Tag: kid show

Magic For Kids…

Yesterday I visited a magic shop and while I was there a family came in. A magician that was visiting was asked to show the kid in the family a magic trick. This kid was probably 8 years old. After a couple of minutes of “hemming and hawing” he finally chose a trick. His indecision … Continue reading “Magic For Kids…”

Yesterday I visited a magic shop and while I was there a family came in. A magician that was visiting was asked to show the kid in the family a magic trick. This kid was probably 8 years old. After a couple of minutes of “hemming and hawing” he finally chose a trick.


His indecision came from him not knowing any tricks for kids. His thinking, which he said out loud was “kids brains aren’t formed yet, so they don’t understand magic”.


WHAT?!


That’s true for a kid that’s under about 3 years old. The concept of a secret action for young kids is abstract. However choosing a trick to show a kid is easy. Make something happen that shouldn’t. Take a coin, and make it disappear.


Easy.


When he finally started to do the trick he decided was appropriate to show an 8 year old, he did sponge balls. Great trick and it should have worked. However it fell flat.


It fell flat for a couple reasons. First, he just crapped on the kid’s intelligence. Why would the kid be into it right after he called him dumb? Next, his presentation was basically a challenge. He said things like, “I snuck the ball into your hand”. Now that makes it a challenge and the kid took him up and busted him…multiple times.


A better approach would have been to simply pass on the doing a trick OR stall by saying you are trying to think of your best trick. Then don’t do your trick based on a challenge presentation. Challenge is good for middle or end pieces, not stand alone tricks.


Repeat Engagement…

Last night I performed at a gig that I’ve been performing at for something like 17 of the last 20 years.  It’s now getting to the point where people who were kids when I first started doing this gig are bringing their kids to the show!   While I was setting up the show a kid … Continue reading “Repeat Engagement…”

Last night I performed at a gig that I’ve been performing at for something like 17 of the last 20 years.  It’s now getting to the point where people who were kids when I first started doing this gig are bringing their kids to the show!  

While I was setting up the show a kid that was probably 10 years old comes in and asks if I’m the magician.  I tell her “yes“, then she proceeds to start grabbing all of my props.  I tell her, she can look all she wants, but she can’t touch anything.   Her reply was, “why can’t I touch?”  This is not the first time I’ve played this game with a kid, so I simply say, “There’s a lot of breakable things in my show and if anything gets broken before the show I can’t do the show.”  That answer satisfied her and she left.  

I knew she was going to be someone I’d have to keep an eye on during the show. 

Once showtime hit, this girl wouldn’t shut up.  She was playing with some sort of toy, not directly engaged in the show, but constantly yelling out things.  I’m not going to engage with a kid where there is nothing to be gained.  She wasn’t invested in the show and there really wasn’t anywhere to go with what she was saying.   I chose to ignore her.  

Instead, I decided to focus my energy on the kids who where paying attention.  I let them shine brighter than her.   I also played a lot more and the show went over great.  I think the silver lining to having to deal with her, is it made me be more present in the show and to mine for gold a bit deeper and I found it!

So the moral of the story is keep plugging away!