ESQUEMA ESTRATIGRÁFICO PROPUESTO La Formación Miravetes (Mi)

sometimes try to take over the show, to be a clown, or to try to draw lots of attention. This can be very disruptive and can ruin the effect. I often choose the helpers who are quiet and well behaved, but who nev- ertheless have their hands raised when I ask for a volunteer. It is a good idea to pick roughly as many girls as boys to help you in your show. This creates balance, although it is naturally not possible when you have an “all-girl” or “all-boy” party. It can also give you a chance to use some funny lines and bits of business by having a girl and boy up to help you at the same time. You can say things like, “Is this your husband?” or “Give him a kiss; he’s very rich!” This will also amuse the adults. You can use reverse psychology with picking children: if they all start shouting out that they want to help, you can tell them that you will pick someone who is not saying, “Pick me.” Kids will even stand up because they are so eager to be chosen. Tell them you will pick the quietest child in the room who is sitting cross legged on the floor. Try using the line, “Crisscross, I’m the boss.” This will amuse pre-school teachers who often use the line “Crisscross, apple sauce” with children.

So how do you interact with the kids who come up to help you? There are many stock lines that you can use. Many of you will be familiar with these, but here are a few. For boys: “How many legs do you have? How many arms do you have? How many eyes do you have? How many ears do you have? How many girlfriends do you have?” The last answer always gets a laugh regardless of the answer! For a girl you can ask a series of questions in which the answer is always “Yes.” The last question you ask is, “Will you marry me?” Naturally, if you are a female entertainer, you simply use the same lines with a boy! For either gender you can ask, “What’s your age? Five? Really. How old will you be on your ninth birthday?” If the child is nine, you can ask when he or she is going to be eight. What is really important is to get them to do the talking. This means you do not give them questions that have yes or no answers. You will get far more fun and laughs if you let them do the talking. This must be left up to the imagination of the individual performers, but if you ask them what they want to do when they are

you can make this into a funny routine that the adults really enjoy.

So an ideal children’s show should have many ingredients: light and shade, highs and lows, the clever magic and the silly stuff. It can also include music, which can enhance and add drama to a trick. Consider doing some classic magic in your shows (such as the Linking Rings) silently to music. This can be a great segue and a wonderful way of calming children down after a par- ticularly noisy trick or bit of business. The opening and closing (beginning and end) of your program are really important, and I suggest you come up with high impact routines to fit these slots. At the time of writing this article, I am in the middle of a busy summer of library shows; I have been opening my shows with The Letter, a creation of my old friend from the UK, the infamous Mark Lewis, who now resides in Canada. I will not go into the routine here; it is written up in his book The Wit and Wisdom of Mark

Lewis. All I will say is that for the right

performer, this makes a terrific opener. For years I have closed with my Cloth of In- visibility. This routine is published in my Blackpool convention lecture notes, which are still available. If you are unfamiliar with this, it is a self-levitation and vanish that is portable and baffles the audience. It makes a great finish to any show.

“He who is certain he knows the ending of things when he is only beginning them is either extremely wise or extremely foolish; no matter which is true, he is certainly an unhappy man, for he has put

a knife in the heart of wonder.” ~Tad Williams

Kids will be kids, and when they act un- expectedly in your show, don’t worry about staying on script. Use whatever theatre they create in your performance to actually enhance the show. At a recent library show, I had a child on stage helping me with one of my tricks. I sent the child back to his seat at the end of the routine. Suddenly, a little girl, who wasn’t more than three years old, ran onto my stage and just stood there. I could have ignored her, or told her to sit down, but instead I used this as an opportunity. I discovered that the girl was

actually the sister of the child who had just helped me. Obviously there was a little sibling rivalry and she also wanted to be in the show. I talked to her, and asked her questions. She said nothing, and just smiled and giggled. The more questions I asked, the more she laughed, and the more the audience laughed. This kind of occurrence is quite normal, and I always consider it a great gift when it happens. I love children who say nothing when you speak to them. Ask a very little child whether they are married, or whether they know what two plus two is. If they give you the right answer, ask them what 589 plus 387 equals. This stuff is funny. Try it!

In summary, a great children’s enter- tainer should have lots of light and shade in their performance. It is all good, and, when combined, can be a work of art. The famous British artist John Constable says it rather well:

“I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, – light, shade, and perspective will always

make it beautiful.”

By the time you read this article, the S.A.M. convention in Las Vegas will be over. I will be there, and look forward to meeting many old friends and making new ones. It looks like a great line up. Please continue to email your comments and suggestions for future articles to me at [email protected]. 