4-5 tricks???...

What do you do...bore the kids to death with huge patter?

Do the kids enjoy the show?

How do you know this for sure?

if you did 5 tricks in 40 minutes then that means 8 minutes per trick and that is a lot of time to spend on every trick...

Parents (who pay the check) usually get bored themselves watching a trick that lasts too long. The kids must enjoy the show AND the parents must enjoy the show in order for you to get repeat bookings...

I said 5 or 6, if I wanted to fill 40 minutes, 6 tricks would be fine. You are there to entertain the kids not to fool them. Yes the magic is important, but if thats all you do than it gets boring (okay, cool, next trick, sweet, etc.). You need to spice things up. These really are not just tricks, they are routines. Professors Nightmare, which I do all the time, easily lasts a good 5 minutes. Docc Hilford does a 20 minute act with a mouth coil and a balloon, and the kids eat it up.

If you have a good warm up and lots of interaction with the tykes, five maybe six will be plenty.
Alittle off the toic but last week I had the sweetest deal. I worked two twenty minute shows and the person in charge insisted on paying me $250.00 for it.
Needless to say... I accepted. When I talked with them about coming out they said all we are budgeted for is $250.00, I hope that's enough.
"Me" Umm, yeah, that'll work. It was a little town in Western part of Indiana, they have casino boat gambling in their small town with money to burn and burn it I did.
Yea.. for me.

I like to think of it this way...the younge rthe audience, the more time you spend making balloons. Kids LOVE balloons, and alot of that spare time will be eaten up by balloons.

I would nix the card stuff.

One thing you could do as a whole routine for the colouring book is to show it blank. Dissapear a marker or pencil then show it with pictures and no colour. Then do a mouth coil. Vanish the mouth coil in the Wonder Box oor whatever. Then show the book with colours. This gives the impression that you made the colours come from your mouth, into thin air, into the book. Then just vanish an eraser and show it blank.

But what you want to do is space the different parts of the book out. Do like 1 trick in between sections.

Balloons

Show Book

Trick and/or balloons

Vanish Pencil and Show book

Trick

Mouth Coil to colour

Trick

Trick

Trick

End show with vanishing eraser and blank book.

Balloons

Get Paid and leave

K thanks a lot I'll try it. I usually don't do card tricks but this kid I'm whose party it is LOVES card tricks and told me to do them. So at this party I'll do some cards.

The only card effect I do for kids is Sankey's Bigger Finish. Every Kid show I have done Bigger Finish at has gone over wonderfully. The Kids just love the idea of a big card. It is one of the only card effects I would do for kids. P B J illusion is great and so are the hippity hoppity rabbits.


Matlock the Magnificient

You don't need fancy props or expencive tricks. You can entertain with a piece of rope, some coins, or even a balloon.

Just a warning balloons are not an end all to taking up time, I've just got a gig where no balloons at all are allowed. The kid is allergic to latex. So just realize that balloons might be completely out of the question.

HONESTLY instead of the bigger finish...I use MAGICIANS insurance quality...because you can let 3 KIDS PICK A CARD EACH and that usually takes up time...and then also you have 3 JUMBO cards basically in one. and it provides great patter. Just a little recommendation!

I also prefer to use the insurance policy. Plus it makes you seem a bit more goofy having to pull out an insurance policy and some of them have some really corny oneliners on them. Also as was said before, three kids get to pick a card, not only does this take up time but it also involves the audience a lot more.

i've done the magician's insurance policy at quite a few kids shows, and they all eat it up

Don't you mean "caring", Paddy?

Anyway, more to the point, I've just started thinking about doing kids' shows and have come up with two different routines (to avoid repeating myself each performance). I'll just say now that I haven't performed them yet because I'm still in the process of buying the last few props, but I think it works.

ROUTINE 1:
- Vanishing Bandanna
- Rocky Raccoon Giant Card Trick
- Vanishing Crayons
- Magic Colouring Book
- Sponge Balls
- Dove Pan

ROUTINE 2:
- Torn and Restored Comic
- Appearing Bottle
- Cups and Balls
- Die Box
- Milk to Silk
- Rope Routine
- Dove Pan