Doing children’s parties is a great way to make money while you get stage time. You can’t grow as an entertainer unless you are regularly performing in front of people. At the vast majority of kids birthday parties there are plenty of adults who will watch you perform. These are the people who can hire you to do walk around magic at corporate events so it is essential that you include some really amazing magic for the adults in the audience.

If you are just starting out in magic and have never entertained at a children’s party before try to keep your program under 30 minutes. Volunteer to do your show or for free in order to get good enough to charge money. Your 30-minute routine should include 5 to 10 different routines. Subroutines will only have one climax while others will feature locked up mini-climaxes leading up to the finale. For example, a sponge ball routine will feature several vanishes and reproductions leading up to the final surprise production. A rope routine may feature vanishing and reappearing knots and a series of restorations each more impossible than the last.

When choosing tricks for your kids magic show, think visually.  Any magic trick that requires a great deal of explanation will surely lose your audience’s attention. Shy away from doing card tricks at children’s parties. Young children simply don’t get the concept of playing cards and they won’t be impressed when you find a chosen card. When you perform at a family party you will often be given an area to do your show that will have many of the guests surrounding you. Forget using body loads or any trick that is not angle proof.

Go for a variety.  Start your magic act off with something visual and exciting that does not require any elaborate explanation. Productions, especially continuous productions, are sure to grab the audience’s attention and establish you as a “real magician”. Keep your opening routine fast paced and visual.

Next, engage your audience with a more elaborate routine – but try to avoid using volunteers too early on.  Young volunteers are unpredictable and can slow down the pace of the show as well as possibly screwing up the trick.  Remember to vary the tempo of your routines. A loud and noisy trick, like the linking rings with volunteers will contrast nicely against a slow, pretty trick like the broken and restored thread.

Never perform any dangerous tricks in front of children.  Tricks with fire, rope escape routines, razor blades from mouth and anything hazardous that a child might attempt to imitate must be eliminated from your routine.
Some tricks that work well at children’s parties include; mouth coils, sponge balls, the coloring book trick, rope routines, color changing silks, torn and restored newspaper, egg bag, linking rings, miser’s dream and dollar bill to lemon.

According to Brooklyn magician Hijinx, “Start with a few tricks you can do confidently, even if they are very simple. Experiment and gradually add new routines. Pay close attention to which tricks your audience responds the best to and regularly remove the trick that gets the least response.”

The professional kid’s magician said, “To be successful in kid’s magic you really need to have an excellent sense of fun. You don’t have to be the funniest person but you have to be full of fun. You don’t have to be silly and goofy – but you need to have a lot of enthusiasm. Remember, you’re there to make the party more fun.”

“Too many magicians forget that the main reason they are hired for a kid’s party is not to do amazing magic – but to bring fun and excitement to the event.” Hijinx has performed kid’s magic shows all over New York City and Long Island for over 30 years. The best advice he can pass on to magicians who want to start getting hired to do birthday parties is, “Always include great magic that will impress the adults. It can lead to lots of very lucractive engagements. One magic show I did for kids in the Bronx got me a trade show gig in San Franscisco. Kid shows are a great way to get paid to promote yourself while you perfect your craft.” ]]> http://www.magic-tricks-tips.com/creating-a-magic-show-for-kids/feed/ 0 http://www.magic-tricks-tips.com/fun-and-easy-to-implement-magic-tricks-for-kids/ http://www.magic-tricks-tips.com/fun-and-easy-to-implement-magic-tricks-for-kids/#comments Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:23:38 +0000 Alex http://magic-tricks-tips.com/?p=96 Children and magic go together. It is wonderful to see the look of amazement on a child’s face when they watch a magician perform. But it is also terrific if a child has a desire to learn these skills. There are many easy magic tricks for kids; you can find resources online or even in a library. Learning these illusions will not only be a fun experience, there are actually some educational benefits involved. These easy magic tricks for kids help to develop mental and manual skills.

Improved Memorization

Magicians know that the details of every trick need to be committed to memory. Even the easy magic tricks for kids carry that principle. The child must learn the steps of the trick, the hand motions that go along with the trick and also the conversation to keep the audience’s attention and the level of suspense high.

When kids learn easy magic tricks, they are using that portion of their brain that involves memory. Every trick they learn helps to improve the memory process and can also develop excellent study habits.

