Cedars-Sinai Volunteer Uses Magic to Dazzle Delight and Bring Joy Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 02 May 2019 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Cedars-Sinai Volunteer Uses Magic to Dazzle Delight and Bring Joy Trained at the Magic Castle Patricia Marquis is One of Thousands of Cedars-Sinai Volunteers Helping Patients download Your browser does not support HTML5 video. Patricia Magicia Works Her Magic on Patients Cedars-Sinai volunteer Patricia Marquis, whose stage name is Patricia Magicia, uses magic for more than just entertainment. She uses her craft as a welcome distraction for patients facing an array of illnesses. "I bring sunshine to people who may not have visitors or who may be dealing with pain," said Marquis, a French native and member of the famous Magic Castle, who has been serving as a Cedars-Sinai volunteer for more than two years. "I try to make each patient feel like they are the only person I came to perform for, that I happened to magically appear just for them." Marquis enjoyed a successful career bringing high-end European lingerie retailers to the U.S. market, but she was eager to find an additional passion that would also allow her to give back to her community. At the same time, she lost a close family friend to blood cancer when he was just 32 years old. The experience left her knowing she wanted to become a hospital volunteer. "Magic seemed like a good challenge, because I knew nothing about it," said Marquis. "But I knew it would bring joy and laughter to both children and adults." After studying and training for years at the Magic Castle, Marquis began performing on her own and perfecting her skills. In addition to her weekly visits to Cedars-Sinai, Marquis performs at the Magic Castle, an orphanage in Tijuana and at local veterans' hospitals. "Cedars-Sinai volunteers are the heart of our institution," said Casey McGuire, director of Volunteer Services at Cedars-Sinai. "Patricia – like all of our wonderful volunteers – brings energy, enthusiasm and happiness into the lives of patients who often need a distraction or visitor. She's so vibrant and she truly improves the experience of our patients." Upon entering every patient room, Marquis begins by saying, "Today is your lucky day, you have two choices. Your first choice is, I can do magic for you. Or, I can make you a magician and you make me disappear." And while Marquis cannot use magic to cure patients, she's able to bring joy where there was none before. "I loved it," said Amanda Drewery, a Cedars-Sinai patient who recently saw Marquis' tricks up close. "I think she's tremendous, talented and incredible. And it cheered me up a lot." In 2018, Cedars-Sinai volunteers-who range in age from 14 to over 100-donated 170,000 hours of time, leading to more than 45,000 touchpoints with patients, from delivering flowers and escorting them within the medical center to playing music. Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Faces of Cedars-Sinai: Volunteer Roz Fox Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics October 05, 2022 06:13 AM America/Los_Angeles Cedars-Sinai is opening free flu vaccine pop-up clinics to help the community combat the upcoming flu season, which is shaping up to be a rough one.“We want to make it as easy as possible for people … Read more Help Wanted Heart—Not Experience—Required September 20, 2022 07:30 AM America/Los_Angeles As the COVID-19 pandemic eases, many people are going back: back to work, back to school, back to normal lives.But one group that hasn’t gone back is the volunteers. Across the U.S., volunteer … Read more Cedars-Sinai Study Highlights Cancer Disparities in LA County September 05, 2022 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles People in Los Angeles County experience differences in cancer risk and survival depending on a variety of factors such as race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, geographic location and … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Contact Share this release Cedars-Sinai Volunteer Uses Magic to Dazzle Delight and Bring Joy Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay: Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW: Want New Omicron Booster? Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home