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pancho247 Regular user 184 Posts 
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Hi guys. I’m looking at getting into performing kids magic, I’m just a hobbyist but my daughter is getting close to the age that I could do some tricks for her. I know nothin about kids magic, I’ve largely focussed on cards and a bit of mentalism.
I was hoping you could point me in the right direction of some classic kids tricks that always go down well. Or some good resources, books or dvds. Many thanks |
stempleton Inner circle 1443 Posts
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My current favorite author is Christopher T Magician (Christopher Barnes). His "Beyond Look, Don't See" has some great "tricks", but some great advice on popular kid entertainer techniques and other gems.
Tommy James is also one of my kid performer idols. Great products and terrific routines included. There are other classic kid entertainers, like David Ginn and Sammy Smith, whose approaches may seem dated, but the core of their performances are gold. |
imgic Inner circle Moved back to Midwest to see 1349 Posts
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Read the sticky discussions at the top of the room for ideas:
https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......forum=17 https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......forum=17 https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......forum=17
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts
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Hola Pancho!
It aint the TRICK or the PROP! It'a the PERFORMER, and his/her PRESENTATION! I'm a lot more dated than David Ginn and, Sammy Smith, combined. but, my Presentations, have ENTERTAINED kids (adults. too) for well over 50 years, from coast to coast, and, border to border! If you're SERIOUS about ENTERTAINING young folks, READ BOOKS, by those who have ENTERTAINED young folks, since "forever". (like ME!) Owning a Hippity Hop Rabbit will NOT "confer on you" the title of "CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINER"!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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MaveriQ New user Dayton, Ohio 34 Posts
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Pancho,
Stay away from predictions. Kids don't care if you knew what they were going to pick. Think visual. Rope stuff. Sponge balls. any color change. any production or vanish. any levitation. any transposition. I love "magician in trouble" stuff. Some magicians like to get kids yelling and some don't, I love it. Dick is right, presentation is #1, but your question is valid. You're not exactly going to perform the crap out of non-toxic for 5 year olds. |
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pancho247 Regular user 184 Posts
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Thanks everyone. Some sound advice and recommendations. I cannot argue about the presentation, totally agree, it stands true for all magic entertainment.
I will certainly look up each and every person mentioned above. Is there a particular website I could purchase some of the books and material? I am based in the UK. |
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Mr. Woolery Inner circle Fairbanks, AK 2150 Posts
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With kids, it is more about the journey than the destination. Most visual magic is good, but only if you have a presentation that engages the audience. This is true of all magic, of course, but more so with kids.
I suggest the book Kids Think It’s Funny. The examples of really well worked out routines are very helpful. Silly Billy’s book is also good. Dick Oslund’s book is at least partly an autobiography and very valuable for communicating the life of a traveling pro. Kids also love characters. Watch Pop Haydn do his rope trick and ring routine to see a wonderfully developed character in action. Master Payne is another of my favorites. Notice how both of them can make a trick fill 10-15 minutes and stay fun? Most people can’t make cups and balls fun for more than 3 minutes. Some have me clicking another video in under a minute. The skill isn’t interesting. The person performing it is. That, I believe, is what Mr Oslund means about magic not being entertaining on its own. Tell a story, pantomime being surprised by your own success, Ham it up a bit. Most of all, have fun yourself. Patrick |
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tophatevents New user 89 Posts
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Quote:
On Jan 4, 2019, Dick Oslund wrote: altough I personally don't love the way mr Oslund post his opinion (he does Always have valid points and has a ton of experience His advice will suit you well |
spatrick Special user Tom Sawyer let me whitewash these 517 Posts
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I disagree with the post about staying away from Mentalism. If framed the right way, you can do some great mentalism for kids. Check out these two books for some great routines and I am sure that if you have dabbled in Mentalism for some time, you could come up with some plots you already know that can be adapted for kids.
http://www.themagicapple.com/books/34/55......-romhany https://paulromhanymagic.myshopify.com/p......nds-vl-2 I actually present a "Mentalism For Kids" lecture that illustrates this point precisely. S. Patrick |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts
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Quote:
On Jan 9, 2019, tophatevents wrote: Well, Top Hat...It'a not necessary that you love the way I talk, as long as you recognize that I'm not steering someone in the wrong direction!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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tophatevents New user 89 Posts
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Quote:
Well, Top Hat...It'a not necessary that you love the way I talk, as long as you recognize that I'm not steering someone in the wrong direction! My point exactly, you don't use the words I would but that does not mean that the message is wrong |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts
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Good! I think we can "co-exist"!!!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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randysburtis New user 68 Posts
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Quote:
On Jan 10, 2019, Dick Oslund wrote: Gasp  magicians helping magicians . Keep it up  . Well done!
