Kids Show

[paulo]

hi everyone
I plan to perform some magic for kids and I never did it before.
So I need your help. The show must do between 30min-1h long and for kids from 7 to 11 years old ( maybe 15 or 20 kids)
If you have some nice ideas and tricks for this type of show let me know!
I'm almost a card man but I plan to do some visual magic like newspaper tear, stuff levitation, and surely a coin routine.
what are your advice?

 

[cm763]

When is this show? And is it a stage or walkaround show? I have a few suggestions, but I'm not sure how fitting they'd be unless you answer those questions, and add any other details you can think of.

 

[Magician_Jonny]

I would definitely suggest that you do some sponge ball magic, because kids love spponge ball magic.
for this age of kids, I would say that you do simple magic tricks. Also don't do geek magic, like thread, human blockhead, eg. because this just scares people.
And the most important point, study your tricks and script the well, bring some jokes in the act and talk a lot to the kids

 

[ASton15her2]

I would recommend doing some simple but visual card magic as well as some rope magic, and sponge ball magic. Dlites are also not a bad idea. If you have Jay Sankeys Bigger Finnish that would also be a nice effect to maybe close with.
Good Luck !

 

[cm763]

Oh, I forgot to ask...what effects do you know?

Still though, can't exactly reply until you fill us in on all the details (mainly: How long until the show, and what effects do you know?). It'd be useless to suggest all sorts of things if the show is less than a month away, as that isn't nearly enough time to prepare for a quality show, heh.

 

[paulo]

ok
the show will be the 7th of june, so I've have enought time to prepare a cool stuff
thank for your ideas. I'have never try sponge ball magic but it's a good thing to think of. For sure I won't do geek magic ! : )
I do magic for about 2 years now,
If you have other good ideas, your welcome !
I can maybe perform some cards transpo and distortion ( because it's so visual)...

 

[cm763]

Because I'm not sure if it's stage or walk around, I'll just assume it's stage. Or parlour, whatever.

I'd echo the statement that rope would be a great idea. I'm currently working on Richard Sanders' Fiber Optics, and it's a great routine. I'm sure any rope routine would be good, though. I like how visual a rope routine is, and how you can inject so much humour into it.

Linking Rings is also another idea. I'll be working on the Ninja Rings routine once my Gold set of Ninja Rings comes in (MJM just recently set out a fresh batch--I've had it pre-ordered since November, so you can imagine how happy I was, haha). I've watched the Ninja Rings DVD quite a few times already...it doesn't look easy, but boy does it look fun! Obviously the Ninja Rings aren't all that big, so they won't play to a huge audience, but it should work well for an audience of up to 20-25 people. If I wanted to cater to a bigger crowd, I'd probably get some full sized rings and learn a routine with those (I probably COULD apply some of the Ninja Rings routines to the bigger rings, but most sets comes with more rings (8-10), so I'd rather take advantage of that and learn whatever would take advantage of that fact).

I've yet to actually put together a kids show, but as you can tell, I like to stay fairly classic when it comes to (non-mentalism) stage work (the exception being if I'm doing a shorter show--I'm not sure I'd accept more than a half hour, as it stands).

With that said, I'd also suggest cups and balls. Another classic, and a great one (when performed right).

I'm not sure I'd suggest sponge balls, just because it's more of an intimate effect for a smaller crowd. It's great for the person you're performing it for, but I don't find it plays very big for the others (maybe it's just my presentation; I dunno). Don't get me wrong, you get a reaction...but it's just not the same. Like I said, it's probably my presentation--I'm used to presenting it to tables in a restaurant, not to large groups. So, you can still give it a shot, if ya like.

Other than that, feel free to explore what's out there. Good luck with the show!

 

[AndrewJ]

If you can find a copy of The Amateur Magician's Handbook by Henry Hay, there is a good amount of thery about children's show magic.

Anything I can say is based on performing for kids at family gatherings, just in the spur of the moment, and brief recollections of that book. My experience is existing, but very minimal.

Color, motion and fun work. I will second Sponge magic on that regard. There was a recent Masters of Illusion with Johnny Ace Palmer doing a sponge routine. Part of his patter was that it was his daughter's favorite trick. The technical effects moved fast, while less difficult but more comedic elements were given a LOT of stage time. I DVR'd it, and my five year old still falls over me laughing every time he sees it.

His favorite trick to watch me perform is Pressure. He sees the balloon, sees something in the other hand, and just gets excited.

I have never tried the skewer through balloon effect, but that also comes to mind.

Cards: Losing a chosen card to have it show up somewhere unexpected goes over extremely well, if it's paced well enough for an older kid to follow. Blueprint from the 1-on-1 section has also been great to me. The older kids in your stated age range seem to enjoy the cards more.

On that note, the 11 year old has about 50% more experience than the 7 year old. You may want to make sure to touch on both sides of that age range. Some of the 11 year olds may have been to YouTube. My worst horror stories have to do with my wife's Youtube-savvy nephew. (Blueprint was great, in that nearly every one of his "I know how you do it!" comments could be knocked out.)

I hesitantly want to mention balloon animals as well. This isn't exactly magic, and it may not go over expertly if all 20 of the kids want one. It may still be worth learning a few basics as a backup. $3 gets you the pump and 25 potential poodles, if nothing else.

Finally, there are all kinds of child-friendly effects being marketed. Hippity Hop Rabbits, a Peanut Butter & Jelly effect, and some silk routines come to mind.

Fun seems to be more important than sheer technical ability. Really technical routines might just come across ad "more grown-up stuff I don't understand" to a smaller child. They see a lot of that every day.

 

[paulo]

thank for these answers
I'll look for that and yeah fun would be as important as magic
I think also that a card trick like french kiss (card to mouth) could be great, then angle zero to an impossible location like a pocket of a kid or something like that...
pressure could be a perfect trick! I love the idea of animal ballons to give each kids a souvenir (but I must learn to do it ... maybe I will) otherwise have you other idea to give them and keep a good souvenir?
I really want to make them participate, so feel free to comment and give me some ideas!
thanks