The Dandenong North-raised illusionist is putting in 14-hour days to perfect a new swag of tricks for a live show at the Regent Theatre in March, which will be recorded for a one-off TV special.

One of the tricks will involve sawing in half a volunteer from the audience - with a buzz saw and without boxes. "You wouldn't believe how many people want to be sawn in half," he said.

He will also be making predictions of the future and mind reading, and showcasing a new death-defying escape.

Cosentino's penchant for escapes gained national attention on Channel 7's Australia's Got Talent last year. Recently he has been performing his sell-out shows six days a week.

"It's finely tuned and dangerous. The act is tuned to the max but when you go [shackled] in the [water] tank and hold your breath, it just takes one slip on a rock.

"Towards the end, your body doesn't know what's going on and wants some air. You're depriving yourself of life. When you break to the surface, it's a natural high."

He said it was like an addiction to push himself to the edge to retain that natural high.

He is rarely fooled by another magician's tricks - that is unless he is unable to reproduce the illusion. That's the sort of awe he likes to evoke in his audience.

"At the end of the day, I won't reveal how to do my tricks because it ruins it. All I'm trying to do is bring that emotion - maybe just for a split second - of 'you believe this is possible'. You're looking and saying 'I don't know how this is done'."

Cosentino performs at the Regent Theatre on March 17. Bookings: 136 100 or ticketmaster.com.au.