Increased Manual Dexterity

The magician’s hands say almost as much as his voice. Easy magic tricks for kids allow them to increase their manual dexterity through the illusive actions of a magic performance. Dealing cards, palming a coin, or swiftly moving props all requires hours of practice. This, in turn, leads to supple and swift movement of the hands.

Hand eye coordination becomes more highly developed. The part of the brain responsible for these movements is activated and enlarged, and once again, the child may benefit in other ways. Easy magic tricks for kids are not only educational but develops the flexibility of their hands.

A More Active Mind

Magic is awesome to watch, but it also creates questions. Everyone in the audience wants to know the secret of the tricks performed. Children already have an active interest in the world and magic helps them to ask questions and seek answers. Easy magic tricks for kids will help children start to understand the more difficult concepts of physics, chemistry and probability.

A Powerful Personality

Magicians are in great demand, not only for their ability to amaze and astound, but also because they have high energy and interesting personalities. When kids learn some easy magic tricks, they gain confidence that allows them to speak before audiences. Their personalities and presence will be sought after because they are people others want to be around.

How to Start?

When selecting magic tricks for kids, keep them easy at the beginning. Choose tricks that are age appropriate and those that they will be able to do with their small hands. If you decide to buy a magic kit, make sure you get one that fits the intelligence level of your child. While you want to start off with easy magic tricks, kids will lose interest if their level of involvement doesn’t match up with their academic ability.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that magic tricks for kids, whether they are easy or more advanced to master, should be fun. Childhood is already a magical time; encourage your child to make the most of it.

One of the best ways is to weave a story around the magic trick. I once saw a famous magician slide a knot off a piece of rope and make it disappear. Very slick. He picked up the rope, tied a knot and then ran his hand down the length of the rope and the knot had vanished. 5 seconds in the middle of an hour long stage show. I forgot about the trick until some years later when a close-up performer did the same trick for me. He took 5 minutes over it; told a story about Harry Potter walking along a river bank and meeting an old sailor who challenged him to a knot tying contest (the effect was somewhat embellished but basically the same trick, and I remembered it). I use it myself now!

The point is- make it interesting rather than clever; better yet, make it amusing if you can. The public know that there is no such thing as Magic (well, OK ? MOST of them know it ? there are a few odd-balls out there!) and so they realise, at the back of their minds, that we are fooling them. No one likes to be fooled but they will forgive you if you amuse them, entertain them, at the same time.

You don’t have to be Tommy Cooper; it would not be a good thing if the entire Magic profession suddenly turned into comedians! Lighten your act; throw in a few jokes at appropriate points, perform some comical effects amid the more “serious” ones. Above all, remember that you are an entertainer; try not to make your act a showcase for your own cleverness. Entertain and amuse your audience and they will want more. Prove to them how clever you are and they will clap but not care if they don’t see you again.

The Magic Trick is just the method. The Magical Effect is the performance of that method in an entertaining and convincing way. If you “do magic tricks”, you are a technician; perform Magical Effects and you are a Magician.

1.Encourage your children to learn how to do magic tricks through the local library.

You don’t need to buy the latest magic set or stacks of DVDs on sleight of hand to learn how to do magic. Libraries have a ton of resources on magic, magic history, juggling, and magic specifically for kids. It doesn’t hurt that all this knowledge is FREE! A good beginner?s book in magic will provide the initial foundation for your child to learn several magic tricks and help assess their interest in learning more about the Art of Magic.

2. Remind them to practice both the “moves” and the “story” when learning the magic trick.

Magicians refer to their “story” as patter. Patter is the words used in the presentation of the magic trick. Kids (and adults) new to magic often focus purely on the “moves” rather than the presentation. Reminding the performer to focus on the story as well as the moves will only help your son or daughter become more proficient in their performance. Plus their magic trick will be more entertaining!

If you want to see some magic trick videos performances from a variety of magicians ranging from Harry Houdini, Criss Angel, David Blaine, and others, you can visit our Magic Video section. We don’t tell the secret, but you’ll get a good idea of what magic should look like.

3. Visit your local magic shop

The library has a lot of resources, but a magic shop is often the defacto hot spot for any budding performer. Reputable magic shops are staffed with experienced prestidigitators that can help your child learn how to do magic. Watch out for any magic dealer who will sell an expensive magic prop without considering the skill of the performer.

