When my son was eight, he wanted a bicycle for his birthday. Not a Bicycle deck, he wanted one of those things with two wheels. Rather than surprise him, my wife and I told him he could choose one and we took him to a toy store with a large selection of children’s bikes. Almost im- mediately he chose the most expensive one on the rack. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even see the prices. Almost instinctively, he knew which one was the best – more features, better style, lookin’ cool. It was expensive, and we could barely afford it, but he was the coolest kid in the neighbor- hood for a few months.
What I learned back then was that children recognize quality. Even very young children can discriminate features and make value judgments. They learn these techniques by assimilation, watching, and listening when adults talk. Children are far more observant and reflective than many adults give them credit for, and they process a lot of information without our being aware of what happens inside their young minds. Much of what they hear includes value judgments about things and people. In fact, a lot of adult conversation is about valuing. Even when children seem inattentive, they often listen to and process adult conversation; they pick up clues and pointers from everywhere about how to value things, places, people, and ideas.
Consider a birthday child opening presents at a party. Every gift will likely be accompanied by positive reinforcement from his parents, who may be trying to teach him to be polite and appreciative. If the child does not say anything, the parents may prompt him with: “You’re going to love playing with that,” or “Isn’t that neat?” or “How nice! What do you say?” But after that party when the guests have left, how many parents do you think might privately come up with: “I know that isn’t a very nice gift, but you were polite to thank them,” or “Don’t open the box, we can exchange it for something better,” or even
“Aunt Dorothy never buys anything nice.” In these ways children learn to recognize quality.
So when they watch your magic show, children will evaluate the quality of your props. You can get away with using old or cheap apparatus, but it reflects poorly on your overall image as a performer. It might determine how much you can charge or how many shows you book. Your props should look cool, exciting, new, and high quality. One way to make sure of good quality is regular upkeep and renovation. Some props can be repainted, covered with new fabric, or embellished with extras. Unfortunately, one of the other ways to achieve that is to spend more for props.
I have a friend who has been in magic for many years and who does a decent job. But he uses a “signature” monkey puppet in most of his shows that is old and haggard. He thinks “it has charm.” He has told me that children love the puppet character and ask for it when he books shows. What he doesn’t realize is that those kids are asking for his witty and funny routine, not that par- ticular old and ragged puppet. I’ve watched him do shows with it and overheard kids make fun of the puppet. One boy actually said, “Why does he still use that ratty old puppet? Ew!”
One year I mounted a show based on the theme of digging. I came across three brands of Appearing Shovel, made by three different companies. I thought I could save some money, so I bought the $30 one. It was noticeably smaller than a real shovel, and the spade section was made of blue plastic. It clearly looked cheap. I discarded it and bought a $160 Appearing Shovel that looked very real and worked perfectly. That trick became the hit of the show.
Yes, it costs money to mount a show, and it costs more money to mount a better show. But in the long run, you will enhance your shows, your bookings, and your career. You can ultimately charge more for each show and book more shows if you have a better act. Nothing can replace solid scripted routines and earnest rehearsal. But if you have good material and combine it with cheap props, your show will suffer. Don’t shortchange your audience just because they are children.
Take inventory of your show. Does ev- erything in your show stand out as being of high quality? Don’t fool yourself into
thinking that because children laugh and clap that they would not recognize it if you used better apparatus. They will notice the difference and appreciate your show more if you use high quality equipment. Begin upgrading your props. Replace your go-to items with new ones of the best quality. Ditch that shabby old Spelling Bee trick for a fine new Plexiglass one. Toss out the thin wobbly Forgetful Freddie made in India and buy a solid, heavy, well-painted model. Buy a four-inch walnut Die Box from Babcock and discard the two-and- a-half-inch one made in China. Look for solid craftsmanship and fine design in new props. Children will see the differ- ence between a wrinkled old silk and a smooth bright fresh one. They can tell that something is wrong if your ropes are drab and dingy, or paint is flaking off your wand. (That’s not a euphemism – I mean that literally.) And they will know the dif- ference between a Fairchild Circus Wagon and a home-made Bunny Box you bought for next to nothing on eBay, because Children Recognize Quality.
