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glenn collins Regular user 111 Posts |
I have been asked if I would perform my "MAGIC" at a Friend of a Friends daughters birthday party. She is going to be six, will have about twenty guests plus parents and I perform Mentalism.....
Not the best mix. I am seeking advice for possible routines to use. I have a few in mind, but am interested in what or if any of you out there perform mentalism for children. I know the key issue is to make them the center taking away the power of the great mentalist and making them do the magic, and have adapted a lot of my current work to be able to accommodate this, but a lot of current work is suggestion based and DAT don't work!!!!. your ideas and advice. thanks Glenn.
the road we travel is lined with beauty but as with all roads, mind the pot holes...
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carlomagic Regular user 116 Posts |
I have one effect that is a central part of my act and an absolute favourite with the children:
'Who stole the Golden Snitch?' A 'Harry Potter' themed story/act, where 5 children pick a ball from a black bag and one of them (free choice) chooses the golden ball. I then divine (in Dumbledore costume etc.) who stole the golden snitch. For some reason, the kids love this. I have a Fawkes (Rubber Chicken) on a stand (child volunteer), that whispers what colour ball each person has, there is lots of patter, play, costume and fun, and from feedback after shows it is rated #1 in my act, which amazes me. Essentially, it is a mentalism routine, but dressed in story, and with the premise of telling the truth/lieing and so on. I thought it would be worth sharing this because the success rate has been so high, and we all know how normally mentalism and children don't mix. All I can say is that if it is dressed in the right way, as part of a whole package that is specifically designed for children, there is certainly a place for a mentalism routine in a kids show. Only a small place though... you can't forget the tried and tested things that children love. You and I might love nothing more than an hour of mentalism, but that is very different to those whose theory of mind is in infancy, and require something much more visual, and, well...suitable for them. Best regards, Carlo |
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Julie Inner circle 3936 Posts |
I think is was Walt Hudson who published a neat little booklet of mental effects designed especially for children's audiences. This was some years ago and would probably be available only from a used Magic Book dealer.
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glenn collins Regular user 111 Posts |
Carlo,
This routine sounds realy good, no wonder it gets such good results. This is the kind of thing I am looking for and with you rkind permission would be very greatful to take you ridea and work with it. I have also found in the last few past issues of MAGIC a section on perfoming mantalism for children and will also be adopting some of the thoughts there, musical chairs ect... Thansk for the reply Glenn
the road we travel is lined with beauty but as with all roads, mind the pot holes...
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Jeff Alan New user Georgia 88 Posts |
Other kids mentalism tricks:
Deja Zoo Comedy Mental Epic Also any number of "mental" card tricks except use jumbo picture cards instead.
Aim high and you won't get your shoes wet.
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David Todd Inner circle 2328 Posts |
Yes, I was going to mention Samuel Patrick Smith's "Deja Zoo" mentalism effect . Here's a link to order it :
http://www.spsmagic.com/products.asp?product_id=t027 It's an effective bit of "mentalism" and suitable for kids . |
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x303 New user St-Hubert, Quebec, Canada. 74 Posts |
You can do bizarre and mentalism, just needs to be adapted to kids. I add a bit of both in my kids show and they love it!
I've used ESP cards (Zenner)with great results. |
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Emazdad Inner circle Plymouth UK 1954 Posts |
I take it your doing this for free, or you would not have taken the job on.
Are you good with kids in general? You would get away with one fun mentalist trick but if you do a whole mentalist act the kids will probably get bored and fidgity. To keep 6 year olds entertained you need to make it fun, and have lots of audience participation. Entertaining 6 year olds is not so much about the magical climax, but the journey to that climax. There may be parents there but ultimatly you are there to entertain the kids, make sure you have a good supply of funny wands, {they love them}. I'm sure you know other tricks apart from mentalism, ie, Cut & restored rope, Professors nightmare, performed with a kid friendly routine they are always a big hit. most adult magic tricks can be adapted for kids with a bit of thought. Avoid card tricks though, 6 year olds cannot always reccognise the cards. If you must do a card trick, do it with picture cards that they can easily reccognise
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. |
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Ron Reid Inner circle Phoenix, Arizona 2732 Posts |
Hi Glenn:
Another thing you can do is the Miko/Hotrod effect, but with kids being the choices. I'm sure you know the force where there are six colors or cards, and someone picks a number between one and six. You either count or spell out the selected number to land on desired (forced) selection. Well, how about doing that with six kids. Dress them up in silly costumes or give them silly props or have each do a silly thing. Then, reveal your prediction in some manner. Someone mentioned this before, and I think it's a real good idea that can look real big with lots of kids "on stage" with lots of color and fun. I hope I've been clear on this...and, I hope it helps. Ron |
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jlibby Inner circle 1044 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-05-15 12:05, Jeff Alan wrote: Speaking of which... how about the good ol' Pet Insurance Trick available from Lee Jacobs? It comes with a bonus mental effect using the prop that's suitable for kids shows. For $3 or $4, how can you beat that? See ya! Joe L.
