My onstage (and to a great extent, my real life) persona is one of an over-indulgent and somewhat child-like uncle. I was wondering what you guys thought of this idea: I recently found a tshirt that said "Keep staring, I might do a trick". Add to this baggy carpenter's jeans and rainbow suspenders, and you have a little bit of clown and a lot of kid's magic.
Again I'm just trying to catch some feedback from those who know. This really does fit my personality when playing with my nephew and my nieces.

Thanks in advance for any critique,
Sammy the Kid

Sammy
A costume is a costume, you must somehow seperate yourself from the audience in a special way, for example carpenter pants and big clown shoes, somehow make your chartacter both ordinary and special, and you will have to be the judge. Nobody wants to pay hundreds of dollars for an ordinary construction worker, but an over the top construction worker would be kid friendly.
HAVE FUN
Al Angello

What about the cowboy character of "Sammy the Kid"? Are you trying to find another, new character for a change of pace? Or do you do "the Kid" for adults, and you're not sure if it will translate to kids? I have been working on a western theme myself, and it seems to go over prety well.

One other thought: I know that people keep talking about over-the-top styles for kid's shows. I do kid's shows in a tux. I know that doesn't seem 'kiddy' enough for many magicians, but the kids love it. I play it formal, but fun. A performer in a full tux is still the icon for 'magician' even to kids. They feel special when someone so formal has come to perform miracles *just for them*.

In fact, my western theme is a formal variation of my black tux - with boots, hat, vest, and a formal leather magic wand holster that I made (a pistol holster, but long and narrow to just fit my wand). I love the Yosemite Sam, "YEEHAW!" style kid's cowboy performers, but it doesn't suit my personal style.

This isn't the right way, it's just another way that still works for those who choose it.

Cartoon Cowboy,
"The Kid" is one of 3 personalities I perform with (move over Sybil). He's more the gambling type. He tends to be very serious. A variation on the theme is that of "Professor Sammy" the snake oil salesman. For him I just swap out the wide brim hat for a derby and he mostly works outdoors at festivals and carnivals. Then there is "Uncle Sam" as the Cub Scouts I performed for call me. Of course, I realy am uncle Sam to one of them scouts. He might wear something like the "Keep Staring, I Might Do A Trick" tshirt and is known to be as rambunctious as the children. He is not as magical as the children he works with. Somehow, they do all the tricks and he just gets to hold stuff and be amazed.