Like lots of children I was fascinated by magic. I’d watch illusions on TV and wish I could do them. I used to sit for ages looking at a pencil on the table hoping I could make it move.

But there really wasn’t a place to learn. And back then it was pretty much all boys. Even now there are very few female magicians in the world, and even fewer in Australia.

I didn’t see a magic trick done live until I was 22 and studying art with a teacher who was also a puppeteer and a magician.

He showed me a trick and I knew I had to learn how to do it. But before he’d teach me anything he gave me a pile of books to read.

Magic takes a different kind of aptitude. It attracts a lot of people in the science fields, I was a science freak, but by then I’d moved towards drama and the creative arts. Both helped me.

When I started performing magic, drama lessons helped me because it’s not just about performing illusions. You need to know about being on stage and keeping the audience interested. You have to magic something magic without making people feel foolish.

My husband, Tim Ellis, has been a magician all his life. We met at a magic conference in Sydney where he put as much energy into getting me up on stage as I put in avoiding it. I was terrified, but it was great fun.

After the conference he went home to Melbourne and we agreed to keep in touch. A week later we were talking about getting married!

I moved to Melbourne and we started working together. Now we do magic shows and one-on-one magic for corporate events. We have different approaches to our profession, so working together can be challenging.

And that’s one of the reasons I love going to Fernwood – it’s a great outlet for my frustrations! I also need to be fit for my illusions. I get squashed and levitated, and have to escape from a straitjacket. I also cut my husband in half with a chainsaw. I think I’m the only female magician in the world who does the sawing act – it definitely requires some strength.

And then there’s my character, Jeannie. When we did one-on-one performances I used to get very nervous. Friends suggested getting into a character, so I started dressing up as Jeannie, from TV’s I Dream of Jeannie. Everyone expects her to do magic so it makes it much easier, but the outfit does put pressure on me to keep my upper body looking good!

*Sue-Anne is the official Jeannie lookalike for the website www.IDreamofJeannie.com