expansion and corporations will also be able to book reservations for company gatherings.

Teresa Sparacino, Downtown Improvement District director, said the East Coast Magic shop and the Bob Elliott Theater are unique additions to the downtown area.

"They get a lot of support from the community," she said. "A lot of non-profit [organizations] rely on East Coast Magic for entertainment."

Some student groups also use the theater as a meeting place for club activities.

Todd Wise (junior-petroleum and natural gas engineering), president of the Penn State Performing Magicians, a group co-founded by Salinas, said the club holds its weekly meetings at East Coast Magic.

"It's fun to hang out with the other magicians and learn the secrets of the trade," Wise said. "You learn something new every time you go down."

The local International Brotherhood of Magicians ring also holds its monthly meetings at East Coast Magic.

Salinas said more people have been coming to the East Calder Way location, and added that the store has a lot of Internet sales in addition to local sales.

He also said the store has attracted magicians of all age groups.

There are four types of magic performed by magicians: close-up/sleight-of-hand magic, stand-up/stage magic, illusion and mentalism. Close-up magic uses coins, cards and ropes, while mentalism involves mind-reading and moving objects, Salinas said.

Kenneth Knott, a retired Penn State industrial engineering professor, is the president of The Bob Elliott Ring 352, and said his club's particular interest is close-up magic. "[Magicians] are very generous with ideas and showing each other things," he said.

While many magicians are willing to coach each other, Knott said most magicians are reluctant to show audiences how to do the tricks.

Blake said the theater owners have an important rule for students who practice magic at the magic store.

"If their grades are going down, they can't come back until their grades go up," he said.