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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
If you are a children's performer, chances are at some point you have used hats or costuming in some way to dress up your helper. There are many great routines based on this idea used for entertaining children. But what happens if you have a child on stage who just does not want to wear the hat or take part in assisting you by wearing the costume? It is a tough situation to find yourself so here are some general ideas that may be of help.
I have had this problem happen in the past and I came up with a great solution that started as just a way of saving the routine but ended up with the audience in hysterics. It saved the routine and then some. The first thing I do for any costumed routine is try and select a person from the audience ahead of time before the show even starts. I may look for an older kid or a child I feel will interact and cooperate well with me. However, if you have a child on stage and find that they do not want to wear the hat or costume and they keep throwing it off etc., then I immediately switch gears into my plan B approach. I do not want to send the child back to their seat as it sends the wrong message to the audience and can hurt the child's feelings. I also do not want to leave the child up there without any interaction with them. So what I do is simply switch it around and poke fun of myself. I will say something like, "Ok Timmy for this next hat I need your help. I have a choice for you to help make the magic happen. Either YOU (said funny voice) can wear the hat ORRRRR (and I start making an embarrassed face look) you can have me wear the hat. But I would look really, really silly wearing a hat like this so think carefully." The kid will ALWAYS tell me to wear it. I then continue by saying, " ME!? You want me to wear the hat? Well ok but I better take a vote from the audience. Who wants me to wear this really silly hat? Oh wow a lot of you do. Ok no problem I will wear the hat but you have to promise me no laughing or giggling when I put it on no matter what? Promise? (of course the kids are all just going to laugh and giggle their heads off as the hat goes on my own head.)" This just works really great and I get a wonderful reaction from the kids. It saves you from a really awkward situation and you still get to interact with the child on stage. If done well, the audience will not notice any difference and assume that it was all a part of your original idea all along. Try it out and I assure you that you will have fun with it and it may save you from situations like this. It is just one simple way of getting out of a potentially awkward problem. So what other ways do you use yourself when confronted with a situation like this? How do you personally handle a situation of wanting to dress up a child helper for a funny routine but they are uncomfortable with it or just do not want to take part in it? My suggestion is one way for sure that works well for me, but what ways work for you? Hope this helps and gets you thinking. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Dr. Delusion Special user Eugene, Oregon. 733 Posts |
Thanks for the tip Kyle. There's no doubt that I may need to use your idea in the future. Currently I use the bag that turns into a Wizards hat and Jacket. I tell the child that if they put the outfit on it will give them magical powers. I then walk them through the Crystal Silk Cylinder and make them think that they've turned 4 silks into a small stuffed animal that they get to keep. Once in a great while there is the kid that simply refuses to put it on. The only way out I've come up with so far, is to tell them we'll need to use our back up plan to give them magical powers, and that's by touching them with a magic wand. So far I've only had to resort to the wand about 3 times, but I really like your idea a lot better.
Thanks again for the tip, Bob. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Most welcome Bob. I mean you can always ignore it and place the costume away and go onwards. However, I always felt that left for an awkward moment and also tends to halt the flow of the routine. I wanted a way in which I had an option that stillworks, gets laughs from the children and keeps the flow of the show going the way I want it to go. Most welcome for the tip.Let me knpow how iot works for you.
Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
themagiciansapprentice Inner circle Essex, UK 1381 Posts |
I've seen lots of comments recently about us wearing the hats and costumes anyway - so always poking the fun at the magician. Not sure I agree with that, but I do like your suggestion above if you feel kids really aren't happy.
I've the hat to rabbit and Ali Bongo Monster hat. Normally, kids enjoy joining in with the fun and having their photo taken for their collection.
Have wand will travel! Performing children's magic in the UK for Winter 2014 and Spring 2015.
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Thanks for the kind words. I usually will always try and have the child wear the colthing or hat and usually have no problems doing so as I have built up trust and fun in the show before io get to a routine which uses this. however, there is always that chance and time when a child changes their mind or simply does not want to do it. In cases like this, is where I go to this plan B approach as it plays well, kids still have fun and I do not disturb the natural fow of the routine.
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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