talkmagic.co.uk

Calling all kids entertainers

I'm interested to know your opinion on something that has been implied by several well respected children's entertainers I have seen & spoken to recently.

They seem to imply that children's entertainers who get the children to shout a lot are in some way inferior or to be looked down upon ?

Surely the shouting, misnaming of colours, 'it's behind' you type stuff has been proven to work & is loved by kids as shown in all the pantomimes around the country ?

In your opinion why the discrepancy & what does a 'good' children's entertainer do that 'bad' ones don't and vice versa ?

(I'm not taking one side or the other here, just interested to know why shouting etc. is looked down upon)

I do some childres parties and I encourage involvement. The problems arise if this goes over the top and youy lose control of things.

There is also an age thing. The younger children really like to call out, older ones can be more reserved.

I don't think there is a right and a wrong in this, it's as is so often the case, just a matter of suiting the style, prformance and content of the show to the audience.

In every other profession, the senior members provide training to improve standards. Magic does seem to be lacking in this respect.

Would you care to name these 'respected children's entertainers'? We can discuss their contribution to the profession.

Kevin

The trick is to hold a balance. You don't want them to shout too much but you don't want them as quiet as a mouse either. You have to have the skill to turn the noise tap on and off at will. I suspect strongly that the children's entertainers that advocate no shouting do not have the skill to do this. Nothing wrong with that. It is just a lack of a skill set.

It is actually far better to get them laughing rather than shouting. But shouting is good too providing there is not too much of it.

I have the skill to turn the noise tap on and off at will. If however, you don't have this skill then here is another approach that can be used. It is an idea of Wilfrid Tyler's and he described it long ago in a very old Gen magazine.

You start off slowly and keep the noise down. You do not charge in like a bull in a china shop. Instead you operate like a rolling stone gathering moss falling down a hill. As the show develops you start to get the noisy participation going slowly. By the end of the show they are in full flow.

The problem is that if you don't have the skill to turn off the noise at will then if you get the kids too noisy too early they can get out of control and you can't quieten them down again.

I don't practice what I preach and generally get the kids going as soon as possible, but as I have stated I know how to bring them down and start them up at will. I am in control the whole time. I can have them screaming the place down one moment and as quiet as church mice the next.

This is not a strategy for the inexperienced and if you fit in this category I recommend the Tyler approach described.

Seems to me if you are ranking by volume then you have your own issues to deal with. How about ranking by how much the kids enjoyed the show, or how many repeat bookings you get, how much work you get...

I think it obvious that each performer has their own style, some may get away with the yelling screaming kids, others may not. I imagine the best get a good balance. Yelling and keeping the control.

Yelling the colours at the colouring book works, spotting the rabbit in run rabbit run works.

Not being a childrens entertainer myself, it appears to e that the one that I've seen that appear to be 'the good ones' are all capable of controlling the children whereas the 'not so good' one have the kids running riot.

The key things are control and entertainment. If you have the children completely entertained and you are in full control, then it is a matter of personal taste if you have them shouting out loud, or sitting quietly.

Personally I like to mix it up a bit, with quiet and loud moments.

Here is a tip. If they are getting too loud ask them to whisper the magic word or whatever they are yelling about. I even get them to whisper during my Run Rabbit Run routine.

You control the noise. You don't let the noise control you.

There is a superb piece somewhere in here from Mr Lewis about how to run a childrens show, Search it out and read it. It will give you a lot of solid guidance.

I wonder where this piece is. I would like to read it myself. I am always interested in the words of a master showman!

mark lewis wrote:I wonder where this piece is. I would like to read it myself. I am always interested in the words of a master showman!

I hope it is still around but I haven't been able to find it