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honus Veteran user 354 Posts |
Did my first daycare show Friday. (I've done a couple of parties for my older daughter before, but basically I'm a hobbyist.) A freebie, of course, for my younger daughter's facility. About 20 4- and 5- year olds. It went pretty well, although I'd appreciate any audience management tips for this age group.
My real reason for posting is this: when we finished, the kids, completely on their own, lined up to shake hands and/or give me hugs. I know it's easy to get cynical about trying to entertain the noisy little snot-nose floor rats , but boy, that made me feel good. |
Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
Ya gotta love them hugs! This seems to be a recurring reaction in many of my shows. Congratulations on a job well done!
As for your request for audience management tips, I'm not sure exactly what you need. Did you run into some difficulties during the show? Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
boppies2 Elite user Arizona 422 Posts |
That's why I enjoy entertainging the young ones. 'Snot-nose floor rats'? Just wait until they grow up. I am not sure if they improve with age. When a five-six year old looks up and says: 'I have never seen a real Magician before - can I give you a hug'? My heart melts.
Max |
honus Veteran user 354 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-08-14 10:06, magicman845 wrote: Just a few times where the "discussions" amongst the audience members went on a little longer than may have been ideal. Plus this one little guy who kept trying to wander behind me and look at my stuff. Not maliciously, he just was too young to get it. Staff was very helpful, by the way, in keeping the kids in line. |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Congratulations honus on a good first show. Hope you have many more to come. The more shows you do the better the audience management will get, but there will always be a few little challenges. Just go with the flow. Do be careful oh, you can get hooked on the little boogers.
Nothing like the daycare age kids. It’s the best part of their life. No worries, they’re just looking for fun. Most have no idea what day of the week or even what time of day it is, it doesn’t matter. It’s either nap time or it’s play time. I guess that’s what I enjoy most about being in the daycare business. You get to see a near-perfect world in action. Each day is a new day. They can laugh, cry, learn a lesson, remember the good, and forget the bad all within a few minutes time. I’m kind of sad today because we have several that’s been at the center for the past five years and they leave today starting Big school tomorrow. But they all did promise to come back and visit. And most do, it’s hard to forget the place where you grew up. Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
kaytracy Inner circle Central California 1793 Posts |
Something I have seen used at the local county fair by the Mitchells <Mitchell Marionettes>. They have a little pvc pipe fence, and a bit of astrograss for the youngsters to sit on. they give the rules about staying on the "grass" and not leaning on the fence.
I suppose, for a magic show, you could use the Magic Carpet, and they all must stay seated so the magic will happen. You would be surprised at what wonders you could do with a clean canvas painters tarp for about $20 and some paint, if you want designs on it! k
Kay and Tory
www.Bizarremagick.com |
Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7563 Posts |
Honus -
I know Tom Boleware didn't mention it, but as well as being a magician, and running a daycare, he has also authored a book on daycare magic. It's called "The Daycare Magician". You might pick up some advice from that book. It's got a different slant from Sammy Smith's and Dave Risley's materials. - Donald P.S. Tom did not ask me to promote his book. And, although I am a contributing author to the book, I don't receive any royalties.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Donald, Thanks for the link and kind words about the book, and a special thanks for your excellent piece in the book.
Honus, or anyone else here for that matter, anytime I can be of help with the daycare business, (whether your interested in buying the book or not) just let me know. I love the business and I enjoy talking about it, so feel free to call on me anytime. I like Kay’s idea with the painted canvas, it could add some color to a show. Also, unlike parents at a birthday party, the teachers at a daycare are still on duty, so don’t be afraid to ask for help from them if the situation ever does get to far out of hand. Sometimes the teachers will get caught up in the show and seem to be forgetting the kids, but a big smile and a “get ready I may need some help here” will put them back on alert. But hey, I’ve yet to see a bunch of five year olds kill an adult. Most live to tell about it. Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
honus Veteran user 354 Posts |
Geez, Tom, whattaya doin', holdin' out on me? DONALD has to come on and tell me you've got a book about this? Sheesh.
This may very well be my last daycare show, since my daughter "graduates" tomorrow as well. But I ordered the book anyway. Looking forward to it. Thanks to all for the comments! |
TomBoleware Inner circle Hattiesburg, Ms 3163 Posts |
Honus, thanks for the order. It will ship right out.
It may be your last daycare show for her, but I bet you will be following her around with shows for quite some time. You still got the kindergarten show, the first grade show, the second grade show, and on and on. Then it starts all over with the grand kid. I know all about that. Don't expect no rest for awhile. Tom
The Daycare Magician Book
https://www.vanishingincmagic.com/amazekids/the-daycare-magician/ My Blog - https://boleware.blogspot.com/ |
MagicB1S Inner circle Knoxville Tenn. 1039 Posts |
Honus,
I like to lay down a few rules before the show starts that you must stay seated during the performance. Do not run up on stage.... raise your hand when I am asking for a volunteer these few simple rules go a long way with the kids. If a kid gets out of hand ask the parent (teacher) to control the child in a polite way.
