talkmagic.co.uk

ARE THERE ANY KIDS ENTERTAINERS ON THIS FORUM ?

We are new to Talk Magic but not new to magic forums. We are member a few other forums (Magic cafe, Bunny etc)

We were wondering as there is no childrens entertainer section whether there are any other childrens entertainer members and if so would they want a section dedicated to kids magicians ???

We switched from close up / stage and illusion act to childrens about 10 years ago although we still do the odd restaurant gig etc. (Illusions in storage as we can't quite give this up yet)

We do miss the other shows but dont miss all the travelling up and down motorways and smokey clubs (before the ban)

So any of you out there or is it just us !!!

There are quite a few and the idea of a children's entertainer section has been discussed thoroughly, not sure quite why it has always been turned down. Take a look in the forum request section, you're bound to find something.

I do a lot of children's shows although people don't realise it. If there are any stray Canadians wandering about here take a look at this
www.browsersden.com

Oh !

Thanks for the info Lenoir.

Guess there is not going to be one then. Shame.

Yup, kid's magician through and through. I've been doing so professionally for almost a year now.

I too would like a kids forum, but where would it end? The next thing you know, this place would turn into the magic cafe!

magikmax wrote:The next thing you know, this place would turn into the magic cafe!

And why would that be bad ?

We are members of the magic cafe and it has been good for lots of info.

Anyway hi Sandy, nice to meet a fellow children's entertainer on the forum.

Now where are all the rest !!!

I think he was just saying the Magic Cafe has SO many sections, and subsections, and subsections of subsections, and- You get the idea. TM is good because there aren't too many sections.

I'm a full-time dad as well as being a working magician. And when other parents find out that you're a magician, word spreads very quickly.

So I'd be missing out on a lot of work if I didn't do children's shows.

And there's also the fact that they're immense fun!

Any children's entertainer that says that they don't like doing kids' shows is either doing it wrong or just plain allergic to kids.

HenryHoudini wrote:I think he was just saying the Magic Cafe has SO many sections, and subsections, and subsections of subsections, and- You get the idea. TM is good because there aren't too many sections.

But with respect to kids' shows, there just isn't a section at all. Full stop. Nothing. Nowt. It's absent. Not there. Non-existant. There's no evidence that it exists or ever existed. The only people that believe in it are crackpots. Show me the proof. Go on, I dare you. I think somebody has a million dollars riding on it.

I'll be over there ------>

I do primarily kids shows. Magic and Balloon animals. As Lonoir has mentioned there have been numerous requests for a childrens entertainer section. I think the ruling was that it is "too broad of a category" cards, rope, silks, balloons, ect...

My sugestion was that it didnt have to be subdivided. We would just have too look through the posts to find what we wanted.

Big D

Henry, there is still room for a couple more headings on the forum without bloating out.

We feel children's entertainment is a huge part of magic and should not be ignored. Yes, some magicians get a bit sniffy about kids magic but this is where we first got our interest as a child - seeing a magician at a kids party.

If children don't have a chance to get interested in magic then the future will be poor for the art.

Well said Peter ! They are imense fun if you know what you are doing, but we have to say that we have seen a couple of children's entertainers out of their depth because they thought that kids shows would be easy !

Clearly, not everyone is cut out for this type of entertaining

Big D - you have it just right.

One section - just for children's entertainers .... we can work the rest out ourselves

I had the immense privelege to chat with Terry Herbert at a convention earlier this year, and he made a very good point about children's magic shows.

He pointed out that magic shows are usually childrens' very first experience of live performance. They can't press pause on a party magician and come back to you later. And, if you're doing your job right, a magic show is far from being a passive experience. The kids get involved in the show in a way that they've never done with any other form of entertainment...

It's a really noble and important job when you look at it that way.

But with regard to magicians being out of their depth. it's been my experience that the so-called 'difficult' kids at magic shows are just the ones who are so desperate to be involved in the show that they can't contain their enthusiasm. Give them a role of some apparent importance, and your problem's usually solved. Be honest - when's the last time you had grown-up spectators that cared so much about the tricks you were doing???

Totally right Peter.

The trouble kids are only trouble if not handled in the correct manner, but how many entertainers have you seen that have struggled to keep control during a children's show ?

It all boils down to experience. The pro knows all the angles and the tricks of the trade to make the show a success.

We all had to learn the hard way, by getting out there and performing. However we do feel that some magicians should not try children's shows as they just don't seem to enjoy it.

You on the other hand sound like you genuinely do enjoy it !

semi retired 15 yr pro magic and disco childrens entertainer, will that do.

childrens parties are the best training ground for a magician for audience managment and temprement training, kids can and will out you if you havan't got the right constitution or temprament for the job.
yet they can equaly humble you and raise your ego in the same show, there is nothing that can beat the breaking smile on a childs face when they make the magic happen, its very akin to a babies first smile, if you get it right they will remember you for years to come, you may even change there lives, iv'e been privalidged to have had this happen to me on a few occassions.
last year i came to the end of my group of regular customers most now turning 18, who iv'e had the privilidge of doing every one of there birthdays, some from age ten, and in small ways shaping there lives for the future, its a big responsibility that should not be taken lightly but the benefits are worth it.
in my experience the most mouthy children are thoughs that are realy the most interested but are held back by pear pressure or other social related problems, however in the past 2 years iv'e noticed a sharp increase in the children who to quote a phrase "just want to see the world burn" a trend all childrens entertainers will need to take into account for the future as the "mindless thug" with poor impulse control, no sense of self respect or common sense becomes more common.
we can but try to instill the magic in the children that wan't it wilst fending off the ones that just want to see us burn, we live in interesting times and its only going to get more intersting year on year.