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RideorDie99 New user 80 Posts |
Teaching a Magic Camp
===================== Does anyone know how to setup a magic camp for children? Teaching children various magic? What type of effects would you teach and how would structure it? I may be in line for a position at a local community college that will be offering this program for children and would like to know how to put one together. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
STOP DROP SHUT THEM DOWN AND OPEN UP SHOP
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mgical Regular user 195 Posts |
I taught at a camp a few years back. First thing is that you will have all abilities, there may be kids who turn up with a trunk of tricks, others have never done anything.
Think about teaching tricks they can do with things at home, Mark Wilson could almost be a syllabus! Bill Tarr aswell, any of the self working Fulves books. This would sort the beginners out. Get them to come up with a presentation of each effect, and show it to the rest of the group (which also kills time, if you don't do this then you will end up teaching thousands of tricks!). Maybe consider getting a few simple props that can be taught to them, and then they come up with the presentation, this could be routined into a simple show with all the kids performing just for their own 'class'. For the more advanced who maybe have some stuff already I split between teaching tricks and perfecting what the already had (mainly the latter). You could also consider building a simple illusion or two with some of them. Maybe give them plans of one that has potential for a little improvement and 'workshop' it to come up with a better design. Get videos of the big names performing, not to tell them how the tricks work, but to give them ideas on presentation. It should all end with a show if you have time at the end of the camp, an illusion they helped to build (think it it best that you do the cutting of wood, and they help put it together and decorate), with the various levels performing on stage and you compere. I had the beginners learn some real simple stuff and wander the audience beforehand rather than throw them in the deep end on stage. |
macmagic Veteran user MA 400 Posts |
Hello , last summer I did an 8 week camp for a recreation department, an hour each week plus I do a ton of magic classes for libraries!
the main things I taught 1. pulling the tip of your thumb off (I actually used it to get the kids to pay attention and let them know its time to start, we would stretch our hands out then pull our thumb off at the beginning of every week) 2.invisible ball in paper bag 3. French drop 4 mind reading with crayons 5 fortune telling fish the first half of the class we would review what we learned the week before then the second half we would learn something new! this is just a part of the list of all the tricks we learned, I would just keep them simple items from around the house, linking paper clips, jumping rubber band etc. and as the class goes on you can adjust to the level
"Its a magic thing...........you wouldn't understand"
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Jim Snack Inner circle 1338 Posts |
In Volume Two of my Succes in Magic course, 64 New Ways to Make Magic Pay, I described a two week course I taught at a summer camp several years ago. Enjoy:
"One of the best summer programs I’ve been involved with is an educational day camp which operates just outside the city of Albany at the base of the Heldeberg Escarpment, a natural cliff land formation. Called the Heldeberg Workshop, this non-profit day camp offers morning classes in all sorts of disciplines; arts, crafts, nature studies, music, and various performance arts. Several hundred students arrive each morning at 8:30 am and spend until noon at the camp. The Heldeberg Workshop is different from other summer programs. First of all, it is outdoors. Also, students choose in early spring which subject they want to learn for two weeks. The best classes fill up pretty quickly, and students sometimes have to wait a full year to get the class they want. They tend to be really interested in the subject and are pretty well motivated to begin with. Instructors work with the same group of about a dozen students each morning for two weeks, teaching at picnic tables situated under small lean-tos. At the end of the second week, there is a parents’ night with various activities including performances. Here’s how I organized a two-week class: Day One/Monday: This was an introductory day, meeting students and getting them to know each other. I began with a 45-minute show to get them excited about learning magic, then took a break and began teaching, giving an overview of the course. I explained that I would be teaching both technical skills (magic tricks and sleights) and performance skills (voice, movement, and showmanship), with the time each day split between each. We would learn two or three new tricks or techniques each day, as well as practice acting, improvisation and showmanship. I emphasized that I expected them to master only one trick to perform on parents’ night, Thursday evening of the second week. That meant they had to decide on their routine by Monday or Tuesday of the second week, so they could focus on perfecting it. They could choose one of the tricks taught in class or one they brought in. I finished the first day by teaching them one simple trick - the “Jumping Rubber Band,” and passing out their text: The Mark Wilson Complete Course in Magic (purchased wholesale from D. Robbins, NYC, unfortunately now out of print). Day Two/Tuesday: I began by demonstrating a simple card trick, finding the four aces, then taught