Here is a routine in which quality can make a difference. Get four black cloth drawstring bags. They should be made of heavy and opaque cloth like corduroy or velveteen. If they have a sturdy hem with satin ribbons through the top, the children will find them easy to open, and that makes the routine move smoothly. In addition, having an expensive-looking bag tells the children that it is yours and they will not get to keep it. Secretly mark each bag so you can tell them apart. One way to do this is to tie knots in the ends of the drawstrings. Tie one knot in the first bag, two in the second, three in the third, and four in the last one, as shown in Figure 1. Or you can sew a small black tab on each bag near the top corner, top middle, bottom corner, and bottom middle. You also need four different color Stand-On Spots. These are big plastic circles that you place on the floor to mark your spectator’s positions. Some kid-show dealers have them, or you can buy them where physical education teachers get their supplies.
You also need a slew of name-badge- sized labels in four different solid colors. You may be able to find labels already printed with a solid color, but most likely these will be shipping labels and the adhesive will be too strong. I suggest you
print your own using Avery Name Badge Labels No. 5395. These are white rect- angles that easily separate after printing. They come eight to a sheet and have a gentle removable adhesive that will not ruin clothing. Print a couple of sheets each in solid red, yellow, blue, and green. Then separate the labels into individual badges with the backing still attached. Make a face-down stack of these colored badges with four red labels on top, followed by four yellow, four blue, four green, and then one of each color on the bottom. You will use this stack to force a color on each spectator.
Buy four giveaway prizes, such as head visors or pennants in four different colors. You want something that will be light and will fit in the bag, but will also be visible to the audience. Headbands with springy wobbly stuff on top would work, or different colored bandanas. Place each of the four items in each one of the bags. Remember which color item is in which bag. It is easiest if you always use the same color sequence; for example, red, yellow, blue, green means bag 1, bag 2, bag 3, bag 4.
Here is a quick overview of the pre- sentation. Four children come forward; each chooses one bag. Each stands on a different colored spot, and each randomly chooses a colored badge to place on his or her shirt. They open their bags and find a colored prize inside. Magically, all of the colors for each spectator match. The boy on the red spot picked a red badge and a red prize. The same result occurs with all four spectators.
Here is the logistical working. Place the four spots on the floor before the show, but do not call attention to them. Bring out the four bags and announce a contest with prizes. You need four helpers; if they win the contest (which will be a matching
game), they can keep their prize. Choose the first helper and let him take any bag. Have him stand to the left of your table. Call on a second child and tell him he can either take a bag from the table for himself or pick one up and trade it with the first helper. Have him stand to the right of the table. Let the third child choose a bag and either keep it or trade it with one of the other two. She should stand on the left side. The last child gets to choose to keep the final bag or trade it with someone else; she then stands on the right.
When all four children are standing next to your table and each has a bag, secretly glimpse your marking system and make a mental note of who has which color. Tell the children to hold their bag in front of them, and not look in them yet. Say that they will each pick a badge; if their color matches the prize they can keep it. Bring out the stack of labels face down. Step in front of the table and fan out the bottom four labels face up so the audience can see there are four separate colors. Close the fan and tilt the pile face down. Call the child who has the red bag over to you and casually tell her to “stand on this spot and face the audience.” Point directly to the red spot, but do not call attention to the color. Fan out the top four labels on the face down stack (they are all red) and have the child choose one.
Call the second child, the one with the yellow prize, over to the front. As you do, slip the top three labels to the bottom of the stack and fan out the next four (all yellow) ones. Point to the yellow spot and tell her to stand there and pick a badge. Call the third child over, point out that he should stand on the blue spot in order to be in line and face the audience. Slip the top three labels to the bottom of the stack and fan out the next four (all blue) ones. Have him choose a badge. Repeat with the final child.
Do not make any significance of who gets called first, second, or third, or where they stand. Treat all of the movement as casual. Your attitude should be along the lines of “Okay, let’s see, who else needs to come and stand in line?”
Have the children peel off the back their badges and stick them on their shirt. Pat your chest with a flat palm, high, near your neck, to indicate where they should stick the badge. You can help a child peel the back off the label if he is having trouble, but do not press it to his chest. Point out to the audience who “chose” which color of badge. Tell the helpers that at the count of one they should open their bag. At the count of two they should reach inside. At the count of three they should bring out
the prize and hold it up high. Remind them that they can keep the prize, but only if it matches the color badge they picked. Turn to remind the audience that the children could not see what color prize was in the bag or what color badge to pick. Reiterate that some children even traded bags without seeing inside.
