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Double O Magic Veteran user 365 Posts |
I am dong my first gig ever!!!! I am excited and I have about 21 Minutes of Material...but I need about 9 more inutes of material! Tips please!! And by the way the gig is a birthday party for 8 year olds...about 5 of them. Thanks!
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bluemagic Loyal user 271 Posts |
Please list the effect that you do know.
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Double O Magic Veteran user 365 Posts |
These are the effects I have so far in the routine...I might chain the card tricks to make one big one:
Free Will Sponge Bunnies One for the Road ESP Coin Bite Coin in Bottle Keycard Turnover Color Change (Best Card Trick In The World on Youtube) Cut And Restored note (talcum and rubber cement) Ash in palm Ash rub on arm that makes and forms their card that was chosen A nameless card trick that is one of the better tricks (They choose a card and put on top of deck, I ripple shuffle and overhand shuffle and they select 4 cards from deck.I put them on bottome and deal them out...all of them are worong and they select and flip over one card of the 4 and it is theirs.) Money Maker (folding coin comes out of roled up card) Fearson's Aces Crazy Mans Handcuffs and Ring Magic With it Voodoo Zone Gimmicked Pen Revelation X finger |
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Barry Donovan Special user 848 Posts |
None of those tricks are really suitable for 8 year olds I wouldnt of thought,
30 mins of children magic could easily be achieved with sponge balls, a change bag, dove tin and misers dream, with magic for this age group its about the fun not the magic, check out the little darlings forum on here, lots of good help in there. check out chris capehart and silly billys dvds to point you in the right direction don't do anything with ash for kids, they may try it and may pick up hot ash.
when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth
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Double O Magic Veteran user 365 Posts |
I have asked the mother what kinds of tricks and the restrictions, she said that any will work and I gave her a small preview. She loved it and wanted me definitely to do it. And the ash,I might have it ready before hand. This is on friday and I will not be able to get dvds and supplies by then. I thought the tricks I had listed were fairly visual. Any jokes or patter I could use?
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MarkTirone Inner circle palming not 1 coin, but 1139 Posts |
I agree, card tricks and coin tricks often arn't really too good unless you make them fun. Try to embelish the hell out of some of these. Sponge Balls can go for a good 15-20 minutes without getting boring for you if you play your cards right.
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Barry Donovan Special user 848 Posts |
You have to understand the difference between close up magic and childrens magic, just because the mum likes it, it doesn't mean the children will, from what you have listed and said so far I gather your new to magic in general? you need to decide what kind of magic you want to do be in close up, childrens, mentalism etc then you can start learning properly.
kids magic is all about entertaining the children, its not about the tricks, jokes will fly right over their heads so you have to have things like funny noises and ways to work them up, spectator involvment but most importantly you have to be able to control the kids, that is not easy, I admit I cant control a crowd of children as well as I thought I could, read up in the childrens section here http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewf......17&95231 also post your original question there as they are children entertainers and can help better than me also even though the mum said anything goes, you have a responsibility as a performer even after you have left the venue, don't do anything that potentially can be copied and be dangerous
when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth
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CurtWaltermire Special user Curtis The Mentalist 505 Posts |
Excellent advice by purist. I only use fire or anything related to it under extremely limited circumstances when doing shows for children.
It seems to me that you have a large number of effects that are fairly short in length. I'm not so sure about the suitability for that age group of most things here, either. You are doing a lot of card tricks, which can grow wearisome after several minutes (for children anyway). How much time do you have to prepare before the show? Purist is right, it is all about the fun for this age group, though I also recommend doing just enough "cool" magic to keep them amazed. I am of the mind that you don't need more effects to make the show longer, but that you could even eliminate some of the one's you've listed and dress up the ones that you are going to use. Let your mind flow with creative ways to present each trick, keeping the age group in mind. For example, when doing the Coin Bite, instead of just biting off the top of the coin and "spitting" the piece back on, you could tell them a story about an amazing new toothpaste that you brush your teeth with that makes them so hard you can bite a coin all the way through! Brush your teeth, gargle, the whole bit, and make it funny. Or perhaps it is a "magic" toothbrush. Tell a story to go along with your sponge bunnies routine that finishes with mama and papa bunny having a family and living happily ever after. Things of this nature. I'm not necessarily recommending these EXACT ideas, but rather illustrating what I mean by "dressing them up." With kid's shows (and sometimes adults also) I like to have everyone participate in doing the Cross Over Arms bit. It's an old bit that gets everyone involved for a minute or so and leaves everyone bewildered, standing or sitting there with their arms locked. Using a "helper" from the audience makes it more effective, I've found, but you can do it standing alone. If you are not sure what I'm referring to, PM me. I've never known what the actual effect is called, but I could explain it fairly simply. There's probably a YouTube video for it somewhere. Anyway, hope some of this helps.
