Hey guys i have posted before i am 16 and I finally got my kid show ready I am booked for a show at the library to get my name around. They agreed to pay me but only 20 bucks o well I would do it free for promotion. Any way hear is my routine i can make a few changes but my bugets down to about $15.00 so not big ones.

-mirror box to get my first trick which is cup and balls
-mirror box again but come out with nothin then i say o there it is and start d lights
-mirrior box butter fly card to music
-mirrior box sponge balls(i make them vanish and make my 3d bunny apear for 3d bunny routine)
-mirror box to mini magic coloring book
-linking rings
-apearing and vanishing hank small intro
-then into acrobatic silks
-and as a finnally joker tube

the show is going to be about 45 minutes

anyone know of any good cup and balls books
thanks

You really shouldn't have let them swindle you into 45 minutes. See if you can get them to cut down to 30. It's more manageable.

Yea 30 minutes really is a good amount for a kids show especially your first one, but I do like your little routine. As far as cups and balls routine or resource for $15 or less I couldn't help you off the top of my head, but I'll recommend Mark Wilson's "Complete Course in Magic" forever. It’s only $20 and has a wealth of knowledge on all kinds of things including the cups and balls.

Phillip P.

"Fake it till, you make it"

The cups and bals is THE STRONGEST effect in magic if performed right. I always use it as my finale, the result with the final load I use is just stunned silence for about 5 seconds then applause and cheers.

Yes when I use the cups and bals in a party, I always get at least a US$20 tip, usually larger.

I think any effect in magic is the strongest if performed right...

Wrong! The cups and balls have been around from the 15th century. It is amazing to everyone who sees the effect when you wind up with final loads that appear to be too large to fit in the cups and then as a true finale to drop a melon or a pumpkin out of your hat. Cups and balls does not mean the Penguin set, it is a whole different effect when performed right.

Just because the trick has been around since the 15 century does not make it the strongest effect in magic.

Though I will admit that the cups and balls is one of the odlest RECORDED effects, ANY EFFECT CAN BE JUST AS STRONG IF NOT STRONGER IF PERFORMED CORRECTLY.

ps. I know you did not mean the penguin set. I have seen hundreds of cup and ball routines, many were award winning. But that makes no difference in my point.

Heh, listen to paddy. Take my advice, he knows his stuff.

The greatest routine I have seen HAS to be Jason Latimer's Cups and Balls. Two words: CLEAR CUPS!

I will agree with you paddy, the cups and balls is a very strong effect if performed right! But I would not go as far to say it is the strongest, there are many strong effects out there and with the right presentation they are just as strong as cups and balls if not stronger.

For example look at the various mentalism effects out there, with the right presentation they are much stronger than cups and balls. Some very simple mind-reading effects can literally mess up peoples heads.

In my option if I where to show someone cups and balls and a mind reading effect. They would remember the mind reading!

All in all, I think cups and balls is a very strong effect, but is not the strongest!

I do not take others advice if I do not want it or agree with it, and I am not going to listen to paddy because his claim is a false, opinionated, and biast statement.

I will have you know that I also know my stuff when it comes to kidshows!

I agree, Kyle, that you do know about kid's shows. But then, you still are a kid, when you become a grown up I am sure that you will change.

I am not "just a kid". I am young, but I am not a kid. I AM A KID AT HEART! And you know nothing about what will or will not change. Kidshows are my PROFESSION. I plan to continue my PROFESSION after graduation. I plan to continue my CAREER and PROFESSION throughout the rest of my life. I have learned from many of the GREATS in this field. I will also have you know the I have been considered EQUALLY PROFESSIONAL by many of the PROFESSIONALS in the kidshow field. I LOVE what I do and I have no interest in even stopping. I have been ridiculed by many people like you. Several have even told me that I do not have a real career an I am not performing a "real job". But they do not take the time to configure the 250 + shows I do a year , which is pretty darn good for a 17 year old!

I have always had a great passion for children and an easy to obtain bonding relationship with almost any child I come across. Once you learn to break the line between adults and kids, everything changes in your world. I have learned to break that line. Have you?

You have no right to call me a kid and insult my judgement and lifestyle. Personally, I find you an egotistical close minded rat fink who only finds his statements to be true and leaves no room for anyone elses opinion. (But this is just my opinion and you probably won't consider it either).

You immediatly jumped to tell me that I am wrong without even considering my point and then you turn around and call me a kid that needs to grow up!!! Personally I think that you need to grow up!

Whoo! You go get 'em!

The Cups and Balls are the oldest trick, but not the best. It was Vernon's pet trick, yes, as it did demonstrate a lot of different principles of magic, such as the one ahead, etc.

Then again, you got many other tricks that blow the Cups and Balls away when it comes to Kiddie Magic. You can't match up Strat-O-Sphere against Cups and Balls. Kids dig it. You can't match up Hippity Hop Rabbits with Cups and Balls. Kids dig it.

Ya see where I'm getting at?

As a final note, it's pretty darn funny to watch a kid in stupefied silence as the performer dully makes the balls penetrate again and again. Hilarious.

kyle i think your right thanks for your help everyone and kyle how early did you start kid shows i am 16 and just started doing them. just wonderin when you started thanks again guys.

Your welcome, for whatever help I offered. Glad to see at least somebody agrees with me...

I started kidshows when I was 11 years old. I have come really far since then. You will as well with the right contacts, and learning experiences. You will do as well as you want to do if you keep at it. I am happy to answer any questions for the beginner because you have to learn and get answers from somebody.

16 is a good age because you are old enough to drive. Until I was 16 my parents and grandparents had to drop me off and pick me up. Sure it was a pain but I thank them for their kindness and willingness to do so.

Develop a good routine that will be entertaining to the kids as well as a little humor the adults will enjoy. Learn to bond with the kids and they will accept you. I have found the best way to do this is to become one of them during a show. React as they would react, be suprised when things "Go wrong" even if you make things go wrong on purpose. You can do it! I have faith in every beginner magician, I only start loosing faith in them when they turn into idiots and begin their decline in the business through lack of interest. You must love kids in order to perform for them. If you do not like kids, then this is the wrong business to be in.

You will do well with the right approaches in advertising, and performances, as well as the way you approach people to introduce yourself or carry on a conversation over the telephone concerning a show. It is all stuff that must be learned in order to go anywhere. I have given advice to many on these forums, and all seemed to have appreciated it very well.

Of all the people who have taken and applied it, I believe that MichaelRice is the one person who appreciates it the most. I honestly believe that he is on his way to becomming a successful kidshow magician.

If you have any questions for me, or just wanna talk about kidshows, you can contact me through msn messenger. My contact address for msn is:

kjmagic33@hotmail.com

or you can email me at my personal email address:

kjarrard@applebank.net