Hey folks,
I have to get something off my chest. A pre-emptive thanks to anyone that listens! I did a Kidshow yesterday and I got some very good experience out of it. Hidden meaning: I bombed. But its okay, You've got to laugh at life's disapointments like this. Actually, facing such a fear actually reinforces for me the fact that its not the end of the world. Of course, I'm being harder on myself than necessary. It wasn't a complete failure, no exposures or anything. I have done two shows for this group in the past, both very successful (perhaps over-confidence and under-preparedness was a factor?). I think there were two big lesson's learned (probably a third or more). The group this time around was comprised entirely of 5 or 4ish year olds and younger. At the beginning of last week when I started dress rehearsing the act I got the feeling that something wasn't right, that it was too long, or had to much "lull" in it. In short, its a huge lesson in ROUTINING. The effects in their own right play strong, but here is what I chose: Sponge Bunnies / D'Lites / Las Vegas Leaper (Card Trick) / Spike Arm Illusion (a David Ginn Routine) and finally Cups 'n Balls. Starting off, the Sponge Bunnies KILLED. It was a great opener. But then the trouble began. Those stupid little D'lites were malfunctioning.... Which made me mad at myself. I should have known better than that, to always check the props before going on. I then went into Las Vegas Leaper, the premise being that I do a "family inclusive show" and wanted to do something that included an adult helper. I also thought that the "cards across" premise would play to young kids since its an "objects across" thing not a card value thing. I was wrong. The problem is that the effect is too long for this particular situation. I've done Las Vegas leaper and usually it plays well. But its a longer plot, that could probably play better as a closer. In the middle of a young kids set, they just started to loose their attention span and started "swarming" (meaning getting up and wandering as opposed to staying seated). When I moved into Spiked Arm Illusion, I ran into the same problem. My wife correctly noted that its too long with all the gags and lines for this particular age group. I found myself racing through the script in an attempt to get their attention. With the prospect of then entering into a full Cups and Balls routine, I think I read the situation correctly and made the right decision to bail. Sadly, I never thought of having a few "back-up" effects in case I needed to respond to the flow of the routine and modify it on the fly. It never occured to me.
So there you have it. As a sidenote, I did some instructing in my professional life and as such I've been instilled with a value of always owning the problem, by that I mean I don't blame the kids for being kids and instead I am looking inward at what I could have done differently. I'm still digesting it for other "lessons" but the good news is I survived the experience! I think that's what I appreciate the most, the opportunity to "earn my stripes" in the harsh world of kid's magic. I'll get back on the horse and I'll be ready for more
That's it for now!
Cheers, and thanks for indulging me.
Adrian.

Way to go Adrian. You suited up, showed up and did your thing. You also recognized the biggest problem with shows for this age group. Attention span.

Children this age have the attention span of a gnat. It is sooooo short. They also can't keep up with plots or themes. If it isn't big, fast and colorful, you'll loose them every time.

Congratulations on taking the chance. I'm sure, with the self analysis you're going through, the next show will be much, much better.

Hang in there. Mark.

Mark,

Now should we tell him the same will be true at the nursing home?

Being a magician takes courage! Don't let them fool you.

Congratulations! You made it!

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

So got ur baptism by fire, huh? Every one of us goes through it, generally more than once. Glad you survived yours. It will get better.

What? Not even a coloring book as backup? Brave soul! It's always fun to hear people tell their first kid show stories. Since I actually specialize in that area, its great to hear all the things that went wrong just like mine did in my first few shows. It's a rough audience but when you get them in the zone, its the best ever! Anybody else have a first kid show story? Feed me!

People always ask me to do their children's birthday's, etc. I always tell them the same thing. "I like children, I even have one, but I do not entertain them. It requires a particular type of training that I do not have." Entertaining children is not the same as entertaining adults.

During the Viet Nam era I did a birthday party for the son of a chopper captain friend of mine. I thought I would really accomplish something by doing sponge bunnies in the child's hand. Upon completion of the trick, the boy handed them back and said, "OK, now turn them to pigs."

(Where is Al Goshman when you need him?)

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Wow, Thanks for the support guys I forgot to mention something else very positive that happened, too. This one little girl threw her arms around my legs and started hugging me. I found it funny, because it was right from the pages of one of David Ginn's lecture notes/books (I can't remember exactly where).
As a parent of an 18month old I've got a theory on why parents are often lacking in "controling" their kids; I think they're hedging their bets that restraining their kid will make even MORE of a scene.... and if the performer seems to be "accomodating" (although perhaps inside he's boiling) then the swarming continues.

