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Neale Bacon Inner circle Burnaby BC Canada 1775 Posts |
A lady emailed me and want to know if I could do 1 1/2 hours for a 3-4 year olds party.
I tried to tell her that it was too long for that age, and most magicians don't do shows that long. Reply? Oh well, we thought you could play some games with them after the show. I think the word she's looking for is "babysitter". I love kids. Too bad they come with parents.
Neale Bacon and his Crazy Critters
Burnaby BC Canada's Favourite Family Ventriloquist www.baconandfriends.com |
Emazdad Inner circle Plymouth UK 1954 Posts |
I often do 2-Hour Parties for 4 year olds but not 3 year olds. I turn 3 year old parties away, they're too young and don't always appreciate it. Plus if you have 3 year olds your more likely to have, younger sibling toddlers plus parents staying and talking instead of leaving the kids and coming back later. it turns a fun party into hard work, and I don't do anything that I don't enjoy. I know theres a lot of people who do them, but they're welcome to it.
Yours Funfully
Clive "Emazdad" Hemsley www.emazdad.com "Magic is a secret, without the secret there is no magic" Remember there are only 3 types of people in the world, those that can count and those that can't. |
NJJ Inner circle 6437 Posts |
Very few parents ring wanting a magician! They only hire us because we supply a service that they REALLY want. Its our job to figure out what they want, what they NEED and how we can help them.
Alot of magicians play games with children, often with a magical theme. |
Andy Wonder Special user Auckland, New Zealand 747 Posts |
Yeah 3 year olds don't really understand magic. I still do them & somtimes they go very well. They love my rabbit, puppet & balloon animals. I do think you need more time to perform for them despite their short attention span. It can take 10 minutes just to get them all seated for the show. I like to be around in the room talking to the parents for a while before the show starts. That way they get a chance to become comfortable with me before the show starts. If I go direct into the show as soon as I arrive they are much more likely to be scared.
Here is a photo of a show I did for 3 ye...... weekend. One of the secrets to doing a good show for this age group is to get the parents to sit with the children (as in the picture). If they don't have the security of the adults with them they might just run away during the show. I actually put more jokes & tricks aimed at the adults into these shows because I want the adults to stay & sit with the children. It went quite well, but doing them well takes quite a different skill to performing for older kids. They can be difficult, especially impressing the parents because in way you can keep the kids happy just by being there & talking with them. I agree with everything Clive said by the way. I've always done them out of necessity and now out of habbit. The format I usually follow for a 3 year olds party is: 10 minutes of 'setting up' where I let the children watch me set up & I try to talk to each one individually. 20 minutes of show which includes a few magic tricks that stun the adults but are very simple for the children to follow. A few puppets & a live rabbit production finish. 15 minutes of making balloon animals & petting the rabbit. 45 minutes total. I also have lots of cute type music that plays during the whole period. I agree with Neale that parents expectations can be surprising somtimes. Some might think the parents were expecting a lot by wanting you to entertain them for so long. I think they had low expectations because they only expected a babysitter show.
Andy Wonder, Auckland, New Zealand
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Jeff Haas Special user 929 Posts |
This concept of showing up at a party and running it for the parents is foreign to me...from what I've read here, it seems to be British originally.
When I do a kid's party, I'm brought in to just do my show, and the parents are running the event. There's usually a pinata (everyone has a pinata, doesn't matter if the entire family is Asian) goodies bags, a birthday cake, and then the kids get to run around and play the rest of the time. This seems consistent even in the richest districts. I do get an occasional person asking if I do balloons or face-painting; it seems that to some people, any kids entertainer is the same. Magicians, clowns, storytellers, face painters...they're all the same, aren't they? Jeff |
Ron Reid Inner circle Phoenix, Arizona 2732 Posts |
Andy:
Excellent advice! This is valuable information I will use. Thanks. Ron |
Andini Special user Columbus, OH 685 Posts |
Andy, I like the kid peaking over the fence! Wonderful advice and I hope to use it soon.
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Andy Wonder Special user Auckland, New Zealand 747 Posts |
Andini yeah I think it is funny seeing the kid peek over the fence. I never noticed him there, only in the photo.
Jeff, it is so interesting that people in particular areas all have their set way of doing things & set expectations. I almost never see pinatas here. It is only the Filipina families that always have them.
Andy Wonder, Auckland, New Zealand
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indridcold Regular user 163 Posts |
I also liked the quote "15 minuets of petting the rabbit". I guess I better get me some more rabbit, my current one doesn't perform at all anymore, once they grow up and get lazy, they are hard to use, they just don't want to do anything. Plus my one is terrified of kids, they are so grabby and tough on the poor guy.
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Andy Wonder Special user Auckland, New Zealand 747 Posts |
Indridcold, is your poor guy a female rabbit by any chance? Males accecpt the handeling by children much better than females.
If you can get a long hair male dawlf/angora cross you will have a pet that is worth its weight in gold. That is what I have. Here is a photo of mine with a 3 year old girl.
Andy Wonder, Auckland, New Zealand
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DrDale New user 60 Posts |
I don't think the idea of running the party is uniquely British. I know many people that do that to some extent on 2 hour gigs. THey take the kids do various activities withthem then there is the show an done guy that has animals lets the kids see them afterward.
