Children's magic is a specialized aspect of stage magic and is meant to entertain children. It is typically performed at birthday parties, churches, preschools, elementary schools, Sunday Schools or libraries. It is often the only type of magic most Westerners experience other than that seen on television. This type of magic is usually comedic in nature.[1]
A distinction should be made between Children's magic and "young magicians." The former is meant for audiences made up of mostly children while the latter refers to performers who are under-aged. The later has organizations dedicated to them including Society of Young Magicians, Magic Youth International and Young Magicians' Club.
Not every magician is interested in performing for children both artistically and in terms of patience. When Br. John Hamman, sm, was honored in 1995 during the first St. Louis Magical Heritage Awards, he explained in his acceptance speech the key to a successful magic performance:
"The object of magic is misdirection. Audiences are more apt to believe what they hear than what they see, and intelligent people are the easiest to fool because they don't expect me to use some childish gimmick to deceive them. On the other hand, children are hard to fool, because they watch closely and don't listen." (bold letters added)
Since children do not have the natural social filters adults have in such situations, they have no compunction against pointing out every error or inconsistency a magician makes during his performance. This makes performing for children exceedingly difficult. Though it can be very profitable for magicians to take such jobs, not everyone feels confident or comfortable doing so.
It should be pointed out that since children eagerly point out a magician's errors and inconsistencies, a good performer will use this knowledge to intentionally misdirect the children in his auidence. One form of this type of misdirection is referred to as "Magician-in-Trouble" wherein a performer pretends to have made a mistake in order to cover-up a more important sleight.
The style used for children's magic is comical and use props that large and colorful. It's not uncommon for magicians to dress as clowns or in wild and outlandish costumes while performing.[2]
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Caveats and suggestions
Magic meant for children must be streamlined and tax neither their attention nor their abilities. Generally, one should avoid tricks with cards as most children can't distinguish between the suits and they rarely can memorize a card's identity. Magic with coins (see Coin magic) or paper money, on the other hand, is always popular with children. Movement and action are preferable to patter. Buffoonery is a better vehicle than "mystery" for children. [1] It's also important to use as many audience members as impromptu assistants as possible.[1] Common Children's Magic Props include: Run Rabbit Run, Hip Hop Rabbits, Change Bag Routines, Breakaway Wand, Tipsy Turvy Bottles, and Spongeballs.
Children's magicians
- David Ginn
- Samuel Patrick Smith
- Joseph Fields
- The Great Zucchini
- Mary Morris
- Peter O'Malley
- Paul Saulsbury
See also
References
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