Magic Shows for Children

Themed magic shows can be challenging to construct. The props you have available either on hand or which are available for purchase have to be combined within the theme without ending up being used in an unwieldy context. In short, it has to be entertaining.

I was very fortunate to be able to benefit from the experience of top notch kids entertainer Chris McMillan who has been performing the Road Safety Magic Show for 13 years, and has perfected all the routines to bring out some excellent learning points which VicRoads encourages all day care and kindergartens to provide.

Chris has now retired from full time performing and has handed over the Road Safety Magic Show to me.

I have now performed the Road Safety Magic Show several times and am very pleased with the results. Initially I was concerned that I would run through the material too fast and not fill the entire, so I added a trick which has me using a big tricycle, and a balloon to teach the children about a very important lesson in road safety: Always walking or standing where drivers can see you. I asked for some feedback from the care-givers who have seen my show, and specifically about my addition. They were very impressed with how clear it was and how I approached a potentially frightening subject with care, caution and sensitivity, with the emphasis on the positive things children are to do. From my experience I know that for good results we don’t yell at kids to “STOP RUNNING” but rather encourage them to “WALK, WALK, WALK” if we really want them to cooperate with an imperative.

I am extremely pleased that I am able to contribute to the early education of children with this topic. A friend of ours had a horrible loss in a school car park (before we knew them). When  hearing about it I could only imagine the nightmarish horror that experience would have been.

This is a crucial topic that is so important in early education. The challenge I suppose is that it has to be presented delicately so as not to instill fear, but rather educate the children to be aware, and have the confidence to do the things that keep them safe.

Click here to book the Road Safety Magic Show

I got my monkey puppet from Taylor’s Magic shop in Sydney over a year ago. And I have slowly been introducing new routines into my act which include the monkey.

My only regret is that I did not begin to use the monkey puppet sooner. It is an absolute wonder as it introduces a new dynamic that one would need a second performer for but can now be accomplished with the puppet. The great comedy bits which include scenarios of misunderstanding, non-cooperation, or pushing the other performer out of their comfort zone can all be done with the use of a puppet. These simplistic scenarios are not to be undervalued. Comedy for a young audience is challenging as their energy can end up so highly charged that with the wrong elements a performer can end up in big trouble. A lively performance can make the show interesting but it can also come across as just so much static filled noise. This gives the audience little direction and they will end up finding a direction of their own. This may take the shape of the most avid attention seeker in the crowd deciding to take over or it may take the form of someone starting the dreaded chant.

The chant can be anything from “Take your hat off! Take your hat off! Take your hat off! Take your hat off!” to “Eat it!Eat it!Eat it!Eat it!Eat it!Eat it!Eat it!Eat it!”

This is a very unfavorable situation to end up in and requires emergency procedures to avoid the next step which can easily develop into the little ones storming the magician.

For a performer to not have a microphone will place him at a distinct disadvantage. As the volume of 15 to 30 little voices can not be matched by a singular voice without special training. And if they can’t follow what your saying it won’t make a difference anyway.

So what is the solution? Preventative care! Do everything to prevent the chant from starting. If you ever use a phrase in your show that can easily be chanted and you find that the kids start chanting, drop that phrase from your next show. Also set up the audience with a clear framework by stating how the show works. This should be part of the introductory warm-up and interspersed with a few laughs.

I started this post talking about my monkey puppet. So you may be wondering, “Should I try to use a puppet to regain control of the audience?” I’d lean toward replying”No” because the audience won’t be in the right mood to start with and also you have to decide whether the puppet can be easily fixed as the frenzy can be channeled toward your puppet and it may not be in a usable state after such an encounter.

But it works great at keeping the show going and keeping the audience engaged and preventing the show from spiraling into chaos.

Monkey tries to do a magic trick.