MAGIC SHOP - Daytona Magic, Inc.

By Irv Cook

If you perform for children, sooner or later you will encounter a "problem child." This can be a kid who shouts out secrets, or the famous, "I know how that's done," to the kid who won't let you pack up without touching your props. Overly loud children can be a problem and shy children can also be a problem. Below I will discuss how I have handled problem children before, during and after a show.

I'm sure you heard the old proverb, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." These words hold true especially for the children's performer. Here are some of the things you should do long before you arrive at the party.

Make sure that the material you bring is age appropriate. If you are hired to do a show for Johnny's fourth birthday party, you might think that you should bring pre-school material. When you get to the show you find out that the only four year old present is Johnny. All his cousins are in attendance and they are 8 to 15 years old. At that point you will have a hard time entertaining the audience with "Romper Rabbit Routines." This can work the opposite way where you bring material for older kids, only to find out that most of the kids there are very young. This problem can be solved long before you get to the party by asking, What are the ages of the kids present going to be?" and of course How old is Johnny?"

"I know how that's done!" These words can run chills up the spine of an unseasoned performer, yet most of the time the kid that shouts out these words, doesn't really know. I have seen magicians handle this by being very confrontational. I do not agree with this approach at all. When I studied to be a teacher I was taught to, "Ignore bad behavior and praise good behavior." Sometimes this can be the best approach. For younger children I have praised the little girls sitting in the front row for behaving, right after the kid in the back shouted his remark. If this doesn't work and the kid keeps shouting sometimes a stern look over the top of my glasses works. Sometimes I just stop and stare at the kid that won't shut up. Usually his friends or other kids in the audience who are interested in the show will tell him to keep quiet. As a last resort I will go to the person in charge and ask her/him to help out. Never take the kid on or try to remove him physically.

Unruly kids can be problem kids, so I try to set parameters of my show up from the very beginning. Most kids want to "help" the magician. In my warm-up, which consists of producing a silk from nowhere and changing it into an appearing cane, I talk to the kids about magic, magicians and having fun. I tell the kids that I only call on children to help me who are well behaved and raise their hands if they want to help.

Never call on a child who does not want to help you. It is not fair to the child, and can be a disaster for you. I saw a magician actually make a little girl cry because he insisted that she come up to help him because she was the party girl. That group of kids always referred to him as the magician that made Jennifer cry. How many parents would hire this guy when their child came home from school saying, "We had a magician today for Jennifer's party and he made her cry."

The physical place that you work can lead to creating a problem child or children. Be prepared, as they say in the Boy Scouts. You go to do a show, and find out that it is in the corner of a room. There is no stage and the kids will be on top of you. I always carried a length of rope that I would lay down on the floor, and tell the kids that this is my stage. "Everyone has to sit off of the stage." I pick a spot about six feet away and tell the kids this is the finest seat in the house, you will see everything the best from here. The kids will slowly, inch-by-inch push the rope up and you might have to stop and say, "Time to fix our stage!"

If you don't want problem kids, don't be a problem magician. In other words don't embarrass the kids. If you are doing a funny routine on stage with a kid that might be a little uneasy, gauge how far you can go without embarrassing the child. Don't do the 20th century underwear trick on a ten year old. If you do it, do it on his dad or yourself. Always bring a child onto the stage and off the stage with a round of applause, especially for being such a good sport.

The party is over, and a few kids want to touch everything you own. Once again "an ounce of prevention..." Tell the person in charge that you want either to have the refreshments served after the show or if that is impossible the present opening or even an organized game. Carry with you a large 6' silk handkerchief or a bed-sheet. Immediately after your show cover everything with this silk or sheet and help escort the kids to their next activity. As soon as they are interested in that you are free and clear to pack up. This applies only to home shows but make sure in other venues that those in charge will help move the kids to their next activity.

Kids will be kids but remember you are the adult. Never lose it and yell or offer remarks on how badly the audience behaved. Just collect your money, and if you are called back to this group another time don't take the job. Chances are you will take it because you will rationalize that putting up with the bad behavior is certainly worth the $100.00 you are charging for the show. Hey! Get $125.00 The Marines get battle pay when they deploy to a combat zone.