When purchasing magic, my recommendation is to invest in books before DVDs. Books have a lot of material that can be referred to time and time again. DVDs are good too however, the latest trend in magic is to release one trick per DVD. You want to ensure you get the most magic for your investment. The DVD will also show how the effect will be presented as well as the “secret”. Both books and DVDs are useful learning tools. I prefer these to the standard tricks you find in the glass booths…but those are fun too!

Magic shops will sometime host magic nights where local magicians get together and have a “jam session” demonstrating their latest magical pursuit.

You can also visit Kapoof’s Learn Free Magic Tricks library to learn over 100 different magic tricks for free! We feature several tutorials on coin tricks, card tricks, rope tricks, and yes even Street Magic tricks!

4. Join a local magic assembly, ring, or group.

If you search http://www.magicsam.com or http://www.magician.org, you can find a local Assembly or Ring comprised of local magicians in your metropolitan area. Magic meetings are a fun place to network with other hobbyists, professionals, and newbies interested in the Art of Magic. Most magic organizations are welcoming of new members and are willing to share the secrets of their trade. However, the student must be willing to learn and practice rather than expect all the secrets to be revealed.

5. Attend a magic convention

Magic conventions are another excellent way to meet other magicians, see different magic acts, meet different magic vendors, and purchase new magic. Most conventions are held in a hotel where magicians provide lectures, advice, perform parlor sized shows, and even perform full scale theater shows. Every night magicians gather in the lobby and session with each other. It is another easy way to make new friends and learn a few new tricks of the trade.
I hope you found these tips helpful in your child?s pursuit of learning how to do magic. Please visit www.kapoof.com for more information on how to do magic tricks and learn more about the Art of Magic!

Levitation magic tricks can be grouped into two major categories:-

• Self levitation magic tricks: The magician levitates himself or herself off the ground for a brief period of time.

• Object levitation magic tricks: The magician makes an object float and move about without any visible means of support.

There are many different ways for performing self levitation, some more convincing than others. Here, I would like to highlight four of the most popular methods in use at this time.

The Balducci Levitation
This has been around for some time but was only popular after David Blaine used it in his TV special. This method doesn’t require any gimmicks and is completely impromptu. However, the audience is restricted to a back view of the magician’s feet.

The King Rising Levitation
This is a variation of the Balducci Levitation created by Corey King and allows the audience to see a side view of the magician’s feet. It is more convincing because both the performer’s feet are clearly seen to leave the ground. Although no gimmicks are used, it involves a bit more work to get into and out of the effect than the Balducci.

The Elevator Levitation
This is a more versatile levitation created by Peter Loughran that allows the audience to view the performer’s feet directly from the front. It also has better viewing angles and the magician can even turn his body while levitating. This method uses a gimmick that is quite compact but needs some practice to get used to. Peter has designed two versions of this. Elevator 2 has some enhancements that improves upon the first version.

The Criss Angel Levitation
Criss Angel has come up with a levitation that goes much higher than all the other methods. However, the drawback is that the magician has to turn his back on the audience and the viewing angles are not so good. There is also a much more elaborate gimmick that needs to be built following the instructions on the DVD.

I believe that you can use several methods, depending on your performing situation. Act the part and believe that you are actually levitating and the illusion will be much more stronger and effective.

As for the other levitation magic tricks where the magician causes objects to float, there are many different methods used for different objects and it is impossible to go into all of them here.

If you are just starting and would like a strong floating effect that is self-contained and can be performed anywhere at a moment’s notice, I highly recommend you get the Tarantula by Yigal Mesika.

He has one effect called Spider Pen which is a really cool device for performing close-up levitations. Now he has taken close-up levitation magic to a whole new level with his ground-breaking Tarantula.

No, you don’t receive a poisonous spider in a box. What you get is an amazing gadget with state-of-the-art technology that acts as an invisible assistant to help you perform incredible feats of levitation. The companion DVD allows you to learn personally from Yigal a number of routines like:

• Hovering
• New Haunted Pack
• Magnetic Money
• Magic Pen
• Floating Dollar Bill

You can check out the official YouTube video of Yigal performing the floating ring effect ending with the ring dropping down on a spectator’s finger. It really looks like real magic! Get your Tarantula here and start working miracles!