talkmagic.co.uk

It's a shame you had to experience this. Well, sometime we only learn through garbage like this. What a goof this man was.

You handled it well, though.

I wonder what would of happened if you invited the man up to help you, allowed him the spotlight and gave him a bit of applause?

Hmmmm? I think not!

Keep up the good work!

Warmly,

Millard

A risky prospect I think. The fellow would probably have started to show off and do a trick of his own. I remember Pat Page got some young idiot magician up to help once and he started to do fancy shuffles and show off. Pat shut him down pretty quick.

I have read often that a good approach is to bring up the bully or the obnoxious brat and make them feel part of the show. Rubbish. Put them in their box fast. Stomp on them. Don't pander to them. It doesn't work, and it makes you look weak and desperate.

If I have a child up helping me and they don't follow instructions I sit them down again and get a co-operative child. Funnily enough you only have to do it once. For the rest of the show the kids know the rules.

I think it's different with kids. Some kids don't know any better, while others do.

With the one with the guy blurting c*** (not the best) to his kid. I would said "Would the guy blurting nonsense to his child, SHUT THE HELL UP and please remove himself from the party. He's ruining it for everybody."

Randy. That would be a very foolish thing to say and I do not recommend it.

thank you everyone. i am pleased i managed to ignore this man as any kind of come back would have made it worse. he wasn't nice.

a friend of mine had a horror story about a kids show he did earlier this year.he was hired to perform at a family barbeque for the children that were there and the family had set up a small marquee in the garden for him. when he arrived the family (who were rough and ready to say the least) offered him an alcoholic drink which he refused as he wanted to be sober for his performance. they kept on insisting as they were fairly drunk already and he kept refusing. then they accused him of not liking them and being snobbish so he gave in and had some drinks with the family. by the time he came to perform, he was steaming drunk and messed up every trick. the kids thought he was a comedian though and said to their dad; "you said we had a magician coming but this funny man was better". so alls well that end well i suppose!

I always find the words 'I'd love to but I'm driving' nips all boozy suggestions in the bud.

Basically, I'd allow the idiot magician to carry on. His bad attitude won't go unnoticed by other parents, and he'll quickly gain himself a reputation in the local community.

Pete

I have to say that this is one of the worst examples of unprofessional attitude I have heard of, and frankly I'm shocked that someone could be SO small minded as to sabotage your kids show.

I also have to say that I think you did a good thing to bite your tongue. The guy was spoiling for a fight by the sound of it and this could've easily turned out far worse. One of the things that I love about kids shows is that you have an opportunity to inspire the little ones, imagine what an example you'd set by going onto this idiots level.

Instead it sounds like you were the very epitome of professionalism. So don't beat yourself up about it, but do remember that karma has a way of paying people like this back...

It's bad enough with a kid thats being a pain let alone a grown up. You did really well carrying on and getting through even though in you head you just want to shout at him. I like the idea someone mentioned to take a short break and then speak to the dad of the birthday boy. Surely they must have realised that this guy was being an ass and ruining it for their own kid?
If it had been my boys party and someone was being a four letter word I'll have asked him to come back later. I certainly wouldn't invite that kid and his dad again!

Actually I have always had more trouble from the parents than the kids. Kids ae actually easy to control if you know what you are doing. Parents are the ones who can be a bloody nuisance sometimes.
As for magicians in your audience ruining things it is so rare that it is hardly worth worrying about. This is one of the few exceptions.

Mind you magicians can be a nuisance showing tricks to people at a venue you have been booked at but they don't generally interrupt you when performing. They just look terribly smug and superior while they are thinking about how mediocre you are in comparison to them but that is about it. At least they keep their thoughts to themselves.

Sorry guys this is slightly off topic, and a bit of a long story but please bear with me. This must be the ultimate nightmare for any magician.

When I was about 6 or 7 there were 2 girls living in the next street and whatever the first girl had, the second always had to have exactly the same. Incidentally this extended to the mothers as well.

Anyhow the two girls were born only a week or so apart and myself along with the rest of the class would always be invited to both Birthday parties. Now this particular year Girl 1 had a party and the entertainment was a magician. Very good, lovely old bloke, nice lot of tricks, fluffy white rabbit- you all know the score.

The next weekend it was Girl 2's birthday and again all the class turned up. Now as I have already told you whatever Girl 1 had Girl 2 would always have to have the same. So imagine our delight to find that not only was the entertainment a magician, but the same magician as last week. He did the exact same act. Or at least it started as the same act. He never finished it- all the children could remember how each trick finished/ worked and were happily shouting out the endings or just chanting for the rabbit to appear. Ruined the show. I still feel sorry for him now. Poor man.

(The Girl was and still is a right old stroppy madam mind, so don't feel sorry for her.)

i know what you mean by the parents being a pain..talking loudly in the background whilst the guy keeps the kids happy. My sister had a magician a few years back, really nice old guy and his wife. Only myself and one other parent watched whilst the others chin wagged. He stopped the shop at one point and asked the parents to go quiet but it only made things better for 5 minutes. You could see how p***ed he was and i dont blame him one bit. nursery's where parents stay can be a nightmere for this ..i shoudnt mention s***start centres! parents can be rude!

One way to get partially around this problem is to send a leaflet before the show with "Hints, tips and suggestions" for a successful magic show. It is really a polite way of saying "rules and regulations". In this you say things like "no opening of presents during the show" or "no videoing" if it bothers you. ( I personally don't care if they want to video me) or "no serving food during the show" or that you "prefer to perform inside rather than outside". That sort of thing anyway. Make up your own ideas.

However among all this you explain that you would prefer parents to go into another room if they want to chatter.

It works great at birthday parties. Less so at bigger venues with more parents but still works to a degree.

Another thing you can do (I don't do this) is to drag a parent up to help. That tends to shut up the other parents to a degree. As I say I don't do this but I can see it working.

In North America there is a tendency to sit the parents in with the kids and call it a "family show". Not my thing either but it does separate the parents and quieten them. I prefer all the kids up front with the parents at the back despite the dangers inherent in this. Of course I get the kids so noisy the parents can't hear themselves chattering anyway.

The approach I use most often is to say to the kids, "aren't the grown ups being a bit noisy boys and girls? When I say three will you all say 'shhh' in a loud voice. One, two, three! Shhh!"

This will shut the noisy b******s up for five minutes or so anyway. I haven't quite got the nerve to use the late Edwin's approach of getting the kids to yell out "Parents be quiet!"

One variation of the "shhh" technique is to get the kids to turn around to the parents with their fingers to their lips saying shush.

I do know parents tend to quieten down a trifle when you get their own little urchin up to help you on stage.

I keep it simple. I tell the parents to shut up or get out. I phrase it more politely than that the first time they interrupt, but if they ignore the warning, I ignore my manners.

Funnily enough I have never had a word said to me afterwards, and often get repeat bookings. The parents know that I am shutting them up because the day is about the kids.

TonyB wrote:You should have decked him. I know he was bigger than you, but bullies crumble when you confront them.

You're not seriously advocating violence on a public forum, are you Tony? It seems a little irresponsible, not to mention unlawful. And not all bullies crumble, just the cowardly ones. I have known some bullies in my time who were not cowards, merely crazed nutjobs who live for the day when someone foolishly confronts them.

@OP: I was very saddened to hear about your experience. I hope it does not dissuade you from performing in the future.