Live and learn, Adrian! Four and Five year olds are a really tough crowd - second only to the dreaded 10-12 year olds!! I've done shows for the young ones before -- here's my basic routine: walk out with a black handkerchief, and - while waving it in front of them, introduce myself and remind them to watch closely, or else they will miss something! At the word "something", I perform the appearing cane. That gets their attention! Then I perform Clippo with the bunny rabbit. Sometimes I use some flash cotton, and say that the bunny breathes fire. That really gets their attention too!! After Clippo, I do about 10 minutes of sponge rabbits. Each kid gets a turn at making the bunnies appear in their hand. That's it!

Sometimes I do one final trick, the theme of which is usually "let's practice giving the magician a big round of applause."

Best Regards-

-David

I'd rather perform for critical magicians than a room full of booger eaters! They scare me to death!
Good job man, glad ya came out of it alive!
Mick

I agree with Mick, little kids are scary to preform for

I've performed for some adult booger eaters so that is not a great reference to kids!
I think I like performing for children best for one reason...they still believe that magic can exist. Grownups just want to figure out how its done and just don't care about the feeling in magic.

Like Mrunge said, If it is not colorful, easy to understand, and fun, it will not last. You can't expect to do 5 min. card routines. You have to go along the lines of sponge balls, etc.

They might have been more impressed than you think. I've been surprised at some of the things they say afterwards (eg they do think it's real magic and believe you can produce live animals on demand) even if the reaction at the time is subdued. Alternatively they tell you exactly and correctly how you did something.

Hi, just wanted to share my own experience here... I've been a children's entertainer for many years now and only recently started trying some magic in my shows. Very simple things... Mark Wilson's paper bag disappearance, D'Lites, change bag, etc. I don't really consider myself a magician, I'm a puppeteer, musician, and "entertainer" who uses magic on occasion for special effect.

I simply wanted to agree with "rjenkins" that often times you're having a much bigger impact on the children than you might expect. My partner and I did a puppet show recently that we felt did not go well. After thousands of shows, we know that not every one can be "magical", but we felt this particular show was rather weak.

You can imagine how shocked I was to hear the mother of one of the children tell me that the kids were STILL talking about the show two weeks later.

So, yes... there are definitely those horrible moments when the little ones are stampeding and the parents couldn't care less and you feel like your thirty minute show has stretched into two hours. But even then, you never know who you're reaching.

I am a professional actor who has performed in front of audiences of 1,500+ people, and I'll tell ya honestly, I think I was more frightened to step in front of 15 toddlers the first time. There is nothing scarier than an audience who haven't been conditioned to sit quietly and applaud politely. Talk about instant feedback!

Keep on going! I would bet most of the people involved with this forum became interested in magic and performing because of a show they saw when they were little!

Best wishes,
Kipley

One thing that I love about The Magic Café is how supportive everyone in here is. It's a great spot to share your stories and talk about how you goofed up and how you plan to fix it next time.
Sounds like you've learned something from the bomb in the end and I guess that's what encourages us and also helps us grow as magicians.

I've got a suggestion for kids. I love performing for kids. The reason why is because when I was 14 I started working at a play like Chuckie Cheese. I did parties and I started using my magic into my hosted birthday parties to help me get some tips. I started using Gregory Wilson's Recap. But I made my presentation for this effect so kid like. And it ROCKED! The kids LOVED IT! BIG TIME LOVED IT! What I did was I was kinda like a goofy magician for a while. I joked around with them saying that the pen disappeared as I hid it behind my back. Or that it's going through my hand when really it just went between my fingers. It was gold because these kids thought that they totally knew what was going on. And then I actually went into the effect. When the pen went missing, I went on a search all through the audience. By this point they were all jumping up trying to grab the pen from my ear. And then just keep going with it.

They love it! Try recap but make it stupid and simple. "Keep it simple, stupid" - Can't remember who's line that is.

Fraser

In my early days,I made the mistake trying to add one card trick targeted at the parents. That broke the spell with the kids. Luckily, I got them back with the next trick - flower from a wand.

So . . . Never, ever, mix kids and parents tricks. That is my learning.

Nowadays, I only do kid shows for special occasions.

I have never had a problem with a kid show - oh yes, there have been foul-ups and tricks that don't work. I think the biggest tip is to keep moving you act. If you are going to do a slower piece, keep it less than a minute. Watch the kids faces - you know when you are loosing them. (You will always lose a few) Perform for the greater majority, feel the pulse, have fun. On my website I sell a book on safety magic for children. I have a tips chapter that I will be updating and submitting to MUM.

My suggestion also depends on how big the party also is. I obviously wouldn't have done it for a big stage act.

Any thoughts on using "Once upon a time" with kids this age?
IMHO, the Cinderella story is filled with the most magic of the 3 tales.
Pumkins, mice and rats change to a carriage, horses and men.
The fairy g-d mother appears from no where.
The kids can wave their fingers like a magic wand.
PS- coloring book is loved by all ages.