Derek Hughes, well-known actor, comedian, and magician will be bringing his talents to the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Wednesday at 9 p.m.

“Derek’s show will be a mixture of comedy and magic,” Rovion Reed, the University Board Comedy Coordinator said.

Krystina Lamorte, UB Chair, saw one of Hughes’s performances and insisted on bringing him to perform on campus.

“Derek was the number one booked act at (National Association for Campus Activities Conference),” said Sue Boxrud, an agent from The College Agency.

Since Hughes performed at NACA, he has been busy touring and focusing on booking shows.

The date of the show was originally scheduled for Thursday but due to Fall Break, the performance was moved to Wednesday, Reed said.

Students may have seen Hughes in movies such as “Mr. Deeds” and “Corky Romano.” He had small roles in both movies.

He has also appeared on MTV’s show “Room 401” produced by Ashton Kutcher and VH1’s “Celebracadabra,” Boxrud said. Both T.V. shows featured Hughes’ professional magic skills.

“Some people even recognize him from (the) Taco Bell commercial,” Boxrud said.

Hughes’ wide range of qualities and talents cater to a variety of students, as well.

“If you’re into comedy you’ll really like Derek. If you’re into magic you’ll like Derek,” Buxrud said. “Either way he is a smart magician, rather than a Jazz magician, he’s really cool to watch.”

His balance of comedy and magic mixed together is part of a one of a kind performance. Hughes makes his show unique by steering clear of a cliché magic show and he mixes in a stand up comedy act.

Reed said he has high hopes for this show, especially after the change of date. To promote the show even more the UB will be giving out raffle tickets at the door.

They will be giving away free DVDs, t-shirts and other prizes. The big giveaway of the night will be two tickets to see Usher at one of his upcoming concerts in November.

Lauren Lombardo can be reached at 581-7942 or lnlombardo@eiu.edu.