Foreword
Buck Clayton and I go back quite a few years. And I hope we will be fortunate enough to go ahead a number of more. I have watched and worked with Buck as both Close-Up and Stage performer. No matter how big or small, how young or old the audience, his performances are always personal, intimate and entertaining. Buck knows how to work with people, so that there is always magic and excitement in the air. Also, he has the talent to teach and pass on his skills. And, just as important, his lecture on Entertaining is ENTERTAINING. So, here is your chance not only to learn how to perform for children successfully, but enjoy every minute of it as well!
Larry West
1987
Prologue
2002
In 1987, I composed a lecture on “Entertaining
Children.” As with all written words
from years past, things change and so, too, have my thoughts on entertaining
children. The material which I
originally published in 1987 is just as strong today, however there is one
change that must be made.
Children’s audiences today grow up fast ... I
don’t know if it is the education or just the fact that I am getting older, but
originally, this program was designed for children from 6-12 years of age. Now, I present the same program for children
from 3-10 years of age. Each child has
just as much enthusiasm as before, but now you can start at an earlier age and
the children’s attention span is still able to comprehend the program and
behave appropriately.
Keep in mind, I have not changed this program
since 1979 and it still plays extremely well.
And now, on with the show.
Introduction
I really don’t think that I have to tell you the
WHY of this lecture, but what I think is most important is the HOW. How do you entertain children.
As Officer Charlie, the MagiCop, with the
Baltimore Police Department and having worked as a professional magician and
musician for over 45 years, I have performed before many thousands of people
from all over the world and as far as the children are concerned, CHILDREN ARE
UNIVERSAL. Performing 350-400 school
shows a year in addition to my private performances, I feel qualifies me to
discuss this subject with some confidence.
Trust me when I tell you that when you do that many shows you have run
into every possible situation. The
major benefit of such a rigorous schedule is the fact that you learn ... boy do
you learn. You also have the good
fortune to meet many qualified professionals in the area of child
psychology. Relax, this is not going to
be long and boring full of twenty-five cent words, but a compilation of lessons
I have learned as a performing entertainer.
The Beginning
In the beginning there was a desire to fool and
confound children ... my first mistake.
First, and most importantly ... DO NOT ... REPEAT ... DO NOT TRY TO FOOL
CHILDREN! Better put three “!!!” behind
that one. Please don’t think that you
are going to go into a performance and fool a child ... children can be fooled,
there’s no question about that ... but that’s not why you call yourself an
entertainer. An ENTERTAINER must do
just that which the name implies ENTERTAIN.
I am going to give you a complete show with all
the routines and patter you need to entertain children and scattered throughout
will be the reason behind the selection of the tricks, which are all available
from your favorite dealer. You will not
see a lot of fancy props during this lecture, I don’t use them. When I walk into the home or onto the stage
with what I have in my pockets, I am prepared to perform for twenty-five
minutes. With the few props in my small
suitcase table, completes the 45 minute act ... perfect for school assemblies. Many magicians believe that unless they
carry a lot of ‘stuff’ into a program that the client is not getting his/her
monies worth - THIS IS NOT TRUE! The
client is paying you to entertain children, not fill their house or school with
equipment.
Let’s get into the show so that I can demonstrate
precisely what I’m talking about.
The Props
The equipment that I carry for every show is:
1. The
Professor’s Nightmare
2. What’s
Next (The Magnetic Spot Card)
3. Hat
Tear
4. 20th
Century Silks
5. The Word
Game
6.
Balloons
7.
Balloon to Rabbit (Dove)
I don’t book or advertise myself as a
magician. I am contracted as a
children’s entertainer and this 45 minute program accomplishes that for an
audience from 3-10 years of age ... no problem. Everything is large enough to be seen from the stage, yet is
compact enough for a living room program.
There is lots of business, silly stuff and audience participation ...
all the elements that make for a good program.
The opening of my program is the WARM-UP. It requires no equipment, no talent, no
timing, no nothing ... therefore it packs flat and is easy to carry ... making
it perfect for your small briefcase.
The Warm-Up
As the children are ushered into the room and
seated, just smile and be pleasant. If
in a private home or small area, walk around and shake hands asking each child
his/her name and just relax the anxiety and apprehension that these children
will have. Let them feel that you are a
nice person and you are not going to hurt them.
REMEMBER: TO THIS CHILD YOU ARE A STRANGER AND
CHILDREN ARE BEING TAUGHT THAT STRANGER MEANS DANGER! YOU DON’T WANT YOUR AUDIENCE TO FEAR YOU - YOU’RE GOING TO NEED
THEIR HELP TO MAKE YOUR PROGRAM SUCCESSFUL.
By the time everyone has been seated, you have
greeted each child at the party, or some of them in the front rows of the
auditorium and you have begun making assessments of the children you may want
to use during your program for specific routines.
The ‘warm-up’ is now partially complete. You return to your performing area and say
...
“Well, boys and girls, I’ve had the pleasure of
meeting you and finding out your names, but I forgot to tell you my name. My name is ‘Charlie’ and I’m very happy to
be here at (name of child or school) today, but I’ll tell you what ... I’m
going to go over here (of off stage) and come back out and say, ‘Hello,
everyone,’ and I want everyone to shout out, ‘Hi, Charlie!’ Can we try that? (Do it) “Hello, everyone!”
(After they respond)
Now I know what you are thinking ... all those
kids screaming ... what is this guy, nuts!?
