I got hired!

Twozwozer · Jan 13, 2008

Yay! Well last night I was at a parent's friend's house BBQ thing. And of course I brought my cards and stuff. So I did my normal card routine and it went really well. I had two hecklers in the crowd, but like everyone says, I just ignored what they said and carried on with my act.

Any way, one little 8 year old girl and her Mum was very impressed and asked me if I wanted to do some magic at the girl's party..... and get paid. :O

Of course I said yes! When everyone left they all kept telling me to drop school and go out and do magic for a living. ( I know, its not that easy, so I'm staying in school, (last year this year!))

Righto, well I'm in a bit of a pickle because I only do cards at the mo. I'm starting to get into sponge and rope. And Ive had some ideas for the party...

Rope
Sponge
Chop Cup/Cups and Balls
Thumb Tip Magic
VISUAL Card stuff.

And thats about all so far. So what do you reckon?

Cheers, Tom
(Ps. Party is in a month so Ive got some good practice time. The child is going to be 9 so the kids will be around that age range)

Krash · Jan 13, 2008

Ah, well I believe that congratulations are in order. Make us proud!

As for something you could do for the lil' ones...

You might want to look into something along the lines of a spring animal. I bought my Rocky Raccoon just for my personal enjoyment, but I believe that it would go well with your audience being as young as they are going to be.

Shane

Sam Hardy · Jan 13, 2008

Krash said:
I bought my Rocky Raccoon just for my personal enjoyment
Shane

Shane, someone might get the wrong idea.

* Rope
* Sponge
* Chop Cup/Cups and Balls
* Thumb Tip Magic
* VISUAL Card stuff.

Yeah, I think that's a pretty good idea - cups and balls always goes down a treat when performing for kids - it's very simple to follow, and it looks like magic.
Also, do you have a D'Lite? It might lighten up your kids act a little (see what I did there?

lol)

P.S. Congratulations!

Twozwozer · Jan 13, 2008

The Emogician said:
Shane, someone might get the wrong idea.

Yeah, I think that's a pretty good idea - cups and balls always goes down a treat when performing for kids - it's very simple to follow, and it looks like magic.
Also, do you have a D'Lite? It might lighten up your kids act a little (see what I did there? lol)

P.S. Congratulations!

Ive got a pair of D'Lites, Thats a good idea, cheers. And about that Rocky Racoon, that would be brilliant, except I cant really afford that at the moment, Plus I need to work on my sponge and rope magic at the moment.

Any other advice would be helpful.

Cheers, Tom

tokyoUW · Jan 13, 2008

Sounds like you have some nice stuff planned, bu just remember, kids react a lot different than adults. Kids' minds work a little differently and surprisingly pick up on things quite easily. For example, I cant tell you how many times a little kid has immediately recognized a DL when all the adults around had no idea. A kid's mind immediately goes to the easiest solution, whereas an adult wants to believe in the unbelievable thus not seeing the DL.

Really polish up the cups and balls, and be sure to make simple jokes. Keep your routines less than 3 minutes (kids' attention span is quite LOW).

If you notice the kids losing interest in your current trick, MOVE ON asap! Wrap it up and carry on. Gradually go from small to big so each change of trick/routine continues to grab their attention.

If the parent's allow it, maybe end with a flash paper production of something =).

Oh yeah... and baloon animals... I hate to say it... but yeah, kids = baloon animals = hired again =/

Jakeh · Jan 13, 2008

Congratulations on the job.

I think effects with colourful silks and whatnot would be a good idea. Kids love colourful things!

akxi · Jan 13, 2008

For kids in that age you have to choose efects which are easy to follow. 9 year old kids aren't smart, and may have problem following a biddle trick. you should also call and get all the info on when you're going on and how many kids there are ata the party. The effects that works best are the effects that innvolves the kids. So cups and balls may not be the best. I wouldnt recomend to do to many card tricks either( if there are alot of kids there) because if the kids are having trouble to see your magic, they will be unpationate and look for other fun things to do. Also try to do your show before the cakes and stuff, because kids on suger is no fun....

Aksel

snibbor · Jan 13, 2008

Loops. Nuff' said.

Asuka · Jan 13, 2008

No don't do loops for kids.

Put the cards down, don't use them with 9 year olds they just won't be interested.

LOTS of colors is good. Sponge balls are an absolute must. Rope is a very good one.

