Close up magic for kids?
April 13th, 2010 by admin
As a Chicago magician, generally when I’m hired to perform for children it’s a either for a birthday party show, block party, company picnic or festival performance. And when I am, I’m hired to perform a formal magic show. On the other hand, when I’m hired to perform for adults, while sometimes I’m asked to perform my comedy stage magic show for corporate entertainment, mostly I’m hired to perform close up magic at a banquet, cocktail party or hospitality suite. I think most Chicago magicians would say they have the same experience.
What I’m rarely asked to do, and would love to do more of, is perform close up magic for kids. Not only is it very fun for me, but I think in one important way it does something no stage magic show can do.
Every kid gets to be a volunteer.
If you’ve ever been to a family magic show, either at a kids party or elsewhere, you’ve seen that, when the magician asks for a volunteer, nearly every child in the audience raises their hand high into the air and yells, “Pick me! Pick me!” Unfortunately, no matter how many magic tricks the magician does or how long the magic show is, there’s no way every kid can be onstage. If you’re a kid in the audience and don’t get picked, it can be very disappointing.
But close up magic is different.
A close up magic show is done for a handful of people and lasts 5 or 10 minutes. During that time I perform several magical effects, all of which are designed to involve the participation of one or more children. This means by the time the show is over every child has had his or her time in the spotlight. This also means that after 10 minutes I can find another audience and give several more children their opportunity to shine. Over the course of an hour or two I can involve 50 kids in my magic show. If there are a lot of children present it’s ideal because nobody is disappointed and everyone gets to participate.
It’s unfortunate more event planners and corporate meeting planners don’t consider close up magic for kids. Whether it’s for children’s birthday parties or a company picnic, they assume their only option is the birthday party show. While there is nothing wrong with that, there is something unique and special about giving a child the chance to participate one on one in a magic show. In fact, my friend Michael Walton, founder of Open Heart Magic, designed his volunteer hospital magician program around this very idea. With his organization every child gets a magic show in their room, as opposed to just being an audience member when there’s a magic show for the entire floor.
So the next time you need to entertain a group of kids, consider close up magic. You won’t be disappointed.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
