The Genii Forum

All right, I have the goal of performing close-up magic in a children's hospital next year.

Here's the thing, I've only been in magic for about a year. I have an idea of what I want to utilize for a while and I'm trying to see if there are great book resources that deal with character building and guidance on performing for children in a close-up setting. OR just performing in general.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I have already mentioned on other threads what you need. For character building there are a few pages in the presentation section of Expert Card Technique which will give you advice on that. And for kid shows you need the opening chapter of Open Sesame.

performer wrote:I have already mentioned on other threads what you need. For character building there are a few pages in the presentation section of Expert Card Technique which will give you advice on that. And for kid shows you need the opening chapter of Open Sesame.

I got your post. I thought that, considering that I'm asking a million questions in the Close-Up section, that it would be more appropriate to pose the question in the beginners section.

That, and this is the most experience-heavy forum that I'm a part of. As a rookie looking for a lot of help, I really do not want mess it up.

Many people misunderstand what children enjoy. They are too young to understand much of what they would need to know to "get" magic. There are some visual things, silks, or whatnot, but really clown bits are better for them. Balloon animals, simple juggling, silliness. Any trick that takes paying attention for more than a few seconds will not be understood. It takes having a mind to be able to grasp the ideas magic attempts to explore. They're too 'unformed'.

So just remind yourself, if it is strictly visual it might work. If it takes thought, probably not. Best wishes.

If you want a reference on performing for kids, I'd recommend, "Seriously Silly" by David Kaye

The key to entertaining children is very simple. Make them laugh!