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TheAmbitiousCard Eternal Order Northern California 13425 Posts
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So glad to see someone looking for the classics.
my advice is to find classics WITHOUT canned patter. so no bandana trick. no canned scripted tricks at all. buy classics like the linking rings, the egg bag, vanishing silk, silk 2 egg, professors nightmare, etc. get all the media you can find on them, learn from all of it, pick what you like the best and then let the tricks evolve over time. then they really will be all yours. the canned patter tricks, in my opinion, are flawed because they don't evolve much, they are usually very mediocre tricks to begin with, and will never be very unique to you. without the canned patter they WILL take more work up front but they have a huge payoff down the road.
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate, Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder. |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts
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Quote:
On Jan 9, 2019, tophatevents wrote: I'm sorry that my "writing style" does not appeal to you, top hat! (Several others share your opinion, I'm sure!) Now and then, I DO write an OPINION! Those opinions are based on, as you "admit", valid points, and a TON OF EXPERIENCE! My part time performing experience, from 1945 to about 1965, included kid birthday parties, school assemblies, adult and family club dates, carnival side shows, some lectures for magic clubs, regional convention. ETC. For almost 50 years, I was full time, touring coast to coast and border to border, presenting school assemblies (Kindergarten -- Senior High Schools) and, some colleges, too. I also worked senior citizen facilities, physically and mentally challenged schools, reform schools, drug rehab schools for teens, state prisons, hard time prisons for teenagers, ETC, While on the road, I presented lectures for magic groups, regional conventions, and NATIONAL CONVENTIONS. (I performed at these conventions, too.) I WAS NEVER AT LIBERTY. I booked schools for the assembly bureaus, and circuses I never dreamed, as a teenager, that I would someday write a 400 page book of my experiences, including the tricks & routines, many of which I totally revised and adapted to fit my strict criteria which made my show able to play almost anywhere, for almost anyone, There are many posts in the Café, from magicians, beginners and professionals, who find my posts well worth their time in reading. I LEARNED VERY EARLY THAT "SHOW BUSINESS" to a professional, is spelled: $how Bu$ine$$.
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Mr. Woolery Inner circle Fairbanks, AK 2150 Posts
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Another suggestion: Quentin Reynolds. Get his Bring Back the Schtick set. I first got his handkerchief mouse routine, but that’s on the newer set. With a handkerchief and some practice, you can entertain anywhere from one to a hundred kids. Best single routine I ever learned for kids.
Patrick |
TrickyRicky Inner circle TrickyRicky 1654 Posts
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Quote:
On Jan 4, 2019, Dick Oslund wrote: It's true--It's true. Tricky Ricky |
Pop Haydn Inner circle Los Angeles 3695 Posts
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Quote:
On Apr 27, 2019, TrickyRicky wrote: For that you will need a business card... |
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts
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Hey Pancho!
BEF0RE you get those business cards printed (!) There are a "few" things you should KNOW! Feel free to PM me. Perhaps I can give you a few tips to help you understand a bit more! You asked about TRICKS. Here is what S.H. Sharpe, a countryman of yours, said (many years ago) about TRICKS: "...Those who think that magic consists of doing tricks, are strangers to magic, Tricks are only the crude residue from which the lifeblood of magic has been drained." Dariel Fitzkee, in one his books, the "TRICK BRAIN, in the '40s, said: "...I must insist that tricks are but tools. This eagerness to add new tools to the workshop, at the expense of learning how to use the tools we already possess, definitely results in overcrowded workshops, but unskilled artisans." A list of TRICKS, won't help you much. You need to understand how to ENTERTAIN! (Magic is NOT INHERENTLY ENTERTAINING!) My basic "rule" for making magic entertaining is: K I S M I F. (Keep It Simple -- Make It Fun) The PRESENTATION, plus KISMIF, are what make magic ENTERTAINING.
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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vincentmusician Loyal user Toronto 266 Posts
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Dick is right. It is not the trick but the performer that does the entertaining. Love what you do. If you don't, why should your audience. Pay attention to your audience. If you don't, why should they? Cheers and good luck to all!
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Posted: Jan 3, 2019 07:51 pm 