"There are Tricks To All Trades.... My Trade is all Tricks"
"An amature practices until he gets it right. A Professional Practices until he can't get it wrong" www.Themagicchest.webs.com bobswislosky@yahoo.com |
todsky Inner circle www.magicstore.ca 2354 Posts |
Love the hugs! Those cutey little hugger buggers!
Todsky's Magic Shop: over 15,000 tricks, books, DVD s and Card decks. www.magicstore.ca
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boppies2 Elite user Arizona 422 Posts |
Unlike MagicB1S, I don't discuss and/or enforce rules. I am the entertainer. However, I do discuss these issues with the hiring party in advance of the show. It will be up to the teachers to enforce rules of conduct.
I just have fun and like todsky, enjoy the hugs. Max |
Brian Lehr Inner circle Edmonton, Canada 1605 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-08-17 22:33, boppies2 wrote: If done properly, laying down the rules can be part of the fun. I'm not sure where I got my little routine from (probably a combination of sources), but I start the show off by doing the Miser's Dream. Afterwards I talk about how much fun we're going to have, and in order for us to have even more fun, I brought along the magic rule book that's going to give us some rules for the show. The rule book, of course, is a fire book. I go through 3 or 4 rules in a humorous manner, and end by saying that there's another rule, but I forget what it is. While I'm pretending to remember the rule, the book is open and on fire. The kids are loving it. I get more requests at repeat performances for the magic rule book than almost anything else. Kids are fascinated by the fire, I've captured their attention, they've learned the rules, and they've had fun doing so. Can't beat that. Brian |
honus Veteran user 354 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-08-18 14:28, Brian Lehr wrote: Brian, it may be different in Canada, but I guarantee if I used any trick involving fire in any day care around here, that would be the last time they would let me in the building, let alone let me do a show! |
James Munton Inner circle Dallas, TX 1199 Posts |
Hey, Brian, where did you learn the fire book opening to set the rules?
Just kidding... glad you're getting a great response from it. Best, James |
Brian Lehr Inner circle Edmonton, Canada 1605 Posts |
James,
I knew something about your picture looked familiar! ;-) Loved the dvd, and I still do daycare workshops on a regular basis because of it. I've done repeat shows at several daycares, and everyone keeps asking for the fire trick! Brian |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I will be the second one to say that Tom's book is simply WONDERFUL and it is a gold mine for anyone looking into performing for the daycare market. Tom not only shows you what works for that age group but he delivers it in a way that no one else can as he himself runs and operates a day care.
This inside information I found to be extremely valuable when I was working on putting my daycare show together. If you do not have it, please do yourself a big favor and pick it up soon. I can not tell you how important it was in my own success. Thank you Tom. There are several things I do in my own daycare shows and preschool shows some of these are as follows: - I usually try and do a 30 minute show. No matter how good you are, when you try and get into the 45 minutes to 1 hour mark you are really stretching it thin as most kids that young do not have the attention span to sit that long. I find that a good 30 minute show works wonderfully for me. - I insist that if 3 year olds are watching the show, that they make sure to have them sit with the 4 and 5 year olds. the 3 year olds do not know what to do or how to react. However, they will have fun and can react by watching the older kids and doing what they do. - I insist on having the parents or adult faculty sit with the kids on the floor. By sitting with them, they are there to help me out. They can help the kids and can interact with them to make for a pleasant, fun and safe show. - I try to engage and interact with the kids on every level. I like to do this through music, magic, and puppetry. - I have found that music kids love as they can dance to it and move around to it. I have a CD from a very wonderful lady performer who specializes in shows and music for that age level. her name is Lois Young and she is simply amazing. If anyone wants information on her and her music, let me know. She does songs that teach kids and that are short but fun for the kids to interact with. I open and warm up my audiences with a song called "Dancing in your seats" It is about getting them to clap and wave their hands and is a fun way to start a show. I also use another of her songs called "pick it up and put it away" After one of my puppets makes a mess after displacing my magical silks I tell him how after we play we need to pick up after ourselves. he is confused so we both play and sing a song aboyut picking things up and putting it away. As the song plays, the puppet (rudy rabbit) helps the kids to pick up the silks and put them away. it is a fun way to learn and engage the children in the act of doing. It also teaches a great lesson which the teachers simply love. - The puppets I use in my show a lot to help with the magic I present or to ask the questions I want the kids to learn from. the kids can relate better to the puppts because the puppets are an extension of themselves. the puppets act as they do and the puppets make the same mistakes. the kids are engaged with the puppets and I can work some wonderful magic with the puppets helping me out along the way. Sammy Smith has a wonderful preschool routine with his rabbit in the hat puppet that really proves how true this statement is. These are just some of the things we try to do in our own show that have really made a difference for my wife and I. I really can not thank Tom enough for his book and for always helping me out developing my young children's show. Please do check out his book when you can. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
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