Hey, im slightly new to the forums of penguin, but ive been buying from them for maybe 2 years now. Im thinking slightly about starting to perform kids shows. Take the summer to practice practice practice then maybe do my first one after that and then another etc.

One thing im curious about, is how would you price your performance? im not planning on asking for pay the first few times because i'll be new at performing to an audience that isn't close friends or family. but when i get used to it and stage fright and nervousness goes away. how should i price my acts?

this has been answered numerous times. If you have developed a professional show then you should charge the same as everyone else in the area.

Since most people on here seem to be teenagers then I will assume that you are as well (please correct me if I’m wrong). I would say that taking the average rate in the city and dividing by 2 or 3 would be a good place to start. This is due to fact that you have less experience and probably wont be advertising nearly as much.

Some guys will disagree and say that you should match the average rate but I think inexperienced/bad performers (not saying you are one of the bad ones) charging the same rate as guys that have been around for a while with a good show hurts the business more then the new guy charging a portion of the going rate.

Go to my fourm that is locked.

Hopefully my daughter doesn't mind that I post this.

Her fees were set by her SYM mentor (who is a past National president of the SAM). He set her rates for her based on being a youth performer, and she charges a "stipend" not a fee. (Definition of stipend: a periodic payment, esp. a scholarship or fellowship allowance granted to a student. )

Magicians in our area make a pretty good dollar amount so her stipend is considerably less, however she makes $200 a hour-- not bad for a 13 year old girl. Now, her hourly rate is prorated by the amount of time she spends at an event, but she has a minimum rate that is "guaranteed" for her to just show up.

I am glad to see that you are committed to spending your summer practicing and putting together a routine instead of just rushing into doing a show. It can easily take that amount of time to just put together a routine! Then, of course, you have to master it. Presentation is everything. At a Mark Mason lecture he made a statement I won't forget --- he said there may be better "magicians" out there, but I am better at entertaining, which is why I always get called back -- or at least something to that affect. He makes a very valid point in that statement!

Also remember, children are NOT easier to perform for than adults -- they are harder. Many people starting off think performing for kids will be easy, but it is the opposite. Although, if you love kids and working with them, it is the best payoff you can ask for!

I wish you the best of luck with your endeavor this summer.
I hope you find this information helpful.

Thanks guys, ill check around the pricing for my area sometimes during the late summer (so it doesnt change TO much...)

Be sure to hear back from me, i could very well ask for advice on a few tricks.

(tricks i have)
Spun
Liquid metal
In the beggining....coins
Disapearing/appearing cane
an extremely large amount of card tricks
Pb&J switch ( i plan to get soon)
levatate anything of a cirtain weight.
Stealth Pen
and a rabbit mirror box.(i plan to do a lot with this)


Most of these arent for kid shows i know, but ill be adding to this. im making a switch from card magic and quick magic to sort of performance magic.aka stage magic.

May I recomend Linking rings and cups and balls. I do theas in every show I do and there the best to do for lids.

i dont know, lids can be tough, they have an attention span shorter than kids, and who would perform for lids anyway.

cups and balls and linking rings may be used, but they are centainly in no way the best, i can think of much much better.

Ok your idea of starting out for free to get over stage fright is great, Most people think they should go and charge money to do a show even if they suck And to answer you question I suggest $25 and it also depends on the size of the show if its for like 35 plus charge about $60 but, ya

And what tricks do you already have for stage I suggest not trying to look for gigs until you have a leat A 30 min. show

I hope this helped-DUKE-

Everyone forgot one of the most important ways to set prices. Go to you local ring or assembly and talk to other magicians.

Duke, I disagree with you here. Yes do the freebis to develop your show, but then call other performers in your area and act like you're booking a show and want their rates. Then set your rates to be eaual or higher than theirs. To undercut will get others angry at you.

I had a phone call a while back from someone just starting out. He had double booked himself and wanted me to take one of his shows. I was open that day and would have been glad to help him out until he told me what the price was. He was $50 less than I charge. Needless to say he gets no help from anyone just because of his undercutting practices.

yeah, i do that via email, it always makes me feel a bit guilty, but still, i wont reveal my fake name so as not to upset any magicians.

I disagree with you paddy on the price issue. If you have a show that is worth it then by all means charge the same rate as others or more. I know for a fact in my city that there is an individual who charges the same rate as others in the market but has a "horrible show". Its my belief that he is doing more harm then the lower paid newbies. People expect value when the price tag goes up (just the way the world works) and he is not providing it. This hurts guys like myself and others who have more work to do to show potential clients that not all of us have shows similar to that.

I will go back to my first post in this discussion, and that is set your self a lower rate and work your way up. This could be by a set number of shows or by time. For instance I increase my rates on an annual basis. This allows me to keep up with inflation and to also reflect that I have become a better entertainer in the past year.

Of course this is my opinion and I’m not saying there is anything wrong with anyone else’s.

Pricing can be hard to determine depending on your area, which can be a problem. That is why we let our daughter's mentor set her price so that she/we could be assured that what she was charging was appropriate.

Where we live, a magician might earn anywhere from $150 to $450 a hour depending upon which city you are in, even though we are all within a hour of one another. I know of a very good magician who normally charges $250 drop his rate all the way down to the $150 because he wanted the work. Although, he didn't know that we knew this --- he was hired by an aquaintaince of ours. This would not have bode well with other performers in the area if they knew.

Again, in my opinion, the best person to set your rate is either someone with real working knowledge of the area or phone around as suggested.

Glamourboy wrote:
I did write so I was assuming that the show was developed and entertaining. Yes you're right, if you have a really crummy show. keep doing freebies until it is good. If you can not raise your show to the level of others in your area, DON'T DO SHOWS.

Don't forget the all important "productions" from thin air! This goes beyond using a TT. Kids love when something magicially appears without the use of props.

Last year my daughter did a stage show, which was really good, but a magician that we met at an online forum came out to see her and said he liked her whole show, but would like to see even more non-prop magic. She did a lot of rope magic, but he still wanted to see more without the use of apparatus. So, she took that on as a challenge. She now does a lovely flower production and is working on producing parasols.

It is always about improving, not only your presenation, but the complexity of your magic itself! Always keep in mind, magic is art ---