Tricks

A word about performing magic for kids.

Children in general, are perhaps the best audience to perform magic for. Adults, because of their considerabe life experience, tend to be more cynical about many things, including magic. Children, on the other hand, tend to view the world without bias and with a sense of wonder. Everything that happens in the world is magical to them. They willingly suspend their disbelief in order to accept the possibility that real magic may be the explanation for the disappearance of a coin or a card rising into the air. They in fact, want to believe in magic.

Sometimes however, their unfamiliarity with adult-accepted manners can lead a child to make inappropriate or even disrespectful remarks at the expense of the performer – especially in a group situation like a birthday party. This is particularly true for magicians as we are, in a sense, “challenging” our audiences to figure out how we do the magic.

I have encountered this myself from time to time. It does offer you an opportunity to teach the kids a life lesson by reminding them beforehand how we must show proper respect for anybody who performs in front of a group. It never hurts to re-iterate the “Golden Rule.”

My standard reply (and one that has worked very well) to: “I’ve seen that trick before,” or “I know how you do that,” is: “Great. Come on up and perform it for all of us then.” Since they typically have no idea how the trick is really done, that petty much silences them and other would-be hecklers for the rest of the performance.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this website and your venture into the wonderful world of magic. Most importantly, have fun with it!

It’s time for me to vanish now…but enjoy my lists of tricks below!

 

Gags, Pranks, Throwaways & Bits