Curtis Waltermire
Mentalist/Magician/Speaker/Actor/Grandpa/Cool Dad & Above-Average Husband CurtisTheMentalist.com YouTube Channel My Touring Public Show "The Mastermind Show" Check Out My Podcast "The Mastermind Show with Curtis The Mentalist" |
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mumford Special user 652 Posts |
Get the Silly Billy dvd and book to prepare for your next gig.
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Double O Magic Veteran user 365 Posts |
Thanks guys! Ok so I'm not sure about the card tricks to cut off. And yes I have made something to go with the bunnies. And Purist,your advice, I will heed. And I hav been dong magic for about a year now and I specialize and close up, and I am trying to find some visual tricks. Sadly, the gig will be on friday and I am not sure if I will be able to get sponge balls or anything of the sorts. What kind of material could I do that is fairly impromptu,lets the audience joiin in the magic, and anything kid friendly. What should I eliminate though? And I will have an assistant hopefully. I will have a little bit of time to prepare before hand. THank you for all your help guys.
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
I agree with Curtis' observation that you have a lot of tricks, but very little time. You need to learn how to build up the fun surrounding the trick.
Storytelling is a great way to do this. You can also use age-old gags with kids by having them become part of the routine by holding magic wands, wear hats, etc. There are plenty of warm-up routines that require no props, just some fun and funny Q&A with the kids. David Ginn has written about many of these. The fastest trick I do would last about 10 seconds if I didn't add anything else to the routine. I produce a giant watch from a paper bag. The best part is... I get about 3 minutes of funny stuff just from the bag! With some fun build-up around your tricks, you'll have probably more than an hour of entertaining routines, just from your list. That's enough for TWO shows!!
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
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MarkTirone Inner circle palming not 1 coin, but 1139 Posts |
I think just the mom was so excited about what you have done that she kind of lost sense that maybe the kids won't like it. Maybe this is the first time hiring a magician or entertainer and she doesn't really know what it's like and what they do.
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Double O Magic Veteran user 365 Posts |
What do you mean by Q and A?
And Michael, Purist,Curt, thanks for the tips! Trying to think of ways to totally embelish the tricks. Thanks! Haha and Mark,lets hope that is not the case. |
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RobertBloor Inner circle The Socialist Republic of the USA. 1051 Posts |
30 minute birthday party shows do NOT need 30 minutes of material. They need probably 15-20.
You'll learn quickly that shows aren't about, "here's a trick, tada, here's a trick, tada." There's more to consider. Consider the time that gets eaten up with laughter, joking with the audience, comedy byplay, getting people from the audience to come 'on stage' etc. Trust me on this. The sooner you learn to take a simple trick that takes 1 minute to do and turn it into a 3-5 minute routine the better off you'll be. Same goes for an effect that might take 3 minutes - turn it into 7 or 8. I used to pack 45 minutes of material into a 45 minute show and could never figure out why I was going on for 60-70 minutes. Beyond that - good luck. HAVE FUN. And just do GREAT magic. Make sure the end result is that your client is happy and the kids have a good time. ALSO CONSIDER - If time is an issue you can always do a 20 minute show and then spend 10 minutes teaching a simple trick. Maybe a quick rope trick? Good luck. have fun.