My new FREE ebook on the classic Mismade Bill trick is ready for you:
https://funnybirthdayshow.com/mismadebill/ |
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matthu Regular user UK 170 Posts |
There is a children's mental effect called Animental, for example here:
http://www.elmwoodmagic.com/?nd=full&key=54 but I have never used it. Has anyone had any experience with this? Matthew |
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owen.daniel Inner circle England 1048 Posts |
I am surprised that no one as of yet has mentioned the two articles in David Kaye's column in MAGIC magazine, where Doug Green teaches a couple of routines and gives some ideas about doing mentalism for kids. They occured earlier this year, and are really worth checking out.
Owen |
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what Special user Lehi, UT, USA 643 Posts |
P.B. Jones posted in another thread a great childrens mentalism routine in which the magician had to dress up very silly because he guessed wrong. All is set right in the end because of magic, of course. I forget which thread it was in, but maybee he'll pipe in and point you there.
Magic is fun!!!
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p.b.jones Inner circle Milford Haven. Pembrokeshire wales U.K. 2642 Posts |
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......forum=37
Hi, the link is above but it is in the secret sessions so I do not know if you will be able to get acess until you have made a few more posts Phillip |
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Danny Diamond Inner circle Connecticut 1400 Posts |
I do one mentalism effect in my show, but I keep it very simple and I use lots of comedy with it. My bunny routine has a lot of little tricks leading up to the production, and the mentalism is one of those tricks. I invite the birthday child up to help me look through my box of magic which I have on my table. The first thing I take out of the box is an envelope, which I sometimes write "YOUR NAME" on the back of, and then hide the words on it as I take it out and act surprised as I say "oh this is weird, this envelope has your name on it!" Then I turn it around to show the text, this usually gets a groan or two. I give the envelope to an adult to hold, saying we'll come back to it later. We then go through a couple other little tricks and then I find the last thing in the box, a deck of colored shape cards. I have the child choose a card and hold it against their body so I can't see. I then get my brain-reading helmet, which is a silly balloon hat. They laugh at it and I tell them "this is serious, don't laugh!" They laugh louder. I sometimes put the hat on the kids head and ask him to "name a number, 1-10", whatever they say, I say "That's it! You got it! It must be working". I then take the hat back, look deeply into their eyes, make a funny face, they laugh at me. Then I say "ok, just tell me if I am right or wrong...", then I proceed to do a couple of wrong predictions. Finally, I explain that "it appears the hat doesn't work, but it actually DID work, before the show". I then invite the adult holding the envelope up on stage and have the kid show the card they chose. The adult then opens the sealed envelope and the card matches.
I think because of the simplicity or the effect, the comedy and silliness of the routine, and the surprise of it because the envelope has been held by an adult the entire time and the envelope is often forgotten about by the time we go through the other two tricks, the mentalism gets a great reaction for me. I also think it's nice to bring an adult on stage, the kids seem to like that.
You don't drown by falling in the water;
you drown by staying there. - Edwin Louis Cole |
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phill Veteran user Connecticut 365 Posts |
In regards to the choice of six differnt cards, colours etc. I like using dice. I allow the volunteer to cast the die to make the choice. Six sides to the die, six 'choices' to make. Currently I am using the traditional white die with black pips, but am on the prowl for fuzzy or oversized dice (just to add a little comedy) - maybe I'll check out the anything-for-a-buck store.
I even recall seeing a picture of dice made out of balloons. peace, phill
Scripture, Sculptures & Surprises!
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TrickyRicky Inner circle TrickyRicky 1653 Posts |
Here is a good ending for the performance that you are going to do. This is not mine, I saw this in a book sometime ago.
At the start of the show tell the children that, at the end of the show you're going to have a drawing of a number, and somebody is going to win a prize Now,after your last trick give each kid a 1 inch square card with a number printed on one side,make sure that the birthday child gets the force number--let say that its number 5. Now ask the momther or dad to come up and pick a number from a bag (change bag) Have all the children look at their number while you ask the mom to call out the winning number, which is of course #5--the birthday child always wins. You'll need three sets of numbered cards made up--the first set is handed out to the kids--the second set is an exact copy of the numbers in the first set--the third have nimber 5 printed on all the cards and is placed in the change bag compartment ahead of time. And as Paul Harvey says (and you know the rest of the story) As for the prize--I usually get something (candy) from the mom at the start of the show. I never like to give the child my own candy in case they should get sick. Have fun Richard Lyn--Tricky Ricky |
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Steven Steele Chief of Staff 1868 Posts |
I use Deja Zoo, but I don't use it for anybody under about 7 right now. I found the little guys just didn't get it, no matter what I did. I have since replaced the effect with "What's My Job?", another Samual Patrick Smith effect. I have a lot of fun with this one.
Coram Deo
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SIX Inner circle New York City 1772 Posts |
I recomend you buy "Magic Magizine" from last month and the month before Silly Billy has an article and he talks about using mentalism at kids shows and he teches a total of 3-4 effects.
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magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
That is a good article and can come in handy. Just make sure that if your doing mental magic for the kids, that you make it fun and exciting for them. If you must use cards, then use cards and pictures they can associate with. Always keep in mind that kids want to have fun and that half of the fun is NOT in the magic but the journey you take them on to get there.
Kyle
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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