You don't need to stick with just magic. Play games with them, great for a time filler and the kids and adults love it.

This should help you loads: http://www.magicbunny.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=37420

You've got a gig with the hardest audience you will ever come across, really good luck to you!

dejavu05 · Jan 13, 2008

Nice job. Theres one trick that is very good for 20 dollars called Word in a Million by JB Magic and it is a great trick. I might recommend that. Good Luck!!

darosa.justin · Jan 13, 2008

" I bought my Rocky Raccoon just for my personal enjoyment"

HAHAHAHHAA!

youngd94 · Jan 13, 2008

I'd say card in mouth (david blaine does it in his street magic special if you want to see a sort of humorous way to present it)

But also I think doing french drops and simple stuff like that always gets kids. (there's always the classic, oh its behind your ear thing)

Sensitive_touch · Jan 13, 2008

sponge balls are good for kids. and thumb tip productions of silks

JustJoseph · Jan 13, 2008

do all the easy stuff it all works well.

Close-Up Expert · Jan 13, 2008

darosa.justin said:
" I bought my Rocky Raccoon just for my personal enjoyment"

HAHAHAHHAA!

I wonder how Rocky feels about it....

illusionist14 · Jan 13, 2008

A Cane production would be pretty cool.

Shodan · Jan 13, 2008

There's a massive inclination to change your act for a big occasion - like your first paid gig.

Remember that the girl and her mother liked what they saw and probably envision getting more of the same!

You say that you only do cards at the moment. Ask yourself if you actually have time to get all those new things up to a performable standard. An honest answer is going to be no on some or all of it. Thinking long term, it's a great idea to add all those things to your repertoire, because it's nice to put the cards away sometimes. For an upcoming gig, you've got to stick with what you've got.

There's plenty of ways to make card tricks entertaining for kids. A little bit of creative thinking should have you coming up with loads of ideas. David Regal has a great presentation for the ambitious card where the spectator draws a puppy on the card and when they call it, it comes running to the top of the deck. This plays well for adult audiences and I would imagine 9 year old girls would love it.

This is just one example of a card trick that can play brilliantly well for kids - easy to follow, loads of audience involvement and the cute factor. Audience involvement is the key; how you involve them is entirely up to your repertoire.

Best of luck!

Close-Up Expert · Jan 13, 2008

Shodan said:
There's plenty of ways to make card tricks entertaining for kids. A little bit of creative thinking should have you coming up with loads of ideas. David Regal has a great presentation for the ambitious card where the spectator draws a puppy on the card and when they call it, it comes running to the top of the deck. This plays well for adult audiences and I would imagine 9 year old girls would love it.

I see you've seen David Regal's dvd...Premise, Power, and Presentation Volume 1??

Yes, that is a great version of the ACR...one that I've used on many occasions when the moment seemed right. Even take it as far as using rope as the leash (David Regal idea) and then going into a cut and restored routine.

Just some food for thought....

Shodan · Jan 13, 2008

Indeed I have. I really like his stuff; very nicely thought out magic every single time. Nice thought on routining this with a rope routine.

adjones · Jan 13, 2008

I'm going to get bashed for this, and people are going to hate me, but I am going to give you some sound advice here. Do NOT do the show. You aren't ready, and a month is not enough time to get ready. I've been asked to do a show for summer school kids that are about 6-8 years old, and I may turn it down. Yes, 6 months is a whole lot of time, but I don't want my reputation as a magician ruined because I did some crap show for a bunch of summer school kids. Now if I had been asked to do some stuff for Middle School aged kids, I would have said yes on the spot, because my stuff is geared towards teenagers and adults.

However, I still think the best way to learn is by experience. If you never do any shows because people tell you you're not ready, you'll never get anywhere with magic.

So in the end, the choice is yours, and whatever you end up doing is fine, but I am of the opinion that a month is not enough time to get ready. You have to find what you're going to buy and get it, and assuming you're shopping online, it will probably be two weeks before you have it online. You then have about another two weeks to not only learn the effects, but also come up with good presentations, and a good, quality show.

Another tip that I've been passed on is to not undersell other magicians in the area. This means charge the same or more than them. It may sound weird, but wait until you need their help... they won't help you if you're "the kid who does cheap, bad shows and costs me a lot of clients". Just something to think about... make sure that you don't undersell local magicians, and make sure you're worth the price you're asking!

Whatever you do, good luck with it!