in this post i will attempt to help people who are wondering what tricks to use in their kidshow, feel free to ask me

ok i'll bite, what do you think the best tricks are to perform? Josh

How would you curve fit the cups and balls to best appeal to the little darlings? Thanks.
Jim

Tom, you make your post I know with sincerity and desire to help others. I've learned since I started adding my bits on this board around October that no matter how much experience you have (25 years in our case), kids entertainers are headstrong, argumentative, and are destined to find their own way in life through trial and error! I also find it amusing that the many different types of characters I find in my locality also reflected around the world, i.e. multi-prop. magicians, 'fold-flat' one suitcase magicians (I sometimes think if they could fold themselves flat they would!), magicians who want to control all the business around them at 10% etc. But it's still an entertaining place to visit as long as you don't take it too seriously isn't it? - Tony.

for the cups and balls you could give each ball a name and stick those small googly eyes on them, i've found that this adds to enttertainment immensley

:clownjuggling: your pal tom

Tom,
That's a great idea with the eyes! Thanks. Good work. Then I'll come up with a story that reflects what's happening to those little guys. What could the cups represent I wonder...? Have to think about that...
Jim

Yes, I also may use that! Thanks, Josh

Tom,
You have any idea for presenting the chinese sticks to children? Thanks.
Jim

That's a great idea with the googly eyes. Can I nick it?
Was that your idea Tom? If so bravo, nice work thanks for sharing.
I too would appreciate any flashes of inspiration on the sticks. I really don't have any special patter or routine with the sticks for kids as they are usually to busy telling me where the invisible string is. I do do a bit where I tell them to listen very carefully as the next bit is very important and put one of them in my mouth and say a big long sentence that no one can understand acompanied by over exagerated hand gestures they seem to find this very funny. Then perform the trick from mouth to hand.
P.S. I bite the middle of the stick. TO tip the stick you can pretend to be looking at the string and your head automatically tips.

Recently I have been wanting to get more time in with my c&b's so I have added them to my opening set that I do in conjunction with the Miser's Dream with music only. I ask the kids after the show what was some of their favorites & the cups & balls are always mentioned.

I had a little girl tell me the same thing--that the cups and balls was her favorite. This was in a mixed age audience and I just did my standard cups and balls routine without any kid specific patter.
Jim

Wait-Kids can see the cups and balls and whats going on from the audience??

I wonder if you can use sand-castle buckets for kid's stage show?

yeah that's good you could use buckets and tennis balls you'd have to find a bucked that had a rim half way down the cup though. Why don't we rename this the cups and balls forum!
I had a thought yesterday, why not perform the misers dream and then with the coin you produce you can give it to the kid and then sell them some sweets what do you think?


Tom