I am currently writing an elementary school show on healthy eating, and find myself focusing a lot on getting the message across. Knowing that kids magic shows tend to be more about the ride than the destination I've been wondering if I am using the best technique to write.

For instance, you can focus too much on the magic moment and miss all the fun along the way - the stuff the kids like best. Unlike an adult magic show, you almost need to forget about the killer magic payoff, and concentrate on the sillyness that leads up to it. Is it the same for the message? Can you concentrate so much on the message that you forget about the fun along the way? Should I be 'ignoring' the message to some extent whilst writing, so as to bring out the fun stuff?

I don't know if this will make much sense to many people, but if it does I would love some advice.

Balancing the message with the magic is indeed tricky. If you lecture the kids, they will turn right off. The best approach is to integrate the message with an existing routine. Check out the material Steve Taylor ( http://www.stevetaylorpro.com/ ) has for creating motivational messages for children. He is one of the best I've seen at doing this. His ABC block trick - Success Block-Ade - is an example of a strong children's effect easily adapted to a message.

On our School Show Success DVDs ( http://www.magicsuccessseminars.com ) Steve did two great seminars on Creating Motivational Magic and Making Your Magic Motivational. He takes you right through the steps he uses to write an educational show, with examples. I think it would help you write your show. Steve's sessions are available as part of the set of DVDs. If you are interested, we only have six complete sets left and when they go, they will not be offered again. Or you might try calling Steve directly to see if he is going to release his sessions separately in the future.

Good luck.

Jim