breakaway wand- an interesting story

[Jewish_Illusion]

an interesting thing happened at a show i just did about a 1/2 hour ago. it was a birthday party for a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds(the birthday girl was turning 4) and I invited her to help me with a trick- I was going to use a dove pan and mix in sugar and syrup and stuff, and change into candy for her and her friends. my patter was about how she could be a magician, and she would be doing the magic. she was a bit more shy than I had expected, so when I asked her if she wanted to wear my magic hat, she said no-(what I usually do is give the birthday kid my hat and jacket to put on so they look like a magician to do the magic) anyways, i asked her if she wanted to wear my jacket, and she said no again. so, naturally, I dropped the subject and went on with the trick. after I put on the lid of the dove pan and set it on the table I decided to try out the breakaway wand gag, to get her a bit more active. so I told her that I had a wand that was my grandfathers that was very old and she should be careful with it. when I handd it to her and it "broke", everyone started laughing.

she wasnt laughing. in fact she was pretty upset and she gave it back to me and said that it was "too delicate". of course, I laughed it off and explained that it was just a trick and even showed her how it worked- then I showed her the candy in the pan and she forgot about the whole incident and went to give out the candy to her friends at the party.
that was pretty much the end of the show, and I packed up, gave out some business cards, and left.

has anyone ever gotten that kind of reaction from a kid using a gag like the breakaway wand or something similar?

 

[RickEverhart]

Some children are very sensitive about gag effects where everyone is laughing, but them. I did something similar with a 3 envelope gag thing and people were roaring, but the girl almost cried up there. I felt like an a** and have never performed it the same way since.

The break-a-way wand is normally very funny and even the kid involved "normally" has a good time too, but there are just some kids that are emotional and feel like they are the ones being laughed at...not the wand.

Some times it is tough to get a good read on how a child is going to react once they are up in front of their peers and family.

 

[RealityOne]

It sounds like two factors where at play here. She seems like she was shy and a little uncomfortable being the center of attention from her not wanting to do the other stuff. I think it is great you have those bits because in the future you can use it to gauge your assistant. Second, the build-up for the wand ("its my grandfather's wand") is too much. Better to do something like, "I have a spare wand, I've never had to use it, let's hope it works."

 

[Jewish_Illusion]

It sounds like two factors where at play here. She seems like she was shy and a little uncomfortable being the center of attention from her not wanting to do the other stuff. I think it is great you have those bits because in the future you can use it to gauge your assistant. Second, the build-up for the wand ("its my grandfather's wand") is too much. Better to do something like, "I have a spare wand, I've never had to use it, let's hope it works."

thanks for the advice!

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

Yes, with children you have to be really careful not to make them the butt of the joke unless they are the type that can laugh it off. I know that when I was a kid, a magician doing that to me would have made me a very uncooperative assistant.

Another line you might try is, "I have a spare wand, I don't use it any more because it plays pranks on me. Maybe it will behave for you." Then make it out like the wand is out to get you, that way the focus isn't on the kid, it's on your mischievous wand.

 

[Justin.Morris]

That's too bad.. Kids that young can be quite sensitive. My daughter is three and a half, and just starting to get self conscious about people talking about her and laughing when she says something cute.