Let the Kid Win!

Last weekend I went out and saw a variety show that had a magician in it. The magician did a “quiz show” type bit between a kid and his mom. In the bit one personal always get the easy question and the other always gets the hard question. In the version I saw the kid … Continue reading “Let the Kid Win!”

Last weekend I went out and saw a variety show that had a magician in it. The magician did a “quiz show” type bit between a kid and his mom. In the bit one personal always get the easy question and the other always gets the hard question. In the version I saw the kid got the hard question and in my opinion because of that the bit didn’t play as well as it could have.


There were a few factors that needed to be taken into consideration. First while he was in a variety show and your opener doesn’t have the same requirement as in a solo show, this was his opening bit. That means our first introduction to the magician was him picking on a kid. The second factor was that the kid was enthusiastic about coming onstage, until he got there, then he looked like he didn’t want to be there.


When you combine those two things, you are going to have a rough time with the bit. If you always plan for the kid to win, the bit will do well the majority of the time as you’ve removed the variables from the bit. If the kid onstage isn’t into it, but he still wins, that’s a win for you. It’s also easier for an audience to like you when you are nice to a kid.