"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,"
-The Declaration of Independence |
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CurtWaltermire Special user Curtis The Mentalist 505 Posts |
PAPER BALLS OVER THE HEAD is another good bit that requires nothing but some toilet or tissue paper and some imagination. I do a routine in my kids' shows I call the Junior Magician. I ask who wants to learn how to be a magician, and then carefully pick a motivated (yet not too obnoxious) child to come and "learn."
I then begin playing some fun music, and tell them they must first learn to LOOK like a magician, and I place a sport coat on them (which is way too big by the way), an extremely ugly necktie, and whatever else. I tell them to WALK like a magician and follow me, and I do a funny, exaggerated walk to the music and entice them to do the same...how to make "cool" magic gestures, etc. Then I tell them that they are going to learn two basic principles: sleight-of-hand and misdirection. Then I proceed to show them how to make a paper ball vanish...I then go into my paper balls over the head routine using large sheets of bright, colorful tissue paper. While I'm explaining things to the young volunteer, I make sure to make a "shushing" gesture with my mouth while I'm behind their back, so that though they will wind up laughing at the ball flying behind the kid and out of sight, they won't give away what is actually happening. If you are discovered, just act like nothing's wrong, or that you've made the balls re-appear on the floor over there, and move on. I do a Topsy Turvy Giant Crayon bit from there, telling them that maybe sleight-of-hand isn't their thing, and they could do some "big illusions" instead. Sometimes I tell them they are going to learn "mentalism" magic, and I go into a routine where the child "selects" a card and then transfers that card with only his mind to everyone in the audience. All of this stuff requires just a few props from around the house, and a little imagination. Beef up your persona to be a bit bigger than life. Regardless of what you wind up doing, congratulations on your first show. It will be a learning experience for you. My first show was almost 30 years ago! DVDs are a good way to learn, but I personally prefer some of the old books like the Tarbell Course and Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic, especially if you want ideas for kid's shows and don't have a lot of money to spend. There is a ton of stuff in these that you could build an entire show out of, and customize it to your own style and taste. Perhaps I'm just a bit old-fashioned...
Curtis Waltermire
Mentalist/Magician/Speaker/Actor/Grandpa/Cool Dad & Above-Average Husband CurtisTheMentalist.com YouTube Channel My Touring Public Show "The Mastermind Show" Check Out My Podcast "The Mastermind Show with Curtis The Mentalist" |
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Double O Magic Veteran user 365 Posts |
I might sound noobih but I am not familiar with the topsy turvy or paper ball over head thing...heard of both but never got the concept. Like they say, don't be umbarased to ask questions.
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MarkTirone Inner circle palming not 1 coin, but 1139 Posts |
I 2nd the paper balls over the head
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Alan Munro Inner circle Kentwood, Michigan, USA 5952 Posts |
One thing that you have to be prepared for, when performing Paper Balls Over The Head, is the fact that kids will shout out where the balls are going. You can minimize the problem by explaining not to shout out where the balls go, but some kids will shout it out, anyway.
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Double O Magic Veteran user 365 Posts |
Ok, thanks for tipping me ff on that ;-)
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Michael Baker Eternal Order Near a river in the Midwest 11172 Posts |
Q&A - Question and Answer... Example: To a young boy: "Where's your wife?" "How's that new job going?" "What kind of a car do you drive?"... things that are obviously ridiculous questions to ask a young kid. They always get laughs.
To a very small child: "How old are you?" (Have them hold up their fingers). Then count the fingers from left to right and back to the left again before they have a chance to stop you. (You are counting most of the fingers twice). You will almost double a kid's age instantly, and if the kid is at least 6, you will count 11 or more fingers on their hands... both are funny. Another... "If you like pizza raise your hand." (The hands shoot up) "OK, put your hands down." "Who likes hot dogs?" Hands shoot up again. "Who likes cheeseburgers?" Hands go up. "Who likes ice cream?" Who likes birthday cake?" "Who likes to eat dog food?" (Hands still shoot up.) "YOU DO??? BLAH!!!! YOU EAT DOG FOOD???" (BIG laughs.)
~michael baker
The Magic Company |
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