After this short verbal situation check, count one, two, three. The children will all hold up colored prizes. Stand behind the line and point out the matches, adding the information about who is standing on which color circle. “Look! He stood on the red spot! And he picked a red badge! And he chose a red visor! She stood on the yellow spot, picked a yellow badge, and chose a yellow visor! He chose the blue spot, the blue badge, and the blue visor. And all of her choices were green! They all win and everyone gets to keep their prize.” Figure 2 shows the routine’s climax. Collect the bags and send the helpers back.
Having quality prizes that kids will envy is part of what makes this work. (In fact, feel free to use colored iPods if you are so inclined.) The heavy vinyl floor spots and quality drawstring bags are also an important part. It would look tacky to use paper bags and cardboard spots. Yes, it tends to be more expensive to produce better quality, but it is not a significant amount when you consider hundreds of shows and potentially tens of thousands of dollars of income.
The total amount of time a child watches magic throughout his life is in- finitesimally small. The experience can be written off as enjoyable, but forgettable, or it can be savored as a lasting memorable event for the rest of his life. Do you want to collect your check and go home, or do you want to leave hundreds of kids in awe of you for years to come? Give them something grand. Give them something they will remember by presenting the best image. The lasting impressions come when children recall great magic, great humor, and great visuals because Children Recognize Quality.
Figure 1
Many years ago, the champion boxer Muhammad Ali was about to step into the ring. A reporter asked Ali if he would win the night’s battle. Ali replied, “The fight is won or lost far from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.” In the boxer’s world, success hinges on what the crowd never sees. Besides, in those days you would have been crazy to step into a ring with Ali without training first. Even then the odds were against you.
Isn’t it just as foolish an endeavor for a magician to step on stage unprepared? Of course, yet so many do. The work of scripting takes time, energy, and repetition to do well. You cannot just “wing it” on stage without resorting to babbling at some point. Developing a stage character takes considerable thought and experimentation before the role fits you perfectly. Construct- ing an act requires rehearsal after rehearsal if one hopes to successfully navigate all the trials and errors that lie ahead.
Any performance artist who embraces these requirements soon discovers the discipline is naturally reflected in other important areas. For example, learning to create original effects often begins with a magician who decides to perform an existing favorite trick differently, thereby “making it his own.” Doing this enough builds confidence in one’s ability to think outside the box. Eventually, the magician starts imagining tricks he has never seen done and comes up with a few solutions. The initial efforts are often flawed in one way or another, but persistence and honest critiques eventually straighten out that learning curve and soon yield strong, original effects that the magician can use to put food on the table while building a marketable reputation at the same time.
To examine this creative process more closely, let us consider a common method
used by conjurers to do card magic: the stacked deck. The simplicity of the Si Stebbins method (just add three to get the next card’s value while the mnemonic “CHaSeD” provides the suit order) makes it one of the most popular. As a card is selected the deck is split and cut at that point. A quick glance at the bottom card, a little math, and the chosen card is known. However, if a Stebbins deck is not handled with care, the repeating patterns in the values and suits can be obvious.
One way to randomize the values and remember the order is to create a sentence in which the sound of each word repre- sents one of thirteen different card values. Imagine a fellow so smitten with a royal lady he would do anything to get her in bed: “For a fine ring to sack the Queen, Kevin ate live hen chicks.” (4, A, 9, K, 2, J, 3, Q, 7, 8, 5, 10, 6). Words are easier to remember than numbers, so this accomplishes our goal nicely. Another way to randomize the values is to blend the phonetic sounds so a single word can have two values. Imagine a tolerant martial arts expert: “A fightin’ ninja took teasin’ – quickly forgave.” (A, 5, 10, 9, J, 2, K, 3, 7, Q, 6, 4, 8). The thirteen values are still random but our mnemonics are reduced to just seven words.
We are not done yet, though. Can we do anything about the repeating suit patterns? Can we eliminate the mnemonics com- pletely? As it turns out, we can.