For Michael Grandinetti, transforming a college degree in business and marketing into a successful career in magic involved no smoke or mirrors, just a lot of hard work.

"It was never a question of 'Do I want to do this or not, but how do I do this'?" he said.

Considering when he was a student at West Mifflin High School, he once made a girl disappear at halftime of a football game, Mr. Grandinetti had a good start.

"I'm one of those really lucky people who knew what they wanted to do from a very early age."

Mr. Grandinetti, 30, whose major-league illusions have been featured on national television and in Las Vegas and Branson, will perform in another high-profile venue Monday, at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll.

"This is going to be really, really fun, and I'm really excited," said Mr. Grandinetti, a Duquesne University grad whose base of operations is Los Angeles. "I'm going to do several shows."

Among his planned illusions: making hundreds of Easter eggs appear, as well as conjuring a giant American flag at the end of the show.

He'll have at least one change in his repertoire, courtesy of the Secret Service.

"I do a piece in my show where I borrow finger rings from the audience, and they vanish in a flash of fire and become glitter. Then they re-appear in a locked safe on the other side of the stage," Mr. Grandinetti said.

Security concerns nixed the idea of his bringing incendiary materials, "so we're going to have to restructure that."