Well, kind of ... but give this a chance. This is just the first of a series of “controls” that we are
building into the program as we progress.
If you try to give a lot of rules for the children to follow, chances
are you will be lost in the riot. Add
your controls simply and slowly so that everyone understands what is expected
of them. This first action is releasing
energy that has built up in anticipation of your appearance. Additionally, it tells the children that it
is OK to yell at the proper time. As I
said, this program has a lot of audience participation and if the children are
afraid to participate you, my friend, are going to stink. If you thought that I was crazy before ....
just wait ... (continue)
No, no you don’t understand ... when I come out
here and say ‘Hello, everyone’ I want you to really shout out, ‘HI, CHARLIE’
just as loud as you can. Let’s try that
one more time and this time really shout out ‘HI, CHARLIE!’ (Do it) “Hello, everyone!” ... (after they
respond) Oh, that’s much much better .
I really fell welcome here now.
Today, we’re going to do some magic, tell a story
and play a game, but if we’re going to do any magic, ... we need magic
words. (As you say this next line
... raise your hand high into the air) Does anyone know any magic
words? (This is your second control
... by raising you hand high into the air, the children can see what is
expected of them and will follow the leader.
Trust me! If this a birthday
party, always use ‘Happy Birthday,’ and the child’s name if it is an
organizational program, I always use the magic words ‘Please and Thank
You.’ Here you may call on individual
children to recite their magic words - always compliment them by saying something,
such as, ‘That’s a good magic word, but that’s not the magic words I think that
we need today.’ etc.) Because today
is a very special day for a very special person ( or, at a very special
school), I have some special magic words that I like to use. Does anyone think that they know what my
special magic words maybe? (Again,
as you say this, raise you hand high into the air. Look, see ... they are actually doing what you want them to do
... they are actually raising their hands and not just shouting out. [Never
pick on a child who merely shouts out.
Only chose children who are raising their hands ... subtle negative
reinforcement.]) OK, we’ve got our magic words and the way we’re going to
use them is this ... when I say ... ‘and the magic words’ I’ll count 1 - 2 - 3
... I want you to shout out the magic words just as loudly as you can ... the
louder you shout the magic words, the better the magic will be. (Very loudly) ARE YOU READY? (Pause) ARE YOU REALLY READY? And the magic words 1 - 2 - 3, (At this
point you must shout the words along with the children to condition them and
reinforce the words.) “HAPPY
BIRTHDAY, _______” (After this, all you have to do is the counting ....
they’ll do the shouting.) Well,
that was terrific. I know we’re going
to see some good magic today.
You have now performed for your audience for
approximately six to eight minutes and you haven’t used any equipment, but you
have taught the children that they can scream, shout and respond in many
different ways. This war-up
accomplishes an additional benefit and that is it immediately releases energy
which has been building inside of these little people before you arrived - the
excitement of a live magician in their house or school is very exciting to the
majority of children in this age group.
By releasing this energy at strategic points in your program you will
maintain much greater and more comfortable control over your audience.
The Professor’s Sucker
(The Professor’s Nightmare)
This routine was designed for ‘The Professor’s
Nightmare’ (the three unequal ropes).
Anyway, I developed this routine to follow the warm-up to continue the
flow of energy and at the same time put in a few more audience controls. As you can see, I am gradually increasing my
control over the children without being overbearing or authoritarian. I use this in place of all the larger
apparatus children’s sucker effects available from the magic dealers because I
enjoy showing a profit to my bookkeeper.
If you are not familiar with this trick you will probably want to buy it
as you discover the versatility of rope tricks in general and this one in
particular. If you already possess a
commercially produced sucker trick and you desire to use it, this is the place
to put it. Right up front immediately
following the Warm-Up.
‘Before I begin today’s program, how would you
boys and girls like to see me do something that no other magician has ever done
before? David Copperfield has never
done this ... he just made the Statue of Liberty disappear! Doug Henning has never done this ... he just
made elephants disappear! That’s right,
I’m going to do something that no magician has ever done before and that is I’m
going to teach you exactly how a magician tries to fool you. Would you like to learn how to do a
trick? (Response)
OK! I
will teach you exactly how a magician tries to fool you, but first I need
everyone in the room to raise you right hand (Raise you right hand into the air
then, to no one in particular) .. your
other right hand ... and repeat after me.
I DO SOLEMNLY PROMISE ... THAT WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SEE AND HEAR ... I’M
NOT GONNA TELL NOBODY NOTHING ...hands down.
Notice that I just lied to the children. Two paragraphs ago, I told them that I was
going to teach them how a magician tries to fool them .... and in the paragraph
following that, I asked them if they would like to learn how to do a trick.
Well, if I’m going to teach you exactly how a
magician tries to fool you, I’m going to need three .... (look around the
audience with a hand in the air as if ready to point at someone) ... three ...
three pieces of rope! And I just happen
to have three pieces of rope right here.
