It’s no secret that children’s birthday parties are a great way to make money with your magic. But if you think that being a kid show magician is somehow easier than entertaining adults, think again. Children’s audiences are extremely demanding. In this article, I will show you how to put together a birthday party show that will amaze and delight children and put money in your pocket.
The first thing to know about performing at children’s birthday parties is that there is no such thing as “ideal conditions.” Often times your audience will be all around you making tricks that are angle-proof essential. Much of the time the children will be seated on the floor in front of making tricks done on a tabletop difficult to see. Next, realize that most card tricks and mentalism effects won’t play well for young children. Instead select tricks that are visual with simple plot lines.
The ideal length of a children’s magic show is determined by the size of the party and the ages of the children. Older children have longer attention spans than little ones. The general rule is the younger and larger the group, the shorter the show.
Opening Tricks.
Get straight to the magic. I like to open with a visual production or vanish that doesn’t take a long time to perform. The sooner you can amaze your audience the better. Produce a silk and transform it into a cane. It’s pretty, fast and instant magic.
Sucker Tricks.
Many times a beginning magician will be challenged by kids who want to explain how the tricks are done. It’s handy to have a “sucker routine” that leads kids to believe they know the secret to the trick when in fact they are completely wrong. The theory here is that once children realize that screaming out the secret to a trick can make them look foolish and wrong they will be less inclined to do it again. Just be careful not to make your audience feel stupid. The very best children’s magicians will act surprised when the sucker trick turns out differently than expected instead of acting superior. The Run Rabbit Run genre of Kid’s Tricks is a classic sucker theme that is easy to do, amazing to watch and angle proof.
Audience Participation.
Try to involve as many children in your show as volunteers as possible. The parents who are hiring you are more interested in watching their kids "on stage" than watching you, so make the birthday child the star of your show. Choose fun tricks that are age appropriate.
Visual Magic.
More magic, less talk. Plan your routine with tricks that require little patter in between slower paced tricks. Kids get very impatient if they have to wait five minutes before the magic happens. This isn’t to say every trick has to be done in rapid succession, one right after the other. You do want to have routines that allow you to bond with the audience on a personal level and let them get to know you. Just be sure to mix fast tempo tricks with slower paced effects.
Your Finale.
I like to end a birthday party show with a bunny rabbit production. Finding a practical way to do it can be challenging. Most birthday party magicians don’t work with an assistant who can load the rabbit into a prop moments before the trick. That means your bunny will need to be safe and comfortable inside your production box until the end of your show.
Getting Started.
Put together a 30 minute magic show with about 10 different tricks. Practice setting your show up as if you just walked into a crowded living room full of children. Figure out how to get your props in place quickly under the scrutiny of curious kids. Offer to do your show for friends and family birthday parties for free until you have it down perfectly. Another great way to break in the act is to work some of your kid show tricks into a street magic performance. The more times you perform the better you’ll get.
Performing magic for children is a great way to have fun and make money with magic. It will lead you to all sorts of other performing opportunities.
Yours Magically
Solomon
Interested to learn magic for fun or profit? Would you like to hire a magician, hypnotist or an emcee for your event? Visit www.themagicofsolomon.com for more info..
