Ahh that's a shame. Well let us how the routines play next time you use them!

-JT

Sorry about that Ayli. But remember, never we learn is ever wasted and at some point that knowledge will only benefit you.

Kristen, you need some more sleep! I think you meant to say "Whatever we learn is never..."

And that is so true.

Good luck!
I won't do shows for 'just' a group of three year olds. If there are a mixture of five and up I'll be there.
I've done them and it's very hard and I really don't have much fun because you have to water down how you normally perform. Some can do it but I'd rather them be at least five and above.

Just to update you sluggo, I won't be doing the shows after all - that period has been canceled.

ROTFL... you are so right Ayli. I DO need more sleep. I have completely thrashed all my posts in this thread, and to think, I even thought I had proofread them. Lucky for me you guys have been patient with me.

As tired as I have been, its been a great week. After getting off work in the morning, I've been volunteering in the afternoon working with the youth in our community at a Theatre camp and I love their energy--- but they definitely zap ours! They are a really good bunch of kids though. A rehearsal photo of them even made the local paper this morning.

I'll have to try and get to sleep earlier at night. In the meantime, bear with me and my fried brain!

KristenL,
The other Parents we know all to well how hectic our lives can get. The Boy is doing summer Lacrosse, and going to a personal trainer. Besides shuttling him back and forth I am doing a lot of shows and preparing for football to start.
We got back from Universal Studio last week (Orlando Fl.) and it took me three or four days to recover from that.
I can't go to my quite room as he is off for summer break.

ayli, I just finished watching your routine...I'd like to give you some pointers, if I may?

The routine you have constructed is way too long for 3 year olds, you will need to shorten it. If you perform this for older children, it's fine.

Also, be aware that you have an audience. I realize this video is just a practice run, but you need to have eye contact with the rest our your audience. Your volunteer is important, but so is everyone else who is watching your show.

I would not worry about replacing the gimmick back into the Broken Wand. Having it break once should be enough to get the laugh your looking for and get the audience involved.

I'm not sure you need the head-hitting sequence. It could be a tad bit too violent for the youngsters. If you choose to keep the sequence in your routine, keep it to a minimum...one hit to the head should be adequate enough to invoke laughter.

Keep your patter consistant. If you call the silk a "green napkin", make sure you continue to do so throughout the entire routine. You switched over to "silk" and then stayed with that...yet, you started out saying "napkin".

Watch your use of the TT. You can keep it hidden by using the bigger wand to block it better. When you go to your pocket with it, you'll need some misdirection. By raising the bigger wand up into the air (and looking at the wand as it raises up) is a better moment to ditch the TT.

Now, on the plus side. You are using comedy in your routine to keep it moving along. Good job! Your ultimate goal is to entertain, to keep your show fun. Keep up the good work, brother. Remember kristen's advice as well.

Take care.

Thanks for taking out the time to critique that bLiNdSiDe!

Not a problem, brother.

There are a few keys to good misdirection, learn them well.

One is that people are unable to concentrate on two things at once. So, when I suggested raising the wand and looking at it...as it raises into the air...well, that serves two purposes. It keeps people from seeing you ditch the TT and it focuses attention onto your larger motion.

People will look where you look and they will follow whatever is in motion. In your routine, that would be the jumbo wand. Combining your body language into the equation, will also add to the misdirection. Leaning towards where you are raising the wand will help you get people's attention away from the TT ditch.

Another important piece to the puzzle of misdirection is asking a question. If you ask a question, people will naturally look at your face. Trust me, I know. This is where eye contact comes into play. Don't be afraid to look right at them, while asking a question.

Now, you do not have to use all of the techniques to misdirect. Use what is comfortable for you. Misdirection is the hardest thing in Magic to learn. Once your are adept at using it, you will have much better confidence and more entertaining shows.

You can go longer with 3 year olds if you do storytelling. This age group LOVES storytime. So, if you can tell a story and accompany it with magic you'll keep all age groups happy.

The 3 year olds will really get into the story, while the older kids will get into the magic.

Of course you have to be very animated and expressive with your storytelling so it doesn't become monotonous. So practice your storylines in front of a mirror. Once you have that down, then starting adding the magic in to enhance it. But remember to build the story around the magic, so they flow seemlessly.

My experience with three-year-olds tells me that while they might not have the world's largest vocabulary, they are very curious and pick up on new concepts fast. They can also read emotions well, so with the reverse-psychology thing, if you say not do to something with a joking or too-serious tone, they will do what you "don't" want them to. Just avoid stern tones with that. Hope this helps, even though you're not performing!

Thank you everyone for all the great advice!

Maybe some day if I do perform for 3 year olds, I can put it to good use!

dude that waz the best silk routine evr im serious kidz would luv it!

the thing with three year olds is that if you say you just did a magic trick, they'll usually start acting amazed. I have one next door... I should know... Anyways, they like sponge balls, be very careful with the chop cup though. Balloon sculptures are great, especially they are small animals like dogs and cats.