(Take rope rolled up out of one of your pockets.) Here’s one .... two .... and three (three
should be the short piece of rope and just let it dangle in your left
hand. In you right hand are the long
and medium pieces of rope.) (Hold up
your left hand with the short piece as you say...) Does everyone see three pieces of rope? Does everyone see that I have a long piece , a medium piece and a
short piece of rope? (As yo say this,
display the short piece in your left hand, take the medium piece from your
right hand with the left hand and then display the long piece in your right
hand.) (After their response) Good! I’ve just fooled you for the first time ...
yes! This is the short piece and I
called it the long piece and this is the long piece and I called it the short
piece. That’s one way a magician tries
to fool you .... he’ll tell you one thing and mean something else. So you must listen very carefully to
everything a magician says. (You
have just added another control. You
have just told them to be quiet or they are not going to hear the show. Subtle, huh? True, but very effective in the scheme of things. During the program they will yell and scream
when I want them to, but they will also remain quiet when that behavior is
required.) Now, another way a
magician tries to fool you is with camouflage ... does everyone know what
camouflage means? [Raise your hand into the air (Pause)] How about disguise ...
does everyone know what a disguise is?
(Without hesitation) How many of you go trick or treating at
Halloween? OK, and when you go trick or
treating you put on a costume, to make you appear different. That’s camouflage, that’s a disguise. That’s what I’m going to do with these three
pieces of rope, I’m going to disguise them so that they appear to be different
... now, they’re not going to look like R2D2 or anything like that, but they
will appear to be different. [Hold all three ropes in your left hand, between
the thumb and forefinger. With your
right thumb flip the long piece up and grasp the lower end of the short piece
of rope and bring it up next to its opposite end. Now bring up the medium piece of rope the same way, but place it
to the right of the opposite end. As
you repeat this once more with the long piece of rope, place this directly next
to the opposite end of the long piece.
The dirty work is done. The rest
is all showmanship!] By bringing the ends together like this ... [grasp the
lower bend in the long rope and bring it to the middle of your fist.] ... and
taking this long piece and tucking it half-way into my fist, ... if you hadn’t
seen the three unequal pieces of rope before, it now looks like have [count the
bottom loops] 1-2-3 even pieces of rope.
Now, does everyone understand about disguise and camouflage? Good!
Because now that I’ve taught you how a magician tries to fool you, I’m
going to try and FOOL YOU! So watch, with
a wave of the hand and the magic words ... 1-2-3 [allow long loop to fall from
the middle of your fist.] I now HAVE three even pieces of rope and it’s a great
trick, a fantastic trick, a wonderful, a... good... trick...a nice tric.....
[Look confused, not noticing your error.]
What’s the matter? (Here you
insert all of the sucker bits where you can’t understand what they are talking
about, you can’t hear what they are saying, etc. Pretend someone says something about soap, the pope, any sound
alike word will work. Eventually, you
catch on and look down at the ropes and say) Oh, this!? Well, why didn’t somebody tell me?....Oh,
that’s what you were trying to tell me.
(Pause) ... I’m terribly sorry, boys and girls, I misunderstood you. But do you know why that happened? Because you didn’t shout the magic words
loud enough. ARE...YOU...READY? ARE ... YOU ... REALLY ... READY? OK, with a wave of the hand, a snap of my
fingers and the magic words 1-2-3.... now I have three even pieces of rope
[drop long loop again] and I want to than.... What’s that? (Sucker bits again) [Finally, point to long
the loop and say] Oh, this!? No boys
and girls, remember when I told you about camouflage?.... Well, this just looks
longer than the rest .... they’re really all the same size. [Wait] What’s
that? Don’t you believe me? [wait] Boys
and girls, would I tell you an untruth? [response] No, boys and girls, I would
never tell you an untruth! When I say I
have three even pieces of rope that’s exactly what I have ... three even pieces
of rope [grasp the three ends nearest your right hand with your right hand
and pull to your right allow ropes to equalize. Then count] one...two....three even pieces of rope.
‘I have another show to do later today and I
always like to teach my friends how to do a trick, [gather the ends together
once more] but in order to teach them I need three pieces of rope. One short, one medium and one long. [Pull
them apart showing their true lengths] Now, no one will ever be fooled by a
magician with three pieces of rope, is that right? Good, give yourselves a big round of applause for being such good
students today.’
What’s Next
(The Magnetic Spot Card)
“Say, if we’re going to do magic I want to make
sure that everyone can see, sooo.... I’m going to give everyone in the room a
test. This isn’t as difficult as a test
your teacher may give you, because this test is an EYE test and with an EYE
test all you have to do is see..see!? (You
have just positively reinforced that fact that teachers give difficult tests in
school, so if maybe one of the children may be a poor test taker, you have just
won them back on your side by acknowledging that tests are not easy. This really brings the child’s self esteem
up without being pedantic or preachy.)
So let me get the eye test ... [go to table and get Spot Card] If you
can see one spot on this side and four spots on this side, you’ve already past
the test.”
“Now everybody knows that a card has 1-2-3-4
sides, [gesture with your finger around the perimeter of the card.] but, I’ll
bet that you didn’t know that that same card has 1-2-3-4 sides. [gesture
from front to back with each number .... counting each side twice. When you get quizzical looks or negative
comments, say] It’s true! On this
side I have three spots and on this side I have six spots. So this card has 1-4-3 and 6 spots and ....
[let your voice trail off.] What!?