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wizardofsorts Special user Chicago, IL 935 Posts |
Andy,
I have had great luck with a female Dutch Dwarf. I was actually guided towards a female by a rabbit breeder. She takes all the petting she can get but she doesn't like other people to hold her. I think that's just from a lack of socialization when she was young. The only person she knew was me and now I'm the only one she will trust. She lets anyone pet her but only me hold her. I'm also suprised that he doesn't freak out without something under his feet. Every rabbit I've ever owned kicked their feet when they didn't have a solid arm or ground under their feet. Indricold, You need to control the treatment of your animals. I learned from a Science Center I worked at how to handle kids petting animals. First off, tell them they can only use one (show index finger) or two fingers (show index and middle finger)to pet the rabbit. This prevents pinching and grabbing. Also, tell them that only 1 or 2 people at a time can pet the rabbit. The kids will listen because they want to pet the rabbit. Edd Visit the Wizard of Sorts at http://www.wizardofsorts.com
Edd Fairman, Wizard of Sorts is a corporate magician available for your next trade show, hospitality suite, client luncheon, or company event. http://www.wizardofsorts.com
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Dynamike Eternal Order FullTimer 24148 Posts |
Wow, Andy, was that Snow White or your daugther?
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Salazar Magic Veteran user New Jersey 344 Posts |
Andy,
How do you get these pictures? Do you bring someone with you to your shows? |
Andy Wonder Special user Auckland, New Zealand 747 Posts |
Wizardofsorts that is interesting because I have had a rabbit breeder tell me the opposite that males would cope with the handling better. I have had several rabbits over the last 7 years and the females have always been more temperamental. Maybe it has been a self fulfilling prophesy, because we believe what we have been told. I know they do need to be socialised. I once had my rabbit escape & I actually caught him again 3 months later in someone’s back yard down the road. After having had the taste of freedom it spoiled him for shows & he would not put up with the handling anymore.
The rabbit I use now (pictured) I have had for 2 years & he is quite happy to have small children carry him around with his feet hanging down. That particular child had him for 3-4 minutes and took all around the house to show the adults but would not let him go. It took a bit of coaxing before she would give the rabbit back to me. Sometimes I take him to the park for a walk without a leash & he will follow me along. It is a real people magnet & everyone approaches to see the rabbit. Dynamike, I don’t have any kids just a rabbit. Salazar, I always carry a digital camera to my birthday shows. Sometimes the parents are too busy to take photos or run out of film or whatever. So in such cases I have mine on hand. Sometimes I ask another guest or an older child to take a few photos or sometimes I take a few, myself. If the parents didn’t take photo themselves they are usually delighted when I email them some of mine. If the parents are taking lots of photos my camera stays in my case. I want to make sure they have a photo of me with the birthday child. It helps them remember me & makes it more likely that I will get referrals from that family because they will show the photos to their friends.
Andy Wonder, Auckland, New Zealand
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p.b.jones Inner circle Milford Haven. Pembrokeshire wales U.K. 2642 Posts |
HI Andy,
your advisor was correct male bunnies are far more tollerent. though you can get dosile females they can also change overnight so whatch out. here is a picture of clyde my first bunny Phillip Click here to view attached image. |
Emazdad Inner circle Plymouth UK 1954 Posts |
The trouble with doing the very young parties is if the adults don't sit with the kids and you get a bunch of 3 year olds that don't want to watch you, your stuck trying to perform to no audience, you look rubbish, the booker thinks they've wasted their money and your reputation takes a dent.
I prefer to keep well away from them and stick to age groups I know will appreciate the show. Also my show relies on the children's participation, it's very hard to get them to help unless your lucky enough to get a nice conbfident kid. Nice Photo, Andy, Not a good example I'm afraid as it brings one one question to mind, What are they all looking at? because most of them are not watching you. One little girl is looking, and I'd imagine the couple of adults near her are looking at her reaction, she really likes the rabbit. The 2 boys behind and the lady at the bottom of the picture with her back to us are looking at you, as for the rest, did something happen out of shot to distract the adults? This is the problem with this age group sometimes it looks like they aren't interested. <<<<<<I've always done them out of necessity and now out of habbit.>>>>>>>>> If you look at the picture you can see that you might as well have been performing to a brick wall, I'd drop the habbit Andy, you obviously don't need these shows, so do what I do and tell them to come back when the kids are older.
Yours Funfully
Clive "Emazdad" Hemsley www.emazdad.com "Magic is a secret, without the secret there is no magic" Remember there are only 3 types of people in the world, those that can count and those that can't. |
p.b.jones Inner circle Milford Haven. Pembrokeshire wales U.K. 2642 Posts |
Hi,
I am like Emazdad 4 is bottom line unless it is a mixed age party. phillip |
Dennis Michael Inner circle Southern, NJ 5821 Posts |
Sunday, I did a show for 16 five year olds for an hour and fifteen minutes based on the request of the client and she wanted balloons afterwards because she did not have any games or after show events other than the food.
Several parents commented on my ability to keep the kids interested for that long period of time. As long as the kids are constantly involved in the magic, laughing and interacting, time flys. Straight magic doesn't work, you must win over the heckler real early, show a strong sensitivity to the emotional ones, and make the birthday child the star of the show. My close was a new one. Mark Daniel's Floating Stars and a little talk about the real magic aound us. My older son who was taking pictures say he had a flashback of his Barney days...I love you...You love me...etc. It worked well. After I made the first balloon, the boys knew (somehow) about balloon swords and they all requested one and so did the girls. What ever happened to the doggie? I made hats, flowers, and a few others. All went well and two hours zoomed by.
Dennis Michael
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Salazar:
I do a similar thing at my parties to get good shots. I bring a digital camera with me and because my wife is my assistant, she takes shots during the show. Of course we get permission before the show starts, but it has never been a problem for us. If my wife is not at a show, I ask if there would be a parant who could do that for me. In return, I send them photos from the show and they get a discount on a future performance. I also do a chair suspension at the end of my shows where I suspend the birthday child. This is a perfect opprtunity for me to take a ploaroid picture of the child suspended. I give it to him/her after the performance and it works great for publicity as well as gives me some nice shots to use. I also only do shows for ages 4 and older. I have found that any younger becomes an attention spand problem.
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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