Please post how long your kids birthday party shows are here. Thanks!

30-45minutes. It's tough to hold a child's attention much longer than that.

mine is usually between 35 and 40 minutes...for the same reason above

20-30 minutes than balloon sculpting

Most of my birthday shows are 30-45 minutes long. I seldom do a 60 minute birthday show, although I regularly do kid's/family shows that run 60 minutes long. With birthday parties, there are usually other things on the program that the parent and kids want to get to, i.e. food and presents. No matter how good the magic is, hunger and curiosity (i.e., greed ) tend to trump it after a while.

It depends on the age. 3-7 years old: after about a half hour forget about them sitting still, unless you're really good. 8-13: They start bugging you with "I know how you did that" kind of stuff, so not too long either. 15 and up (adult): As long as you can perform entertaining magic - I love performing for adults because of this, they just want to be entertained and they enjoy a more "street magic" themed show (And I LOVE street magic!).

My longest show runs 50 minutes and I have the kids on the edges of their seats, the whole time. Keep in mind that it took decades before I would do a show that long.

I'm looking at the prospect of a full evening show for one client - about 75 minutes. Friends have been bugging me to make that leap, too.

A full evening show for children? You certainely are a dreamer aren't you Alan.

On a side note: the funny thing about kid's shows is that some people have a natural affinity for working with children. Such people can talk about nothing for an hour and kid's will hang on every word. Most of us, on the other hand, must practice our acts for decades to achieve a similar result.

If I do balloons and or face painting afterward I can be there for quite some time. But my actual show is about thirty five minutes.

My actual show is 50 minutes long. I do 5 routines.

With balloons and games I offer up to 2 hour packages for birthdays.

My daughter's show is currently 15 minutes. However, she is working on increasing it to 30 minutes. A magician friend, and our new SAM incoming assembly president, told her that if she could increase her show to 30 minutes he would start giving her his overflow work, which would be GREAT for her! She saves a portion of each show she does for college.

I'm not trying to be critical here... I'm really just curious. What kind of children's events does your daughter get hired for that ask for a 15 minute show? At the 15 minute point, my kids' show is just hitting its stride, so to speak.

Given some of things you've posted about buying or wanting to by for your daughter's show, I'm curious what is actually in it right now. I'm not trying to steal her act or anything -- if I wanted a 15 minute show I could put one together...well...in a few minutes, really -- I'm just curious about what the show actually involves... how much material is in it, what kind of narrative arc is built, is it silent (i.e., done to music), etc. If you don't want to answer publicly, that's not a problem -- nor is not answering at all. Just wanted to ask.

I don't mind responding at all--

She has two different shows. One is stage magic that is choreographed to music and the other is an interactive show that she does and works perfectly for birthday parties and other events.

Her stage show, well she does at shows that it is appropriate for. She did her stage show most recently, along with other SAM members, for a neighboring city's park & recreation district event. She has been hired by that park district to also perform at their 4th of July events the past 2 years. Our daughter was also hired by our own city's park & rec department to do a grand re-opening of a local park, and a separate private VIP party that was held at the park for city officials. She has been asked to do stage shows with our own SAM assembly the past 2 years (she just officially became a member this year when she was old enough) and has done other stage venues. She has already been booked for next summer for one show.

Her other 15 minute interactive show she has done for birthday parties, she has been hired for fundraising events, and she has done a retirement community. She also did her interactive show for the park re-opening above (she did each show that day) and the rec supervisor has approached our daughter about performning regularly next summer at the park.

For her choreographed show she does magic that is big and visual. Things that make an impact and can draw the "wow" effect. Her finale is the Dollhouse Illusion. Her dad spent a really long time making this illusion for her, and it is absolutely beautiful!

For her interactive show she does storytelling magic. Now, I have to say that she isn't the typical magician in that regard. She doesn't have a lot of humor in her show, although she does want to develop more. The kids are never rowdy. BUT, they always give her their undivided attention. She is a great storyteller, and she uses magic to make the story come alive. She has performed for 3 year olds to much older kids, and they all give her their undivided rapt attention. She has never had a problem in that regard.

Her storyline is made up of a fictional character, and it is 100% original so I won't go into that. However, she does body loads, rope work, silks, and a final production at the end.

I know that a 15 minute show seems short, but everyone knows that when they are hiring her they are hiring a youth magician. She is always very up front about that. She started with 15 minutes because she wanted to be sure to give a professional, quality show. Now, it is time for her to progress and move beyond that 15 minutes.

I have a few trusted friends on here that I have shared my daughter's website with, along with her videos, etc. It is not something I do at a forum. We like to keep some semblance of control over it because let's face it, she's a young girl, attractive, and in today's world you have to think about safety first. We have already had a few problems with a very over-zealous "fan" that was inappropriate.

However, I will share this testimonial she received from one of her City jobs. It may give you an insight on the type of performance she gives:

When you first see **** you will think to yourself that her performance will be a simple magic show, something for the very young because **** is young herself. Just remember, looks can be deceiving! **** is quite magical herself, she is mature beyond her years— quite intelligent and charming. She is very outgoing and can capture any age audience. I guarantee you will walk away baffled by her magic. As a performer **** is PROFESSIONAL in every sense, her magic is not entry level, she is amazing. You must see to believe and then it will leave you wondering! What a gift…

Also, from the same show a visitor to the park sent in a letter to the editor of the local paper and had this to say:

...More impressive was the young magician (****) who had a full grown woman climb out of an empty dollhouse— both theater shows left many of the grownups ooohing and ahhhing. Needless to say, the children were thrilled…

Okay, so I'm a proud mom, but that isn't the purpose of my listing the testimonial. Every magician wants that kind of feedback, whether it is a 15 minute show-- or a 50 minute show. The key purpose is to leave people with that magical feeling of awe and wonder. You want to entertain them. You want to leave them wanting more.

Not exactly the type of answer I was looking for, but thanks for taking the time. You certainly do sound like a proud parent, and, as a parent, I admire the extent to which you and your husband support, encourage, and protect your child.

I'm sorry if I didn't answer your question-- I thought I tried to at least by answering the types of events she is hired for and by saying one show is choreographed, and the other storytelling. Her use of the illusion in her stage show, and the rope, silk, body loads, and storytelling in the other.

Magic is a family affair for us. We all belong to the SAM and we pretty much eat, drink, and sleep magic. Our house is overflowing with it. We all take a very active part in it.

As far as being a proud mama, well--- that doesn't matter whether we are talking about magic or anything else. My husband and I truly feel blessed to have her as a daughter. She is an amazing young woman and we are very lucky to be her parents.