Oh, all right, boys and girls. I
knew that you were too smart for this trick, so let me show you how it’s
done. When I show you one spot on this
side, I can’t move this hand [point to hand covering spot], because if I move
this hand you’ll see that I have an extra spot. And when I say four spots on this side, I can’t move this hand
because you’d see that I have another extra spot. And when I say three sports on this side, I only show you two,
but I try to make you think there are three [point to hand covering blank
space - then remove the hand showing the blank area] but there isn’t
anything there. And when I show you six
spots on this side, again, I only show you five, but I try to make you think
there are six when there’s really nothing there. So, if I wanted to be perfectly fair and honest, when I say three
spots on this side, I wouldn’t hide anything, I’d show you three spots [remove
hand showing three spots] and when I said six spots on this side, again, I
wouldn’t hide anything, I’d show you six spots. So you see, this card only has two sides. Six spots on this side and three spots on
this side, but I did say that this was an eye test, so if you can see eight
spots on this side, the chances are that you are going to see everything we’re
going to do today.”
If you have this trick and know the working of it
then the patter will flow quite easily.
If you have it, but haven’t worded with it too much, work before a
mirror until it flows smoothly and consistently. There is not much room for responses from the audience during
this trick because during the PROFESSOR’S SUCKER we were able to get rid of a
lot of energy and the children will now sit fairly quietly for this
routine. If they don’t that’s OK
also. Shouting doesn’t hurt you show
... unless they’re shouting “GET OFF THE STAGE!”
The Hat Tear
“Right now, I need a young lady ... a young lady who
knows how to follow directions. Not
your everyday directions like ‘put you toys away’ or ‘don’t eat too much candy’
or ‘don’t take things from strangers’ [again you are reinforcing positive
behaviors and adding a safety message]; I’m talking about very special
stage directions ... [point to someone]..
How about you? Would yo come up
here and help me, please? [don’t pick the birthday child .... we have
something for him/her]
“Now, you say that you can follow direction? OK.
I’m going to find out by giving you a special stage directions taking
test. [This may seem redundant with all these TESTS but the children don’t
notice because each one is separated and punctuated with the comedy.] Here we are .... two pieces of paper and all
you have to do is [say this as fast as possible] everything that I tell
you to do as often as I tell you to do it when it comes through my face,
OK? Good! [The child may say ‘What?’
or ‘I don’t understand’ or she may just stand there with their mouth open. Regardless, repeat the phrase faster than
the first time.] Got it!?
(Tear two pieces of paper into halves and give
half of each piece to the child who should be standing to your right. This is a ‘follow the leader’ type of
routine with the young lady and we will soon have everyone else in the room
participating.)
The first thing I want you to do is hold the
papers, just like this, by the top two corners. (No matter which way she holds the papers, say) No, sweetheart,
that’s the bottom two corners (turn her papers over) these are the top
two. All right, now what I want you to
do is tear those two pieces of paper in half, just like this, and put the right
hand pieces over the left hand pieces.
(Wait for the child to get confused and play along.) Very good!
Now, I want you to hold the papers like this (right index finger and
thumb on the top edge of the papers and the left index finger and thumb on the
bottom edge of the papers.) Now, rotate
once to the left,.....once to the right,......once forward and once backwards. (Say this quickly now) And if you have
followed my directions implicitly the green is on the top, the purple on the
left, the red on the right and the pink on the bottom. (Say that sentence as rapidly as
possible. Whether the child understands
or not, it does not matter....you just say it and then look at the child as
they try to comply with your directions.)
That’s OK. Now take those four
pieces of paper and hold them just like this and tear the four pieces of paper
up one time! (Pause) ...No, darling....[take
the papers from the child] I said to tear them up and you tore them
(down/sideways/etc.) See, I said to
tear them up and you tore them *** (whatever) But, that’s OK because you did
try to follow my directions didn’t you?
(This positively reinforces to the child that you understand that
they tried their very best and that you were really into some non-sense)
Sure you did, and because you did such a good job of following directions, I’m
going to take these torn pieces of paper and roll them into a ball and create
something entirely different from these torn pieces of paper. (Look at the girl.) Are you ready? (Pause ... then toss the ball of papers into the air and catch it
then quickly turn to the girl and say) Do you know what we have now.......TRASH!!!
That’s what we’ve got. ... (pause) But that’s because no one shouted the magic
words. So this time when I throw the
papers into the air and count 1-2-3 everyone shout the magic words. Oh, yeah.
One more thing....when I toss the papers in the air....don’t look down
here.....(indicate the lower part of your jacket or clothing where you could
conceal something.) OK, when I throw
the papers into the air ..... everyone follow them with your eyes and say “AHHHH! And don’t look down here. All right, here we go....No...better
practice that a little first....everyone , what are you going to do? And what are you going to say? Very good! Here we go! 1-2-3 (toss
the papers into the air and catch them) and I told you we’d change them into
something different and after all this is a party and what goes better at a
party than a birthday party HAT! That’s
yours, my thanks, and a nice big round of applause for our helper.”
The children enjoy this routine and again, you
exercise an energy release when you have everyone doing the “AHHHH!” and
shouting the magic words. You can play
the rehearsal part of them watching with their eyes and saying “AHHHH!” as long
as you want, just don’t overdo it. If
you desire you can use the “ARE YOU READY?
ARE YOU REALLY READY?” lines but this time you should be literally
shouting at the children which
encourages them to really ‘let it all hang out’ and depletes them of building
energy which could lead to disaster.
The 20th Century
Silks
This routine is so versatile that I use it for
adults, children, house parties, stage shows, inside, outside....anywhere, and
it always plays well.
“How many of you like stories or movies or TV
shows? Well, you know, I always wanted
to be a big Hollywood director and make a movie and I was thinking that maybe I
could tell you the story and everyone in the room could help me be being my
sound effects people. You know what
sound effects people do, don’t you?
