I share a restaurant gig with another local magician. On my night to be at the place I was approached by the new manager...who wanted to talk to me in her office. I was a little nervous that I might be in trouble, but soon found out that she was concerned with the other performer. She explained that he refuses to entertain tables with children.

In his defense I explained that some magicians (many actually) did not particularly enjoy performing for kids. Her eyes widened as she stated, "But that's who magicians are SUPPOSED to perform for...CHILDREN!". In her perception of entertainment, a magician was solely a kids entertainer. I respected her perspective in that the restaurant caters to families...with children...and the entertainer should not be segregating them from a few moments of magic. However, I could not convince her that some magicians prefer adult audiences only...perhaps with children who may be in their teens as an exception.


Unfortunately she was not receptive to this reality and has recently let the other magician go and has replaced him with Buttons the Clown... an 86 year old retired night auditor who took up clowning many years ago when he retired. Fortunately, I have no problem performing for children, but was told by a waitstaff that I better start learning to do balloon animals as the manager LOVES seeing the kids leave with one or two in hand. She also implied that she likes that Buttons leaves the adult only tables alone so they can engage in adult conversation without having a deck of cards unexpectedly flash in front of their face! Shhheeesh!

Seems kind of strange the other magician wouldn't perform for tables with children if he/she was working at a family restaurant.

Basic balloon animals are quite simple! I started doing balloons in the'50s. I finally began to phase them out, when Shrine clowns (and, I've been a circus clown) began to do them (for free).

If the restaurant manager likes balloons (the kids--and parents) like them, too!) I would suggest that you start learning a few balloons!

Refuses to entertain tables with children... That's a bit extreme.

Customers perception of magic is:

Did you ever get a call and they say, the kind of magic I want you to do at this corporate gig is to pull quarters out of peoples ears kind of tricks.

I've gotten that call a few times.

There are a great many points of that post which seem odd.

While I prefer not to entertain children, I will not refuse. BUT then again I do not work family restaurants.

I wouldn't have tried to explain his position. That is for him to do.

Why she hired a magician at all if that was her position is a mystery.

If he was hired to perform and the restaurant wants him to perform for kids, he needs to get his act together (pun intended) and do so.

Sounds like he thinks he's "above" performing for kids or perhaps he's hiding that in reality he's not good enough to entertain them with ease.
If the latter, he needs to admit it to himself and improve.


If the former... (omg, here we go)
It's a more serious issue to address which requires self-awareness and many magicians lack self-awareness.
This is often the sign of a magician that has not matured to realize what "performing" is all about.
They are currently too big for their britches, selfish, egotistical, immature, etc.

Sadly, I remember those days... back when I first learned my tricks and thank goodness I snapped myself out of it and grew (up).

To summarize...
It's time for Mr. Magican to ..... pull his head out.


Finally...
Not being willing to perform for kids at a family restaurant is laughable.

I've had many magicians ask me how I managed to get booked at so many restaurants. Right now I have two but there have been times over the years when I was working at as many as five. I tell them it's because I do magic, balloons, and brainteasers. As you noted the managers love to see kids with balloons.

It's fine if you want to only work for adults but you're limiting your venues. I love performing for children. I also love performing for college students and adults.

I read it as a new manager not being happy with the magician who wasn't performing for the tables with kids...assumed that she wasn't the manager who hired the guy.


Hopefully the magician found work at a non-family restaurant...whatever the heck that is. A restaurant that doesn't serve a family???

The children are the motivating factor to WANT to return to see the magician.
They are job security for you. I've heard this many times, quote " You are the reason
why we are here."

If your personality does not endear you to the younger ones, then your job security will
be short-lived in a family restaurant. I enjoy entertaining children ( most times) there
are those times .

I'll be entering my 17th year in September and I credit the children partly, for the long run.

I don't think it has to be that way at all. I have never catered to children. If they are there I never ignore them.

In all honesty I have never worked a family night for that reason. I have worked more formal restaurants.

If you are going to be working those places you darn well should have the right attitude! Ignoring kids seems not to be it.

I don't cater or focus on the children. It's just the nature of the family/bar combination restaurant. The kids are just more vocal and they need their parents to come back. Music to managers/ owners ears so I've been told.
You do have to have a personality that endears you to the kids and engage them. Then again, you have to have a friendly engaging personality regardless.

The places I work have MAYBE 2% kids show up in them. The kids wanting to come back factor is so low it is negligible. And those kids are usually over 12.

The managers don'twant the kids.

As I said you can find places to work (and in my opinion should.) where this is no issue at all.