im having difficulty deciding what to wear. for kid shows. im thinking just a suit as everyone has told me, but i feel really uncomfortabl in one and think my performance will suffer due to that. any ideas of what to wear?

If you're being payed, you might wanna wear something that makes you look professional, like a suit... but if you don't like suits, I think a dress shirt would do just fine.

I wear black pants, a black dress shirt, and a red tie.

One step above the audience.

just put a jacket on over your clothes

[quote="rucusoner"]im having difficulty deciding what to wear. for kid shows. im thinking just a suit as everyone has told me, but i feel really uncomfortabl in one and think my performance will suffer due to that. any ideas of what to wear?[/quote]

Seriously, for kids, it is not necessary to wear coat and tails. But you have to wear something that sets you apart. Instead of a jacket, maybe you could wear just a vest. They don't have to be as dorky looking as you may think. You can also just wear something bright and different. Or all black. Just look different. The kids will probably want you to look as magician-y as possible.

a pink tux

O.K., I know I've said this somewhere else before, but what the hay. You must remember that you are an actor playing the role of a magician. This is especially so when performing for young kids. They have preconceived expectations of what a magician should look like. If you don't dress the part, you won't get the respect you deserve and you will find it more difficult to control your audience.

You must also remember that, if this is a paid performance, you also have another "audience" to please. The parents who are paying you!! They must absolutely be convinced that they got their money's worth. This is conveyed not only in the show itself, but also in your manner of dress and and overall professionalism.

I've been performing professionally and semi-professionally for over 26 years. For any children's show, I ALWAYS show up in a tuxedo. At first, I didn't feel comfortable in it either - But I quickly realized that this was a job, and the tuxedo was part of the dress code.

When i am on stage for hundreds of people i just wear a black t-shirt and cargo pants that are tan.

Another alternative is to show up in the Jacket (ties are optional) so you cover the professional image part, and do your first few routines in that. Then take it off. Better yet, do a trick where you MUST take it off.

Some examples are:

- A handcuff or siberian chain escape
- a manipulation routine where your sleeves have to be rolled up like billiard balls, thimbles or cards
- A leviation where it requires a jacket in front like Wild Leviation or Pocket Levitator

Then put the jacket away. You are more comfortable, and you have already established your character.

For my kids shows....I wear a black tux with a white T-shirt under ( its part of a mentalism effect ) and I wear a looney tunes tie to make the kids laugh...for the pants I only wear my jeans ( nice ones of course ) or black pants

Yes definitely dress up, not your everyday clothes. Depending on the venue I may wear dress slacks, white shirt and tie with a black suit jacket, for more casual, I wear a pair of black jeans with a black t-shirt and the jacket.

I too believe the in the phrase "dress one step above the audience." I own a tux, but only wear it when the client requests. At the last birthday party I did, I wore jeans with a black, frilly, tuxedo shirt (no tie). It was a little more casual, but hip and still classy. Try also to accomodate your personality. If you never wear a coat (even to church or other formal events) then you may not represent yourself properly.

I also agree that the way you dress is part of the performance and part of the draw to pay you money. As a client what sort of dress code they would prefer. Some dont care, others want the tux. Good luck to you!

I wear black dress pants and black dress shoes. Also a white tux shirt with a gray/black vest. It is professional looking but not bulky like with a jacket.
-Tyler

well, in "magic on stage" vol 1 jeff mcbride has some AWSOME opinions of what to wear... i can give u an example:
if u do something small, but on stage, like card manipulation/coins, then u should wear entierly black, to let people see the cards better, and the suit not going "over" the performence, thats the most importent thing.
but, if ur'e on stage and using the "bigger stuff", like dove magic, silks, knives, any of those kind of things, then u would want to wear a costume (spelling?!). the only thing to actually remember is to not let ur outfit get "over" ur performence, but let it to somehow connect to the performence in such way that it would be reasonable to the audiance to see.
i hope i helped here a bit, and sorry for my way of writeing and all, but i was kinda in a rush and my english sux
anyway, best of luck in those kids shows

Tomer