Kids These Days

Some performers are scared to death of performing for kids.

What some magicians say:

- Kid shows are tough
- It’s difficult because the kids don’t know how to behave at a show
- They would rather perform for adults because they understand how difficult the magic is
- Adults appreciate magic much more than children.
-With television, video games and the internet, some say magic has lost its edge with the times.

This is what I say to:

Kid shows are tough – Anything is as tough as you let it be. Personally, kids shows are fairly easy anymore. I believe time and experience has something to do with that, but I think the real key is I enjoy children. I’m not afraid to have conversations with kids or to act goofy in front of kids to make them laugh. I also know what children want in a show. Some magicians may think kids want to be amazed and fooled, but what they really want is the same as any other audience wants and that’s to be entertained. In the end, kids just want to have a good time.

Kids don’t know how to behave at a show- What a poor excuse to blame the audience for a bad performance. A bad show has nothing to do with an audience and everything to do with the performer. Can some audiences be tough? Of course they can be. If kids act up during a show, whose behavior do you think is easier for the performer to change? The children’s behavior or their own? Kids want to have a good time. If you say you are a magician and you’re going to put on a great show for them, that is what they expect. If a performer is not doing a good job entertaining the children, the children are going to be honest and let the performer know. Some performers will call the children little brats instead of coming up with a way to have a better show. Some magicians have fragile egos and don’t want to hear the truth because it hurts.

Adults appreciate magic more than children because they understand how difficult the feats of magic really are- Some magicians get this idea because adults don’t run up to the stage when they know how the card trick is done. I believe most adults are not truthful when it comes to watching bad performances. They have trained themselves to be polite whether they are enjoying the show or not and will still applaud at the end of the show, which sometimes instead of applauding for the performer, they applaud because it is the end of the show. Just because no one says it to the bad magician they stink at performing, the performer believes they are great.

Magic has lost its edge with the times – If they can’t blame the audience for a bad performance, they blame the art? It is true there are magic effects and presentations that are a bit dated. Yet there is nothing stopping individuals from being creative and coming up with new ideas, new stories to tell, and new presentations to have in their show. Well, there is one things stopping them, laziness.

I personally love performing kid shows. Most of the magic I perform for children is the exact same trick I perform for adults. The presentations are different, but the concepts are the same. I believe if you can consistently execute a great magic show for children than you are a better magician than the magician who can only perform for adults. Makes sense, right?

Children are very expressive. If you are horrible and they don’t like your show, they will holler and yell and be disruptive. If you are wonderful and they love your show, they will holler and yell and be supportive.

It’s a bad idea to blame the audience’s age for having a bad show. It’s also a bad idea to give credit to the audience’s age for having a great show.

If you don’t like kids, don’t know how to perform for kids, and hate performing for kids, the best thing to do is not perform for kids.

If you are one who has problems with children’s entertainment, maybe instead of changing your audience, you should see how to change yourself.

Always wishing the best,
Adam White
https://dalemagic.com/Other_Artists.html