A cardboard box mountain looms over him. Joe knows his job – to take these relics of a life and do the impossible task of sorting them into “Trash” or “Treasure”. But as he opens the first box, he finds himself drawn through a portal to the past, reliving the moments that shaped him.

He hurtles from the stay-at-home care of his white mom, to the immigrant line-cook stories of his brown dad, to the warm memories of his childhood best friends: young adult fantasy novels. Harry Potter, Ender’s Game, and Half Magic spring from their boxes, whirling him back into their familiar worlds and lessons.

But…what lessons did they teach him, really? Suddenly, memories turn dark. As he sorts through the mountain of boxes, Joe realizes that there’s more to his story than he understood. Trash turns to treasure and vice versa as he reconceives his identity – from white, Harry Potter wannabe to a mixed race person in full command of his Half Magic. He looks around and realizes that there are others like him, caught between categories, also seeking a place to belong.

Created by Joseph Ahmed and directed by Cat Ramirez, Half Magic swirls together autobiographical physical theater with inventive juggling and object balancing to create a hilarious, heartfelt, magical journey into what it means to be mixed race, to search for community, and to hold the things we love with care and criticality. Part theater, part circus, it is a “a poignant, critical work that ought to be viewed, documented, and revisited, especially by immigrant parents, children of immigrants, and those with a biracial identity.”

Developed through Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists’ Mini-Residency program, early versions were presented to audience acclaim at Asian Arts Initiative, the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, and as part of the first annual Mixed Asian Media Fest.