(Raise your hand.) How many of
you have ever watched a movie on television where there was a big car crash
.... and what sound does it make? Well,
if it wasn’t for the sound effects people it would sound like this ....
‘pfffst’ and that wouldn’t be very scary would it? Of course not! So sound
effects people are very important.
Now my story has three people in it and I’ll use
these finely pressed silk handkerchiefs to represent them. The first person in my play is the hero and
his name is Big Bob. Now, whenever I
say, ‘BIG BOB’ I want everyone to put your hands in the air and sing the hero’s
theme song and it goes like this....(Make up a song and wave the
handkerchief in the air. Have the
children do this.)
This green one (or whatever color you have) will
be the heroine, the loveliest girl in all the land and her name is ‘SWEET SUE’
and whenever I say ‘SWEET SUE’, I’ll wave this handkerchief and everyone say,
‘OOOHHH, AAAHHH!’
This one will be the meanest nastiest person in
all the world,.....not me! His name is
NASTY NATHANIEL, and whenever I say NASTY NATHANIEL I want everyone to go ...
‘BOOO, HISSS!’ OK? Now on with our story.
“Once upon a time and far away in a city very
much like (wherever you are), there lived a young lady and her name was SWEET
SUE (wave silk). And she had a friend
and his name was BIG BOB! But, in that
very same town lived NASTY NATHANIEL.
Well, one day, SWEET SUE, was walking down the street and NASTY
NATHANIEL kidnaped her and tied her up....and took her to an old deserted mine
shack in the woods. (Tie silks together
and place into vest or shirt front or wherever.) Now, when I left you last week, SWEET SUE had been kidnaped by
NASTY NATHANIEL and taken to an old deserted mine shack in the
woods.....BUT....BIG BOB went looking for SWEET SUE, but NASTY NATHANIEL had
prepared a trap for BIG BOB and BIG BOB fell into the trap of NASTY NATHANIEL.(Place
handkerchief representing the hero into a magic drawer box or other vanishing
prop.) But! BIG BOB has some very special friends and
they know a very special number that they can call if they have an
emergency....what’s that number? (Response
911 or the emergency number in your area.
Now you’re delivering another safety message.) That’s right! 911. If you need the
police, fire department or an ambulance call 911. So when I count to three, you shout the magic number 911 and
we’ll see if we can get some help for BIG BOB!
ARE YOU READY? AND THE MAGIC
NUMBER - 9-1-1. And BIG BOB was able to
escape from the trap of NASTY NATHANIEL (show hank gone) and rescued
SWEET SUE and that’s the end of my story..... Give yourselves a big hand for
doing such a good job.
Notice all of the assorted audience controls
utilized and the energy releases. This
routine will really settle an audience down by its conclusion, however, I don’t
want them to stop. By the time this
show is over I want them physically drained from the sheer excitement of this
program, that’s why I follow up immediately with my closing routine “The Word
Game.”
Before I get into this routine I must say that In
1978, I was given a children’s routine by a magician, who shall remain
nameless, (he has since past away) called the “Word Game.” When I was compiling my lecture notes, I
asked permission to include it in my lecture notes and paid this ‘magician’ a
substantial fee for its inclusion. Soon
after publication, and the initial lecture presentation, I discovered that the
routine was the property of a very talented magician named Hank Moorehouse who
developed the routine in 1972 for his ‘Mr.
Bubbles’ children’s show. As I
said, I was unaware of this at the time of my original lecture and included the
routine in my lecture notes.
I have since been in touch with Mr. Moorehouse and have obtained permission to
include the routine “The Word Game” in these revised lecture notes and for that
I owe Mr. Moorehouse a tremendous debt
of gratitude.
The Word Game
This routine is so incredibly simple and basic
that you can use this anywhere or anytime in your program; however, I prefer to
use this next to the last effect in my performance. ‘The Word Game’ consists of five cards approximately 5" x
7" in size.
On Card #1 is imprinted the word - “JUMP”
On Card #2 is imprinted the word - “WHISTLE”
On Card #3 is imprinted the word - “SING”
On Card #4 is imprinted the word - “DANCE”
The fifth card has nothing imprinted on it: IT IS
A BLANK CARD.
Each of these cards is a verb, an action word
(there’s that educational stuff creeping back into the show!) With the exception, of course, of card five.
You introduce the game by asking how many
children like to play games? If you
can’t guess what the response is, do not do this routine. Let’s do it this way....I’ll give you the
patter that I use in the exact order I use it and then I’ll give you the rock
bottom routine. Keep in mind that each
word has been carefully chosen to elicit responses from the audience based on
levels of inhibition (I’ll get into that later.) of one kind or another, so if
you should decide to change the routining, make sure it is for the better and
not just to change it.
Phase I
“How many of you like to play games? Well, I like to play games. How would yo like to play my favorite
game? Well, my game is called The Word
Game...no it’s not like the word game your teacher plays with you; in my game
I’m going to say a word and you ... no you don’t have to tell me what the word
means ... you have to do what the word tells you to do ... they’re all action
words .... they’re all verbs.
The first word in my game is JUMP ... let me see
everybody jump ... I need a jumper (select child) You are doing a good job ...
would you come up front and play my game and be my jumper? All right... everyone may sit down now, I
have my jumper. Hi! What’s your name? OK, (name). I want you to
stand right here. (To your right...and
say very rapidly) Turn around straight, put your feet together, arms down at
your sides, stomach in, chest out... shoulders back, chin up, smile and look
intelligent. Very good! Here, hold this sign so everyone knows that
you’re the jumper.
