What happens when the expected outcome has an unexpected result? 

For Mario the Maker Magician, that's when things get interesting. 

A trick takes an unexpected turn. A handmade robot joins the act. An audience member becomes part of what happens next. Mario experiences those moments alongside the audience, turning the unexpected into magic, comedy and an opportunity to explore what's possible. 

It's an approach that may feel familiar at Georgia Tech. 

On Saturday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m., Mario the Maker Magician brings an inventive mix of magic, robotics, engineering, visual art and comedy to the Ferst Center for the Arts. Behind the handmade robots, audience participation and confetti is an invitation to stay curious, use your imagination and see where an idea can lead. 

Mario Marchese is a magician, artist and self-taught robot maker whose work has been featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Sesame Street and performed for audiences around the world. His work invites audiences not only to experience the magic, but also to think about the creativity and experimentation behind it. 

For a magician, that may be unexpected. For a maker, it makes perfect sense. 

Where imagination becomes something you can build 

Mario builds much of the world audiences encounter onstage. Handmade robots become supporting characters. Science and mechanical engineering meet fabric, visual storytelling, comedy and traditional magic. 

That process connects naturally with a culture of making at Georgia Tech, where students across disciplines turn ideas into something tangible through designing, coding, fabricating, performing and experimenting. 

The connection isn't simply that Mario uses technology. His work reflects the curiosity behind it: What can I make? What happens if I try this? What else could this become? 

Throughout the performance, Mario encourages audiences to explore those questions themselves. He references inventors and groundbreaking thinkers, asks audience members what they want to be when they grow up and brings volunteers into the performance as collaborators. 

An unexpected result can become an opportunity to try something different. A robot can become a character. Engineering can become part of a magic trick. The boundaries between art, technology and making begin to disappear. 

It's a reminder that creativity doesn't belong to one discipline. Neither does innovation. 

The possibilities of “What if?” 

That spirit makes Georgia Tech a fitting stop for Mario's work. 

Across campus, students are creating and tackling questions whose answers may not exist yet. Doing that requires technical knowledge and imagination, along with a willingness to experiment and follow an idea somewhere unexpected. 

Mario brings that same sense of possibility to the stage. Through humor, magic, invention and audience participation, the performance turns curiosity into action and invites audiences to experience the discovery alongside him. 

And while the performance can spark curiosity in young audiences, the invitation isn't limited by age. Mario creates a shared, all-ages experience where students, families and multiple generations can laugh, participate and wonder together. 

The result is more than a magic show. It's an invitation to stay curious, make something and see where an idea can lead. 

Sometimes all it takes is asking: What if? 

Mario the Maker Magician 
Saturday, Nov. 14 | 2 p.m. 
Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech 

Tickets and information: arts.gatech.edu/presents