Back To Snippet
Back To SITEMAP
Performing Magic for Kids: Part II - How These Four Things Will Make Or Break Your Magic Show
Author: J.L. Siefers
Four Critical Keys to Performing Magic for Kids
Children don't understand many of the common cues in a live performance. Most children are raised in the age of television. Not a bad thing, except the laugh tracks prompt the children when to laugh. No laugh tracks and the children are left out in the cold. They are quick and will get up to speed in no time. But they need your help.
The same issue is even more problematic with applause. Children are not used to clapping. They don't understand applause cues. Those wonderfully timed applause cues will leave you and your audience with a lot of uncomfortable silence.
What can be done? Everything. One of your most important tasks as a children's magician is your opening. The beginning of your show must do four things:
- Establish audience control
- Teach the children to react to applause cues
- Set the tone for the show
- Introduce your performing personality
Children love to have fun. Even in school children are taught to obey those in authority. For some reason, many magicians forget to establish authority early in the show. The result resembles a saloon brawl in the wild west.
When you step out for the start of your show, you have the perfect opportunity to establish the ground rules for the show. I don't mean that you should bring out a list of house rules for the show. Instead come out with confidence and warm up your audience.
After you welcome everyone to the show, look out over the audience and say, "This looks like a really great crowd. Let's see how loud you can clap. On the count of three ONE. . . TWO . . THREE . .Not bad! Let's try it again. On three . ." After some byplay conclude by saying, "What do we do when we like the magic? (pause) What do we do when we LOVE the magic?" (pause and react strongly to the crowd)
Four things are being done by that warm up. You have taught the children to clap when they like the magic. It also trains them to react to the applause cues in the rest of the show. The warm up establishes that you are in control for this show. Finally, it sets a fun tone for the show. This is the first time your audience gets a sense of your performing personality.
The next article explains how your performing personality can put your magic show over the top with the kids.
Copyright © 2005 J.L. Siefers, All rights reserved.
J.L. Siefers has been performing great magic for years. He has written extensively on many topics in magic. He has shown hundreds of people how to successfully learn to do great magic tricks.
Want to learn to do magic? Click now to get your FREE magic tricks! http://www.Learn-Great-Magic-Tricks.com " http://www.Learn-Great-Magic-Tricks.com
Sign up for The Magic Way newsletter! It's FREE: http://www.learn-great-magic-tricks.com/magic-newsletter.html " http://www.learn-great-magic-tricks.com/magic-newsletter.html
...