The next word is WHISTLE. Let me hear you whistle. Wow!
You sound like a good whistler to me...would you come up and play my
game? (Get name) You can stand right
here next to the jumper. Put your feet
together......etc. And you hold the
Whistle sign.
The next word is SING! Let me hear you sing Happy Birthday (or any simple song). You are a terrific singer. Come on up here and play our game. (Notice that you have stopped asking if they
will come up and play....by this time there is no refusals - now say very
rapidly) Put your feet together, arms down at your sides, stomach in, chest
out, shoulders back, chin up, smile and try to look human. And you hold this in front of you like this.
The next word is DANCE. Come on, let me see you dance, .... Get down! ... Get funky!
....OK, OK, you’re going to be my dancer.
(Put the child into position, but this time don’t go through the
instructions about feet together, etc.
99.9999% of the time this child will do it automatically.) And you hold this sign. Good!
The last word is the hardest word of all......the
word is NOTHING. Look around, but chose
the birthday child. If it is a larger
show, select a child who you spotted as being responsive but not
aggressive.) You know, I think you did
nothing better than any one else. Come
on up here. And you hold this sign.
Phase II
(This portion of the routine is performed
standing behind each child in order, starting with #1-Jumper) Now when I say
1-2-3 ready go, I want you to jump a little bit for us, OK? 1-2-3 ready go! (Allow the child to jump only once) That’s enough! I don’t want you to tire yourself out before
the big contest.
(To #2) And now, when I say 1-2-3 ready go I want
you to whistle a little bit for us, OK?
1-2-3 ready go! (After first
sound, flutter of air, etc, gently place your hand over the child’s mouth and
say) THAT’S ENOUGH!
(To #3) When I say 1-2-3 ready go, I want you to
sing a little bit for us, OK? 1-2-3
ready go! (Same as #2 and then say)
Diana Ross (or any prominent singer) eat your heart out!
(To #4) When I say 1-2-3 ready go, I want you to
DANCE a little for us. 1-2-3 ready
go! (Same as #2),
(Go to #5 and kneel next to the child and say)
And you .... have the hardest job of all ( put your hand on the child’s
shoulder and move it to the middle of his/her back as you say) because when I
say 1-2-3 ready go! You can do
absolutely nothing .... you can’t wiggle ... (as you say these phrases lightly
tickle the child’s back - if they wiggle and giggle fine, if not fine) you
can’t giggle .... you can’t even smile, OK?
Phase III
Now, you boys and girls in the audience who
didn’t get a chance to be in the contest, you are going to be my judges and
help me pick a winner, but I’ll tell you about that later. Right now, when I say 1-2-3 ready go! (Move rapidly down the line of ‘contestants’
touching each on the shoulder saying) You jump, you whistle, you sing, you
dance (touching both shoulders of #5) and you can do absolutely nothing. (Walk back to right of #1- Look at the
audience and say) ARE MY JUDGES READY?
(To children on stage) ARE MY CONTESTANTS READY? (Then once again down the line - say) Don’t
forget when I say 1-2-3 ready go! You
jump, you whistle, you sing, you dance and you can do nothing. OK?
As you are now ready to actually begin the
contest, you can use all the stalling bit of business that you like. 1-2....weeks ago...; 1-2-3 people got on a
bus at ....; etc. After the stalling
bits....go down the line one more time as above.) ARE YOU READY? ARE MY
JUDGES READY? 1-2-3 READY GO! (Run up and down the row behind the children
pretending to do what they are supposed to do.
After the third time, pretend to tire and shout) THAT’S ENOUGH! (Huff and puff and mug for the audience a
couple of seconds) You
know, before we pick a winner of our contest, I think all of the boys and girls
deserve a big round of applause for doing such a good job! (Lead applause-this will accomplish two
very important things - 1 You have already given the children credit for
playing the game and 2 If they don’t WIN the contest it won’t matter.)
Phase IV
Now I told yo that you were going to help me pick
a winner and this is how we are going to do it. I’m going to take the card from each one and hold it over their
head and say what they did and say ‘Let’s hear it for .....’ and I’ll say what
they did. The one you like the best is
the one you make the most noise for... oh, yeah... One other thing .... don’t
BOO!... for two reasons #1, Booing impolite and every one of our helpers has
done a good job and we wouldn’t want to be impolite. (Damn, more education) and secondly, Booing is noise... so if you
don’t want them to win and you boo, it may be enough noise to help them win. OK?
All right, let’s hear it for the JUMPER! I think you did real good, real good! (Take the card and hold it over each child’s
head and retain the card in preparation for ending the show. Move to #2 and so on down the line until you
get to #5. When you get to #5, pretend
that you forgot what they did and then in a lack luster manner say) Oh, yeah,
let’s hear it for nothing....(Guess who usually gets the most noise? Yep!
If nothing is the winner you can say) What!? I don’t believe this- it sounds like nothing is the winner! This is a strange place .... this is the
only place you can win something by doing nothing. Well, you are the winner of my contest, so I have a special prize
for you, but for the other people in my contest that didn’t win, I have a
consolation prize....you know what a consolation prize is don’t you? ,,,,That’s
a big word that means something not so big.
