Part-Timer wrote:I'm still no expert, but that sounds like quite a good range of tricks. I think the snake trick will be great. I am not sure eight year old kids would go for a "straight" card trick, but that one should be fun.
The only comments I have are whether you've considered adding something like vanishing crayons to the colouring book routine, which might help jazz it up if they've seen something similar at another party. The other things is whether you should be doing two tricks with silks, but not having them following each other. It might be a bit "and now let's go back to these beautiful handkerchiefs that I put away twenty minutes ago..." In some respects, I don't think it will matter, but it might flow a bit better if you either went from the opener into the Silk Tubes (but perhaps this isn't possible - I don't know the exact effects), or perhaps started with something like vanishing and producing a sponge ball, which then turns into a sponge rabbit. Similar to your planned opening, but with a surprise finish and the kids get to see a magician produce a rabbit. Kind of.
You raise some good points, part of the reason I post in such an honest, open fashion on here is because I well aware that there are people who have been performing for years and will be able to spot things like an odd sequence of tricks/routines etc
The exact effects are as follows, I open with a few words then start plucking stuff from the air, a red silk appears from my left hand, I then push it back in with the right hand and tell the children to scream and shout when they see the red silk again...I slowly open the left hand...it has vanished
...I then pluck stuff from the air and the silk appears in my right hand.Silk tubes - a red, yellow and green silk are placed into a see through plastic tube, I blow them into the air and they fly out and float to the floor, and are tied.
I am also planning some colour changing silks but have to work on some patter - a yellow and green 12" silk that changes into a red/blue silk
my Boss was really happy and the children really enjoyed it
) and it went down a storm, I enjoy playing the village idiot/magician in trouble and the children love shouting out so works well! This then led into introducing the birthday girls onto the stage and into...
Breakaway wand..into linking ropes. The linking ropes is fast becoming my favourite part of the act and always goes down well - the effect being that me and the volunteer have some fun with throwing rope rings over one anothers head, the child then throws them into the air and they are linked!