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mattg New user 15 Posts |
What is a better ender, producing some cookies from a chick pan or the magic party picture?
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Emazdad Inner circle Plymouth UK 1954 Posts |
Magic Picture wins hands down. Make it a birthday picture which you sign and give to the birthday child.
I'm totally against producing and giving away sweets etc to kids at parties for 2 reasons. 1. They get enough of a sugar injection at a party, and their teeth get enough of a bashing without our help. 2. You never know whether one of the kids is diabetic, allergic, or just not allowed such stuff by their parents.
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. |
Andy Wonder Special user Auckland, New Zealand 747 Posts |
3. Also the parents really don’t need to pay a handsome fee for you to come in and give the children candy. Anyone can get kids excited by promising sweets.
Andy Wonder, Auckland, New Zealand
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paraguppie Elite user Forsyth Montana! 411 Posts |
I disagree boys.
The parents I have done parties for feel like they are getting something else besides entertainment (in my humble opinion.) As for diabetics and the like, my contract has a second page that asks about the child. Can he have chocolate? Suckers? Stuff like that. I don't feel it's a cheap way to get kids excited. It's totally magic when you turn something into candy, a kid's dream!! Just my opinion. Keith
Check me out at www.magickeith.com
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Stuart Hooper Special user Mithrandir 759 Posts |
Agreed paraguppie. As long as parents are aware beforehand, I think changing things into candy is definitely great magic for kids!
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I would have to agree that magic party picture would be a stronger ending for the show. I like the fact that you highlight the birthday person and get them to help you out with it. It is also nice that they get a nice gift to keep and you can have your contact information on it. That will certainly be shown around the party and they are more apt to hold on to it.
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Donald Dunphy Inner circle Victoria, BC, Canada 7565 Posts |
Have to agree with Clive, Andy, Kyle.
I don't think that candy is a strong way to end a show. Why give them a sugar rush, and impose that on the parents? Further, why risk being sued because a child gets sick or chokes on candy you gave them? Besides, you should be giving away imprinted souvenirs that last and last, for the kids to take home. Candy is there and gone. Activity books and the like last longer, and you'll get more shows by the promotion. Best of all, remember this. The Magic Party Picture is a spectator's object (at least it is theirs after they draw and colour it) that becomes an altered state. This is special magic that stories are told about. This is exactly what Michael Ammar talks about on his tape, "Making Magic Memorable." The Gr8 DonaldD. P.S. Paraguppie, does your second page of your contract (I think it is very unusual to use a contract for a birthday show, but hey, that's my opinion. I use a confirmation letter only, as it's less formal and less threatening to a customer) have a spot where the parents can report about the allergies and sensitivities of the birthday child's FRIENDS to candy? Would a parent be aware of what their child's FRIENDS can eat and cannot eat? You only addressed the issue of the birthday child alone.
Donald Dunphy is a Victoria Magician, British Columbia, Canada.
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Emazdad Inner circle Plymouth UK 1954 Posts |
I always use a contract, and I've never had any problems from any of my customers.
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. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
I use a simple confirmation letter that is mailed to them and signed. It is almost like a small contract, but as Donald mentioned, it is not as threatening to the client when they receive it. It is more or less a letter restating the agreements and information regarding their party. I have never had a problem dealing with it in this manner.
I also do a confirmation call a few days prior to the event to touch base with them and make sure everything is all set.
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Emazdad Inner circle Plymouth UK 1954 Posts |
I often get mum's asking me what prizes I give out at the party. When I tell them none of my prizes are sweets, none of my games are elimination games, and I never give out sweets to kids during the magic show they are usually well impressed. It’s a big selling point. A lot of them have told me how they don't like entertainers giving the kids sweets.
Quote:
I use a simple confirmation letter that is mailed to them and signed. It is almost like a small contract, Hi Kyle, it's only a contract in as such that they can use it against you. They've never signed it so they can deny things to their hearts content. I prefer them to sign something and send it back to me. You get to a party and they accuse you of being too early, or worse late. They're either trying to pull a fast one, or have forgotten what time they booked you. It’s happened a couple of times to me. You pull out the contract signed by them with the details on it and show it to them, end of argument. The same thing could happen when you do your confirmation phone call, they suddenly say, no it's not 4 PM, it's 5 PM. You've got another show booked in that day working around this show being 4-5 PM as you know that's what they originally booked. Without their signature on a contract how do you prove you haven’t made a mistake and they're wrong? I send them 2 copies of the contract, they keep one and sign and return the other with a £20 deposit. On my contract it states (not in these words): There has to be a parking space close to the entrance, I don't unload and then park elsewhere. No parking no show. Payment must be made before the show If they cancel with less than 14 days notice they still have to pay. If they cancel with more than 14 days notice the deposit is non-refundable I've had a couple of instances where I've turned up to find the party has been cancelled and they haven’t told me. Each time I got paid. They tried to get out of it, but the contract enabled Equity to get my money for me.
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. |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Clive:
I can understand why you do what you do and it makes sense to me. As I stated, I do use a confirmation letter that does get signed and returned to me. So they are indeed signing the document and mailing it back. I usually use my larger contract for my fair and festival gigs. I have never really run into too many problems with my birthday party shows as my confirmation letter and my phone call usually takes care of any last minute confusions. But if there are any problems, I have the signed confirmation letter with me.
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
Andy Wonder Special user Auckland, New Zealand 747 Posts |
Hey this is an interesting idea and has got me thinking. I've started a new thread on it so we don't get off topic.
As for candy at a party I am going to quote something from David Ginn's book “Crash Course On Kids Shows”. Quote:
Right or wrong, children love candy. So doing tricks and routines with anything sweet - lollipop, candy bars, even peanuts attracts attention. Often tricks with brand name candies make an even stronger impression because of familiarity. Ginn goes on to recommend the Lollipop trick (gimmicked lollipop with double ends and different colours each side), Sammy Smiths “Really Quick Candy Trick” and “Pop Pop Poof'”. I think these really grab kids attention but they stop short of actually giving away candy for the children to eat. I use some spring snakes in my act that jump from a Jelly Bean jar. Having the Jelly Bean jar really gets their attention but I don't actually have any Jelly Beans at all. I think once you actually give out candy to be eaten you cross the line and stop being an entertainer. Maybe you do want to stop being the entertainer at the end of your show, but I still feel it invites too many potential problems.
Andy Wonder, Auckland, New Zealand
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p.b.jones Inner circle Milford Haven. Pembrokeshire wales U.K. 2642 Posts |
Hi,
Andy, I personally think that it is not only sweets etc. that fall into David Ginn’s quote but any ready identifiable product for example PB@J in the States, Pokemon cards, Lord of the Rings / Harry Potter items I think that it is not the fact that they are sweets that makes the impact stronger, but the fact that they are popular/and every day items to the kids. Phillip |
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Phillip is right. Anytime a child can associate with an object you’re using, it makes the effect that much stronger for them.
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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