Now you can do balloon animals for each child:
1-JUMPER-RABBIT
2-WHISTLER-SWAN
3-SINGER-PARROT
4-DANCER-CLOWN
(When yo get to nothing, repeat that) the jumper got the rabbit; the whistler got the
swan; the singer got the parrot; the dancer got the clown and you were
nothing...so you get.... (and pause....the audience will normally give you
the answer - look shocked and say.)
No... you won my contest so I have something special for you.
This is where you can insert your funniest
balloon routine with the child: fly away; wrong end; trouble blowing it up; to
from one; finally creating a special sculpture for the winner.
That’s “THE WORD GAME.” Combined with the balloons it requires 18-22 minutes of your
program. If you’re hired to do 30
minutes, that ain’t bad, huh? If it is
a birthday party, it gives the host/hostess ample opportunity for photos with
the magician and also prepares them because you have told them that after the
Word Game, you will do one more quick trick before leaving.
I promised you the bare bones of the routine and
the psychology of the wording.
Psychologically speaking it is fairly simple.
1- EVERYONE CAN JUMP
2-SOME CAN WHISTLE
3-ALL CAN SING
4-UNTIL YOU DESTROY SOME BARRIERS, ALMOST NO ONE
WILL DANCE
With #1, you begin to destroy the child’s
inhibitions about performing in front of his/her peers.
With #2, you continue to destroy those
inhibitions.
With #3, by now everyone is participating in the game
By the time you get to #4, inhibitions no longer
exist.
That’s the WORD GAME. I hope that you get as much out of it as I have for the past 23
years. They always remember the game.
ROCK BOTTOM
(Bare Bones)
1. 4
cards with the words JUMP, WHISTLE, SING, DANCE imprinted on them.
2. 1 card
the is totally BLANK
3. Get
contestants on stage.
4. Talk
about judges.
5. Have
contest.
6. Have
winner selected.
7. Give
consolation prizes.
8. Give
winner special prize.
Balloon Routine
The following routine is exactly as I perform it
following the judging of ‘THE WORD GAME.’
Go to the right of #1 and say:
“Let’s see, you were my jumper. Well, I know an animal that jumps ....as a
matter of fact, this animal is very closely associated with magic. A rabbit!
That right and you get the rabbit, and a big round of applause for the
jumper. (Send # 1 back to his seat).”
#2 - “Now you were my whistler. Well, I know an animal that whistles...as a matter
of fact...this animal can only whistle...as a matter of fact this animal starts
out very very ugly and then gets very very beautiful...Does anyone know the
story where an animal starts out very very ugly and then gets very very
beautiful?...(pause while you continue to make the balloon animal)...that’s
right! ‘The Ugly Duckling”! ...And what
did the ugly duckling turn into?...A beautiful swan...and in keeping with the
story of the ugly duckling, this starts out very very ugly....you gotta admit,
that’s ugly (wave the beginning of the sculpture under the child’s nose
quickly.)...but in keeping with the story the ugly duckling turned into a
beautiful swan....and a swan can only whistle....it can’t quack like a duck, or
cackle like a chicken. And that’s your
with my thanks and a big round of applause for the whistler.” (Send #2 back to his/her seat)
#3 - “Oh, my singer. I know an animal that sings...as a matter of fact this animal can
talk....does anyone know an animal that can talk....let give you a hint....you
can feed it crackers and seed....and every pirate had one of these for a
pet....a parrot! And you get,
unconditionally guaranteed - as long as you’re standing here next to me - your
very own ‘Parrot on a Perch’ That’s yours with my thanks and a big round of
applause for the singer!”
#4 - “And my dancer....do you think that you are
a good dancer? We.., that really
doesn’t matter because it took a very special person to come up here and do
what you did just so that we could have a good time....a very special person,
indeed. Well, I have some friends who
will put on silly clothes and make-up and do crazy things just so others can
have a good time....you see them in the circus...a clown, that’s right....and
because you helped us to have a good time today, you get your very own clown
doll, ...my thanks and a nice round of applause for the dancer!”
#5 - “And let’s have another big round of
applause for NOTHING, the winner! Now I
promised you something special because you won my contest...Let’s see...the
jumper got the rabbit..the whistler got the swan...the singer got the
parrot...the dancer got the clown...and you were nothing so you get
....(pause-the other children will complete that sentence. Quickly put your arm around the child and
say,) no, I have to give you something special because you won my contest. I know!
I’ll make you a magician...would you like to become a magician? All right, then...just stand right over
here..(place #5 to your right) Now, you have to do everything that I do...every
move I make - you make, OK?”
“The first thing we have to do is the washing the
hands motion....all magicians do this before a trick just like you do before
eating, right? That’s very good! (You can add several motions into this
routine and have the child do everything that you do.)”
Now, you pretend that you have a balloon and you
do everything that I do...the first thing that we have to do is stretch the
balloon....(look at the audience)...Now you don’t want to stretch a balloon too
far because it could snap (release the end closest to #5) and I wouldn’t want
anyone to get hurt. And now, something
special for nothing ... the winner of my contest! (Blow into the balloon, but do not allow any air to
enter....continue to blow while your face turns red and then say) Boy, this is
a tough one. (Blow again, but this time
stretch the balloon downward and then let go of the end allow the balloon to
snap up and hit your opposite hand.....[this should not hit your face] then
.... rub your nose and look at the audience, when the children laugh and say)
...What’s so funny about that? (Blow up the balloon, but only pretend to tie
the end) And you get the big (color of balloon) hot dog....(#5 reaches for the
balloon, release it and allow it to fly away while you look at your audience
and pretend not to notice.)”