it to them. I had students pair up to practice on each other. Demonstrating and teaching this one trick took the better part of an hour, so we broke for a snack before beginning the second trick. For the second trick, I chose one they had to make themselves – “Clippo,” the cut and restored newspaper. Both tricks were from their text. After our second break, I taught them some showmanship skills using these two tricks as part of the demonstration - how to hold props, how to handle volunteers, etc. (For more about showmanship exercises see: Magical Circus for Summer Programs in Volume Two of Success in Magic) Day Three/Wednesday - Three tricks, plus showmanship. At the end of the class I had another surprise, each student received a catalogue from Hank Lee’s Magic Factory, Boston. Since each student had kicked $25 for materials, I had arranged to purchase a dozen catalogs from Hank (he even gave me a discount). Their assignment that evening was to pick out one or two tricks to purchase with what was left of their materials fee - $6. One of my objectives was to teach them how to buy magic. I guided them away from the junk. Day Four/Thursday - Same as Day Three, plus going over their selections from Hank Lee. We prepared the order, which I called in later that day. (UPS Next day air delivery). Day Five/Friday - Three more tricks, plus showmanship exercises. I informed them that they should begin thinking about the trick they were going to select to master. Day Six/ Monday - Taught two new tricks and, since the order from Hank Lee arrived on Saturday, I passed out the tricks after the break. We went over each one for the entire class. Some of the students were excited about their selection, others were disappointed. I reviewed all that we had learned so far, and told them to have their one trick selected for the next day’s class. Day Seven/ Tuesday - Each student performed the trick they had selected, with feedback from the group. More acting and showmanship exercises. Day Eight/ Wednesday - I had arranged for our class to visit some of the other lean-tos to present their routines. Afterwards we discussed the experience performing for new people, with suggestions for improving their routines. Day Nine/ Thursday- This day several other classes visited our lean-to, where we performed our tricks for them. That evening was the parents’ night and performance. Day Ten/ Friday - Our last day, we took a hike and reviewed everything we had learned. I shared my experiences as a magician and answered any questions they had. I really enjoyed working with these students. They were motivated and enthusiastic, a real pleasure." Break a thread. Jim Snack http://www.Success-in-Magic.com |
Chrystal Inner circle Canada/France 1552 Posts |
Hi,
I also had an opportunity like Jim, whereas I taught at a place located in the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. The position was for nine weeks and the camp/school was a performance ehancement camp which concentrated on the arts and sports. The ratio of staff to students was 150 staff for 350 students. We all lived at the "camp" for the duration of the time. The magician whom had held the postition for a number of years asked me to step in for him as he was unable to make it that year. As the lesson plans are his, I have to speak about them in general terms but here's how he broke it down. The classes I taught daily (6 in total) 5 regular classes based on ages of the girls (yes they were all girls!)The last class concentrated on what had been taught during the course of the day but with some more difficult moves. Those that had more interest would attend these classes. The classes broke down per week on effects: For example week one - Card Magic, Week two - Rope magic, Week three- Coins...and so on. I would perform an effect at the beginning of the class, then demonstrate, the girls were then partnered with someone and they would try the effect. This helped my routines a great deal too..peforming it 6 times a day, 6 days a week, for 9 weeks! Great way to self motivate! After a few days of working on the routine, the girls would then work on patter which, they themselves created based on their personas (we covered this in class too). At the end of the week those that wanted to, would perform the routine with their own patter for the others. All the topics covered in class were those that could be found in any childrens library and so nothing was given away that the kids couldn't find for themselves. The last class of the day which I mentioned previously would be attended by those that really were interested in pursuing it further. (you'll be able to tell which ones.) This class was a bit more advanced and covered some more difficult moves. A handful of the students were really serious and stood out above the rest. At the end of the 9 week period , 12 girls were selected to put on a stage show with me for the staff and students which numbered at aprox 500. I loved the experience and would do it again in a heartbeat. The staff were hired from all over the world to work with the students and the students themselves were from many parts of the country. It was an amazing experience. Chrystal |
Jonty the Magician New user West Yorkshire UK 73 Posts |
These Magic Camps sound like great fun, but, as far as I'm aware, it's not something that we have over here in the UK. Please correct me if I'm wrong, you UK magicians, cos it's something I wouldn't mind getting involved with. You guys in the States get all the fun...
Jon
Jon Harris
www.jontysmagic.co.uk |
Rupert Bair Inner circle ? 2179 Posts |
Jon, I'm sure us lot could work something out. Be a great place for kids in summer.
Matt |
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