TIM ELLIS, 24, MAGICIAN

"I think magic all the time now. I'm always looking for ways to transport the audience into a fantasy world," says Tim, who began experimenting with magic when he was 10, "though you don't really start, it's something you are born with."

Tim turned professional four years ago and now organises Melbourne's annual Magic Week.

He has also developed what he believes to be a unique variation of the sawing-a-woman-in-half trick; dispensing with the traditional box, Tim places his subject on a table, covered only with drapes.

"Of course, I'll never tell my secrets, although I always say I'll sell them."