“Opps, I forgot to tie it! That’s OK...I have another one....Now, that
last time I forgot to tie the balloon...(blow up balloon)...this time I’m going
to tie both of the ends together and that way we can trap the air in the
middle....right? OK! I’ll tie this end first...(wrong end-allow
air to escape) and then this....(look dumb and say)...that’s OK, I have another
one!”
(Blow up another balloon) “And this time I’ll tie
the proper end...and there you are the big (color of balloon) hot dog! (Just as the child reaches for the
balloon-pull it back and say) But, wait a minute...I can’t give you just one
balloon....No! I promised you something
special... so out of one balloon I’m going to create the super fantastic,
terrific, even good....two balloons.
(Twist the balloon in the center several times and then pull it apart
holding each so that the air does not escape and present them to the child. As the child goes for them, release than and
look at your audience not noticing that they take off.)”
(Put your arm around the child and say) “Oh,
brother! Things just aren’t going to
well for me today/this evening, but I promised you something special and
something special you shall have. Stand
right here and hold out your little chicken wings.”(Raise the child’s arms
straight out parallel with the floor.)
(You now create a large balloon sculpture for the
winner. As you inflate each balloon,
place them under the child’s arms, neck...any place you wish until you have
sufficient quantity to create his/her special prize.) Now, I need you to hold this one....(place under child’s extended
right arm and then push the arm down slightly to hold the balloon)...(inflate
another balloon) And, I need you to hold this one....(Place the balloon under
the child’s left arm the same way...inflate another balloon) and I need you to
hold this one (place this balloon under the child’s chin and gently push the
child’s head forward to hold the balloon under the chin.....inflate another
balloon) and I need you to .... ah....ah...(as if looking for another place to
put this balloon but then take the balloon from under right arm) give me this
one and ..... give me this one....(take the balloon from under the child’s chin
and say)...and now watch (Place the balloons together and stroke against the
balloons causing them to squeak and say) watch......watch.....(point to your
wrist watch and say) WATCH! (Take the
three balloons and fold them in half.
About six inches from the top of the loop, grab all three balloons and
make three twists and say) Who thinks they know what this is? (Raise you right hand and the kids will just
shout out whatever they think. Say) How
many think it’s an OCTOPUS!?.....pause ....You’re wrong!!! (Continue with your twist) How many think
it’s a spider?...pause...You’re wrong, too!!! (Take the last balloon from the
child’s left arm and make one twist about four inches from the top and add it
to the center of the other twist creating a palm tree looking thing. It doesn’t have to be perfect...and say) No,
for being the winner of my contest you get your very own UMBRELLA!! (As the child reaches for the gift you are
offering take it back quickly and say) But wait a minute...you can’t carry that
around the party can you? Nooooo, so
I’ll make it so that you don’t have to carry it around, OK? (Regardless of the answer, quickly place the
balloon around the child’s head for a measurement and tie a loop in the shaft
of the “umbrella” changing it into an umbrella hat...place it on the child’s
head and say) And there we are, let’s hear it for Nothing the winner of my
contest....pause, then say....but wait a minute, I can’t let you walk around
here like that,.....no....one of these wise guys is liable to call you helicopter
head....yeah. I’m going to give you
something to protect you from anyone who would call you helicopter
head....first I need you to hold out your little chicken wings (repeat action
from above and inflate another balloon) because you are going to need a belt. And you look like a perfect size six to
me.....(wrap balloon around the child’s waist and pinch together and make one
twist making a belt for the child. Take
out another balloon and inflate it and say) And now something to protect you
from anyone who would call you helicopter head.....(begin to make a sword) From
the movie ‘Starwars’, ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and other interrelated
intergalactic things .... your very own LIGHT SABER....Now no one will call you
helicopter head....that’s yours, my thanks and a big round of applause for
Nothing the winner of my contest!!!
Well, that’s the program. I hope that you comprehend what I have been saying...ENTERTAIN CHILDREN...and that’s the bottom line.
Final Thoughts on Performing
for Children
This can become very complicated, but I’m going
to try and give just the meat and potatoes of this so that you can use it to
its greatest advantage.
There are so many performers whom I have seen who
claim to be children’s performers but don’t know the first thing about
entertaining children. They talk down
to them, treat them as inferiors.
Heaven forbid that child that has had the good fortune to have seen
another entertainer perform a particular effect and says so, this pompous fool
tries to demean the child or tell the child that this is different and he
doesn’t know what he is talking about.
Children are intelligent human beings with
feelings and emotions. Many times
during the course of a program, something inspires or ignites one or more of
these feelings in children. Not all
children will react the same way all the time or even some of the time for that
matter, but one thing is for sure...they will react! But you as the performer must have care and concern for your
audience. You are not the know-all,
end-all of entertainers. You’re trying
to bring happiness to children.. Be ye
clown, magician, singer, story teller....it doesn’t matter...If you fail to
care about your audience....they won’t care about you either.
As the great Howard Thurston would say to himself
over and over before entering the stage for his performance, “I LOVE MY
AUDIENCE...I LOVE MY AUDIENCE.”
In Conclusion
In conclusion, there are a few things I follow
when performing for children:
1) CARE FOR YOUR AUDIENCE.
2) TRY YOUR BEST, NEVER SETTLE FOR LESS.
3) HAV